A friendly smile, a firm handshake. These are the first things to notice when Teifion Powell introduces himself. His Welsh first name gives a hint of where he is from.

– I may be the only Teifion in Finland,” he laughs.

Teifion has lived in Finland for seven years. He moved to Finland and Rovaniemi after Brexit, encouraged by a Finnish girlfriend at the time.

– I was not in favour of Brexit. The European Union is not perfect, but I like it’s idea. In Rovaniemi, I studied media education at the University of Lapland.

After breaking up with his girlfriend, Teifion had to rethink why he was in Finland.

– I thought about the forest, nature and lakes and realised I loved Finland. It’s important to look around, get to know the culture, people and history of the country and really think about why I’m here,” he says.

Making things happen together here

Finland is, of course, a very different country compared to the UK, with a population of many different cultures. Finland has a more cohesive population and life is more peaceful than in Britain, where everyone seems to be in a hurry of getting somewhere.

– Finnish society and politics are based on doing things together. People talk or do not talk, but they do it together.

Finns are stereotyped as quiet and difficult to approach, but Teifion thinks that is only the first impression. Underneath the cool cover, there are warm people who respect each other and want to make sure that those close to them are doing well.

Cupid of Friendship connects people and cultures

Teifion was brought to Kuopio by an internship, as he is currently learning more Finnish at Arffman. His Finnish sounds already good to the native’s ears but he wants to learn more.

– My goal is to reach B2 language level. The hardest thing about Finnish is that you have to change your whole way of thinking to a different position compared to when speaking English.

He thinks it is very important to develop linguistic skills.

– You can live in Finland even if you don’t speak Finnish. But if you want to create a life here, you must know the language.

Teifion does his work placements for Talent Hub and Opiskelijakunta Savotta. He has previous working experience in higher education, as well as sociological and marketing skills, so he will be able to use his broad knowledge in many ways. Talent Hub Eastern Finland is a network of cooperation between the University of Eastern Finland, Karelia, Savonia, Riveria, Sakky and YSAO, which aims to help international students find their place, employment and integrate into Eastern Finland.

– I am involved in many different projects and build bridges between different bubbles. I am the Cupid of friendship, connecting people! In the Student Union, I try to find ways to connect international and Finnish students, to help in cultural clashes and to help solve problems. Having come to Finland from elsewhere myself, I understand well the cultural and psychological challenges international students may face. Moving to a new country is always a challenge.

At the time of the interview, Teifion has only spent a few weeks in Kuopio and Savonia, but his first impressions are positive. Savonia has an open culture and everything seems to work well. He thinks Kuopio is a very different city from Rovaniemi: the centre of Rovaniemi is spread over a wide area. Kuopio’s centre is more compact and public transport works better.

-Well, I do miss Santa Claus a bit,” says Teifion Powell with a laugh.