Answers Part 2

Education

In what language do you study?

English.

What is the name of your school?

IED = Instituto Europeo di Design/International School of Design

What do you study?

I study fashion marketing and communication.

How was the process to get in to your school?

Fill in a form from their website (http://www.iedbarcelona.es/en/), discuss about some small details by email with a professor and schedule a phone interview. I also had to write a motivation letter where I explained why I wanted to apply to IED, what had I studied before, had I worked in the industry etc.

A couple of weeks after the phone interview I received a letter that I got accepted.

Was it hard to get in?

In my case it wasn't.

When and with what degree will you graduate?

I'm doing a bachelor so I will end up being a Bachelor of Arts.

When you graduate, will you move back to Finland?

Only if I truly must, but I hope not.

Did you ever go to college?

Yes. I actually did double studies so I'm an undergraduate and a media-assistant.

What subjects did you write?

Psychology, English, Swedish and my mother language (Finnish).

Do you get student support money?

Yes.

Did you immediately move to Spain or did you have any gap years?

After graduating at the age of 18, I moved to Helsinki and started working in a supermarket. After I met my boyfriend, we moved to Australia for nine months. I worked in a store called City Beach, which sells different surf brands clothing. I also did a short course of sewing and fashion marketing while I was there.

After the nine months we came back to Helsinki and I immediately started working in a clothing store and ended up staying there for over a year. So I spent three gap years before starting my studies here in Barcelona.

What is your dream job?

Ugh..this is a tough one. I'm basically trying to figure it out before I graduate..but working for myself has been a dream for a long time.

Personal

What do you think is the life's purpose?

Stop seeking for things and rather experience them.

What do you want from life?

Pretty basic stuff I would say. Among those I would want to express myself somehow in the creative industry of fashion.

Things you want to do or achieve before death?

There are so many things to do I cannot even list them here.. but some of them are of course traveling, helping someone or some community somehow, taking my family to a warm place for a vacation, getting children, ...

The best moments in your life so far?

Surfing on sunset in Australia was pretty magical.

What do you do when you are all alone?

Read books, read blogs, do facial treatments, dye my nails.. sometimes dance and talk to myself too of course haha.

Which one do you prefer, Finnish or foreign music?

I mostly can't stand Finnish music at all.

Do you have any pets?

No :(

If not, would you like to have one and which?

Yes! I would love to have a dog.

If the world was listening to you now, what would you say to it?

The world? :D Who is the world? You mean the universe? I would probably ask for guidance or something.

Where would you be in ten years if you lived your dream?

Ugh... probably in Australia, all my family and best friends living there as well, having my own company and living by the ocean.

The best dream you have ever had?

Can't really think of the best one, but the times I see dreams where I fly are amazing..

Name three things that are really good in your life at the moment.

My relationship, the fact that I'm learning to speak the 4th language and generally the possibility to be able to do and study what I truly want.

What is your favorite movie?

This is a hard question, because I never remember to mention all of my favorite movies..but some of them are; Thelma & Louise, The Notebook (of course), Factory Girl, Detachment, Fire Walk with Me... 

Do you have a high pain threshold? I mean when you are taking tattoos for example.

I don't think I have a super high pain threshold, but not super low either. I grew up with my little sister who is only one year younger than me and we used to pull each other hair and shit like that pretty often, haha. So I would not say I'm super sensitive either.

New York, Paris or London?

London! Or NYC.

What are all the places you have traveled to?

I have not traveled so much so I still have a lot to see, but I have been to Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Germany, UK, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Australia, Portugal, and now Spain.

I have lived in Sweden for a couple of months when I was 16, and in Australia for nine months in 2009-2010.

What are the best things about living in Barcelona?

Coffee culture, which does not exist in Finland, late dining, lively people, random fiestas, beautiful Spanish people, the beach, summer, vintage stores, small streets, Pakistan stores, fresh fruit&veggie stores, public transportation, multicultural environment and the parties of course.

Were there any things shocking in the culture at first?

The lack of development in several areas, such as technology, paper handling etc. Everything is so difficult.. I also thought that people would speak more English.. but it's pretty rare. At first I didn't know what to buy from the grocery shops, the supply is so poor to what I was used to. Also the fact that there is no opening hours anywhere and people and teachers come late for meetings.. You really learn to stretch your nerves here ;)

Style

What other ways do you use for self expression than dressing? Like for example sketching or sewing your own clothes?

Well, I do express myself through tattoos as well. But really the main way of expressing is by clothing.

What kind of reactions does your style evoke in others? Do you get any comments from the older people or do you smoothly fit into the crowd?

People do sometimes look at me from head to toe for the whole metro ride, but I really don't mind. I've got some nice and bad sights. Usually the women are the ones who look at you quite rudely, but men seem to be being more curious, haha. I cannot say that I fit to the average Spanish way of dressing at all, so in that sense I obviously do stand out somehow I guess.