la vie d'Anna

End of November, Welcome December!!!

2007-11-29T17:06:00.000+01:00

Where should I start! I think my only fan (Siri) is the greatest inspiration to writing this post, in addition to the fact that I felt that my blog was looking at me with puppy eyes "you-can't-abandon-me-or-can-you?"

So just to summarize the latest months: I travelled to Estonia in the end of the October for the National Session of EYP Estonia, had a blast! Loved working with the session newspaper and videos. The videos can be found under "8th estonian EYP national session" or so in YouTube, I think the humour is quite inside one, so you'll probably think that EYP is something for nutcases. I fell sick after the trip, I wont recommend 2-5h of sleep five nights in a row to anyone.
22nd-26th Nov. I went to Paris to visit Erasmus people. Axel, Lexane, Mila, Julie and Johanny. It was soooo good to see friends again(who live way too far away). axel has posted pics on Facebook and I'm tagged on those, so you should be able to see them on my profile as well.
I loved Paris, the fact that the city never sleeps and there are so many things to do and experience. On the other hand, i don't think I could live there for longer periods of time, the city is enormous and the amount of ppl everywhere....it really makes me feel like a small Finnish girl raised up in Finnish woods..LOL
So yeah, I saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame(no Hunchbacks in sight), printemps roof, where they had an ice labyrinth and signs for how far it is to the Nordic countries (the Xmas theme is Nordic Xmas:), Montmarte, L'Arc de Triomphe, Louvre (for sure, Mona Lisa is small)
++++ lots more

Apart from the trips I've been working and studying. I passed both of my exams from the first period and this period I've Computer Sciences( I hate MSOffice 2007), International economic Relations and Swedish. had my Swedish exam today, I think it went okay, but I was tired.(too much skyping late at night)

I'm throwing a bday party on the 15th December, I realised that I got to do it, so that I'll finally get my flat nice and clean(before xmas) and well, it wont hurt to see people that I haven't seen for a while. The autumn has really been far more busy than the spring in the NL, yet again I feel like I've had enough relaxing Sundays with watching Big Brother with Sanna:)

Can't wait for the Xmas, the decorations and Xmas lights in paris were breathtaking, but I still think we've have an advantage compared to them; real snow:) Now I'm just waiting when they'll make the ice in the sports field outside of my window, so I can start doing ice skatinggggg..and drink hot chocolate afterwards:)

December wishes,
hugs and kisses
Anna

Back to business

2007-09-03T21:03:00.000+01:00

Yep, today was back to Hanken. I don't have too many courses left that I can take this autumn(before writing my Bachelor thesis in the spring) but one that seems interesting, International Business, started today. We have an Australian professor, she seems really nice, so I'm looking forward to her lectures. We needed to sign up for seminars as well and luckily I've got my two girls with me, Nicole and Christa. The power of our blonde unity:) But the unity that I feel with the rest of the hanken students is not always visible, for instance, I got slighty(okay, very) annoyed today by people who didn't manage to sign up correctly, though we had got the instructions zillion times. Well, I'm not saying that I'd be a rocket scientist myself, but I feel like asking for comprehension at the stage of university studies isn't too much to ask.

I also signed up for L'Oreals autumns search foir hairmodels, going to get a new hairdo in two weeks time and then in October they asked me to come for one of their shows..yay! looking forward to wear fancy make up and clothes and most importantly to get a banging hairstyle. Though I very much like my hair in the state it is now, long and blond, with a quite long fringe.

Last week Big Brother 3 started in Finnish TV. I've already found out that one of the participants is a friend of a friend of a friend of mine and that another one is a former member of the Youth Council in Espoo. terrific(not really). Yesterday when I was watching the show that as a matter of fact, I could do so many more useful things and activities that would make me much more satisfied instead of watching´that crap. The people in there are just playing a game and talking nonsense most of the time. One season was enough, I got to start reading more books or something, instead of waisting 7,5hours every week for three months time for that damn show.

The long awaited exchange students arrived last week. Me and Nicole went to pick up two Mexican girls and an Australian guy. We partied with the newbies on Thursday and Friday and they seem like a wonderful bunch of people. Somehow, I just haven't found the enthusiasm and drive yet, that I thought I had been gathering the whole summer. Maybe I've got an overdose of international people and getting to know new people? I have no clue. One thing is for sure, I miss the exchange students from a year back A LOT. Luckily, Annika is coming on Saturday from Tallinn to ease that missing. Yay.We have an official welcome dinner/sitz on Friday, that should also make me more hyped and be a grand opening for the autumn term(Club Kungliga with its non-wroking toilets didn't impress)

I've been so lazy lately when it comes to sports and other things. i can literally feel myself oozing out of my clothes and my tummy getting larger and larger...yuckie. So anyone with good suggestions for what kind of sports I could start with(cheap and convenient) I'm open for suggestions:) I'm also open for meeting guys, preferably single, who could bring warmth to my lonely and cold autumn nights;), if anyone has seen them around, contact me asap.

Ok, enough for this time, before I get even more sidetracked.
Enjoy September!

bisous,
Anna

Finland, reindeers and driving

2007-08-15T11:42:00.000+01:00

Hello,

I strongly doubt that there's anybody left reading my blog. My blog has never been updated on a daily basis, but I think that I've taken it so far that this can't barely be called a blog anymore, due to the low activity from my side.
So well, I've been almost three weeks in Finland and well, it has been hot..After all the rain in Groningen, it has been good to see the sun. I've never really been a sunbathing person, but lately I've been sitting in our yard reading books and doing crosswords..lol. I started working last week and strangely, it doesn't feel too bad being back in R kiosk. I feel like it's a place where the challenges never stop, yet again, I feel like I'm good at what I do:)

For five days, 1-5th August, I went for a crazy road trip with three lovely friends of mine, Laura, Inari and Emma. I had my doubts concerning whether we'll make it all the way to Inari (very vewry much up north in Finland) Well, those doubts were proved wrong. We drove most of the days from 9 in the morning till 18 n the evening. Made stops, made unwilling stops(because of reindeer!! on the roads). Discussed passionately about various topics, read Cosmopolitans, listened to music, did crosswords, had fun with our souvenirs:) All in all, I must say that traveling with your friends locked trapped in one car is far more fun than doing the same thing with your family.
We stayed over the nigths at friends and relatives places, so we ended up not having to pay for a single nights accomodation.yay, good for me. My expenses this summer have been tremendous due to my trips to Brussels, Prague and with no income...not good.

This week I'm doing my drivers' licence 2nd phase(yes, in Finland you got to do a 2nd phase within two years after having got your drivers' licence...first then it becomes a permanent licence) I didn't drive once in the Netherlands and here in Finland I only drove during our road trip...Tomorrow we'll be a great challenge for me, to drive around with my dad's van for several hours..argh. yep, I haven't really got round to start liking to drive.

A part from these activities, I'm already looking forward to starting Hanken again and meeting all the new exchange students..it's going to be off the hook! 'Till that I'll do shifts in Rkiosk and hang out with my friends<3

That's all for now, got to go to work. I'll post more impressions and pics on a post, very soon. I promise!

hugs
Anna

Final days in Groningen

2007-07-15T12:17:00.000+01:00

I hope you understand why it has been long since I've updated my blog, I've two words for that. Exams and goodbyes.
I was busy with exams 'till the 10th, then we've sent away each member of our group separately:'( I've been to goodbye dinners, goodbye parties, goodbye clubbing, goodbye coffee, goodbye...you name it. It sounds silly, but for some reason, thr goodbyes haven't felt that bad(meaning no floods of tears, only a couple shed ones).. I guess I feel like a period has come naturally to its' end.
Now it's time to face the new challenges back at home in the form of being a mentor again for the exchange students coming to Hanken, studies, dentist(most likely going to get braces...I'm not sure if I'm going to post a pic of that), driving school (2nd phase) etc. etc.
I know for sure that Paris will be high on the list of places I'm going to visit next. That's what we stated today with Axel, when I took him to the train station(this station is also getting very familiar through all the bye bye's) It's good that I picked him up from his place, since he had overslept, we made it well on time though. Axel had made me the most gorgeous show on Movie Maker to me(thank you!) I also got sooo cute farewell presents from Riley(she left on Tuesday) an orange raincoat with a drawing(Riely made it herself) of one of the mascots of next years Olympic Games in Beijing. Lexane gave me a string with magnets, so I can easily put up pics on my wall <3 Thank you a million!

I've also got almost all of my results from my exams, this far I've 20 ECTS, two more results to go, I think that Hanken will accept my 25 credits as well, since Business Law retake was harder than expected.
My room at the moment, looks like....a hurricane would have struck it. As a matter of fact, I got this brilliant idea yesterday to go through my things, which I did. Emptied my closet, all the shelves, threw this away etc. BUT here's where my cleaning procedure usually fails...I get distracted by something and these piles are left on my floor, whch is the case at the moment as welll...eehehhehe. Luckily enoguh, I've managed to pack around half of my things for Prague

Prague!!!!!!!Going there tomorrow, taking the bus in the evening. 12h ..but I don't care, I'm heading for the beautiful city of Prague:):):)
By the way, I've the custody of two bikes at the moment. I'll sell mine back to the shop where I bought it, but Axel's bike is another story.....he grew very fond of his bike, but how'd I say it delicately, Albert(as the name is)is not in such a good shape..crooked wheels etc. So I haven't quite figured out what to do with it, it's a beauty though..so contact me, if you have any potential buyers or ideas?!
After my trip to Prague, I'll have four more day days to spend in Groningen. 95% of the people are left, but I've scrabbed together a selection of phone numbers to people who are still left here. I guess the next update in my blog will be about Prague, I think I'm considering to keep this blog for Finland, after all, the name: la vie d'Anna, doesn't suggest that my life would be restricted to only exchange:)

Enjoy the rest of July(here it has improved from raining to cloudy)
See you(Finnish ppl) soon ! See you(other ppl) around!

-Anna

BLING BLING and other glamorous events

2007-06-24T21:06:00.000+01:00

Our bling-bling inspired inspiration. A masterpiece created by Axel.

Plastic cups with a touch of class

Yes, we had a wall, where people could speak out their minds and write greetings for us. Tuna(Turkey), Riley and Lexane(France)

My home made muffins and "tiger"cake,a s we'd call it in Finland. Axel with the chocolate cake he had made for the occassion.

Riley(China), Tamuna(Georgia), Pawel(Poland), me and Axel. Note Tamuna's fake boobs, aren't they classy?

Donna and Riley behind the funky golden curtains. It's actully me and Axel who made this curtains with blood, sweat and tears..:)

Tuna, Tamuna, Anna, Axel and me. Can a crowd get any more ghetto fabulous than this?

Oh, uploading pictures to Blogspot is so slow, I assume because of the size of the pictures.

Therefore, I would encourage you to have a look on the pictures, that my friend Lexane has put on her blog. There are several pages with pics, so keep on checking them, 'till you see people dressed in a tasteless manner:) the address is: http://ze-tite-souris.skyrock.com/

(btw; Lexane I hope you don't mind me sharing your pics with some of my friends?!) There are also photos to find on facebook, I tagged myself a zillion times. So thank you Axel and Lexane for providing me with pics:)

So yessss..the party on Saturday, 16th June was off the hook! I went to Axel's place already at 14 o'closk to help with the preparations. As stated on my previous post, we did spend already hours after hours earlier that week, looking for costumes, decorations and food to serve. So well, we had a lot of fun while doing the decorations on Saturday. Who knew that making euro and dollar signs out of golden paper would be so rewarding;)

Around 20:30 the first guest started arriving and we of course greeted them in true extravagant style, kisses on the cheek and a fruity welcome drink. We had a nice bunch of people there and the R'n'B/hiphop music on the background kept everyone in the right mood.

As we emptied one wine bottle after another, we played a game. In the game where everyone got a note with a name of a person/object/thing and then you got it on your forehead. By asking yes/no questions you needed to find out who or what you are. It was very much fun, since I never seemed to remember my previous questions(so is she blonde or not?brown-haired? or try to decide whether being a queen is a sexy profession?)

After 1 'oclock we headed for the bar, Shadrak. And believe it or not, me, Axel and Riley took the major step and climbed to the pole that is located in the middle of the dancefloor. We stayed there for like 30 seconds, but it was fun for that..LOL..We did also dance in a normal manner on the dancefloor, so no worries. I slept over at Axel's place, since in the morning there was a bit to clean up after the party.

Since the bling bling party was also sort of our bday party (and well, it turned out that Tamuna, Axel's housemate, had hers on the 15th June, so she was allowed to celebrate with us:) We got some very nice gifts. Bath duck, cute little pig, a sun hat, a flower that sings happy bday, and a gorgeous frame with pics from the exchange spring. Thank you all! I really appreciate it, although my suitcase doesn't:)

oh oh oh...big news. On the exam concerning Communication in and about the Netherlands, I got 9.5 and my final grade was 10, you can't get better than that. I'm very happy, especially since attaining the best grade here is made more difficult than in Finland. Hmm hmm.. what else.

Well, we had a movie night on Thursday with Riley and Axel, watched The Holiday. The second time around was not as sad as the first time. If you liked Love Actually or/and Notting Hill, you'll love the Holiday as well! worth to see, def.

On Friday, I had dinner at Rik's place with some friends and later,(after som kinky stories) we went to a jazz bar in the city centre. Yesterday, the final of UEFA under 21 was played in Groningen and Holland won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There was a huge stage at Grote Markt(the main square) and different artist were palying there throughout the day. Armin van Buuren (a famous DJ) played during the night!!!!!!!woah! I've ever liked trance, but this was goooooood. The crowd was wild and yeah, the feeling was so excellent.I'm starting to understand the music. Afterwards, we went with a big group of exchange students to Enzo( a cool club) and I was home around 5 in the morning

The upcoming week will be different. I'm going to Brussels (5h by train) from Thursday to Sunday, looking forward to see Finnish EYP people again and well...the sale in Brussels will not hurt either.Before Brussels, I need to do well on my retake of International Business Law, so keep your fingers(and preferably toes )crossed for me.

Hmmm..writing this entry has taken ages. but well, that's what you get when you don't update regularly, so I don't complain:)

Waiting for less rainy days,

yours,

Anna

My upcoming week

2007-06-11T09:53:00.000+01:00

Monday Monday....a brand new week a head. Let's see what's on the programme. ONE lecture (today between 13-15), ONE group meeting Wednesday at 14, ONE Bling-bling party on Saturday.
LOL, as you can see, my week is already now overbooked(as if) But yeah, the highlight of the week is definetly going to be the party of me and Axel. Double A productions proudly presents: Bling-bling Bday party:) The both of us wanted to throw a party while being here and our bdays are first later in the year, so we thought why not celebrating it now:) It's going to be off the hook! I'll give you a detailed description later, our guest(VIP) list at the moment consists of 30 names.

Hmm...there's not that much that has happened. Had an exam on Friday, the questions about the Dutch communication were as special as our professor, but I did write a whopping 10 pages, so I think I should be through the course. On Friday night, me, Axel, Donna and Riley (Satu joined us later) went to the park and had a picnic there with candles.....it was such a nice atmosphere, almost magical. Me and Satu went to the city centre to meet Mila and her Bulgarian friends. The bar we went to (Shadrak) got first crowded at 3am., very interestng.
On Saturday, it was beach time..and breaking news: I didn't get sunburnt! I think I might have created a personal record, so I should cherish this achievement.
Yesterday, Axel came to my place to write on our Business Ethics paper and afterwards, we did planning for our smashing party.

I do need to confess something....I have started to miss home...not in a heartbreaking, extensive way, but to such extinct that I wouldn't mind seeing my friends, hanging out in Espoo and Helsinki again. We are still planning to do some small trips here in the Netherlands and even within Groningen to make the best out of the last weeks here. The three islands in the North ´should be worth a visit, apparently there's an outdoor swimming pool in the city centre of Groningen, which would be nice to see etc. etc.
I'll also try to do my best while reading for my exams, to go BOMmen and other classes in ACLO, since exercise is good and it needs to match with my chocolate consumption.

Have a sunny week!
-Anna

Visitors:)

2007-06-02T10:36:00.001+01:00

Hi there!
It has been one unforgettable week. First Jakub visiting me for a day and then Carita for six days. Groningen does not have that many sights, but the ambiance in the city got to be experienced. That's exactly what I feel that I managed to do with my visitors.
First of all, a massive thanks to Vojta, Jakub and Michael for the gorgeous card with pics you had made for me. Such nice pics and memories:)
With Jakub, we went to Sally O'Briens to watch the Champions league final, followed by drinks (2 for 1) in Rumba's patio. After a late breakfast the next day, Jakub and I drove to the train station(or Jakub drove and I sat in the back). I waved Jakub : A bientôt, since I'm going to Prague in July...yay!
Carita arrived an hour later(Thursday, a week ago) I didn't almost recognize her, that tanned skin/bleached hair combo. I guess a month in Mexico and some weeks in Spain did theirs. So our week in short, a bbq party with some young Dutch guys(who behaved like brats), partying a lot in different clubs, one afterparty until 6 o'clock at a Dutch guys house, whose name we never really got right. Visit of the Contemporary Art museum Groninger and participation of an installation that measured our brain waves. We had French dinner at Axel's place on Sunday and on Saturday, we had lamb at Rik's place.
The best part must've been the fact that Carita functioned as my stereo, when sitting on back of my bike and yeah, it was also pretty therapeutic to have someone to analyze life(and guys) with while biking;)

On Tuesday, the day before Carita's departure, we took the train to Amsterdam and spent the day there. We were extremely tired from Monday night's partying in Rumba (2h of sleep is not the ideal basis for a whole day with sightseeing). We stayed over the night in a hostel called "Inner Amsterdam", we shared the room with two American guys from Philadelphia and a girl from Texas. Especially since being tired, I'm not sure whether me and Carita managed to match the guys enthusiasm (especially concerning weed smoking)LOL.

When checking out on Wednesday morning, I bumped into a guy from my business school. He had been on exchange in Canada this spring and was now travelling a bit in Europe. Once again, it's a small world.

On Wednesday, it was time to cut my wayyyyy too long fringe and I put in some highlights as well. In the evening, there was the last theme party of the spring in Rumba: Around the world. People were supposed to dress up according to their countries colours or ttypical outfits. I found a pretty sundress in H&M which was blue and had white dots on it= La Finlande :) Axel was a true Frenchie with moustache (drawn with my eyeliner), cute blue/white stripy hat and a shirt. But still, we didn't win the price for best dressed..damn.

I'll try my best to post some pics, but for some reason I'm not very good in formatting them

BBQ on the roof of one the guys house: Barry, me ,Pascal and Carita

The view from the BBQ spot

A typical Monday night in Rumba , My Business Ethics group, we know how to combine business with pleasure;) Axel, me and Tuna(Turkey)

Me and Carita in Amsterdam, aren't we cute?;)

Btw, my new French house mate has arrived. He lived five days in our kitchen, since he came before the beginning of the month(when he's tenancy agreement started) It was pretty cute, that everytime I was starting to eat something I had cooked, he said: Bon appetit! felt sorry for him, since he had to sleep in the kitchen. But yet again, he knew that his room would be free from the beginning of the month and onwards.

Today there's supposingly a big party in on of the biggest student houses, Van houtenlaan. I guess I'll be going there, I should try to get as many school things done today as possible, so that I can party with good concience. I've been englecting school work a bit(or not only a bit) lately because of my visitors.

I guess this was all for this time. I hope there are still people who read my blog, since I've got lazier and lazier with the updates (thanks Siri for kicking my but now and then;)
Enjoy June!!!

yours,

Anna

May oh May

2007-05-15T17:55:00.000+01:00

Well well, what should I start with. The longer time it goes between entries, the harder it gets to write.
Last weekend was a sailing weekend organised by ESN Erasmus. What a weekend! We went to Sneek (supposingly one of the ten best watersport destinations in the world) on Friday and returned on Sunday evening. During the days we had the opportunity to see Sneek nightlife (been stared at since being foreigners), sail in both very windy and wet conditions and luckily also in more relaxed atmosphere . We had also good food (BBQ etc.) and in the evening of Saturday we had an evening programme, where all the boats had to present something. Our boat won with a Mastercard ad(getting wet: priceless) which came to my mind when I was shivering completely soaked (my underwear included) on the boat with sexy blue lips.
Sailing is really a teamsport, I did enjoy it, but I couldn't imagine to have it as a hobby.

Yesterday was the day for the big football match. I was quite nervous on beforehand, but it wore off soon after the game started. It's all or nothing and after the first half, the score was 0-0
Unfortunatly, the opposing team had a player who run waaaaaay faster than I did, and it was not always an easy job to take the ball from her. So the final score was 2-0. We had another chance next Monday to beat those TBT girls....grrrr. After the football match I went to Riley's place(she's Chines and lives with 12 Dutch students) she had cooked with Donna(Taiwan) a delicious Chinese dinner:) The student house was something I've never seen before, they actually had a real bar there, dim lights and 15 different kinds of alcohol...we sat on bar stools when we had our dinner. If you've lived in such a student house during your studies, you can really say that you've lived a "real" studentlife.

My new period started last week (or on the week before that...time flies) got group work in both courses and they are both going to be time-consuming. Luckily, the topics are interesting and it seems like my groups Business Ethics: Tuna(Turkey) and Axel and Emerging markets(two Dutch guys, me and Axel) are harworking, so it shouldn't be impossible.

I got to know today that Justin(my housemate) leaves for Ireland in June and there comes a 19 year-old French guy to live here for 3 months. He's going to do an internship here. It's weird to think how fast the spring has passed and how the summer is almost here. I do miss somethings and people from Finland(haha..it was about time that I admitted that) but I know that I'll be back in a couple of months, which will leave me more than enough time to miss things from Groningen. The grass is always greener on the other side.

Next week, both Jakub and Carita will come and visit me (yay!)Groningen is waiting for you! I just need to figure out where I can get hold of extra bikes.
For those (lucky bastards) of you whose summer has already began: HAVE A SPLENDID TIME, enjoy non-university related stuff and most importantly, RELAX=)

lots and lots of love,
Anna

Amel Bent: Ma philosophie

2007-05-05T12:42:00.000+01:00

I introduced the lyrics posting on my blog for some months ago. So I decided to continue with it, this time with a gorgeous song, introduced to me by Axel. I'm afraid that it'll mostly please the ones who have a knowledge of the French language. Anyways, the song is about staying strong, believing in yourself in good and worse and how you should keep your head up high (aka lift up your fist = le poing levé) Download it=)

Je n'ai qu'une philosophie
Être acceptée comme je suis
Malgré tout ce qu'on me dit
Je reste le poing levé
Pour le meilleur comme le pire
Je suis métisse mais pas martyre
J'avance le coeur léger
Mais toujours le poing levé

Lever la tête, bomber le torse
Sans cesse redoubler d'efforts
La vie ne m'en laisse pas le choix
Je suis l'as qui bat le roi
Malgré nos peines, nos différences
Et toutes ces injures incessantes
Moi je lèverai le poing
Encore plus haut, encore plus loin

{Refrain:}
Viser la Lune
Ça me fait pas peur
Même à l'usure
J'y crois encore et en coeur
Des sacrifices
S'il le faut j'en feraiJ'en ai déjà fait
Mais toujours le poing levé

Je ne suis pas comme toutes ces filles
Qu'on dévisage, qu'on déshabille
Moi j'ai des formes et des rondeurs
Ça sert à réchauffer les coeurs
Fille d'un quartier populaire
J'y ai appris à être fière
Bien plus d'amour que de misère
Bien plus de coeur que de pierre

Je n'ai qu'une philosophie
Être acceptée comme je suis
Avec la force et le sourire
Le poing levé vers l'avenir
Lever la tête, bomber le torse
Sans cesse redoubler d'efforts
La vie ne m'en laisse pas le choix
Je suis l'as qui bat le roi
{au Refrain, x3}

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh yeah, one more thing, I bought tickets to Prague a couple of days ago. I'm going there in July after my exams. It's going to be awesome, I'm going to meet friends there (Jakub, Vojta, Monika) and explore the beautiful city of Prague.

Got to go, Business Ethics assignment about my own ethical principles is waiting......
Peace out

Facebook<3<3

2007-04-28T12:13:00.000+01:00

Yes, I'm a weak person, yes, I joined facebook purely because I got so curious about it after having received almost ten invitations. And well, the site in general exceeded my expectations. You really feel that the whole world is there. You can build up your profile, write to your friends, search lost contacts etc. etc. It's also a great way of discover that "hey, those two know each other as well" You've also the possibility to state how you know each other:)
So yeah, if you aren't in fb yet, create your own profile. Unfortunatly, I wont take any responsibility for missed deadlines nor sleepless nights with profile browsing.

This week we've have beautiful weather again. I heard from somewhere that it's going to get colder though next week. I hosted a Finnish dinner on Tuesday, after my exam. Felt really alive, when after the exam I did sports and went directly home to peel potatoes(4kg of them)
I had around 8 friends over, which is pretty much close to the maximum capacity of out kitchen. I made meatballs, mashed potatoes and berrykvarg (well, the same menu as on the Finnish dinner me and my cousine cooked in utrecht)it was a great succes this time as well and the meatballs were almost wellshaped..lol
After the dinner, around 1 am. we went to a reggae club, but there was not much going on. But all in all, I was very happy with the evening!

On Thursday evening, me, Axel and Pawel did drinking in the park. Axel keeps on telling that it's not a teenager thing in France "it's my everyday life", so I wont write here that it's teenagerish to drink in a park.;)Well, it was funny though that just as we had opened our winebottles, two guys stopped in front of us(regualr clothes) took their patches from their pockets and said "this is the police. you're not allowed to drink here" So we collected our bottles and moved to the next park:)
It was not easy to wake up to play badminton the next morning(11-12). All three of us decided that it's better to book the court for some better day and time of the day in the future. But you learn through your mistakes, right?! On our Dutch lecture we learnt about cursing and insulting(bad language in general) in Dutch. We had also a round where everybody was supposed to tell what they'd say in their mother tongue if you'd hit your thumb with a hammer:) :):) it was a very nice collection of nasty words on the blackboard. After the lesson, we did some shopping with Satu and Lexane and in the afternoon, our dear club Rumba had afternoondrinks.
Tell me, what's better than enjoying an icecold mojito in a cosy inneryard on a sunny day. exactly, the correct answer is: nothing is better than that.

Ok, my laptop is making some rather strange noises. I don't like it:( maybe it wants to tell me that it's time for a break. Enjoy your weekend!
and for the peeps in Finland: HAUSKAA VAPPUA! GLADA WAPPEN!

hugs
xannax

Exams and the OC

2007-04-22T14:17:00.000+01:00

In a way I feel like I'm running out of ideas how to spice up my blog. Got any suggestions?
yeah yeah, I'll publish some new photos soon:)

At the moment, I'm trying to focus on my International Business Law, the exam (mainly consisting of multiple choice questions) is on Tuesday and I do want to avoid the feeling of stupidity. The feeling you have when you (after answering the questions you think you know the answer for) start staring at the walls, preferably out of the window, realise that the guy in front of you is writing non-stop, like the girl next to you as well. So now I'm doing my best to avoid this kind of situation where fairytale creating, instead of straight facts, seems to be necessary.

Haha...I can share with you a couple of funny quotes, which show the directness of the Dutch people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a guide in a Cheesefarm, named Hani, in her 50's, for our international group:
H: So where do you come from?
-France
H: Bonjour! other countries?
-Germany, Sweden etc. etc. (everytime she knew smth in the language of the country..until)
-Uganda!
H:[stops to think] oh, you're black!

Another situation, in Dutch communication class, whenever we answer questions, the teacher often asks where we come from. A white guy with dreadlocks answers one questions and teacher says:

"So where you from, I guess it's not Jamaica?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to emphasise that the Dutch really don't mean anything bad about this non-politic correctiviness. They just speak out what they think and pops into their mind and that's it.

Oh, I guess I haven't told you about how I failed my Politics and Government in the EU- course:( Got a 5 and you need to have 5.5 as a grade to pass. Am mostly pissed off at myself, should've studied more, 'cause the questions were more demanding than I expected. Now the retake is on 6th July, I migth have another exam on the same day, so it suckssssss...
Well, I really hope that my exam in Quality Management is through. No matter what, I do need to gain 30 ECTS here..so got to be more focused

Yesterday, I watched the last episode of the OC ever. I felt really down afterwards, almost like closing a book you wished never ended. Though the quality of the programme sank after Marissa's death, I still did consider Orange County as a parallell universe. Sanna, don't worry, I wont reveal any details about the last episode here:) It's funny how attached you can get to some tv series like that!

But now, I got to continue reading about the breaches of contract, Intellectual Property Rights etc. I'll treat you with a long and sensible entry after my exam is done:)

Sunday hugs
Anna

My Celebrity collage..LOL

2007-04-14T17:58:00.000+01:00

Family affair

2007-04-13T21:05:00.000+01:00

Good evening,

+20 degrees today, it is summer and it's the middle of April. SUN SUN SUN.
got to love it.
A part from enjoying the gorgeous weather, I've enjoyed of the company of my mum and my brother Aapo from last Sunday till yesterday(Thursday). I do enjoy being a host and showing the city. We walked mostly in the city centre, went to a Flea market arranged on the 2nd Easterday, me and Aapo visited the Stripmuseum(Comics) We did also have a walk in a really nice park, that's around a kilometre away from my place.
I realized that family can bring both your best and your worst parts of yourself. I mean, I wasn't being always fair to my brother, and sometimes I found myself nagging about minor things:/
The good thing with family is that they take you for who you are and they wont let you down, no matter what:)
Miraculously enough, we fitted well in my room, my mum in my bed, me in a spare mattress and Aapo in a inflatable one. It was a puzzle every night to put out the mattresses, but we managed it just fine. So for the future's sake, it's tested now: I can accomodate two people(even three) in my room!

Yesterday, we took the train to Amsterdam and when it was time to leave the luggage to the lockers, it didn't work out. For some strange reason, the lockers can only be paid for by chipknip, pin card , visa and master (don't ask me what the two first ones are, some brilliant Dutch inventions, they should go for Visa Electron instead!) Well, the locker where we put our things didn't accept my mum's visa, so we ended up dragging a huge suit case with us the whole day.
Well luckily we're no whimps, so we managed relatively well:)

Me and Aapo spent some hours in a Science Museum (NEMO), they had many different exhibitions and one of them was about teenagers...it was a brilliant one. You could create with a computer spots to a person, play with two tongues(by sticking your arm in) and pretend that they were kissing. All the fact sheets on the walls were also hilarious( different kissing styles and their names) The "roughest" part was peepshow area, were you had booths and children between 12 and 18 years could get coins and they could go in and watch some filmclips(have no idea what it was all about) My brother is soon reaching his teenager years, for him, the exhibition was slightly embarrasing. I played well my role as an embarrasing big sister, laughing and pointing all the time and trying out all the different stuff:)

Later, my mum wanted to go to Waterlooplein( A very famous market) me and Aapo soaked up the sun in a nice terrace. I must admit, that the guys that I saw in Amsterdam were seriously hot, trendy and good looking. Both tourists and locals, I wonder how I could get some of them to Groningen as well:)
After Waterlooplein mum and Aapo headed for the hotel(carrying around the suitcase got too much at that point) I enjoyed the urban atmosphere for a couple of more hours (and bought a new bikini ) before taking the train back to Groningen.
I went directly from the transtation to Axel's place. Axel had baked such a delicious cake(well to be honest, he never makes anything that wouldn't be delicious) and we were around ten people there, getting all of our share of the cake. yummy:)

This weekend is dedicated to studying. I have an exam on the 18th(Quality Management, part B) and 24th (International Business Law). Next week (after my exam on Wednesday)we do have a 70's party in Rumba, bought a really cool shirt from H&M discount rack (-50%)for that purpose.
It's sooo hideous, that it starts to be cool.

Lots of hugs and kisses,

Anna

An answer to your requests: A picture entry

2007-04-06T16:12:00.000+01:00

This entry is dedicated to pictures:) A massive thanks goes to Axel, who has been so kind and shared his pic gallery with me. This is one hot ass pic, that's why it deserves to be published on the blog. Me and Axel are being more or less ourselves on this pic taken in Volendam:)

This pic is taken a couple of weeks back on Sally O'Briens, our beloved Irish bar. The pic is taken on St.Patrick's Day. People from the left: Olivia(US), Lexane(FR),me,Satu(FI) and Pawel (PL)

International Student Night @ Rumba, a regular Monday so to say. This is my second living room, honestly:) For my friends in Espoo, I got to say that this is my Aladdin substitute here in Groningen. And can you believe it, beer for 50 cents until 1 am!! and cocktails two for the price of one. You can't nothing but love Mojitos , Frozen Margaritas and Orgasms that they make.

This is where I leave my bike, when we're out partying. This bikepark is located in the main square, Grote Markt and the bar district is on the right side. It's a challenge to find your own bike in the middle of the night. Which row was it?on which side?

This is Groningen at its' best on a sunny day. The picture is taken from one of the bridges

This is a picture from ACLO, our dear BOMmen(move to the music) class. Me and Axel are in the right corner.As you can see, the hall is huge and the instructor is in the middle. This week I did BOMmen twice, played badminton and attended a football practice...very proud:)

This is Academy building or Academy gebouw as it'd be in Dutch.It's the main building of the university, I've only had one class here.this picture is not telling the whole truth, since usually the whole yard is filled with bikes.

That's all folks! I'll try to post pics more frequently. As the saying goes: A picture can tell more than a thousand words.

Happy Easter!

-Anna

The beauty of Messenger + a bday out of ordinary

2007-04-01T21:31:00.000+01:00

Good evening,

I understood the previous day that it is very likely that I know now more about my friends and how they are doing in Finland than when I am staying in Espoo.
The reason for that is our beloved MSN Messenger and its' little brother Skype.

When I get home from my lectures/a night out/BOMmen class/shopping, I fickle with my keys(there are way too many of them), open the door to my room and throw my self over my laptop, turn it on(I hear the ah! so familiar sound of it starting to hurrrrrrr...) and there I am, signing myself to messenger, knowing that the next hours will just disappear.
Bling
the green man comes up
bling
a new friend is online
tidididiiddd
a friend calls on skype, we talk for 30min
bling
my mum wants to share the latest news with me

The same pattern repeats itself more or less everyday. Please, don't get me wrong, I do have a real social life and activities. It is just that sitting infront of your laptop is such an easy solution.
If there is somebody who has a similar kind of addiction or problem,please, don't hesitate to contact me. I would love to try to restrict our dependency together:)

Ok, enough about messenger....concerning this week, I have been quite sick, especially in the beginning of the week. Strangely enough, I didn't manage to go to my football pracice on Monday, but I did go to Saras birthday in the evening=)
The funniest thing ever was the fact, that her real bday dinner was on Sunday, but she had told us Monday. So there we were, me, Axel and Peter, knocking on her door, with a bday card and bottles of wine, she opens it and the expression on her face!
She had really told us Monday and that's why two other guys showed up later as well. We ended up drinking and going to Rumba(what would a Monday night be without International Student Night!?)Oh well, as a true spontanious Italian Sara handled it really well and gave us flowers to express her regret for telling us the wrong day.

Otherwise, I had my exam on Friday about EU Politics and government. The questions concerned topics that I didn't know that much about(screw Laeken declaration) but I should pass. I seeked some comfort from Mango immediately after I left the exam hall:)
On Friday night, Marja-Maija came from Utrecht to visit me. After walking around in Groningen by night, our stop was Sally O'Briens...2 weeks without a cider, man, it was about time to get the taste of the sweet drink.
Yesterday(on Saturday) we walked around in the market and bought some delicious cherrytomatoes. We did also some other shopping and later in the night, we went clubbing to Shadrak with Satu, Axel and Peter. Finally, we hit the bed at 6 am, and woke up at 1pm, so we were pretty exchausted. A nice Sunday brunch :) me like.

It is getting really late, and I feel like sleeping, so I can be a good student (and sportswoman) tomorrow.
Have a nice week everyone!
See you online!

Yours,
Anna

The picture from Volendam 24.3.2007

2007-03-25T18:59:00.000+01:00

This is the picture I mentioned in my post "Voetbal, Volendam, Vriends" from the left: Lexane, Josefine,Axel, me and Satu. Sorry for the poor quality of the picture, it's a photo of a photo, so that explains it.

Voetbal, Volendam and Vriends

2007-03-25T17:56:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone,

The sun is shining outside, a beautiful SUnday afternoon BUT I'm home sick:( it's never nice to be sick, but especially not when it's nice weather outside. So, enjoy the spring and sun for me!

I promised to keep you updated on my football career, so I'll start with writing a couple of lines about last Monday's practice. I was well on time on the field, so I could have a couple of words with the coach. He turned out to be a man in his 50/60 years ( yeah, I know, he's not exactly like the coach in Bend it like Beckham!) and he said that the language wont be a problem.
The other girls started to come, it seemed like they were all friends from before and speaking this secret language(also known as Dutch) though standing in the same circle with them, I felt a bit out of place.
Luckily, after the practice started, I found out how fun it is to actually kick a ball around. We had different kind of ball control and passing the ball practice stuff. The girls did translate for me when needed and the coach could sometimes say a thing or two in English. Funnily enough, I often felt I understood what he said(usually thanks to the fact that he was showing it simultaneously) By the end of the football practice I did feel like a part of the team, can't wait till tomorrow!

On Friday night, Ruggero(my flatmate) inivted me to jon a dinner he was hosting in our kitchen, with some Wings people. Later in the night, some exchange students came, a couple of them live also in flats from the private market, right around the corner. I also met the first Norwegian guy here in Groningen and funnily enough, he was among the exchange students who bumped by on Friday. The people continued to a salsa party, but I made the smart decision of staying at home, since having to wake up at 7 o'clock the next morning. It was fun to see our kitchen being transferred from a quite place to a place filled with noisy people <3 I wouldn't mind having more Friday nights with visitors:)

After a miracle wake-up(can't remember the last time I had to wake up at 7!) it was time to head for Volendam. A small village north of Amsterdam, known for it's Catholic population. In our program(the trip was arranged by ESN Wings) we had a visit to a cheesefarm and smoke eel house. Oh my word, the cheesefarm was the worst "turistirysä" as we'd say in Finnish(meanign a truly touristic place) the house itself was soooo kitschy, just imagine a combination of plastic, wooden paintings and "we accept visa,mastercard,american express" signs.
The demonstration for how to make cheese and clogs(wooden shoes) took a bit over 30min. Otherwise, we could spend our time in the souvenir shop(3/4 of the house) I don't want to go back there, ever.
The village of Volendam was pretty. Houses and gardens looked so perfect. me, Axel, Lexane, Josefine and Satu ended up spendign a lot of time in the harbour, taking pics around lampposts lol. We even got the crazy idea of taking a picture in a studio, with traditonal Dutch clothing. Seriously, we look so out of place on the picture. Axel said that we look like 5 year olds, girls wearing white pilgrimhats, Satu pouring tea in a cup...me carrying buckets on my shoulders, Lxane holding tulips and Josefine with her edam cheese. Axel was in the middle playing Harmony...lol These pics with traditional clothing is not only a tourist thing, in the studio, there were many Dutch people as well.
The smoke eel house had also a short demonstration of how they smoke the fish and we got to taste the eel...have never had eel before, I didn't know people were actually eating eel (ankerias/ål) We were back in Groningen around 19:00. I just went home, 'cause I felt sick:( I knew that fever would come sneaking during the night.

I have an exam(Politics and government in the EU) coming up this Friday. Therefore, it's quite comical that it seems like all the bday parties and best parties in general will take place this upcoming week. Sara(an Italian girl) has her bday tomorrow, and Jennifer from Canada has a pink theme party for her bday on Wednesday. There's also a Fresh and fruity hiphop party on Thursday, that Axel found flyers for. I can't attend that one, it's for sure, since my exam is on 9 am in the morning. And on Wednesday, there's also a Ladies' night in Rumba with a male stripper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!hmm, I need to prioritise here.

The reason why my post is called Voetbal(football),Volendam and Vriends(friends) is that I've lately been once again been reminded of the beauty of friendships. The support and amount of kind words I've recived during the week has been overwhelming.! Thank you! Don't know how you can stand to listen to me whining:)A special thanks go to Anne who is forcing me to face the facts, though I often try to avoid them in one way or another.
It feels like I'm slowly starting to get my thoughts together and being able to move on.period.

Big hugs 2 all of u,
xannax

A new concept: Lyrics on my blog

2007-03-17T12:51:00.000+01:00

My dearest friends,

thought of sharing lyrics of a really beautiful song. When it came out(as a single) right before Xmas, MTV was playing the musicvideo non-stop. The song stopped me, since Hanken exchange students were heading back home for Christmas (and most of them didn't come back)
I feel that this song suits many situations, and you can relate to it easily. Well, that's my personal opinion. Some of you might be really fed up with the song, which is understandable since it has been played quite a bit on the radio. I'd still recommend you to take a closer look on the lyrics:

Nelly Furtado: "All Good Things (Come To An End)"

Honestly what will become of me
don't like reality
It's way too clear to me
But really life is daily
We are what we don't see
Missed everything daydreaming

[Chorus:]
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
come to an end
come to an
Why do all good things come to end?
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to an end?

Traveling I only stop at exits
Wondering if I'll stay
Young and restless
Living this way I stress less
I want to pull away when the dream dies
The pain sets it and I don't cry
I only feel gravity and I wonder why

[Chorus]

Well the dogs were whistling a new tune
Barking at the new moon
Hoping it would come soon so that they could
Dogs were whistling a new tune
Barking at the new moon
Hoping it would come soon so that they could
Die die die die die

[Chorus]

Well the dogs were barking at a new moon
Whistling a new tune
Hoping it would come soon
And the sun was wondering if it should stay away for a day 'til the feeling went away
And the sky was falling on the clouds were dropping and
the rain forgot how to bring salvation
the dogs were barking at the new moon
Whistling a new tune
Hoping it would come soon so that they could die.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Love,
Anna

Superduper spring and a stupid exam

2007-03-15T13:13:00.000+01:00

The week started with sunshine. Me, Axel, Pawel and Peter had decided to do badminton on early afternoon on Monday. We didn't know that we should have done a reservation, so they didn't have any courts left. Re-thinking was needed, so we asked whether we could do any other sports that day. We got a tennis court, which was located outside. On an ordinary day in Groningen this would have been a disaster..but this Monday was far from ordinary, +18 c and sunshine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So there we were, me and three gorgeous guys, playing tennis in the middle of March outside and it we couldn't have thought of anything else we'd have rather done:) well, I'd have wished that my tennis skills would've even been a tenth of Anna Kournikovas (after all, we do share the same name)

Then the clouds appeared(in the form of an exam, not in the sky)....after having played for two hours, I went to my Midterm exam in Quality Management...and oh my..We had 1h 45min and 18questions!!! and I'm telling you, the questions were not nice. Or what would you say about creating a three year TQM plan for a ship yard????or giving three definitions of quality word by word....It was more difficult than what I'm used to. The good thing is that, this part can be taken again on the real date of the exam. But then again, there'll be double as many chapters to learn by heart.:(

La grande finale, Monday night...time for International Student night in Rumba. Time to drink your sorrows(stupid exams) away. This time, with 60's theme. Not that many people were dressed up, but I had my babydoll (aka it-looks-like-I'm-pregnant) top with flower print on. THey had opened the inner yard of the club, so it was not nearly as overcrowded as it usually is. I talked with so many people. had such a blast. Axel remarked at some point that "haha..you're drunk, I can see it in your eyes"..So maybe I was a bit tipsy, but it isn't my fault that they make those frozen margaritas so good:) I was home after 5, the night flew by.

So that was my Monday in a nutshell...for the rest of the days this week, there has not been much going on. I've been reading for my courses. Had tea with Laura on Tuesday (finally, we managed to meet each other, I mean, we live in the same city!) Spent hour after hour on skype and msn and bought too much sweets on Jumbo.

Tonight, Pawel is making us a Polish dinner or at least pancakes with a Polish twist. Looking forward to that. On Sunday, there's going to be an Indonesian dinner. I think I'll ask the other Finns whether they'd have interest in making a big Finnish dinner, feel like our food culture has been neglected for far too long (especially by some EU politicians) It's time to make a change.
Next Monday I'll also start my professional football carreer, so keep checking this blog for regular updates:)

Much love,
Anna

Utrecht, voting, celebrities

2007-03-09T00:14:00.000+01:00

Time to update my blog. To start with, I've learnt to appreciate my bike in a new way. After breaking it on last Friday( I know, I know, should always check that there's nothing between the chain before starting to bike) and I got it fixed on Monday, it felt like heaven to get it back.

Last weekend was smashing! Utrecht is really a cool city, bigger than Groningen but still pittoresque. On Friday night me and Marja-Maija had dinner in a Chinese restaurant and the rest of the night we ended up exchanging experiences about our newly began exchange periods. FYI: Marja-Maija chose to come to the Netherlands after I had made the decision. Usually it has been me looking up to her(she's 2 years older than me), but clearly in this case it's the other way around)

On Saturday it was time to do some shopping in the Netherlands shoe capital. SO many gorgeous shoes, it's just a pity that my size(41) seems to be quite a common one and on the sale shoes there were not that many cute ones on my size left. M-M on the other hand found two pair of very cool leather boots for the discount price of one pair! In the evening we cooked a Finnish dinenr for around 10 people. Mashed potatoes, meatballs (you Swedes, meatballs belogn to us as much as they do to you;) and berry sour cream..mmmm. Our sauce was ketchup, but that's really authentic Finnish as well. The dinner was a success and later me, Marja-Maija and Adam ( a GOOD friend of M-M's) went to a night club called ACU.
Seriously, the strangest bar/nightclub ever. From the outside it looked like it''s the nest for alternative youth, who do demonstrations and are against animal testing. Well, after entering the club, we soon realized that this Saturday night it was (at least partially) taken over by Drag queens. Leopard prints, strong make-up, g-strings, glitter, promiscuous dance show, u name it. On the dancefloor, we were surrounded by lesbians and when we sat on the bar side, we had heavy-metal guys on the table next to us. I've never been to a bar with such a mixed customer base, that made the place really special!

So after returning home on Sunday, there's not that much that has happened. Me and Axel have continued our new and dear hobby, BOMmen. So for all of you pessimists out there(Read: Michi:) the healthy life style is here to stay. I got a new haircut on Tuesday. My fringe is cut shorter and the dry ends are gone;) and to all of my Finnish friends, I paid 18,50€ for that!!! I mean it's less than half of the price you pay in capital region in Finland. You really start wondering what they actually charge you for!

Today(Thursday) I did my duty as a good citizen(along with Satu) and gave our votes for the parliamentary election. We were able to do the voting here in Groningen today. Probably in the most posh hotel in town( it beats Kuunkehrän koulu 6-0) chandeliers, white walls, lovely furniture. That's the atmosphere where I always want to cast my vote;)

For the weekend, my plan is to read for my part exam in Quality Management(Monday). Many people are going to Rotterdam on a trip arranged by ESN wings. Wish I could go as well, but I feel like saving money and to study for my exam. Sanna ( a good friend of mine, for those who don't know her) was supposed to come this weekend to visit me, but the plane tickets got too expensive. So I'll be expecting her in May instead, right Sanna?!;)

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite
zzzZZZzzz

Yours,
Anna
ps: How could I forget! We had a Celebrity party on Tuesday and Axel took some great pics there. We were superchic with our sunglasses(that we basically didn't take away, though being indoors)I'll post pics here, when I get them:) I was dressed up like an airheaded hollywood bimbo with a chihuahua (aka the sof ttoy I got from Anne on my farewell party) in my handbag=)

Healthy lifestyle

2007-03-01T10:42:00.000+01:00

Hi ya,

I feel like there is not much going on at the moment. The courses have started now for real and as a consequence of that, people have assignments to hand in. I handed in a paper yesterday concerning the question "Are France and Germany bound to lead in Europe?" I'll get feedback today from the teacher and tomorrow I'll hold a presentation(the first presentation in ages)

Apart from that, I've set as a goal for myself to do sports at least twice a week. On Monday I attended a bodypump class (my legs are still hurting) and today will be BOMmen again. BOMmen is a lot like an aerobics class, it's just the fact that there must be around 200 people and you hardly see the instructor in the middle of the room...but it's more fun than bodypump.
This week I did also something crazy, I signed up for a ladies fotball team. It'll be a ten weeks course starting in the 19th March. So Emma if you're reading this, I'll let you become my second coach('cause they migth speak only Dutch during our trainings)

Tonight I've been invited to join an Australian dinner:) I'm really happy about that, I do like to visit these massive student houses, there's all the time something going on. I mean, I love the place where I live. It's just the fact that since the four of us, who are living here, have our own schedules, we usually only bump into each other in the kitchen and exchange a couple of words.
Though the standard of living in an international student house is a bit lower, I assume (the noise, tidyness etc.)they still have more of a community thing going on.

Yesterday I went to have dinner at McDonald's (I know I'm a bad person) My partner in crime was Axel. We do have this healthy life style going on, aerobics in ACLO, so we can afford now and then to do (or eat) a bit more unhealthy. I need to mention one thing about the McDo here: they don't have ketchup!!!!! only this mayonese kind of sauce and it costs extra! outrageous.

Take Care,
xannax

Dutch society

2007-02-23T17:13:00.000+01:00

Hello,

Once again, a week has passed by and I feel like it's time to give you the latest news:)
Last Friday evening I got my first fine ever!!! As far as I've understood, the Dutch love to fine ppl, if there's a reason, there's always a fine coming your way as well.
So, me and Andrew were riding our bikes to Axels place, when the police stopped us. They had clearly parked in the middle of the road, only to find people with no lights, to fine.(for your information: you need to have a light, both in the front and in the back in the bikes here)
I didn't even try to come up with excuses, I admitted that I knew that my light not working. So this police officer wrote the fine(and he really took his time) hahha..he somehow managed to misspell my streetname and number(it's 71 a, not e!) but it'll be interesting to see wether they find me or not...LOL

Another thing that I find rather strange is the church in my neighbourhood. I was being told on my first night here, that it actually isn't a church anymore. The building has been sold, and it has the function as a mosque.....and.....(to make it better) a fitness centre!!!
I've a hard time imagining something similar happening in Espoo, or in Finland in general. Chruches are there and they're not on the housing market.full stop.

Hmmm..the days fly by. This week I had dinner with a Dutch friend of mine, from EYP. He's going to Norway for 5months to work in a farm. I find it to be really brave, but I know that I could definetly never manage it. ( I'm an urban girl;)

Oh, last weekend. Amsterdam was actually a bit disappointing. I had been there in year 2001 and I remembered the city to be much more alive and exciting. Times change and so do I=) I've travelled a bit more now and I guess that with many cities it's so that your impression of them changes from visit to visit. I decided not to go to Utrecht after all(Sorry M-M). I'll probably go there sometime when I've the possibility to spend the whole weekend avec my dear cousine.

Next week, I'll have presentation with my group in Quality Management(Monday) and an individual presentation next Friday in my EU course. I'm happy that this week I've got my books sorted out and I can really start studying to each and every one of my courses (another question is: do I feel like reading?)

hugs
Have a lovely weekend!
-Anna

Ceramstraat + the end of the Introduction week

2007-02-16T16:24:00.000+01:00

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Let me tell you about my neighbourhood where I live in. I live in an area called Korrewegwijk, it's around 10min by bike from the centre. It's a calm area with houses with max.two floors, I live in one of those as well.I've a nice room, with a window to the inner yard. The neighbours have at least cats and rabbits and luckily there are some trees that I can have a look on as well:)
I'd very much like to show you some pictures, but since I haven't got a camera yet(I know, I've talked about getting one for ages, but somehow it seems like I've become far too Dutch, and find it too expensive;)

Yesterday evening we had a house meeting with Ruggero(an Italian, lived here for soon two years) and Justin (Hong Kong, is here for 5months, just like me) Froukje, our fourth flatmate is visiting her sister in Norway, so she wasn't on the meeting. Froukje is from the Netherlands, but she's Frisian (speaks Frisian as her mother tongue). The meeting basically consisted of going through the cleaning procedures of the house, when/how and by whom it should be done.

The introduction week I told you about on my previous post came to an end on Wednesday. We had a magnificent Dutch party on Monday. First we (group 2) celebrated the bday of our mentor Mirjam( we bought her a nice hat) and ate delicious cake made by Axel. We were dressed up in crazy orange costumes, which made us to be the target of the paparazzies when we entered the club..Now I know how Paris Hilton feels every day (except from the fact that she doesn't wear a gigantic orange joker hat) Our definitive star of the evening was Satu aka Miss Holland, later adopting the nickname queen of the Bitches. She wore a tiara, orange string made of a plastic flag and a Holland scarf around her;)

On Tueday I cooked for Axel, Satu and Andrew. We were supposed to go to a language class in the evening, but we ended up eating too much of spaghetti bolognese. hehe, I didn't want to scare ppl off by serving Finnish food =)maybe next time.
Wednesday was Valentine's Day, we watched first a Dutch movie(can't remember the name) it reminded me of the Swedish movie Jallajalla..so you got to laugh a lot. At the Valentine's party we all got numbers, so you could send secret greetings to each other. Let's just say, that I got quite a few notes from the same person and later on a rose as well, must admit that it was a Valentine's Day I wont forget easily:)

Tomorrow will be the time for Amsterdam!!! I might go to Utrecht as well, to visit my dear cousin Marja-Maija (yes, we Ristiluoma's are really conqueiring the Netherlands) and come back first on Sunday, don't know yet.

Keep those comments coming,
Take Care
Anna

Groningen

2007-02-12T00:46:00.000+01:00

Dear friends,

So I finally found blog that I creatd for some months ago. I'll try to start writing in it more regularly. The last days have been one big bumpy rollercoaster ride. From salsa workshops to desperate attempts to open my outer door at 5am in the morning(I managed after 30min, damn, the locks are different here)
The city itself is AWESOME, the bar district is really cool and the atmosphere generally is really friendly. I'll strongly recomemnd you to come and visit me('cause you'll do that ,right?!) later in the spring, 'cause the city will most likely blossom up even more.
Our introduction week has been a great success this far, our mentors are really taking care of us. SInce we're around 150 students taking part in the week, we're divided into 10 groups. Group number 2 has shown its extreme potential! we were the ones who took over the dancefloor on pub crawl, we were the ones who sang karaoke four-five times. My solo in Kylie Minogues : In your eyes, was memorable..lol.
Tomorrow the lectures will start, I've only lectures on three days of the week, otherwise I'll start doing sports really soon(it'll happen, it HAS to happen) I'm going to follow courses during the first period in Politics and government in the EU, Quality management and the Idea and Reality of the Nation state (and maybe Communication in and about the Netherlands) we'll see, we'll see.

Before ending this post (and going to much needed sleep...ZZZzzzZZZ) I just need to thank you for the farewell party a week ago. Thank you so much for being there, your kind wishes and presents and everything was really overwhelming..Though meeting new things and new people all the time, you're in my mind.

Good night
-Anna

This is the beginning

2006-10-24T13:14:00.000+01:00

I decided to jump on the popular wave of blogwriting. I have no idea what this is going to be like. I created this blog mostly for the purpose of informing people about what I'm doing during my exchange in Groningen(The Netherlands) next spring.
At the moment, I need to start reading Leadership, I mean, seriously reading, though I love the subject. I'm so mixing up all those different theories. It doesn't help that I experienced a marvellous week in an EYP session in Tampere, and of course, I had no time to read or reflect about things concerning life outside EYP.

So back to reality,
yours,
xannax