So today starts the first week of non introductory lectures. The system over here is really weird, well...in comparison to what I'm used to.
I have courses which span the semester (January to May) but also a book exam (no lectures, read a book, 4 hour exam) and then an intensive course (a module over 20 days). It's all rather baffling but I think I'll get the hang of it.
There have been little bits going on here and there since my last post. We went to see The Wolf on Wall St. the other night, about 20 of us, and it is so good! Di Caprio as ever is awesome and it is just opulent, excessive and ridiculous. Some felt it was a bit too long and parts laboured but I really enjoyed it and thought it worked well pace wise.
We also went to Estonia this weekend, these trips are all organised by us so a true independent man I may return! The amount of literature I need to read might even make me a proper English student, being able to quote authors from way back when whom everyone should know and speak verse by heart. We shall see.
Estonia is beautiful, we only stayed in Tallinn and only the Old Town at that, which is a UNESCO World Heritage sight. Rightly so too, it is gorgeous. Beautiful architecture and cobbled streets. Our main reason for going however was for alcohol, it seems to be the rite of passage if you're an exchange student to stock up on booze for the semester by going to Tallinn with a backpack or suitcase. I can see why; where one night out in Helsinki has cost me 40€, I came back from Estonia with a crate of beer, a bottle of gin and a bottle of wine for 35.50€. BARGAIN.
Events keep popping up on Facebook and I will soon be confirming my Lapland trip, which will be a celebration after that 4 hour exam in March! I can't wait to travel around, it's exciting me to think I will be country hopping and going around Europe like a feather in the wind. I certainly shan't be bored here or until I am back in the UK.
I can't remember much else that has been of note but no doubt I shall after this is posted but I thought I would share an extract from one of the pieces I'm reading for my Introduction to Finnish Lit module. Rosa Liksom is an artist, writer, director and general eccentric - her book One Night Stands is the first book on our reading list and there were moments where I was taken aback because I haven't read anything quite so graphic in literature before. I hope it doesn't make you feel ill, these aren't really the worst either! But her writing is actually really good and we had good debate in our seminar today.
I'll leave you with some photos of Tallinn so that you aren't alone with Rosa's writing.
"I would like to establish a kingdom of men, sufficiently large, with well-defined borders and abundant natural resources, where Penis Power decides everything. The bigger the penis, the greater the authority. Women are disgusting and primitive, even from a scientific point of view, with our slimy cunts, bleeding orifices, gaping mouths and stinking armpits. That is the truth about us, and that is why I have been working on a new law under which, as of next year, all newborn females will have their throats slit immediately, in the maternity ward, where this can accomplished in a manner both hygienic and efficient".
"She looked at herself in the mirror on the bedroom ceiling. She looked hard but could not see anything. Not even her own face. She picked a heavy vase off the floor and tossed it at the ceiling. The mirror shattered and rained down on her. The splinters tore bleeding wounds into her body. Some of the wounds were deep and gaping and blood streamed out of them. The blood soaked into the sheets, her body throbbed with heat, and the blood smelled like old, hard life. She jumped down to the floor. Mirror splinters pierced the soles of her feet but she did not feel any pain. Excited, she danced from wall to wall, humming and unknown melody. The white-flowered wallpaper became stained with red. Her breasts and thighs were steaming with blood. When she finished the dance and collapsed on the floor, the last drops of blood gather in a puddle in her own lap."
Rosa Liksom; One Night Stands.
I have courses which span the semester (January to May) but also a book exam (no lectures, read a book, 4 hour exam) and then an intensive course (a module over 20 days). It's all rather baffling but I think I'll get the hang of it.
There have been little bits going on here and there since my last post. We went to see The Wolf on Wall St. the other night, about 20 of us, and it is so good! Di Caprio as ever is awesome and it is just opulent, excessive and ridiculous. Some felt it was a bit too long and parts laboured but I really enjoyed it and thought it worked well pace wise.
We also went to Estonia this weekend, these trips are all organised by us so a true independent man I may return! The amount of literature I need to read might even make me a proper English student, being able to quote authors from way back when whom everyone should know and speak verse by heart. We shall see.
Estonia is beautiful, we only stayed in Tallinn and only the Old Town at that, which is a UNESCO World Heritage sight. Rightly so too, it is gorgeous. Beautiful architecture and cobbled streets. Our main reason for going however was for alcohol, it seems to be the rite of passage if you're an exchange student to stock up on booze for the semester by going to Tallinn with a backpack or suitcase. I can see why; where one night out in Helsinki has cost me 40€, I came back from Estonia with a crate of beer, a bottle of gin and a bottle of wine for 35.50€. BARGAIN.
Events keep popping up on Facebook and I will soon be confirming my Lapland trip, which will be a celebration after that 4 hour exam in March! I can't wait to travel around, it's exciting me to think I will be country hopping and going around Europe like a feather in the wind. I certainly shan't be bored here or until I am back in the UK.
I can't remember much else that has been of note but no doubt I shall after this is posted but I thought I would share an extract from one of the pieces I'm reading for my Introduction to Finnish Lit module. Rosa Liksom is an artist, writer, director and general eccentric - her book One Night Stands is the first book on our reading list and there were moments where I was taken aback because I haven't read anything quite so graphic in literature before. I hope it doesn't make you feel ill, these aren't really the worst either! But her writing is actually really good and we had good debate in our seminar today.
I'll leave you with some photos of Tallinn so that you aren't alone with Rosa's writing.
"I would like to establish a kingdom of men, sufficiently large, with well-defined borders and abundant natural resources, where Penis Power decides everything. The bigger the penis, the greater the authority. Women are disgusting and primitive, even from a scientific point of view, with our slimy cunts, bleeding orifices, gaping mouths and stinking armpits. That is the truth about us, and that is why I have been working on a new law under which, as of next year, all newborn females will have their throats slit immediately, in the maternity ward, where this can accomplished in a manner both hygienic and efficient".
"She looked at herself in the mirror on the bedroom ceiling. She looked hard but could not see anything. Not even her own face. She picked a heavy vase off the floor and tossed it at the ceiling. The mirror shattered and rained down on her. The splinters tore bleeding wounds into her body. Some of the wounds were deep and gaping and blood streamed out of them. The blood soaked into the sheets, her body throbbed with heat, and the blood smelled like old, hard life. She jumped down to the floor. Mirror splinters pierced the soles of her feet but she did not feel any pain. Excited, she danced from wall to wall, humming and unknown melody. The white-flowered wallpaper became stained with red. Her breasts and thighs were steaming with blood. When she finished the dance and collapsed on the floor, the last drops of blood gather in a puddle in her own lap."
Rosa Liksom; One Night Stands.
1 comment:
I think I might be giving "one night stands" a miss Pete.
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