Saying goodbye to Oulu... This time was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I couldn't believe my stay was over. Too short, I would say. The adaptation to this country and city took me aprox. 3 months, and when I was actually starting to enjoy living here and become close to this place, it is time to go... It's not fair. I don't remember how many hugs and kisses I went through during the last days in Oulu. Or the amount of "goodbye" parties I attended to. Too sad to talk about them. It was just like when I first got there: 3 days without sleeping. How could I? How could I waste a single minute sleeping knowing I would leave so soon? I've heard about the mix of emotions that exchange students experience when leaving their stay abroad, and they apply to me as well. I guess the fact that I wasn't sleeping made it for me easier to bear them. Missing home? Well, kind of.. but I would choose to remain for the rest of the school year if I could.
Leaving a place you were happy in is hard for itself. If you add to it the amount of people you started to care about, and established a connection with, the task is almost impossible. The finnish friends are less hard to say goodbye to, since I know I will come back for sure, and will most certainly see them again. But other european or "transatlantic" mates I probably won't...
Lacking better words and without further delay, here I say Farewell to you all... and hope to see you again sometime in the future...
PS: I AM COMING FOR VAPPU! SO BEWARE!!!! :D
Posted at 10:17 pm by edcarpediem
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My Finnish language skills are very basic. Since I hardly attended any lessons, my learning came from talking to finnish students, who taught me pretty much what I know. I then started developing my own sentences and the results were quite funny. Part of them are incorporated in this song I recently recorded here in Porto, called the Juoppo Poro Laulu (The Drunken Reindeer Song). I dedicate it to Optiem and all my finnish friends. Feel free to download it. Hope you enjoy it!
click here to download MP3
Juoppo Poro Laulu (lyrics)
Oulun Naiset ovat kauniita!
Minä olen juoppoporo ja mä tarvin apua!
Torstaina Rovaniemellä, kolmetoista naista saunassa...
Minä tulen Portugalista,
ja suomi on kieli vaikea.
Mutta elämä on helpompaa
jos juon... sata olutta!!!
I was also mentioned at www.optiem.fi because of this song, in a wonderful text written by Tuukka. Translated into english it goes like this:
Who could forget the miraculous exchange student Eduardo from Portugal? During Autumn 2004 he studied finnish teekkari culture. Now he has returned to his homeland, but his heart stays in Finland. Our fireous friend hasn't forgotten his roots, who grew in cold Finnish ice soil. Eduardo wasn't afraid of snow, he loved cold (beer), ate camp fire sausage and rode on a polar bear in the snow storm. Eduardo received the title "juoppo poro" as an honour from his various adventures. He has made this song for the joy of all of us. Listen to it yourself and hear what it is about.
kiitos Tuukka!
Posted at 10:33 pm by edcarpediem
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EDU IN OULU - 4 Months in Northern Heaven by Eduardo Gouveia - Porto, Portugal
