An adorned Toripoliisi at the beginning of the new semester.
I miss many things about the start of the school year in Finland. So many things. I have had the pleasure of experiencing three back-to-school seasons in Finland. One in Tampere and two in Oulu. As you may have gathered from previous blog posts, I have really enjoyed getting to live in Finland and study there. Here are 5 of the things I miss the most about back-to-school season in Tampere and Oulu:
5. Looking forward to delicious lunches at the University cafeterias
Cafeteria food at Finnish universities is delicious. Especially the variety of veggies one can get. Also, lunch time can be anytime after 10a. In order for a little nostaligia trip today, I ate at 10:30a. I was ready. The cost of the food for students is also extremely reasonable for what is on offer. I didn’t go to the cafeteria every day, but when I went, it was an extra chance to socialize with my classmates.
4. End of summer / beginning of fall celebrations
The rose bush installation in the Oulu city center was stunning. I had never seen so many potted plants outside before. I also appreciate that the installation, although the vision of the artist, was carried out through the labor of dozens of volunteers!
My first summer in Oulu, there was a lot to take in. When I arrived, there was a rose festival going on in the downtown area, which meant that the streets were filled with roses of all colors and varieties. It was a special art installation by Kaisa Salmi and consisted of about 34 000 roses! At the end of the week, people who wanted got to take a rose bush with them for free. Now that is what I call a celebration! That week as well, I attended the spectacle that is the Air Guitar World Championships. This annual competion brings international competitors to Oulu and is conducted in the main city square. Anyone can attend for free and it seemed that people of all ages attended. A very well-known Finnish musician performed and the atmosphere was delightful! This festival is only one of several pretty eccentric events that Finland hosts throughout the year (including wife carrying, cellphone throwing, etc.).
3. Seeing fruit, berries, and mushrooms everywhere!
In late summer / early fall, there are berries and mushrooms everywhere! There are also plums and apples. So many delicious things and jokamiehenoikeus makes it possible to pick things that are edible in most places! I could pick berries on my way to almost anywhere and remember getting a lot of lingonberries and bilberries from the forests near my student apartments. It was so fun to participate in this Finnish rite-of-passage while settling into the school year each fall.
2. Decent housing and affordable utilies, subsidized to support student life and the complete lack of need for a car of one’s own
Bike parking at the University of Oulu. GAH! So European.
My Norwegian bike acquired at the recycling center in Oulu for 60 EUR — I miss this bike.
Life in Finland as a student just seems a bit easier to pull off. Housing is offered by housing foundations that work in conjunction with the student unions. Housing is rarely right on campus, but there are usually several options very near by, so that a short walk or bike ride is all that is needed to get there. Although someone could choose to not live in the student housing while studying in Finland, I do not know any international student (or many Finns for that matter) that would choose to do this unless they were independently wealthy, as the housing is convenient, affordable, and perfectly adequate. I had access to many amenities that would be considered only a luxury here, like sauna access (which could be reserved for private or group use), one of my apartments had a balcony, and apartments were in areas near forest and walking/biking trails and bus stops. It was nice to live in student housing. I would live in any of the apartments I stayed in as a student. They were, in my opinion, way above adequate, although my parents thought that from the outside my second apartment in Oulu looked like Soviet Era housing (well, because, it kind of was — we Millennials call that vintage).
Not having a car was actually quite freeing. I did benefit from other people (namely, my kummi families) having a car and taking me on adventures, but for my day-to-day living, a car was completely unnecessary. The used bike I got served me really well in navigating the various wide paths throughout the city, when I didn’t choose to just walk. I was told when I moved to Oulu that it was very much so a city for bikers and so I was happy to take part in this instead of relying on the buses or having to deal with the expenses and responsibility of car ownership.
View right outside of row house apartment in my first student housing placement in Oulu. My flatmate was Finnish, we each had our own rooms, but shared a kitchen space and bathroom. We had access to a shared laundry space (no additional payment needed, just a reservation) and also sauna (which could be reserved for free for private use or you could attend a session for women / men). The ease of access to sauna is probably one of things I miss the most about living in Finland. More on that in another blog post.
Hanging out in my first student apartment in Oulu, in front of the wall hanging my Finnish flatmate had hanging when I arrived. Trying to decide which Finnish coffee I prefer, while appreciating my flatmate’s tastes in interior decorating!
1. Getting to meet lots of other international students and instructors, as well as many Finnish classmates and instructors - many of whom I am still friends with today!
Building international friendships with Finns and non-Finns was one of the most rewarding parts of studying in Finland. I was able to study with people from over 20 different countries throughout my time in the program in Oulu. The relationship building started during the first fall and grew from there. Outside the classroom, we went on little adventures around the area (including a hockey game or two — Go Kärpät!). The second fall there, I was a tutor for the incoming bunch of students and it was fun to show them around the city, since it had been my home for nearly a year at that point! Getting to study with people who grew up in different cultural contexts than you is awesome, because it ensures you are getting perspectives that are not too familiar, but also help you identify some larger life commonalities, no matter where you are from. For Americans, I think this is essential experience.
One of my classmates and I before heading to my first hockey game in Oulu! I am not used to being from a place where teams win (I mean, I live in MN…), so it was thrilling when Kärpät were the SM-Liiga season champions TWO years in a row, while I was studying there! Too bad I didn’t manage to bring back any of that puck luck to the Wild here in MN….
Student ticket for the hockey game cost 7.50 EUR!
Kärpät home ice
I also enjoyed hosting a few American friends in the cities I studied in during the first weeks of the new school year. Liisa had made a visit to me in Tampere while in Finland visiting her host family from gap year, before heading to Scotland to study.
An ad in Tampere, aimed at Finnish teenagers encouraging them to study abroad. It proclaims that the experience is freeing and that there are stipends available to help support studies abroad. I think this is brilliant.
Have you studied in Finland before? If so, what do you miss about this time of year there? Do you hope to study in Finland one day? Where do you hope to go? Studying in Finland has been instrumental to shaping who I am today. Let me know in the comments or send an email about your experiences or plans for studying abroad. I love talking about living abroad in general and studying in Finland in particular!
Opening of the school year ceremony at Rotuaari in downtown Oulu. Using the same stage as the Air Guitar World Championships a few days prior!
