Hello,
students!
With Friends and Family you can get more in touch with Finnish culture and people. Let’s go!
Get to know Finnish culture with Friends and Family
The Friend Family programme is for JAMK University of Applied Sciences International students and Finnish families with the aim of helping the students to get to know the Finnish culture and way of life through a local friend or family. The families and the students plan when and how they will spend time together, e.g. they can go hiking or skiing together or just get together at a dinner every so often, however it suits both of the parties involved.
Mateo, 26, Spain
I’ve always been a social person and I like exploring new things. My tutor recommended this programme to me. I joined and got contacted by a family. I met up with the family for dinner, where we ate traditional Finnish food.
This became a habit and every week we hung out together. The kids got to practice their English and I taught them some Spanish. We also took some hiking trips on the weekends – Finnish nature is very different from what I’m used to! I still keep in touch with the family. The Friends and Family programme gave me a lot of new experiences and friends.
Why join the fun?
Get to know the culture.
Finnish people are warm, open and sincere, even though they might tell you the exact opposite. Read more about Finns: https://www.visitfinland.com/article/what-are-the-finns-like/
Meet new people.
Getting to know new people is great, especially during student exchange. You get to know a lot of new people at school, like other exchange students, but the best way to get to know the culture is to connect with the Finns.
Get new experiences.
It’s not always easy to settle in a new city and find out about all of its opportunities. With Friends and Family you get new experiences and get to know more about your new home town.