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 change every week, something that doesn’t make her feel bored. Although the orchestra’s repertoire consists mainly of classical songs, they do play...

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 this in our first episode for this year with Joona Virtanen. In one of his videos on YouTube, Joona tries sauna for 30-days in a row. It sounds...

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 honour to have her as a guest for this episode, as she is the first Finnish celebrity guest on Mastering Finland Podcast! Petra discusses with...

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 the first one, which is also her favourite, Sonata Arctica. Dafne says that this band was one of the reasons she ended up in this country. The...

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 job (listen for the tips), and finally establishing her own business. What led Pukhraj to leave her life-long passion for education to pursue...

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 holiday is dedicated to remembering the ones departed, creepy stories associated with ghosts are quite a common element of Halloween. Join us for...

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. Additionally, she underlines the importance of community building in Finland and how long it takes for a person to adapt to life in a country like...

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, find their pathways, expand their network, and experience happiness within themselves. Listen to this episode and learn more about Ronny's...

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 and what sort of co-signers support them. You will also hear about the panel conversation they held with their co-signers and Migri’s Director...

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 member started in Pakistan in 2004. Because they met and began playing together in Finland, they decided to go with the Finnish spelling of the name....

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 raising multicultural children and how fathers in Finland can come together to support one another.

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 more. What is ASD? ASD is a complex developmental condition that involves challenges in social interaction, speech, nonverbal communication, 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 relationship did not work out, Licia decided to stay in Finland. They enrolled in a full-time Finnish language course and put down roots. Listen to...

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 during his studies and the psychological help he was able to get via his PhD position at the University of Turku. Additionally, we talk about his...

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 partner’s family in Finland. For example, her family’s tradition of spending evenings in front of the TV with takeaway food was replaced with healthy...

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 Eligibility Simple Election Guide Learn More About Finnish Parliament YLE Election Compass in English Election Website of the Ministry of Justice

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 might be reluctant to speak their native languages with their child or expose their children to their native cultures. This could be for many...

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 Karl, an executive consultant and headhunter in Finland. Karl 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, Karl conducts targeted searches for candidates that fit a specialized profile. Although many might imagine that headhunters only seek high-level executives for large companies, Karl works for companies of various sizes looking to fill a...

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: bring a good pair of boots!)

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 his upcoming episodes. Be sure to check out our links below where you can find Matt’s online presence. You will also find a link to the...