I think this shall be my last blog post of my time here in Helsinki. Although I do not leave until the 22nd I will be handing over my laptop Friday morning to my mum to take back to the UK safe and sound.
Since the last update I have mostly been settling down with work. I have now only one exam, one presentation and one essay to complete (all within the next 5 days, eek!) until my education at the University of Helsinki comes to a close.
Both mother and father came out to see me, which has been lovely! I managed to squeeze out a very fancy meal from dad's wallet and have since been pottering around with mum when I can - although a family friend also hopped over from Oslo and so has been her company whilst I revise/write/present. Oddly it hasn't made me miss home-home much but it has made me miss Nottingham - especially as their coming out here signalled the final stages of my adventure in Helsinki. It isn't long now until I will be back and catching up with my friends back home (I'm hoping there is a sofa I can kip on somewhere!) and then also seeing my nephew for the first time. Baby Zach has been a source of many smiles and squeals of delight - from myself and my friends here (but mostly me...definitely almost all me) - and I cannot wait to give him a cuddle.
Some plans have also been made since St. Petersburg. I am now headed to Sardinia, Dubrovnik and Ljubljana with my new friends in July and I am hoping to take a post university gap year in Australia. I hope with all my heart that this is not a plan of mice and men and will in fact become a reality - I have caught the sickness that is the travel bug and I don't want to stop moving across the world. More shall come in regards to that so keep your eyes on this space .
So that brings me to the now. This experience has been incredible, I am so grateful that Nottingham gave me the opportunity and so happy that I got my head down when others were saying 'but you only need 40%!'. Coming here has meant new friends and a new outlook. It's cliche, I know. I may still be in Europe but Helsinki is a far cry from anything I've encountered in the UK and spending the last 5 months with people from countries across the globe makes you appreciate everything so much more.
We have already had to say our goodbyes to some. Goodbyes to people who have been the most amazing, funny and interesting (amongst weird, unreliable, terrible at timing, silly and beautiful) companions on this exchange.
In 5 months I have visited the oldest city in Finland, seen the Northern Lights in Lapland, swam in the Arctic Ocean, drank in 27 different coffee shops (with more to come), eaten far too many korvapuusti (cinnamon rolls), walked across a frozen bay, been to the old town of Estonia, seen Swan Lake in St. Petersburg and planned an adventure through Europe.
And now it isn't long until I will be saying goodbye to it all. Others go before me and others after but it won't change how difficult it will be to turn around and go our separate ways. However, Finland has inspired me to write. Poetry has flowed non stop and I am incredibly eager to continue writing my thoughts and feelings in the hope that someone likes it enough to put it in a pretty binding. What this means is that I will almost certainly be staying in touch with these, my fellow stewards of the earth but, I hope, in a way that is much more in keeping with the relationship we have forged...yes we will still talk on the multitude of facebook group messages that have been created but I cannot wait to sit down and hand write letters, because who doesn't enjoy receiving an envelope that isn't a bill?!
I shall have to stop with this emotional spiel as most people will probably be either throwing up from its sickly nature, crying from the realisation it ends soon or laughing at me for writing such drivel but I have to say this has been the best thing I have chosen to do in my life. I have made eternal friendships, shared laughter and tears, drunk my own weight in coffee and most importantly...saunaed naked.
My adventure shall continue through Europe until mid June: Stockholm, Copenhagen, Prague, Krakow, Vienna, Budapest, Venice, Florence and Rome are all now awaiting my presence - it will go unnoticed by the majority but I will try and let you know how things are progressing.
But for now, I must revise for this exam!
Moi moi. x
Since the last update I have mostly been settling down with work. I have now only one exam, one presentation and one essay to complete (all within the next 5 days, eek!) until my education at the University of Helsinki comes to a close.
Both mother and father came out to see me, which has been lovely! I managed to squeeze out a very fancy meal from dad's wallet and have since been pottering around with mum when I can - although a family friend also hopped over from Oslo and so has been her company whilst I revise/write/present. Oddly it hasn't made me miss home-home much but it has made me miss Nottingham - especially as their coming out here signalled the final stages of my adventure in Helsinki. It isn't long now until I will be back and catching up with my friends back home (I'm hoping there is a sofa I can kip on somewhere!) and then also seeing my nephew for the first time. Baby Zach has been a source of many smiles and squeals of delight - from myself and my friends here (but mostly me...definitely almost all me) - and I cannot wait to give him a cuddle.
Some plans have also been made since St. Petersburg. I am now headed to Sardinia, Dubrovnik and Ljubljana with my new friends in July and I am hoping to take a post university gap year in Australia. I hope with all my heart that this is not a plan of mice and men and will in fact become a reality - I have caught the sickness that is the travel bug and I don't want to stop moving across the world. More shall come in regards to that so keep your eyes on this space .
So that brings me to the now. This experience has been incredible, I am so grateful that Nottingham gave me the opportunity and so happy that I got my head down when others were saying 'but you only need 40%!'. Coming here has meant new friends and a new outlook. It's cliche, I know. I may still be in Europe but Helsinki is a far cry from anything I've encountered in the UK and spending the last 5 months with people from countries across the globe makes you appreciate everything so much more.
We have already had to say our goodbyes to some. Goodbyes to people who have been the most amazing, funny and interesting (amongst weird, unreliable, terrible at timing, silly and beautiful) companions on this exchange.
In 5 months I have visited the oldest city in Finland, seen the Northern Lights in Lapland, swam in the Arctic Ocean, drank in 27 different coffee shops (with more to come), eaten far too many korvapuusti (cinnamon rolls), walked across a frozen bay, been to the old town of Estonia, seen Swan Lake in St. Petersburg and planned an adventure through Europe.
And now it isn't long until I will be saying goodbye to it all. Others go before me and others after but it won't change how difficult it will be to turn around and go our separate ways. However, Finland has inspired me to write. Poetry has flowed non stop and I am incredibly eager to continue writing my thoughts and feelings in the hope that someone likes it enough to put it in a pretty binding. What this means is that I will almost certainly be staying in touch with these, my fellow stewards of the earth but, I hope, in a way that is much more in keeping with the relationship we have forged...yes we will still talk on the multitude of facebook group messages that have been created but I cannot wait to sit down and hand write letters, because who doesn't enjoy receiving an envelope that isn't a bill?!
I shall have to stop with this emotional spiel as most people will probably be either throwing up from its sickly nature, crying from the realisation it ends soon or laughing at me for writing such drivel but I have to say this has been the best thing I have chosen to do in my life. I have made eternal friendships, shared laughter and tears, drunk my own weight in coffee and most importantly...saunaed naked.
My adventure shall continue through Europe until mid June: Stockholm, Copenhagen, Prague, Krakow, Vienna, Budapest, Venice, Florence and Rome are all now awaiting my presence - it will go unnoticed by the majority but I will try and let you know how things are progressing.
But for now, I must revise for this exam!
Moi moi. x
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| The prettiest of all the korvapuusti |
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| This is us - Domus |
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| View from the rooftop, late evening |
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| It's not all just snow here - ending on a high (of 15 degrees) |
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