24M dual citizen currently finishing my last semester abroad.
Hello,
I am a 24M dual citizen (Finland and Hong Kong) currently finish my last semester abroad. I grew up mostly abroad and don't speak Finnish yet except a few words, though i have been hearing Finnish for most of my life.
Ever since i gotten my call up notice , i have been thinking about it deeply. While i was against it when i was younger , the older i get, the more i think i actually want to experience the army.
I want to learn a lot, and face challenges and use this to anchor my independent life in Europe, finally. Finally, according to the portal, i am called to serve in the urban unit (Santahamina)
However,my family situation is split, and my family abroad is panicking. They are somewhat worrying that serving in the Finnish military will "ruin my life" or blacklist me from ever working in Asia again, saying that private and or public employers will target me or find my records.
They sadly see Finland as an aggressive (like slightly unhinged) country rather than a defensive one. I know some facts and that the EU GDPR law does protect my data (answers were given to me via AI Gemini) but this anxiety coming from them is heavy .
Since i am a student, currently don't have much to my name, don't speak the language yet and the service is still a good half a year away, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by the transition.
I would love to have some info on a few things. If anyone willing to answer and is comfortable to do so.
- For other dual citizen who went to santahamina with little to no Finnish, what was your experience like? how did you handle the language barrier.
- For anyone who went in as a older conscript , how was the age gap? Did you find many other people around your age? or is it mostly 18 to 20 year olds?
- what can i do right now while im still abroad to prepare? is there anything specific i should train on (beside fixing my diet and go for the healthier life style)
Kiitos for any advice given !
Edit : To be clear, when I mentioned "aggressive," I meant it in terms of how the news in Hong Kong frames what has been happening in Europe and the military atmosphere. In A good light tbh but somehow It makes my family overthink things, giving me the worst possible scenarios. I didn’t mean to say that the training and the people themselves are aggressive.
Edit 2: i am certainly not planning to work with the government in Hong Kong in any shapes or form (my studies are not even related to it ) but you guys know how parents can be, overthinking due to this being the unknown for them. There are a tons of WHAT IF thinking .
Final edit: thanks or Kiitos everyone for the insights and support, In the end i have decided to join, i don't know how long i would want but life can be unexpected. If my studies are fine and i am able to graduate. lol. It is still half a year away so there are plenty of time to get every set and ready . Its almost like life it pointing a big arrow towards this experience .