saying good bye

Amazing people and friendship

I have met so many incredible amazing people in Turku. In the begining I never thought that I would be so sad to return back home.

On my corridor were living 8 awesome persons wiht individual nice characters. Of course, some of them I will miss more than others. In the beginning we had family dinners every sunday, unfortunately we got a bit lame and didnt do it every sunday till the end. 

It doesnt make sense to write about every single person.

In my opinion, I met so many people and I promised so  many to visit them one day, etc, but I am sure that everyone will stay maybe with one or two people in touch and not more.

That's why I want to mention the three most important people here in my blog.

 
Sara, the girl from Italy. She gave me so much energy and happyness while I was in Turku. She listened to every single problem I had and made me lough when I was said.
We went to so many parties, I didnt even count. I only went out once without her. All the other times (2-3 times a week) we went together. This girl is amazing and I am a hundred per cent sure, that I will meet her again!

Emily, (unfortunately) from Australia. I have never met a person who is so similar. We have the same philosophic opinion, the same taste of food, dresses and of course, men.
We spent so many hours talking, it is insane! She is traveling through Europe in summer, that is why I am sure that I will see her again because she already booked the flight to Switzerland. If I can afford a flight to Finland in November (because she is staying till January), I will definately visit her one weekend. After she left Finland and went back to Australia, I am not sure if I will ever see her again. But I will fight for staying in touch with her!

Ruben, from Holland. I got to know him properly when I went to Stockholm with my sister. We spent almost the whole time on the ferry (in total 24h) talking. I have to admit, we had kind of a conneciton. Not in a physical way, but in a mental. This friendship is so special for me, that I am sure I will see him occasional again, either in the Netherlands or in Switzerland.

Thank you so much for making my Erasmus so amazing and unforgettable!

Vappu

A traditional way to celebrate spring and studentlife

On the 30st of may the weater was very nice, despite a few clouds. Many students met in front of Educarium to celebrate spring I can't reember when I have last seen so many people with overalls.
The little park in fron of Educarium was full of students. Of course, alcohol was not missing.

Around 5 o'clock every student walked to the hill where the museum is located. Amazing how many people joined that. Student unions gave away some ballons and everyone was very happy.

The president of the student organizations hold a speech, which was of course in finnish and not understandabe for exchange students like me. The speech took almost 10 minutes. After his speech every student  put his heat on the head at the same time. That was definately very impressive.

In the evening everyone went out, I have never seen so many people in the city centre. Unfortunately this lead to long queues in front of clubs.

On the first of may was a picnic on top of the other hill. So many people were having a picnic while enjoying the sun, music and nice atmosphere. It was really realxing ^.

A wonderful experience!

confusion

Time for some phoetic thoughts:

Where is home?
Is home where our flat is located, where we work or where we have grown up?
Or does our passport says where we are from?
Isn't home where our closest friends live? Where we are happy without any negative thoughts?
Or is it where we are the best versions of ourselfes?

Is my home here because I met all these amazing people? Because I have a daily routine and a basic scedule? Or is it because I left all my duties like work, studies and paperwork back home?

This semester in Turku changed me. Neither in a positive, nor in a negative way, it just changed me, without knowing why and how.

But what I know is as soon as I am "home" I mean, back in Switzerland, I have to face my real life again. Even though this semester was special, wasn't it my home for 5 months?

Confusion and mixed feelings, these are the only things I know right now.

culture shock

Personal experience with culture shock

Normally the adaptation in the host country is very exciting and interesting.
For me it was a bit different. Since I didn't really want to go to Finland, I was not so excited. My plan was to spend a semester in Amsterdam, but unfortunately too many other students had the same idea.

With kind of negative expectations I came to Finland with two other students from my hometown University. Well, I did not come with them literally, because they booked the flight without me. When I got here I felt very lonely and homesick, because I haven't known anyone. That the Swissgirl ignored me did not help me at all.

But as soon as I met new people, everything started to be exciting. All the persons I met so far have so interesting backgrounds and stories.

The cultur shock theory says that everyone feels homesick at some point. That didnt happen to me either. I think I felt that way in the begining and just wanted to go home. But ever since, I am very happy to be here and enjoy the time as much as I can.


Of course, when I think about my departure, I get a little depressive because I will miss all the amazing people I've met here. But on the other hand I can't wait to see my family and my friends.

Well, let's see what future brings! =)

http://kultureshock.wikispaces.com/DEFINING+CULTURE+SHOCK

Social work / youth work in Finland

Social work / youth work in Finland

Youth house

The youth house is located in Varissuo. Three women and one man are working there. Normally around 40 to 50 youngsters spend their free time in the youth house.

The centre offers a lot of different activities for the youngsters. A table tennis-table, a billiard table are in the back of the centre, in the main are is a small stage, many couches, tables and chairs and not to mention the playstation.

For the stuff the youth house provides an office, a toilet and a kitchen. For the youngsters the kitchen and the office are prohibited.

The opening hours are from 4 o’clock to 9 o’clock each day except the office day on Tuesday. On Fridays the centre is open until 10 o’clock to offer the youngsters a longer evening.

Youth work

The work in the Youth House is about preventing the youngsters to do illegal things, such as taking drugs, alcohol, smoking and else. The workers are supposed to act like idols.

Also the workers help the youngsters to deal with daily problems in school, work family based ones.

Organising events, activities and workshops are also included in the job of a youth counsellor.

But the most important task is to help the youngsters to a healthier and more ambitioned lifestyle. For example push them to find a prober job, to get a good education and live healthy.

Hofstede dimensions low / high context

Low context (LC) / High context (HC)

In general

Context defined itself with different kind of communication skills like body gestures, physical distance between the dialogists, the tone of voice, geographic place of communication, social norms and other external factors.

High- context cultures indicate primary importance to the stimuli surrounding a message and after that to the message itself. In HC is a lot of read- between-the-lines.

Low context	High context
Dialog	Monolog
direct	Indirect
Talk	Listen
Feedback	Feedback
Think aloud	Result
Interruptions	Interruptions
Questions	No Questions
Repeat
Names

 

The HC / LC level of Finland

On a scale from 1 (LC) to 10 (HC) Finland is on 7 in my opinion. People seem to talk in monologs and don’t interrupt each other. Furthermore they look like they prefer not to talk to too many other persons. Moreover Finns prefer to just take care of themselves and their immediate families only