Hämeen Ammattikorkeakoulu

Plan how you will get from the airport to the campus (we were not collected and got a bus which took a few hours). If you are going in winter bear in mind it can reach -10 degress and be VERY thick snow cover, you will need winter boots and thermal underwear. Alcohol is expensive. Supermarkets are basic. Buses are usually on time! So are trains.

Sport. There is a great swimming pull in Hameenlinna with a pull for swimming, jumping and two saunas. It is a real place for good active rest. We also spent a plenty of time in the Gym playing basketball. Biking (cycling) was also a special kind of sport we were going in to. All places we visited were situated in rather different parts of the town. So nearly all outdoor time in Finland I spent driving my bike. Finland is a beautiful country. So it was a real pleasure for me. Places to visit. In downtown on the Market place there is a nice cafe, called "Laurell" where hot chocolate and a great verity of sweets are served up. The atmosphere there is really calm and relaxing. A good place to think or to chat with friends. One of the sights of the town is a big castle, built by Russians couple of centuries ago. It works as a historical museum. And also you can find a prison museum there. The castle is situated on the hill in downtown on the shore of a beautiful lake. It looks especially great at night. Nature parks with real Finnish lakes, forests and calmness surround Hameenlinna. To find the way there it is better to follow the map. Travel. Tampere (the neighbor town) is a nice place to visit. It takes 45 minutes to get there by train. This town is even more student place than Hameenlinna - a lot of schools and institutes are situated there. But my favorite sights in Tampere are The Moominvalley Museum - in the town center - and the Old Tower - on the hill. You can see a lot of Finland if go up on the top of the tower. And below it there is a cozy cafe with hot chocolate (again :) and donates. Actually, it is great even just to walk on Tampere streets. Of course, if you are in Finland you have to visit Lappland. The best place to stay is a wood cottage somewhere in deep Finnish forest. Use Internet and tour operator services (for example, Matka Vekke) to rent a cottage. You have an ability to cross the Arctic Circle and visit Santa Clause village. I did it together with 12 of my friends in Christmas time. And it was really great!

Rovaniemi, or Santa Claus city, St Petersburg, Tallinn ja Valkeakoski! hyvaa hyvaa!

Before leaving the home country, it is important to be sure that all the papers are organised and signed and mainly about the financial help. Today I am back home and I still did not receive anything from my home university, and it has been quiet difficult to deal with this kind of problems when I was abroad. When the student is abroad, he must avoid staying with other students from the same country in order to be more open to the new life that he is living.

I have written a lot about staying and studying in Finland in previous stages of questionnaire. The only thing I want to add is: It is really worth of doing!!!