The Beautiful North

Blog by Rasim Özcökmez, JAMK Exchange Student

 Hi,

my name is Rasim and I’m from Vienna, Austria. Looking back, I can still clearly remember choosing Finland as my first choice. I chose Finland and finally JAMK because this country has enchanted me with its landscape and people. I’m studying Logistics and Transport Management and there were enough courses for this field of study that I was enthusiastic about. The teachers in Jamk were all very accommodating. Tommi in particular has stuck in my mind. His charisma is unique and he put a lot of effort into each and every student.

Even in Corona times I had the opportunity to visit the university from time to time. Unfortunately, not all courses were present.

My first days in Jyväskylä were exciting. My friend Hemmo is also a very influential person. He was my tutor and put a lot of effort into it. I wish I had spent more time with him but somehow time flies when you’re having fun.

Pandemic made a lot more difficult, but despite this difficult time there were many ways to spend your time. 

I can particularly remember one week when there were various activities on offer. On the one hand there was a museum tour, where works by an artist named Yrjö Saarinen were presented. A day later there was a sauna event that ended with cool games (first time I played exploding kittens!). And on the last day there was a cooking event, where traditional Finnish dishes were cooked.

A dish that I still cook from time to time is Riisipuuro!

Saariselkä, Lapland was also a special experience. There are many other things I could report.

I met so many new people and it hurt a lot to leave Finland. The experience was beautiful and I would recommend everyone to spend an Erasmus semester in JAMK Jyväskylä!