Here is a summary of my first impressions and experiences of a year abroad in Helsinki. Hopefully international students can relate to some of these experiences, and it gives you a flavour of some of the ups and downs of going abroad.
It is 5am and BBC World Service has just resumed broadcasting. The main headline: flights out of the UK face delays and cancellations due to a glitch in the air traffic control system. I am in the car with my uncle on the way to Heathrow Airport.
My exchange was off to a wobbly start. As I stared out the window at miles of slowly-brightening Midlands farmland, I was filled with questions about the next year of my life. Would I make any friends? Would I hate it so much that I’d be back in a month? What is hello in Finnish again?
Once my uncle dropped me off at Heathrow, there was no more time for silly questions. The main focus was lugging my own body weight of carefully packed suitcases across the airport, and then frantically refreshing the flight tracking app on my phone to make sure the airplane definitely wasn’t still in Singapore. Thankfully, it arrived on time, and caffeine and blueberry juice propelled me to my new home in Helsinki, Finland.
When I applied for exchange, there were a lot of things I never considered that I would have to cope with. Embarking on my first food shop abroad, alone and sleep-deprived. Translating every word on signs and navigating an entirely new public transport system. It felt just like being on holiday here, with the embarrassing inter-cultural interactions that come with it.
The next few days were filled with challenges and successes. I met people from all over the world at all of the orientation events. I accidentally ate food I’m allergic to because labelling is different here. I spent a few days acting like a fresher again. I panicked when spoken to in Finnish so many times. I just about managed to get the correct buses and trams. I forgot my adapter all the time. That being said, once I learned how to say “thank you” in Finnish, living here became easier than I could ever have imagined.
I found it so much easier to establish a new routine when studying, because on a day-to-day basis, all that really changed was the people I was with and the buildings I was in. No matter where you are in the world or what language it’s in, Physics is the same – that’s what I like about it. So far, none of my fears of making new friends or getting marooned without a bus home have been founded. There is a whole new lexicon to learn – MyEd = Sisu, Nucleus = Physicum etc. Academically, no matter where you go it will be slightly different – in my case, there is a lot more skills-based assessment, like presentations and reports. Admittedly, I have had to be able to take that in my stride – it’s hard to get your head around the resources available in English at a trilingual university. It’s also been an unexpected struggle not to compare my academic experience to that of my friends in Edinburgh and to struggle through complicated lectures without my friends to share the burden with. Even if I have fewer contact hours and fewer strenuous assignments than my friends at home, it’s by no means easier than staying.
Helsinki is an incredible city and the scenery (and university canteen) is unrivaled. Be it the Sunday afternoon dance parties at Oodi (the city library) or swimming on Suomenlinna Island, there is always somewhere new to explore and activities to do. As the weather changes, I am hoping to avoid the seasonal depression Finnish style – by trying out snow sports and drinking lots of coffee. It’s probably hard to imagine looking on at Edinburgh’s sunshine and warmth jealously – but it’s happening. The cold and dark forces you to take your happiness into your own hands – for example doing the sauna/cold plunge combination that is so ubiquitous as a university social.
I was unsure if I had another week of “what’s your name, where are you from, what do you study” in me after my first year at University, but I am so glad I did. Of course, there are awkward moments stemming from my rapid, very English accent and immensely broken Finnish, but (as I frequently have to remind myself) these moments can make me a better communicator. I definitely see where the stereotype that people who’ve been on exchange “are always going on about it” comes from.
