End of November, Welcome December!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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:)

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