This week has brought new experiences yet again. My Student Tutors were responsible for helping a newly arrived Spanish exchange student (Mónica). However, as they were busy revising for examinations they asked Katie and me to show Mónica around Turku, helping her to settle in. It is surprising how much information I have gathered over a two-week period that I can pass on; therefore I do not see myself as the new student in town anymore. Initially, there was a communication barrier between Mónica and me as she has limited vocabulary in English and I do not speak Spanish. On the other hand she is here to learn English, and I hope that this will improve the communication issues.
In addition to this, I participated in a trip to Lapland organised by the Erasmus Student Network (ESN). This enabled me to attempt new activities including snowmobiling, snowshoeing and horse-trekking, all within the forests. I enjoyed travelling through the forests observing the lovely peaceful scenes of nature. During the trip I shared a cottage with other exchange students and whilst there, we went searching for the Northern Lights one night, unfortunately with no success! However it was still in all a great experience to go searching.
On my travels I visited Santa Claus’ Village (just within the Arctic Circle) and met Mr Claus himself! I have been corrected that Father Christmas is indeed Finnish and does not originate from the North Pole. This experience gave me the opportunity to explore the village and take in the beautiful surroundings, and to meet the Reindeer.
On a more general note, the Finnish people still appear to remain quiet, but friendly and willing to help when I ask! In Lapland the Finn’s were very welcoming. As well as this I have noticed that the 24 hour clock is used in Finland and that ‘AM’ and ‘PM’ is not used at all. At first I found this strange and difficult to adjust to, especially as bus timetables list times in 24 hour.
As for bus timetables – I have finally established the difference between Finnish and Northern Irish timetables. It seems the first bus stop on the route has a start time with an estimated journey length to get to the destination. Therefore it does not list individual times for stops in between like in Northern Ireland. This is another difference that I am gradually becoming more proficient with during my stay in Finland.
Picture 1: Snowmobiling in Lapland.
Picture 2: Almost -10 C at Santa Claus' Village.
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