Freitag, 25. Dezember 2009
Music
VIVO: In October I heard that the Finnish national youth orchestra needed still violas, got the notes only 3 days in advance and then there were 3 days of rehearsals and one big concert with the flying dutchman (fliegender Holländer/ lentävä hollantilainen), a Tschaikowsky symphony and songs by Mahler, thus a quite demanding program with few practices. The time was also too short to get to know the people well.
YLIOPISKUNNAN SOITTAJAT: The academic orchestra means more to me than the weekly rehearsals. Also nice free-time activities belong to it and it is my best opportunity to speak Finnish and get to know the Finnish life. The people are very nice and I felt welcome in the "altto" (viola) section. We played "Mathis der Maler" by Hindemith, ouverture and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde (Wagner) and a song by the Finnish composer Merikanto.
In contrast to the AOV (academic orchestra in Göttingen) we often just played through the pieces during the weakly rehearsals, but the rehearsal weekend was much more efficient. Then we also had lunch together and went to a bar in the evening.
The first concert took place in the big festive hall of the university, the second in a church in Tampere, so we made a day trip to another city. Unfortunately, both concerts were a bit unclean in the intonation, but all in all ok (AOV is better, though, I would say). However, a dinner or the bus trip after the concerts were both nice.
The orchestra is elaborately organized with lots of tasks for the members so that it works well. During the "syyskokous" (autumn assembly) all the functions were elected. The whole long meeting was of course in Finnish and I could not understand everything. We were supposed to write 2 names on a paper. There was only 1 paper with 1 name, I had written it, and everybody was laughing. Later somebody suggested me for "huivitoimikunta" and "kalustonhoitaja". I had no clue what that means and I did not even understand the explanation. Much later I found out that I am supposed to help with others to construct and prepare the concerts and tidy up afterwards. The other task is to prepare food on special orchestra events (highlight: christmas dinner).
It is nice to be integrated with some little task, but not as much to do as in the FSR in Göttingen!
STRING QUARTETT: Together with three others from YS we played as a string quartet "light music" while elegant people were eating from a buffet. We did not get any food :-( I had already missed playing some chamber music. But this one gig was not comparable to my string quartet in Hannover. I would like to find a chamber music ensemble in the spring term.
LISTENING: Living in the capital offers good opportunities to listen to good concerts. Outstanding was the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra with Schubert and Brahms in the tempeliaukiokirkko (church in the rocks). I was extremely lucky to get the very last ticket in the outsold concert :-) Once I also listened to my cousin Emil's concert in the music academy.
University
- Introduction to Quantum Field Theory: basics for particle physics. The lecture was extremely good because Anca explained every detail.
- Theoretical Particle Physics: this lecture does not exist in Göttingen so I am really happy that I could hear it in Helsinki. Masud did not show every step but gave a lot of motivation for the principles.
- FYMM 3: advanced mathematical methods in physics. Very useful course where the applications of mathematical concepts were more important than their proofs, thus optimized for physics students.
- Cosmology 1: I listened just for fun, but didn't follow this lecture seriously.
- Suomi Jatkokurssi 2: Finnish continuation course where we didn't only study grammar like conditional passive and sentence equivalent participle and infinitive constructions, but also practiced speaking and learned a lot about Finland.
All courses included weekly homework as in Germany, but here the homework points contribute to 20-25% to the final grade. Some courses had midterm exams. The correction of the homework was not as strict as in Germany and another difference is that always the teaching assistant/ "Hiwi" (PhD student) presents the solution.
Most of the time the courses had a remarkably good didactical structure. I had been wondering if it becomes apparent also at university that Finland won the PISA test, but it seems indeed to be a country of education. Only in the beginning of the semester the courses started a bit slowly.
After 7 weeks there was a so called "period break", but I had 2 lectures and an exam and afterwards some free days. The second period also lasted 7 weeks. I appreciated this period break because in Göttingen I usually felt quite exhausted in the middle of the semester. While in Göttingen the exams were after Christmas, now all of them before.
- disadvantage: 4 big exams within 9 days don't leave enough time to study everything thoroughly and prevent a bit the pre-Christmas atmosphere.
- advantage: now 4 fully free weeks around Christmas are a very welcome time to relax and to travel :-)
Although a "Sie" exists in the Finnish language, it is hardly ever used (only very respectfully for elderly people). So it was rather strange in the beginning to address also profs by their first name and "du". A typical beginning of an email is then just "Hei," without any name.
Big update
Donnerstag, 17. Dezember 2009
Real winter
Dienstag, 13. Oktober 2009
Golden October
Especially on such a cold day it was nice to sit in a café with my two Finnish language partners Emmi and Laura talking about politics in Germany, winter in Finland, differences of courses at German and Finnish universities, this and that ... Next week we want to see a movie together at the German Film Festival in the Goethe institute! A good plan for cold and dark evenings :-)
WINTER!!
However, today we had the first SNOW! In October, unbelievable. Yet, it didn't remain on the ground, but melted immediately. One morning when I went running, some bridges and parts of the grass were already frozen.
Helsinki
We visited the Russian-Orthodox church, the white cathedral ...
Another boat trip
Alissa and me (sometimes we have been taken for sisters):
Stockholm
Montag, 12. Oktober 2009
Weekend in Sweden: Uppsala
In the evening there was a party in her corridor.
1 week in Köln
Weekend in Hannover/ Göttingen
2 hours in Riga
First of all, the main reason for my journey back to Germany was a kind of "holiday course" about supersymmetry in Köln (in Germany they still have their semester break), but I combined it with many other trips and meetings.
And then why Riga if I was travelling to Germany? Well, on Friday 25.9. I flew with Air Baltic and had to change flight in Riga. During the 1 hour from Helsinki I could see the Gulf of Finland and Estonia. Although Latvia has the currency Lats, I could pay a coffee at the airport in Euros and got the change in Lats. I read in a magazine in the plane that they want to introduce the Euro in 2 years.
The sight on the second flight from Riga to Hannover was so good that I could see the sparsely inhabited countryside of the Balticum and even the narrow headland near Kaliningrad (Königsberg). Yes, Helsinki is not only far in the north, but also in the east.
Finally I arrived at lunchtime at home.
Orchestra rehearsals
I thought every Finnish orchestra would play Sibelius (most famous Finnish composer) regularly, but in this term we play music by exclusively German composers: Wagner and Hindemith with German indications like "Sehr langsam" ;-)
big update
Dienstag, 15. September 2009
Ylioppilaskunnan Soittajat
Many violinists and violoncello players were practicing in the room for warming up, but I was the only violist. Before I started playing, I was asked several questions in Finnish, e.g. why I had a Finnish name. However, the people were nice and they told me that I should come tomorrow to the first rehearsal :-)
I am really happy to have the possibility to play the viola here and I hope to get to know nice Finnish students in the orchestra!
Finnish course
Nuuksio Kansallispuisto

Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund (the early bird gets the worm) - we got up early and reached Nuuksio nationalpark (http://www.luontoon.fi/page.asp?Section=5131) near Espoo after one hour by local train and bus. The sunshine was particularly beautiful in the morning. From the bus stop we had to walk 2 km, but the air smelled already so Scandinavian and I found the first blueberries and strawberries and collected them like the "Children from Bullerby" on a grass stalk. At the entrance of the national park there was an information point where we asked which hiking route was the best. The woman answered "all". So we chose at first the yellow one (7km), along several calm lakes, forests, bridges, planks, blueberries.
Afterwards we walked on a steep path (green, 2km) and the red one (2km). Many people were there to collect not only blue- and cranberries, but also buckets full of mushrooms.
Montag, 14. September 2009
Seurasaari
My weekend was really like holiday in Finland :-) I was outside in the nature nearly all the time. On Saturday, 12.09. I cycled to Seurasaari together with my neighbours Jan and Manu from the flat above mine. We live in the capital but it took less than half an hour to reach this beautiful, bicycle-free island.
Music
Tomorrow I will have an audition for the students orchestra Ylioppiskunnan Soittajat. I have been practising Bach and Brahms in the last time and today I played for my flatmates and our neighbours from upstairs as a final rehearsal.
After the audition I want to search for a viola teacher. I really miss the viola lessons! But in this city is so much music that I am confident to find someone.
I was thinking about joining a choir, but then I noticed myself (!) that it would be a bit too much program if I also wanted to study, learn Finnish, play the viola, travel through Finland, spend time with my flatmates,... Consequently I didn't go to any choir rehearsal.
Orientation
The motto of the orientation -organised by Resonanssi - was Monopoly: In groups we had to find several streets and places which occur in the Finnish monopoly game. There the tutors had prepared funny games and tasks for us. Afterwards there was a nice party.
Courses
In the first lesson every teacher asks if there is anybody who wishes the course to be held in English. That is good. But I would also like to participate in a Finnish seminar, unfortunately I haven't received an answer yet.
Tomorrow my Finnish course will start: 6 hours per week!
Opening Ceremony
In the afternoon there was the Opening Carnival - no carneval like in Venice, but plenty of students organisations were presenting themselves. There are e.g. political groups, associations of students from the different regions of Finland and groups for the departments. I joined Limes and Resonanssi, which organize parties, games, orientation rallyes, sauna events for physics students. Addionally I got my ESN card (Erasmus Student Network) so that I can take part in their trips for example to Lapland and St Petersburg.
Later free wine and pizza were offered in the university main building. Furthermore some chamber music was performed. I asked 3 students with violin cases (in Finnish :-) ) if their orchestra needed still violists. Yes, they do,so I will have my audition as an entrance exam for Ylioppilaskunnan Soittajat on Tuesday. Let's see...
Jyväskylä
From the train and car I could already see beautiful lakes and forests, but more about the Finnish nature 1 week later!
Sonntag, 13. September 2009
Dilemma
My last week was full of events!
Mittwoch, 9. September 2009
Finnish
I also take part in the ALICE program: Academic Language and InterCultural Exchange. German and Finnish students teach each other their language and culture! Because there were more interested Finnish students, I have now two nice Finnish tandem partners. Laura studies German and Emmi studied in Berlin during the last year so that both of them are extremely good at German and we can discuss about complicated topics. On the other hand, they will teach me Finnish and talk with me about simple topics of the Finnish life. Tomorrow we are going to meet in a café for the first time and I am looking forward to practicing Finnish and learning about the culture in such a relaxed and self-determined way :-)
Erasmus
ERASMUS - commonly associated with lots of parties: yes, of course also here are many of them. However, the beer costs 4 euros and the music isn't always so good, but therefore extremely loud.
Further on, I like living in the international students' hostel. I usually have dinner with my nice flatmates and we often have visitors from other flats.
Dienstag, 8. September 2009
Food
I am really delighted with the mensa food: It is tasty, healthy and you can take as much salad, whole-grain bread, water, rice, potatoes, noodles as you want and one glass of milk or juice is also included. In Finland there are 3 kinds of milk: rasvaton (fat-free), kevyt/ ykkös (low-fat with 1%) and täys (full-fat with 3%). While the former tastes like water, the latter (in a red package) is considered as the "evil" milk...
Helsinki
Update of the last week
Mittwoch, 2. September 2009
Eindrücke
- Mit dem Abhol-Service, Willkommens-Paket, der Orientierungswoche, Informationsbroschüren, Tutor-Gruppen,... scheint das Erasmus-Programm sehr gut organisiert zu sein!
- Überhaupt macht das Leben in Finnland einen ziemlich geordneten Eindruck auf mich. Das geht allerdings auch mit viel Bürokratie einher. Schon bei der Bewerbung und jetzt auch vor Ort muss viel Papierkram erledigt werden. Alles ist genau beschrieben. Aber ebenfalls auch, was passiert, wenn man sich an die Regelungen nicht hält...
- "Du gehst nach Finnland, ist es da nicht zu kalt??" - Allen Vorurteilen zum Trotz war heute im September nochmal Spätsommer: Bei strahlenden Sonnenschein konnte man im T-Shirt draußen sein.
- Finnische Spezialitäten sind toll! Meinen Einkauf von Blaubeersuppe, Piroggen, Lakritz und Viili habe ich sehr zufrieden fotografiert.
Sprachen
Orientierungswoche
Die Uni besteht aus mehreren Kampus, von denen der naturwissenschaftlich -wie in Göttingen- im Norden der Stadt auf einem Hügel liegt. Mein Weg dorthin führt durchs Grüne. Glücklicherweise habe ich auf dem Schiff mein Fahrrad aus Deutschland mitgenommen, sodass ich hier gleich losfahren kann. Die Physik-Fakultät heißt "Physicum", die Mathe "Exactum" ;-) Die Gebäude sind modern und schön. In der Mensa gibt es sehr gesundes Essen und man kann so viele Beilagen, Brot, Salat und Wasser nehmen, wie man möchte.
