Happy Sunday everybody! 

The semester has gone so fast, so many presentations, assignments and exams have been done during this summer/spring period. Now I have finally completed all studies from the 2nd course of my Bachelor’s Degree and I have about 133 ECTs of 210 ECTs behind. For the last year I ll have 44ECTs for both semesters  (autumn and spring ones). So I am planning to to do more than required, but we will see, because till now I ve found out that life can surprise you anytime 🙂

Before leaving, I had to pay the rent (of course) of the legendary 8th dorm r.401!! On 24th of June I will let my dear cozy room for new students. Kinda sad, so much memories got here, but well, they will continue my journey in pics. Also departure list (down below) was one of the thing I had to fill. There was a table which had to be signed by e.g. cleaning lady, director of dormitory and my exchange coordinator, just to make sure that all needed fees are paid and fine before lettin me to seek for new adventures 🙂

This year have opened my eyes and I have grown as a person so much. Before the exchange I red a lot of stories about exchange, where students wrote they have returned back home as a completely different person, more open-minded and with different way of thinking. I understood the fact but did not imagine the difference to be so huge. Well here we are. I want to say than you to all people who have joined my journey, all meetings were useful. Now I ll just continue my life further and lets see what is next, because the previous experience showed- I love adventures and if there is an easy way to solve something, NO, It is me- Adeliina, and of course, I choose the hardest one….. Somehow.

And want to say to all of you

The most of the beautiful things and memories I ve gotten here are not in the blog, I mean,  there is no passion for me in doing such things and there are so many other things to do instead of writing, especially when you r studying at the same time you rather spent your computer time for studies..

But please Dear students REMEMBER:

If you ever get possibility to go for an exchange somewhere abroad, just do it. Do not think about whether to take the decision or not, just go, and you will say thank you to yourself after the trip. 😉 

On 8th of March we decided to do something interesting. It was Women’s Day and we though it would be nice to go to some museum. The first option was to visit Hermitage, but as Women’s Day is considered as very important celebration- everyone has a dayoff and in the museum would be way too much people. Due to that we came up with decision to visit Grand Maket. The ticket costs about 400R, but it is worth it and it is very easy to get there from Nevsky prospekt. Just take metro till Moskovskie Vorota and then by feet like for 10minutes.

Well, in Grand Maket, there is the whole Russia in exact miniature. I mean there you can see trains, cars and car accidents, planes, military soliders, mountains, different achitecture and so on. It is so clearly planned and made that you will be astonished!

So, It is definitely worth seeing!! And btw one cool thing was that the lightning depends on the time: you can see different Russia’s cities in day– and nightlight.

And it is absolutely forbidden to touch anything in miniature!

“Я наказан” literally “I am punished” or something, but that is what happens if you touch miniatures- you ll be forced to stay in a corner.

But anyways, If you have a possibility to visit Grand Maket, do it! It is very interesting, and we were walking there like for 2 hours, because everything was so unseen and cool.

And then of course, cause it was 8th of March, we went to Hugs to celebrate and btw, there was one funny guy. All the girls of our company were sittin and then one random comes from nowhere and puts a card in front of me. Ok, I turned it around and found the text “Massage or Kunilingus” and then the name and phone number. Then I wanted to find out who gave that amazing card, and found out that the random guy has already disappeared. But well, it was funny, and btw right after the situation in the restaurant started song “Call Me Maybe”. Haha so in time. But well, that kind of Women’s Day. A lot of positive emotions. Thank you all, and mainly for the guy who left the message, and of course for the amazing saxophonist!

This Monday we had an opportunity to visit Балтика’s beer beverage. Our excursion to the bevarage started at 9.55 from our dormitory. At first we had to take metro to metro station Kupchino (Купчино) and then we switched to the bus. The weather was perfect, which is rare for Petersburg.

The excursion started as soon as we got in and were done with coffee and pictures.

The woman told us all like from the beginning of the beer production till the packaging. But you know, as we r girls we did not actually listen, we preferred to take pictures and look around, for us it was more intertaining than just standing.

Here the beer is getting ready in those turbins. It was very cool to get there, because it felt like we were on cosmos, so colorful and different and a lot of new information for all of us. U know you are used to go to shop and just buy the done product, but it is like we got a possibility to get behind the scenes.

All I understood that this machine puts beer in bottles. And before there is a stage where good bottles are devided from bad ones to make the product’s outlook good.

Hmm, and when we got here, everybody started to scream: “BOTTLEEES!” because we have been walking around seeing all the process of making different beers and now finally we got to the stage of packaging.

Later we saw beer in a different package and selling size, and these are sold to the restaurants and bars.

…..aaaand, a lot of beer again!!

After the excursion we turned to beer tasting. Actually I never liked beer but now I know how to drink it right. So,

1. you have to shake a bit the beer in your glass

2. then smell it and as soon you dont smell it anymore

3. drink it.

It tastes much better, because you are used to the smell and it is actually the thing that many people dont like so at first get rid of the smell and then drink and it is actually good! 😀

The visit was interesting and useful. Thank you Baltika for offering that possibility for us!

Hello sweethearts,

It is such an amazing weather here in St.Petersburg, the spring is coming and many mornings have started by waking up to the bright sunglight.

Well, as I already wrote in the last post, I would like to tell you how did I manage my tuition fee. In rubles it is 65 000 per semester and I was ready to pay it whenever, just waited for the documents. The int.coordinator wrote me, that the deadline for payin the fee is tomorrow, and it was kinda surprise for me. So, the problem was, that I had all the money in euros on my bank card, and the withdraw limit is 9000R and there is always a comission. As the situation was very pressing I decided just to go to int.department to get the “bill” and they said that the bill is done with the information of my Finnish passport and that there is a possibility to pay by card, so there is no need to take Russian passport to the bank and to withdraw money. Well, I came to the Sberbank, and they said that translation from the Finnish passport into Russian is necessary… I was like are you kidding me, but then I went to the dorm to pick Russian passport up and returned to the bank. The bank lady put all the information into their system and I finally got the permission to pay, but then, it became clear, that I cannot pay by my card, as far as I am not a client of the Sberbank. I was like ok, and what am I supposed to do, and then I wen to the ATM and was about to take all the 65 000R, but then I found out that there is a limit for 5000R. What do you think? I stayed for 20minutes at the ATM, and the lady (which was serving me was waiting for me), so I withdraw 13 times money from ATM. And everyone came to ask like “How many times you have left till you get the needed sum?” and the queue behind me was unbelievable. It was kinda stressful. But, then I got the total sum (finally) and paid the tuition fee. Then I got to the int.dep. and they were surprised like why did I need the Russian passport, there was no need for that, the bank employees were just unnecessarily running me around. That all situtation was so stressful, but luckily I managed it well and the fee was paid.

To summarize,

If you are going to Russia, you have to be ready for that kind of situations, that no-one knows anything and that it is more complicated than in Finland e.g. But everything will finally be solved, ok, somehow, but still solved. 🙂

Have a nice day!

Good evening,

haven’t been writing any posts for a while, but now I ll continue. Well, as I already mentioned, I extended my studies here for one more semester. I came up with that decision because I found my English getting better and vocabulary larger. Here are some students which extended their studies as I did, but a lot of new students also. We have had already different intern.parties to meet each others.

My studies here started officially like a week ago, I have now a course called International Marketing in a World Gone Digital and actually the teacher is from Finland aswell. Tomorrow I have lectures and btw here in Russia on 23rd of February (this Thursday) is День защитника отечества, Defender of the Fatherland Day. It is like a men’s day and we do not have lectures then and on Friday aswell, because it is close to weekend.

With new students we visited Kunskamera (museum), which I found very interesting, but once you go there, it is enough for your whole lifetime. On the 1st floor there are something from the past decades from North America and on the 2nd there are more interesting things, like real disabled babies. Have to admit, at first when I was walking around there I thought they weren’t real, just a well made, but when the thruth became clear I was totally shocked.

And yes, there you can see some fetals without disabilities, so they have already born dead. On the left there is 9month old fetal, and then 8 and  7 and so on. Creepy, dont you thing so?!

After the museum on the way to the dormitory we stopped at Hermitage. It was gorgeous and the weather was very sunny and springlike.

Hope you all will have as beautiful day tomorrow as I had in that picture.

On the next post, I would like to write about my journey to pay the tuition fee… There is no place to go without adventures. Good night 😉

Snow, snow, snow, snow…. No.

Only a melted snow, and those boring, gray, rainy days from a week to another. Well, it is the end of November and I am starting being afraid, if the winter ever starts… Hopefully on December it can be officially started, also from the weather’s point of view. Every morning on my way to workout looks like that;

November has been very busy month, I had tests, reports to return and other group meetings. I was on a Labour Law -course, and it was very interesting, even though not my specialization. I had a presentation about Discrimination in Finland according to the Finnish legislation. Quite interesting, but I was very nervous, but it went well. And then had to return a report about that topic, but there had to be some statistics aswell.

Competitive strategies in Russia -course, is hold also by a Russian teacher. One thing I pointed out, which is very interesting;  When you hear all the time English with the Russian accent, you start automatically to speak the same way, very curious.

Hmmm, I have already chosen my courses for the next semester (Spring 2017), and here they are:

Sustainable Finance

Modern Marketing

Modern Marketing In a World Gone Digital

Doing Business In Russia: Tourism Outlook

Int. Human Resource Management

Management In Small and Medium-Size Enterprises

Financial Institutions and Markets

Hospitality Management

Project Management

Project Management in Tourism

Complex Development of Tourism Industry

= 30 ETC

There may be some changes in courses, but for now I decided to take these.

If you ever go to St. Petersburg, visit Maza Park. It was pretty cool, it was open from 00-06 am and it costed 600 Rub. There were many activities;

Bowling,  Lazer War,  Shooting Range,  Billiard, Darts, 5D Movie Theater,  Lazer Room, Virtual Reality, 

and there were something else also, but cannot remember all. 🙂 There is some video, that helps you to imagine what kind of place we visited. Definitely we’ll go once or twice or even thrice times there!

On our way to Maza Park…

But well, I am going home on 22nd of December, so approximately 1 month left, cannot wait! …and so much study things has to be done before it..

I am

happy

here.

Just missing my family and friends from Finland.

Good Night, Cuties! 🙂  

Wazup! 

Today I saw the first snow in St.Pete, it melted right away and then later turned to rain, but anyways, winter is right behind the corner, can’t wait. I have heard that it is not so beautiful here in winter due to big traffic, but we ll see! 🙂

Hmm, today I would like to tell you what courses I finally took. Actually I sent the learning agreement a bit late, but the most important thing is that I have attended to the courses. Well, my final decisions about the courses:

• Int. Marketing

• Int. Business and Marketing

• Development of Marketing and Services (already done)

• Competitive Strategies in Russia

• Russia and The World: Foreign Policy

• Stock Market Learning (btw, very interesting!)

• Russian Language

• Financial Institutions and Markets

• Financial Management and Enterprise Business Process

• Labor Law Regulations: Int. Standards and Russian Labor Law

Altogether 30 ETC. I am really interested in marketing, so that is why I took so many marketing courses. I could have never imagined that I would say so, but stock market is also very very interesting and there are many things that are important to know. The whole course is actually about investing and investing strategies.

Well, what about the extension?! 

Guess what…. I will stay here for the autumn semester also. I wrote to the JAMK’s (my university in Finland) coordinator and they said that I can stay as a freemover, the difference between an exchange student and a freemover is that the exchange student doesn’t have to pay a tuition fee, but the freemover does. I think it is important to learn business English and that’s why I decided to stay despite the tuition fee. I was also wondering if I ll get the grant money, but luckily yes! The deadline for applying for the money is 15th of November.

Now we r going to have a meeting with the group of International Business and Marketing, we have to think how we will present organic clothes.

Enjoy your Sunday! Tomorrow it’s Monday, again… 🙂 

Throwback to that perfect day with these two amazing sweethearts, so much fun and happiness in one picture.

Good Daay!

As I promised in the last post, I would like to tell you how is it really to live in dormitory. I will not generalize, but as an example I will take my dormitory called 8-ya Lestnisa. In the beginning of studies I was a little bit shocked, because I did not expect that kind of surroundings.

Moving in was a little bit complicated, because I got a room on the 4-th floor and there was no elevator, so I had to get all my luggage up the stairs. Ok, one challenge completed. I under packed all my stuff and tried to make my room cozy and actually I managed it very well!

Kitchen, you might be surprised, because you are used to modern electric cooker, but there was a gas cooker. To be honest, I did not know how to use it safely. We had a gas cooker when I lived in the countryside, but I never had to use it. In the beginning it was hard because you did not know how much of gas you have to put out to make it work (and yes of course I was afraid if it burns my hand during kindling it). After a while I learned it. Second challenge completed.

The shower and toilet. We do not have our own toilets or showers, they are split like 4 toilet cabins for 26 people (1 floor) and 2 showers aswell. As you might have heard, but here is sometimes problems with hot water. For example in the morning I was in the shower and the hot water came like 20sek + 20sek cold and so on. All that is due to other students that had also been showering at the same time as I was. The hot water was just split up to all the floors. Sometimes if you re lucky and go when no-one is showering, you will get the whole hot water only for you.

Luxury, don’t you think so? 🙂 

Washing machine. It has its own life actually, if it doesn’t feel desire to wash – It will not do it. No-one actually knows how to use it but it is all about the lucky, again. 🙂

Well my room…. It is beautiful

….but the heaters started to work like in the 2-nd of October, and before it I heated my room by an electrical heater that I asked from the cleaning lady. Now it is very good.

Another dorm. –  7-ya lestnisa. There all the students have own toilet per room and shower also. They have only one common place- kitchen. I have been there many times, and I think it is boring to live there, because you do not meet other people the way we do. We have a common ”living room”, where many students can watch a TV or playing for example cards.

Our ”team spirit” is something unexplainable amazing!

We meet everyday and have fun, we don’t feel lonely or bored ever. I do not say that students from another dorm. do feel so, but at least there is a huge difference. Their dormitory is ok, honestly, like a hotel, you know they have an elevator and the kitchen is more modern that ours.

Everyone who comes to our dorm. says that it is so cool to live here, always funny. Btw, we have cameras and the administration sees all that we r doing but we do not have cameras in the kitchen (if compared to 7th dorm.) and the control in here is not that big,

I am so happy to live here! 

So life is about the decisions and I have chosen this kind of living and do not regret nothing. All these kitchen and shower problems are worth it. 

Next time I will tell you what courses I eventually took, what I put in my learning agreement, and what about the extension! 

Have as nice weekend as we have! 😉 

Sometimes, it takes

being away from

someone for a while

to realize how much you

really need them in your life.

Before going abroad I’ve never been thinking that it could be hard to stay away from your family, your friends and other dear people. The only thoughts that were in my head were:

“How will I manage studies in English?”

“Will I like my room?” and “What am I supposed to do If I do not like…?”

“Will I come along with my dorm.mates?”

All these questions have been in my head for a long time, but never actually thought that how can I survive without my friends and relatives. I am talking with my mom on Whatsapp about 2-3 times a week. In the beginning of the exchange our calls took like 10-15 minutes. Now they can take from half an hour to one hour. I have to admit that I miss my family and friends.

I love living here in Saint-Pete and I have gotten many new friendships. I like my dorm.mates, they r very kind and they have an amazing sense of humor. But you know, home is always home. I do not mean now the apartment where I live with Suvi (friend from childhood). I am talking about the atmosphere and surroundings I have grown in. When I am in Jyväskylä I can visit them whenever I feel so, but from here it is not that easy.

Studying abroad, in different country, where you are really alone, on your own, has an interesting result and effect-

Growing as a human

It teaches you how to manage all your problems by yourself and you know that all is in your hands and you make the changes if you feel so. Yes, of course you can always ask your mom, but it is easier to solve yourself instead of making many calls to your parents.

There have also been situations when you need a hug or support but you cannot get it. Being away teaches how to survive from these situations because in future your parents might not be just behind the corner and your adversities can be bigger. So it is an important skill to learn- being able to deal with your adversities and to be independent when needed.

I wanted to write that all out and I think that many that have been (or are still) studying abroad or just away from family, can find some familiar thoughts. 🙂 

Next time I will write about the good things of the dormitory life and about the shortages that there might be.

Have a nice weekend! 😉

Wazzuup!

These three days have been not so good. Kate have had a serious temperature for 3 days (39,3 degree). We tried to low the temperature, but then after the affect of a medicine it got up again and we decided to call the emergency and they found out that she has serious angina and she was taken to Botkyn’s hospital

(a pic below)

http://photo.gradpetra.net/views/50713.html
Today I bought her oranges and juice and went to the hospital to visit her. I was so shocked when I saw the circumstances all the patients were living in.. We came inside of the hospital and it was just like from the horror story, I am not kiddin.. It was crazy, an old building and then we got upstairs, it took a while that we got there. Finally I met my darling Kate and found out that she slept last night, quess where???  in the corridor.. I was like

HOW??

And yes, she really slept there. There is a picture when I arrived there and we were just chilling on that cozy bed, or what do you think?

After googling I found out that in that hospital has been filmed the film “Silent Hill” Ok to be honest, you can not really rely on that information, but I believe it could be true. If interested, you can see here more pictures http://cybergo-ru.livejournal.com/72016.html

… All these writings on the walls, toilets, everything was so crazy I though that that kind of circumstances you can see only in FILMS, but no.. Well, the personal is OK, but…

..I was just a bit shocked..

..Then I looked at the bed she were sleeping on, it was really like from horror story, okay there was a mattress on but anyway, not comfortable at all..

Then actually I saw Kate and she showed us her final room. I looked the room for a while and then I do not actually know what happened but I started feeling not so well, I have just maybe watched way too much horror movies when I was a kid.

Later I arrived to the dormitory and started to get ready for tommorow’s presentation about….

…..Warren Buffett’s investing strategy 😉