Carien Meppelink

Introduction

First week in Jyväskylä

Exploring Jyväskyla and the Finnish culture

Moi, An update from Finland. It is getting colder here, the weather forecast even said that last Friday there would be snow already. That forecast luckily did not became reality yet.

The busy life of an exchange student

Moika, I am waiting for the snow to come. Again a message from Finland. It is getting really cold here and darker too. Gloves and a hat are not a luxury any more. Although we did not have really bad weather until now. We had rain for only one day. I enjoyed the colours of autumn although it was short here in Finland. That is really strange: the leaves change colour and fall in about 2/3 weeks.

Helsinki and Tallinn

On October the 30th, I went to Helsinki by bus. First, I was at the wrong bus station but because I was on time, I was still on time at the good bus stop in the end. After a trip of 3,5 hours I arrived in a dark and more or less quite Helsinki around midnight. I had a nice conversation with a Finnish guy about life, work, study and fun things about Finland and the Netherlands. I took the bus to my hostel that was located about 3 km outside the city centre. I found my hostel and could still check-in because I arrived before 2:00. There was a really kind guy, how welcomed me really warm (ahum!). After getting used to the sounds, movements and atmosphere in the hostel I felt asleep.

Ice Hockey

This announcement reached me via facebook: On Saturday you have a chance to see top level ice hockey for FREE! JYP-Akatemia faces Hokki in an exciting match of the second highest level of ice hockey in Finland. So gather your friends and come to experience a night of excitement!

Lapland

Our journey started early in the morning with some friends we went by bike to the bus station with all our luggage. That was already a journey by itself. We entered the bus and the real adventure started. I decided to sleep in the aisle since otherwise I would not have slept for an hour. When I woke up we arrived at Rauna Zoo located in Lapland. A wild park with a lot of inhabitants of the arctic region.

My final story......

I am already back in the Netherlands for quite a while. I really regret that I had to leave Finland, also because it was before the real winter entered. My last weeks in Finland were strange. When I came back from Lapland my roommate was in China and I was living on my own. No one at home to talk to, have fun with, and say ‘good morning’ to.