”We had a great time in Finland” - The Taylor family from Australia recommends GMCFinland

Damien with his family in Rauma.

🇦🇺 Damien Taylor, TT-Line’s Chief Engineer in Rauma, arrived to Finland in February 2023. His first impression was unforgettable.

- The temperature difference was almost 50 degrees as I flew from the Australian summer to the Finnish winter. Here it was about 10 degrees below zero and snow on the ground. You never get that in my home region.

But Damien doesn't complain about Finnish weather. On the contrary.

- I will miss the change of seasons. The weather doesn't change much in Australia. It's just hot and not so hot.

Damien brought his family to Finland, including wife Jasmine, daughter Ellie and sons Jack and Dylan. Family returned to Australia at the turn of the year. Damien stayed in Rauma until the second ship, Spirit of Tasmania V, was delivered in June.

- My wife and children made good friends in Finland. We had a great time and our children loved the Finnish school. We will definitely come back to see our new friends, Damien promises.

GMCFinland was a huge help to the family. Especially when they settled in Pori, where the children were able to attend English classes.

- I don't know how we would have managed without GMC. In Rauma, I have been able to concentrate on my busy project at the shipyard and trust that the family is doing well. I've known that my wife could call Jenny directly. And she did! When you live in a foreign country, all sorts of everyday issues come up.

🇫🇮 The surprises they have experienced in Finland are almost all positive. For example, when Damien took his son to school for the first time, the teacher told him that in Finland children walk to school by themselves. Damien remembers wondering if that was even legal.

- It's great that school is teaching children to take responsibility for themselves. And it's great that in Finland children can walk to school safely.

Another pleasant surprise was the school lunch. The Taylors are used to packing their children's lunch for school.

- Finland provides a healthy and tasty lunch for schoolchildren. And for free!

The family has had mixed feelings about the end of their Finnish assignment.

- We were sad to leave but home is home. We will never forget Finland. I'm going to build a sauna in our home. My son already made a ladle at school.

Damien encourages other expats to take their families with them on a working assignment abroad

🧩 GMCFinland also handled the departure process (Exit Finland).

- I'm grateful for that, because a big project keeps me busy until the end, says Damien.

He would also like to pass on his thanks to RMC.

- The Finns are fantastic. They are easy to work with. There have been many challenges along the way, but everything has been solved together without any arguments. I'm excited to be taking our fine new ships to Tasmania. I can imagine walking around the ship in ten years' time and remembering which people did which things on the great ships, says Damien.