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Thursday, September 30, 2004
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 Near the University there are the Oulu Bothanical Gardens, which is something worth taking a look, especially on a sunny afternoon (well.. it's still September..). It's pretty amazing the variety of plants, flowers and trees they have there. I am a total ignorant when it comes to bothanics or anything related to the "green" stuff, as I call it.
This visit introduced me to many species of living beings that I didn't even know existed. Rui and Lea came with me for a nice walk through it. Now... I haven't seen many mushrooms before, but I must tell you, these were the funnier ones, and are worth the writing of this article alone:
funny mushrooms
I actually took one of these home and kept it for as long as I could, and showed it to people all the time. I'm not used to this, so pardon my childish behaviour. :)
After this visit, later in the afternoon, it was Ice Hockey time. Check the next article. ;)
Posted at 01:50 am by edcarpediem
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In Finland, football is not the most popular sport (Guess why??). Unlike most european countries, it is number two, losing to ice hockey only, the kind of sport that we, southern europeans, are obviously very good at... (not). For those of you who watched ice hockey on television already, you know that it's a really rough game, and it's played at a very high speed.
So, one day, some group of students (including me) decided to go and watch a live game of the Oulu local team (Oulu Kärpat), who became national champions the previous season. The match was against Jokerit from Helsinki.
On my flat's TV (a present from Juho - kiitos!) I got the chance to watch some games of the Finnish league, but it always looked boring for me. I don't know why, maybe because I don't know all the rules or most times I don't know where the "ball" is (it's called a puck). So I was expecting some more excitement before watching a live game...
Tickets for students were 8 euros, but the seats weren't very good. One of the most interesting things about this game is actually the introduction of the teams to the audience. It looked like a "Disney on Ice" show, with some special effects and all. It makes you really look forward for the real action. But guess what, I still found it boring like on TV... the only exciting thing about it was that Oulu Kärpat were losing 0-1 and so they had to fight harder to win the game, which they finally did (2-1). But apart from that, it was still dull ... sorry finns, football is really my game.. :)
Posted at 10:12 pm by edcarpediem
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Friday, October 01, 2004
The amount of finnish bands I knew and listened to in Portugal had one thing in common: they sang in english! A suomi band that sang in their mother tongue was something quite unfamiliar to me. I was actually afraid of even listening to something like that, since my first impression of the language wasn't very good, and the singing might be scary.
I got an email on the exchange list telling about a concert of a band called Egotrippi at the Radisson SAS hotel in Oulu. They are supposed to be one of the most popular pop/rock bands in Finland. So what did I do, before buying the ticket and risking depression? I downloaded some mp3 of them to see how they sounded, of course (yes arrest me). At first I thought they were pretty ordinary, but like all bands, once you get to know the songs better, you start to enjoy them instead of judging them. So yes, I bought the tickets and went with 2 friends to the concert.
All of the songs were great and I became a fan of the band. One thing that surprised me, since this was my first "normal" concert in Finland, was how confortable they were with all the fans standing within 1m or less from the stage, and how easy it was to reach them and talk to them during the break before the encore, for example. I liked them so much, that I had to talk to them in some way, so the first time I had a chance I went to Mikki (singer) and told him I liked the band and asked to take a picture with him. He was kind enough to do it:
Mikki, the lead singer for Egotrippi
I would recommend this band to anyone, even foreigners. It is actually a good way to learn some finnish and some expressions. "Mikä sua vaivaa?" for example :) I even learned 2 or 3 songs for guitar and played them at some parties. It was fun. I still listen to this band in Portugal, it helps me remember Oulu and Finland in a way that only music can...
Posted at 01:18 am by edcarpediem
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Tuesday, October 05, 2004
I probably said this before, but Oulu nightlife is quite surprising and different compared to what I'm used to in Portugal. For example, clubs or pubs open at 9pm or 10pm and clubs close at 4am. So it starts relatively early. If you think that in Finland people have lunch at 11am and dinner at 6pm, you won't find this strange...
Downtown Oulu is very well organized and during the nighttime, students take it over. I mean...all people over 30 simply disappear. It's pretty amazing. The nicest thing is that all these places like pubs, bars or clubs are all quite close to each other. All one has to do is ride a bike or take a bus downtown and then just walk around. During weekdays the last bus leaving downtown to campus was at 1h40 (really bad) and on Fridays and Saturdays it would leave at 3h15 (better..). Still, whoever had a bike was ok. Sometimes, students called one of those big taxis (vans, actually). It is possible to put 15 or more students in one (I believe the record is still 19). They were the same price as the normal ones. So almost every student by October could already say the magic words on the phone:
- Yksi isotaksi yliopistokatu, nyt!
During 4 months I visited a lot of places, some better than others. And the place to go to depended on the day of the week. The prices of drinks and occasional parties had an influence on the choice. For example, many students went to a certain club at Wednesdays because they had 1 euro beer. I'll give you a short description of a few pubs, bars or clubs. Take into account that I'm not an "expert" on nightlife...
45 special - rock club, many concerts, 3 floors; it's the coolest place, in my opinion. Small, but the atmosphere is very nice. On Sundays there is the traditional "Jam sessions" where anyone is free to grab an instrument and join the others. Many bands, like 69 Eyes and Scenery Channel, performed there live during my stay. For those who like rock and hard rock, this is the place to go to.
Kaarlenholvi - quite different from 45 special. This one has no entrance fee, but usually the queue to get in is long and the bouncer is hard to please. But once inside, it looks good and also kind of "labyrinthic". It is easy to get lost if it's the first time you go. Usually the music is pop, rock, dance, quite normal tunes. No heavy dancing stuff like real discos. The dance floor could be bigger though. The slogan they use is somewhat curious: "Meille vai Teille?" - which means "My place or your place?". One thing is true, the prettiest women are to be found under this roof. And you can trust me, I was never drunk while in Oulu...
Hot Night Bar - ok, I have to say something about the name: change it!!! When I first heard about this club, I couldn't believe how "cheap" the name was. My first thought - erotic/strip joint. It turns out it's where most teenage boys and girls go to. Maybe the minimum age to get in being 18 helped to that fact. I could say a lot of bad things about it, but I'd rather let you decide for yourselves. Some things I should mention: the floor is sticky! (because of beer), the club is big (3 floors) and has space for everyone, it has a karaoke, after 2am the girls go wild and invade the men's wc. (actually stand in there just chatting, unbelievable), there is 1 euro beer at Wed, but everytime I went there with other exchange students I had fun. If it wasn't for that, I would never recommend it. Many people in Oulu don't like it, and I understand why. Still, with the right company, it can be nice.
Amarillo - it works as a restaurant during the daytime and as a club / bar in the evening. The lower floor is where the dancing takes place. I went there only once and liked it, but there's not much I can say about it. There are better places in Oulu...
St. Michael's Pub - the nicest pub in Oulu! On Sunday afternoons there is usually irish music played live (it is an irish pub). The look of it is quite traditional and warm. My first big mug of beer was taken here, where I got "dizzy" for the first time ever.
Caio - the only bar near campus. It is really incredible that in an area where thousands of university students live there is only one bar like this. And it's not even a "student" bar, since many normal workers go there. Anyway, if I ever want to open a business in Oulu, I know what to do. It has a "mexican theme" going on. It was probably the place I went to the most, because it was so near my building. Many parties and gatherings (ESN ones mostly) took place here. I recommend it, it's cozy and you can play some pool, and even choose the tracklist for yourself :)
Posted at 12:32 am by edcarpediem
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Monday, October 11, 2004
Lessons in a Finnish University
Now... it's all been very fun and very exciting so far. But I did come to Oulu to do some courses. And those courses include some actual work. It's not just about having fun. But anyway, even in lectures and pratical classes, I could find a way to entertain myself. The simple fact that I'm sitting in a room with international and finnish students is exciting enough. The cultural differences can really be noticed everywhere.
In one of the courses, Industrial Sales Management, the professor was american. What he did, at some point in the lecture, was to ask some sort of "easy" question to the class, in order to keep "the lesson going" (I believe you know what kind of questions these are). The fact is that he was "on hold" for seconds... because nobody answered. And he still did it for some more time, until he eventually gave up on that. Not a good system for Finland... they are toooo shy to say anything before an audience. They say that usually the students that speaks less in class is the brighter one. I felt compelled to answer some of them, because I couldn't really believe the "coldness" that the lecture was driven into. I felt sorry for the man and had to do "my part", which was to answer those questions, even at the risk of sounding prepotent. I think I was actually the only one who did that in a class of around 80 students...
Another interesting fact for us southern europeans... presentations. Before going to Finland, I was ready to meet some fine and excellent students, who might not have a problem in presenting a work before an audience. Since it is a very important part of our formation here in Portugal, I would think that Finland, being more developed in higher education, would invest even more in that aspect. So, when I had to do a small presentation for this course, I had the chance of watching some others. The truth is that they usually hold a paper with notes and look at it the whole time while speaking in a rather low voice... When it came to me and I had to speak in English for the first time before 80 people for about 10 min, I kept that thought in mind... "I can still be terrible and that's ok!" :D Anyway it was stressful... and I was nervous, but I think I did ok. And that really boosts up your moral. After that, I felt I could do anything. I guess that's how you learn things easier.... from experience.
 Cheers!
Posted at 03:02 pm by edcarpediem
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Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Fuksiexcu aka "3 days without sleep"
Terve! Now is the time to talk about the radical FUKSIEXCU! When they told me what it consisted of, I was surprised. 3 days travelling around Finland, visiting companies and partying at night. This excursion would take place in Lapland, more precisely Kemi, Tornio and Rovaniemi. I borrowed Juho's sleeping bag, but I heard nobody sleeps in Excu... well, we'll see about that. The visits to companies we were doing were promising: Lapin Kulta (beer factory!!! or brewer), Stora Enso (paper mill) - one of the biggest companies in Finland (also paper and pulp is the number one industry in this country), and Bombardier Nordtrac (produces snowmobiles).
At 11:00 we left the University area on a big excursion bus. About 40 students on their way to Lapland to have a great time! By 13:00 I already had one beer and a sip of vodka, and that's because alcohol was flowing from the very beginning of the trip. The music played inside the bus was really something...: from Metallica to Dream Theater, and also Nightwish for example. It made me feel like I really came to the right country.
I met a lot of "fresh" faces, since most people going didn't attend the previous events or then I haven't talked to them. I believe half of them were "fuksis" and the other half older students. I was the only non-finnish in the whole party. Sometimes, I have to admit, I did feel lost around all the finnish speaking, but gladly, before I started to become seriously depressed, I always found someone to talk to. For some minutes I felt like the first days in Oulu, without familiar references. It was the first time during my stay I had no foreigners around me for some days. It was like another cultural shock: 100% finnish environment, another challenge I had to face.
Our first visit (to Lapin Kulta) included something quite original (at least for me) - 1 hour session of "all the beers you can drink", as well as a presentation at the same time. You can imagine how most students were after this visit :) Anyway, that night we stayed at a very nice cottage area in Kemi. I believe Twister was the game to play, and what a fun game it is. Needless to mention we stopped by the supermarket to get the goods (food and... you know what). There was also sauna in the cottages. And this time it really was mixed. But worry not, my friends, I was too busy trying to survive ( = breathing...) to be able to pay attention to that sort of thing. I also played some guitar at the sauna house, which was also a first...
The next morning, we had a schedule to keep. And it sure wasn't a pretty sight looking at us packing and cleaning up, and going to the bus again, with the word "hangover" written all over our foreheads. Stora Enso was the next. And what happens to me when I don't sleep much at night? Exactly... I fall asleep right after lunch the next day. Therefore, it didn't take long until I discovered the "lullaby" nature of Finnish language. So, I would like to apologise to Optiem for sleeping (at the front row!) during this company's presentation. But since some of you have told me that you also do it in lectures (and you know Finnish!!), I guess that doesn’t look so bad after all, does it? :)
We then headed to Rovaniemi. I was beginning to be annoying since I couldn't stop saying "This is the northest I've ever been..." every 5 minutes, which was true. The further the bus went North, I couldn't help realising that. Well, I haven't slept much.. what could I do? That evening I visited Rovaniemi with Olli, Jarno and Tero. It felt weird being in "Santa Claus" town finally. However, it didn't seem that "Christmasy" to me (but, of course, still a long time to go before December..). Anyway, its downtown is quite nice. There was a student who became quite famous this evening, for a particular reason: he bought a 27 EUR cigar by mistake (he thought the price was 2,7 EUR but still bought it when he heard the real price from the cashier). Every blow he had on it was worth 50 cents, according to the man himself. Now I call him "kahdenkymmenenseitsemäneuronsikaripoika" (27 EUR cigar boy). Hilarious! Cheers, mate! :D
We slept again at some cottage area, this time with better rooms (and a TV... where I watched Finland lose to Holland 3-1 in football - too bad, folks...). Again sauna, parties in mostly every room, and reindeers... Yes, the first time I ever layed my eyes on a real reindeer was on this evening. I was so thrilled that I had to play him a song. Check it out:
reindeer whispering: - "Hey Eduardo! You play really good! Drop by again anytime!"
The next day, we visited Bombardier in Rovaniemi, where I tried moose for the first time, at lunch. I don't think I have mentioned moose: they are much bigger, and also in a fewer number, than reindeers. Be careful in highways, because if one of these friends crosses the road as you're driving by... well, it's not a nice photograph, I can tell you that. The return home was wished for but sad. I think I still had the energy for some more days... This was a great experience and I'm glad I made the sacrifice of paying the incredible amount of ten euros!! to be a part of it. Lucky those who will have the chance to do it again in the Spring....
Posted at 02:37 am by edcarpediem
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Saturday, October 23, 2004
Rovaniemi and the Arctic Circle
My friend Olli invited me to go to Rovaniemi, where he's from, for a weekend. I immediately said yes! I was finally going to see Lapland with some snow (unlike the excursion time).
So there I was, in Santa Claus city, in the Arctic Circle surroudings...
Rovaniemi is a city of 50 000 people, so it's smaller than Oulu. By the time I visited it, it seemed like a sad and "grey" place. Maybe in the summer or in the middle of winter the city becomes prettier. One curiosity though: it is still the place where the northest McDonald's in the world is situated... (how interesting...)
On the first night, as soon as we arrived, we went to see the ski jumping towers close to the river. It was so dark and scary, but a fun experience for me. And going up that tower and looking down is quite impressive. The view from it leads to the city, and at nighttime it really is beautiful.
The next day we did the "mandatory" visit to Santa Claus and the Arctic Circle (which passes through the exact same latitude, making it a "two-in-one" tourist attraction). After I greeted old Santa, he asked me which city of Portugal I was from. I told him I was from Porto, and he replied by telling me that Rudolph, the reindeer, went there last summer to see the football matches... amazing :) A nice guy, I would say... Afterwards, I took the traditional picture with Santa and Olli's family, and they were kind enough to offer me a copy (kiitos). That was one of the best pictures I've ever seen taken in such short interval of time... Hyvä!
That evening, Olli and me went to a night club called Night Train. I saw a guy dancing that really looked like a portuguese, so I had to ask him: "Excuse me, where are you from?" Answer: "Swedish". Ahah, you really can't tell these days, can you?
Sunday afternoon: time to visit the Arktikum, the museum of Arctic life in Rovaniemi. I would recommend it, as I think it is one of the coolest museums I've ever been to. Lots of info and props from Sami culture, wildlife (reindeers, moose, etc), and even a mammut's real horn is in display. Many real-size figures and embalmed animals, and also a great use of multimedia-based information. Quite nice! Also, This was the day in which I traveled the northest ever, to Paula's grandparents house (somewhere 80 km north of Rovaniemi).
I would like to thank Olli and his family, as well as Paula, for the opportunity to have this wonderful and unforgettable weekend. Kiitos!
Posted at 09:21 pm by edcarpediem
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Saturday, November 06, 2004
"Proffasitsit" aka Dinner with Professors and Staff
OPTIEM organized a thing called Proffasitsit, which means something like Dinner with professors (and staff) of the department. It was held at Hietasaari (yes, another island in the middle of nowhere). The dress code was suit and tie. So, once again, Juho came to the rescue and lent me one of his. Check it out:
The introductory speeches were in Finnish and also most of the interventions by students, so it became somewhat boring in the beginning, except during Prof. Pekka Kess' speech, which was in English (thank God!) about Food Engineering... nice :)
Soon I realized what "sitsit" was all about: Drinking! The guys poured everything they could in my glass, and I got to try some vodka, wine and "salmiakki", the famous finnish liquor (another horrible thing, like tar candies - what's wrong with these people??). They kept saying that if I wished so, they had some soft drinks for me. That's been a constant thing in these events. They always ask if I'm interested in something non-alcoholic. That shows that, indeed, they may drink like hell, but are respectful of others' options. It all went very well and I got to have a lot of pictures taken wearing a suit. I don't think I ever had any... After this everybody went downtown in taxis. I thought it wasn't going to be a fun evening, but it turned out to be one of the greatest. I wish in Portugal we had this kind of celebration with our professors...
Posted at 10:39 pm by edcarpediem
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Wednesday, November 10, 2004
One of the things I was most afraid of before going to Finland was the COLD (the climate, not the "coldness" of people). I worried about the temperature differences I heard about between outdoors and indoors (where pratically everything is heated) and the effects that it would have on me, being so keen in getting colds and sore throats. And negative degrees (which I never experienced) were not my idea of a good time. But hey, I wanted something different... I couldn't complain.
 
Amazingly, I made it until November without ever being sick. I believe that my discipline at "taking off my jacket indoors and wearing it outdoors" made a huge contribute to that fact. And also, the heating inside my flat worked perfectly so I got to wear a t-shirt sometimes. Another really good thing was the fact that, everytime I opened any tap of hot water in this country, it took 1 second for it to come...hot. In Portugal I have to wait a while, with the tap open and water flowing, before it gets warm. That means that here at home we waste a lot of water just to get it at the desired temperature. Finns don't have to worry about that. The heating is low-cost and it's massively used, so it is not a luxury to have a heated house. It's a necessity. In my country, indoors, we are usually hot in the Summer and cold in the Winter...
I remember when negative temperatures were approaching, during October. I was terrified! Once it reached zero (0) degrees Celsius, I prepared myself mentally and bought a good pair of boots and a warm jacket. I had brought underpants and thermal shirts from Portugal, and wasn't afraid to use them!!
I had forgotten that Finland's climate, unlike Portugal's, includes sudden temperature changes from one day to another. So, one morning, I came outside, and there it was... the scary and inevitable minus eight (-8) degrees Celsius waiting for me...
I laugh at those times now... how scared I was. The hardest test and also the proof that all my fears were ridiculous was when I was caught off-guard (meaning with no underpants on), while walking downtown with some friends, with - 18C! It turned out I walked for a long time, with my normal (for Finland) clothes without much trouble. Of course I was cold, mainly on the face (frozen and rocky..), but I even thought it was fun. That's just what I needed: an experience like this to let me know that "Hey, there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes".
And the snow... my god, the snow is just beautiful. They say they get tired of it because the Winter lasts 6 months, so although it's very nice and entertaining when it arrives, after a couple of months it gets annoying. I undertand that, but for me, it will always be beautiful to watch snow falling or walking on it. It's peaceful and it calms people. Maybe that's why finns aren't very agressive...
Yeah... Finland rules.. ;)
Posted at 12:11 am by edcarpediem
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Thursday, November 11, 2004
Finally I put together 50 pictures about my stay in Oulu. You can check them out by clicking below ;) Enjoy!
Posted at 03:07 am by edcarpediem
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EDU IN OULU is a weblog about the stay of Eduardo Gouveia in Oulu for 4 months in the Fall 2004 as an exchange student under the Erasmus programme. It includes the relevant stories of this experience and it may be useful for those considering to go to Oulu as exchange students in the future. Please enjoy! :) To see some nice pictures about it, click below ;)
Any questions, anytime to:
edcarpediem@hotmail.com
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