Episode 35

In this week’s short and sweet episode, Petra has a chat with Foreigners in Finland contributing writer Mehri. Founded by Mae Lehto, Foreigners in Finland is a local online magazine aimed at foreigners living in Finland. The magazine caters to an international audience and covers topics like lifestyle, food and drink, business, work, study, and traveling.

Foreigners in Finland got its start when founder Mae Lehto noticed that many foreigners living in Finland use English for years before learning Finnish. Moreover, Mae noticed, many existing informational sites published in English focus on politics and public life. As an alternative source focusing on women and family life, Mae Lehto founded Foreigners in Finland.

When she arrived in Finland, Mehri had already been living in the EU for about 20 years. She loves her life in Finland, but acknowledges the difficulty of building a new life in an unfamiliar place. To get involved and give back to foreigners experiencing similar hardship, Mehri joined Foreigners in Finland. Mehri’s responsibilities at the magazine include writing articles on family sustainability, lifestyle, food and drink, and home life.

Looking to the future, Foreigners in Finland hopes to increase collaboration with Finnish companies by helping them build successful advertising campaigns in English and by connecting them with target audiences. This work, Mehri says, will help English-speaking foreigners build community and integrate into Finnish society.

In addition to offering helpful articles and relevant product advertisements, Foreigners in Finland shares stories of others who have successfully established themselves in Finnish society. Mehri believes that connecting with others who are facing similar challenges is extremely important, because it helps members of the foreign community stay positive and find opportunities.

At Mastering Finland, we also believe in the power of collaboration to help others thrive. That is why we have begun collaborating with Foreigners in Finland: from now on, our listeners can find content from Foreigners in Finland linked on our homepage. Be sure to check out the ‘links’ section in this episode for the Foreigners in Finland newsletter and a link to their homepage.

Links:

Foreigners in Finland Homepage (scroll down to subscribe to their newsletter)

Foreigners in Finland December Issue