Changing Seasons of Finland

As the semester is drawing to an end and winter is easing its way over Finland many of the year long Erasmus students are taking small trips back home to visit friends and family. Students are often surprised to find that their Erasmus studies do not end when they leave Finland. Once they return to their home country students are often faced with reverse culture shock making their once perfectly comfortable home country seem foreign or confusing as they begin to figure out what has changed within themselves.

Year long Erasmus students have a great opportunty to glance these subtle changes when they visit their home countries and often find a surprising sort of relief when they arrive back to the calm and silence of Finland. Ibrahim, a Nursing student from the UK, recently realized this when he took a trip to London. Afterwards he reflected on some things he had never noticed about his home city of London and found himself in awe of the beauty and nature that Finland provided upon his return.

Here is Ibrahim's reflection on Pori from the begining of August until now.

 

Ibrahim Ghazy

 

 

Academic Year 2013-2014     

Home Country: UK

 I have to say, I felt the need to write this post, as it is an important moment of my stay here in Finland. This time has been extremely remarkable in many ways.

Firstly, the change of weather, nature and atmosphere, I came here at the end of July when the sun only went down for few hours, I can remember enjoying my drink while watching the sunset at 11:30 am on a boat along the river in Pori, then few hours later at 2:30 am the sun comes up again. Now, the sun disappears at 16:00 pm and I wake at 7:30 am in complete darkness. The lush bright green trees everywhere all of the sudden tuned into complete beautiful golden yellowy, picky, reddish colour then few weeks later all the leaves completely gone.



View from my window in August

 

View from my window in early November

View from my window mid October

One other important factor is that most of my friends, who I met during the EILC course and I met through my exchange period since August, will be gone by the end of this month. It will make me sad to see all of them go.
 





This massive transition and leavening and coming back to Finland during my autumn break inspired me to create two videos to show what I have experienced in the past few months. I made this also for all my friends who are going to leave Finland, as memory when they look at it, they remember the beautiful time that we spent together is this beautiful place.

 

 

 Enjoy watching J

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrGyY1PA7Mo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md5GhL2gwXY

 

If you are interested in reading his full reaction and seeing the beautiful sights he saw in Pori, you can read his post here. He also has his first reactions to Finland posted on the same blogging site.

 

Porin Päivä

Judith Van Herreweghe

Autumn 2013
Home Country: Belgium

 

“Pori day” is something like a celebration of the whole city. And we started that day with a walk through the city center which was full of market stands with typical Finnish food, clothes, and other stuff. We continued by going to some museums in Pori such as The Satakunna museum and the Arkki museum. The first one was about the history of Pori.

 

The last one was about the nature, the animals and the parks in Pori and in Finland in general. Unfortunately there were no translations, so the explanations about every animal were in Finnish. Too bad, but it was quite nice though. Especially for the child living in all of us. J

Then we went back to the market square, Kauppatori where a competition was going on; a very typical Finnish one. And the goal was to throw a basket as far as you can. If I remember right there was a man from Tampere who threw his basket around 15 meters. Nice throw!

Besides it was a beautiful autumn day. The sun was shining, the leaves of the trees were yellow, orange and brown, such a nice composition to make you feel happy.

To continue our trip in our student city we went to the central church of Pori. It is representative of neo-gothic style. The building was completed in 1863. Inside the church you can notice an art nouveau style with beautiful glass paintings. And the chandeliers are impressive as well. Upstairs we had a nice view over the whole church and we could see the organ in detail.

 

 

 

 

 

After that we walked along the Kokemaki River to the park, Kirjurinluoto. We took some crazy pictures at “the beach side” and enjoyed the beautiful weather again. After all we went home after a really nice day.

It was nice to be a tourist in your own city.

 

To read more of Judith's Adventures (in Dutch) please check out: http://hei.azurewebsites.net/

 

 

 

On the 20th of September, six SAMK students joined an excursion to Turku led by knowledge management Professor Heli Aramo-Immonen of Tampere University of Technology, Industrial Management. The group was comprised of students from Professor Aramo-Immonen's class, UC Pori, and SAMK.
  
Danielle Sweeney
Ireland, Autumn 2013, Nursing

Turku is the former capital of Finland and is situated on the southwest coast of Finland. The River Aura runs through the city. Turku was first settled into during the 13th century.

 
Our trip to Turku was great fun for all involved! In the morning we had a tour of Forum Marinum Maritime Museum. During the tour we were given an opportunity to glimpse the Finnish shipping industry through the years, see some incredible boats and learn about the Finnish engineering of ships and their Naval ships. We then spent our lunch at The Daphne Cafe.

After lunch we walked to Turku Castle where we had a guided tour of the medieval castle. The castle was constructed in about 1280. The Swedish conquerors of Finland intended it originally as a military fortress. The castle itself was physically beautiful; however I think that the guide's re-telling of the history of Turku castle was what made the tour a success.

After the tour most students went back to Pori however three friends and I stayed behind to do some sightseeing of our own. We walked along the river banks and saw the charming city of Turku. We saw the duck statues in the River Aura and the murals on the walls in parts of the city. We also went to the cathedral which is a Lutheran Church. It is a beautiful gothic styled cathedral with stunning murals painted on the ceilings in certain parts of the church.

 After that we went into the centre of Turku for some food and drinks before we got our bus back to Pori. It was a great day out for all those involved :)

 

 

Talking about culture: Finnish Music

Andreas, Austria

Spring 2012

Media and Communication

Why should somebody go to the north? Because it's interesting to experience another climate? Live in the darkness? Stay cold? Those were some reasons for me to go to Finland. But there was something else. Something that is a big part of my life. The music. I'm basically open for nearly every kind of music, but there's one genre I like more than anything else: Heavy Metal.

So before I went to Finland, I already knew some bands like Stone, a legendary Thrash Metal band, the incredible Death Metal band Children Of Bodom or Apocalyptica, those awesome guys who cover Metal songs on stringed bowed instruments. With that in mind, I was totally excited about getting to know the Finnish music scene.

When I arrived, I tried to get to a concert as soon as possible. The very first one I went to with some already new found friends was taking place in Bar Monttu. There was a band playing called Two-By-Four from Turku, and the second one Jet Black from Pori. Both of them played a sort of Metal and 6 euro entry were quite cheap. Well, of course the beer was 5,80, so after all it wasn't THAT cheap. But the bands were awesome, it was like the perfect Welcome-To-Finland-Concert. After they'd finished, I went up to the singer of Two-By-Four and asked him about a CD. They had already sold out, but he said if I'd write him an E-Mail, he would send me one. So I did, and for again very cheap 17 euro including the forwarding he not just sent me the CD but also a T-Shirt.

After this first great experience with the Finnish music scene I wanted to get to know more. I went to several other concerts, and my Finnish friends showed me more interesting bands. Another nice thing happened at the Montun Indie Fest. I bought a CD from Streak And The Raven, not for myself, but for my girlfriend. So they gave me another CD with that one, called Kasetti 2012 - The Ultimate Mixtape of Seinäjoen seutu. It features several bands from that area, from nice Indie pop to Black Metal. Great music.

So when I came home I had a load of CDs and Vinyls with me, as I was hoping for. What's interesting too is the Finnish Karaoke culture, where everyone sings and screams mostly Finnish songs. It's not just interesting to see them sing, but also to read the lyrics on the screen and be fascinated by the long words in this awesome language.

Actually it's too bad that I can't understand the language, but for some Songs I already looked up the translation. Like for example for Kotiteollisuus' "Pappi Puhuu", which I like to play with my guitar and is basically about the Finnish Continuation War. Kotiteollisuus definitely counts to my most favorite Finnish Bands, as they play quite hard metal songs as well as acoustic ballads. I was very happy when a Finnish friend send me a package with a record of Kotiteollisuus and a vinyl of Stam1na, when I was already back in Austria.

In Finland it's not just the music scene itself, what's really big and important. They also got a big scene of music videos and even have clip festivals just for music videos. As I'm studying video production myself, it was great to produce a music video in Finland too with the Finnish hip hop group Mustahattuiset Herrasmiehet called "Poliittinen Tapiiri".

Within the five short months, I spent in Finland, I got to know at least a bit of the Finnish music scene. It was of course a big help, that some of my Finnish friends are really into music too. For sure there is way more to experience. And still, even though I can't actually understand the lyrics, I love to listen to Finnish music like the song "Kesäyö" by Pariisin Kevät, as it was constantly played on Finnish radio when I was there. Not just because the Finnish bands are simply great, but also because listening to them reminds me of the awesome time I spent up in the north, I keep listening this music.

Top 10 Things I Will Miss About Finland

Paige, USA
Spring 2013
International Relations Intern

It truly is hard to believe that in exactly 20 days my feet will again touch United States soil.  It's even harder to believe that I've been living in Finland already 5 months.  I feel like I am just becoming accustomed to living in the Land of a Thousand Lakes, and it is already time to leave.

Don't get me wrong, there are things in the United States that I'm looking forward to again, like seeing my family and buying cheap clothes.  However, there are so many things that I've come to enjoy and will miss about Finland.

#10 - How well everything works

Systems and services in Finland run, in my opinion, very efficiently--unlike my Erasmus experience in Spain, where everything was always mañana ('tomorrow').  I was surprised to find that I often received mail the very next day after it was sent.  That does not happen in the US.  Businesses and grocery stores keep convenient hours.  However, I do miss the 24 hours stores in my country.  I have yet to find any stores open 24 hours here.

#9 - Summertime sun

Well, it isn't quite summertime yet, but days are already very long.  The sun rises around 4 am and sets late into the night, almost 11 pm.  So much sunlight makes me feel energized, happy, and very productive.  On the downside, I do not sleep as well at night.  Who wants to go to sleep when there is still sun outside?!

#8 - Finnish food

Finnish food is not very different from the food I eat in my country, but there are some unique dishes that I will miss: pulla, rye bread, and Karelian pastries.  I think Finns create a dessert or bread for almost every holiday!

#7 - My internship at SAMK

I have really enjoyed my time here at SAMK.  It has been nice working instead of studying all the time.  Spending time with my Finnish co-workers has taught me a lot about the culture and language that you can only learn from the 'inside.'

#6 - No small talk

It is very refreshing for me that Finns actually enjoy silence.  Not talking on the train or bus is completely normal and comfortable to them.  In the US, people tend to think silence is uncomfortable.  We feel a pressure to talk constantly, even if the conversation is completely meaningless.

#5 - Recycling

I have not recycled much in my lifetime in the US. Unfortunately, in my state it is not a common practice, and the citizens do not learn much about it.  I have learned a lot about recycling since moving to Finland.  I can recycle nearly 90 percent of my waste at my apartment in Pori, which leaves me feeling very positive and environmentally responsible.

#4 - Nature

Nature in Finland is beautiful, where it is the emerald green in summer or the pearly white in winter. It's preserved, taken care of, and trash-free.  I like living in the city and still being surrounded by parks, trees, and nature trails.  It is a perfect atmosphere for outdoor sports--like jogging, cycling, rollerblading, hiking, Nordic walking, skiing, gardening, swimming, or spending time at a cottage--or for just sitting and enjoying your surroundings.

#3 - Public transportation

When I first moved here, I thought being without a car would be difficult, but it's not.  You can use a train or bus to get almost anywhere.  I've used the train system almost every weekend that I've lived here.  It's very convenient and reliable.  I can book my tickets online or buy them on the train.  Trains are almost always on time.

#2 - Walking

In Finland, walking is a way of life.  In the urbanized areas, you will find numerous sidewalks and, in the forests, walking trails.  Finnish sidewalks are like mini roads, quite different from the ones in my country. They are wide enough for bikers and  pedestrians and nicely paved.

And finally....

#1 - Sauna!

Finnish sauna is world renowned.  After my first time in the sauna I was sure I did not like it.  I was too hot and sweaty. Why would anyone think being hot and sweaty was fun?!  But a few weeks later, I was looking forward to sauna each week.  When I broke my arm and could not go to sauna, I was very unhappy.  I have yet to jump in a frozen lake or roll in the snow after winter sauna, and I'm not sure I ever will.  But who knows, maybe one day I will like that too.

Welcome to SAMK stories!

SAMK stories is a collection of the fantastic experiences that international students from around the world have had while studying at Satakunta University of Applied Sciences in Pori, Finland.

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