Life is still is exam weeks for me and to be honest I am feeling it now in the 3rd week and I still have classes and seminars... so revising, working and learning new things but this is the point of a master's degree (or so I keep telling myself). Too keep pushing yourself to see how well and how much pressure you can take (I am averaging 4's "B's" in UK grading so I am happy just exhausted)
Today after realising I got the days mixed up and missed a seminar I have the second day of it tomorrow, the whole day until 4pm. Then I have an exam Wednesday. Today I checked my timetable for next semester... I also took on another 2 classes more than this semester... I have improved time management now, better than before (now I am on scary levels of time management). Serves me better in the long run as I can spend more time on my thesis next year! mwhahaha!
Then last week on Thursday at the end of my Finnish listening exam, I felt flu like but it wore off by Friday evening and just gave me headaches. However, not happy I had to site a big exam feeling that ill but we will see! Also on the weekend I checked for my other exam that was meant to be tomorrow to find it had been moved and the lecturer hadn't emailed and had been moved in last 3 weeks to Friday... no good to me as I booked my flights after the original exam was released so I have to take that January now, not amused that I will have to revise over my holiday now...
Thursday off to Tampere to stay with äiti for the night, then off to Helsinki airport Friday afternoon to get my Flight to Manchester.
Marlen is also in hospital waiting for surgery so I hoe that he gets well soon!
Now I must eat and revise! Wish I had time for sauna! arghh! hehe.
Ohhh... Friday Eero brought us a Christmas tree! so now that is all pretty and decorated and I will add the photos when I get time... or if I get time.
It is cold this week to, down to -20C meant to be -27C Thursday... urgh and I have to walk to the train station 3.5km but at least Eero took my main luggage with him.
A new Life in Finland from 2009...
Showing posts with label tampere. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tampere. Show all posts
Monday, 13 December 2010
Saturday, 25 September 2010
Lost in thought (long post)
Even though like most people here I own a bike on the whole I have spent my time walking around as it allows me to think without ending up in the woods, in the lake or on the roof of a car. The only reason I wear a bike helmet is I like to ride fast, so loss of concentration could hurt.
But the last few weeks I have to admit on the whole of my walking I have been lost and completely consumed by thought. Not to much university related really just reflection on life here so far, ups, downs, wants, needs and where I think we will be in the future.
Of course being female (whether or not we openly admit it) most of us still carry the childhood dream of weddings, family, house, cars but that doesn't really consume any of my time. I know we will marry, I think we both have an idea on what kind of place, when (I'm not in any hurry though I would like to before my old granddad parents leave this world), home will always be around Tampere (after we are done studying with Jyväskylä), the rest time for me solves. I have access to cars but no real need for one of my own even though I could probably justify it still in my own mind! Though in all honesty it is more present things that take my thought.
The new start in school of course starts people asking why you move and all kinds of questions. I mean take for example, it is quite common here amongst Finns for partners to come from different cities sometimes even different parts of the country, people commonly separate for school and met back up weekends and holidays. Don't get me wrong here, we were long distance (UK to Finland) for 18 months and all though very possible it puts new strains on relationships but gives great strength to other areas. There is also a higher number of my UK friends in long distance relationships now so maybe it is the "modern way" (to quote the Kaiser chiefs). Currently we are long distance again as I live in Jyväskylä and Eero in Tampere, for as much as I know the arrangement is working and fine, I still count the days until he moves to Jyväskylä. Life is more fun when we can share experiences, when there's always someone to help carry shopping and even when I have to spend ages cooking allergy friendly foods its much better when someone else can eat some of it so I don't have to live of the same thing for days.
Maybe the difference was working properly for 15 months, I suppose it changed a lot things in my life and made me want the proper life rather than the stereotypical student life. Mind you, I can't wait for the day to live in our own apartment again, i need more space that we have in the student flat and more furniture.
I was also bemused as from the start of the intensive course I have been waiting for the sports stickers to come out so as you can go to the gym, do hobbies and sports supervised. Then I get my timetable where Monday, Wednesday I don't finish school until 6pm and Thursday not until 5pm, finish early Tuesdays at dinnertime though I use the afternoon to revise and make course notes, do homework and study Finnish. Currently I go home to Tampere every Thursday evening, so I am not impressed that currently I am struggling to fit in sports.
Into the bargain sports place where the new gym is is 4km away so 8km to get there and back on top of the 6km minimum I do every day. Most classes I want I have classes when they are on. And I can't do my own fitness DVD as the PC with the CD player on here in Tampere! But I am in quite good shape at the minute and the shape isn't round! I just want fitness DVD's as I love to do them.
I ordered some course books off the internet last week and they have all arrived. The waterstones books have declared as lost for the 3rd time and have been resent again so they will have taken 5 months to deliver...(amazon all the way from now on).
Finnish class is coming on leaps and bounds, though I got paranoid after speaking with someone at the bus stop the other weekend and checked in English that I answered right in Finnish, I did the guy seemed bemused but still! We have class 3 times a week and it is really exciting and we learn a lot each lesson but not as much as the intensive course. Mom said she wanted to learn too so as a surprise gift we sent her a good book and CD for beginners, she is now a happy bunny that gives random Finnish words on the phone.
Last week I got another humorous job as a great work experience post was advertised the catch fluency in Finnish, everything else I had so maybe next time! Not that I actually have the financial need or time for a job but work experience is always handy, plus I like to practice what Finnish I do know.
Alas, my allergies have started to cause trouble again and I have no idea what is triggering them. I have my suspicions (tomato, butter) I even stated to drink bottled water to check that it wasn't a change in water that disturbed them but it appears not. So I guess I have to go to the doctor next week and see if I can get referred to an allergist here (Tampere or Jyväskylä). Until then I guess I eat like a sparrow and hope for the best!
Eero has gone to the summer cottage today, I wanted to go but allergies wanted to be stupid as they have been for a month now, seems it is not a glitch but something has changed after that last allergic reaction to the bug bite or sting.
But the last few weeks I have to admit on the whole of my walking I have been lost and completely consumed by thought. Not to much university related really just reflection on life here so far, ups, downs, wants, needs and where I think we will be in the future.
Of course being female (whether or not we openly admit it) most of us still carry the childhood dream of weddings, family, house, cars but that doesn't really consume any of my time. I know we will marry, I think we both have an idea on what kind of place, when (I'm not in any hurry though I would like to before my old granddad parents leave this world), home will always be around Tampere (after we are done studying with Jyväskylä), the rest time for me solves. I have access to cars but no real need for one of my own even though I could probably justify it still in my own mind! Though in all honesty it is more present things that take my thought.
The new start in school of course starts people asking why you move and all kinds of questions. I mean take for example, it is quite common here amongst Finns for partners to come from different cities sometimes even different parts of the country, people commonly separate for school and met back up weekends and holidays. Don't get me wrong here, we were long distance (UK to Finland) for 18 months and all though very possible it puts new strains on relationships but gives great strength to other areas. There is also a higher number of my UK friends in long distance relationships now so maybe it is the "modern way" (to quote the Kaiser chiefs). Currently we are long distance again as I live in Jyväskylä and Eero in Tampere, for as much as I know the arrangement is working and fine, I still count the days until he moves to Jyväskylä. Life is more fun when we can share experiences, when there's always someone to help carry shopping and even when I have to spend ages cooking allergy friendly foods its much better when someone else can eat some of it so I don't have to live of the same thing for days.
Maybe the difference was working properly for 15 months, I suppose it changed a lot things in my life and made me want the proper life rather than the stereotypical student life. Mind you, I can't wait for the day to live in our own apartment again, i need more space that we have in the student flat and more furniture.
I was also bemused as from the start of the intensive course I have been waiting for the sports stickers to come out so as you can go to the gym, do hobbies and sports supervised. Then I get my timetable where Monday, Wednesday I don't finish school until 6pm and Thursday not until 5pm, finish early Tuesdays at dinnertime though I use the afternoon to revise and make course notes, do homework and study Finnish. Currently I go home to Tampere every Thursday evening, so I am not impressed that currently I am struggling to fit in sports.
Into the bargain sports place where the new gym is is 4km away so 8km to get there and back on top of the 6km minimum I do every day. Most classes I want I have classes when they are on. And I can't do my own fitness DVD as the PC with the CD player on here in Tampere! But I am in quite good shape at the minute and the shape isn't round! I just want fitness DVD's as I love to do them.
I ordered some course books off the internet last week and they have all arrived. The waterstones books have declared as lost for the 3rd time and have been resent again so they will have taken 5 months to deliver...(amazon all the way from now on).
Finnish class is coming on leaps and bounds, though I got paranoid after speaking with someone at the bus stop the other weekend and checked in English that I answered right in Finnish, I did the guy seemed bemused but still! We have class 3 times a week and it is really exciting and we learn a lot each lesson but not as much as the intensive course. Mom said she wanted to learn too so as a surprise gift we sent her a good book and CD for beginners, she is now a happy bunny that gives random Finnish words on the phone.
Last week I got another humorous job as a great work experience post was advertised the catch fluency in Finnish, everything else I had so maybe next time! Not that I actually have the financial need or time for a job but work experience is always handy, plus I like to practice what Finnish I do know.
Alas, my allergies have started to cause trouble again and I have no idea what is triggering them. I have my suspicions (tomato, butter) I even stated to drink bottled water to check that it wasn't a change in water that disturbed them but it appears not. So I guess I have to go to the doctor next week and see if I can get referred to an allergist here (Tampere or Jyväskylä). Until then I guess I eat like a sparrow and hope for the best!
Eero has gone to the summer cottage today, I wanted to go but allergies wanted to be stupid as they have been for a month now, seems it is not a glitch but something has changed after that last allergic reaction to the bug bite or sting.
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
A New Life
So, my ticket was booked, Eero was coming to get me from England (I feared it would be too much crying for me and mom but neither of us cried!!) I enjoyed my leaving party from my friends at our local bar (Ye Olde Foundary) and even the extra Christmas party hosted by my lovely "aunty" Jayne! I was so excited about that party Emma even made us a suitcase leaving cake which mom wanted to devour as soon as she picked up Eero and myself from the party!
Lucky for some, 13th December 2009 we landed in Tampere city airport and forever began! I came to a new city with no job just a plan to enrol for a master's degree, language course and then get a job so as we could afford more luxuries (and I could get a car too!!).
It was a busy few weeks in a brand new apartment block, I spent the first 3 weeks just sorting boxes and moving things around. You would of thought it was a family of five in here not just us! I spent Christmas 2008 here so I was quite excited about being here 2009, even though I missed being with my own family. I guess we get to go back to England some Christmases.
After Christmas, I started asking around for some language courses. We found one and I enrolled a 3 month beginners course. I was so excited!
In the beginning
I suppose I should start from the beginning. My first visit to Finland was 7th March 2008, it was an international studies module for Neptune (Network for Environmental Projects in Technology UNited in Europe). It was held in Mikkeli but of course the initial excitement was that there would be snow and the work would be easy!
Mikkeli would be my second international study module so I knew they were a good experience and a fun way to learn! The rest is mostly educational and boring. I met Eero on this course, he was unfortunate enough to be put on the same group as me! He was somehow made responsible for being my translator to make sure my food got cooked without someone triggering my crazy allergies. After a week of playing in the snow and doing a little work, Finland felt more like home than England did. I had always dreamed of living somewhere else that wasn't England but I always thought Canada would be the place (English speaking =D)... My parent's however thought it was a phase I would grow out of.
I spent a lot of the summer of 2008, coming back and forth from Finland and finished the summer nicely with a trip to Cairo and Luxor. After that summer I think it was then i decided that I seriously wanted to move to Finland. A scary choice considering that from both official languages none of them were English. Then of course follows the shame of being English, we rarely learn another language we expect the world to speak English. At some point in the Summer, possibly for my birthday (Eero will tell you my memory is terrible) he brought my Lelia White, from start to Finnish. A really good beginners book! Anyway, after a frustrating year a found it almost impossible to learn Finnish when i couldn't practice speaking with anyone properly... msn, skype, video calls weren't good enough and phone calls were to expensive to waste on learning there was always to much gossip and random things to chat about.
I graduated from my Environmental Science and Ecology degree in June 2008. This started some serious thinking of how I could fund a move to Finland. Of course, I had just finished my degree and they are an expensive hobby in the UK. I had no work in my last year so I could concentrate on my studies. I knew I was a good saver but I knew it would take a long time to save! So i decided that September 2008, I would look for a "proper" job and would save from there and stay living home with my parents as it was cheap.
I must of been a cat in a past life as I tend to land on my feet, within 3 weeks of sending more job applications than I care to I got an interview and a job. I was so happy at graduation as I was starting my new job the next week. I loved my job working as a landfill technician for 15 months. It was a very educational time both learning about landfill and office politics. Wisdom is earnt not given. My job had a company car for private use so I made my first buck selling my old car and not having to pay out cash to keep it going. I was intending to transfer to Finland to keep experience and loyalty with the company, unfortunately it didn't happen that way and I booked a one way ticket to Finland 13th December 2009.
Mikkeli would be my second international study module so I knew they were a good experience and a fun way to learn! The rest is mostly educational and boring. I met Eero on this course, he was unfortunate enough to be put on the same group as me! He was somehow made responsible for being my translator to make sure my food got cooked without someone triggering my crazy allergies. After a week of playing in the snow and doing a little work, Finland felt more like home than England did. I had always dreamed of living somewhere else that wasn't England but I always thought Canada would be the place (English speaking =D)... My parent's however thought it was a phase I would grow out of.
I spent a lot of the summer of 2008, coming back and forth from Finland and finished the summer nicely with a trip to Cairo and Luxor. After that summer I think it was then i decided that I seriously wanted to move to Finland. A scary choice considering that from both official languages none of them were English. Then of course follows the shame of being English, we rarely learn another language we expect the world to speak English. At some point in the Summer, possibly for my birthday (Eero will tell you my memory is terrible) he brought my Lelia White, from start to Finnish. A really good beginners book! Anyway, after a frustrating year a found it almost impossible to learn Finnish when i couldn't practice speaking with anyone properly... msn, skype, video calls weren't good enough and phone calls were to expensive to waste on learning there was always to much gossip and random things to chat about.
I graduated from my Environmental Science and Ecology degree in June 2008. This started some serious thinking of how I could fund a move to Finland. Of course, I had just finished my degree and they are an expensive hobby in the UK. I had no work in my last year so I could concentrate on my studies. I knew I was a good saver but I knew it would take a long time to save! So i decided that September 2008, I would look for a "proper" job and would save from there and stay living home with my parents as it was cheap.
I must of been a cat in a past life as I tend to land on my feet, within 3 weeks of sending more job applications than I care to I got an interview and a job. I was so happy at graduation as I was starting my new job the next week. I loved my job working as a landfill technician for 15 months. It was a very educational time both learning about landfill and office politics. Wisdom is earnt not given. My job had a company car for private use so I made my first buck selling my old car and not having to pay out cash to keep it going. I was intending to transfer to Finland to keep experience and loyalty with the company, unfortunately it didn't happen that way and I booked a one way ticket to Finland 13th December 2009.
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