My social work exchange period in Ljubljana start to be in its halfway point. I have 5 courses in the university which includes a lot of social sciences and a practicum (internship) which I do 4 hours a week. Practicum takes place in a mental health organization where I go every other week to a daily center and every other to a housing programme. This has been a perfect opportunity to meet locals and really get a different view in Slovenian culture and people. I will also host a creative art based group for other Erasmus students in our faculty. On this topic there was also a finnish group that came here to Slovenia to participate in another social work impro theater group so I was included to their schedule.
I have had a lot of spare time here in Ljubljana which I have used in many ways. I have been meeting up with many different new people from school and just from total strangers. Also I have witnessed wany breathtaking nature sights including mountains, hills, rivers, caves, rivers inside caves, waterfalls, seaside and many more. I have also a hobby of writing rhymes and lyrics which has been very active while being here. I have also been going to many cultural events from documentary premieres to communal cooking gatherings all the way to a rugby match.. Also all music events I have been in have been super good.
The working environment and standards do not differ that much from Finland. Ofcourse as a Erasmus student I’m not asked to do as much school work as the local students are, but this is fully understood from the side of how demanding in many different ways it is to be a visiting foreigner. Also the study of social work is not that different from what we are tought in TAMK. Mostly the language difference is a thing that little bit changes different topics view points, but still would say the content is the same.
From practical work side there are few differenses in the way for example how supported housing is arranged, but the methods and the view of how the work should be done is basicly the same. Peoples mindset towards most things is very similar to Finland which is very interesting.
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