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| Finally...I'm here | |||||||||||
| Well, I finally got the internet (sort of? but I?ll get to that later)! It?s my sixth day in Finland and I don?t even know where to begin with all the things that have happened. I arrived here in Tuesday afternoon, which totally shocked me because I left MN on Monday morning. Despite my inability to fill out forms on time, a very nice Finnish girl was there to meet me at the airport. She had my keys already and drove me to my flat. I?m living in a place called the ?dorma academia?, can you guess what that translates to? I have a nice big room but that is about the only big thing about my flat. The kitchen, which I share with another flat, is literally a hallway between our two rooms, and a narrow hallway at that! Our fridge and stove look like they are anorexic they are so tall and thin. At first I thought we each had our own bathroom (how could I get so lucky twice!?!) but then it turned out that one room has a toiler and sink, while the other is nothing but a shower. Literally, the whole room is a shower, you open the door and you?re in the shower. I pretty much spent the first day and a half sleeping because I didn?t know a soul and I kept getting lost every time I went outside. Really, I am not exaggerating, so far I have wandered around the city for up to two hours at a time trying to find my way home. Finnish street don?t have street signs on posts; they are very small and posted on the sides of buildings so you have to be standing right under them to be able to read them. In addition, all the streets here have names like Kaisaniemenkatu and Vourimeihenkatu, so I of course can never remember or pronounce them. | |||||||||||
| My flat mate showed up on Wednesday night. Her name is Kirstin (pronounced like the American girl character) and she is a history student from Germany. She is very nice, and already seems WAY more responsible and knowledgeable than me, but I just keep telling myself its ok for me to be clueless all the time because this is my first time out of north America. | |||||||||||
| Thursday morning we started foreign student orientation with involves sitting in a lecture hall for several hours every morning and listening to presentations about the university and Finland in general. I did, however, learn a few interesting things in orientation. Apparently finish students do not have to pay for college; it is all covered by the state. You also don?t have to register for classes I Finland, you just show up in the first day. Actually in many classes you don?t have to show up at all, you register when you write your name on the final exam for the class. I was even advised that if I wanted to take a class that was only in Finnish, I could just get the English textbook, study on my own, and request a English version of the final. Hmmm, not having to go to class ever?this could be dangerous, but at least I know I am good at studying so I?ll be ok! | |||||||||||
| Finland is a wacky crazy place. Everyone knows how to speak English but no one actually does except the over foreign students. I quickly learned not to say ?I don?t speak Finnish? to store clerks, they tend to get cold. Instead it is a good idea to say ?my Finnish is not so good, could you possible tell me in English?? I also learned that English can be a blessing and a curse. Its great for getting rid of Greenpeace and unicef people in the street, but not so good when crusty guys try to pick you up just because they heard you speak English. I also learned that I am the only American around. I have met one guy from Maryland, but that?s it. Being one of the only English speakers around, I think I may be the only one who gets why restaurant signs like ?Chinese take-away? are funny. Compared to the Finns I also feel like I am the loudest, most blunt person around. But I guess the Finns expect that out of Americans. One asked me if it was possible to be too loud or too big in the U.S. | |||||||||||
| Last night I went to a party for economics students where I met some very nice people. Next Friday the economics department is going to a cottage up north overnight, so that should be fun. I signed up for a trip to Poland with the department. It involves missing a week of school, but who would even notice? We are going to take a ferry to Estonia and then a bus to Poland, but I?ll know more about that later. | |||||||||||
| I was looking for a second hand store today when I stumbled upon a huge flea market which turned out to be a smurfy extravaganza! For 25euro I also got a diesel brand jean jacket with the tags still on it marked 115euro. This was very exciting because I didn?t have a light coat and they are almost a necessity in Finland. Also, on the way home from the flea market I didn?t get lost!!! Yesterday I made another major accomplishment when I finally learned my street name, Leppäsounkatu! | |||||||||||
| Well, I?m sick of writing, but here?s a hilarious tid-bit: my computer says it is 11:16 am in MN, while my clock says it is 20:15 here, God bless military time! | |||||||||||
| click here for some funny Finnish fotos (yes, that is how they spell phote... I think? | |||||||||||