The Arrival

I flew into Helsinki the 25^th August with my girlfriend Marzia, her mother and brother. After an eventful summer, I was definitely ready to settle back into a routine again. We arrived in Helsinki centre at around 23.00 on Saturday night, we were greeted by a lively atmosphere, as well as the drunken youth! There were street performers and a small crowd of onlookers, needless to say it was a good first impression! There were street performers and a small crowd of onlookers, needless to say it was a good first impression!

We awoke early in anticipation of seeing what Helsinki had to offer. We gazed at the unique architecture and the boutique style of shops. Entered a large open-air market near Helsinki harbour, we were surprised to see that you could eat Reindeer! 5 or 6 stalls were selling Reindeer meatballs which were delicious! Served with potatoes, vegetables and a jam that definitely complemented the dish, I will never look at a reindeer the same again!

 

The Finnish language is by far the most peculiar language I have ever heard. Swedish is somewhat understandable in relation to English, Finns on the other hand could be speaking Japanese and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I have decided that with each blog post, I will share a new Finnish word with you. My favourite word so far is “Kalsarikännit” which literally means having a drink (booze), at home, in your underwear

 

Finnish fact of the day: at the wife carrying world championships in Finland (yes, it exists), first prize is the wife’s weight in beer. Thanks for reading and be sure to check out the blog tomorrow for a description of studying in Turku, more food related posts and some fun Finnish words.

Hey, firstly I would like to thank you for taking a moment of your time to read my blog. I’ll start by telling you a little bit about myself, my name is Will and I’m a passionate traveller! I want to experience and see as much as I possibly can. So far, I’ve lived in the following countries United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Spain, United States of America, Finland, Netherlands and Belgium…the list will continue to grow!

I am currently studying a BSc in physiotherapy and I chose to do my Erasmus exchange in Turku, Finland. “Why Finland?” you may ask, well Finland offers an immersion into Nordic culture which I have wanted to experience for some time.

The purpose of this blog is to guide you through my experience in Finland, the good, the bad and the ugly! This will include cultural shocks, culture-related matters, on language, sights, food (this subject is my personal favorite). What I have experienced, how I felt at the time, would you do something differently the next time and finally what to take into account when comparing Finnish culture to other cultures.


<-- That's me

Send me an email and let me know if there's anything in particular you want to hear about!
wrdoyle1 (at) gmail.com

The second post will come tomorrow!