I'm a 17 year old student who has something of a complicated life. I was born in Paris by my Finnish mother and my American father. I was spoken to in English, French, Finnish, and Swedish as a child. I lived briefly in Finland, but then moved to the United States, where I lived in New York, Atlanta, and now in San Diego.
Unfortunately I forgot almost all my Finnish due to the stresses of having to change places so often. But, I still feel strongly connected to Finland and my family there. Due to being an expatriate Finn, I am not required to serve in the military, but I decided to volunteer and requested the papers. Now, I have a few questions.
1) I have choice of serving in the Helsinki Military District or the Kymi Military District. My family lives in Kotka, which is in the Kymi District. But, I think I may have an easier time in Helsinki, which will be a little more cosmopolitan and multi-cultural to a degree - what do you think?
2) Can someone tell me how the military service is? I understand I choose a branch to serve in, and I do basic training, but what then? I would like more information.
3) Can I survive knowing no/little Finnish? I'm trying my best to relearn it, and plan to go to Finland this summer, and the summer after I graduate high school to learn and get familiar with my country before entering service. (I've been to Finland plenty of times as well).
I have never felt like I've had a place to call home in my life, since I have moved around so much. I've always felt like an outsider, but I feel that Finland is a place what I can call my home, where I can be apart of a family, of a culture, of a people, and of a nation.
So don't hold your breath, once you're here, at some stage you might miss ''home''. When/if it happens, just say to yourself you're a citizen of the world 
