Technicalities after Arriving in Finland

It has been really long since I updated my blog and I am sorry for that. I have been too busy and too lazy. So, this post will be about arriving and settling in, which to be honest has been a bit of a challenge. It is not that you will get lost or cry about coming here (might) but things can get difficult when you don’t have many people who can help you.

Let me start with the obvious things fist because no matter who you are, you will still need to revisit the fundamentals of arriving in a new country. After collecting your luggage, you might need to get a SIM card. It is funny that even when people of other tongues speak English or a name, it just sounds like a different language. This is exactly the reason why I could not find a shop named R-Kioski which sells SIM cards. Elisa and DNA are the primary carriers and they recommended Elisa so I got that one with unlimited 4G and calls for a month. It is expensive but it is better to get a reliable plan for the first few days at least. You don’t want to regret getting a cheap pack when you’re lost and don’t have a signal. So, after this, you can take a taxi or a bus depending on where you are going to stay. I would say Lähitaksi is cheap and a good option if you have a lot of luggage. Taxi from the airport cost generally the same or cheaper if you want to share. And now you are on your way.

The road to my apartment was bland. Boring highways with forests on both sides. Since I had arrived late for my course, I had asked my flatmate to collect the key for me who then helped me get into the building. Oh! You cannot enter the building without your key or a pin. My room was nice and sufficient for one person I suppose. It comes with several closets and a refrigerator. The main drawback to this is there is no bed, they switch on the heater at the end of October, and all you have is a cold and hard floor. LUCKILY, one of my classmates had offered to lend me an air mattress for a while. Phew! I did not have to sleep on the floor.

One thing that blew me away is the community that focuses on catering to students over here. There are multiple groups and channels where you can get free furniture and even food at times by people who are moving out. So, if you arrive early enough and are quick enough to call dibs, you will get everything you desire. I got a couple of mattresses, a bed frame, desk, lamp, microwave, a shelf, a tray, water bottles, thermos, a side table, a canter and many other things for free. There are groups that sell cheap second-hand furniture as well and if push comes to shove, there is always IKEA. I did have to buy some things as I arrived late due to my visa delay. And now I am all set and my room is complete. It is pretty convenient, I must say. Oh! A word of advice- always go for an AYY apartment and not a HOAS one. They are student associations and while HOAS will be cheap but the living conditions are almost always bad.

It has been a solid two months here and I am still not very accustomed to this change. I mean the teachers are great, the vibe and culture are pretty relaxed and forward and I am liking it here. I am just taking some time getting used to this shift in my life. Time feels weird to me here. It seems slow every day but days go by really quickly and before you know it, the weekend’s gone. One more thing that I would like to point out as a fellow Indian is the space, we need to provide to others here. Back in India, if I made a new friend, I could easily put my hand on his shoulder after a week and be all open and comfortable. Here I cannot do that, or maybe I just have not done that with my friends even after 2 months. People here give and respect each other’s personal space. It is just the culture difference and that discrepancy is also going to take some time to get used to. These are certainly not all of the things that need to be done but more on them in the next post. Here is to another month before I head home for winter. Keep playing!