The Orientation programme... now that's something every University should have for the exchange students. From Sep 1 to Sep 3 we were supposed to do it, so that we could be easily integrated in the University and the City itself. Also, we had the chance to meet the other exchange students ("only" 200 of them). It included a "Welcome Coffee", paperwork filling, some important lectures about culture difference and also a guided bus tour around Oulu.
I followed it with attention, it was a way to keep me busy and meet some people. Actually I had some fun doing this. One funny episode occured during the "Welcome Coffee". The person who was welcoming the students, at one point, had to say the name of all the countries represented out loud, and whoever belonged to that particular country had to stand up, so that the other compatriots could get to know him/her. I was expecting that when mentioning Portugal, I would be the only one standing and feel a little shy. But guess what, the guy two places aside from me also stands up. We were so surprised! We shook hands right away and everybody laughed at the situation. That is really a big coincidence. Not the biggest one, though. Many coincidences tend to happen in Oulu, such that one realises what a small world this is. I'll save the bigger ones to myself...
Another thing I enjoyed very much was Zach Shelby's lecture on "How to live in Oulu as an exchange student". Zach is a former american exchange student, that was in Oulu for some months and then decided to stay for some years. He was really funny comparing the finnish lifestyle to others and actually making fun (in a good way) of finns, while some of them were watching. Hilarious!
So, later, talking to Joćo (the portuguese one), I heard that there were also two more portuguese guys and one girl since August in Oulu. WOW!!! I couldn't believe there were actually 5 of us there! That's a lot of "tugas" (that's what we call ourselves) in this town! But I can't complain, it seemed that the germans and austrians were really upset because there were about 50 german-speaking students among us, so they felt like they never left their home. I was personally expecting not to listen to the portuguese language at all during 4 months (except phone calls home), but I have to admit it was reaaaaally nice to speak my language every now and then with these amazing portuguese friends (Joćo, Pedro, Rui, Helena). I would like to thank them for helping me out with some initial stuff. Helena, for example, showed me where the supermarkets and all the stuff were. It doesn't seem much but it was very helpful in the beginning. Obrigado Helena!
During this orientation period, I didn't get any sleep at all. Which means that on the first 3 days in Oulu I was a total "zombie". The whole cultural shock and being away from home got to me, and I just couldn't turn off at night. Gladly, as days went by and I got to know the people and the place a bit more, it got better. So, be prepared for some heavy emotional impact if you're coming to a totally different country. Just believe that it gets better with time, as you adapt.
After some days, I started realizing some things. First of all, finnish language is totally different from any other you may have heard about (it seems that it has similarities with Hungarian - which was obviously really helpful for me...). Then, the city is really well organized, and everything seems to work in harmony and effectively. I saw no poverty, no wandering dogs, no mess of any sort. That impressed me in a real positive way. The urbanism is amazingly well planned. No building is out of purpose or abandoned (at least in downtown) and the streets are clean and functional. Overall, as I got to know the City, I figured it really had the ideal dimension for a good quality of life. That means that it's not too small because it has everything one may need (big supermarkets, University, hospital, airport, railway station, industry, technological center, amazing nightlife, sports facilities, theatre, library, etc) and it's not too big because there are no traffic jams, no unnecessary noise, no confusion. It is a quiet and peacuful place with lots of parks and... guess what... bicycles! Yes, bicycles! I have never, ever, seen so many bikes riding around. While in downtown, sometimes I feared to be ran over by one. They were everywhere. It is the most popular mean of transport in Oulu. It's almost mandatory to have it. I found out that Oulu is actually world-famous for its bicycle paths. You see, along the roads and streets for cars, Oulu has paths destined for pawns and bicycles. It is common for people to go from Linnanmaa to Downtown (6 km) by bike. I would advise the beginners to not do that for themselves because you'll get lost easily, as I've heard.
Back at my flat, things were rolling. Of course I had to buy some things for my room, which I could sell later. And that's another good thing about Finland and Oulu - the 2nd hand stores. And also how easy it is to sell stuff to others (students for example - through the exchange mailing list). You can get really good deals in these stores (furniture, sofas, lamps, clothing, etc). Many students buy 2nd hand bikes that are later sold to other students. So, whatever money you invest on your "well-being" in Oulu, rest assured that you can get most of it back at the end, if you do things in time. I personally didn't purchase a bike, because I knew that soon it would be too cold to ride one. I guess that if I had to decide again, I would get one. But the buses work fine, and if you have a Oulucard (the bus card), you can travel in any bus, anytime, in the premises of Oulu, so that worked for me. But a bike sometimes would come in handy, I'll admit...