Prior to arriving in Finland, my expectations were that it would be extremely cold and that the childcare provision was to be more advanced than that of Northern Ireland. These expectations were established when I arrived in Finland. The weather was cold, however this was not an unexpected climate shock for me as the weather was similar in Northern Ireland before I left. During my travels from Helsinki to Turku (and Turku itself) I have observed interesting childcare facilities. For example, when travelling from Helsinki to Turku by train I noticed what I can only describe as a ‘mini play-park’ or as they name them here ‘kindergartens’! In addition to this, I have seen three kindergartens in the area where I am living and there is also one beside my University.
The local buses appear to be well equipped for the elderly and young infants, as it seems the front half of the bus is allocated for them and the back half is for the more able person. I have also observed that there is a ‘stop’ button for prams (it is blue with a pram symbol) and that mothers with young infants do not have to pay for the bus journey.
Living away from my home country in this first week has affected me marginally; I have been so busy getting settled and sorting out practical tasks (for example buying a bus card, setting up a bank account, exploring Turku and my host University) which can be timely. The main change for me has been the transition from being a part-time student, in full-time employment and studying in the evening; to a full-time student attending classes during the day with more ‘free time’ than I am accustomed to. Therefore due to being unemployed, and not having a student loan, I have arrived with my own savings (not forgetting the British Council grant) to reside in a more expensive way-of-life than that of Northern Ireland. That said, my apartment is lovely and the rent expenditure is very reasonable to include heating, electricity and internet access. At University I have attended my first Finnish language class to learn basic day-to-day phrases. The language appears difficult as it is not related to the English language; however I am intrigued of the forthcoming challenge.
Finally, I have met a number of other international exchange students from countries including Canada, France, Germany, Turkey and Thailand (and of course the Finn’s in Finland) – I anticipate there will be more. It has been interesting to meet these students and to exchange information about language and cultures from each others’ home countries. I look forward to extending my knowledge and understanding of the Erasmus experience over the coming weeks.
Picture 1: Turku City Centre
Picture 2: Turku University of Applied Sciences
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