My name is Rosinka and I’m an exchange student for a semester here at Willamette.I’m half Finnish, half Russian. I grew up moving from place to place – sometimes from country to country. I love traveling and exploring new cultures: meeting the people, hearing their language and eating their food. I put the emphasis on the food because it’s a wonderful cross-cultural icebreaker as well as one of my favorite hobbies.

I’m half Finnish, half Russian, almost trilingual, and I grew up moving from place to place – sometimes from country to country. Because of my multicultural background, I feel most at home in an international setting. I love traveling and exploring new cultures: meeting the people, hearing their language and eating their food. I put the emphasis on the food because it’s a wonderful cross-cultural icebreaker as well as one of my favorite hobbies.

Cross-cultural encounters – that’s my area of expertise. Back in Finland (my current home) I am studying for a degree in Literature, Cultural Studies and foreign languages; one of them being Japanese. I feel really privileged to have met some of the ASP (American Studies Program) students. I am a huge fan of Japanese culture and of Asian cultures in general. So if you have a secret passion towards J-pop, K-drama, Taiwanese light-novels, Chinese fusion music or Bollywood – come and find me!

Fun facts:
-I’ve lived in West-Siberia. (No, we do not have mammoths. No polar bears either.)
-Finland is geographically the same size as Germany yet has the population of St. Petersburg.
-After coming here I decided to learn the phrase “hi, how are you” in as many languages as possible; currently going on 5!

Traffic jam Russian style. Just so you know, this photo has been
taken on a big highway in the middle of nowhere.

Spring in Finland