Can somebody, please, correct my text about my interest for a Scandinavian country

Hi!

I wrote a text about Finland and my interest for it.
Can somebody correct the grammar, please?! I gotta send it really soon...
Thanks!

Once, I heard a dear professor saying: “If you really want to know about something, read about it. But if you want to feel something, just run after it”.



It has been some months I developed a huge interest for the Scandinavian countries. In 2008, I spent six months in Portugal and lived near a Finnish girl from Helsink. We interchanged a great amount of information about our hometowns and it didn’t take long to find myself curious and fascinated for the Suomi traditions and stories. Through texts and conversations, I discovered a country with a high Human Development Index and a strong and growing technologic development.

These features would be enough already to make me feel interested in being part of the ‘Foreign Correspondent’ Programme’ and improving my professional abilities. But after reading a lot about the Finnish politic and the peculiar elements of the Finnish society, the willingness to be part of this group – learning more about the History and society of Finland – increased significantly. Without mentioning the ex-president Martti Ahtisaari, who recently received the Nobel Prize for efforts to resolve international conflicts over decades and now is an established example of persistence in troubled areas and use of intelligence for peaceful purposes.

One of the things I consider really fundamental in the professionalization and education process in general is the offer of scholarships for students and researchers. The generated motivation and the knowledge bring results medium and long term. And, undoubtedly, this is a relevant aspect to comprehend the paper of Finland in the actual international scenario and the low level of corruption, that gave the country the first place in the ranking of the non-governmental organization Transparency International. The corruption, by the way, is as known problem of Brazil and a strong barrier for its development. Unfortunately, the statistics show that it has not been changing with the passing of the years, which means we – as people – do still have a lot to learn. With my firm academic background and track record of work experience, I am sure this period in Finland would benefit my critical sense and help me developing works inside and outside Brazil.

Inch by inch, I got in contact with some nice texts about Finnish natural beauties, and come across with images of the thousands of islands and rivers and cross the country. It’s amazing how much about geography it’s possible to learn when we face an environment so different from what you are used to see and admire. And it’s amazing to see that we can produce lots of things if we just open our eyes to other cultures, other ways of life, others paces of life…

As a journalist, I learned to pay attention on everything that is around me, because each thing, each happening – suddenly or not – can be a material for papers, essays (like this one), articles, monographs or even documentaries. And I do not want to lose the chance to know more about the ‘mysterious’ Finnish lands and outdoors, the super curious Finnish language, the peculiar Finnish music festivals and the way people live their routines and manage their rights and obligations.

As a matter of fact, I have always kept in mind the importance of an efficient education, for only with an educated and instructed people it's possible to think about a future with less social injustice, with more tolerance and opportunities. Thereby, the possibility of being part of a program in the country with the best educational system of Europe would be an amazing raise to my formation. As a journalist and – most of all – as a conscious citizen.