My International Week Experience: A Colorful Mix of Cultures, Food, and Fun

Vol 28, Issue 10, 21 November 2025

This week was honestly one of the most exciting weeks I’ve had during my studies in Finland, and I think it was the same for many other students. we had International Week at our university, and it felt more alive than usual on the whole campus. Various activities were arranged every day during the week, from educational workshops and games to food tasting, dancing, and even Christmas-themed crafting. Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to join all of them, but the four events I attended were so fun and memorable that I really wanted to share my experiences with anyone who was not there.

We started International Week on Monday with one of the useful and educational events, the Content Marketing Workshop. The guest speaker was Sylwia Kozakiewicz, CEO of Process, from Poland, who runs her own marketing company at a very young age. She talked about her journey, her business, and gave us several useful tips about the marketing field for those who like to work in this field. I liked how honest and confident she was when she spoke. At the end of the workshop, she gave us a task to record short videos throughout the week and create a final clip summarizing International Week.

Tuesday was the official start of the International Week, which started with a warm welcome to guests and continued with different workshops. On Tuesday, I joined International Games: Song Quiz and Traditional Dances. And honestly, this one was pure fun. We were divided into small groups of three to five people, and the challenge was to guess the country of each song that was played. The host gave us a list of countries, and every time we guessed correctly, we received one point. It was so exciting, but I quickly realized that I’m really not good at guessing songs at all. Still, it was so funny that I didn’t even care about losing. After that, we watched traditional dances from different countries, and then we tried some of them ourselves. We did Finnish, Russian, German, and Sri Lankan dances, and it felt amazing to just move, laugh, and enjoy the moment without overthinking anything.

Wednesday was definitely the highlight of the week for everyone: Food Tasting. It had so much energy, colors, and delicious smells everywhere. Every country presented its dishes or desserts from its culture. I also presented an Iranian dish, which was actually my first time participating in such an event. At first, I was a bit nervous, but everyone was so kind and curious that it quickly turned into a great experience. I enjoyed watching people try Iranian food for the first time and share their opinions. One of the international visitors told us, “I could join an event like this every week,” and honestly, I agree! It was such a perfect way to experience different cultures through food.

On Thursday, I joined Gingerbread House Board Making, a super cute and cozy event where we decorated Christmas-style biscuit houses. It was honestly the perfect break in the middle of all the stress from final projects and deadlines. While decorating, I talked with a few people who were also participating, and everyone seemed so relaxed and happy. It reminded me how important moments like this are, especially during a busy semester.

Something that made the whole week even more special was the presence of international visitors from different countries. They joined many of the events, and it was clear how much they enjoyed everything, especially the traditional dances and the food tasting. They were also surprisingly good at the song quiz and even won the game!

When I look back at this week, it wasn’t just about attending events. It was about meeting new people, learning about different cultures, tasting new foods, dancing freely without caring how it looked, and simply enjoying the present moment. I also made new international friends, and that’s honestly the best part.

If you didn’t join International Week this year, I really recommend planning for it next year. I’m sure everyone who participated had a great time, and I’m already excited to experience even more next year.