Participating in thisisFINLAND Foreign Correspondents’ Programme this summer is a once in a lifetime opportunity that comes at the best time for me.
Freshly graduated from university, I’m now a journalist, based in Barcelona, aiming to build an international career in the field of communication.
This programme is not just another experience abroad, but a great chance to learn from Finland through its people, culture and way of life, along with 21 colleagues from all around the world.
Thus, what do I want to learn from Finland?
I want to meet first-hand the society behind a country that is on the top of the lists for educational achievements and press freedom. I want to learn from the Finns who seem to have such a deep respect for the nature and the environment. Ultimately I want to see the country where my first mobile phone was developed. And finally, the land where I, as a child, imagined Santa Claus taking care of his reindeer and getting ready to bring me gifts on Christmas Day.
I guess that within the three weeks we will spend in Finland we won’t have time to visit Finland’s thousand lakes, but I hope we will have the chance to swim in some of them.
Moreover, I want to experience the authentic Finnish sauna, try the most iconic Finnish food and have a hard time trying to learn basic Finnish.
Despite YouTube or VOD (video on demand), I still think you can learn a lot from a country by watching what’s on TV that night. In Finland, I’m extremely curious to know why the Finns love Los Serrano so much and if they already know what was the disappointing ending for this Spanish TV-series (no spoilers allowed).
Besides the Spanish influences, I’m very interested to know more about Finnish popular culture, especially (but not only) music. I found out that we’ll be in Helsinki during the Flow Festival and, besides the international headliners, I’m looking forward to discover some local and Nordic bands or artists, as music has always played a key role in all my trips and experiences abroad.
And now, what can I offer to Finland?
I’m a journalist in the age of new media; a multi-tasker able to write a long piece or a blog post, take photos and make a video, all (quite) at the same time. Internet should expect a lot of content from me, I’ll let you all know how awesome Finland and the FCP is. Watch out!
Finally, let me end my first blog post by practicing some Finnish, provided by the assistance of an online translator: kiitos tästä mahdollisuudesta!
So proud of you! It sounds so exciting! 🙂 enjoy!
Thank you Jenn! It’s really exciting and I’ll enjoy it, a lot. 🙂 Best wishes!
A tope Oriol!! Que lo pases bien por Finlandia 😉
Saludos!
I’m excited to read about your experiences! I’m currently experiencing Spain and Catalonia with its sometimes quite strong contrasts to Finland. The most difficult thing for me has been the late eating hours, and one of the most surprising thing was to realize that people go to the gym to chat and see friends instead of working out really hard (especially women). I’m looking forward to read which things te llama la atención!
Hello Maija, thanks for your comment! I’m looking forward to see the differences between Finns and Spanish. As you said, gyms here in Spain are more like a ‘social club’, my dad works at one, so I know this well. Looking forward to tell you more on my impressions about Finland in upcoming blog posts. Un abrazo.