Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Being born in Finland is like winning the lottery! Finland 100!


The year 2017 is huge for all the Finns, this is the 100 anniversary of our independence! When I have been talking with my friends, it is hard for them to understand how huge deal this is for Finland. Or how huge deal it is for different brands that have been able to publish Finland 100 products... As a small nation with relatively short independent history, it is very important for us to celebrate this milestone. I have taken part to the celebrations throughout the whole year with the Finnish School in Wroclaw, but as the independence day is getting closer I feel even more national romanticism than before. Last weekend we enjoyed a nice dinner here in Wroclaw as the restaurant HINT! had a Finnish menu for a week. Even when the food was not perfectly "Finnish", it was still amazing!

Our Honorary Consul in Wroclaw is again organizing independence day dinner for all the Finns living in the nearby areas. This dinner will be the crown on my independence day celebrations! The City Hall of Wroclaw will be lighted up in Finnish colors to congratulate the 100-year-old Finland! #stolatfinlandio Next year it's your time Poland! 

As to celebrate Finland and to speak loudly about how good Finland is, I will tell you why it is a lottery win to be born in Finland. This is a metaphor I have heard many many times during my primary school education in Finland. I heard it so many times it started to be annoying! For me the metaphor means that Finland is one of the most safest countries in the earth with happy and equal people (as long as the surveys and statistics are correct). It is a lottery win to be born in the same country with the Santa! It is a lottery win that I have a superpower, I can speak Finnish! It is a lottery win that the bus is not always crowded and people understand my personal space. It is a lottery win to be one of 5 509 717, the odds of being a Finn are 0,000799%, I feel so lucky that maybe I really should take part to a lottery this week!  

There is a one question to be answered... If Finland is so perfect, why did I decide to live elsewhere and leave this winter wonderland behind? It is easy to talk about this topic in general terms but when getting into more personal questions, things come more complicated. I will always be a proud Finn and I will always love Finland, I just felt and still feel that there are more possibilities in life for me in somewhere else. For now the place is Poland, but I am always open for change, I am not afraid to take chances. I have SISU!

-Camilla

Sunday, November 19, 2017

5 reasons why I fell in love with Sarajevo!

This years holiday brought us to beautiful Sarajevo, the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I had never before visited Bosnia and Herzegovina, but I must say I fell in love with the whole country. The picture perfect views started already before crossing the boarder from Serbia, the boarder river between these two countries in the mountains was amazing. The trip from the boarder to Sarajevo took a long time as the bus was driving small mountain roads, it was a perfect opportunity to see the countryside of Bosnia and Herzegovina as it differs a lot from the capital. Here are 5 reasons why I fell in love with Sarajevo!

1. Diversity
It has been said that Sarajevo is like European Jerusalem because of the city's diverse ethnic and religious makeup. By diversity I also mean many different kind of places to visit and see as a tourist. First walking in the old town bazaar, visiting mosque and ending up to Franz Ferdinand museum.


The Sebilj is a pseudo-Ottoman-style wooden fountain (sebil) in the centre of Baščaršija square in Sarajevo built by Mehmed Pasha Kukavica in 1753.

2. Bosnian coffee

We both fell in love with Bosnian coffee! We found a nice small coffee shop just next to the  Gazi Husrev-beg mosque. We were citing outside in the sun enjoying the coffee and seeing how the locals were spending their time, how the owner of the coffee shop was running orders to the mosque yard and the nearby inhabitants. We found a Bosnian coffee set to take home as a souvenir, now I'm able to have the great taste at home, only the atmosphere is missing.


Bosnian coffee


3. History

Sarajevo's history is diverse and bloody. From Ottoman city to assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria starting the first World War to the  longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare, during the Bosnian War as part of the breakup of Yugoslavia. The history of Sarajevo and of Bosnia and Herzegovina is visible in the city by the architecture, the city is a mosaic of different times. Gallery 11/07/95 was breath taking experience, I truly recommend visiting and taking the audio guide!

Gallery 11/07/95

4. Food
Wondering on the old town bazaar area and having so many possible places you would like to eat in. Cevapi is my new love! I think that in the end I had already eaten so much that it was enough for the rest of the week. Cevapi is meat formed into finger size sausages served with somun bread, oninon and kaymak.  All prices in the Bosnia and Herzegovina were very low, one cevapi costed around 5 euros for a portion

First night eating cevapi

5. Atmosphere
I enjoyed the atmosphere cause I felt I am not in hurry to go anywhere, I was able to sit down, enjoy the coffee, cevapi and relax. The coffee shops and restaurants were full of locals enjoying their life. The locals were staying up late drinking coffee and smoking shisha, nobody was in the hurry to bed. 


-Camilla

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Budapest!

A while ago, me and my boyfriend decided to have a last minute trip to Budapest for a weekend. We booked the tickets on Thursday evening/night and the bus left already on Friday evening. We just really wanted to go somewhere and see new things and enjoy the summer. I think almost everyone has felt the urge just to travel and explore something new, to have a break from the everyday life. Even when the travel was quite long and exhausting by bus, it was totally worth it! 

We arrived to Budapest in Saturday morning ready to explore the city. We started our sightseeing from the Hősök tere (Heroes' Square) and continued walking in the city park crossing Vajdahunyad Castle with many different kind of architecture styles. After a while in the park we decided to continue to the center of the city for breakfast. On the way we saw the Hungarian Parliament Building. Our breakfast place was unbelievable, the atmosphere was so great!  The place was called Liberte Budapest Restaurant & Grand Cafe, we were sitting in the terrace drinking cafe and listening to live music they played by a guitar and a violin. 






After the breakfast we walked in the center in the Liberty Square and to the St. Stephen's Basilica. Soon after that it started raining a bit even when the morning had been really beautiful. We decided to visit a museum while it was raining, we took the old metro line and came to the House of Terror museum. The museum shows the fascist and communist regimes in Hungary. After the museum visit the rain was gone and as we were close to our hotel we decided to refresh a bit.


We had dinner in this Hungarian restaurant called Tüköry Étterem that my boyfriend found before from TripAdvisor. The restaurant was recommended mostly by the locals and the prices were quite cheap. We ordered traditional Hungarian food, as a plate for 2. The plate was so huge that we probably ate half of it in reality. Place to recommend!


In the evening we went to see the Buda castle on the other side of Tonava. We climbed to the castle and enjoyed the view to the city. From the other side of the castle hill we were able to see the beautiful sunset. It started to be late and we were tired of walking for the whole day, it was time to check out this bar that my boyfriend found online before. The place is called Szimpla, the setting of the bar is very unique and we wanted to visit it as we hadn't seen anything like that before. The place was quite crowded so we stayed there only for a while to look around and see all the weird rooms. Afterwords we ended up in car themed pub, there were quite many pubs that had a special theme that was visible in the decor.




Normally I'm very good with directions and maps. This time when we were trying to find a way from the center to our hotel, we took a wrong bus that went to completely wrong direction. We ended up walking to our hotel, that was our adventure!

The next day was reserved for relaxing. We went to the Széchenyi thermal bath in the city park and enjoyed the baths and the good weather. Széchenyi is the largest medicinal bath in Europe and the temperatures of the baths went up to 38°C. Sunday was also the the day our bus was leaving back to Wroclaw. Even when our holiday was very short, I enjoyed every minute of it and would do it again anytime. Maybe I fell in love with Budapest!


-Camilla

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Graduation!

I graduated last week as Bachelor of Laws! In Poland the process for Bachelors is a bit different than for example in Finland. Apart from my thesis I also needed to have final exam (defence) and answer to some question about my thesis as well as a general question in relation to the department I wrote my thesis to. 3 years of hard work behind but for me these three years mean so much more than just Bachelor degree. These studies were the final reason why I decided to move abroad to Poland.



If I look 3 years back, I was just selling some of my furniture as I already knew I will be moving to Poland. I showed my apartment for the new tenants and packed my stuff to be stored at my parents place. I was excited about moving, but at the same time I had no idea how it would go in reality. Afterwords I have wondered how I had so much courage to change my life so dramatically, but I'm more than happy that I took this opportunity and learned something new also about myself. I'm not sure what were my expectations about Poland and about the studies, but as I look back I was just so excited and maybe also a bit stressed about everything new. When I left Finland I did not know when I would come back, that feeling is even more stronger now. I do not see myself living in Finland at least in the near future. Poland is my home for now, but I could see myself in other countries too. I think that once I left from Finland and survived so well, it is now easier to think that I could live almost anywhere.

These three years have passed so fast and now it is already the time to start something new. I'm so happy that my family has supported me in my decisions, even when I know they would like to see me more often. During these years I have built new friendships, another safety-net apart from the one I have in Finland. What really makes living in Poland so good, are these people. At the same time I feel guilt that I haven't been able to spend that much time with my friends in Finland. Maybe this quote shows my feelings towards these friends: "Good friends are like stars, you don't always see them but you know they're always there."
Having coffee with my Erasmus friend during the first semester in Poland. The first semester was about getting to know new people, learning polish and discovering the new city. We had a nice girls trip to Berlin and I made the first contact to Finnish community in Wroclaw.

The second semester my family came to visit Wroclaw, I was so proud to show them around the city. For the first time I experienced the early spring (at least compared to Finland) and the warm weather. The first year of studies was done and I was happy to go to Finland for the summer.




The third semester was studying in cafes and meeting with friends every Wednesday in a jazz bar. Our friend from Finland came to visit us here in Wroclaw and I met many new people.
The forth semester was great! We had a nice weekend in Prague, my sister came to Wroclaw, I met with my brother in Gdansk.... So many great things! I also came more involved with the Finnish community as I became a teacher in the Finnish School in Wroclaw.
The fifth semester started the final year of  LLB. I met with my family in Stockholm, I continued teaching at the Finnish school and I got involved with the Telders moot court. I also started to write my thesis.

The last semester was probably the most stressful and eventful. We had a trip to Ukraine, I visited Finland as a surprise, Telders competition in Warsaw and in the Hague, thesis and finally graduation! 

-Camilla

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Thesis and Telders!

Today I finally finished my thesis, I can not believe it is done! These few months have been extremely busy. Doing thesis and Telders at the same time took most of my free time. Even when this spring has been stressful, it has also taught me a lot. Now that I have at least some time before couple of last exams and thesis defense, I would like to tell you about our trip to the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition in the Hague, the Netherlands.

The competition took place in the Hague 17.-20. May. All the teams pleaded four times during the semi-finals, applicant twice and respondent twice. The best applicant (Leiden University) and the best respondent (The University of Cologne) competed in the final that was organized in the Peace Palace. Congratulations for the both teams for amazing work! Specially to the University of Cologne for winning the competition!

I would like to thank my teammates and coaches for making this experience possible for me. I have learned so many things during our journey together. I really enjoyed the competition in the Hague as all the teams were so friendly and cheerful. The atmosphere between the teams was great! It was nice to meet new people who also have passion for international law!
The Peace Palace! The final of the competition was held in the Palace.
Garden of the Peace Palace

Walking around the city after the first day of the semi-finals and the dinner together with the other teams.

The Hague was so beautiful city! Everybody was cycling everywhere.

Sunset from the beach. The last day of the semi-finals we had a barbecue and party at the beach.
This was second time for me in the Hague, but now as International law student, the city has more importance for me! I hope that someday I will be able to visit the city again.

To understand more about the competition itself, here is the previous post about the topic:

-Camilla

Monday, April 10, 2017

Surprise visit to Finland!

In the end of March I visited Finland. It was only a trip for a weekend but still I am more than happy that I was able to make it. The trip was a surprise for my family as only my sister was aware that I'm coming. I could not sleep well for a couple of nights before the trip as I was just thinking how everybody will react seeing me in Finland. This was the first time that nobody was picking me up from Turku ( as nobody knew ;)) so I needed to take a train. Trains are very expensive in Finland but luckily I was able to find good tickets. As I arrived to Tampere my sister picked me up from the station and it was time to surprise everybody else! The surprise was successful as nobody had even thought that there would be possibility that I could be in Finland. Happy reunion with family!



There were few things I wanted to do while in Finland (except spending time with family), enjoying the nature and eating wings plus some other real Finnish food. Luckily I was able to do all that. The weather was beautiful for the whole trip so that it was easy to spend time outside. We went to a lake in our town and enjoyed the nature and sweet-bun-on-a-stick. Sweet-bun-on-a-stick is like the traditional Finnish sweet bun but it is baked on campfire. It is great snack while hiking or spending time in the nature. Specially when I do not like Finnish sausages that are just full of flour. On Sunday I had the opportunity to go to my favorite restaurant in Tampere, Hook with by brother. Hook is known for their wings and their decor is just awesome with all the pirate things.  


Before the trip it was hard to think what to bring with me. At the time it was already relatively warm in Poland and I was just using my Converse shoes, however for Finland I needed to take my winter boots that were in the closet already. I also took my winter jacket. It was good to have it in Finland but when coming back to Poland I was way too hot. It can be said that the spring is officially in Poland! Terrace season is open and flowers blossom. Today +23 degrees ;)

-Camilla

Friday, March 10, 2017

Telders Moot Court Competition!


January and February were crazy! So many things to do and learn. Now finally all the exams and Telders competition are over for now. However, our team won the Telders national round in Poland and our journey will continue in May in International rounds in Hague! I'm so happy!


Telders is a Moot Court competition, that means simulated court proceedings for students to compete and have experience. First we needed to research our topics. This year the task was related to diplomatic immunity, inviolability of diplomatic premises and a military agreement. We used couple of months just to research everything related to those topics. Every team needs to have 2-4 students and the work must be done for both applicant and  respondent. I have had the honor to work with three great and intelligent girls in my team.

The deadline for the written memorials was in end of January. Our both memorials (applicant and respondent) had 45 pages. Writing the memorials and editing took a lot of time. It was a great feeling when we finally had everything nicely printed and sent to the organizers.

After the written work it was time to concentrate on the oral rounds. We saw each other almost everyday practicing our speeches and getting ready for the questions the judges could ask. Applicant and respondent both have 40 minutes to speak during the oral round. That means that for every speaker there is about 20 minutes.

The national rounds were held in Warsaw 22. February. Our team decided to fly there a day before just to be concentrated to the competition. That was the best decision! The night before the competition we had so much fun and we laughed probably for everything. I really felt that we are a TEAM!

After the oral rounds we were so stressed, it was hard to say who was better. Of course we had a subjective view and I think that at least I'm always more critical towards my own performance. We needed to wait for the results for a long time! I was over analyzing every single detail. Finally after more than a week, we got the results from the oral rounds. We won the orals! And it was a clear win from the points, I don't know why we were so stressed.


However, we still needed to wait for the points from the memorials before we were able to celebrate the win of the whole competition. Finally we received the points from the written work and it is official, WE WON!

I really appreciate this experience and this journey we have had so far. I'm thankful for my amazing team and our coaches. Next chapter of Telders starts from Netherlands, I can not wait!

-Camilla

Friday, March 3, 2017

Trip to Ukraine!






My squad for the trip! 

Last weekend, the last weekend of February was the first weekend this year that I was able to relax. January and February were full of studying and working. My boyfriend had a dancing competition with his partner in Ukraine and I decided to go with them. We had a nice small group going to Lviv. The competition was on Saturday and we wanted to stay for Sunday as well to go sightseeing. Saturday was a great start for the weekend as my favorite dancing pair won the competition! ;) After the competition we went for dinner to this amazing meat restaurant. The theme of the restaurant was torture but the food was nothing like torture, it was delicious! After the dinner we decided to stay in the city center for drinks.

Lviv is something very different from Poland or Wroclaw. Everything seemed to be old: buildings, cars, everything. The roads were in such a bad condition that I felt like jumping and hitting my head in the bus. Nobody was speaking English in there, I tried to communicate in English, Polish and showing by gestures and then I got understood. I wouldn't have survived without knowing any Polish. However, I really enjoyed the city. It was something different from the places I have visited before.

On Sunday we were walking around the city. We ended up eating in a restaurant that was very nationalist, we needed to say some password in the door before getting in (Ukraine first or something like that), people were singing nationalistic songs and the decor was Ukrainian military oriented.

On the way back from Ukraine we spent 6,5 hours in the Ukraine-Polish border. The bus was full of people, there were no extra places and the air was very bad. It was interesting to see what everybody needed to do to get in to the area of the European Union.

I came sick during our trip, so this week has been mostly resting. I wanted to go out so bad and enjoy the beautiful spring weather. I hope next week will also be as sunny and warm!

-Camilla