Bilingual Upbringing
I was born in Kuopio, Finland and grew up in West-Berlin. Our home was Finnish, we took off our shoes when we got home and after meals we said "kiitos", "Thank you". At home we spoke Finnish, at school and everywhere else I spoke German and when I started to learn English at school, I started to confuse the languages, made mistakes, felt ashamed and at some point stopped speaking Finnish altogether. Today I know that mistakes are nothing to be ashamed of, to the contrary, they are possibilities for learning and growth.
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Multicultural Experience
I know what it means to live in a new country, in a different culture and to learn a foreign language.
Up to now I have lived and worked in five European countries (Germany, Greece, France, UK and Finland) and I speak their languages more or less fluently. I use English, Finnish and German on a daily basis and after all those years my French is rusty and I can still swear in Greek. I consider German my strongest language, but even this needed some brushing up, when I went back to Berlin in 2015 to get my Master's degree. By then I had lived abroad for almost 25 years during which I had mostly spoken English. |
Formal Education later in LifeIf I had to choose a label, I'd say that I am not a fan of labels. I'm a teacher and actor and have worked in many different fields, at different levels, in companies of all sizes. My acting experience started in 1984 in high school and continued in Paris and London, Italy and Helsinki. In 2003 I qualified to teach German as a foreign language to adults. I have taught German and English to groups and individuals, adults and children.
M.A. Adult Education & Lifelong LearningIn 2013 I got a Bachelor's degree in elder care (Geronom) from Arcada, University of Applied Sciences, in Helsinki. I hold a Master's degree in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning (2019) from Humboldt University, Berlin. I learned to learn in my 40s and the theoretical knowledge complements my work and life experience.
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Today I know that mistakes are nothing to be ashamed of, to the contrary, they are possibilities for learning and growth.
Work Experience in the sectors of
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Be true to yourself. Love what you do.
Do what you love. Today.
Do what you love. Today.