Week 1

Last week we took a class in Leadership and Management which was quite interesting and gave me a new perspective on organisational cultures that I had not received at Anglia Ruskin. Our class was composed of about 25 students from Finland, Estonia, Poland, Nigeria, Ghana, Czech Republic, France, Britain and Switzerland, so it was wonderfully intercultural. Each week our classes are composed in a similar fashion – combining Jyväskylä students with international students – and all coming from different subject areas so it is really quite refreshing and nice to hear all the different viewpoints. Classes are held in different buildings each week – last week on the main campus and this week in the business school down by the lake with a wonderful view (see photo). Classes are everyday from about 9am to 3pm or 4pm with an hour in the middle for lunch.

Lunch in Finland is the main meal of the day and consists of a hot entrée, salad, wonderful homemade bread of all sorts to choose from and the obligatory glass of milk. Since lunch is so heavy, dinner usually consists of Finnish bread and yogurt or something similar. Each time we go to the grocery store, Adeline and I have made a pact to try something new, and this includes different varieties of chocolate (since Adeline is Queen of Chocolate!) but I’m not complaining! They have the most amazing chocolate here called Geisha and it’s as if you were eating a chocolate bar full of Nutella so you can imagine!

This past weekend was the Uptown Festival of Jyväskylä, or Yläkaupungin Kuningaskunta. Unfortunately the weather was terrible, but that did not stop the food vendors from selling some traditional Finnish treats such as tiny fried fish (with eyes, bones and all) but which taste surprisingly good for how they appear. There were also loads of events going on indoors, such as music concerts, museum tours and talks and bands out playing in the street (despite the bad weather). We went to a wonderful a cappella performance by a group called Vola followed by a traditional Finnish folk dance performance by kids and adults alike. We also saw a choir performance with unique individually sung pieces and I even got a glimpse at a brief fire throwing show and some belly dancers. The whole festival had a lot to offer, and would have even more so had the weather been nicer but we still enjoyed it.

Speaking of musical performances, if you thought ice hockey was big in Finland, the latest thing has surpassed all expectations and claimed the hearts of most Finnish people - Lordi (see their website at www.lordi.org/ for a real Finnish and slightly bizarre experience) If you haven’t heard of Lordi, they are a hard metal band who wears plastic monster type costumes from Finland and they just won the Eurovision contest. This is the first time in forty years that Finland has won, so celebrations are abound in true Finnish style! Plus, the Finnish team just got a bronze so that also helps (especially considering the recent lack of enthusiasm for the national team mainly because of their loss to Sweden in the Olympics costing them the gold medal). Of course not everyone is so pleased with this sudden fame since the image of Finland this group portrays is not exactly picturesque.

And while the City of Jyvaskyla is not the prettiest place in the world, mainly because the architecture tends to be in the styles of buildings built in the 70s which is not my favourite, the country itself seems to have a lot to offer. I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue exploring!