There will be a new ser­vi­ce in the 2015 Sum­mer Ser­vi­ces: Fin­nish com­pa­ni­ons will be pro­vi­ded for in­ter­na­ti­o­nal ser­vi­ce gu­ests. Vo­lun­teers are now being rec­rui­ted. Would you or yo­ur fa­mi­ly like to spend an hour or two with a per­son who has come to the ser­vi­ces from far away?

You can meet yo­ur gu­est at the In­ter­na­ti­o­nal Vi­si­tor Ser­vi­ce booth or anyw­he­re at the ser­vi­ce site.

– You don’t need to have good lan­gu­a­ge skil­ls as long as you are hap­py to vi­sit with a per­son who co­mes from a dif­fe­rent cul­tu­re. It would be enough to have the per­son spend some time with yo­ur fa­mi­ly or friends, says An­ja Kar­vo­nen-Käl­kä­jä from In­ter­na­ti­o­nal Vi­si­tor Ser­vi­ce.

Joy from fel­lows­hip

The idea to pro­vi­de such ser­vi­ce was star­ted off by the wish that no-one would feel lo­ne­so­me or an out­si­der at the Sum­mer Ser­vi­ces.

– It is not nice to spend three days at the ser­vi­ces all by yo­ur­self wit­hout any­bo­dy sa­ying anyt­hing to you. The pur­po­se of this com­pa­ni­on ser­vi­ce is to give eve­ry­bo­dy a fee­ling that it is good to be at the Sum­mer Ser­vi­ces. I be­lie­ve the con­tacts will give joy both to the Fin­nish vo­lun­teers and to their new fo­reign friends. Just stop wor­rying about tri­vi­al obs­tac­les like lan­gu­a­ge skil­ls or the mess in yo­ur ca­ra­van, she says.

Ai­ming at ac­ti­ve in­te­rac­ti­on

Non-Fin­nish Sum­mer Ser­vi­ce gu­ests are as­sis­ted by In­ter­na­ti­o­nal Vi­si­tor Ser­vi­ce. Pe­op­le from 32 dif­fe­rent na­ti­o­na­li­ties were ser­ved at Py­hä­jo­ki, while at Pu­das­jär­vi there were vi­si­tors from 36 count­ries.

– Up till now In­ter­na­ti­o­nal Vi­si­tor Ser­vi­ce has been res­pon­sib­le for a va­rie­ty of prac­ti­cal ar­ran­ge­ments, such as he­adp­ho­nes and food cou­pons, but there should be more op­por­tu­ni­ties for per­so­nal con­tacts and dis­cus­si­on. I be­lie­ve the new com­pa­ni­on ser­vi­ce will en­cou­ra­ge in­te­rac­ti­on bet­ween Fin­ns and in­ter­na­ti­o­nal gu­ests, Kar­vo­nen-Käl­kä­jä says.

Wel­co­me to In­ter­na­ti­o­nal Vi­si­tor Ser­vi­ce!

She al­so says that all pe­op­le are wel­co­me to vi­sit the In­ter­na­ti­o­nal Vi­si­tor Ser­vi­ce booth.

– We would be hap­py al­so to meet non-Fin­nish pe­op­le who live in Fin­land as well as Fin­nish ser­vi­ce gu­ests. I would like to en­cou­ra­ge all of you to find out about this ac­ti­vi­ty and to meet in­ter­na­ti­o­nal friends.

Kar­vo­nen-Käl­kä­jä furt­her says that help with fo­reign lan­gu­a­ges will be avai­lab­le at the Vi­si­tor Ser­vi­ce for those who need it. In­ter­na­ti­o­nal ser­vi­ce gu­ests will be ser­ved in eight lan­gu­a­ges.

If you want to vo­lun­teer as a ser­vi­ce com­pa­ni­on for an in­ter­na­ti­o­nal or im­mig­rant ser­vi­ce gu­est, kind­ly con­tact An­ja Kar­vo­nen-Käl­kä­jä (an­ja.kar­vo­nen@pro­lex.fi) or Sir­pa or Jou­ko Koi­vu­ran­ta (sir­pa.koi­vu­ran­ta@gmail.com or jou­ko­koi­vu­ran­ta7@gmail.com). Sir­pa and Jou­ko Koi­vu­ran­ta are res­pon­sib­le for In­ter­na­ti­o­nal Vi­si­tor Ser­vi­ce in the 2015 Sum­mer Ser­vi­ces. You are al­so warm­ly wel­co­me to come and find out more about In­ter­na­ti­o­nal Vi­si­tor Ser­vi­ce at the ser­vi­ce site.

Trans­la­ti­on: Sirk­ka-Lii­sa Lei­no­nen

Photo: Rami Lie­hu