American high school student who might study abroad for a year in Finland. What should I expect?
Hi there, I'm a sophomore in high school (10th grade, 15 years old) in Texas and the program for studying abroad im entering has Finland as one of the many options, so thought id ask a few questions. First, are high schools there of good quality? Like if anyone here knows, how do they differ from the typical American high school? Is learning Finnish a must if I enter this? I wouldn't mind learning, I know three languages already. Is Finland a safe place? Is it more conservative or liberal than the US? Is it religious? I'm a liberal atheist so just wondering what kind of environment I'd be getting into. I'm of Vietnamese descent, would that cause any issues like weird stares or such? Is there anti-americanism there, like would I get into trouble for being American? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to evaluate and make an informed decision. Thx a bunch
Posted Sep 29, 2026, 2:17 AM UTC