My exchange program in Finland is the best decision I have ever taken in my life!
People are nice and polite and this country is plenty of natural beauty.
Here in Finland I found out the pleasure of going to school, all the teachers are very understanding and polite and I have to thank all of you for the patience and the time that you dedicated to me during my staying here.
Students are a bit shy but you can become really good friend with them because Finnish people give a lot of importance to friendship.
One of the best memories that I have from this experience is the trip to Lapland.
There, I saw things that I’ve never seen as the reindeers and the husky farms and I went skiing for the first time.
I will never forget my last night in Lapland, our tutors had given us the permission to go outside for the first time to see the Northern Lights.
When I went out and looked up at the sky I was totally astonished, there were any northern lights yet but the sky was plenty stars, I’ve never seen so many stars in my whole life and I felt so little compared with the vastness of the Universe.
Another thing that I experienced for the first time here in Finland is sauna.
When I had a sauna for the first time I was a bit scared before doing it but at the end I found it very pleasant.
I realised that here in Finland most of the houses have sauna and people use it very often.
I had my best experience with sauna in February, in Villa Järvelä, a sauna place close to Turku where I went with my host siblings and their cousins.
We first had a sauna and then we decided to go swimming in the cold water.
I remember how strange it was when I dived in the cold water for the first time, I couldn’t feel my body!
Besides I experienced a new lifestyle and I met lot of people from all over the world and I think this made me more openminded.
At the end I can say that this exchange is changing me a lot, I’m more independent and open now and, above all, I don´t want to go back home!
Silvia Palmioli