1. Describe:
To be honest, there weren't any situations that made me feel confused, since everybody speaks spanish in the Basque Country. I can say, that what had me quite interested was the basque "Txikiteo" or "Poteo". I have not seen anything similar elsewhere.
Txikiteo is the act of hopping from bar to bar, and having a couple of Pintxos and a drink, and then move on the next bar. what did get me a little confused once, was that this is done at a great scale on every Thursday; "Pintxo-Pote". The first time, I was wondering why on thursday. Although I do not regret anything, what was whirring in my head was: "how do you do this every thursday and then go to school on friday?"
2. Interpret:
The way I interpreted the fact that "Pintxo-Pote" is done every thursday, is that the students who live in other cities leave every friday bo go back to their homes and their families, so the parties are made on thursday. Although this could be interpreted in many ways, including religious ones, I did not think of any other way to think of this.
But I do have to say that even though I had though a logical explanation, It still was wandering in my mind.
Regarding the bar-hopping, I had no idea. The only thing I thought was that this was merely a cultural thing, and that this is what people are accustomed to.
3. Evaluate:
Once I asked some colleagues why Pintxo-Pote was always on thursday, I confirmed my theory. So, once that happened, I thought that I was quite similar with the student parties here in Finland (although, here they're on Wednesdays). On the next Pintxo-Pote, this was no longer wandering my mind, and everything became normal to me.
Also the bar-hopping is great! You get to know different bars around, and you get to meet great people, as this is one of the biggest things in Basque Country.
I really cannot think of anything negative of these situations, except for the facet that Pintxo-Pote Thursdays can become a little uncomfortable and inconvenient, either because you have something really important to do on the next day, or some other reason.
If I'd have to evaluate this from the Mexican perspective, I'd say both things are a little strange, as usually we never have parties on weekdays, unless it is a national holiday, something really important, or just vacations. And the bar hopping, it isn't weird, as we do something similar, sometimes.
Anyhow, I don't regret anything from my trip. Everything is very interesting, for as weird as it can be.
Monday 27 August 2018
Letter Home - Arthur Maya
1. In what country and University are you studying?
- The polytechnic university of Mondragon in Spain, or as the basques call it: "Mondragon Goi Eskola Politeknikoa".
2. In what Study program are you studying at Centria?
- I'm currently an IT Engineering student at Centria.
3. What are the courses like at the host University?
- I'd say that the courses are quite standard in terms of the way they are planned to be and the way the teachers execute their learning. They are presential, and do not require the need of books as an obligatory back-up, although it i recommended to attend the library or use some sources from the internet to complement.
4. Describe the study culture?
- The study culture is a little bit more strict than in Finland. Students are expected to be not more than 5 minutes past the class starting time, and assist every day to class although they are quite flexible when something has popped up and you can't go to class.
Specifically at the Engineering department in Mondragon, mostly computers are used, with some slight use of notebooks and sheets of paper for note taking and paper excercises.
Exams are on Paper, usually, but sometimes, depending on the course that you're taking, use of computers is required.
Student life is very visible in the Basque country, as it is the young people, students, who are out in the streets living the student's life mostly.
5. What is your study group like?
- My study group, and all of them in this case, is a very closed one. Even though it was the Engineering campus, the "engineering is for men" stereotype was not visible at all. It was quite mixed in terms of the students.
They are pretty quiet and calm, although there are some moments when the energy in the atmosphere spikes. They are quite educated as well.
I can say that in general terms, students here are good (including my own study group).
6. Please describe what the everyday life is like in your host country? What do you like in particular?
Everyday life here in the Basque Country, is quite different to that of the rest of Spain. Although most of Spain is different in these terms, the Basque Country is special.
Although everyday life is similar the that of the rest of Spain, there are many things and details that are unique.
The scenery is very beautiful. Rolling green hills, miles and miles of pristine coastline, snow-capped mountains, lush valleys, lakes, rivers, forests… It really is beautiful!
Here they have what they call "Txikiteo" which is bar hopping for Pintxos and sips of wine. Pintxos consist of small slices of bread on which an ingredient or mixture of ingredients is placed and fastened with a toothpick, which gives the food its name "pincho", in Spanish, meaning "spike.".
7. What has been challenging? Why?
- I'd say that the most challenging part of my exchange, was the language. Even though Spanish is one of my mother tongues, The accent in Spain, is very different. Sentences are phrased in different structures, different conjugations are used, and more. But not only that! In the Basque Country, and in Mondragon specifically, people most usually speak Basque, which is the official language, and yes, It is very hard to adapt around it.
The second most challenging thing was the classroom itself. The teachers and the students usually speak in Basque between themselves. The classes were in Spanish, but when someone asked the teacher a question , they'd usually do it in Basque. This made it hard to socialize with everyone. People there also are pretty closed between themselves and can get quite exclusive.
8. What has been the highlight of your exchange so far?
I'd say that, I am not able to highlight any moments of my exchange. Every part of it was a highlight. But if i would have to highlight something, I believe I'd say that the friends I made.
I got to meet people from all parts of the world. This helped me open my mind and grab a different perspective of the world. I killed stereotypes, and confirmed others.
- The polytechnic university of Mondragon in Spain, or as the basques call it: "Mondragon Goi Eskola Politeknikoa".
2. In what Study program are you studying at Centria?
- I'm currently an IT Engineering student at Centria.
3. What are the courses like at the host University?
- I'd say that the courses are quite standard in terms of the way they are planned to be and the way the teachers execute their learning. They are presential, and do not require the need of books as an obligatory back-up, although it i recommended to attend the library or use some sources from the internet to complement.
4. Describe the study culture?
- The study culture is a little bit more strict than in Finland. Students are expected to be not more than 5 minutes past the class starting time, and assist every day to class although they are quite flexible when something has popped up and you can't go to class.
Specifically at the Engineering department in Mondragon, mostly computers are used, with some slight use of notebooks and sheets of paper for note taking and paper excercises.
Exams are on Paper, usually, but sometimes, depending on the course that you're taking, use of computers is required.
Student life is very visible in the Basque country, as it is the young people, students, who are out in the streets living the student's life mostly.
5. What is your study group like?
- My study group, and all of them in this case, is a very closed one. Even though it was the Engineering campus, the "engineering is for men" stereotype was not visible at all. It was quite mixed in terms of the students.
They are pretty quiet and calm, although there are some moments when the energy in the atmosphere spikes. They are quite educated as well.
I can say that in general terms, students here are good (including my own study group).
6. Please describe what the everyday life is like in your host country? What do you like in particular?
Everyday life here in the Basque Country, is quite different to that of the rest of Spain. Although most of Spain is different in these terms, the Basque Country is special.
Although everyday life is similar the that of the rest of Spain, there are many things and details that are unique.
The scenery is very beautiful. Rolling green hills, miles and miles of pristine coastline, snow-capped mountains, lush valleys, lakes, rivers, forests… It really is beautiful!
Here they have what they call "Txikiteo" which is bar hopping for Pintxos and sips of wine. Pintxos consist of small slices of bread on which an ingredient or mixture of ingredients is placed and fastened with a toothpick, which gives the food its name "pincho", in Spanish, meaning "spike.".
 |
| La Kontxa Beach - Donostia / San Sebastian |
7. What has been challenging? Why?
- I'd say that the most challenging part of my exchange, was the language. Even though Spanish is one of my mother tongues, The accent in Spain, is very different. Sentences are phrased in different structures, different conjugations are used, and more. But not only that! In the Basque Country, and in Mondragon specifically, people most usually speak Basque, which is the official language, and yes, It is very hard to adapt around it.
The second most challenging thing was the classroom itself. The teachers and the students usually speak in Basque between themselves. The classes were in Spanish, but when someone asked the teacher a question , they'd usually do it in Basque. This made it hard to socialize with everyone. People there also are pretty closed between themselves and can get quite exclusive.
8. What has been the highlight of your exchange so far?
I'd say that, I am not able to highlight any moments of my exchange. Every part of it was a highlight. But if i would have to highlight something, I believe I'd say that the friends I made.
I got to meet people from all parts of the world. This helped me open my mind and grab a different perspective of the world. I killed stereotypes, and confirmed others.
Sunday 26 August 2018
Letter Home - Nguyen Hien Linh
1.In what country and University are you
studying?
Austria - Upper Austria University
of Applied Sciences, Hagenberg Campus
2. In what Study program are you studying at Centria?
I am currently in my last year of Information Technology major.
2. In what Study program are you studying at Centria?
I am currently in my last year of Information Technology major.
3. What are the courses like at the host University?
I and my friend Nhi Ngo, both of us spend a semester for doing an exchange in Austria. We did almost attend to the same course in Hagenberg Campus which is about Informatics, Communications and Media. We joint a lot of interesting courses: iOs, Generative Art, Mobile Marketing and Business, German(A1), Online Multimedia, Usability and Interaction Design.
4. Describe the study culture?
In Finland, the timetable is fixed each semester but in FH, it changed every week
which made me shock at the first time. There were some subjects which took from
8:00 until 17:55, but of course they had break in between. However, it was a
nice experience there and I also gained a lot of practical knowledge on exchange
term.
5. What is your study group like?
Most of our Austrian classmates are
nice, kind and friendly. We had a great time to get to know each other.
 |
| Last FKF - Austrian classmates |
Besides, we also love to spend
time with another exchange student and international student who are currently studying
their degree in FH(none- exchange students). We also traveled together to neighbor
countries and some nice cities in Austria.
 |
| Vienna |
 |
| Birthday Celebrating |
 |
| After German Exam 😂 |
 |
| Trip to Steyr - another campus of Upper Austria |
 |
| Summer Festival |
 |
| Budapest with Kim-Korean and aDu- Vietnamese 💗💙 |
 |
| Fun time with Shievam and Nhi Corn 😂😂 |
6. Please describe what the everyday life is like in your host country? What do you like in particular?
We do not have class almost everyday so it was mean time that we could do some stuffs together or just stay at the dorm for doing assignment. It was great that our dorm is nearby our university, just 1-2mins walking. Yeah and I have to say those buildings are closely. Therefore, it was easy and convenient for us every morning left the room to school.We also prefer to spend time to study in FH than at the dorm. The university also let the door open till 11pm so we can even stay as long as we can.
In FH, they provide us the equipment to study in case we do not have it or ours are damaged. and of course with the iOs course, they require the Mac for doing the coding and I do not own any apple device, they lend me once at that time. Yeah and how amazing that time was.
The professors are very enthusiasm and helpful. Austrian students are active and hard-working. I can learn a lot from them :)
The FH have a lot of activity for students in every department which impressed me at 1st. Sometimes they had the conference and a BBQ party after that or going hiking, and everything was sponsored by the FH.
The FH have a lot of activity for students in every department which impressed me at 1st. Sometimes they had the conference and a BBQ party after that or going hiking, and everything was sponsored by the FH.
They also organized the party every 2 weeks for students. from Monday to Wednesday every week they offers great deals in eating and drinking for students.
7. What has been challenging? Why?
Almost the subject we registered have not had exam, we did project instead. There were some courses that we could do in group of 2, however, when I and Nhi already been in group and realized that the rest of the class they all did individually. Yeah , how weird it was. Then we decided to do it separately.
Austrian student they were too shy to make friend at the first time. Therefore, we also felt awkward every time coming to class but it was just for a while and everything went fine after that. We can make a lot of friends.
It did suck because there was nothing around hagenberg, even the market also far away from our place and its closing is pretty soon, around 6pm and nothing open on Sunday. yeah the most challenging thing haha. But everything were all fine after few weeks and I started love this place:)
8. What has been the highlight of your exchange so far?
8. What has been the highlight of your exchange so far?
I have had learned a lot in FH, really good university as well as the environment for studying. I met all the good friends in Hgb , learned about their culture , their countries.
D-I-E AUSTRIA
1. DESCRIBE:
When I first came to Austria, there are a lot of new things that I need to adapt. One of the things that I feel shocked and little bit uncomfortable in my daily life is people here they prefer using cash more than credit card. I have been warning since the day that we have orientation day and yes it is true.
When I first came to Austria, there are a lot of new things that I need to adapt. One of the things that I feel shocked and little bit uncomfortable in my daily life is people here they prefer using cash more than credit card. I have been warning since the day that we have orientation day and yes it is true.
2. INTERPRET:
_ In small store, they only take cash but in the super market they can take both credit card and cash. Of course I will feel a little bit uncomfortable in my daily life. Because in Finland, credit card applied every where, even the laundry room. In my doom in Austria, we have to use exactly 2*50 cents to be able to use the washing machine and dry machine. One more thing, here they use 1 cent, 2 cent in normal life. If you buy anything that costs like 2,98 Euro, they will give you back 2 cents if you pay them 3 Euro. It really different compared to Finland.
3. EVALUATE:
For me, this experience is not that bad. Because I come from Vietnam, we use a lot of cash instead of credit card, so I am used to it. However, i live in Finland for 3 years then I have to change my habit when I was in Austria. In my conclusion, this experience is not that bad and I can adapt it easily.
UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES UPPER AUSTRIA, HAGENBERG CAMPUS
_ Hello everyone, me and my friend Linh, we have been in Austria for around 5 months for exchange study. Our university in Austria is Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences · Hagenberg Campus.
2. In what Study program are you studying at Centria?
_I am currently studying Information
Technology in Centria.
3. What are the courses like at the host University? or What has your work placement been like?
3. What are the courses like at the host University? or What has your work placement been like?
_There are many interesting courses in
my host University, for example: Generative Art, Online Multimedia, Usability
and Interaction Design, Software Android...
4. Describe the study culture? / What is the corporate culture like?
_I am very impressed by the
study culture in my host university. For example: Most of students are very
focus and active in the school lesson but they don’t use phone much in class. Students
here are very good and they work very hard. I really like teachers in my university,
they care about students, funny and very helpful.4. Describe the study culture? / What is the corporate culture like?
5. What is your study group like?
_Very diverse. Most of them is Austria
but there are few exchange students from many countries.
6. Please describe what the everyday life is like in your host country? What do you like in particular?
_It is really an amazing experience for
my study life. In my semester, there are also 9 exchange students from
different countries. We are very close and spend time after school for many
activities. Table soccer, table tennis, bar night, spaghetti night (only 1 €
per dish).
- Bar Night -
_ In the beginning, I don't feel that I
will love this school that much. However, after few weeks, I discovered the
awesomeness of this university. There are a lot of activity for students. For
example: cocktail night on Monday, spaghetti night on Tuesday, table soccer,
table tennis, gym for free in the dorm, summer festival and last but not least
festival in school every 2 weeks.
-Table Soccer Time-
- Running For Charity -
- Farewell Party -
_The school staffs are very
supportive and kind. They are always help you as much as they can. In the
hardware room, students can borrow laptop, monitor... Me and my friend Linh,
got for each of us, 1 Ailenware and 1 Macbook Pro. Sound crazy, right? J
7. What has been challenging? Why?
7. What has been challenging? Why?
_There are few challenges in my exchange study time, for example: there are not a lots of supermarkets here and only 3 Vietnamese students in Hagenberg. The expensive market is near the dorm but the cheaper market is quite far and we have to walk there.
-Me, Linh and Du in Hagenberg (3 Vietnamese Student In Hagenberg) -
8. What has been the highlight of your exchange so far?
_This is of course the most memorable time of my life. I made a lot of friends, spent good times there and most important thing is I have learnt a lots there.
-With Shievam (one of our best friend there) -
-Spending time with each other -
-Miss you Linda-
-Our beloved captain Giuliano-
-Thank you Hagenberg!-
Monday 13 August 2018
Introduction
Hello!
My name is Jyrki Hautaniemi and I'm third year student in Community Educator at Cenria University of Applied Sciences in Ylivieska. I'm from Sodankylä. During my study I live weekdays in Ylivieska.
I will go to work placement in Toronto Acrigola Lutheran Chuch. I will start my internship next fall. I'm there for the period between September-November. I have had long time interested in Canada and now looks like the one dreams of mine will come true.
I hope that at the end of my internship I speak fluent english. I almost forget, yesterday registered in the Niagara Falls Marathon. So, I hope that I can run all the way to the finish. I'm sure that I will meet lovely people and get new friends in Toronto.
Take care - Jyrki
My name is Jyrki Hautaniemi and I'm third year student in Community Educator at Cenria University of Applied Sciences in Ylivieska. I'm from Sodankylä. During my study I live weekdays in Ylivieska.
I will go to work placement in Toronto Acrigola Lutheran Chuch. I will start my internship next fall. I'm there for the period between September-November. I have had long time interested in Canada and now looks like the one dreams of mine will come true.I hope that at the end of my internship I speak fluent english. I almost forget, yesterday registered in the Niagara Falls Marathon. So, I hope that I can run all the way to the finish. I'm sure that I will meet lovely people and get new friends in Toronto.
Take care - Jyrki
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