Oh yeah, I graduated

This post is coming a bit late, we MITIM's graduated from LUT on 30.June and from GSOM on 2.July. It was one busy weekend, but definitely one that will stay in the top 5 best memories.  

There was all together 110 graduating from LUT (including the Ph.D & engineer students), so the ceremony took a while, as we all one by one went up there to pick our diplomas. When I finally got that funny light blue hard-covered book in my hand and a glass of sparkling wine, I just couldn't stop smiling. 

MITIM'11

The after party was in the summer cottage close to the Uni, where we have been few other times too, BBQ & sauna. It was really nice, warm evening again. 

Next morning a group of us took a minibus to St.Pete, where we arrived after a loong wait (the bus was 2 hours late) and a long drive. But other than the delay, it was good. I was in a hurry to go to St.Pete, since my parents were waiting for me there. They had arrived to Russia already on Thursday but of course they wanted to see the city from my point of view. Well, unfortunately we didn't have so much time, but fortunately we got a good Russian dinner with some rossiskoje shampanskoje. :) 

Dad & Mom in St.Pete

The graduation party was a bit different in St.Pete, we had the whole Harry Potter -look and overall the ceremony with all the speeches was more festive than in LUT. In the evening we had the after party in Malevich bar with the MIB students. 

Before the ceremony in the main building of the St.Pete State University

The second night I stayed at the Nevsky Grand Hotel, which was really nice (well, I payed 124 euros for one night, so it should be). On Sunday before taking the marshrutka back to Helsinki, I sat in the park behind Ruskii Muzei, went for a boat trip and did some shopping in Galleria. 

Oh, St.Pete, I will miss you...

View from Neva

Oh yeah, a thing that made my graduation even more exciting was that on Thursday morning I got a job offer from Kesko Food (IT department). Obviously I accepted it, as the position matches exactly what I have been studying & looking and wishing for. I will start 15.8. 

So now, it's a holiday!! :D Enjoy!

Defense completed

We had the last challenge of the MITIM program yesterday and the day before. We had the public defense, where we needed to present our theses and answer to any questions that the committee had. The committee consisted of several professors from GSOM and from an other university from St.Petersburg, professors and the dean from LUT and two company representatives (Technopolis Lappeenranta and a small consulting company). As the defense was a public one, there was also some quests. 

My turn to defend my thesis was on Tuesday at three. I have never before been so nervous about presenting. But as I started my presentation, most of the nervousness changed to excitement and the presentation went really well. As the committee started to ask questions, my heart started to beat like hell again. Fortunately the questions were rather easy for me to answer and there were not many questions. I got really good feedback too. Overall, I'm very satisfied with my grade (although, we still need to wait until Monday when we'll get the final grades). 

It's done now, we're Masters :D

LUT MITIMs + few GSOM MITIMs after the defense. Picture by Liisa-Maija Sainio. 

Life is sweet

I guess I don't need to say anything here :)

Hunting for a job

It's not as easy as one would think but I am optimistic. I would like to start working as soon as possible, but so far I have sent only five applications and no interviews yet. I am quite picky, I must say. I can't apply for a job if I truly can't see myself doing the thing. I do learn and adapt really quickly, so challenging or a tiny bit out of my career objective jobs wouldn't be a problem at all. After all, this is a starting point of my career and I can build it on the way and develop myself further. 


I am happy to hear that many of my MITIM colleagues have recently got jobs. They started to look for their jobs already earlier this spring, which would have been good for me too, but I wanted to concentrate on my thesis. I don't think it was a bad decision.


Ok, back to writing job applications.. It's the hardest part of the applying process (at least for a Finn to praise your own achievements feels embarrassing, but who's gonna flatter you if you don't do it yourself..?). Fingers crossed so I'd find a job soon!! 

It is done?

Is it?

Few hours back I sent my thesis to my supervisor for final comments. On Monday it needs to be ready for printing, so I still have time during the weekend to make final corrections if needed. I know there is always something, I could spend weeks and months to finalize and rewrite things. I know my thesis is not perfect, but it is pretty ok considering the time I have spent on it and the other things that has happened in my life that have messed up my concentration and motivation. Therefore, I decided to be satisfied with it and let it go, it is ready now. 

I should be happy now, but for some reason I'm feeling a bit sad. I don't know if it's because of all the things that happened during the past few years which I have tried to ignore but that I shouldn't have and now they are coming back to me? Or is it because I know that the past two years I have gained tremendous amount of great experiences and fantastic, beautiful friends to who I have to say goodbye (at least for a while)...? Or is this just a sign that I should take it easy for a little while, enjoy what I have accomplished and live in the moment for a while? ;)

I am already stressed over finding a job and a place to stay, even though I am not graduated yet... 

Ok, sorry for this highly personal post this time, I just wanted to warn all you who are starting to write their theses about these mixed post-thesis-writing-feelings that might occur.. Don't worry, I'm sure it's a bypassing phase :)

Almost ready with the thesis..

...and writing the acknowledgements makes me weep... 

Hyvä kevätflunssa,

tämä on omistettu sinulle. Kiitos käynnistäsi kevätflunssa, oli mukava levätä kanssasi ja katsoa leffoja mutta nyt sinun olisi jo aika lähteä. Ystäväni C-vitamiini, hunaja-tee ja Finrexin ovat samaa mieltä kanssani. Joten ole hyvä ja lähde ennenkuin kutsun valkosipuli-sipulimaidon tänne. Tiedäthän, se ei ole kummallekaan meistä erityisen miellyyttävää seuraa.. Joten ole hyvä kevätflunssa ja lähde vielä kun päätös on sinun. Kiitos. 

spring :)

I just saw the first butterfly and the snow is almost melted. lov it!

Pre defence approaching

On Wednesday I sent my thesis to my supervisors for evaluation. It is now approximately 80 % ready, about 10 - 15 % for the empirical part and 5 - 10 % to finalize the theoretical part. Of course, I got right away a horrible flue. I would say that I'm really devoted to the work I do, I'm never sick before the deadline. Well, I hope I get better now during the Easter holidays so I'd have some voice left to defend the thesis on Wednesday. 

One reason for the cold might be also the fact that I didn't just go home and rest when I felt that I was coming down with flue. Instead I took part in a student event. It was the first for me while studying in Lappeenranta (if you don't count those our own MITIM-events..) 

This was a bar hopping event called Willimiehen Wipellys, where the aim is to collect stamps in your "passport" from different pubs in Lappeenranta. And yeah, I don't even need to say that you get one stamp for each drink... All this should be done wearing the traditional students outfit, the overall. For the LUT business school students, the color of overalls is neon yellow (easy to spot). 

Unfortunately, us MITIMs were not able to get the overalls during the first year, so many decided not to get them either for this year. So, obviously, without an overall, I felt like an outsider. But in despite of that, it was quite fun and relaxing after the past weeks of hard work. Happily few other MITIMs without overalls joined the bar hopping too. 

Yay, now back to doing the presentation for pre-defence and finding a job!! It's almost oveeeeerrr, can't believe it!! 

Thesis, thesis..

I've been working with my thesis quite efficiently recently and it looks like I probably will be able to get most of the things ready by pre-defence. I guess I work best under a small pressure. :)

Lovely, soon I'll be able to focus truly on looking for a job. So far I've sent only one application to a highly interesting trainee program, but no news yet. I have several other positions though where I'll be applying too.. Fingers crossed then.. 

The time is now... 

And another seminar in St.Pete

Going once more to St.Pete on Wednesday and coming back on Friday. Last time I felt really comfortable in the city, it felt just like old home town... I hope this time there's less snow-salt slush on the streets. 

Yeah, Master's Thesis should be pretty much ready in the end of this month. I think I can make it if I don't get sick or anything like that.. Tomorrow I will discuss the methodology with my supervisor and I will get detailed feedback for the theory part. I fear (and hope at the same time) that she will tear it to pieces and tell me how bad it is. I know that there are several issues I need to sharpen up and rewrite, but I hope it's not so bad.. fingers crossed.

Life in Lappeenranta is sweet, I baked carrot cake yesterday for the first time in my life. And it is delicious! 

Ingredients for exciting 24 hours

1.) To leave Lappeenranta for a while (even though I've found some nice things there and now it's tolerable)

2.) To meet many really good friends after a long long time <3

3.) Take one of the dear friends to the ER due to the allergic reaction (she is ok now)

4.) Driving in the stormiest weather I've ever seen and surviving it (on my way there was many almost-accidents and 3 actual accidents that happened just a little bit before I got there...) 

5.) To leave things behind and moving on with my life...

6.) To tie shoelaces of a total stranger in the middle of Helsinki (it's nice to help out)

7.) Spending two valuable hours in a car from Helsinki to Turku with one of the most dearest friends and talking with her for the whole entire time without interruptions (except the almost-accidents on the road) 

8.) Realizing how these dear friends of yours see the same weird things in the same weird way you do and how they are as excited about them as you are (like a stain in a window shaped as if a pigeon would have crashed to it)

9.) Seeing your parents & dog after a long long time

panic

yeah, pre-defence is approaching. 


Time for official panic. 


Children and women with massive procrastination problems first!!!


o_O

One more night in St.Pete

Yay, my presentation is finally over. It was better than I expected. I get too nervous before presentations and can't sleep the previous night(s) properly.  Then I'm really tired and can't focus on the topic... 

It's true that there's still a lot of work to be done with the thesis but I'm pretty confident that I'll get it done in time. Before going back to Lappeenranta and to work, I'll spend one more night in St.Petersburg. 

Ah, nostalgia...  

Graduseminaariin

Keskiviikkona me LUTin MITIMit lähdetään Pietariin graduseminaaria varten. En voi uskoa että viime seminaarista on kulunut kohta jo kuukausi. Gradu on jokseenkin edistynyt muttei läheskään niin paljon kuin olisin toivonut. Ajatusten koossa pitäminen on toisinaan hyvin haasteellista... 

Tänäänkin harhauduin katselemaan omia Facebookiin lisäämiäni kuvia Pietarista (ne ainoat kuvat mitkä on jäljellä enää kun ulkoinen kovalevy meni rikki ennen varmuuskopiointia). Jännittää hiukan mennä takaisin Pietariin. Tietysti jännitän eniten sitä itse seminaaria mutta myös sitä onko muistikuvat kaupungista pysynyt samoina. Eihän siitä lopulta niin paljon aikaa ole kun asuin siellä. Toisaalta paljon on ehtinyt tapahtua... 

Olisinpa edes ehtinyt opiskella enemmän venäjän kieltä, nyt olisi taas hyvä mahdollisuus harjoitella. Ehkä sitten kuukauden päästä..

Alternatives to Writing Thesis...

Life is truly full of choices.  


You can either read the books you borrowed from the library and write your thesis. OR you can: 


- sleep too long
- clean the flat
- watch Californiacation season 3 
- find new inspiring music from Spotify (because writing without music is impossible)
- arrange your wardrobe
- go shopping
- take a nap twice a day
- cook & eat
- go running
- check the news pages every 20 minutes and Facebook every 30 minutes
- chat with friends in Facebook
- talk with your mom on the phone for almost an hour
- arrange a party with your darling MITIM friends :D (potluck today!!)
- have fun until the early hours of next day


Choices, choices.. 

my dear homeland

I have to apologize in advance, this post will be about politics...

It worry me that probably in the next Parliament election, a political party "true Finns", will gain a significant win and get several seats. The party is populist, nationalist, right-of-centre and very Euro-sceptical. They want to, for example, limit immigration to Finland heavily, reduct foreign aid and "politically smarten up the national identity" of Finnish people. 

I have to admit, I haven't read Kalevala, our national epic from cover to cover but I do know what it is about, the main characters, where it originates etc... That's what we were taught in school. But even if I had read the book or even if I would do it soon, I don't think that would make me more Finnish than I am. 

For me national identity is much more complicated issue than only those (important and beautiful) books, paintings and compositions that "True Finns" so eagerly push us more and more. Respectively, reading Dostojevski's Crime and Punishment two times or enjoying the paintings of Monet doesn't make me any less Finnish than I am.

Other big thing that bugs me about their politics is the intolerance and enmity towards foreigners in Finland. To me, prejudgment is a sign of really bad self-esteem and fear of new things. I don't think that our culture will vanish just because there are other nationalities living inside the same borders. It is really sad actually how badly those "True Finns" underestimate the national identity of us Finns... 

I wish that they wouldn't get seats in the next election, moreover that their leader wouldn't be selected as the next Prime Minister. I think that would be latest the point in my life when I take my Finnishness to some other country and enjoy it there. 

My Finland isn't intolerant and self-absorbed. 

thinking positive..

Yes, I still want to go abroad, but I started to think after my last posting that why not try to enjoy the time here. After all, there are nice things in Lappeenranta and the university if compared to the other universities I've studied in other countries. 

We have student healthcare (including dental services) which is a lot cheaper but good quality (for example teeth cleaning costs 4,5 euros), the lunch at the restaurant (there's at least 3 of them to choose from in the campus area) costs from 1,05-4,50. I usually pay for a soup and salad 2,50 and it includes bread and drinks. The food is usually good too. There's a free gym, well it's quite small and students can use it only on a certain times, but still, it will do it for me. And there is a big sports hall, where you can play badminton, basketball, etc. It's free too. And the beautiful nature around the city is perfect for jogging, cross-country skiing, skating etc.

The student accommodation, organized by LOAS is cheap and really good if I compare my other experiences..   I pay 354 euros for my studio which is about 30 square meters with a big balcony. That amount includes electricity, internet, water, heating... 

Lappeenranta is close by St.Petersburg, 2,5 hours away from the capital city Helsinki and the trains go there several times a day (it's around 20 euros one way with the student card. So with that you get -50% off the price). But thanks to the Russian tourists who come to Lappeenranta for shopping, there are quite many nice shops here that wouldn't otherwise exist in a small city like this... 

So yeah, enough with complaining and now more positive attitude. :)

It took 26 days..

..and already I'm dreaming about leaving.. I just found myself looking through pictures from my recent travels and missing each place I've visited. 


It's really nice to be back in Finland, everything works and you understand people around you. But still, to be honest, it's pretty boring here... 

freezing...

24 hours in a day won't do it

To do by the end of this month (=Monday):

• Complete the 1A form (application for master's thesis topic).
• Fill the credit transfer application for completed studies abroad x 5 (for each course separately).
• Fill the stupid form for Kela stating them that yes, I'm back in Finland and begging for the social security benefits again.
• Fill the utterly annoying form for Kela stating them that I did start my studies in 2009 and therefore their information is outdated about my incomes that year + find & copy the certificates of incomes that year and the certification of starting the studies that autumn (otherwise I have to pay them back 575 euros)
• Apply for that one interesting position
• WRITE THEORY PART OF THE THESIS READY!!!!

piece of cake*... 

*I'm just hungry, not saying that this would be easy

Sports and working

Green with envy I listened today one of my colleague MITIM-students description of how he organizes his days... Every morning he either skis or runs to the university, goes to the gym and starts working around 7.00 - 8.00, works the whole day and does some more sports in the evening. 

Oh, I remember the feeling... It's good for studying too... 

I used to go running three-four times a week and twice a week to the gym + randomly yoga, swimming and badminton + all the functional training gained from bicycling to where ever I was going etc. But now, in Belgium and after coming back I haven't been able to start again. I do have a solid medical reason why not to do sports (stitches in my leg until Friday due to removal of a birthmark) but still, it's not good enough! 

So, I thought, I will "go public" (even though I know that my mom is probably the only person reading this blog) with my promise to go back to old days, loose some weight (not too much, curves are nice too) and feel better! So, if you see me in the end of the semester still complaining about not exercising, feel free to throw me with a doughnut... 

These will be used yet several times this winter!!

Happened in the skating rink dressing booth..

I went today skating with a Russian friend of mine. I had to test my new skates I got from a discount sale with 15 euros (!!). And yeah FYI; skating in Finland is usually free and there are plenty of outdoor skating rinks during a cold winter like this.

In the dressing booth (or what do you call the booth by the rink where you change your skates) there were three teenagers and us two changing the skates. The kids were looking at us and the girl was trying to sign something to the other two kids. Only after I said something in English to my Russian friend, one of the teenagers said "yeah, they don't speak Finnish like I assumed, now you can say what you were supposed to say about them" in a way that wasn't polite.

That kind of prejudice attitude is something that makes me see red so before the girl opened her mouth I said quite strictly "well yeah, I speak perfectly well Finnish, so I'm not sure if you want to say what you were about to say. You really should consider when and where to open your mouth".  Those kids were red and quiet after that.

Touché!

I didn't fall!!

Scandinavia

If anyone still wonders about the Scandinavia, I think this is pretty good illustration. BTW, I really enjoy the comics of Humon (http://satwcomic.com/). Highly recommended.. :)

Writing, Writing, Writing..

I spend every day several hours at the library in LUT, but still I feel like my thesis is not progressing fast enough.. We'll have the next seminar in GSOM in St.Petersburg 10th -11th of March and I'm guessing we should have quite a lot of new things to present to the supervisors and other MITIMs... 


I have been dealing a lot with the post-exchange paperwork and stuff, which is quite surprisingly time-consuming. I try to get everything sorted out during this week. 


Time really flies, next I should start to look for a job... 


Depending on the company & field of business, I'd like to do project management related job in R&D or business development (in processes and/or operations). Of course, CSR related positions are always interesting, although I think CSR can be an approach on the work that I'd do (meaning that I'd consider the impacts of decisions and actions in the stakeholders from the point view CSR even though I'd do something that's not directly related to it). And I'd love to work abroad or at least in an multinational environment...


Let's see what happens :)

Grades and stuff

Finally, after some technical problems in HUB, I got my grades. They were pretty ok, worse than previous semesters, but what I expected. Anyway, I was working the whole autumn 20 hours a week in addition to the lectures and got stuck in Dublin so the amount of time spent on studying was a lot less than before. 


Best grades I got from ICT strategy and architecture and Russian culture & language. :) 


Back in Lappeenranta life is nice but boring. I've been arranging a lot of things (Russian visa, student grand, exchange papers, general moving a flat-things, other paperwork stuff, etc) and experienced plenty of bad luck (falling down with bicycle & feeling weird the next 24 hours, loosing internet connection for a day, getting into an argument over the deposit money in the previous flat, etc.). In top of this I should write my thesis.. we'll have a seminar on Friday. I'm really excited to see everyone after all this time though!! Can't wait!


This is what I succeeded to do well this week.. Some yummy ruisleipä :)

Back in Finland

I left Belgium on Monday. "Surprisingly" my flight was delayed again.. There was only two delayed flights going from Brussels that evening, and the other  one was to Cairo (more obvious reasons). 


I got to Lappeenranta on Tuesday with a huge amount of my stuff.. I got quite nice flat from LOAS, it's just recently renovated. I actually think that nobody has used the oven before me.. It's the kind of luxury I enjoy after the recent shabby flats where I've stayed. And this place is only 5-10 minutes from the university by bicycle. 


There's also downside of being back, we have deadline for the thesis (theoretical framework mainly) on Friday and I haven't worked enough with it! I just haven't had the time.. Well, past few days I've tried to do my best so I think I'll have something worth of presenting at next weeks seminar. 


Oh, and other thing to do is to apply for the Russian visa for the master's thesis seminar in March and April. I'll focus on that on Saturday.  


I think I kind of like to be back, even though it's a bit shock. It's so quiet here and I keep wondering where all the people are hiding... I can walk through a grocery store without seeing anyone else except the lady at the cashier and one granny running after the discounts... 


Well, the fresh, delicious tap water, ruisleipä and great (100Mbps) internet connection compensates...


Home sweet home...

The sight you don't want to see - delayed flight... 

4 days to go

Kohta taas Suomessa oman, rakkaan fillarin selässä :)

"Test packing" my stuff..

Two suitcases, backpack for laptop and a smaller suitcase to go in the cabin are not enough for my stuff. I have absolutely no idea how the amount of my stuff has increased so much.. it's been only..well, almost 5 months.. (10 pairs of shoes..where did they come from??? I came here with 4 pairs). And I have no idea how I'll get my stuff back to Finland.


This is all because of my trip to Dublin and getting stuck there for 6 days, not being able to fly back to Brussels, take extra stuff with me and fly to Finland for Christmas and come back again to Belgium for January with empty suitcase. No, I blame the weather. The amount of stuff has nothing to do with the current problem ;) 


and when I planned all this, I didn't take into consideration the 6 days extension to my Dublin weekend due to SNOW...)

Brussels-Amsterdam-Brussels

In the middle of intensive exam weeks, it's good to have a break. So, I decided to visit Amsterdam, since it's only few hours away and I've never been there before. 

I took an Euroline bus to get there (18 euros) on Friday at 6:00 a.m and a train back on Saturday evening (39 euros). The night I spent in a small hotel, which was close to the city center and which was cheap, payed 49 euros for that. So, yeah, not very expensive to travel to another country...

Sebastiaan, my MITIM colleague, was nice enough to show me around in the city. It was great to meet him after a long time and compare the experiences of being abroad for the autumn semester. I rented bicycle for the first day, which turned out to be a really good idea. Got to see a lot more Amsterdam that way. It's really cute city, a lot quieter and cleaner than Brussels. I guess it's because of the public transportation and the bicycle culture there. I love it. 

Now I have only one week left in Belgium, then I'll be back in Finland... 

Lista vol.2

Kirjoitin viime vuonna listan mieleenpainuvista asioista, tapahtumista ja paikoista Pietarissa. Tässä olisi nyt listaa Brysselin kokemuksista. 

1.   Sokerinen, viettelevä tuoksu jokaisen vohvelikojun lähistöllä. Ja ranskikset (tai fritit) majoneesilla.. Näihin belgialaisiin juttuihin voisin jäädä koukkuun ellen miettisi miltä näyttäisin sen jälkeen.. Ja olut on ihan ok täällä, ihan erilaista kuin Suomessa.

2.  -50 % viikonloppu alennus junissa ja kaupunkimatkat Bryggeen, Ghentiin ja Amsterdamiin

3.   Elina – ihanaa nähdä uudelleen vanhaa koulukaveria pitkästä aikaa. Voih, sitä Elinan leipomaa tuoretta ruisleipää voilla ja savustetulla lohella juurit silloin kun marraskuu oli harmaimmillaan.. namnamnam… Ja Ellun ihana kämppä keskustan gay-districtillä :)

4.   Brysselin sijainti! Pariisi on nurkan takana, Amsterdam melkein kiven heiton päässä ja Dubliniin pääsee helposti ja halvalla (paitsi et sieltä ei pääse niin helposti enää pois…)

5.    Sarjikset. Sarjis-seinät, -museo ja Herge-museo oli ihan näkemisen arvoisia.

6.    Löytyi niitä kivoja kuppiloitakin, erityisesti St.Geryn ympäristössä. Jeps, Zebran winterwine lämmitti joulukuussa. Ja silmänruokaakin oli.

7.   Joka perjantainen ”matka” Venäjälle. Venäjän kieli & kulttuuri –kurssin myötä pääsi kuulemaan herttaisen venäläistä syntyperää olevan vanhemman opettajarouvan tarinoita. Ja ne tarinat tuli sitten laulun, naurun ja itkun saattelemina. Eli suoraan sydämestä. Ihana. 

8.    Huonot kadut, ainakin korkkareilla kävellessä. Ja kun tulee vähän lunta niin heittävät suolaa kaduille ja siitähän menee kengät pilalle..

9.   Schaarbeek, ei niin paha kuin maineensa. Tosi turkkilainen kyllä.

10. Kaikki ihmiset keihin tässä matkan varrella on päässyt tutustumaan; Tuuli & Ari, Alexandre, Fred, Anna, Raluca jnejne. (sori, listasta tulis tosi pitkä jos luettelisin kaikki, tässä nyt nämä keiden kanssa eniten hengasin)

11.  Roskapussi-päivät tiistaisin ja perjantaisin. En vaan ymmärrä, en. Eli siis päivä jolloin roskat voi heittää pussissa (tietynlaisessa Brysseli-pussissa) kadulle. Ja joku sitten kerää ne.

12.  Keskustan parkkitalon ylin kerros, sieltä on kivat näkymät kaupungin ylle. Satuin kerran paikalle auringonlaskun aikaan, pitkän sadejakson jälkeen. Se oli kaunista.

13.   Hämähäkit kellarikämpässäni, yök. Niitä ei todellakaan tule ikävä.

14.  Vastoinkäymiset – nehän kasvattaa, right? (katso myös kohdat 8. 13. ja 16. ja tavallaan kohta 15.)

15. Irlantilainen vieraanvaraisuus on ihan uskomatonta. Ei monessa maassa kutsuta vierasta ihmistä joulupäivälliselle, kokata yksinomaan sille lohta, osteta myös tälle ventovieraalle lahjoja ja kirjoiteta suomeksi ”toivoo joulupukki” korttiin… Ei enää harmittanut niin paljon etten päässyt Jouluksi kotiin. Kiitos.

16.  Se päivä kun kävelin vesisateessa kotiin litimärkänä ja astuin koiranpaskaan. Ei naurattanu sillon, eikä naurata vieläkään.

17.  Taas pääsi katsomaan kaukaa omaa suomalaisuuttaan ja skandinaavisuuttaan. En kuulemma tippaakaan näytä suomalaiselle mutta tunnen olevani entistä vahvemmin suomalainen. Ah, kotimaa vaikka ulkomailla viihdynkin. Kaipaus on todella kaunis sana.

Hmm, näin tällä kertaa. Kokemus on ollut mahtava :)

(Okei, kohta 15. ei kuulu nyt ihan suoranaisesti Brysseli-kokemuksiin, mutta oli yks mieleenpainuvimmista tapahtumista ikinä…)

story of my past few weeks...

..so this is how you get your thesis done, right?

Lisää tenttejä tulossa

Huomenna on Environmental Economics ja maanantaina venäjän kielen suullinen koe. Näitä kahta tenttiä jännitän kaikkeista eniten. Ensin mainittua tenttiä jännitän siksi, koska aihe on todella mielenkiintoinen mutta vaikea. Ko. kurssi oli myös paras kurssi HUBissa. 

Venäjän kielen suullista koetta pelkään vähän eri syistä.. No, se oli vaikea ja toiseksi en ole ehtinyt valmistautua siihen niin paljon kuin olisin halunnut. Kieltä kun ei opi ihan parissa päivässä tankkaamalla (vaikka yritän kovasti juuri)...

Hmm, peukut pystyyn... 

I miss you too...

...my dear MITIMs!


As Shot wrote in her blog, "LUT without the MITIM 2011 students, is like a fish without water". And for the first time, I feel a bit homesick...






Few more weeks in Brussels and then I'm heading back to Lappeenranta...

First exams tomorrow

...and I feel I haven't been preparing enough... 




One reason is that due to my prolonged stay in Dublin, I didn't have my notes or laptop with me during the Christmas holidays in Finland. Other reasons for my poor performance with studying for the exams are more personal... but well, at least I'm now in Brussels. 


For the exams I needed to print out "exam card", and I should remember to ask the professor for his signature in order to prove my attendance. A system I've never heard of... 


Well, fingers crossed for the next three weeks...