Meet Tomaz Lampret

Waking up one Monday morning in a new country, a new city and walking for the first time to Bonnier Publications Oy in Finland where Tomaz Lampret didn't know anybody was a big step. "Taking a deep breath and the first smile from a new coworker definitely helped," says Lampret, who is in Helsinki for three months under the GROW program. Normally he works at business daily Finance in Slovenia. "Before I came here I heard a few comments how Finns are quite reserved or even cold in personal relations," he says. "My experience is the total opposite one here in Helsinki. I encountered only very open, relaxed and easygoing people."

At Bonnier Publications, Lampret is working in marketing as an event coordinator for the lifestyle magazines Olivia, Divaani and Evita, in contrast to Finance, where he is a brand manager. "Working with women's magazines means working with a clearly selected target group, with which I never worked before, so it represents a big challenge and a great learning experience for me," he says.

Lampret says his favorite thing about the exchange is getting to see how things are done in another place - in his case, events. "I enjoy watching the passion and creativity that events are made with here," he says. "People at work are extremely helpful in any way they can. An extra plus and another great aspect of the exchange is of course the opportunity to live in an amazing city like Helsinki."

There are some downsides however, chief among them difficulties with the Finnish language. People speak English, so it's not communication that's been a problem. "The first few weeks I had some difficulties shopping in grocery stores," says Lampret. "Whenever I am abroad I like to buy locally produced food, but all Finnish brands use only Nordic languages and signs on packages. It was quite funny to spend twice as much time as usual in a store just to buy the things I needed in the beginning!"

But initial problems with food shopping aside, the experience has been overwhelmingly positive, Lampret says. "The thing I strongly believed in even before I came to Finland was a positive attitude and thinking," he says. "Here, at least at Bonnier Publications, it is obvious that this is the company's direction. I love the attitude people and my co-workers have. It seems like nothing is impossible and everybody is trying really hard to do what they are supposed to do."