A Life-Changing Internship in Finland Through Erasmus+

My name is Gabriel Ortega, and for the past two months, I have been completing my second-year internship for the Management Assistance Higher Vocational Training at the Villa Elba Youth Center, located in Kokkola, Finland. This has been an incredible opportunity made possible thanks to the Erasmus+ program.

My main motivation for joining the Erasmus+ program and doing an internship abroad was to advance my English skills in a professional environment. I also wanted to develop my career skills in a new country and take on the exciting challenge of adapting to a lifestyle, culture, and social environment completely different from what I knew back home.

Finland offered everything I was looking for in this journey. It is a country where English is deeply rooted in the workplace and fully integrated into daily social life. The people, customs, and community norms are different from what I am used to, which is exactly the kind of enriching experience I wanted to live.

Although my home institution’s placement process focused on choosing the destination country rather than the specific host organization, I couldn’t have been luckier with where I was placed. Since Villa Elba regularly welcomes young people from all over Europe, they made it incredibly easy for me to fit into the team from day one. They ensured I felt comfortable in the workplace and supported me every step of the way.

Kokkola is a small but very welcoming town, and thanks to the wonderful company of my colleagues at Villa Elba, the experience has been dynamic and exciting at all times. If I had to recommend Villa Elba to future students looking to experience Erasmus+, I would do it without a second thought.