28 Hours Encounting!

Ah, my last day in rainy England (Ok, one shower in the last 5 days, but still). I've still got a ton of CDs left to upload, but perhaps I should pack properly first. It hasnt quite sunk in that I'm going tomorrow, and not coming back for a very long time. I'm thinking about Helsinki and not much after that, so feels more like a holiday. I thought to mark my last post in England for a while, I would mention some of the songs that I've heard since moving home for the summer that I quite like. Perhaps the British music scene is improving a little...

Kid Rock, All Summer Long - Every year you get a 'lets reminisce about summers past' song, and I fall for them every time. My favourite being Last Summer by Lostprophets, possibly because of timing if nothing else. Anyway, this ticks all the boxes for me this summer.

The Tings Tings, Thats Not My Name - Theres something quite catchy about this song, but I think I'll get sick of it as quickly as it grew on me. Despite the terrible 'The X X' band name formular, they are different to the bland regular Indie music that seems to have infected the British public and made them musically comatose, so I'll let them off.

The Script, The Man Who Cant Be Moved - This might be described as the bland Indie that I was just talking about, but its got more style than that, and the lyrics completely redeem it. I only heard this a couple of days ago but its very sweet tugs at the heartstrings.

Jordin Sparks ft Chris Brown, No Air - I heard this a lot at the start of the summer and I dont normally go for R'n'B type tracks, but I really liked the melody of this song. I heard a live version and decided I rather dislike the girl, but its a nice summer track

Usher, Movin' Mountains - Yes, more R'n'B, how strange. .But I've always liked Usher actually (another influence of my brother) and this track, although slightly overproduced, has good metaphorical lyrics.

Sara Bareilles, Love Song - I first heard this song on the way home from Guildford and heard it constantly while in Vienna (the fact we kept singing it didnt help) so will always remind me of that holiday and happy sunny times.

And thats my current summer soundtrack. I will no doubt make a whole new one by the end of next month. It'll be interesting to see what sort of music is being played around Helsinki. I hope to have internet at regular intervals - if not in halls then in the uni library, so there will be the odd update. I will definitely have a connection at my accommodation in Turku though, so will be back to boring you full-time by September (fingers crossed).

5 Days to Go!

Ah, just a few more days before I fly out to Finland. In the meantime, the amount of people wanting to take me out for farewell meals means perhaps I should have booked two seats, as I'm sure I'll be huge by the end of it all.

Dealing with the little loose ends now. Paying rent, sorting out bank accounts, buying a suitable bag for my hand luggage etc etc. Had an email from the kind student who will be coming to airport to pick me up. She sounds friendly and helpful, so will be nice to have someone waiting for me at the arrivals lounge.

It all seems a bit surreal. cant quite fathom that in a weeks time I will have had a days worth of lessons and met a whole new group of people in a foreign country I've never been to before. I think in my mind I'm not worried or sad to be leaving because I'm thinking so much about Helsinki, I'm sort of forgetting that I'm going to Turku after that. I had such a good year in Guildford this year that I'm sad not to be going back.

In the meantime, heres a video of a choir in Helsinki singing about the daily irritations and complaints of the city's inhabitants. Its an ongoing project, that started in Birmingham. Check out the website (http://www.complaintschoir.org/) for all the videos including those from Hamburg and St Petersburg.

2 Weeks To Go!

The countdown has really begun now...

Today has been a good day, in fact the whole week has been fairly productive. I've sorted everything with the people in Turku so turned my attentions to things here. Yesterday we went out and bought a huge suitcase. Its a good solid case in a very funky pink/red so hopefully will serve me well for the year. Today I decided to give my wardrobe a test-run and see how much the case weighted with all my stuff in it - 14Kg. Flying BA so have a 23Kg limit. So with just clothes, thats not too bad. Then we tried again with towels, shoes, books and a pillow - 20Kg. Its looking promising. Also, now that I've bought my suitcase, I'll stop going shopping and buying random clothes in the sales, because that's just not helping issues.

I've got a fairly packed week this week, going to see Stenka Na Stenku (or Hole in the Wall) with Rach on Thursday, which should be good fun, then Friday my friend is doing me a leaving dinner, and finally for my last Saturday in England this year, I'm going to London to meet up with friends from uni for the day. I'm also getting a haircut, which is long overdue (I havent been to the hairdressers since Christmas!) I think its all happening this week, and then next week will be a bit of an anti-climax. Although I plan to spend most of that week with my family, especially my brother who should be arriving home from Spain today. No idea when mind you, but I think I'll stay up and wait nevertheless. Knowing him, he'll just come in, check his email and go straight to bed.

Also, really need to finish uploading the rest of my CD collection to iTunes. Should be back later in the week with some more forgotten gems hopefully.

Glasses and Reflections

I got some new glasses today. I havent had an eye test in 3 years, and thought it was about time. Turns out it definitely was, as these new glasses are pretty strong. Had them on for a while, and now I've taken them off they've given me a real headache, ugh. Oh well, at least now I can see. They say i'm over (or under?) the limit for driving, so have to wear them whenever I drive now, so probably was a good thing I got my eyes tested.

Anyway, I finished work today (I've been working in an office for a couple of weeks) and am starting to realise how little time I've got left. I think I missed the excited stage due to all the stress of forms and now I'm not sure how to feel. I'm not worried or panicking yet. I think I'm quite sad actually. Leaving work today I had to say goodbye to a good friend and realise I wont see her for a year now. So I guess sad is a good way to describe it. I just hope my friends will be here for me when I get back, and that I'll be able to keep in touch while I'm away (hopefully the blog will help :]) I'm also missing my brother this week. He's been on holiday for nearly two weeks now. Then when he gets back, we'll only have two weeks before I go :( In fact, lets have a picture of the man himself, tehehe;


I'm sure once I get out there and start meeting new people I'll feel better, but at the moment while I'm not doing much I'm starting to think a bit too much, hehe.

3 Weeks Today!

It struck me last night that I only have 2 more weekends left in the UK after this one! Madness. I went to Hertford last night, my old haunt from sixth-form days. Was a bit fed up because of the rain, and because the two people I was meeting both managed to miss the train! But once they arrived, another old friend turned up too, and my spirits lifted. Ended up having a really nice night. Then tonight I'm meeting a friend for coffee and then heading to a BBQ (yes i know its raining) in the evening. So should be good weekend.
So I started thinking about going to Hertford again soon, only to realise that I have next weekend free, and then the one after that is my last weekend in the UK, where i've arranged with friends to have a get-together in London. I cant believe time has gone so quickly!

However things are getting organised - flights are booked, accommodation is sorted, bank accounts are prepared(ish). Next on the list is insurance and finding a suitcase!

We're Getting There

I feel like I'm starting to get a bit organised now. Today I took the big step and booked my flight to Helsinki. I'm going on saturday 2nd August. I'd been putting off booking my flight for some reason - probably nerves, now its booked it seems so final, no going back. My inexperience with flying might be another factor. Half the reason I went to Vienna was because I wanted to test myself on a plane, I had only been on a plane once before and that was a school trip 7 years ago. Now I know what to expect although I do wish the cheapest flight hadnt been going from Heathrow :S

All the accommodation is slowly getting sorted now. I confirmed the place in Turku, and am now feeling a bit better about it. Other than the distance, it actually seems like a good option. I didnt really like living in halls last year, so maybe a shared apartment is the best option. Guess it just depends on who I'm sharing with.

I've also confirmed all my Helsinki accommodation. To confirm the offer I had to send off a deposit (which was nearly 3 times the rent for the 3 weeks!), which went off friday. Now I just have to pay the rent itself and tell them when my flight arrives for them to come pick me up from the Airport (very handy). I can worry about paying for all the Turku accommodation, and how I'm gonna get to Turku (or more precisely when) later.

Argh!!!

Ok, since about Monday, all the uni email system has been down. Everything that I'm organising for Finland is through my email system. This is starting to stress me out. Every so often, I manage to get to my emails, such as just now, when I read an email offering me a room in a shared apartment in Turku. I only applied on Monday, so wasnt too worried that I'd miss something from them, but this email today was great until I realised;
a) its a shared apartment, not in halls as I'd hoped
b) looking on googlemap, its miles from where I want to be
c) I have just 3 days to decide whether I want it

Well, to be honest I dont want it. I want one in halls near the centre. But what choice do I have? I tried to email my tutor about it here, and thats when the email decided to stop working again! Argh!!! Of course, I could try using hotmail to email him, but he's probably having the same problems I am, and I only have his uni email. And again, what can he do about it really?

Finally!

I finally received complete confirmation of my place at the University of Turku! Hurrah!
I've been given the name of a student tutor/mentor who will meet me at the station when I arrive, so naturally they've asked me when I'll be arriving. So thats next on the 'to-do' list.

So happy :)

Ja kello käy

So, just over a month now till I head to Finland, and I'm hoping everything will be quite straightforward from now on (touch wood), I still havent actually got a confirmed place. Until I get confirmation, I'm unwilling to book flights and cant apply for accomodation :/ But ignoring all that, I'm really looking forward to spending August in Helsinki. My placement is only 10months, so will finish in June, meaning this is my best chance at seeing Finland during the summer.

I've been meaning to post another Antti Tuisku song on here. And this one, from what I can tell, has lots of reference to time, including the title of this post which means 'and the clock is ticking'. Quite appropriate. Its called Ei Aikaa (No Time), and its one of my favourites.

Another song of his that I came across on youtube is a pretty ballad duet that he did with a girl called Jenni (I think she was/is in a girlband). Its called Kahdestaan, which I think means 'the two of us'. Could be wrong.

As for my knowledge of the Finnish language, listening to all this Antti isnt really helping. So far, I know days of the week (except Wednesday), and the numbers 1-10 - woo! I hope this course is good otherwise I havent got a chance, hehe.

Woo Hoo! I passed!

Today I rang my tutor to get my results, and was so relieved to hear I passed the year - and with a similar mark to last year! Which is great news, not to have slipped much. I failed one of my modules (not the one I thought I would have), but passed all the rest, and even got over 70% in Immunology which was one of my favourite modules. I know one of the students in Finland now has been doing lots of Immunoassay's, so hopefully I can get involved in some Immunology work over there as I seem to have a flair for it :)

I think we're finally getting to the end of all the silly application business too, which is good to know, as the final final deadline is wednesday. Basically, after emailing to ask what I was supposed to put on the form that wasnt relevant to me, they replied suggesting I fill in my name address etc and then leave the rest blank! Riiiight, so all this bother just to send in a blank form. Fine by me - so that's gone off this week, fingers crossed it'll all be sorted soon.

Off to the cinema tonight to see Indiana Jones, so will no doubt return with a review of it tomorrow. In the meantime, I've set up my funky mini-stereo system in my room so I'm off to listen to some Schlager at high volume while I tidy my room to make way for all the stuff bought back from uni - no idea where its going to fit!

Helsinki in August!

So it seems I've been successful in my application to go on a language course. But not only that, I got my first choice - Helsinki! I'm very excited, although now it seems kind of scary. I moved out of my house in Guildford this morning, and am now settling in at home again. But in less than two months I'll be in Finland! Madness!

Unfortunately, I'm still having a bit of a headache where the actual application is concerned. Long story short, they're still requesting something that I cant actually fill out, as I'll be working rather than on a degree course. And until I get a confirmed offer, I cant apply for accommodation (or book flights etc.)

In the meantime, I'm going about the business of preparing bank accounts, insurance etc as though I'm definitely going. This week, I've also been in contact with the current students out there on placement, and they've been giving me some great advice (along with the offer to buy a bike, hehe).

So fingers crossed that I can get this application business sorted and start getting really excited!

Vienna on Thursday!

So, preparations for Finland have come to a bit of a stand-still. I finished the application for the language course (choosing Helsinki and Tampere as predicted). It all got sent off without any trouble, as I had an email in reply from someone in Finland saying that my application will now undergo a screening process and I will be notified by 20th June whether or not I have been accepted. Fingers Crossed!

It's all redundant of course, if I don't get accepted to the university that I'm planning to do the exchange at. I sent off my application ages ago, and gave a copy of my transcripts to the organising tutor at my uni to send off. Yesterday, I received an email stating that my application is incomplete, as they never received the transcript, and I now have a new deadline to deliver the transcripts to them. I've emailed my tutor to see what went wrong, but as yet he hasn't replied. The new deadline is next week, which would be fine if I weren't flying to Vienna Thursday, and not returning till the deadline date. You see my dilemma...

I'm going to Vienna to visit a friend so will hopefully have internet access on and off during the week. Its just a shame that this is the start my summer after a hectic month of exams, and this is a holiday I've been looking forward to for so long, that now I'm going to be worrying about this all week! Oh well, I will be back with a final post before Vienna tomorrow, and then will be back with tales of my travels on Tuesday. Wish me luck!

What better way to learn Finnish...

So, just two more days and all my exams will be over - hurrah! Then the summer can really begin. Of course, there's a million forms to be filled out before I leave the uni, and of course the two remaining exams require some form of revision. What doesn't help is the leak in the ceiling that meant we had to switch all our lights off last night :/ Any excuse to get out of work, eh.

One of the forms that needs filling out is one for a language course in August, which I was hoping to do since I don't speak a word of Finnish. The great thing about the courses is that they are being held at various uni's in Finland, so I'll get first hand experience. I have to select a first and second choice from a list of about 10 different places. There is one at Turku, but I'm thinking it might be more fun to explore somewhere different since I'm going to be living in Turku for a year. So, I'm going for the fairly obvious (and no doubt popular) Helsinki, and then Tampere as a second choice. I think. I might have changed my mind next week and end up in Lapland.

Feel like this was a bit of a pointless post, so will add a nice Finnish song on the bottom to cheer things up. This is one of the only Finnish pop singers I know - his name is Antti Tuisku and he was introduced to me by Postergirl. I'd recommend having a listen to Läpi Jään and Yritä Ymmärtää, but the link below is the video for his song Tyhjä Huone;

Have no idea what it means, but hopefully by the end of August I will :)