MY JOURNEY TO VAASA

tachometer unsurprisingly turned out to be no prob-lem for a Saab almost the same age as me.

So I got to Vaasa two days before the semester be-gan. I met with my tutor and my Greek roommate and did a lot of sightseeing in the city. The first few days were also packed with signing rental and electrici-ty contracts, arranging some basic furniture and scraping together what useful stuff the thrift shops offered. With many thanks we accept-ed tables and chairs of the Vaasan Am-mattikorkeakoulu (VAMK) – our ex-change university. The secondhand shops provided me with basic kitchen utensils like a micro-wave, a water heater, pans, and eating utensils at reasonable prices. Yes, I could have brought most of it from h o m e ,

„Seriously? An exchange semester?“ and „Finland? Why not somewhere warmer?“ and more I had to hear after I made my decision official. Back home it seemed like I was some kind of strange person. But no matter, if it is somehow possible to do this, then let’s do it. I’m 25 years old now, and I don’t know how long I’ll be this independent. I have already been to the North a few times before, but never to Finland. As a seasoned photographer I had of course heard of the beauty of this country, of the “land of a thousand lakes”, home to both the midnight sun and the endless nights. But it’s always a different thing to experience it myself.

At the end of August I came home from a 3000 km road trip through Italy and departed the next day with the destination Vaasa. That I would go with the car was obvious, as I wanted to be flexible during my stay. Also it enabled me to bring far more clothes and other stuff with me. After one night in Berlin (Germa-ny), one near Bialystok (Poland) and one in Tallinn (Estonia) I took the two-hour ferry to Helsinki and soon later arrived in Vaasa. Another 3000 km on the

Exchange Semester in Vaasa, FinlandWinter 2014 · Michael Bolli · www.bolli.us · Bern University of Applied Sciences · Switzerland

ONKILAHTI, VAASA

but hindsight is always easier than foresight. What I certainly had to buy here though, was a bicycle. Luck-ily there are markets almost every day on the market square in the center of Vaasa. Everyone can go and sell their stuff. There I found one for only € 25 in good condition and with a lock.

Vaasa is perfect for cyclists as there are dedicated bicycle lanes on almost every street, and car drivers respect cyclists to a much higher degree than in other countries. Finland is the only country I encountered, where after almost knocking down somebody with the

bicycle, the victim apologizes for not paying enough attention. Also, as a car guy I liked the fact that there are many (modern-era) classic cars still on the roads. In the city itself it’s easy to keep one’s bearings because of the small size and because of the simple layout of the streets.

Like I already said my tutor was showing me around in the beginning. It was perfect having some-body, a student of about the same age, with the same sorrows and objectives and knowing what’s going on, in the role of a tutor. We actually got along quite well, became friends and used to hang out together for the biggest part of the semester.

As VOAS (an organization providing student ac-commodation) didn’t have enough apartments to fit us in, we had to have a look on the private market.

Via Pikipruukki we found an apartment which was not only much cheaper than most VOAS offerings (we could split the rent between three people), but also a lot spacier and even with its own sauna. We were therefore not living in one of the student dorms, but had still about the same distance as most of the other students with 1.5 km to the school and 3 km to the city center. So the newly acquired bicycle came in quite handy.

The first thing to do before going to school was always to take a look at the schedule. This was also

the thing that irritated me most at first. The schedule changed completely each week. But after the first week or so it was just normal to have a look each night to see what’s on tomorrow. The school building was un-der construction the whole time I spent there, but that didn’t affect our studies as there were enough usable class rooms left. After classes we mostly used to go for lunch at the canteen. With a student card the prices for a good meal were at around € 3, which was very cheap, especially for me as a Swiss guy.

At days where I didn’t have classes around lunch I still had to eat something. I found it amazing to see how many grocery stores Vaasa has. I think you could live anywhere and you still wouldn’t have to drive more than 500 meters to the next Siwa, Sale, Lidl, K-Mar-ket, S-Market, Prisma or R-Kioski. The first challenge

RYÖVÄRINKARIT IN SOUTHERN VAASA IS PART OF THE KVARKEN REGION AND A MAJOR BIRD MIGRATION AREA. EVERY YEAR THE LAND RISES BY A FEW CENTIMETERS

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DRIVING THROUGH THE PODLASKY REGION IN POLAND

DAILY MARKET ON THE MARKET SQUARE IN THE CENTER OF VAASA

MY ROOM AFTER VERY BASIC FURNISHING START OF THE FIRST WEEK FESTIVAL: A SHOW BARTENDER

DEERS IN THE ÄHTÄRI ZOO

was to find out which one of the 20 different kinds of milk I normally drink. There’s lactose-free, low-fat, fat-free, with additives, with vitamins, I could go on, it’s astounding. And it didn’t help that yogurts are in the same-looking packings. I did not only master the art of milk distinguishing though, but over the course of the semester I also mastered the art of hamburger making – I refined my techniques and ingredients to such a point to create the perfect burger, in my world at least.

My learning agreement stated that I had to vis-it seven courses: one Finnish language course, two IT-related courses, three physics-related courses and one project. Unfortunately these were degree cours-es of three different study years, so there were a few overlaps. I therefore had to quit the Finnish course to be able to concentrate on the other courses. What I liked was the practical experience part of the physics courses, the so-called labs. Instead of spending hours in front of the white-board we got to do some experi-ments which helped to internalize the context and re-lationships of the topics. The IT courses were kind of easy for me, as I had already done an apprenticeship in computer science and have been developing software for ten years by now. This allowed me to spend more time developing in the C programming language; the teacher even provided me with some very advanced exercises for my level. The classrooms were equipped with decent projectors and notebooks, although I used to bring my own laptop to be able to use my ex-isting environment and there were a few students who did the same.

But enough of the school, what happened after the courses? Especially at the beginning of the semester there were lots of activities organized by the student union VAMOK and the Erasmus Finland faction ESN Vaasa. These reached from the First Week Festival, which marked the official start, to beer olympics, pub

quizzes, numerous sitsits, a zoo visit and even week-long trips to cities or the countryside. Normally these activities were held or ended in one of the clubs like Fontana or Leipätehdas in the center of Vaasa. The sad thing about most of the clubs is that they play the same music over and over. I got bored about the second time I went out. Luckily I found the Doo-Bop Club, on whose stage either national and international jazz/blues artists perform or jam evenings are carried out. Along with a familiar atmosphere and better beer it quickly became my favorite.

A sitsit is basically a dinner in a pub, although the focus is not on the food, but more on the drinks and songs. It is guided by a toast master and a song mas-ter who make sure that the sitsit runs smoothly. There are many table rules to obey, for example you mustn’t stand up except if you want to suggest a new song to sing. Going to the toilet is forbidden except in breaks. At all times only one person may talk at the same time – except when singing of course. Singing is the most vital part of a sitsit. Guests are given a booklet with a lot of lyrics of old classics and drinking songs. Often there is also a dress code like “Fantasy” or “Finnish” and if you don’t dress up or act against the rules, you get punished in front of the other people. This punish-ment can be singing a song, drinking something nasty or whatever idea springs to the toast master’s mind.

On one of the trips I joined we went to Saint Pe-tersburg in Russia. First we took a bus to Helsinki, and from there traveled over night with a ship to the head of the Gulf of Finland where the city is located. The trip was visa-free, and it was all very well orga-nized; they offered numerous activities which we had to book when doing the reservation. These included guided city tours, museum visits, a night boat cruise and more. I also enjoyed a personal tour guided by a classmate who is a native of Saint Petersburg. The city offers tons of stunning buildings and museums and a

ENJOYING THE SUNSET AND THE VIEW TO THE ISLAND OF HIETASAARI

THE CHURCH OF THE SAVIOR ON SPILLED BLOOD IN SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA

RED BERRIES OF THE MOUNTAIN-ASH ADD SOME COLOR EVEN IN THE WINTER

MODERN-ERA CLASSICS ARE A COMMON SIGHT: TOYOTA CROWN S50 SUPER DELUXE

DEERS IN THE ÄHTÄRI ZOO A SPIDER WEB IN THE EARLY MORNING DEW VAASA – ALWAYS WINDY START OF A SITSIT

good amount of history too. Another time I traveled with my Polish room-

mate and two other friends from Poland to his tutor’s home town near Lahti. We were gladly welcomed by his family, and could stay the whole week-end do-ing sightseeing and getting to know the Finnish food and culture. We finished it off with an ice swim in the small lake next to the house, after a hot sauna. I could barely feel my feet afterwards, especially after walking back to the house in the snow – but it’s this kind of experiences I will surely never forget.

One of the main reasons to choose Vaasa as my place of study was the beauty of the nature. Espe-cially in this year, Finland experienced the seasonal extremes in a very bold way. A hotter summer than some more southern European countries, and a cold winter after that. The autumn was almost non-exist-ing, with leaves changing color and falling off the trees in barely three weeks. When it began to snow in late autumn, it was amusing to see a lot of foreign students seeing snow for the first time.

It was my luck that I had quite a few time on my hands to go to the nearby forests. First I used them as part of my jogging route, but soon I headed out with the bicycle to capture some moments on camera. The prettiness of autumnal forests in Finland are just

HARBOUR OF HIETASAARI WITH THE ÅBO AKADEMI UNIVERSITY AND THE VAASA UNIVERSITY IN THE BACKGROUND

THESE FORESTS INVITE TO STAY SUNSET FROM THE MARIANPUISTO PARK SCANDINAVIAN SCENERY HALF AN HOUR FROM VAASA IN NORRA VALLGRUNDS HAMN

THE FORESTS ARE HOME TO LOTS OF DIFFERENT FUNGI

beyond belief. The rich greens combined with low sun rays and moss-covered rocks and roots made me not wanting to leave it.

In the first week of October the international nature film festival “Wildlife Vaasa” was held, where some of us foreign students volunteered. They screened 166 films out of 47 countries and it was interesting to watch some of the movies and getting to know the people behind them. I helped setting up an art exhibition in the city library, made a small photo documentation of the overall festival and helped cleaning up when it

was finished. The festival also organized some trips, for example to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Kvarken Archipelago.

In the same week, our university organized a trip to the Ähtäri Zoo, which is the second largest zoo in Finland. I saw wolves, snow leopards, bears, bisons, owls and a lot more different mammals and birds. It was a bit unfortunate that we (all exchange students) arrived with two buses and so a big crowd of carelessly noisy people were walking through the zoo. I had to try to stay a bit in front, as some of the animals were going to their hiding places when the other students came. Overall it was just nice to see all these special animals again, as I haven’t been to a big zoo for more than ten years.

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One of my experiences I hope to remember forever was the Aurora Borealis about two weeks from the be-ginning of the semester. Two large coronal mass ejec-tions (CMEs) from the sun resulted in a massive au-rora which was visible to latitudes as low as Germany. I drove up North to Björkoby on the island of Björkö, barely one hour from Vaasa, where a sandy beach was awaiting me and almost no light pollution spoiled the display. Unfortunately it was a full moon night which took something away from the intensity, but it still felt incredible to see the northern lights whooshing inau-dibly over my head. Definitely a lifetime memory.

Due to cloudy weather I missed most of the fol-lowing auroras, but when I will visit Lapland before I drive home, hopefully the conditions will be better to enjoy and photograph it one last time before return-ing to Switzerland.

It’s interesting to see how most of the foreign degree students (living four years or more in Vaasa) in my university are really looking forward to an exchange semester, and are talking about where to go and what country would be best, while the native students both in Finland and in Switzerland don’t have this kind of itchy feet and just want it to be over. I am really glad that I took this opportunity, even when my degree course scheme in Switzerland is a bit messed up now

AURORA BOREALIS SEEN FROM PALOSAARI HARBOUR

because I couldn’t take all the courses in Vaasa which were scheduled according to my plan in Switzerland.

I guess sometimes it needs a bit of boldness (and maybe money) to step out of the everyday life and to try something new. But at least the people I know who did it, never regretted it. You will find of course things and people you like, as much as things and people you don’t like, but that’s just part of the journey and life in general. I for myself don’t want to look back on my life one day having to admit that I didn’t have the guts to follow my dreams and passions. And with this exchange semester I got to combine road trips, living abroad in a beautiful country, marvelous scenery to photograph, and meeting a lot of new people, while still making progress in my studies – what’s not to love?

TEXT, PHOTOS, LAYOUTCAMERA

MICHAEL BOLLIFUJIFILM X100