From the very first day that I joined IIFT, I had been hearing a lot about the Student Exchange Program. Some of the seniors who had been on a student exchange described it as the "best experience" that they had till date and the rest described it as a "looong vacation". I liked both the versions. When the time for selection came I opted for the Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki. The only criteria guiding my decision was the time factor. I wanted to be back in India by April not to miss my summer internships and Hanken's exchange period was just over two months. So, it was the best fit for me.I had never been abroad before and was all excited about this program. To add to the excitement was the fact that the third trimester in IIFT was supposedly the toughest term. I wanted to run away and I was happy that I was running away to an exotic place.
On 13th January, I along with two other friends of mine reached Helsinki. The entire runway as well as the surrounding areas were all white. For the first time in our lives we were seeing a city colored white by the snow. The temperature was -6C and this one more first time for us. It has been 50 days since then and I have not yet experienced positive temperatures. Initially we loved the snow and cold but gradually we started hating hating it. On top of that the days were very small and for tens of days we did not see the sun. It was tough to go out and travel and sitting inside the rooms, we were bored to death.
But one thing, Finland is an excellent country with great people. I mean I have not been to many countries to comment on this, but they have impressed me like anything. No matter whom you ask for help, be rest assured that you will be treated well and helped. I have met people who have walked along with me for 15 mins just to show me the way when they were going somewhere else. A tip for people who may visit Finland: Finnish people are very shy and hardly talk. Don't mistake them to be high-headed. I mean even 10 Indians in a train can make a noise equivalent to that of a band party, but I have seen coaches full of Finnish people and you can hear your breath.
I am bit unlucky to have visited this place in the winters. From what I have seen in the photographs, this place is heaven in summers. With greenery all around, beautiful lakes and long days, summers is the best time to visit Finland.
Helsinki is a small but well maintained city. Figuring amongst the top five livable cities in the world is a testimony to this fact. Some places that are worth visiting in Helsinki are Suomelina (an island about 20 mins away from Heslinki), the Natural History Museum, the Temppelliaukio church, the Parliament house, the Finlandia hall, the Finnish National Opera, the Sibelius monument and the Kaivipoisto park.
Its winter and I am not able to travel much, but the beauty and calmness of this place has bowled me over and if ever I get a chance I would love to visit this place in summer to get a feel of paradise.
I had thought of writing about my student exchange experience and ended up writing about Helsinki..Well that is basically "student exchange". "Looooong Vacation"
