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. :)

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!!

Belgium..

Only about six weeks and I´ll be in Belgium :) I can´t believe it! I´ve done most of the preparations, tomorrow I should buy the flight ticket and pay the deposit for my flat (it´s a studio quite close to the centrum, jeeeei!!). I have already applied the student grant (opintoraha) from Kela for the studies abroad, I received the documents from LUT and HUB for acceptance & Erasmus money things.. Earlier this spring I selected the courses I´d have this autumn and did all those preparations...

I´m really proud of me this summer, I´ve managed to do some sports at least twice a week since Juhannus. Zumba, spinning, gym and jogging.. I have to try to continue that in Brussels too. Hopefully they have there student-friendly gyms :)