Mastering Finland 팟 캐스트

In this episode Eva meets Kalim Ul Masih — a certified coach, humanitarian worker, and travel enthusiast who’ll open up his insider secrets to Mastering Finland. Kalim is Finnish, but as he was working and traveling abroad in Africa, Middle East, Central Asia for quite a while before returning to Finland with the onset of COVID-19, he had to polish…

Many of us here have an on-and-off relationship with Finland. But for our new guest, it was love at first sight! Gemma Cros-Baden came to Kuopio for her Erasmus exchange and simply didn’t want to go back to her home country Spain. But she had to. Fast-forward to when our podcast is recorded, Gemma lives happily in Finland, has a job, and is learnin…

It has finally happened — the whole Mastering Finland team is on the same episode! A Christmas miracle, nothing else. So who’s on the line? Petra, Eva, and Iliana from the best library in the world (Oodi, of course), Matt from Pori, and Matty all the way from the UK. In this episode, we do a lot of Christmas talk: from favorite Christmas songs to t…

Petra is back to Mastering Finland (I bet you’ve missed her) — but now in the guest seat. She is the founder of the podcast, a person who has been bringing up so many individual stories of Mastering Finland and sharing tips and knowledge with our community. The Mastering Finland team is sure that you’re as excited as we to hear from Petra again! Bu…

You haven’t heard her voice before, and yet she is essential to the Mastering Finland project. This episode sees the ‘Mastering Finland’ founder return to the microphone and interview one of the key people from behind the scenes of the podcast – Eva Valkovicova. Eva’s energy, spirit, and curiosity are keeping the podcast alive, but there’s more to …

Mastering Finland Podcast takes you to the movies for an exclusive interview with the director and screen writer behind the new film “Freeskate” which premieres on 21 October 2022. Getting to know the faces behind this new Finnish film, Matt speaks with director Roope Olenius and screen writer Veera W. Vilo who are partners both on and off the movi…

Meet Karoliina Kauhanen with whom we discuss why people need help and why it is often so difficult to ask for it. As internationals, we don’t have a network we can rely on, even in some simple tasks such as moving the furniture. Some people wouldn't mind giving a hand but they don’t know where to start. Karoliina has a solution to this problem. Com…

In Part 2 of Matt’s interview with an American ambassador in Finland the conversation grows in its cultural dialogue and reflections on Finland as experienced by an international. What is the secret of Finnish happiness and where it comes from? Find out in this episode!

Ever dreamt of working in foreign service and being stationed abroad? Listen to our new episode and see if this lifestyle suits you! Bill Couch, Foreign Affairs Officer, shares with Mastering Finland his experiences of working at the US Embassy in Helsinki — from perks and daily routines to the challenges (and new engagement avenues) that the pande…

Matt Bowen gets to meet Hasan Sohail, the man behind the travelwithasan YouTube channel. In his YouTube videos, Hasan shares his experiences of integrating into Finnish life and making the most out of living in Finland. What is Hasan’s strategy for integrating in Finland? Here are some tips: Get out of your room to find your way around Join groups …

Matty Davenport lives in the UK, but he is a ‘superfan’ of the Mastering Finland Podcast and pretty much of all things Finland. From an outsider’s perspective Matty explains how he first became aware of Finland as a child and became increasingly fascinated through adolescence into adulthood. Listen and learn more about Matty's passion for winter sw…

Matt talks with the project planner of the Spouse Program offered by the municipality of the City of Helsinki, Jochen Faugel. The Spouse Program is part of the Talent Boost initiative and is coordinated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Ministry of Education and Culture. Its purpose is to build an engaging and supportive co…

This week we are coming back with an episode with one of our team’s members – actually the most recent one – Rafaella. Rafaella joined our team six months ago when she moved to Finland to be with her partner and move ahead with her career. Finland is for her a country to admire, like all the Nordics, considering their progressive mentality. Petra a…

In this episode, Petra meets Raysa, an old guest from episode 20. Raysa was invited back for another episode due to a LinkedIn post reflecting unfulfilled expectations and frustrations in Finland's international community. We believe that this episode discussion may resonate with many of you who are trying to find a job in Finland or, in general, a…

In this episode, Matt welcomes Lucia Hellerhoff, a German flautist living in Finland, Pori, and a member of the Pori Sinfonietta. Lucia has been already working 5 years for Pori Sinfonietta and shares with Matt that she really likes her job. According to her, the program is rich and varied, for example, the songs they practice and the conductors ch…

Whether you are planning to move to Finland or you already live in Finland, one way to achieve mastering life in it, in any case, is to experience the Finnish sauna culture. Finland is famous for its sauna culture and Finns do love it for sure! Some might even say that sauna might be the secret to Finnish happiness. For this reason, we talk about t…

When Jean & Petra meet again to summarise the 2021 and share some info about Finnish Christmas traditions. PS. Full of laughter as usually. Happy holiday to you all!

December 6th is a very important day in Finland and for Finnish people in general. On this day Finland’s Independence Day is celebrated, one of the most awaited holidays in Finland. For this reason, our guest for this episode is Soila Sariola, a Finnish musician, singing teacher, singer, a member of acapella group Rajaton, and mother. And it is our…

The new Mastering Finland Podcast episode is this time all about metal music in Finland and for this reason, the guest of this episode is Dafne Jalomo, a psychologist, music lover, beer enthusiast and adventurer from Mexico, who is now living in Helsinki. It was over 15 years ago, when Dafne had her first contact with Finnish bands, starting with t…

This week's episode introduces Pukhraj Ranjan, an educator and entrepreneur establishing a new ethical fashion brand Moi namaste - that is creating eclectic, timeless pieces combining Indian craftsmanship and Nordic functionality. Pukhraj shares her story of life in Finland that started by pursuing a masters degree in education, finding her first j…

This week we wanted to join the Halloween madness and record a special spooky episode for you 🎃 This time, Matt talks to Bella de Graves, a Finnish artist, that is fascinated by everything creepy or scary. They discuss horror movies, costume shops, spooky places in Finland, and experiences related to the Halloween celebration in Finland. As the hol…

In this episode we introduce Kamilla Sultanova, a Nordic and Uzbek citizen, speaker, entrepreneur, event host, mentor, and consultant in diversity inclusion who enjoys bringing people together and helping them belong. Kamilla talks about how to sustain your own cultural identity whilst living in a new place and especially how to embrace it. Additio…

In this week’s episode, Matt speaks with Olivia Kumpula, a Nigerian Youtuber, social media blogger, and entrepreneur who lives in Pori with her husband and her children. Listen to this episode and learn about Olivia's endeavours and their contribution to the international community in Finland.

In this episode, Petra talks to Ronny Eriksson, a 25-year-old serial entrepreneur and storyteller based in Helsinki, co-founder of the "Norders", a creative agency and community, host of the "New Nordic Wave of Change" podcast, as well as part of the "ReformMigri" team. Ronny focuses on helping companies and individuals, like international students…

Reform Migri petition’s goal is to improve Migri's system and service procedures, which has caused a lot of difficulties, stress, and pain. In this episode, Petra talks to Julia, the initiator of the petition and Anuka, a nurse in Finland facing a deportation decision despite fully following the law. We talked about why Julia started this petition …

In this week’s episode, Matt hosts Kätälyst, a multinational rock band based in Espoo. Each of the band’s five members came to Finland independently for education. Although they met online and at Aalto University during their studies in 2010, they did not form the band until 2017. The band gets its name from an earlier group that its founding membe…

In this episode you will get to meet Early Artis, a teacher and a father living in Finland. He has been all over the world teaching and helping others to learn and integrate into new cultures. He is a member of the Expat Dads in Finland Facebook community and the Fathers in Finland community of Familia ry. Early and Matt discuss the challenges of r…

In this episode Petra talks to Folashade, who shares the story of her family and her daughter with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in Finland. Folashade shares all about the complicated process of getting a diagnosis in Finland, about social services available for children and families with ASD, the process of accepting your child's disability, and…

In this episode, Jean and Petra meet for the last time to talk about their mastering Finland journey. They reflect on their podcast, their personal lives, Finnish bureaucracy, and towards the end, Jean also shares her secret identity with you. Come and join us in this episode full of laughter and great atmosphere.…

Matt speaks with Licia Prehn, who works in the gaming industry, as a producer, voice actor, and writer in Finland. They are also a board member of We in Games, a podcaster, a radio DJ, and one of the leading accessibility advocates in Finland. Licia moved to Finland about 10 years ago from Pennsylvania for love and a change of scenery. When the rel…

In this episode, Jean talks to Rabea about her Finnish journey including auparing, university tutoring, and exchange studies. They also talked about parenting, and the Parenting with Sisu podcast.

In this episode, Petra talks to Arseniy Lobanovskiy, who moved to Finland from Russia about 6 years ago. Arseniy talks about his learning of both Finnish and Swedish languages and its impact on fitting within the communities in Finland. Moreover, he sheds a light on the Swedish community in Finland. He also speaks about his battle with depression d…

Jean chats with Jessica, who is originally from the UK. Jessica moved to Finland in 2016 to live with her Finnish partner. In this week’s episode, Jean and Jessica talk about volunteer opportunities in Finland and the importance of volunteer work in a functioning society. Jessica noted cultural differences between her family in the UK and her partn…

This week, Petra is joined by Sini Korpinen. Sini is a political podcast host and a municipal election candidate. She visited for a chat about the significance of municipal elections for Finns and foreigners living in Finland and provided clear instructions on how to attend the upcoming municipal elections in Finland. Links: Double Check Voting Eli…

Moniku began as a temporary project aimed at reducing inequality and usage of rehabilitation services among multicultural families. When the need for Moniku services continued to grow, however, the project was made permanent. Today, Alba serves about 15 families per week.Moniku’s services are important, Alba explains, because multicultural parents …

Pedro Bergamo is a singer/songwriter from Brazil who originally moved to Finland for love. In this episode, he shares his deep connection to music, his influences, and his songwriting process. Also, Matt and Pedro also listen to and discuss one of Pedro's latest releases, "Abrahadabra!". Pedro's website: https://pedrobergamo.com…

Tune in for an informative chat with Carl, an executive consultant and headhunter in Finland. Carl decided to pursue a career in recruitment, a process that had always intrigued him, after a long career in banking and leisure. In his role as a headhunter, Carl conducts targeted searches for candidates that fit a specialized profile. Although many m…

In this episode Aino talks about the Finnish tradition Vappu that is annualy celebrate on May 1st. She also shares many interesting experiences with Armenian culture an answers listeners’ questions. She gives great advice for impressing your Finnish in-laws, as well as important things to keep in mind if you plan on moving to Finland (sneak peak: b…

Please join us in welcoming Matt, our new co-host at Mastering Finland! Matt moved to Finland for love in 2016. He packed up his life in Maryland, and married his penpal of 10 years! Today, Matt lives happily in Pori with his wife, Sanni, and their son, Edvin. Tune into episode 48 to hear Matt’s story, and to get a sneak peak at what to expect from…

Tune into a chat with Roham, originally from Iran, about his experience moving with his wife and daughter to Finland four months ago, in late 2020. To make better personal and professional connections, Roham plans to learn Finnish. Although he is passionate and dedicated about learning the language, his ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorde…

This is the first episode of the "International Authors in Finland" series, and in this episode, we welcome mother and daughter Pamela and Eloisa Spokes. They co-wrote a book together during the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic when Eloisa experienced distance learning and spent lots of time at home with her mum. That's when the idea to…

This week, Jean sat down to chat with Karina, a PhD student of Applied Linguistics at the University of Jyväskylä. Originally from Japan, Karina began her upper secondary education in Australia. There, she experienced quite a bit of culture shock as a result of the louder, more direct Australian culture. In Finland, Karina once again feels at home.…

In this episode we combined two interviews together to provide you an overall picture of recruitment in FInland enriched by many tips and suggestions on how to improve your job-searching in Finland.In the first part of the interview (0:00-24:25), we talked to Hannah Gay that started her Finnish journey as an intern at The Shortcut, a company you ma…

Continuing our series on job-seeking in Finland, Petra chats with Stefan Cave. Originally from the UK, Stefan moved to Finland with his partner in 2019 seeking a better work-life balance. Upon arriving in Finland, he applied his background in HR and operations management to his role as COO at talent accelerator The Shortcut. Tune in to this episode…

Iiris Ranta, who recently graduated from the University of Jyväskylä with a master’s degree in intercultural management. While completing her thesis on international talent recruitment and retention in the city of Jyväskylä, Iiris focused on the topics of labour migration and the internationalization of higher education. The results of her thesis s…

This week, we had Doula Danielle on to talk about her experience working as a post-partum doula in Helsinki. Through her personal practice, Mothers Transition, and as a member of The Nest Helsinki International Doulas+, Danielle offers needed support for new mothers and their families. Growing up, Danielle moved around quite a bit. Born in Israel, …

Meet Varpu, your “Finnish fairy godmother.” On her online platform Her Finland, you can find culture-based language courses that will help you master Finnish (or, at least learn enough to get by), as well as tips and tricks for thriving in Finland - from the perspective of a native Finn!We sat down to chat about Varpu’s motivations for building Her…

Join us for a chat about Esther's inspiring experience related to learning the Finnish language, working and raising children in Finland, and overcoming the language barrier to gain meaningful employment as a foreigner. She also talks about the loneliness and depression she experienced after giving birth to her children. Finally, Esther shed some l…

Valentine’s Day is happening soon and we thought we might share a bit about how do people usually celebrate such a day in Finland. In this episode, we talk about the history of Valentine’s Day in Finland, its focus on friendship, how do Finns celebrate this day, and how does a university approach this special day. We also collected a few voice reco…

You may remember Matti, a Finnish-American from last week’s episode, and his tales of service in the Finnish Defense Forces. This week, we continue our conversation with a preview of Matti’s forthcoming book, 347 Mornings. At Mastering Finland, we are big believers in the power of stories to help people overcome difficulties and face tough challeng…