Last Wednesday was insane. My head was crammed with new information about studying in Helsinki. I have no idea how many forms I signed that day, in fact, I could not tell you properly what I did during the days of the Welcome Fair, if I didn't have a to-do-list to show for it...it all kind of went by in a haze. On Wednesday was the first day of the Welcome Fair of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki. I had to do stuff like pay the Student Union fee, get a Certificate of student status which you need to get a travel card discount, I waited in line to receive an IT username and checked out all the different student organizations. So basically, the first day of the Welcome Fair was made up endless queues, gallons of coffee, some free chocolate every now and then, and tons of info material. Here is something, I wish someone had told be before: Take a backpack and be prepared to loose a lot of money during the first day. I wish I had had a backpack. In the morning I had decided to take a regular purse, which I soon started to regret. You may have experienced something similar, the longer you carry something, the heavier it gets...my shoulders were killing me! As to the money, prepare to spend a lot during the first few days. It's a good thing, that you receive most of the Erasmus money in the beginning of your stay, because you will need to pay the student union fee, which is about 52 Euros a semester and contains student health services and the like. Then you'll want to buy the student card (15 €), which allows you to receive the student discount at the cafeterias and uni cafés. Also, buying the travel card very soon saves you trouble later on. It costs about 95 € per term (4 months) to travel through the city by public transportation. In addition to that there's the things you need to buy, because they did not fit into your luggage such as soap and laundry detergent and all that grown up stuff...
If you stay in Helsinki during autumn, trust me, you do not want to unpack that umbrella or rain jacket to save space in you suitcase..which is exactly what I did and now regret...I also should not have unpacked my hairdryer. Right now it might be fine to just let my hair dry in the air, but as soon as it gets colder...
They have a lot of second hand stores around Helsinki, which is really convenient if you need additional dishes or the like and don't want to spend a ton. I'm lucky I have an awesome aunt near Helsinki who provided me with all this impossible-to-bring stuff, but my room mates first thing to do when she arrived was a trip to IKEA to buy a pillow and a blanket and sheets and so on...I'm just wondering how she'll travel back home...she already arrived with three suitcases...Anyway, I think I made my point: be prepared to queue, spent money like crazy, and don't unpack the things you will definitely need every day!
P.S.: the coffee at the uni cafés is cheaper, if you bring your own coffee mug, and trust me, if you are a coffee-drinker, your caffeine intake will increase dramatically in Helsinki!
If you stay in Helsinki during autumn, trust me, you do not want to unpack that umbrella or rain jacket to save space in you suitcase..which is exactly what I did and now regret...I also should not have unpacked my hairdryer. Right now it might be fine to just let my hair dry in the air, but as soon as it gets colder...
They have a lot of second hand stores around Helsinki, which is really convenient if you need additional dishes or the like and don't want to spend a ton. I'm lucky I have an awesome aunt near Helsinki who provided me with all this impossible-to-bring stuff, but my room mates first thing to do when she arrived was a trip to IKEA to buy a pillow and a blanket and sheets and so on...I'm just wondering how she'll travel back home...she already arrived with three suitcases...Anyway, I think I made my point: be prepared to queue, spent money like crazy, and don't unpack the things you will definitely need every day!
P.S.: the coffee at the uni cafés is cheaper, if you bring your own coffee mug, and trust me, if you are a coffee-drinker, your caffeine intake will increase dramatically in Helsinki!