Finland has been my most recent home. I have been living here since August 2007.

I first visited Finland in spring of 1999. Then I travelled from St. Petersburg to Helsinki by bus, after which I took a ferry to Sweden. The trip across Finland lasted only a few hours, and almost all I remember were snow-clad fields and forests.

In summer of 2005, I came to Finland from Canada and stayed one month in Tampere. This visit was a decisive one. I got interested in this country, its heroic history, rich culture, carefully preserved nature, unusual language..., so I decided to come again.

In 2007 I was admitted for a Master's programme at the University of Tampere. However, I soon found that that programme was not suitable for me. In the past months I have been learning Finnish, looking for a job and for another study programme.