Traveling – it was something that he was used to. From exploring the city of Budapest to discovering the culture of Japan, he has become well versed in every place he has been. But one country stands out from all the others. One is a melting pot of cultures, ideologies, race, and religion. This place is unlike any country he has seen. This place is America.
As a Finnish foreign exchange student, Fabian Vanhanen has seen his share of the world. But America was still on his bucket list. So, for his junior year, he would spend the academic year in America, specifically – Stephenville, TX. Since he has flown over, he has noticed some differences in the education systems of both the United States and Finland.
“Finnish education is more like college education with a lot of lectures,” Vanhanen said, “Teachers will talk for about an hour and give out assignments. You are responsible for just about everything which is why I would say the Finnish education system is more advanced than American education.”
Along with the heightened responsibility, Vanhanen stated that stress levels were higher in Finland compared to American education. And while he says the stress is worse, the curriculum in his opinion is superior.
“In Finland you learn more things that you’ll need in life, here you learn things you wont need in your future.”, Vanhanen said, “For example, in math we learn things that will be useful to our future such as how to manage money properly. Mathematics in Finland is more like an economics class.”
Even everyday school life is different in Finland as course loads and general schedules are in the students’ hands to determine.
“In terms of everyday school life, scheduling is constantly changing,” Vanhanen said, “Every month and a half depending on your career interest, you get to create a schedule that will fit your time the best. It is like how college is structured but on a high school level.”
When asked about how American education could improve, Vanhanen provided some opinions on what the system could change and focus on.
“I feel there should be more of a focus on world geography and history, not just an American centric curriculum,” Vanhanen said, “And in English there should be more training on syntax and grammar rather than writing long papers. Also I think that Americans should have the opportunity to learn more languages than just Spanish. In Finland, we can learn languages such as French, Japanese, German, and multiple other ones.”
Along with the education system, Vanhanen has noticed some everyday differences between America and Finland, namely the lack of reliable public transportation and sidewalks.
“In Finland, if we don’t walk we use public transportation since the government funds it really well,” said Vanhanen, “Not very many people own a car since the maintenance cost and gas are extra bills that don’t necessarily make sense unless you live in a rural area.”
Unlike the average student, Vanhanen is a frequent traveler having visited places such as Italy, France, Japan, and America. Culture is one of Vanhanen’s interests as everywhere he goes, he is immersed in their customs and traditions. Even in America he has embraced the culture.
“I like traveling because I have the opportunity to learn about new cultures and explore new places,” said Vanhanen, “Often times I feel like travelers and tourists are labeled as the same thing. That is false. Travelers and tourists are different. Tourists go to places to escape their everyday lives, a traveler makes the effort to embrace the culture and really understand where they are.”
Some things Vanhanen has embraced in American culture and is very fond of are the people and traditions. He admires the freedom we have here that most countries do not have. Along with nature, history, and food, he also likes the people.
“Americans, for the most part, are pretty friendly and outgoing,” said Vanhanen, “In Finland, most people are pretty cold and reserved until you get to know them, then they open up.”
After Vanhanen returns to Finland at the end of the 2023-2024 school year, he plans to finish up his senior year and then try and pursue a career in one of his passions. Vanhanen’s passions are history, architecture, arts, music and even politics.
“Once I graduate, I will enlist in the Finnish Army for one year because of mandatory conscription,” said Vanhanen, “Before that, I hope to travel during the summer. I also hope that I can get into an Italian university for architecture if I go down that career path. If I go down the path of politics, I’ll look more at Finnish universities. But I’m so glad I got to realize my bucket list dream of visiting America before I head off to college and begin my career.”
