My First Exam Across The Pond

As I've said earlier, the schooling is easier compared to what I'm used to in the U.S. Normally at this time of year I would be barried in homework, living in the library, working too much, not sleeping enough and already wishing it was Thanksgiving break. Not here. The students are expected to be more independent in their learning. For me, homework does not exist. Yes, you read that correctly. If there is a slight chance of homework, it takes maybe ten minutes to finish. When I first started school I thought "Score. I'm so promoting Finland for study abroad futurees. This year is a piece of cake." (Not like I'm going to do the opposite now.)

My life is now comprised of sufficient Facebook stalking (sorry everyone), looking at plane tickets where I feel like going, running (a lot), actually cooking three meals a day, making my bed, and for about a month I was reading 'Introduction to Corporate Finance'. Many exchange students take book exam classes; you read a book and take a test on it. Simple enough, right? Wrong!

So I'm trying to teach myself seven hundred (SEVEN HUNDRED) pages of finance. Praise baby Jesus I know a little accounting and statistics. After finally finishing the absurd amount of information, I took my test on Friday. My first thought looking at the exam: "Fuuuuuuccck." There were only three questions all in which were supposed to be roughly a page long of written responses. Did the professor give me example questions or any sort of aid? Nope. (It would be unfair to the other tortured students.) What has MSU tought me up to this point? That I impressingly excel at bullshitting. I managed to write a page and a half for all three questions with at first glance thinking I'm another dumb American.

University of Jyvaskyla: 1
Mariah: -700 pages

Finnish Language

For anyone who is curious what Finnish looks like, here is a small homework assignment I had to do. It's just talking about myself, what I like to do, my family, etc. It's pretty interesting!

Moi!

Mun sukunimi on Mariah ja mun etunimi on White. Mä olen kotoisin Yhdyhsvaloista, siis mä oon Amerikalainen ja mun aidinkieli on englantia. Mä puhun englantia, ranskaa, ja vähän suomea. Mä oon vaihto- opiskelijana Jyväskylässä, mä asun Kortepohjassa. Mä opiskelen liiketalonstiedetta.

Mulla on kolme pikkusisko: Alyssa on seittemäntoista vuotta vanha, Julia on viistoista vuotta vanha, ja Carly on kakstoista vuotta vanha. Mulla on aïtï nimi on Erin. Sulla on mies, Patrick. Hän puhuu kreikana, arabia, ja latina. Mulla on isä nimi on Bob, sulla on vaimo, Meg. Meg sulla on poika, Tevin. Mulla on kaksi serkut: Bryan, kakskyt vuotta vanha; ja Kristin, kaheksantoista vuotta vanha. Mä oon kakskyt vuotta vanha. Mulla on koira, Buddy, hän oon “miniature-schnauzer.”

Mulla on poikaystävän, hän nimi on Ian. Sulla on kakskyt vuotta vanha. Hän syö pizza, käy saunassa, ja pelaa jalkapalloa amerikalainen. Hän ei puhu suomea. Hän tykkään historiaa mutta opiskelee liiketalonstiedetta.

Vapaa-aikana ma tykkään käydä lenkillasta. Mä tykkään bailata Jyvaskylassa. Mä tykkään vari sininen, viinista, ja suklaasta. Mä tykkään Jyväskylästä ja Suomesta.

Kiitos!

Lapland!

Thankfully, the website where I needed to book my Lapland trip created an option to use major credit cards. I am officially visiting November 21st through the 27th. Yay!

For those of you who are questioning what Lapland is, I'll explain it! It's the Arctic Circle of Finland! On my trip to Lapland I'll be staying in a log cabin with a sauna, of coarse. You can't go anywhere in Finland without a sauna being nearby. :) I signed up for a bus trip to the Arctic Ocean. There is a small strip of land which is Norway, but it is just above Finland on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. How tropical, right? But I'll be taking a bus to the Arctic Ocean! How many people have done that? So stoked. I also chose to do a husky sled ride, another thing I am excited for! Things included in the trip are: a tour to Santa Clause village (he technically lives in Finland), reindeer farm (!!), reindeer sleigh ride, and possibly seeing the northern lights. It's going to be a very traditional Finland adventure. Thank goodness my wonderful mother is mailing me snowpants. How could I come to Finland and forget snowpants?

It's getting cold in Finland, winter is on its way! I went on a run today, I wore running tights, a long sleeve, a jacket and a scarf! The scarf might have been much, but I wasn't sure! The leaves have all fallen off the trees; no more colorful Finland. Time for snow!

Winter is coming!

Recap of the Day 10.10

So today could have definitely been better, here is a recap of the day I wished I was in Bozeman.

1. While taking a shower, I was shaving my legs and bent down to pick up the shaving cream. I hit my head on the sink. Not only do I have a lovely lump on my forehead, but it's bruised and bruised so badly that it even has the purple spots in it. Great way to start the day!

2. It's pouring rain today. It's about a ten minute bike ride to campus and I showed up with my lovely bumped forehead with mascara running down my face.

3. I had to pick up my box from my parents at the customs post office; I have no idea where it is. I talk to a Finnish girl about where to find it, we figure it out for the most part. When I actually got to the bus stop, I realized I had no cash on me. Thank God for Pauline also walking with me and she lent me 3e10. So, I'm feeling nervous because apparently the English speakers weren't on this bus. It was up to me to figure out the stop to get off at. I failed. I got a round trip bus tour for half an hour. I went home without my box of peanut butter, winter clothes, and spices.

4. My bike was still on campus which is right by the city centre. I ride back home, I'm almost back when I notice my front tire is flat. Apparently I ran over the ONE tac on the sidewalk on the way home. It was stuck in my tire.

Finally when I made it back to the apartment, Ian was kind enough to let me vent. And vent a lot. I did buy more groceries, does that give me a right of passage? I thought so. I sat down to a cup of tea, trailmix, and the ending of Memoirs of a Geisha. Feeling more content than a few hours earlier.

5. Just to end the day. The Mormons show up. I guess they make house calls even in Finland, they were relieved when I spoke English. They're from, none other, Utah. Great. Now I have to defend my opinions when I'm about to finish my lovely book. They're 'scheduled' to come back next Thursday at 5:30; no I will not be in my apartment.

I'm going to get back to Memoirs of a Geisha, go to the sauna, and not dream about Bozeman, MT.

Most Awkward Conversation. Ever.

I was feeling a little down towards the end of this week missing Montana. But Saturday night changed my mood completely, thanks to the fabulous exchange students. We went to a pre-party, I yelled at Ian for telling Christoph he wants a highschool girl which led to everyone getting involved (of coarse, this was all in good fun),  and me and my classy self walked around with my bottle of Cotes du Rhone. We went to a club called Senssi, which I was pleasantly surprised by it! Probably because the huge group of people were the only ones dancing, but who cares. And Senssi actually has cheap drinks. Ian and I met a Finnish guy who studied int he U.S., he bought us a shot of some minty crap but we smiled when it went down to not only destroy our livers but our tastebuds for the rest of the night. It was practically a shot of Listerine; YUM. Regardless of the highschool girl fight and mint-shit shot the night was definitely a success.

Sunday comes. I decide I should do a little homework for my classes I don't care about. Erin (Note: Erin is also American) and I find a cute coffee shop, get situated and do more chatting than homework. Going to coffeeshops with a friend to do homework never actually works. We then go to one of the big stores, Sokos, to look around a bit. Don't forget this part: we were in the womens' hair styling section. Two men walk up to us. They're both dressed completely in black, one in a long trench coat. One has longer hair than me and round glasses. He. Was. So. Creepy. The other guy has black hair slicked back, also so creepy. Although his red Converse shoes made me like him more. This is how the conversation goes:

Creepy Guys: Hi, are you ladies exchange students?
Us: Uhh, yeah.
Creepy Guys: Oh, wow! From North America? (They could tell by our 'accents')
Us: Yes.
Creepy Guys: Where are you from?
Me: Montana.
Erin: Massachussetts
Creepy Guy With Red Converses (CGWRC): You know, the capital of Montana is a Finnish name.
Me: Yeah, Helena.
CGWRC smiles back. Awesome.
Creepy Guys: What do you study?
Me: Marketing.
Erin: Psychology.
Creepy Guy Who Needs a Haircut (CGWNAH): So, do you think we market ourselves good?
Us: What? (???????????? who says this?!)
Us: We don't understand your question.
CGWNAH: You know, like, first impressions kind of. Like what you think of a product when you first use it.
Us: Uhhhhhhhh.....
Erin: I don't know anything about marketing.
Creepy guys are still standing there awaiting our longed responses. And all we can think to say is 'Uhhhhhh.'
Erin: Well, we can't find what we came into the city centre for. We should probably get going.
CGWNAH: I can't help you find it!
Sidebar: Of coarse you can help us find, why am I not surprised?
Me: No, it definitely isn't here.
CGWNAH: So how can we continue this conversation?
Sidebar: What conversation?
Us: Uhhhhhhhh..... (of coarse)
CGWNAH: Can I get your phone numbers?
Sidebar: Giiiiiirrrrl can I get yo' numba?!
Erin: We don't have phones, it's too difficult.
Sidebar: I got a phone the very first day I got here.
CGWNAH: Can I have your e-mails?
Sidebar: We can't say we don't have e-mails! Dammit!
Me: I'm not comfortable giving you my information.
Sidebar: Great, now I'm a bitch.

They walk away. Erin and I decided we didn't need anything else and found an exit as quickly as we could.

Finland represent!

October 7 Round 2: Feelings After a Month

I feel that after a month, the honeymoon stage definitely wears off. You become emotional and annoyed with your host country. Obviously, not all things are bad.

Things I dislike about Finland:
1. Service is so slow. From a server's standpoint (or any customer service job) it is a business to be efficient and quick. Finns do not think like that. For example, an event is planned where 4,000 students are planning to attend. Bars do not staff more than two bartenders. The City Centre (downtown area, in Europe they always say city centre) was booming with people but it took at least a half hour to get a drink.

2. The coffee is gross. For how much coffee they drink, it tastes really bad. And it makes me miss CoffeeMate creamer, I know it's fake but it tastes so good! However, I am growing fonder of tea.

3. This is more of something I miss: peanut butter and Kraft macaroni. I know this is 150% American of me. One night I tried to make homemade macaroni and I failed miserably.

4. Schooling. I wish there were some middle ground between American and Finnish schooling! School here is not taken as seriously. Probably because its completely free. But American schools are way too expensive and a student cannot wait to graduage and be done. Here they take their time and study what they enjoy, which is something I do like. People should be free to study what they enjoy, not study for what makes the most money (which is what many Americans do, understandably so). I don't feel any motivation to try or do well in school, which is why I don't like it as much.

5. I miss the 406 so bad! Sometimes SO bad.

What I love about Finland:
1. The recycling! It's amazing here. Keep all the bottles and cans and you get $.15 to $.40 per can! That adds up to a lot! Also, you have to pay $.20 per grocery bag so there aren't any bags being wasted and polluted into the Earth. I bought a reusable one; I'm so green! ;)

2. How laid back the Finns are. It's very much like Montana, it is nice to be reminded of home on a regular basis.

3. You would be surprised how many exchange students they get here! I've met someone from probably every country in Europe, people from Australia, South America, North America, China, Japan, Africa, you name it! And everyone's here to have fun and get to know one another. And go to the sauna of coarse.

4. I bike everywhere! My legs are going to look so good when I come back to the U.S.

5. Traveling to Lapland (Arctic Circle Finland), Santa Claus, and reindeer.

I haven't decided about the rain yet.

October 7. Blog 2: The Battle of Nudity

It was requested I recap the awkwadness and dilema of going to the sauna naked.

The first weekend in Jyvaskyla there was the 'Ultimate Sauna Experience' and we baked in the sauna, swan in the lake, and ate sausages that were grilled over a fire. It's very Finnish! It was a blast! Of coarse, we can't have that kind of experience every weekend, somebody has to pay for the heat and sausages!

I decided I wanted to go to the sauna again, it's very relaxing and cleansing. Ian had been going to the sauna for a few weeks and I asked him if it was custom to go naked or wear a swimsuit like we did for the Ultimate Sauna Experience. He said it would be more awkward for me to wear a swimsuit. I think 'Okay, easy enough!' I go the sauna and sure enough, it definitely would have been weird if I wore a swimsuit. The girls were all Finnish and flaunting their Finnish bodies! The sauna was on the top of the roof, so there was a balcony we could go stand on in between sitting in the sauna. So my second sauna experience was actually more Finnish than the first.

Going to the sauna became a regular thing for me to do. However, if the girls are not Finnish they do not go naked. Therefore, I am this American girl running around naked. On top of that, the sauna that you can regularly go to is much smaller than this nice one the Finns normally go to. Six girls, five in swimsuits. Thanks guys!

I still go to the sauna naked. That is how it is meant to be done!

After a month, I have FINALLY started blogging.

After being in Finland for almost a month now, I have finally found the motivation to start writing about it. Until I head back to Montana, this will be quite an adventure.

Twenty seven hours was a brutal amount of time to travel. We left Missoula at 6:30 a.m. and until we got to Jyvaskyla, it was sit-and-stress about moving forward-and sit again. The train ride from Helsinki to Jyvaskyla was definitely not amusing, poor Ian was throwing up and we hadn’t learned “WC” means “Wash Closet” which is the bathroom. Little plastic bags did the trick.

Finally, we get to our destination! It’s raining, which now after living here, is no surprise. It is more surprising to have sunshine. That’s an adjustment from beautiful Montana. Aside from the rain, I fell in love with Finland instantly. It is clean, the people are open, and everyone is down to party.

Meeting people has been amazing. It is so easy to meet anyone from any given country; mostly Spain, France, and particularly Germany. The Germans and Finns strongly like each other. There are only six Americans, including Ian and myself. Stephen and Jason, from Oregon, have been awesome guys to talk with. A girl from Belgium practiced her slang with us, her practicing consisted of “white nigger.” From my American standpoint, this is hysterical. Absolutely hilarious. She loved making everyone laugh, probably because she is quite good at it.

Now, the sauna (sa-oon-a). Oh how I love the sauna! Such a Finn at heart. Sitting and cleansing the body. Many exchange students go in their swimsuits, that doesn’t quite capture the ‘curing’ part of the sauna. All Finns go naked, and I love it. Everybody is so open with their bodies, why wouldn’t they be? We’re all given the same parts aren’t we?

Lastly, I will encourage anybody who wants to take a year off or do something so rad to come to Finland. Everyone is laid-back, school is easy, and life is good here. Definitely the best place I could have chosen.