Erasmus in schools - school visit in Forssa

On Thursday, the 16th of April 2015 I visited a primary school in Forssa because I was taking part in the Erasmus in schools programme. The school in Forssa is called Vieremän koulu and has about 100 pupils.

The classroom

I left to Forssa at 6.30 am and wanted to take the train from Turku to Loimaa where the teacher was supposed to pick me up by car. Unfortunately, the train was not taking off at 7.00 am because of some technical delays and therefore I had to take a bus which was organised instead of the train. In the end, I was about 40 minutes late and the teacher had to wait for me. Even though it was not my fault to be late I felt quite bad that the teacher got into a rush just because of me but I was really lucky to have such a nice teacher. On the way to the school I talked a little bit to her and found out that she once drove through my home town which is utterly small because she has some relatives living in Vorarlberg.

My school day started with some lectures for the first graders. At first, they had some Mathematics, Finnish and then Music. My main tasks were to help the children which was kind of challenging for me because of the language barrier but nevertheless I managed to say some words in Finnish and use hand signs. Getting involved in this tasks and trying to help even though you can't really talk was in my point of view extremely instructive for myself and my following career as a teacher.
After that, they performed an English and a German song with some movements. The children were quite good at it and I really liked the song and the enthusiasm the children had. Then we went to have lunch at the school canteen and together with the teacher I did the supervision at the school yard afterwards before telling them something about Switzerland where I am studying and playing a word game. 

Verbs for the game

I would like to add here that I think one of the main reasons why Finland succeeds so well in the Pisa studies is due to these breaks. During a normal school day the children would have a 15 minutes break after each lesson (45 minutes). One of the lecturers at my home university told us that an average concentration will just last for 45 minutes and that's why I think that those breaks in between each lesson are really useful. Then it was time for the first graders to go home. After this, I was teaching the 4th graders in English and helding another presentation about Switzerland for another lesson before I started my way back home to Turku.

I highly enjoyed this day at a typical Finnish school and really appreciated the opportunity to visit this school in Forssa. In addition, I liked the idea of working with smart boards in class because it seemed to be effective and easy to use.

Learning Finnish while using the smartboard

If you ever get the opportunity to take part in the Erasmus in schools programme I would highly recommend to take the chance. :)

blueberry pie

On one of the Sundays here in Turku I was able to try a finnish blueberry pie which is known to be a traditional finnish dessert. I was spending time together with my finnish friend this day and she baked a blueberry cake for me.

Blueberry pie

A really nice Sunday afternoon

When I walked into her apartment at the student village I could already smell the cake. I was such a nice odeur and tasted delicious. Once I tried to do a blueberry cake on my own but it turned out a little bit different. Essi's dough was more thick and did not look like the flaky pastry I had.

The cake was amazing and perfectly fit with a cup of tea. During our tea break we had been talking to each other and Essi informed me about her plans to go skiing on Easter.

In Finland a lot of the people are able to ski and when travelling more far up to the North some skiing resorts offer various kinds of winter activities so for example in Levi or Saariselkä in Lapland or in Salo which lies next to Turku. But those mountains are not comparable to the ones in Austria or Switzerland at all. They equal more a hill than a mountain but I still like the opportunity that you are able to go skiing in Finland. 

Aside from that the landscape is perfect to do other sports such as cross country skiing or skating. Having said that, I have to mention here that those activities are easier to do in Northern Finland because normally in Turku it is snowing just a few times in winter and the city therefore sometimes looks more grey and dark. But anyhow, I still like the city and now when it's getting lighter and brighter every day it's becoming even more pretty. 

Nature and silence in Lohjansaari

After Easter my boyfriend and 4 of his friends came to visit me and with them I explored the nature and silence in Finland. Therefore we rented a car and went to stay in a cottage in the middle of nowhere near Lohjansaari which is located between Turku and Helsinki.
At first, we had some difficulties finding the cottage because it was situated in the countryside of Southern Finland and we had to pass a forrest with some really bad roads until we finally arrived at the cottage. But nevertheless, in the end we managed to get there.

The lake near the cottage

The cottage

The location of the cottage was overwhelming because it was absolutely peaceful and silent. Next to the cottage there was a lovely lake where we went swimming after the sauna. The sauna was heated up with wood and therefore we got the typical Finnish feeling of sauna even though it was quite smoky sometimes. Jumping into the lake afterwards was just the icing on the cake. 

This weekend I also had my first barbecue for this season. It was huge and included not only meat like steak and sausages but also different kinds of salads, barbecue sauces, ...

My first barbecue for this season

I also went for a walk there and enjoyed being part of the nature. Near the area there were quite a few summer cottages where some other people spent their weekend as well because of the fact that the weather was extremely nice. Discovering the area not only by foot but also by car we did some grocery shopping. In the mornings we had a lovely breakfast and after 2 nights we drove back to Helsinki where I had to say goodbye to my visitors and take the bus back to Turku.
This weekend was intensely relaxing and I really enjoyed the time in the Finnish nature together with those 5 guys. 

Finnish sport - Floorball (game)

Each game itself insists of 3 games à 20 minutes where there is usually break of 10 minutes in between.

On Easter Sunday a Finnish girl from university asked me to join a floorball game. The game took place in the leaf arena which is about ten minutes away by car from the city center.

Floorball is becoming a more and more popular sport in Finland. The game I was watching on Sunday was a semifinal of the b-juniors in Turku. Most of Henna's family members are involved in playing floorball that means that one of her two brothers is part of the b-juniors, the other brother is playing in the men's team and she herself is also joining a women's team playing floorball.
Henna started to play again this year because she was not able to play while she stayed in Germany. So she had to start with a new team again this year with whom she won this season and will move up to a higher league next season.

Henna told me that there a three different leagues; the B-league where the players are between the age of 16 and 18, the A-league where they are between 19 and 21 and the ones above who are in the men's league.

Normally there are always 3 games and the team that wins at least two of the games gets to the next round and has to play against another team.

I was highly astonished how fast and intense the game went. In the beginning, I was wondering why there were so many players in each team if there are only five players of each team on the field each time but I soon realised that it would be impossible to keep on playing for 20 minutes. That's the reason why they change the players every minute and why the game happens to be so fast.

The game was highly exciting and Henna's brother played really well. The first two games there team was dominating the game but sadly it changed in the third and the lost with 5 to 6 against the team of Helsinki. They then had to travel to Helsinki for the last game on Monday and play against them again.

floorball game TPS

Easter in Turku

The weekend from the 3rd to the 6th of April was also in Turku a time dedicated to spend time with family and friends. At home I would always celebrate Easter with my family that is why I was somehow a bit disappointed not to have my family around but I still stayed at some time at some friends' place and had a lovely time in Turku during Easter.

On 'Good Friday' evening I reserved the sauna near our apartment in Varissuo. Because of the fact that I am living in an apartment of TYS I have been given the opportunity to book a sauna shift four times in a month and therefore I went to the sauna with a friend of mine.
Being quite tired afterwards, we went for some tea and talked to each other. My flatmate and her visitor also joined us and the evening turned out to be enormously relaxing and nice.

The next day some other friends who are living in Paivenpaiste, which is another location of accomodation for exchange students and local students, invited me to join them going climbing.
I have already been climbing once with an event organised by the ESN Turku. 

Climbing with ESN

When I arrived at the building I went climbing the first time, I realised that there was actually nobody there. In the end I called my french friend and found out that I was suposed to be at another climbing hall. Luckily he picked me up with his car and drove me to the bouldering hall.
I had a really nice time there and additionally met some new people from different nationalities which I really liked a lot. I stayed at the bouldering hall with Leonie (French), Hugo (French), Hugo (French), David (German), Ryan (The Netherlands) and Antoine (French) where I enjoyed doing sports and especially climbing again as I used to go climbing at home too when I was younger. I felt absolutely gorgeous being able to climb again.

After I cooked my dinner I went to the sauna at Paivenpaiste with Leonie and Antoine and had a drink with some exchange students from Paivenpaiste and Varissuo. In the evening there was a party taking place at Portti near the city center. You could tell that all the exchange students knew about this party because there where also a lot of students form the student village which is another location of TYS. Saturday had been a highly exhausting day but also extremely enjoyable because of the time I spend together with those people.

Easter brunch

On Easter Sunday I went to Naantali together with Marion and Julia. I have visited Naantali in January with my friends from university but this time the village looked completely different beause of the snow which had already disappeared.

This time the village looked even more lively due to the tourists that walked around the area and the two cafés that have been opened down the harbour.
When we arrived in Naantali we first explored the area by foot and went to see the Muumi world. Sadly this place is still closed until June but otherwise there would be some Muumis walking around the town and some activities and attractions offered to children and families.

Naantali

The Mumin world

Last but not least of our stay there we went to one of the cafés and had some waffles and a coffee. Yam..the waffles where really delicious but also big, so I was completely full and could hardly move when we went back to take the bus home. :) I think Naantali is especially in Spring a nice place to visit when the weather is getting warmer and you can go for a walk through the village.

Amandis Café - lovely waffles and coffee

On Easter Monday I invited some friends over to have an Easter brunch. Therefore I baked some easter bunnies which I would usually also make at home. They are made out of a sweet dough and shaped to little bunnies being eaten with jam and butter when they come out of the oven.

Easter brunch

Moreover, we had some scones made by Julia, bread, cheese, ham, birchermuesli which is part of a typical Austrian breakfast, coffee and juice. My friends from Northern Ireland had not tried any kind of birchermuesli before but they really liked it.


I could not think of the time I had a propper breakfast the last time and so it was absolutely lovely to have a full breakfast for Easter. When celebrating Easter a brunch with friends and family a brunch can't be missed. I even got an Easter bunny from Julia and also one from my family at home which they had sent me over together with some sweets I really fancy. I was totally overwhelmed and happy because of the fact that I can have a real Easter in Turku.

Easter food in Finland

In Turku they only sell chocolate easter eggs for Easter and sometimes children would also paint eggs as we would also do in my home country.

Moreover, the traditional easter dish for Easter in Finland is called Mami which is a black mash served with cream, sugar and sometimes also ice cream. I had the pleasure to try it but I did not really like it as it was the plain one. Nevertheless, I have been told by lots of Finnish people that most of them do not like it either.

Mämmi (www.essen-und-trinken.de, 14.4.15)

The education system in Finland

During one of our courses at university we got some information about the finnish education system.

Finnish children start school at the age of 7 when they attend primary school. Before going to primary school they can attend pre-primary school which is getting more and more popular. After pre-primary school the system has first been divided into a lower level which is from 1^st to 6^th grade and upper level which is from 7^th to 9^th grade. Nowadays the 1^st to 9^th grade is put together and is seen as compulsory education.

From 1^st to 6^th grade a class teacher teaches nearly all the subjects but from 7^th to 9^th grade subjects teachers are teaching the subject they have learnt at university.

After the compulsory education you can go on with high school, apprenticeship training or the 10^th grade class.

High school would last for 3 years and start at the age of 16 where you will graduate with an examination. 

I was highly astonished that there is no special education for children with higher intelligence even though Finland is leading the Pisa studies. In my point of view this could be their reason of success because children will help each other while learning and are able to learn things on their own and from each other. When I was visiting some schools I realised that the pupils are more talkative and that the teachers are not as strict as they are in Switzerland. The lessons are characterised by communication and enthusiasm.

The classroom while doing some activities

English course book

Moreover, I was told by one of the teachers of the schools that they have to

organise 2-3 culture visits per year where they go and see theatre plays, museums, etc. This should help them to get to know their own city and culture better.

What is more, all students eat at the school cantine and are not allowed to go home during lunch break due to the fact that the teacher is still responsible for the children. Lunch is free of charge for all the students.

When it comes to languages, Finland is a multilingual country. Especially in Turku, which is a bilingual city, pupils have to learn Swedish in school. They usually start learning Swedish at 7th grade and English from 3rd grade.

I extremely enjoyed visiting those different schools in Turku and Forssa and even got the pleasure to teach them and tell them a little bit about Switzerland. At one of the visits I asked them about their favourit subjects. The boys like Physics and the girls prefer Arts.

Finnish people

I have already met a few Finnish people and did an interview about what Finns are like with some Finnish students from one of our courses at university.

If the two countries Finland and Switzerland, where I am actually studying are compared, one can see a signifant difference in Masculinity. Switzerland represents more a preference in achievments, heroism and material reward for success whereas Finland stands for modesty, taking care of the others and quality of life.

I was able to experience the willigness to help several times being in Finland. This week my laptop broke down and I was not able to switch it on again. I had to go to a shop to get it repaired. At the shop they told me that they would recommend to send the laptop to the brand's repair center in Helsinki because I still have some warranty on it. Even though they could not fix it, one of the workers helped me talking to the repair center and filling out the form as they were mainly talking in Finnish. He also searched for a package to put it into and send it to Helsinki. I was so grateful about the kindness and willingness to help.

Another experience about how friendly Finnish people are was given to me when being at university. Two of the students studying with me were wondering if I already have plans where to get my lunch. They suggested to come with them and have lunch at the other university and even gave me a lift there. I really enjoyed lunch and had a really good talk with them.

Finns are suppost to be very calm but when it comes to hockey they can become really competitive. Never compare a Finn with a Swedish person. Finns think of Swedish persons to be gay and over-friendly. I was told by a Finnish friend that she thinks Finns are a little bit jealous of the Swedish because they are smart and would smile a lot. In her point of view Swedish men are more handsome than Finnish men and they would also be more talkative.

Lapland - Husky safari and sledging

The week in Lapland past so quick and the last day of our jouney was already there. On the 8th of March we drove back to Helsinki by bus and stopped at different places.

One of the places we visited on our way back home was Saariselkä, where some other students stayed for the week. In Saariselkä there are different possibilities of spending your leisure time like downhill skiing, cross country skiing, sledging etc.

When we arrived in Saariselkä, I first went for a walk around the village with my Spanish and Mexican friends and even had a sandwich with rendeir meat. It was the first time I tried some rendeir meat and due to the fact that everyone told me that it is cheaper in Lapland and in their point of view really good, I had to try it. Rendeir meat tastes like a mixture of beef and chicken and I can say that I quite liked it.

Being strenghtened ,I now was ready for the husky safari, which was my last activity particitpating in Lapland. We jumped on the slegdes (one of us in the front and one of us in the back) and started the ride through the forest on a sledge pulled by husky dog.
I went with Kristina a girl from Mexico and can add here that this ride was one of my best experiences ever. During the ride, we were in charge of stopping the dogs from running by turning down a brake. It was an unbelievable good time. I really liked the dogs as they were really beautiful and also the puppies which we were allowed to pet afterwards were so cute. In the end I wanted to take one husky dog back home with me but was told that the need a lot of training and exercise. This 2 hours passed so quick and it was time to leave back to Saariselkä.

Because of the reason that the hills in Finland are quite small and I didn't want to spend 50 euros more for 2 hours of skiing, I went sledging with some friends of mine. We got some sledges at one of the hotels in Saariselkä and enjoyed our time sledging down the hill and finding out which sledge has been the fastest.
After one hour of sledging and spending time with my new friends, it was time to say goodbye, which was really awful for my as I already locked my new friends into my heart.


I would not want to miss this trip, the experiences I made and also all the people I have met during the trip. We even decided to visit each other although we live quite far away from each other but I can not wait to see them again.

Lapland - Artic ocean

On Friday the bus drove us to Norway where we went to the sauna and had a delicious fish soup. We stopped at a viewpoint on the way to the sauna place and caught a glimpse of the artic ocean and the surrounding nature. We even took a look at the Sami huts and an old church next to it.

Sami huts

church near the huts

At the village in Norway, where we got our lunch, which consisted of fish soup, bread, tea and chocolate we were able to try some caramalised cheese. This Fløtemysost cheese tastes really sweet and can be produced in many different ways. I tried four different types, goat milk, normal milk, the mixed and the creamy one. I could not compare it to any cheese at home and even though it was something completely new, I could not convince myself to buy one as I was not that into it but anyway it was lovely to try it once.

Fløtemysost cheese

We went to the sauna after lunch and the sauna was also a new experience to me even though I had been ice swimming before. They told us there that the sauna has no running water at all because they want to protect the nature.
The woman who was working there was quite old and extremely friendly.
After being to the sauna, we ran down to the beach and jumped into the ocean where we swam for a short time. Doing that was amazing but the water was again icecold. After the swimming in the artic ocean are skin was a little bit salty but totally refreshed.

The Artic Ocean

 In the evening when coming back I additionally managed to see the northern lights because the sky was clear and we had been out to make a bonfire. It can not describe the feeling when I first saw them, it was just overwhelming. I was starring into the sky for almost two hours and gazed the different colours of the northern lights. They had been green, a bit red and orange.
I was so lucky being able to see them because the sky was not really clear the other days and seeing them was one of the biggest wishes when being in Finland.

Lapland - sports

Something you should not miss when travelling to Lapland and spending time there is doing sports.
Lapland is full of snow and as a result of this offers a wide range of winter sport facilities.

During my time in Lapland I tried to do cross country skiing, sledging and ice swimming.
It was my first time trying to go cross country skiing and I absolutely loved it. On this Thursday afternoon the weather was extremely lovely and the sun was shining through the trees as if I was in a fairytale.
After a short introduction and some practicing how to use the skies, the whole group went for a tour through the forest. I liked the silence and spending time in the nature and that is why I continued to go for another tour with 3 spanish guys. For my first time, I managed really well and did not fall down into the snow at all. I am pretty sure I will do cross country skiing again when I am back in Austria.

Our tour through the forest

I met a lot of new people during the trip and built up some new friendships with people from different parts of the world. Together with some French, Belgian, Mexican and the Northern Irish girls we went sledging down a hill close to our cottage. The accomodation provided some sledges which were free of charge. I had so much fun but could feel my butt hurting in the evening.

The sledging was not the only activity I did with them but we also went for a walk and had a snow fight. The snow was a bit powdery and so it was quite difficult to form the balls but we were able to fend for ourselves and took some chunks of snowice instead. They were so heavy that we knocked ourselves over sometimes. But luckily nobody got hurt and we had something to laugh about.

The accomodation also included sauna and ice-swimming in the lake next to the building. After being to the sauna in the evening we jumped into the snow and swam in the lake. The water was totally freezing and so I quickly got out of the water again.

Doing ice-swimming after the sauna releases the body and makes you feel so much more awake and refreshed afterwards. People should not miss the chance to try this amazing experience when they ever decide to come to Finland!

Lapland - santa claus village and the snow castle

One of the most interesting trips was Lapland. Together with two friends of mine, I decided to go to Vasatokka, an area consisting of cottages and housings for tourists in the northern part of Finland.
This week was followed by an immense amount of new sensations, feelings and friendships.

Santa claus village

Taking the Onnibus to Helsinki we got on the bus that took us to Lapland. After about 10 hours sitting in the bus we stopped at the first breakingpoint on our way to Vasatokka which was Rovaniemi. I had the chance to visit the santa claus village and took a picture of santa claus, my friends and me. Santa claus was speaking almost every language and gave us a handshake while asking our names.
The santa claus village is situated in Rovaniemi and is a quite touristic place and contains a few souvenir shops and restaurants. Besides that, reindeers and an igloo can be sighted next to the main building. I really liked the music and atmosphere at the place because it was extremely peaceful and relaxing.

Santa claus is living in here!

The snow castle

Our next stop was the snow castle in Kemi by the Gulf of Bothnia in Finland with a distance of 1 km from the city centre.
The snow castle is a true masterpiece of architectonic snow-work done by local constructors. For the 20th time in a row the castle offers activities to children and adults. Additionally, astonishing light-effects and snow- and ice-sculpters on the walls represent the charm of the snow castle. Within the complex there is a SnowRestaurant, SnowChapel and SnowHotel. The SnowCastle is open daily from 10 to 18. (http://www.visitkemi.fi/en/snowcastle, 28.3.15)
Next to the castle lies the Kemi Inner harbour. The weather in Lapland during this season of the year is quite cold and that's why the lake was frozen. I took some steps on the lake but had to go back after a few meters because I was too scared when I heard the ice cracking.
I was told before that breaking into the ice is a common way of dying in Finland and thus didn't want to take a risk. :)

Temperature inside the castle

Snow castle's café

Finnish friendship programme

During my semester in Finland I was given the opportunity to take part in the Finnish friendship programme. The main aim of the programme is to learn more about finnish culture and living and to get into contact with Finnish people.

The Finnish friendship programme is offered by the Turku university of applied sciences and therefore the first meeting took place at the ICT building. The university provided some pastries as well as tea or coffee. Even though my finnish friend was not able to come, I had a great evening talking to another Finn who is acutally from Åland. Åland is a little island that is situated between Sweden and Finland and the population on the island is mostly only able to speak swedish event though it is part of Finland. That's the reason why Linnea is just talking swedish and studies at the Swedish university called Åbo academy in Turku. Nevertheless, we could communicate in English and her German was also really good.

Having told about the first meeting I now want to introduce my finnish friend. She is called Essi and is also studying in Turku. Essi studies economies at the Turku university and is in her last year at the moment.

Before she came to Turku she was living in Salo which is a city near Turku. Sometimes Essi goes to Salo on weekends to see her family and some of her friends.

Essi and I first met in a lovely café down the riverside of Turku which is called 'Art café'. During a short coffee break we talked about where we are from, our hobbies, families and lots of other things.

I had to laugh when she was telling me that she actually has visited Austria before because she was doing an exchange there and I even realised that she was pretty good at talking German and could tell me some words in the lower Austrians dialect. We had a great time at the café and decided to meet another time after about those two hours of talking to each other. :)

Taking part in the Finnish friendship programme was a great decision. Unfortunately, Essi and I just met a couple of times as we had both been quite bussy with studying and travelling but I really like to spend time with Essi.