Initially finding student accommodation in Finland proved to be a challenge. Even though we applied early to the Student Village, we unfortunately received rejections from them. We then started to look into airbnb’s and renting apartments, but these were all extremely expensive. Luckily one of us found Forenom! Currently the 9 of us Scottish students in Finland are renting 2 apartments between us and Team Aura all share a flat with one other student from Strathclyde. Our flat is extremely cosy and we only have 2 bedrooms which we share, but we have learned to love life in our little flat.
The Finnish language is very difficult to learn. It is unlike any language any of us have seen before, so we decided to attend a few Finnish classes in uni to get a feel for it and try to improve our language skills. The teacher is eccentric but enthusiastic about the language which makes the class very fun. So far, we have not learned that much Finnish, but moi and kiitos are now part of our everyday vocabulary. We have found that most people can speak enough English for us to understand but we like to challenge ourselves in shops by stumbling over Finnish words in an attempt to buy some fazer choccies and long drinks.
The Finnish diet consists of bread, liquorice and a whole lot of coffee. A very Finnish sweet is called Salmiakki which is salty liquorice. It’s the worst tasting sweet ever and we would definitely not recommend it, although it’s very good for pranks! We have also tried Karjalanpiirakka which are small rice pies. These weren’t so bad, but they were a bit too plain for our liking. The Fins are also obsessed with berry and mushroom picking. Our new favourite berry is the lingonberry! For drinks, the Finnish have long drink which is gin mixed with grapefruit soda. It is very delicious and has been very well received by us Scots! The local beer, aptly named 'Aura' after the river has also become a staple pint for us when we're out and about in pubs.
Getting around Turku is very easy as the monthly bus pass only costs around 30! Even though we live very close to the center of town, we used the bus almost every day to travel to and from uni so we would highly recommend getting a bus pass. Additionally, electric scooters are legal in Finland (unlike in Scotland unfortunately) and we have been having the best time travelling around on these.
An interesting tradition for Finnish students is to wear overalls around campus and on nights out. At most university events patches can be earned which you can then sew onto your overalls! This crazy custom caught out attention immediately and we couldn’t wait to get our hands on our very own pair! There are many different colours of overalls depending on which university faculty you are in; ours are blue since we are Erasmus exchange students. We wear our overalls on nights out to our favourite club Heidi’s on student nights and to student events.
Another bar which we have been enjoying is the Walo rooftop bar. This is a classy bar at the top of a hotel/ department store with stunning panoramic views of Turku! The drinks are quite pricey but it's definitely worth a visit!!
A common stereotype of the Finns is that they are not very friendly and like to keep to themselves, but we have found that once you get to know the Finnish people they are very friendly and chatty! We have made many Finnish friends while here who are all great fun to be around and encourage any future students to get to know the locals.
~ Eilidh ~
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