My Exchange Term at Memorial University

I have been back in UK about two weeks now. My life has started to turn back to normal, or as normal as it can be. Couple months more and I will be visiting France to meet all the lovely exchange people again. I really can't wait! But the reason I started to write this post is that I am going to publish my unofficial Exchange Term Video here. I am going to make one video for my home university, but this one is just for me and everyone else who want to see St. John's, Memorial University and the whole experience as I saw it. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog. This was one amazing adventure in my life and I am sure there is going to be so much more to come. I love travelling and learning new cultures so this won't be my last trip.

And here it is, enjoy!

Going home

Here I am. Sitting on the plane and writing this. It has been really hectic couple of weeks and that’s why I haven’t been updating my blog lately. I have finished my three exams, which means that I have actually finished my second year at university. What a feeling! Talking about the feelings, I do not know what is going on inside me. I am really exited going back to UK and seeing all my friends and then finally going back to home home (Finland).  But on the same time I feel like part of me is missing. The whole experience gave so much to me and all the people I met. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it was to say bye to everyone, especially for couple special people who have become to be so close to me. But I know that I will see them later this summer. Who would say no to the idea of having breakfast nearby Eiffel tower and I even promised to walk all the way up there. So it looks like I am going to Paris this summer!

I guess I should mention something about the final exams. They were a different than the ones that we have in Bournemouth. Firstly they were not worth so much than I have got to use to. My exams were worth 30-40% and I really didn’t have a lot of pressure as I had already passed my courses before doing the exams or I only needed about 10% from the exam to pass the course, which was really good as that made it possible to me to also enjoy my exam week and not just spend it by studying all the time. So my advice is that try to study for the midterms so that will make it so much easier to do the final exams.

We were really lucky to have a really nice and warm day this week. I and couple other students wanted to take everything out of it so we decided to go for a hiking. First going to the downtown and there walking all the way to signal hill where we had our picnic. The landscapes were so beautiful. After that we headed to the Quidi Vidi fisherman village. That was a really amazing morning and afternoon.

St John's

On the way to Signal Hill

Near by Signal Hill

Quidi Vidi

Last week of classes

Where did the time go? I am going to have my last class on Wednesday. I was walking from the University Centre to my flat today and I was really thinking that can it be possible that this is going to be over soon. I have started to feel like being member of Memorial University now. It feels like home. It is so strange to think that end of this month I am going to be back at the Bournemouth. On the other hand it is really nice to know that I will see all my friends and family soon.  And it looks like I will get to see almost the whole world when I am visiting my new friends.

And so we have finished our Google AdWords Challenge. It went so much better than I and my group expected. It was interesting 21 days when I really learned how to use the Google AdWords and analytics. I have as well used a lot of time by building my social media on that course and now if I Google my name I do exist also on internet! So I can happily send my placement applications now knowing that if my future employer will Google my name to find more information, s/he will find something, and what better that person is going to find the information about me that I want them to find.

According to my earlier words I can say that I have finished my own brand video pitch. We needed to be creative and I really wanted to make my one interesting and backing up everything I say about myself. I am still learning how to make a video in a professional way as this is my first creation. 

One, Two, Three, and Action!

About a one week still to go. My last class here is going to be on next week Wednesday. It is crazy how fast the time has gone and it does not help that this week is going to be the busiest one because it is so many things to be submitted before the last class. I am working with a group report where all group members need to analyze a one organisation and then we need to compare them as a group and make some conclusions and recommendations. The other main thing I have been working with is my Video Pitch and I also should be preparing for my three final exams.

When I started that Channel & Internet Marketing course, and when I first time heard that we need to make a video pitch about ourselves and who we are, I was terrified. How to do it? When it must to be done? What Kind of video should I do? On my mind I pushed the idea of making video away because I knew that the deadline for it is going to be on the end of the course. And here we are. Only one week left and believe or not I am really excited about this video project. It is too many ideas on my mind but I have picked the most creative one which actually tells who I really am. And the best thing is that what would be a better way to stand out of the mass than adding my video pitch link to my placement applications? Picture tells more than thousands words. Making the video is also so much fun and it gives the opportunity to be creative and it actually brings your personality to everyone’s attention, meaning that my CV and Covering letters are now on going to have a real personality, not just words after words.

I also must to mention something about last Friday. We had a really bad snow storm here on that day. All the classes were cancelled and our semi-formal Masquerade event was also postponed for the following day. For that event I and two of my friends were actually making the masks by ourselves. It was a really good fun. The event itself was amazing and everyone seemed to enjoy it. We started by having a lovely three course dinner (the salmon was so tasty) and after that there were couple French songs (the French society organized it) and of course “thank you” speeches and some music with DJ. It was a really memorable night and it looks like our exchange students really make the party!    

Girls Night

I could have not believed that St Patrick’s Day is so huge here. It almost felt like being back in the UK again. Of course I know it is because of the history and the Irish fishermen who come over here many, many years ago. So that was a day full of green. Even the beer was green here on that day.

What is a one thing that successful Business University students share with? Of course love towards Disney movies!  No wonder that on Friday night we had a girly night watching the most loving Disney movies, having some pizza and snacks and enjoying each other’s company. Cinderella, Lion King, Aladdin.  It was students from French, Netherlands, Canada and me from Finland. Just between me and you, I will share a secret with you: we all loved to sing alone and now I know how “Hakuna Matata” sounds in French!

Every time I write this blog it seems like I am having the best time of my life here. I must to admit that I am really enjoying my time here. It has been so far one of the most amazing experience I have had. But I also need to say that I do miss home and all the “normal” ways to do things. I miss the fresh food and the familiar things I can buy from the shops. It is an experience to go to the pharmacy first time to buy painkillers when you realise that the one brand you always buy is not there and you have never heard about the other brands on the shells. But my advance is that this is not my first (or last) time when I am living away from home. The funny thing is that now I am missing more the British things than Finnish ones. 

The Business Bachelor

Who has said that university presentations cannot be entertaining? Have you ever heard about the reality TV show Bachelor, where the “dream guy” chooses the perfect girl for him? Yeah you guessed right, we were creative and did “The Business Bachelor” version of it. It included case analyze, different rounds with questions + prepared answers for them and of course all case analyzes need some kind of recommendations (3 girls, 3 recommendations, one best solution). We had a good fun and audience seen to enjoy it. Our professor was also impressed about our way to make a presentation a more alive and interesting (sometimes they can be a bit boring and it is easy to lose audience interest).

We need also to write a report analyzing and comparing different organizations. Our group get together last night to discuss our organizations choices (read had a movie night with popcorns).  Building team spirit is really important so that could have been our excuse not to meet at the library and work hard. We also did a really good work on our presentation so we needed to treat ourselves.

The courses I am doing here are B3401 Operations Management, B5301 Organizational theory, B4500 Financial Management and B6240 Channel & Internet Marketing. The number before the courses tells which level course it is. Here course schedule is not “fixed” meaning that students can choose which courses they want to do and when. Of course there is some order that you need to do one course before the other and you need to do some of the courses before you can graduate, but otherwise it is really flexible way to study. It is also possible to study some other subjects than your main degree. One of the girls that I am living with for example is doing business degree but she is also taking art classes. 

Cross Country Skiing and Screech-in Ceremony

I am proud to say that I am a Newfoundlander now. I have even a certificate to proof that. But let’s start from the beginning of the weekend. The beginning of the week was so normal that I won’t mention about it. (Normal University life started with all the classes and homework.)  On Friday afternoon we had a cross-country skiing activity arranged for all the Business exchange students. Of course I needed to take part of it and represent Finland as if you have watched the winter sports world cup you know that we Finnish people are born to skiing! Haha just kidding. It is a sport that we learn since primary school but it has been a long time since I did it last time. Most of the other students tried it first time in their life. Weather was in our site as sun was shining and the temperature was perfect.

It was a good fun and it looked like everyone enjoyed it. We even decided that we will try it again one day soon before all the snow will melt away.

Saturday night was the big “Newfoundlander” night. Once again our lovely exchange student group get together to enjoy the evening. I am not sure if I have even mentioned that most of the exchange students in our group are from France. We have also two Mexicans, two students from New Zealand, couple Irish girls, one girl from Netherlands, guy from China, guy from Malaysia and of course Fern from England.

This Newfoundland’s ceremony is called “Screech-in”. Like you can see from the picture it included a fisherman (who was the “host” of the evening), singing a lovely song, kissing a frozen fish and a strong shot of rum. This is a one thing everyone who will ever visit Newfoundland must to do. It is a memorable time and I will guarantee that you will enjoy it. You will also get a certificate that you are Newfoundlander!!!

On the Sunday evening we had and amazing turkey dinner. One of my local friend invited me and some other students to enjoy a lovely dinner party. Good company, tasty meal and delicious desserts. That was a perfect end for the week.

Midterm Break at Marble Mountains!

The time seems to fly too fast here. About a just over a week ago this time I had finished packing and waited our skiing trip to Marble Mountains. The weekend was memorable. The bus trip there took about 9 hours. It was a long journey but most of the time everyone were sleeping. Believe or not but it did not feel like that long at all.

We arrived quite late on that Friday evening to our hotel. After a long time sitting in really "comfortable" seats our exchange group wanted to go and get something to eat and have a look at the surrounding area. I have notice that I seem to spend a lot of time with the other exchange student here but we just link in so well and I love spending time with them. That is also really helpful for me as I am going to specialize in international business and I have learnt a lot from them about cultural differences and I also started to learn basic French.

 The Exchange Students 

The following morning was time to go to try the slopes. I really enjoyed snowboarding in the fresh Canadian weather and so did everyone else. Some of the exchange student tried skiing first time and the Mexican actually learned to snowboard during those two days! On that night we also tried after ski party.

Sunday morning started early. After strawberry jam sandwiches we headed to the mountain. The day was full of snowboarding and on my last slope I actually did learn the “professional” way to snowboard. I am not scared of the speed anymore which makes it so much easier to enjoy the ride. Can’t wait to go back!

The bus rode back to St. John’s was so quiet. Everyone was tired and it was nice just to close my eyes and fell asleep… Ok maybe we did not get enough sleep during that weekend but luckily the midterm continued to the next week. I am sure everyone was more than happy to just relax the following days.

I had my last midterm exam yesterday and now I can relax rest of the week before I need to start really working for my next exams and presentations. So rest of the week I will do some serious placement search. That is the only minus thing here as the placement is all the time on my mind and it is really hard to keep up with all the applications and applying process. I will try to sort it out this weekend. That would make my life so much easier.

Midterm Exams

I have finished my midterm exams now and I can enjoy my little holiday. I am going to go to the Marble Mountains http://www.skimarble.com/ with some of the other exchange students. I need to mention that there is going to be a Mexican who is going to learn to snowboard in two days! Is that possible? I will let you know after the weekend. So we are leaving on the Friday morning and we will be back on the Sunday evening/night. There is a possibility to skiing or snowboarding on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday evening there is also a big party where we all are going. It starts with a snowboarding competition and after that the “after ski” will take place. The midterm break will last until next week Thursday.

It seems that lot of the students here will spend their midterm holiday by skiing. It remains me about the “winter holiday” we have in Finland during this time. It is one week off from studies and most of the people go to enjoy the snow. It is not unusual that people rent a "cottage" next to the hills (there is no mountains in Finland) and spend the week by skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing etc.

I could also mention something about the exams I had. I did operations management test on Monday and that went quite well. Half of the test was multiple choices and the other half was normal problem solving exercises. On the paper there was a question on the front page asking who is sitting on your right and on your left sites. Good way to limit cheating and team working! My other exam was financial management one. That was a really challenging exam. Most of the students said the same. The structure was again the same that half multiple choices and then problem solving questions. Hopefully I did well.

So only one class left, then group meeting, shopping, kickboxing, laundry and packing and I am ready to start an amazing weekend. But I still don’t have ski trousers... That’s why shopping tomorrow. No, I didn’t leave it for a last minute...  

My Birthday Weekend!

It has been snowing so much lately. University was even closed on the last Thursday morning because of the snow storm we had. It was my birthday on that Thursday so it was really good present for me to be able to sleep late as all the morning classes were cancelled. I still had a one class on the afternoon and after that I went to the Kickboxing with my friend Fern. I am not sure if I have mentioned that she is the girl who came here with me from Bournemouth University. On that moment I didn’t have a clue what was going to happen later on.

The plan was that all the exchange students are coming to my lovely little flat to celebrate my birthday and after that we would have gone where ever the wind had taken us.

Suddenly I got a text message from Fern saying that she wants to give my present to me before the party will start. I went to see her and she got the best present for me: Tim Hortons French vanilla coffee powder. My favorite drink here.  The story get even better as then she said to me that taxi will come to pick us in a second and I am not allowed to ask anything if I do not want to hear any lies. Being totally clueless I took to the taxi with her and ended up outside a one house. I still didn’t know what was going one. One of the exchange students opened the door for us and as soon as I stepped to the dark living room (in this moment I knew what was going to happen) I saw the candles and light was switched on and everyone was shouting happy birthday to me! My first surprise birthday party I have had. It was amazing night. French students had made their traditional “pancake” food which was delicious. They also showed all the messages they sent to each other when planning my party and I was amazed how many messages they actually sent to make my day so special. All the exchange students here are a really good reason to be here.

Once again there is a snow storm here. Rest of the day university is going to be closed and it is impossible to see anything if you go outside. I am also getting a bit ill now. It is really bad timing to be ill as next week we are having our midterm exams and I should be studying a lot but I am just not feeling too good. I will try to rest today and do more work tomorrow and hopefully I will feel better soon. 

So next week I will have two exams and after that we are having a short break. It looks like snowboarding is going to take place during that time. I cannot stay in Canada without snowboarding even once! But that is everything this time. 

Week number 3

Where does the time go? I have already been here three weeks but it seems that I just arrived. So I have finished my home university exams and now I should try to catch up everyone from my studies here. The good thing is that I don’t have any classes on Fridays so I have a long weekend time to study, which also means that I have more free time to do something else than study.

I need to mention that the buss strike is over now after so many months. So next week I can actually go to see places.

I am also going to start Cardio Kick Boxing fitness classes today. It is so good that the gym and fitness classes are free for students. That is a one reason to come here! Gym is a good place to meet other exchange student as well as it looks like we all go there almost every day.

I think I should mention something about the social life that the exchange students have here. We have become a close group as we all are on the “same boat". So no wonder that we like to spend time together. This means that most (ok, all) weekends we meet up and do something together, like trying to experience the local night life…

Have you ever heard about Tim Hortons? That is something I am going to miss when I am leaving this country. It tells a lot that I even took a picture of it. Coffee is so delicious and the Timbits! You know what I mean if you have tasted them.

The last thing I am going to mention this time is my advice for everyone who is going to do an exchange in Memorial University Newfoundland: if you are interested at all in marketing take the B6240 Channel & Internet Marketing course. You won’t regret it.      

Week number 2

This is my second week here. A lot has happened. I have been really busy revising for my home university exams which is a bit unfortunately as I haven’t had a lot of free time here. And all the classes (yeah lectures/seminars are called classes here) and preparations and reading for them as well. So too many things to do but hopefully after my last exam on Monday I can finally start my university life at Memorial University. I need to mention that I have already done a one exam here.

Amazing fact here is that the gym is free for all students. So it is not difficult to guess where I spend my evenings.  

I can now say that I have experienced my first Canadian winter storm here. Everything happened so suddenly. One day sun was out and it was so lovely day (picture on the left) and the following morning when I woke up snow had covered everything (not difficult to guess which picture I mean). It was windy and snowing a lot and the first thing came to my mind was that this is like being back in Finland :) But I like snow so I won’t complain.

Buses are still on strike (yeah, still after two months) and that’s why I haven’t been on the downtown yet. I guess that is my luck as I need to revise so I won’t have excuse to leave the campus area. I am not sure if I have mentioned it but I am living on campus. The flat is really nice and all my flat mates, or should I say b’ys, are so lovely and friendly.

The University is also huge. It takes like 20 minutes to walk from other side of the university to another side. Luckily there are tunnels and short cuts so it only takes like 10 min for me to go to the classes. The classes are also so more interactive here. One of the courses I am doing, Channel and Internet Marketing, could be something that my home university could also think about. The course is all about marketing ourselves and using the fast growing social media as a positive tool to reach future opportunities. This is really good thinking about my placement year (the course I am taking in UK is a sandwich degree course including an extra year of work experience) as most of the employers Google the name of their candidates to find out more about them. So after this course I will have a good looking profile on the social media. What you will find when you Google your name?

I am really here!

I can´t believe that just a week ago I was enjoying the sunny weather in Thailand and now after two days of travelling I am actually in Canada. I arrived at St. John´s 5th of January 2011. These couple of days that I have been here has been a hassle as I have been running everywhere and trying to find my way around. Happily I don´t need to be lost alone as one another girl came here with me from the same university.

Everyone here are so friendly and I have met a lot of new people. I met all the other exchange student on our orientation day. We even went for a bus tour with this kind of yellow school bus that I have only seen on movies.

I also started some of my classes and so far they seen really interesting. The classes are a bit different that they are in my home university. Here the classes are smaller and there is more assignments to do for each course. This is not a bad thing as then one assignment is not weighted so much. I am sure I will get to use to it quite fast.