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!