Introducing Aimee (Aimee)

Coming to Finland to spend a semester here was definitely one of the biggest decisions I have ever made and so I wanted to get the most out of my time here through experiencing and learning about different cultures. While I was eager to learn about the Finnish culture, I also was interested in learning about the cultures from those fellow exchange students here in Finland and so taking part in tandem seemed like the perfect opportunity to do that.

My name is Aimee and I am from Northern Ireland currently studying a BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies in Stranmillis University College in Belfast. In Finland I am an exchange student in Turku University of Applied Sciences studying Social Services. This is how I initially got to know my tandem partner Sarah as we are both studying social services here. When Sarah suggested we take part in tandem I was very enthusiast to be a part of it as it would give me the chance to learn about Sarah’s home country and her life there which in turn would give me the chance to compare it to my home country, culture and traditions.

As Sarah is studying in PHSG in Switzerland with the aim to graduate as a primary school teacher we instantly had similar interests as my aim is also to graduate as a primary school teacher too. While Sarah is studying in Switzerland, her home country is actually Austria. As I start this tandem course I am very interested in getting to know more about Sarah and Austria as I have never actually met anyone from Austria before let alone actually discuss our home countries with someone from there. As Sarah is already a good friend of mine here in Finland, I look forward to getting to spend time with her learning more about her life and family and also for her to learn and get to know a little more about life in Northern Ireland.