"seight seeing tour" Naantali

Visit Naantali

Francois, my French friend asked me if I want to join his floormates to Nantaali. Due to I didn’t have another plan, I agreed.

We met in the morning and took the bus to Kauppatori. After changing the bus we were heading to Nantaali. Nobody really knew where to get out of the bus, so at one station someone shouted that we should get off.

As soon as we got of the bus we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere.

Fortunately we all have smartphones. So with the help of google maps we were able to find a nice way to the sea and to the small islands. We walked for about 4 hours and it was pretty cold. By the time we found a small coffee shop at the harbour. There we took a warm coffee and a cinnamon roll.

Because it darkened already (3pm) we headed back to the city centre and split up.

I don’t know how long I was taking a shower, but it was amazing to finally feel my toes again.

gym love

Craving to work out

I am sportive. No, I am hyper sportive. In Switzerland I used to work out 5- 7 times a week. In a very lazy week it happened that I just worked out 4 times a week. But that happens rarely.

To be honest, that was my biggest issue: Is at my campus an adequate gym for me? All of the sudden I couldn’t work out the first few weeks. Well, I tried, I went out for a run a few times. But with the chilly wind and the slippery floor it was nearly impossible to work out properly.

As soon as I got the possibility to try out the campus gym courses, I went there. I tried the “Hiit” à Hight intensive interval training. I have to admit, the course was quite exhausting but one intensive work out a week is not enough for me. After I checked out the gym I decided to search for another one. There were just a view machines in a not so good condition. I asked a finish guy for an advice, to which gym I should go to.

The day after I visited the gym 2000 and I fell in love. The gym is amazingly huge with a lot of different courses and modern machines. The price was quite high, but I already expected that. Just five minutes after I arrived there I signed the contract.

Since then I go there 5- 6 times a week. I love it!!

orientation day and bartour

Orientation day

On January fifth we were supposed to have an orientation day. I was very excited because I couldn’t wait to start with my studies. Not that I was looking forward to it, but I was just too bored to hang around all the time.

I met the two girls from Switzerland in the morning to pay for the starting package (contains some dishes, a pillow, a blanket and curtains). After getting rid of our money we decided to head to the ICT building for the orientation meeting.

As soon as the “lesson” started we were divided into smaller groups, which meant a group of four. We had to present ourselves. It was very nice, I met a Swiss girl from the French part, Melissa and a Canadian whose name is Tylor. We’re still in touch and meet sometimes!

After the little group exercises we got view information about Turku and Finland itself. Unfortunately we didn’t get any infos about our school timetable and so on.

Later on we met at Kauppatori (city centre) for a bar tour. We were 5 people and Tylor, the Canadian guy was again in my group. In the first bar they all went for something with alcohol while I started with a cappuccino. Unfortunately the milk was adulterated, but I was too shy to tell anyone. So I forced myself to drink it. In the next bar I ordered a beer and the guys convinced me to try a mintu (alcohol shot). After these two drinks I felt a nice warm feeling in my stomach. Due to it was already so late and I desperately wanted to catch the last bus I said goodbye and went home.

attempt to buy food

My first grocery shopping trip

Before I left my room I wrote a little list with the things which I needed. I translated them with google, to make sure that I was going to buy the right things.

I saw a few guys with “Lidl” bags. I was quite excited because we have the same store in Switzerland. And its famous for its cheap products, so I was looking forward to discover it. When I stepped in to the familiar store, I didn’t feel domestic anymore. The prizes of the fruits and vegetables seemed to be quite expensive, and the special thing about it is, that the prizes are all written per kilo. So I was pretty confused the very first moment.

When I left the fresh-food section I sneaked to the meat segment. Due to I just eat chicken and no other kind of meat at all, it was hard to figure out, which meat I could take. But gladly some packages have some animal pictures on it. After lurking around I found myself at the cashier with a lot of different products.

As soon as I got home, I felt like having a coffee. Fortunately I tried the milk before I put it into the cup. It wasn’t milk how I knew it. The milk was thicker and sourer than the normal milk. But honestly I liked it.

To come to a conclusion, after each grocery shopping I’ll get surpised by unknown products. It’s not only annoying, but also fun! =)

TYS

First night in Students village

When I opened the door to my room at Students Village (3D 31), I was just shocked. I thought that I did not have many expectations, but it just seemed like I had. The word disappointment describes exactly how I felt. The room is small and it was dirty. Specially the bathroom was in a bad condition. I found hair spread all over the walls and some dried drops of, I don’t want to know what it was, on the toilet.

I tried to ignore the fact, that everything was dirty. What I needed was a warm shower and  a clean bed. I was glad that I had my bed sheet and cover with me. After having a long shower with closed eyes (that I couldn’t see the hair on the wall) I just went to bed. I really hoped that when I’ll get up, that my room will have changed. But of course, that didn’t happen.

The next morning I went straight to the city centre to buy some cleaning stuff. I cleaned my room for several hours. After my cleaning session I wrote an angry mail to the Tys office to complain about the condition in my room. But anyway, afterwards I installed my router and I was finally able to write my friends and my family. It lightened my mood amazingly.

On Sundays I went with friends to IKEA to buy some plants and decoration stuff. It’s surprising  how much decoration helps to feel more comfortable. My room looks of course not as my room at home, but at least I feel much better. J