Experience report
ANR:
Name:
E-mail:
Exchange semester:
Academic year:
Host University:
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484664
Lisette Jansen
lisettejansen93@gmail.com
Autumn semester
2013-2014
Turku School of Economics
Finland
TOPIC: Admission, arrival, housing
A warm welcome, that is how I remember my arrival in Turku. I came together with my boyfriend. My
tutor, who already contacted me prior to my exchange, picked us up from the airport. He helped very
good with everything and brought us to our apartment. The landlord of this private apartment couldn’t
speak English very well. Actually, he couldn’t answer questions in English, only in Finnish. Luckely my
tutor was with me and translated everything.
The university provides accommodation as well and recommend everybody to register early for a
room. Since I registered a bit late for my exchange to Turku the Student Village was fully booked
already. The woman of the Student Housing gave me some sites for private accommodation and
there I found a wonderful furnished apartment.
During the first week a lot of activities were organized from both the university and student
associations. It was great to get to know many other exchange students during this orientation
program. A few days we had to visit the university to learn more about Turku university in general and
a lot of practical issues.
TOPIC: Location of university/city
Turku can be compared to Tilburg in a way since both are not the most beautiful cities, but everything
you need is present. The university is about 5 minutes away from the city center by bicycle. It’s also
possible to walk, not that far. In Turku large indoor shopping malls allow you to shop comfortable
when it’s cold outside. And in the summertime it’s lovely around the river, where are many terraces
around that time.
I think the Cathedral and library are the most interesting cultural things to see in Turku. For more
excitement you should visit other cities, national parks, lapland and take a ferry through the
Archipelago which is beautiful.
There are many students in Turku, therefore also many clubs. Vegas and the Monkey are nice places
to go. During the week alcoholic drinks are cheaper than during the weekend. But drinks are
expensive anyway compared to Tilburg. Coffee House is a lovely place for some coffee and cake.
TOPIC: Academics
When going abroad I was still not sure what I want to become with my studies. I wanted to broaden
my view and therefore I took courses from different subjects. Also courses which I cannot take in
Tilburg, like an economic sociology course called The Sociology of Culture and the Way of Life, an
entrepreneurship course called Opportunity Creation and Assessment, and also a beginners course
Finnish and a course called International negotiations which is about negotiating within different
cultures. Moreover, I took the more general courses International Business Management and Supply
Chain Management. These two courses can be compared to the courses in Tilburg except for the
exams because in Turku you have to write essays about some given topics and you don’t have
multiplechoice questions.
I’m glad to become familiar with other ways of teaching and examinations. In Turku classes are more
personal with the teacher asking for your opinion and not only saying what’s good or not. There is an
informal and comfortable sphere in classes and there is a maximum number of students allowed to
take a course so that groups are not really big. I can especially recommend the entrepreneurship
courses because these gave me new insights and are really nice. The level of the courses was good,
you have to keep up but then it will work out totally fine. Also the level of English was great and good
to understand. I passed all my courses and I’m very happy with my achievements.
The campus of the universities exist of many faculties. Mostly I was only at my own faculty, Turku
School of Economics. This faculty is not too big, and perfectly organized. In the basement is a big
lunch room where you can have a complete dinner (only during lunch time because it closes at 16.00)
for a minimum amount of money (don’t remember for sure but it was something between 1.80 and
2.80).
TOPIC: Social life
At the beginning I immediately met some nice exchange students with whom I spent a lot of time
during my exchange. ESN provided a lot of activities for exchange students, from crazy parties and an
Ice Hockey match to a trip to Lapland. It was great that ESN was so active in Turku. However, most of
the trips I made with only a few friends and not with the appr. 80 persons who joined the ESN trips.
We visited a lot of places in and around Turku. There were so much amazing places to see.
Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Aland, Levi (Lapland), and Helsinki are among others places I
have visited together with some friends.
TOPIC: Living costs
The general cost of living is more expensive in Finland than in the Netherlands. Prices of food and
beverages are higher and especially alcoholic drinks are very expensive. Although it was not enough,
the Erasmus grant, OV subsidy and student grant helped me to finance this period abroad. Besides, I
used my savings.
I spent a lot of money on food and drinks, however, most of the money I spent on trips abroad. I
visited many cities, and beautiful spots in Finland but also neighbouring countries like Sweden and
Russia. These trips themselves didn’t cost a lot, but when counting it all together it did. However, it
was totally worth it and I would definitely advice other students to make these trips too.
It’s hard to mention my monthly budget. For housing I paid about 330 each month and for food
approximately 350 per month. Textbooks could be loaned at the library for free, therefore I didn’t
bought any textbooks. For the trips I paid something between 200 and 300 each month.
TOPIC: Culture
During my exchange I didn’t really experience a culture shock, not in Finland. The Finnish culture was
quite peaceful. Finnish people are calm and helpful. Maybe a bit shy sometimes. Like a Finnish girl
once told me: “I prefer saying nothing than talking about nonsense like the weather.” Worth to mention
is the outstanding level of English language of the Finnish students. Also part of the Finnish culture is
the amazing love for saunas and grilling. I think almost all Fins have their own summer cottage.
On exchange I noted the direct way of Dutch people concerning conversations. I met many foreign
people and for example Chinese people are totally not direct in negotiating. Also Dutch people talk a
lot, which I like.
Cultures are different among countries, everyone knows that. However, it surprised me that cultures
could be so different between neighbouring countries. I had some German friends in Turku and their
daily habits were really different from Dutch habits. They eat for example warm for lunch.
Another outstanding experience was visiting St. Petersburg, Russia. If you don’t have a culture shock
yet, you’ll get it there. People are totally different than inhabitants of West-European countries. They
look angry all the time and are not really friendly. However, it’s a beautiful city with enormous
impressive buildings. The difference between poor and rich can easily be seen and also some
communistic characteristics are present.
TOPIC: Personal development
I learned a lot these months abroad. All those new people with different backgrounds gave me new
insights in my own life. Now I’m more open-minded and I’m trying to be that all the time. Every person
has something beautiful and deserves the change to share this. I also learned who are really
important for me in my life. The ones I missed and the ones who cared about me. When you are away
from home for a longer period you understand your real friends and I’m enormously happy with my
beautiful family and friends.
During this time abroad it was also the first time I lived together with my boyfriend. It was a great
experience. We got to know eachother even better and he was a big support for me. Another
important thing I now realize more than ever is that I should live my own life. It doesn’t matter what
other people think and want, as long as the important persons in my life and I are happy.
My worst experience is definitely the journey to St. Petersburg. We went by ferry (large cruise ship)
with a group of 8 persons because then we didn’t need a visa. Due to bad weather the dam was
closed and we couldn’t enter the harbor of St. Petersburg. We had a delay of approximately 11 hours
and it was horrible. I won’t share the details, but at the end it was a total chaos, bad organized, people
collapsed, and all people were in panic because they didn’t know what was happening and want to
get off the ferry. It was crazy to be in the middle of such a big mass of people who were freaking out.
A few days later we heard that we rammed another ferry in the harbor. Luckily we managed to stay
together with the group and later on we could laugh about it. It’s definitely an experience we’ll never
forget.
The best experience was the Lapland trip. Lapland was amazing. You can do things which can’t be
done in most places. Like driving a dogsled, Icefishing, walking with snowshoes, doing a reindeer
safari, and visiting the real santa. The nature is beautiful. When you are lucky you can also see the
northern lights. We did .
TOPIC: Tips for future students
A live-changing experience, that’s how I would describe an exchange. I can recommend it to all
students, because it really broadened my view. From university and daily-life perspective. I can
certainly recommend Turku University for different reasons. They really care about the exchange
students and are helpful in all kind of ways. Moreover, classes are small and the level of teaching is
high. If you want to, you can also attend classes from the Swedish-spoken university.
During the winter times it can be very cold, so bring a warm coat. Also apply on time for student
housing because they don’t have enough rooms for all exchange students. You can buy a cheap
secondhand bicycle from an exchange student who´s leaving or from the secondhand shop and sell it
on the fleemarket facebookpage. And more or less the most important tip: don’t forget to bring your
swimsuit, because the sauna is the best place to go.
TOPIC: A picture is worth a thousand words
Many places like this exist in
Finland. You can take your
own meat and grill it on the
open fire place.
Finland is known for the
many saunas they have. This
is a small wooden sauna in
Ruissalo. After the sauna the
Fins traditionally cool down
in the (freezing) water.
Visit Lapland to find the
northern lights. It’s amazing!