About Us
Here at Culture Guide our mission is to provide access to knowledge so you have the confidence to adapt to a new environment.
We believe that people need a place where they can ask questions and be heard and where people can learn from the experience of others.
Maeve
Hello, my name is Maeve and I am a native of Northwest Indiana, USA. My husband and I recently transplanted to West Central Indiana. I am a mother to two adorable young humans and a wife to a wonderfully supportive husband. I am currently working towards a Masters of Library and Information Science at Indiana University Indianapolis while managing a children's library.
I discovered webprogramming during my first year in the program and realized that, while it is a challenge for me, I really enjoy it. I am familiar with PHP, HTML, and CSS languages.
I often daydream about traveling and fluently speaking foreign languages. Reading, nature, the arts, and learning are just a few of the things that I enjoy. Even though I have never lived outside of the USA or even outside of my homestate, I still experienced culture shock when I moved south. I hope my experience can help you on your journey.
Amaru
My name is Amaru. I am 24 years old, born and raised in Chile. I moved to Finland in 2020 to serve in the Finnish army. After completing my military service, I started my studies in Software engineering at Haaga-Helia in January 2021. My first experience with programming languages was at 13 years old; I started to learn C and java but ended up training to build a network and playing with my friends in LAN that we created ourselves. I have always been exposed to a multicultural environment since I grew up with a Finnish mother and a Chilean father. Having moved to Finland from the other side of the world, I know what it’s like to feel homesick and experience a culture shock. Therefore, let’s discover how we can overcome these obstacles and grow stronger together!
Shannon
Hello! I’m Shannon, a 26-year-old soon-to-be programmer originally from Cape Town, South Africa. Currently living in Helsinki, Finland with my husband and two dogs. I love reading fantasy books, hiking, and exploring the nature around Helsinki with my little family.
My main areas of programming experience are in CSS, HTML:5 and JavaScript – but I dabble in other languages like Python and R. I’m currently studying Business Information Technology at Haaga-Helia university in Helsinki and hope to become a full-stack developer sooner rather than later!
I hope my entries about South Africa and Helsinki are helpful to you, I included everything I wished I had known when moving to Finland. Happy travels and don’t forget to send in your stories – we look forward to hearing from you!
Joseph
Hey there, I'm Joseph! I'm an Information Science student at the University of Indiana, Bloomington. I mostly enjoy bicycling, coding, and annoying cats (albeit unintentionally). In addition to a short stint as a Systems Administrator I have been a teacher and (briefly) an international traveler to South Korea. If questioned persistently enough I might reveal an interest in literature and an absolutely abysmal command of the French language.