I’ve always been interested in foreign countries and how they do things differently, but there’s really nothing like actually going there and experiencing it for yourself. This is what I had the opportunity to do for a school year in Finland. Now, I can say firsthand how it is to live there.
Finland itself is a country well integrated with nature. It’s nicknamed “the country of forests” because 75% of its land mass is covered in trees. The place I lived was surrounded by forest trails to walk or bike, which was great for strolls. The whole city too was very well connected by bike and walking paths, making it easy for me to go to the city, visit my friends, or go to school without someone having to drive me. The bus system was also very convenient and efficient for longer distances. Thanks to all these, I found myself realising I had gone a few months without even being in a car, whereas in New Zealand it was a daily thing.
I lived with a welcoming host family of 2 sons and a mother and father. We went on trips and had dinner together, but other than that, my host brothers were usually in their rooms and didn’t talk to me. My host family wanted to learn English from me, which clashed a little bit with me wanting to learn Finnish from them. We ended up compromising with alternating days speaking Finnish and English. Many of my
friends had to change host families during the year, so I was really thankful to have gotten a good host family and to not have had to change.
School in Finland was completely different to New Zealand. The classes were well organised and content focused, making me learn more, all the while being more enjoyable. The year was divided into 5 terms, each with a new set of 5 classes, meaning I had the opportunity to take a much wider variety of subjects compared to the 6 I can take per year at my school in New Zealand. I learned most of my Finnish from all the classes taught in the language, and by the end of the year I could understand everything being said by the teachers. One of my favourite parts of the schools in Finland was that there are no school uniforms, because I hate being forced to wear something I don’t like. Coming back to New Zealand I can feel I have a much easier time being organised and completing work at school thanks to what Finland
schools taught me. 
I made friends almost exclusively with other international students at my school and from AFS in my city. It was hard to make friends with the Finnish students at school since they were already in their tight friend groups and spoke Finnish. I discovered later on in the year that actually many people at my school were really keen on talking to an international student, but were all too nervous to come up to me, which
is a shame because I was also too nervous. My best advice for any exchange student is to try talk to as many people as possible and forget all your anxiety.
Another piece of advice I would give is to learn the language. If I could redo my whole exchange year knowing what I know now, I would have learned so much more than I did when I was there. Most importantly, try learn as much vocabulary as possible. Go to your local library and pick out a book that matches your level. Make notes of the words you don’t know. Try talking to as many people as you can, encouraging them to correct you and not switch to English.
I would say my time in Finland completely changed me. I appreciate my environment more, I eat better, I make friends differently, I manage my school work better. I have new goals and aspire for more. I’m so thankful for this exchange for making me someone I could have never been otherwise.