Melina – Finland

March 30, 2024

Hey y’all…happy March (as I can’t say happy Spring since Spring in both Finland and back home can’t seem to get its act together.) I hope course registration is going well for everyone!

Let’s do a short recap on where I left y’all off in Feb. First, Lapland was amazing! A group of friends and I stayed in Rovaniemi, Finland for a night and two days. The first day we went to Santa’s Village and later went into town and walked around the city centre. The second day some of us went skiing (almost died but had a fantastic time). Sadly though we weren’t able to see any Northern Lights (it’s a 1 in every 4 night chance in Rovaniemi).

Afterwards, the rest of Feb was pretty chill. Got course work done, went hiking a few times, brunch most Sunday’s with friends, and I went out late at night a few times (my sleep schedule hates me). Finally the last hurrah of Feb was Pikkulaskianen which is a huge student event where there are sled races down a snowy hill and teams make a “sled” to get down (pretty much an amateur version of what Red Bull does). There was also a concert with a couple of different artists, and then students going around collecting stamps to get a prize at the end. Finally, we did another concert at the very end of the night (10 out of 10 recommend).

(Top Left to Right) Santa’s Village in the Artic Circle, Ski lift in Rovaniemi, Helsinki Cathedral (Bottom Left to Right) view of the Baltic Sea at sunset on Suomenlinna Island, Inside Uspenski Cathedral, Old Town at night in Gdańsk Poland

(Top Left to Right) Iced Coffee and Lemonades in Gdańsk Poland, WW2 Propaganda Posters in a history museum in Gdańsk Poland, Old Town buildings in Gdańsk Poland (Bottom Left to Right) Bakery in Gdańsk Poland, A vendor in a street market at the Helsinki port, outside of Uspenski Cathedral

(Top Left to Right) Pikkulaskianen “Sledding” contestant, A friend taking a picture of the Northern Lights, Street in Helsinki (Bottom Left to Right) view on a hike in Turku, A building with the Finnish flag in Helsinki, view of the Baltic Sea on Suomenlinna Island

(Top Left to Right) Gdańsk Poland view from a hotel balcony, A meal at Turku University, Top of Mount Ulriken in Bergan Norway (Bottom Left to Right) A bridge at a Fjord in Bergen Norway, View of some houses on a pier in Bergan Norway during sunrise, Hot Chocolate on a balcony in Gdańsk Poland

March 3rd was the first night that I saw the Northern Lights in Finland. A group of us went to a frozen lake to see the lights and while the lights weren’t very strong, we were still able to see them which was fantastic. The next day I was catching the train to Helsinki, the capital of Finland, to meet with a friend who was also from North Carolina (I met her on the plane to Finland from Raleigh, but she goes to a university in Finland more up north than me). We wandered around Helsinki (which their Monday’s are everyone else’s Sundays and most places were closed) and were able to check out some museums and shops as well as the Helsinki Cathedral. We then went to Suomenlinna Island connected to Helsinki through a 20 min ferry. It was such a cool experience because it was four different islands all connected (and the history behind the island was so interesting – dates back to the wars in Finland against Russia). Before we were heading back to the train station for the last train of the night, I realized I had lost my wallet. I had no idea where I lost it (to this day I still don’t know). However, someone had found it and looked me up on Facebook (wallet safe and sound now back with me). It ended up being a good thing that I lost my wallet in the end because when we went back to Helsinki the next day we were able to see more places that we weren’t able to see the day before.

After that we went back to Turku and was joined by another friend and watched Dune 2 and then got burgers (as true Americans do). After that, my friend flew back to her college, and I went to the airport with a different group of friends to head to Poland and Norway (classes were either finished or on pause at this time). We went to Gdańsk, Poland which was full of history and culture (at night though it’s oddly eerie). We had some amazing kebabs every night and fantastic hot chocolate on a balcony while watching the sunset. Afterwards we caught our next flight to Bergen, Norway which is a really peaceful place. We did a hike up Mount Ulriken to see the sunset, (on the way down at the bus stop, I picked up a book because they had free books) and then the next day one of my friends and I went for a run. Later, we rented a car and drove around to check out the Fjords in Norway (absolutely stunning views and also a fab driving playlist). Only one of us drove (not me sadly) but because of that, I came to the realization how much I missed driving.

Alas, that trip came to an end and it was back to Turku once again. I’ve had a couple of essays and learning diaries to write for courses, but otherwise it’s been pretty chill (ECU has a way heavier workload and the courses are definitely more challenging then in Turku) so I’ve just been coasting which is lovely (legit I only have one to maybe two classes a week now).

On the fun side, the last bit of March has consisted of me celebrating some birthdays with friends, and I did St. Patty’s day with some of my Irish friends (it was an absolute blast and a night I won’t be forgetting for a while). I’ve been out around town with some friends checking out more of the stores that we hadn’t had the chance to go to before, and now I am prepping for my Spring Break trip which starts (way too) bright and early this Friday that I cannot wait to tell y’all about in the next blog. Happy Easter break, and I’ll see y’all in April!

-Melina

February 12, 2024

Hey y’all! Hope your semester has started off well and happy February! Currently, I’m on the train to head to Rovaniemi, Lapland which is way north of Turku (9 hours by train). Lapland is in the Arctic Circle, and people have an extremely high chance to see the Northern Lights from here (so fingers crossed). You can also find Santa’s village, reindeer, ski resorts, and a whole lot of open wilderness. Lapland is also known for the Sami people who are indigenous people who live in the northern parts of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia.

Now that the very very brief lesson on Lapland was given, let’s recap this month.

To start with, it does not seem real that I have been in Finland for almost a month. Time really does fly when you are having fun. What was not fun, however, was experiencing history being made by having my first week in Finland being the coldest recorded temperatures in about 20 years (yay…). What’s funny is that 20℉ is good weather for me now. It’s also funny that people talking about the temp being -4 or something like that would make me extremely worried until I remembered that they are talking about -4℃. Finland is covered in snow right now which is amazing because back home I definitely cannot remember the last time I saw this amount of snow and with very little wind.

But enough about the weather.

Class wise, I’m taking over 21 credits of coursework, but the nice thing about the University of Turku is that you just have to survive about 8 weeks of classes (normally once a week). The semester here is broken up into two periods which is crazy nice (ECU take notes). I get to take a bunch of interesting classes that I can transfer back for my degree, and the best part is that all of my classes are taught in English (This also gives me a leg up because English is not the majority of people’s first language so the classes are easier).

Upper left to right: Turku Art Museum, Turku Castle, Outside scenery of an icy pathway Bottom left to right: inside Turku Cathedral, ice hockey match, ramen at a Japanese restaurant

Upper left to right: Cafe in the City Centre, outside scenery, inside of a restaurant
Bottom left to right: Outside scenery at night overlooking the frozen river, outside scenery of the icy square, outside of the Turku Cathedral

I promise that no matter how many classes you take, you will have free time. I have been able to explore Turku a bit, and I feel like I have pretty much mastered the bus system here (three cheers for me). I have been able to go around the city centre, see a couple of museums, and go to an ice hockey game (the Canes are better) which was fun to go to. I’ve been able to go to different shops at their crazy-designed but cool mall. However, there are also a lot of other shops and cafes scattered around the city which have been great to check out. I explored the Turku Castle and the Turku Cathedral which is the only medieval basilica in Finland and is also the mother church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland. I have had the chance to check out the nightlife in Turku (if my parents are reading this then I haven’t had the chance to do this). The cool thing about Turku is that it is a huge student-populated city because of the university so there is always something that you can do. There is a place (not gonna say where, plausible deniability y’all) that is Vegas-themed, and they also have a restaurant that gives proper good American burgers which are fantastic (not as good as home but close enough).

I’ve made close friends with people from all around the world including Ireland, Vietnam, Thailand, Czechia, Poland, Germany (there are so many Germans here on exchange that it’s not even funny), the Netherlands, and the UK to name a few. It’s always fun getting to know them and learning about their lives. There is also a group here that is interested in watching the Super Bowl which is great (I’m pulling for the 49ers), and a group of us has also bonded over fútbol. I’ve gotten together with groups to have different foods native to their country, and It’s crazy the number of conversations that I have had while on the bus with everybody. You really do learn something new every day.

To sum everything up if you have made it this far, my first month has been fantastic! I can’t wait to see what all this next month brings. I’ll definitely make sure to let you guys know how Lapland goes. So goodbye for now, and see y’all in March!

–Melina D’Rozario

January 3, 2024

My name is Melina D’Rozario and I am a junior at East Carolina University. I am majoring in Security Studies with a double minor in Criminal Justice and International Relations.

To start off I will say do not wait to pack winter clothes are extremely heavy especially when you are only taking two suitcases on the last week in the states. But let’s go back a bit earlier in the year before we get to where we are now.

The entire process of getting into a university abroad was actually really easy. You just send in an application and a few other forms, wait for a month or so, and then see if you got accepted (you probably will).

For me I got into the Law School at the University of Turku in Finland. And from there I hit the ground running. I had to apply for Finnish residency (not all countries will have you do this) so I took a short trip to the Finnish Embassy in Washington DC to do that. Not long after that, my residency ID was shipped to my house back home (quick and easy).

Once I got back to ECU, (in no specific order) I opened a Finnish bank account, rented an apartment, applied for classes, booked my flights, and had a bunch of winter clothes ordered to survive the Finnish weather.

After that I packed up my entire room into my car and turned in my keys, textbooks, parking pass, completed my exams (definitely had some late nights studying), and finally hit the road to head home.

Once home I had less than a month left in the states. With these days I celebrated some family members birthdays, hung out with friends and family, and watched a lot of films and shows. Then it was Christmas and New Years.

It was the days in-between the 26th of December and the 1st of January that I started packing (and going to Target and Walgreens at least four times). The hardest thing to do was meet the weight and measurement requirements which lead to my dad packing and repacking and me weighing the two suitcases what felt like at least 50 times. The good news was that after the ball drop on New Years, I finished a movie with the family, went to bed for a few hours of sleep, my bags (after getting repacked again) were finally ready to go and so was I. So, on the way to the RDU airport I went (my parents drove and I took a nap).

And now I am on my first flight of two on my way to Finland for a semester. Happy New Year indeed to me (and to you as well).

–Melina D’Rozario