I noticed my wishes come true, when I don’t think about them all the time. A good example of this observation is how I received the final decision letter about participating in thisisFINLAND Foreign Correspondents’ Programme 2015 from the Embassy of Finland in Astana.
After sending in my application for the programme I was so busy with other things that I totally forgot about it. Eventually, I was really surprised when I got an invitation for an interview. As this happened on my birthday, my first thought was that my travel to Finland in August would be a wonderful birthday gift.
I’m sure that all applicants enjoyed their interviews just as much as I did. To tell the truth, before my conversation with the representatives of the Finnish Embassy I didn’t know that only one person from Kazakhstan would be selected to the programme. I’m glad to be this person.
What I expect from the three-weeks journey across one of the “happiest countries in the world”?
I’m going to explore this new country. It would have been difficult, if the programme was short-term. When I go abroad for just a few days, I can’t get fully into the spirit of the city or country. I should add that I actually have a list of European cities I wish to visit, and Helsinki is in the top 10. So, you can understand how excited I feel!
First of all, I’m interested in the Finnish educational system, that is, according to the world rankings, among the best in the world. I have read many articles about the approaches to teaching in secondary schools in Finland. They are very different from the methods used in Kazakhstan. Nowadays we have our own educational programme, but my generation read the textbooks written in the Soviet Union.
Second of all, I want to see Finland though the eyes of a tourist, and then share my expressions on my blog and personal site. I hope my posts will be interesting and fruitful. I know that the programme includes several destinations and something tells me I will have plenty of material : beautiful nature, coffee culture, Flow Festival, traditions and customs, only to name a few of the topics I’m going to point in my texts.
Being a communication specialist I would like to expand my professional network. I want to meet Finnish journalists, public relations and digital specialists, popular bloggers, etc. The exchange experience is the most important part of a programme like FCP. I’m so exited to meet my peers. I think, it was a great idea to publish the list of FCP2015 participants on this blog and now we already communicate in a Facebook group! At least we will recognize each other in August.
Warm greeting from Kazakhstan! See you soon!