S'porean woman, 45, worked in Finnish sausage factory, Georgian school, & appeared in a Chinese drama: 'You have to take a step out of your comfort zone'

At 30, Singaporean Mariana Ahmad was struck by a serious case of wanderlust.

She had a successful career working in the media industry, having worked as a producer and director at Mediacorp and in the film classification department at the then-Media Development Authority (MDA).

But she quit her job and set out to travel the world.

Her journey didn’t start smoothly.

After an unsuccessful attempt to enter the United Kingdom, where she was turned back due to visa issues, Mariana spent about six months in Spain, France, and Ireland.

There, she worked on various farms and took on odd jobs in exchange for food and accommodation.

But rather than satiate her thirst for adventure, those experiences only deepened it.

She next moved to Georgia, a country at the intersection of Europe and Asia.

Life there was a stark contrast to the comforts of first-world Singapore, where everything was convenient and easily accessible.

In Georgia, she volunteered as an English teacher and experienced firsthand the absence of things often taken for granted back home. Running water, clean toilets, and reliable electricity.

After about a year, Mariana relocated to Istanbul, Turkey, where she spent six years teaching English.

She then met her Finnish husband and decided, once again, to move to a foreign country and start life anew.

It’s a story that’s both uncommon and yet somehow typical — a Singaporean craving a new experience and relishing in the wonders of it despite the difficulties.

Yet, Mariana isn't here to spin any fairytales. She isn't afraid to share that she struggled and continues to struggle after seven years in Finland.

Living in the happiest country in the world

Mariana has lived in Finland for nearly as long as it has held the title of the “happiest country in the world” in the World Happiness Report.

Yet, happiness is not always a given.

Of course, she was happy, a newly married bride looking for a new adventure with the love of her life.

But real life eventually catches up, and what ensued was years of preparation to enter the Finnish working society and carve her own path.

Speaking to me via video call from her home in Helsinki, Mariana shared that she had to go through an "integration programme" in her first year in Finland.

She was taught Finnish and received an allowance while she completed the programme.

Covid-19 unfortunately extended her programme to around two years, but she eventually got an internship working for a non-governmental organisation (NGO) dealing with overseas adoption.

Tapping on her media background, she helped create video materials for their website.

After this stint, however, she could only find odd jobs, such as factory work and the service industry.

Working odd jobs

The first job Mariana found was at a sausage factory, vastly different from what she imagined she would be doing.

"I had to make sausages by hand, it was really gross," she laughed, recalling the experience.

Though far from glamorous, the job gave her something to do, something she needed badly as someone who "can't stand not doing anything".

But the challenges didn’t end with the nature of the work.

At the factory, she faced “nasty” treatment from her supervisors who, ironically, were also immigrants.

The toxic environment eventually drove her to quit after four months.

From there, she bounced through various jobs, such as waitressing at restaurants, sorting parcels at the post office, packing food at production factories.

She took whatever work she could find while never stopping her job search.

"I was always looking for the next thing," she said.

Background acting for Chinese drama

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A post shared by Mariana Ahmad (@marianatravels)

One odd job Mariana did that remains a fond memory was doing some background acting work for Chinese drama "Amidst a Snowstorm of Love".

The drama, starring actors Leo Wu and Zhao Jinmai, filmed part of their show in Helsinki.

Since she speaks Chinese, Mariana was also able to help out with translation for the local crew.

Working as an extra on such shows was an opportunity for her to earn some money and also explore parts of Helsinki she never knew existed.

And compared to her experience in Singapore’s media scene, she laughed, “The welfare for extras here is very good.”

Big break

Mariana finally had her big break in 2023 when she landed a job as a production coordinator at an animation production studio.

She worked on two animated feature-length films, a third instalment of a popular Nordic Christmas film "Niko", and another animation called "Fleak".

Having no experience in animation, she said it was a "different ball game".

But learning curve aside, she was relieved and elated to finally get a stable "office job".

During her years in Finland, she constantly felt frustrated and doubted her self-worth, she said.

While she had already accepted that there was no career progression for her, she had hoped to find something permanent to do with her time.

The 13-month contract with the studio was a fun and good time, Mariana said. Eventually, though, she realised the job didn't suit her, and in fact, didn't need her.

After the projects they worked on ended, there weren't any new ones left for her to work on.

And so, she left, once again looking for the next thing.

Back to studies

During her stint at the production studio, Mariana had been accepted by the University of Helsinki to pursue a

Master’s Programme in Intercultural Encounters.

She was attending online classes and working at the same time.

After she left the job, she decided to commence her studies full-time.

Thankfully, as a resident with a valid permit in Finland, her tuition fees were waived, and she gets a monthly stipend to help with her expenses.

She jokingly explained that she chose the programme to "learn more about how to make your life easier" as an immigrant.

There was a sliver of truth to this statement.

After living her last 15 years as an immigrant, a new passion took root in her.

When she looked for university research traineeships, she applied for one that was doing research on migrants in the country.

For her research, she speaks with many other migrants, from Filipino nurses to Russian construction workers.

As someone who has also moved abroad herself, she can empathise better with them, she noted.

"Not all immigrants are made the same. Some people have no education. Some came here as refugees or asylum seekers, you know? So it's not a level playing field," she said.

While she still has some years left to complete her programme, she sees herself finding a job organising events or engagements with the immigrant communities.

Not a walk in the park

After hearing about Mariana’s 15-year journey, one question lingered in my mind:

Why? Why willingly put herself through so much hardship?

She echoed my thoughts.

“Sometimes I ask myself, ‘Why? Why do you put yourself through so much?’” she said.

Her husband's income was more than enough to provide for the family, she admitted.

Despite joking about living life as a "rich taitai", Mariana said she couldn't do that.

"I need something to do for myself," was her simple answer.

And because life would be "boring", she laughed.

Many young Singaporeans these days dream of moving away from Singapore, she noted, and cautioned that it's not always a "walk in the park" like it is portrayed online.

"You need to have some kind of determination and grit and you will often have to cry for yourself," she said.

Mine is not a success story, it's an underdog one, she pointed out.

Yet despite everything, Mariana has no regrets about leaving Singapore to pursue something different.

“You have to take a step out of your comfort zone. The world is not just this teeny, tiny island of Singapore.”

And perhaps what matters most in Mariana’s story is this: Happiness isn’t a destination, it’s found in the journey itself.

Top photos courtesy of Mariana