Last seminar done from my part

The presentation was ok, but i really need to practice my presentation before pre-defense. I also got some good comments from the audience and our LUT professor who was present. A BIG difference between the quality of her comments compared to those of her GSOM colleague (LUT one being way better).

But there is one thing that I dont understand at all. Again, almost half of the students from GSOM side are missing from our seminargroup*. I don't really get the whole thing - these should be compolsory for all of us, but it appears not to be the case. So why on earth do we do these then if you can skip these without any penalty? Doesnt make sense to me...

Also, it seems that we dont have a lunch break today either, just as the last time... I will be one hungry hippo traveling back to Finland. Two words: Bad organization.


* Most of the students did turn up to the seminar at some point, but majority was late or spent only a part of the day with us. I think it is disrespectful to people who spend their whole day in the seminar as it should be as well as to people doing the presentation.

New Years in St.Pete

I have felt a bit lazy recently, when it comes to writing to my blog. About 1.5 weeks of traveling has taken its toll I guess. Or then I am just lazy.

I went to St.Pete after Christmas to have a paaaartyyy. Of course, it being me the ride there wasn't without problems. I went to Lappeenranta by train and from there my friend picked me up and we went together to Vainikkala to catch our train. Or that was the plan. When we reached Vainikkala, it became evident that they don't actually sell tickets in that station! How is that even possible??!?!? I should have bought a ticket from Lappeenranta if I wanted to get in that train. Oh well, L went to Piter by himself and I went back to Lappeenranta. Luckily I have some relatives there who were nice enough to give me a place to sleep and a ride to Vainikkala the next morning with the ticket. Finally, on 31st I managed to cross the border and reach St.Pete.

So remember, they do not sell tickets at Vainikkala!

After arriving to Piter in the afternoon, I took my stuff to the lovely (khmmm.) dorm before attacking the city. Or actually E's place where there was a group of 6 Finns eating together before the party. Thanks E for the blinis and tomato soup, especially the soup was perfect!

The actual party was in a club called Ludovic at Dumskaya. I had never been there before so it was a new experience. It was like a normal night club in Finland - several rooms with a bit different kind of music. But the place wasn't the party piece of the night, it was the company. One of the Norwegian exchange students had arranged the party for us, which was very nice of him. We had something small to eat and also loads of alcohol to drink. And of course about 80 of us exchange students and our friends. Some intensive man hugging and "you rock man", "thanks for everything this semester"-stuff and goodbyes. Some idiotic pictures, idiotic people etc. The normal stuff. Not the best party ever, definitely not but nevertheless a good one.

Unfortunately I didn't actually see that much what was happening outside of the club, so I can't say was there something way different happening in the streets. Well, E wrote something about that, check it out.

Back in Finland, this time for a longer time period.

I came back to Finland late yesterday evening. During my 1.5 week absence not that much has changed here, of course didn't expect that to happen either. New Years eve in St.Pete is now experienced and the life at Karabli is now over. I also took first ride in minibus from St.Pete to Helsinki and experienced the "joys" of it. More about that later. The latest adventure was in Budapest, Hungary. Beautiful city, great food! Some more details coming about that trip later too :)

Leaving St.Pete behind soon

Traditionally, when a time period is coming to an end people tend to reflect what did they learn and experience during that time. That is what I am going to do also during this week regarding my semester here in St.Petersburg.

I will start with the things that I will definitely remember from this semester

• The people. Z, my flatmates, some exchange students as well as Russian students and of course the giggling girls.
• Dormitory, both in good and bad. Hate the kitchen, hate the room, the bed, the Internet, the crappy (and smelly) water coming from pipes. Like the fact that you never know what is going to happen each day.
• Beautiful St.Pete. This truly is a magnificently beautiful city and there is so much to see in here.
• Marshrutkas. The minibuses whose drivers tend to be crazy.
• GSOM. All the open book exams, the crappy administration etc.
• Cheap food and beverages. For a Finn, this really is cheaper place to live in. On top of my head, I'd say that food and drinks in the stores are about 30-40% cheaper than in Finland. Then again, I can't say that much about the quality of those ingredients...
• Baltika 7.
• Moustaches on babushkas.
• My birthday party. The unforgettable presents (26 cans of beer... classy :D) and the overall feeling.
• Limo-ride with MITIM-people on E's birthday.
• Snowball fight and the snow in my pants :D
• The lamp.
• La president hanging out of our window
• Estonian L drinking Pepsi on Coca-Cola factory
• что это? Кто он? Меня зобут Йоона. Как тебя зовут? Пиво.
• My roommate L. Legendary dude.
• P's 5 kilos of pasta.
• Second floor lobby...
• TM presentation by our group.
• Trips to Helsinki and Viborg
• Achtung baby as well as Dumskaya ulitsa
• Shawermas
• The collection of fridge magnets
• Oktober-fest party with T
• Arnold imitations
• That's what she said -jokes

Actually, that list is just a short proportion of memories. It has truly been a cool and memorable experience. Highly recommended!