To begin my story, I have to go back  4 months…  when I applied for the Erasmus grant to Finland, I was looking forward to going there and getting to know  Finland. But I was scared to get away, to leave my comfort zone (the familiar surroundings which I have never left before). I was also afraid of going to a new place, of meeting new people with different customs and traditions, with whom I didn´t know if I was going to be able to get along with.

I will never forget the shocked face of my tutor when I went up to her to give her two kisses and say hello to her. A few days later I learnt that here they usually shake hands. I don´t want to imagine what she might have thought about it.

I didn´t know either if I was going to see someone in the street to talk to , since the village where I was going to live, Ikaalinen, was a bleak town buried under the snow. It is a place where you don´t see a soul in the street in winter.

But soon I realized that Ikaalinen is an unforgettable place, full of nature and life. The animals live together with the people between the houses of the village: swans, rabbits, ducks, crows, squirrels, stags… and a lot of animals I can´t recognize. Therefore, there is a complete harmony between nature and the local people.

Although it is true that the start is always difficult I have to say that when I first arrived in Finland, everybody in the Ikata college of Arts was worried about me from the very beginning. I have met wonderful people in the workshop who tried to include me from the very first day.

Thanks to these people I have been able to get involved and to get to know the traditions, customs, the local food and the social movements. That is to say, they have opened their homes and hearts, they have introduced me to what life in Finland is like.

The fact that I have been in Tampere doing an internship, I have also travelled to Helsinki, Talli, and have visited museums in different cities has helped me build a big picture on how people have always lived over here and to learn about their history.

It is being a great experience both at a professional and at a personal level.

At a professional level because of all the workshops I have attended (wood textile and glass workshops). In these workshops I have learnt about new techniques and materials that I have never used before and I am making interesting and curious designs thanks to all the inspiration that provides me everything that surrounds me.

And at a personal level, I have met wonderful people who have treated me as one of their own, who have opened the doors of their homes and their hearts.

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