Sarah oli vaihdossa Seinäjoen kaupunginkirjastossa kuukauden. Alla hän kertoo työskentelystä ulkomailla.
A little bit about me
Hei everyone! My name is Sarah, I am 21 years old, and I was raised in Vienna, Austria. I’m in my final year of my apprenticeship to be a bookseller. I work at Thalia, the largest chain of bookstores in the German-speaking area. As of right now, I’m an intern in the Seinäjoki library in Finland.
Picking Seinäjoki
You’re probably wondering how I ended up here. Well, growing up bilingual, the two languages being Serbian and German, I’ve always been interested in other languages and cultures, so I always knew that I wanted to do some learning abroad. Due to the pandemic, studying internationally wasn’t an option, so when I found out that I could take my apprenticeship across the borders of Austria, I knew I had to take this chance. My colleague and I have heard nothing but good things about the book industry in Nordic countries, so we both picked Seinäjoki.
Working in a foreign country
My colleague goes into detail of the book industry’s differences in her blog post, but I want to focus on the experience of working in the Seinäjoki library and the reasons you should take the opportunities that are presented to you.
At first, the thought of working in a country where you don’t speak the language may sound absolutely terrifying. Did you know that one of the most difficult languages to learn is Finnish? How intimidating! However, you’ll want to stay here after you get to know Finland and the Finns. My time spent working at the library in Seinäjoki will always hold a special place in my heart. The locals are really friendly and accommodating. My worries vanished completely when we were welcomed with such warmth. Aside from that, one of my favorite things is all around me: books. You might be wondering how they still play a big role to my comfort here currently, given my inability to read them, since they’re mostly written in Finnish.
The power of books
A story doesn’t start on the first page. It starts the second you stand in front of a bookshelf browsing through the many books. Seeing the covers, reading the backs, and picking the one that speaks to you the most. You don’t need words to share this experience with others. It’s a mutual feeling. While the library has so much more to offer than “just” books, the reason why people connect and hang out here is because we’ve all got one thing in common that connects us. Words printed on paper.
Taking chances
I remember falling in love with books as a kid and I never would have imagined that they would take me so far. I would have never seen the beautiful woods or sunsets Seinajoki has to offer. Every time I pass the Kyrönjoki River on the way to work, I feel super grateful for this opportunity. The river in Seinäjoki is my reminder to let fear go, let this be yours.