The land of Midnight sun!

"Finland is the land of midnight sun. Over two third of the world's population who experience this phenomenon live in Finland." - visitfinland.com

Just want to share with you the amazing sunset at 10 p.m. during an evening in Finland's Spring ... I was on my way home from work and saw the extraordinarily beautiful sunset in Jyväskylä and thought that I would make a super short video to share my excitement with you.

I am super excited about the fact that summer is getting closer and closer every day when the sun comes down later and later. During summer, there will be days when the sun does not set and we have 24 hours of sunlight.

Go to Visit Finland to find out tips on how to sleep normally during this time of the year if you are new to this phenomenon!

Can't wait, can't wait!!!

Walking on a lake for the first time in my life!!!

Well ... this was shot in late January 2014 when the temperature dropped to -20 and the biggest lake in Jyväskylä was frozen. People were able to ski, skate and enjoy other winter sports on the lake. 

This was my first time ever seeing a frozen lake like this and being able to walk on it. 

I might have been a little bit over excited about this experience in the video below! ;))

It was my classmate Elisa, from Italy, laughing in my video and suggesting us cross the frozen lake in Kortepohja (student village) to an island. =))

The following photos were taken at the exact same spot on lake Jyväsjärvi. The one on top was in August 2013 and the one below was in January 2014.

Some other photos of the frozen Jyväsjärvi lake

Why Finland? Why Jyväskylä? - Well ... why not?

The questions I am often asked with amazement are:
1. How did you find out about University of Jyväskylä?
2. Why Finland?

To answer the questions, I have to say it was somewhat fate. Yes, I do believe in fate. Everything happens for a reason.

I graduated from Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam with a bachelor of art in International Relations and I had chosen to study it because I am a proud Vietnamese and I always wanted to become a diplomat and serve my country. But things did not work out the way I would hope it to be. Failing the exam to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I started looking for jobs in other professions and found myself falling love with development work while working for Oxfam Hong Kong based in Hanoi. I wanted to pursue this profession but I honestly had no idea how to proceed from there. So, I turned to considering my options of higher education abroad, which was one of the childhood dreams I wanted to achieve. Since I had only been working for 2 years at that time, I did not earn much to afford a full self-financed study abroad. I had to ask for my parents' support and they could only support me with the living expenses, not the tuition fee. That's too much!

So, while exploring some scholarship options, I found out about the free education for international students in Finland. To be honest, it was hard for me to believe at first. For us Asians, education (especially higher education) is a privilege that we have to work very hard to earn, so it is rarely (if never) offered free of charge, at least in Vietnam. And also due to the free education, some posed the question of the quality of the education I will be getting, which I will be coming back to talk about later.

My goal, in general for my Master's degree, was to study development so that later on, I would be able to score jobs in NGOs. And I thought, even though I did not succeed with my dream of becoming a diplomat to serve my country, helping the people in needs in rural areas of Vietnam would also be a way to serve my country. As I was searching for information of development courses in Finland, University of Jyväskylä came up with the most potential and promising programme called Development and International Cooperation. I went through the programme's structure and found it perfect for me.

I finished my application documents two weeks before the deadline of 2012 and sent it out with a lot of hope but I did try not to keep my hope so high. I did not have a very good-looking transcription from my previous study though. So, you can imagine how thrilled I was when I received the invitation for interview. However, I was torn because the interview invitation meant that I clearly had a shot at being accepted into the programme but at the same time, I was also offered a job in the Philippines. I am a greedy lady when it comes to opportunities like these. I decided to go with the flow just to see how it would turn out.

The acceptance letter came quite late that year. And since I had not known if I would be accepted, I took the job in the Philippines to be a journalist in the conflict zone in the southern part of the country, Mindanao region. The email telling me I was accepted came when I was already in the Philippines. You would think I would be extremely happy but I was not. I was deeply depressed when I received the acceptance letter. "Does this mean I will have to apply again next year? What if I won't be accepted again?" - I actually panicked. Then, after finishing panicking, I wrote an email to the programme and explained my situation. I asked for the possibility of postpone my study until the next academic year. It was one of the happiest moment of my life when they said yes.

Yes, I finally had the next 3 years of my life figured out!! (Well, I will also have to come back to this later!)

So, after finishing the one year contract in the Philippines, I came back to Vietnam to prepare for my departure to Jyväskylä with extreme excitement and nerve-wrecking as well: The paperwork for my visa could be a pain in the ass. However, surprised as I was, the Finnish embassy in Hanoi managed to return my visa in exactly 3 weeks after my application. It was a big relief after all!

Well ... I eventually arrived in Jyväskylä on 15th of August in 2013 and until now, I have not been over my jet-lag yet, haha =))

Nah ... just kidding =)) I had no problem whatsoever with the time difference. It was a good sign though!

I still remember vividly the second day I was here in Jyväskylä. As I was walking my way from KOAS student housing in Roninmäki to KOAS office in the city center to sign my lease, it was a beautiful and sunny day, I could not stop smiling. Still, I could not believe that I made it. I was finally here in Finland, starting my Master's.

Coming back to the point where I mentioned the quality of the free education in Finland, so far, I have had the best time in my life actually enjoying going to lectures and studying every day. I feel like a sponge absorbing as much as I can: knowledge, culture, international environment, friendship and living the student life yet once again! Free education does not mean there is no assurance for good quality. Free education means providing opportunities for more people to receive the education they cannot afford otherwise. I am grateful for everything that I have gone through so far since I received the invitation for the interview. It has been an amazing roller-coaster ride which, of course, has its ups and downs, but always stays exciting.

I know this blog has come quite late since I only started it when I became the student ambassador of the university. But I do hope to share with you all the stories and experiences that this roller-coaster has been and will be taking me to.

Studying is important. That is the priority of my stay here. But I do not use study as an excuse to limit myself from the whole new and exciting world. I came to Jyväskylä not only to receive high-quality education but also to explore the Western side of the world.

And so far ... I have had a blast!

Me (second from the right, with glasses) and my supper funny classmates!

Oct 16th, 2013 - "The joy of having something to read"

"The joy of having something to read." - an elderly Finnish woman, resident of a lovely one-story house in Roninmäentie, tried so hard to look into her memory for some English to tell me these words after seeing the frown on my face implying that I did not understand Finnish.

Every Wednesday and Saturday, I distribute advertisements to the area of Roninmäki where there are several students buildings, row houses and single houses.

I have to admit it is hard work since Roninmäki is very hilly and most of the buildings don't have elevators. However, I look into the bright side of it: I earn a bit of money for 4 hours of work every week and I get to do some exercise, which is pretty nice.

Before distributing in Roninmäki, I used to do the job in another area which is a little bit bigger and it takes a lot more time. I only distributed ads there for 3 weeks but was shouted at a few times because even though the people living there do not like ads to be distributed to their houses, they do not have any sign on their doors saying "no ads" or anything. So I threw ads into their doors and they yelled at me. Although I genuinely did not care, it always feels pretty shitty when you are yelled at for doing your job. Thus, the very day I knew that I could distribute ads in Roninmäki, I immediately quit in the other area.

It's always nicer to be able to do your job close to where you live. And this is exactly the case. I have more flexible time and control over my work. Of course, the neighborhood is so so much nicer. Most of they residents here are students and they know what to do when they want something or do not want something. I have no complaints whatsoever. I am very happy with this job for the present.

Deep into the very end of Roninmäentie street, there is a very lovely one-story house which is covered with climbing plants (ivy, maybe, I'm not sure). Since I started the job until now, I've only met the elderly woman living there. Sometimes, I see her sweeping the leaves on the ground in front of the house. Other times I see her just simply walk around the small common area of very few houses in the blind alley of Roninmäentie. If she sees me, she suggests I give the ads to her directly. But if she is walking around, I will put it in her mail box. Every time she sees me, she greets me with a big smile. With my very extremely limited Finnish, I can only smile back and say "Huomenta" (good morning) because I usually distribute ads in the morning before going to school. She would respond the same and then says "Kiitos" (thank you) and thanks Gosh, it's one of the words I know very well and I would also thank her. It's a thing here that people say "thanks" a lot, which I find pleasant.

And that is the part that I enjoy the most out of the routine of doing my job here in Roninmäki.

Today, a cold day of October, maybe a bit below 0 degree, I saw her walking with another old man who, I guess, is her husband. Same routine, I put the ads into her mail box, greeted her good morning with a smile. After finishing of with the few last houses, I came back saw the elderly man taking the ads out of the mail box and the woman started to speak to me in Finnish. I frowned and she got that I didn't understand her. Then, looking to another direction and thinking for a few seconds, she stuttered: "The ... the ... the ... the joy of having something to read". I smiled from ear to ear and gave her a thumbs up , said: "Hyvää!" (Good). So, for just a few minutes, I used up all the Finnish vocabulary I had :)))))

Walking back to where I parked my delivery cart, a feeling of depression crawled over me when I thought of how lonely the elderly are here in Finland. The woman of the story at least has her (allegedly) husband and they find their joy in the newspaper and advertisements distributed twice a week. How sad! I've seen old people sitting all by themselves in the park and having no one to talk to. And I certainly do not see happiness on their faces. It is not only the conclusion of my own, others I've talked to about this do agree with me too. One told me that one time, she was shopping in a groceries store and an old woman standing next to her started to talk in Finnish, then she said that she did not speak Finnish but the woman kept talking and talking and did not really mind that the person she was talking to did not understand a single thing she said. Just because most of the elderly here live alone, without their families, they really have no one to talk to and they just have the need to say something to someone, even it was a stranger in a shop.

Individualism ... it might be not my thing ...