Experiencing hot saunas and warm people of Finland

The reason for choosing the country and city where you come as an exchange student doesn't need to be complicated. It could be that the particular city is the only one you and your boyfriend or girlfriend can both come to as exchange students.

Agata and Piotr in the shores of Oulu. They had a chance to see the Finnish nature in the fall but regret that they didn't see it during the heart of winter.

Agata Matczak, 22, and Piotr Szymaniak, 22, wanted to experience the exchange possibility. The only problem was that they were studying different subjects and in different institutions in Poland. Finding a place they both could come to as an exchange student proved to be harder than you would think. Finally they found a choice which fitted them both. And so they packed their bags and flew to Finland. Now they have been in Finland for 4.5 months.

- Neither of us had flown before. Luckily we got to fly three times with one trip. First we flew to Copenhagen and from there to Helsinki and finally to Oulu, Piotr tells.

They were in a shock when they arrived to their dormitory because the first thing the dormitory manager said to them was one of the rudest curses one can say in Polish. Kalle, the dormitory manager, had shared a room with Polish students before and as everyone knows, the first thing you teach to a foreign person is the four-letter words in your own language.

Business and technology studies in Oulu

Agata and Piotr study in different universities in Poland. Agata studies at the Poznań University of Economics. In Oulu she is studying in the School of Business and Information Management. Her studies have been mostly business and IT related. Some of the courses she has taken have been Programming of Web and Mobile Applications, Database Management, User Interface Design, Doing Business in Asia and Doing Business in Russia.

Piotr's home institution in Poland is the University of Technology where he studies electronics and telecommunication. In Oulu he has been studying in DIME which means Digital Media and Multi-Broadcasting in the School of Engineering. Mostly they have been studying how to use different digital technologies like making movies. As a project he has done a document movie about their stay in Finland.

- We were also trying to learn some Finnish language at the Finnish Survival Course but the most important thing that we have learnt is the sentence "En puhu Suomea" which means "I don't speak Finnish". It was only a joke - we, of course, have learnt many useful words and phrases, Agata tells.

They have both enjoyed sauna in Finland. The traditional sauna is a wooden building where the bathers sit on benches splashing water on hot stones of a stove and gently beating themselves with leafy birch whisks. Nowadays most people have electrical saunas in their homes.

- I still have some empty space in my apartment back in Poland, Agata laughs planning to build a sauna back home.

Calm and secure Finland

Agata and Piotr come from a city called Poznań. There are about 600 000 inhabitants in the city, which is over four times more than in Oulu. Also there are about 50 000 students in Poznań. The most remarkable thing they mention about Oulu is the calm and secure feeling. People don't behave aggressively.

- We were in the Market Place in the New Year's Eve and we only saw one police car. The police officers were just sitting in the car, which amazes Piotr and Agata.

- It's really weird that you can borrow an expensive camera only by telling your name. People trust each other. In Poland they would probably want to see at least your identification papers, Piotr wonders.

One shock for them was the high prices in Finland. For example a bus card for one month costs 35 euros in Finland compared to the 8 euros in Poland. On the other hand for example the meals are cheaper for students in Finland.

Another surprise to them was how many people speak English in Finland. Exchange students can manage with English almost anywhere.

- All the Finnish people we have met have been really nice. Actually the only few problems we have had have been with other exchange students, Piotr says.

Before leaving back to Poland they plan to make a cross-country trip through Finland. They are going to travel to the southern Finland on a nine-day journey by train and visit different cities on the way.

Agata and Piotr during a trip to Koiteli river rapids where they had to perform various fun tasks in teams. Afterwards in a barbeque with other exchange students.