OSYKissa on vuosittain vaihto-opiskelijoita ympäri maailmaa. Toimittajamme Jay Leppänen nappasi haastatteluun tämän lukuvuoden vaihto-opiskelijamme. Englanninkielisessä jutussamme vaihto-opiskelijat kertovat vuodestaan ja ajatuksistaan.
Every year, OSYK takes in exchange students from different places in the world. Currently, there are two exchange students in OSYK – Emily from Japan and Zona from Serbia. After being in Finland for almost the whole school year, they probably have some opinions about our school and Finland in general, so I interviewed them so see how our exchange students have been liking Finland and our school so far.
How have you liked our school?
Emily: I had thought that the Finnish people are shy, and quiet, that’s what I had heard of it, so when I came here, I was thinking that everyone would be shy and stuff, but they’re not really in OSYK, and it’s nice. People are extroverted; everyone talks to me. I also think that it’s so different than the other schools, the way they focus on the arts, like drama and music. It’s so cool.
Zona: It was so unexpected, because I was researching about Finland, like the Finnish education system and it sounded really good, and I was looking at different schools and everything. Then when I got my host family and the school that I was going to, I was so surprised, because it was so different that other classic Finnish high schools, but I was also excited, because I liked that it was different, and it seemed very interesting and everything. And when I came here, I was pleasantly surprised, because as Emily mentioned, people are more extroverted here in OSYK, and they’re a lot more accepting too than in other schools. And I feel like the teachers are very understanding too, and very willing to co-operate. But yeah, I love this school so much and I don’t want to go back to my own school!
How about like Finland in general? How have you liked being here?
Emily: It’s good here. The only problem is that when it’s winter, it’s so dark. It kind of made me depressed, you know, it being dark all the time. But it’s a nice country, and the school system has freedom than Japan. And like, I don’t know, it’s kind of mixed with like the city and nature here. It’s really cool, and you can do like everything here.
Zona: I like Finland a lot and as you said, it’s a mix of kind of urban life and nature. I love winter, and that was part of the reason why I chose to come here because I knew it wouldn’t really bother me. Like the seasonal depression, I was expecting it, and I did experience it, but I mean, that was to be expected. The only major change and difference is that, except for the school system, because as I mentioned the school system here is way freer and students are much more independent and teachers actually respect students, which is something I am not used to. And other than that, the only major difference, that kind of like affects me is the like social life, or lack thereof, so how it’s quite different here. I’m used to spending most of my free time with my friends and extended family and here it’s the complete opposite, but you get used to it, and you learn to enjoy different things more.
What is the best thing about Finland?
Emily: The best thing… I like the culture of sauna, like you go in, and then you just are there with someone. I’ve been in a sauna like once a week, I think, with my host sister. I’ll be yapping (=talking) all the time, for like an hour, and you don’t know how long you’re in there. The northern lights are also so cool.
Zona: I have used the sauna probably only once, and it wasn’t even with my host family. Anyways, the best thing about Finland, I would say that no matter how many people say that Finnish people are like very shy and everything, I mean they’re probably more introverted, but everyone’s genuinely so nice here, I’d say, and that’s way different that I feel like it is in other parts of Europe, especially where I come from, but, like, it’s just nice to see how people are so genuine and accepting. And I feel calmer here, I’d say, I feel like I’m taking a break from constant stress. I feel less stressed about school, and not only because I am an exchange student, I do the same exams than everyone else does, I just answer them in English, but just the way of working and the approach of learning is so different here, but it’s much better, way less stressful and way more respectful to the students.
Have you missed something about your home countries while being in Finland?
Emily: I could say the food, but the whole thing is, there’s sushi here, and I can try to make it if I want to, so not really. But yeah, obviously the friends there. I have a group chat with my friends there, and they’ll talk about the things that are happening in the school, that I don’t know, so it’s kind of making me confused and feeling left alone, but I still have friends here, so it’s not a big problem.
Zona: For me it’s also mainly the food, and yeah, but there’s also this restaurant here that I go to sometimes because it has the same food that we have at home. And yeah, also my friends. I agree with Emily, I kind of get the fear of missing out, the feeling of missing out, but it’s getting – it was bad in the beginning, but now it’s gotten way better, because I also have a life here and I am my own person, you know, away from my friends and everything. And I definitely miss my family, as in my extended family, because I have a lot of like little cousins who I spend a lot of time with and take care of, and I miss them a lot.
What is the biggest difference between school in Finland and in your home countries?
Emily: Well, in Japan, the whole day is full of classes, but in here you can choose your own classes, like which classes you want, and you can make like skip periods, free periods and it’s just freer all around. The teachers don’t care that much about how the students study either, or like attend the class.
Zona: I mean, kind of the same, because you don’t choose your subjects in Serbia – you can apply to certain high schools and based to your points you’ll get to those high schools, but the subjects are already chosen, and you have the same schedule for a year. You have core subjects plus a few additional subjects, so you have around fifteen subjects a year, you have fifteen subjects a week, every day, so the days are longer. And we definitely have to study way more, because we have common tests and common oral exams. Also, the teachers are much stricter, and the students are less independent and free in what they do. Here the teachers actually respect the students, unlike there.
Are there any other differences or similarities between the countries, with the people or something?
Emily: Well, the people, it’s like, we have the same personality in Japan too, than the people in Finland. We are kind of shy, and we don’t talk to the people in the town much, but in both in Finland and in Japan people will start to talk a lot when you know them. And for the city, I think that Oulu is smaller than my home city in Japan. And the building (OSYK) is very cute, it’s so colorful.
Zona: For me, I live in like a smaller town than Oulu, well, Oulu’s a city and I live in a small town, so like, most people there know everyone, unlike here. The differences, I mean, there’s definitely differences in culture and in terms of social life, how close friends are, how close your family is with each other, and then the way you spend your time there way more socially oriented than here, I guess. People are more extroverted in Serbia. I mean, they’re very extroverted, they’ll gladly welcome foreigners, and so do Finnish people, which I think is a similarity, but they do it in a different way. And as I mentioned, the people here are so genuine and everyone’s so nice. To be fair, so are most people in Serbia, but I just feel like I have way less drama here! And there’s obviously differences in the country, like I am not used to being surrounded by no mountains, like there’s no mountains here, and it’s so weird to me. It’s so flat here, and it kind of creeped me out for a while, because I was not used to driving when it’s just flat and it made me a bit sick. But, yeah, the natures beautiful here, and it’s beautiful in Serbia, but in a different way.
Thank you to our amazing exchange students for the interview! We wish you a great time for the rest of your time in Finland, and everything good for the future too.
Text and photo Jay Leppänen