Sunday, August 29, 2010
Steffi's Travel Oy
Seriously I should open not just a Shop with Finnish products but a travel agency. Everybody is asking me which trips to take and when to go where. LoooL Not just at my university but also now at the hostel. I should register Steffi's Travel Oy or Steffin Matka Oy! And charge for every tip I give.
1st week: parties, people and hostel life
So the first week is almost over. And still there is no rest or calming down. Half of the important stuff is not yet organized, I have no Internet in the hostel and it is freaking cold with just 13°C!!!
But from the start. The Orientation week started on Wednesday and I was meeting lots of new people from Finland and all over the world and toooooooooo many Germans. They are really everywhere. Crazy! Ok some are really nice but seriously I could live without them. And the worst part is there is another Steffi here. :'( Dislike that very much!!!!!!
I got to know my Tutor on Wednesday as well. Her name is Jessica from Österbotten who is also a member of my University club at Åbo Akademi. Jeah SF 4 ever! :P In my tutor group there is also Victoria from Peru and Alonso from Spain and a missing person where we all are not sure if it is a he or she but that person is still missing. Very weird! But well besides that I got to know by now Japanese and Chinese girls, a Canadian guy, a Italian girl and soooooo many more. They said more than 25 nationalities are this year at ÅA and together they are like 140 people!!!! Oh jeah and a guy from Norway! :P Very important for me! ;)
I'm quite happy that we didn't have that introduction of everybody in the beginning. So no standing up and saying ones name in front of more than 150 people. Woohoo!
So we had also a bus tour through the city on Wednesday, could have been the guide myself but well it was Ok. So all in all the Orientation week was more of less a waste of time for me but well didn't expect anything different. The only good thing was to get to know new people.
On Thursday there was the famous first year Med students party or at least I think it is famous. I joined Steffi and her friends for the rally through the city. The different clubs of the Medical faculty introduced themselves to the new first years and had some tasked to do and after that at the party prices were given away. The tasks were sometimes tricky and as an international student group with 4 Finns too it was sometimes hard because most of the time everything was in Finnish. Well in the end we managed 9 out of 12 tasks and won even 2 tasks and got chocolate and Koskenkorva Bränvin. :) So a very good result. Winning is the best. :P The party itself was completely crazy. You couldn't hear a word because everybody was talking. So much for: Finns don't talk. ;) And everywhere naked guys were running around with just towels around their hips because there was also a sauna in the med students club. :) Crazy but fun at the same time. Oh yeah and one of the funniest conversations of the evening was with a Finnish guy. He asked in Finnish if i was from Finland and I answered 'En' which means 'I'm not' in Finnish (jeah really difficult to remember ;)) and then he was like 'You are from Finland, right?', 'No you are joking with me you must be from Finland' and said some other stuff in Finnish I didn't get. Well yeah drunken Finns are funny. :)
Had to be in the hostel, in which I moved on Thursday afternoon, at 2am so I had to leave the med party at 1:30am. On Friday I felt horrible. I think I'm too old for parties like that ;)
And of course on Friday was the next party. Well actually 2 parties after each other. I just went to the first one (Student Union Welcome Pub Evening), which was really enough. We had a Finland quiz there and guess what ... my group won! Surprise surprise. We had also a Japanese girl there who is in Turku since January so there was no chance that we'd loose. :P Well we did some stupid mistakes but well. And in the end we had to share the first price. Chocolate (the good Maitosuklaa from fazer), batches for the overalls, Salmiakki (not kossu!!) and äh condoms. Still didn't understand that but well Finns ... you know ... crazy people!
We aka. our quiz group decided to go for a kebab/pizza/falafel and skip the second party. When we passed the club later there was a queue where at least 50 people were waiting outside! Unbelievable! And it was already past midnight.
Now it's weekend so trying to get some university work done which is a bit tricky if you don't have a Internet connection. Next week I have the whole week off because my classes don't start before the week after. Woohoo!
The hostel is ok but I cannot wait to get into my own flat. Problem is there is still somebody living in there so I can't get the key before the afternoon of 1st September. Which really sucks!!!!!! Because then I have to go at least two times to get all my stuff from the hostel to my flat which is like 10km away from the hostel. But by now I know already people living in Räntämäki so there should be somebody who could help me with my stuff.
So enough for now. I start to freeze in the library already and my stomach is making funny sounds. Hmm maybe I should feed him more than once every 3 days. But I don't have my Finnish bank card by now. That sucks because I got already my scholarship money on the bank account but without my card I cannot use the money for grocery shopping or getting me a bike. But well get the card next Friday then it is shopping time. I still need stuff for my flat, a blanket, pots, a pan and I already saw like 10 cups I really would like to have. ;) Maybe it is good that i have no bank card by now. ;)
I hope everybody is alright. From Wednesday on I have my own room and regular internet connection again so I'm able to answer messages and use ICQ or skype again. :) Just in case somebody has the urgent need to talk to me. :D
*hali*
But from the start. The Orientation week started on Wednesday and I was meeting lots of new people from Finland and all over the world and toooooooooo many Germans. They are really everywhere. Crazy! Ok some are really nice but seriously I could live without them. And the worst part is there is another Steffi here. :'( Dislike that very much!!!!!!
I got to know my Tutor on Wednesday as well. Her name is Jessica from Österbotten who is also a member of my University club at Åbo Akademi. Jeah SF 4 ever! :P In my tutor group there is also Victoria from Peru and Alonso from Spain and a missing person where we all are not sure if it is a he or she but that person is still missing. Very weird! But well besides that I got to know by now Japanese and Chinese girls, a Canadian guy, a Italian girl and soooooo many more. They said more than 25 nationalities are this year at ÅA and together they are like 140 people!!!! Oh jeah and a guy from Norway! :P Very important for me! ;)
I'm quite happy that we didn't have that introduction of everybody in the beginning. So no standing up and saying ones name in front of more than 150 people. Woohoo!
So we had also a bus tour through the city on Wednesday, could have been the guide myself but well it was Ok. So all in all the Orientation week was more of less a waste of time for me but well didn't expect anything different. The only good thing was to get to know new people.
On Thursday there was the famous first year Med students party or at least I think it is famous. I joined Steffi and her friends for the rally through the city. The different clubs of the Medical faculty introduced themselves to the new first years and had some tasked to do and after that at the party prices were given away. The tasks were sometimes tricky and as an international student group with 4 Finns too it was sometimes hard because most of the time everything was in Finnish. Well in the end we managed 9 out of 12 tasks and won even 2 tasks and got chocolate and Koskenkorva Bränvin. :) So a very good result. Winning is the best. :P The party itself was completely crazy. You couldn't hear a word because everybody was talking. So much for: Finns don't talk. ;) And everywhere naked guys were running around with just towels around their hips because there was also a sauna in the med students club. :) Crazy but fun at the same time. Oh yeah and one of the funniest conversations of the evening was with a Finnish guy. He asked in Finnish if i was from Finland and I answered 'En' which means 'I'm not' in Finnish (jeah really difficult to remember ;)) and then he was like 'You are from Finland, right?', 'No you are joking with me you must be from Finland' and said some other stuff in Finnish I didn't get. Well yeah drunken Finns are funny. :)
Had to be in the hostel, in which I moved on Thursday afternoon, at 2am so I had to leave the med party at 1:30am. On Friday I felt horrible. I think I'm too old for parties like that ;)
And of course on Friday was the next party. Well actually 2 parties after each other. I just went to the first one (Student Union Welcome Pub Evening), which was really enough. We had a Finland quiz there and guess what ... my group won! Surprise surprise. We had also a Japanese girl there who is in Turku since January so there was no chance that we'd loose. :P Well we did some stupid mistakes but well. And in the end we had to share the first price. Chocolate (the good Maitosuklaa from fazer), batches for the overalls, Salmiakki (not kossu!!) and äh condoms. Still didn't understand that but well Finns ... you know ... crazy people!
We aka. our quiz group decided to go for a kebab/pizza/falafel and skip the second party. When we passed the club later there was a queue where at least 50 people were waiting outside! Unbelievable! And it was already past midnight.
Now it's weekend so trying to get some university work done which is a bit tricky if you don't have a Internet connection. Next week I have the whole week off because my classes don't start before the week after. Woohoo!
The hostel is ok but I cannot wait to get into my own flat. Problem is there is still somebody living in there so I can't get the key before the afternoon of 1st September. Which really sucks!!!!!! Because then I have to go at least two times to get all my stuff from the hostel to my flat which is like 10km away from the hostel. But by now I know already people living in Räntämäki so there should be somebody who could help me with my stuff.
So enough for now. I start to freeze in the library already and my stomach is making funny sounds. Hmm maybe I should feed him more than once every 3 days. But I don't have my Finnish bank card by now. That sucks because I got already my scholarship money on the bank account but without my card I cannot use the money for grocery shopping or getting me a bike. But well get the card next Friday then it is shopping time. I still need stuff for my flat, a blanket, pots, a pan and I already saw like 10 cups I really would like to have. ;) Maybe it is good that i have no bank card by now. ;)
I hope everybody is alright. From Wednesday on I have my own room and regular internet connection again so I'm able to answer messages and use ICQ or skype again. :) Just in case somebody has the urgent need to talk to me. :D
*hali*
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Kotona Turussa - Hemma i Åbo - Home in Turku
So I'm back. For real!
Just 5 month after my last visit I'm back in my favorite Turku.
And it wasn't raining but the full moon was shining over the airport and as soon as I read Lentoasema Turku/ Åbo I had a smile on my face. No weird feelings anymore just joy. :)
The Finnish bus driver ignored my English, of course, but luckily I have no problem with kaksi ja puoli euroa :D At the market place I was again confused. They changed bus stops during the past years a lot (but at least the construction work is done now) and I didn't remembered all the buses that drive through Hämeenkatu which was where I had to go. So I asked a busdriver. Looks like most of the busdrivers are foreigners now which made it a lot easier. So I got a busnumber from him which I could take and had a nice little chat, too. I just don't get why everybody thinks I have a Finnish boyfriend. As if it was that easy? Anyway I arrived with my tons of luggage at my friend Steffi's place where I will sleep the first 3 nights. It's so good to see a familiar face.
We are planing to go to an international food party tonight from Steffi's exchange program. Let's see what we German girls will make. ;)
Tomorrow Orientation week starts. I'm not as scared as 5 years ago but still I'm not so keen of introducing myself to 130 people in a huge lecture room. I hate speaking in front of people about anything including myself. But I'm curious about my tutor.
So that's it for now.
*puss och kram* ;)
Just 5 month after my last visit I'm back in my favorite Turku.
And it wasn't raining but the full moon was shining over the airport and as soon as I read Lentoasema Turku/ Åbo I had a smile on my face. No weird feelings anymore just joy. :)
The Finnish bus driver ignored my English, of course, but luckily I have no problem with kaksi ja puoli euroa :D At the market place I was again confused. They changed bus stops during the past years a lot (but at least the construction work is done now) and I didn't remembered all the buses that drive through Hämeenkatu which was where I had to go. So I asked a busdriver. Looks like most of the busdrivers are foreigners now which made it a lot easier. So I got a busnumber from him which I could take and had a nice little chat, too. I just don't get why everybody thinks I have a Finnish boyfriend. As if it was that easy? Anyway I arrived with my tons of luggage at my friend Steffi's place where I will sleep the first 3 nights. It's so good to see a familiar face.
We are planing to go to an international food party tonight from Steffi's exchange program. Let's see what we German girls will make. ;)
Tomorrow Orientation week starts. I'm not as scared as 5 years ago but still I'm not so keen of introducing myself to 130 people in a huge lecture room. I hate speaking in front of people about anything including myself. But I'm curious about my tutor.
So that's it for now.
*puss och kram* ;)
Greetings from Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Monday 23rd August around 5pm
Today I was getting up very early (again) to finish packing and getting the last things done. I didn’t even have time to think that I’m leaving Germany for a while longer than just 2 weeks. My suitcase was, of course, way to heavy again and I had to leave some important stuff behind which I will receive in a package in about 2 weeks, so I have to survive now which just the basics. Well and it is for sure a good excuse to go shopping as soon as I have the scholarship money.
We (my parents drove me) arrived 4 hours to early in Berlin and so we had enough time to eat one last highlight of Germany cuisine: Currywurst. The one in Berlin is the best and I was grateful that my parents didn’t dragged me into McD as they did so many times before when I preferred real food.
Even though I had 22,8 and not the official maximum of 20kg I didn’t have to pay an extra fee for my luggage. As always! The flight to Copenhagen was well interesting. A very small plane with just 4 seats in a row and my hand luggage just made it with a little squeezing into the overhead compartment. But Danish is such a funny language. I understood most of it which surprised me but it really sounds like a mixture of Swedish and Dutch. But I still prefer Norwegian :D
The whole trip is very multicultural, I flew from Germany with a Scandinavian airline, read a Swedish newspaper on the plane, sitting now in Denmark, eating Danish chocolate and reading a Norwegian newspaper. Could have bought the Finnish chocolate as well but I’m not so keen on spending 50% more money for something I can buy from tomorrow onwards in every supermarket. I also skipped the Anton Berg chocolate although I wanted to try that for years now. But 4,20e for a chocolate bar even if it was 150g is definitely not in my budget. So now I wait in Copenhagen for all in all 4hours to contine my flight to Turku. I just hope the weather is better there. In Berlin heaven was heavily crying because I left and Copenhagen is crying too because I stay for just a few hours. Let’s hope Turku is not crying because I’m coming back ;) Although it would be tears of joy I’m sure.
Just got a message from my best Finnish friend who is coming back to Finland in September from her internship in Spain. So really good news because finally we are not living 2000km away from each other anymore. Woohoo! And maybe she can take this weird feeling away that I’m doing a very big mistake again which I had the last 2 days.. Although at the moment I just feel confused neither happy nor sad just confused. Hopefully this feeling will become a positive one as soon as I hear some Finnish people talking around me. :) At least the Iittala shop here at the airport made me smile already.
Oh and I started a new tradition. Since I got a new small suitcase I decided to collect stickers on it from places I’ve been too . I always wanted to do that and now I have the perfect suitcase for it. :) Berlin was the first I put on it but stupid Copenhagen airport doesn’t seams to have any stickers of Denmark nor Copenhagen just 'Danish' wooden shoes ;) and Danish castle guards. The souvenir shop looks like a mixture of London and Amsterdam :D Just in white and red. So no sticker from here, have to return next year and get it in the city center. :)
Today I was getting up very early (again) to finish packing and getting the last things done. I didn’t even have time to think that I’m leaving Germany for a while longer than just 2 weeks. My suitcase was, of course, way to heavy again and I had to leave some important stuff behind which I will receive in a package in about 2 weeks, so I have to survive now which just the basics. Well and it is for sure a good excuse to go shopping as soon as I have the scholarship money.
We (my parents drove me) arrived 4 hours to early in Berlin and so we had enough time to eat one last highlight of Germany cuisine: Currywurst. The one in Berlin is the best and I was grateful that my parents didn’t dragged me into McD as they did so many times before when I preferred real food.
Even though I had 22,8 and not the official maximum of 20kg I didn’t have to pay an extra fee for my luggage. As always! The flight to Copenhagen was well interesting. A very small plane with just 4 seats in a row and my hand luggage just made it with a little squeezing into the overhead compartment. But Danish is such a funny language. I understood most of it which surprised me but it really sounds like a mixture of Swedish and Dutch. But I still prefer Norwegian :D
The whole trip is very multicultural, I flew from Germany with a Scandinavian airline, read a Swedish newspaper on the plane, sitting now in Denmark, eating Danish chocolate and reading a Norwegian newspaper. Could have bought the Finnish chocolate as well but I’m not so keen on spending 50% more money for something I can buy from tomorrow onwards in every supermarket. I also skipped the Anton Berg chocolate although I wanted to try that for years now. But 4,20e for a chocolate bar even if it was 150g is definitely not in my budget. So now I wait in Copenhagen for all in all 4hours to contine my flight to Turku. I just hope the weather is better there. In Berlin heaven was heavily crying because I left and Copenhagen is crying too because I stay for just a few hours. Let’s hope Turku is not crying because I’m coming back ;) Although it would be tears of joy I’m sure.
Just got a message from my best Finnish friend who is coming back to Finland in September from her internship in Spain. So really good news because finally we are not living 2000km away from each other anymore. Woohoo! And maybe she can take this weird feeling away that I’m doing a very big mistake again which I had the last 2 days.. Although at the moment I just feel confused neither happy nor sad just confused. Hopefully this feeling will become a positive one as soon as I hear some Finnish people talking around me. :) At least the Iittala shop here at the airport made me smile already.
Oh and I started a new tradition. Since I got a new small suitcase I decided to collect stickers on it from places I’ve been too . I always wanted to do that and now I have the perfect suitcase for it. :) Berlin was the first I put on it but stupid Copenhagen airport doesn’t seams to have any stickers of Denmark nor Copenhagen just 'Danish' wooden shoes ;) and Danish castle guards. The souvenir shop looks like a mixture of London and Amsterdam :D Just in white and red. So no sticker from here, have to return next year and get it in the city center. :)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Last weekend in Germany
Just a couple of hours are left for me till I‘m off to Finland. After repacking my big suitcase for 90 minutes (opening and closing that thing 10 times incl. sitting on the suitcase to close it the first 5 times!!!) I give up and hope that my teary eyes will be enough to prevent me from paying for 3kg of overweight. Everybody should cross their fingers. Now hand luggage it also almost packed besides laptop and toothbrush :) So I’m ready to go.
But before I arrived today at my parents place I had the best weekend in a very long time.
Usually I don’t leave the house on weekends and just relax but this time I had to finish packing the last things in my flat, cleaning up, returning the last 30 books to the library (went there 3 times in the past 3 days to return the 100 books I probably had for the past 2 years), preparing some food for my going away party and just preparing myself to say goodbye to some of the best friends I’ve ever had. So I was pretty busy which meant not more than 3 hours of sleep during the past 4 days. But it was really worth it.
My ‘Going Away Party’ (which I had together with my friend Janine who is leaving Magdeburg next week as well) was really awesome. Great food, lots of nice people and interesting small talk topics. But one should never put 4 political science students in a room together, they will end up talking politics if you want it or not. :D Very funny. But I think everybody else felt immediately asleep then ;) And I got such cute going away presents and am still proud that I didn’t cried when people were leaving and it was time to say goodbye. I saved those tears for the time when everybody was gone. :’( The party ended around 2am (way too early ;)) with a huge laugh. But don’t even try to find out what the topic was. What happens in Janine’s and Kathrin’s living room stays there ;)On Sunday morning I left Magdeburg for good, and as usual forgot half of my stuff there (my version of a going away present: leaving a dirty salad bowl behind including salad servers that didn’t even belong to me ;)) and spent the rest of the morning in Halberstadt visiting my favorite LDS ward. The afternoon I was in Veckenstedt with Jessi and her family, great food, 3 American ‘girls’, good games (I’m so kicking ass in Activity – thanks Janine! :)) and lots of (mini)airplanes and (mini)harvesters. Little boys can be sooooo cute. And I think I haven’t heard my name that often in my whole life. ‘Steffi look here …, Steffi do this …, Steffi see that… , Steffi come and watch…’ all afternoon long. :) Gosh I’m going to miss that because at one point it was again time to say goodbye. Again very emotional and sweet since I even got a kiss – how long I waited for that ;) – from 3 year old Fabi. ;) Well it’s a start and one has to be grateful for the little things. :P
So that was my weekend. I enjoyed every bit and at a few points I probably would have said Ok I stay if somebody would have begged me to. I used to like going away but after 4 years it is so hard to say goodbye. :’( So thanks to everybody I saw this weekend and also to those I didn’t manage to meet again before I left. Thanks for the past 4 years. I’m glad that I meet you all and that you enriched my life, overlooked most of my strange habits, weird comments, active arguments or dress-faux-pas’ (although I’m still convince that I didn’t have any ;)).
I love you all more than you can imagine and going to miss you like crazy. But don’t you think we are done yet. It is pretty hard to get rid of me, which is more a promise than a thread. :P
And as I said already to most of you, if you are in Finland, Sweden, Norway or Estonia, just give me a call and we meet up.
So that’s it for now. Maybe 3 hours of sleep and then off to Berlin, Copenhagen and then home sweet home Turku where again a Steffi is waiting for me. :)
I’ll promise to keep on posting here with or without a steady home which I won’t have for another 10 days. But well being homeless shouldn’t be that bad, I hope.
*hug* and good night or as ‘we’ say in Finland ‘Hyvää yötä!’
Und in Kurzform auf Deutsch:
Hatte ein sehr tolles Wochenende, will nicht mehr weggehen, aber Koffer sind nach langem Kampf gepackt und um 15:45 geht mein Flieger gen Norden. Danke an alle in MD und ganz LSA bzw auch Deutschland und der Welt ;) für tolle 4 Jahre. Wir sehen uns wieder, egal ob in Deutschland oder woanders in der Welt. Versprochen!
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