This was my first proper day out in Finland. The first thing that amazed be about this country is how fresh the air is. The buildings are much further apart leaving more space for trees. We had a really nice walk to the college in the morning. Snow was draped over everything, like a blanket. Once we arrived, we met up with our supervisor- Pekka, who was mostly busy today so he got another student to give us a tour of the building. It was small, but nice.
After a while we joined a graphics design group. We spent most of that time working with two Finnish students with really good English. The work itself was a bit complex but the two students made it enjoyable. What I found interesting was how much more laid back this college in comparison to the ones in Ireland. I also like how the people the are so calm and collective. Over all I have a great first impression of Finland and look forward to seeing more of it. -Dale
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The last few days have been beyond hectic, and to call them exhausting feels like an understatement. You know those strange, distorted images of reality people like Dali make? That's how my brain is registering things right now; everything is melting and time is an illusion. From the deathly bus journey over to Dublin, to the the anxiety inducing first flight to Frankfurt, things were going surprisingly smooth. Or suspiciously smooth, if you're borderline pessimistic like me. And wouldn't you know it, I had every right to be suspicious because Frankfurt really had it in for us.
One person out of the group had their passport damaged, and was taken away for 'interrogation' ;) ! Long story short, ,thankfully, he was let through and we continued our journey. While I completely understand they were doing their job and had to be super strict because of all that goes on, it really opened our eyes, but not for too long because I'm pretty sure most of us slept on the plane over to Helsinki. When we landed in Helsinki, I think the first thing I realised was how warm and welcoming it was. Then again, looking back, it could be because anything was warmer than what we had left. The Airport itself felt absolutely huge, but I strangely didn't feel out of place at all. I think I was too tired to overthink the situation, or maybe I was just incredibly relieved to be here at all. Either way, we were safe and we were in Finland. The anxiety was already being replaced with an electric excitement. We got a taxi from the airport to our hotel, the Pilotti, and the journey there alone sealed the deal for me. There was snow everywhere, which in itself was enough to have me forget all the chaos from earlier. What really did it for me, however, was this; the taxi driver was playing a rock station on the radio. Man, they have a full radio station dedicated to rock! I never in my life thought I'd ever use the radio app on my phone. We rolled up to the hotel, checked in, got settled, showered, and went to have some dinner. You know Lady and the Tramp, that old Disney movie? You know the chef that was rooting for the two dogs? Yeah, that's who served us in the restaurant upstairs, I swear by it. I have never seen a man that enthusiastic, this guy deserves a whole, feature-length movie of his own. He was a character and a half, and his entire personality just really helped me relax. He is a credit, just a shame I didn't catch his name. Dale got some chicken pasta, while Matthew and I went straight for 'Savuporopasta'; reindeer pasta in some cream sauce. I feel a bit cruel for being so excited to eat Rudolph's friends or Bambi's kids, but the excitement was worth it. It tasted absolutely amazing. I'm almost too afraid to get too addicted to it, for fear of suffering deer-deprivation when I get back to Ireland. Aside from the pasta, we have more to thank the waiter for; we asked for water and we got assorted drinks instead. Plus he added in a couple chocolates. Free of charge....A modern day hero. The lads and I slept soundly after that, let me tell you. We were up at 6am to get our flight to Oulu, and Sarah our tutor, came down to help us and calm our nerves before take-off. Something we desperately needed, more than we initially realised. With a couple of hiccups, we managed to get there on time and in one piece. One thing that blew me away with the airport was how friendly everyone was and how happy they were to help. You couldn't feel bad asking them for anything at all; they were just so lovely. That, and also their technological advancements. You can just go over and print out your passes at a machine. For some reason, this was insane to me. I was in genuine shock... I felt like such a small-town boy, surrounded by these wild boarding pass printing machines... We got on the plane to Oulu no problem, and we were there in a flash. We grabbed our bags, and met Tobias and Tony, who were sent to come pick us up and show us to our accommodation, and bring us shopping. Seeing Lidl and Subway and small familiar things like that made me feel that bit more comfortable, which is lovely after having been shifted from one place you were getting nestled into to another. From what I've seen, Raahe is not as small as I thought it would be. It's funny seeing so many open, functioning shops in a row. In Galway it seems that every second building shuts down, and the rest are on the constant verge of being closed for good. That said, it's not massive at all...It's manageable. With my god-awful sense of direction, I'm thankful for that. I did however remember the way to the local fast food restaurant 10 minutes down the road after only taking the route once, so hey, maybe there is still hope for me! Once we got to our accommodation, I can safely say I nearly cried; it was so big and bright, so much more than I had expected it to be. It was incredible. I went right to unpacking. Tony came back about an hour later, offering to bring us up to see the school and meet Pekka, who was in charge of us for our time here. While only meeting him briefly, he seemed absolutely lovely, and of course, like everyone else here, so welcoming. Day two and I can safely say I'd move in here right now if I could. Sorry lads, I'm not taking that flight back home! Tomorrow we have an early start. We are to be brought to the school and shown around by Tony. I'm excited to meet all the new people there. I'm not much of a people person per say, and like to keep to my room and to myself, but I think this trip will help that. Since the Finnish are usually quiet by nature, I'll have to make that extra effort to get some friends, and I've surprised myself with how eager I am do to that. All in all, I think hand on heart, despite the rocky start, this will turn out amazing. It is what you make it, and I'm going to make the bloody most out of it. Here's to our three weeks! -Jack Our 8 Art & Animation students have set off on their Erasmus+ work placement to Finland. The placements will see these students spend 3 weeks working in placements related to their vocational area. #GTIGalway #Erasmus #EUandMe#FutureSuccess #GRETB #Leargas
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Animation 2018-19Matthew Horgan Map of Raahe |