The Final Countdown

Well, there is only about 24 hours left before I leave my home in Richmond for the dark, snowy city of Helsinki, Finland.  Now you are probably wondering why I chose to study abroad in Finland.  To be honest, when I filled out my IB Study Abroad application, I had listed Aalto University as my 4th choice, but that was mostly because I didn't realize that Aalto had a Finnish language class I could take.  At first I wasn't very excited to go to Finland, but after spending the last few months studying the culture, I couldn't be more excited to go there.  My classes will start on January 5th, and will run to May 29th.

Aalto schedules their classes very differently from USC.  Instead of just having two semesters like we do here, Aalto divides each semester into different periods.  The Fall semester is periods one and two, while three through five is in the Spring.  The maximum number of classes you can take per period is two classes and one book exam.  For me, I will be starting Period Three with Inventory and Supply Management and Introduction to Finnish Language and Culture.  I will then take a book exam in business ethics and a Product and Brand Management course in Period 4.  I will finish my semester by taking Negotiation Analytics and Customer Relationship Management.

To study abroad in Finland, you don't need a visa, but you do need a resident permit.  The process is pretty simple, you provide some basic information and a copy of your acceptance letter from the Finnish university.  Once you do that, you have to call your local embassy and make an appointment with them.  I live in Richmond, so I went to the D.C embassy.  After visiting the embassy, it only took about two weeks to get my permit.

I also had to book my flight, and after comparing a few different airlines, decided to book with a company called IcelandAir.  The nice thing about this company is that they allow you to bring two 50 pound suitcases, a carry on item, and a personal item (i.e a backpack, purse, etc.).  If you have never been to Finland before, I hope you like it cold, really cold.  Since the winter's in Finland can get as low as -30, I had to get an entirely new set of clothes to deal with the cold.

Another thing I've had to prepare for is the amount of darkness I will experience at the beginning of my trip.  During the winter, Finland only gets about five hours of sunshine a day.  The sun will start rising around 9:30 am and start setting around 3:30 pm.  There is a risk of getting seasonal depression due to the lack of vitamin D from the sunlight, so my doctor told me to take vitamin D2 or D3.   I also made sure to pack plenty of aspirin, sinus pills, and other essentials like them.

Another issue was how I was going to  exchange my money from dollars to euros.  What I will be doing is opening an account with a European bank in Finland, so I will update with how that goes.  I also had to figure out what to do about a cell phone, since mine is not able to be used outside the U.S.  I ended up buying an unlocked phone from Amazon and I will be getting a local SIM card from Finland and using internet apps like What's App or Viber to talk with friends and family back home.

That's pretty much everything I've done to prepare for my trip tomorrow.  I'll be leaving tomorrow at about 8 pm, and I won't get to Helsinki until about 1 pm the next day.  My first post from Helsinki will be sometime next week, so stay tuned to Seikkailu Suomessa!

About Me

Hey everyone, thanks for checking out my blog, Seikkailu Suomessa (Finnish for "Adventure in Finland)!  My name is Evan May and I am a junior at the University of South Carolina.  I am currently majoring in International Business, Global Supply Chain and Operations Management, and Marketing, with a minor in German.  I am originally from Columbus, Ohio, but I currently live in Richmond, Virginia.  I will be spending my spring semester at the Aalto University School of Business in Helsinki, Finland.  I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with all of you guys!