Exchange student in Nurmijärvi, Finland

The exchangestudents have arrived to Nurmijärvi. We interviewed Floriaan Tops from Belgium to know a bit more. Why did Floriaan choose Finland? Why Humak? Welcome to Humak Floriaan and others!

1.     Who are you?

My name is Floriaan Tops, 21 years old.

2.     Where are you from?

I come from Leuven, a small city in Belgium. A city where the student life is alive like nowhere else!

3.     What are you studying & where?

I’m studying to become a primary school teacher in Leuven. This semester I study of course at HUMAK, Civic activities & youth work at Nurmijärvi Campus.

4.     Do you have any hobbies?

Most of my free time goes to voluntary work in my youth movement. Besides that I also play some music and I like to hang out with friends of course.

5.     Reason(s) why you wanted to make an exchange?

I love to travel. If I can do it while studying at the same time, you don’t have to ask me twice! And also, I was kind of getting tired of the teacher’s education. Some change was more than welcome.

6.     Why did you choose Finland?

I chose for Finland because the program, involving youth work, seemed very interesting. As a future teacher I’ve heard a lot about the Finnish education system and this ‘phenomenon’ that makes it so great. I guess I wanted to see it for myself before believing it. Furthermore scandinavian nature was on my bucket-list anyhow to visit. I guess coming to HUMAK was killing three birds with one stone.

7.     Which has been the best / worst thing in your exchange?

Going to swim in the icey-hole was probably the best and the worst thing at the same time. I wanted to do it but I didn’t know what to expect. Walking through the snow on bare feet was terrible, so cold! But the feeling afterwards is awesome and I’m glad I did it!

 

8.     Tell one of the best and most exciting moments in your exchange.

That spontaneous, unexpected evening. In the morning, when you wake up, you’re expecting just another evening like any other. But then, when the night falls you suddenly realize you’re having the best time, and it just happened, without planning anything. Awesome times!

9.     Tell some strange / surprising thing in Finland / Finnish people.

What’s strange about Finnish people is that they allways talk about Finnish people as not being open minded, not that friendly (certainly not in winter time), living their own life, etc. The strange thing is that all the Finnish people I met are very open minded. They’re very friendly and they are really helpful! A strange thing that makes me think if I should stop believing the Finnish people or if I should start questioning my own perception of being friendly. 

10.  Your greetings to HUMAK’s students.

Since the sun has been kind of abscent the last few weeks I’d like to end with a quote of someone who knew the value of studying abroad as no one else. “Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.” (Desiderius Erasmus). 

Minna Jauho,

KV-vastaava

International affairs coordinator