Study Abroad and Domestic Study Away

If I had to describe my study abroad experience in Finland it would fit in three words: learning about myself. The whole time in Abo I felt like I got all the time in this world to experience everything that surrounds me and get a deeper connection with who I am on both physical and mental level. Their pure connection with nature and the pace at what they live was such a shocking aspect to me. Everything else but their own good was a secondary matter. This made me engage into Sunday service at the local catholic church where I learned a lot about spirituality and rightfulness. I am beyond grateful to be able to learn from such amazing people that I met there.

Also, I learned a lot through courses I took there that are not available at Lake Forest College or at least not available in that exact form and experience. The two most memorable courses for me were oceanography and microscopy courses. Through the oceanography course I learned how much I love to read about the ocean, maritime practices, underwater world, islands and geology. This course absolutely helped me expand my knowledge on what I plan to work on in future, and I will most definitely use the course book as a reference to many of my future creations.

I was surprised to learn that Stefan Hell, a Noble Prize Winner from 2014, used to live in the village where I lived in Turku, and he also worked on his research on the fifth floor of the building where I used to have my microscopy and bioimaging class. The whole city of Turku is dedicated to the work of microscopy and invention of the most recent technology to improve the quality of bioimaging practices. It was my pleasure to be mentored by such an inspiring group of professors that directed me through the learning process of how to work on compound, fluorescent and confocal microscopes.   

Visiting Turku Cathedral:

Port of Helsinki: