Present Recollection

Since I've been on the other side of the world in the land of Fin, many people have asked me: Why did you come to Finland (of all places)?

It's a question all of the exchange students have encountered, and all of us have different reasons. They range from: "My friend traveled on the same scholarship a few years ago and suggested it to me," to the blunt answer: "For the nature."

Whether or not there was a lot of reasoning involved - and whether the reasons are connected deeply with the country itself - we all earned a national, full scholarship. 14 fortunate ones out of how ever many applied for this chance in a lifetime.

My reasons are clear. Complicated, perhaps. But I usually give the short answer out of my list of reasons. That would be: "It's the summer before my senior year, which means college apps. And I am doing whatever I can to stand out. And Finland is the country that would stand out from an American point of view."

That is very true, and a prime reason why I choose the country of a few million, difficult language-speaking, and too many trees.

But there's more to it.

I wanted to study abroad when I was introduced to the opportunity as a student ambassador for the World Affairs Council of Northern California. I wanted to explore the opportunity and my interest in internationalism as a possible career route. I wanted to get away from the life I was so accustomed to and find out how other people lived. To observe the lifestyles and customs and cultures of a what seemed to be a polar opposite people would give me what I needed to fulfill those wants, and more. Life was getting tough, and this gave me that escape for two months.

As I blog now, I realize it has given me more. I know that I have grown and learned and matured. I know that I have figured things about my future and continued to battle with others. The changes seem to be subtle. I can't determine to what degree change has come. But the city boy that once was a short month and a half ago wouldn't have dared to venture into the life he has now if he knew what he was getting himself into: the wilderness, preying mosquitos, absolute flatlands, homesickness, etc. Only time will tell if returning back to the city, Starbucks, malls, friends, whether or not the change in me is a continuity, and not just an adaption to the phase. I am growing, and feeling, so accustomed to Finland that it does feel like my home now and that I've accepted it. But like the change that has come across from being here, perhaps then, logically, the change will come across back from being home, in California.

Besides a different me, I've learned more about life. How cultural nuances exist. How we see life differently, in different shades of light. How Finns are not timid to go nude in a public suana. How Americans are willing to go skimpy, but not completely nude. How Finns are friendly, but turn away small talk. How Americans are loud and can talk to anyone.

But when in gets down to the essentials, the issues that plague the planet, we share the same pod. Global warming, teenage drinking and smoking, international conflict. It's the same. Maybe the degrees and extents vary a little, but these problems exist worldwide and have no clear solution. Together as a global populace can we hope to change the current situation.