Hamed
Software Engineer · From Iran · In Finland since 2004
Hamed arrived in Finland from Iran in March 2004, landing in Oulu having not planned to settle there — or anywhere in Finland. For years he resisted the language, treating the country as a temporary stop. The shift came when he accepted Finland as home: he moved to Espoo in 2005, built genuine Finnish friendships, and discovered that expressing emotion in Finnish unlocked a fluency that formal classes had never reached. He now works as a software engineer and looks back on that mindset change as the single most important step in his language journey.
Episode featuring Hamed
010: The Moment I Stopped Resisting: Learning by Lifestyle - Hamed
In this engaging discussion, Hamed, a 43-year-old software engineer originally from Iran, recounts his experiences adapting to life in Finland. Hamed shares his journey of learning Finnish, which was initially challenging due to his temporary mindset and resistance to the language. Eventually, his perspective shifted as he accepted Finland as his new home. Hamed highlights the role of making Finnish friends, listening to music, and immersing himself in Finnish culture as crucial to his language acquisition. He recounts specific experiences, such as working in a multicultural center, participating in language courses, and navigating daily interactions. Notably, he discusses how expressing emotions in Finnish significantly improved his fluency. Hamed emphasizes the importance of mindset, cultural immersion, and having fun in the process of learning a new language. His story provides valuable insights for anyone struggling to learn Finnish or integrate into a new culture.Read More
