Sneak peek

Welcome to my new blog!

The reason why my multiply site was left unattended was because i had to maintain a parallel academic blog last semester. Sorry but it took up too much of my time and energy!

If u are interested u can actually scroll down to read my previous posts~ =) It was a Professional Communication module, and we had to blog on certain topics.

Anyway! I've decided to blog on this site and post pictures here as well as on facebook. I'll probably only post selected ones here i guess. Leaving on the 11th of January for the land of a thousand lakes, Finland. I'll be studying in the Helsinki University of Technology =)

Don't know much about Suomi (Finnish for Finland), except that it is an extremely dark and cold place (in winter) and that their language is mind-boggling. So i decided to do some googling and wiki-ing to give u all a glimpse into the place i'll be spending the bulk of the next 5 months in.

Finland:

• Has 187,888 lakes and 179,584 islands (!?!?)
• It's land surface area is still growing (due to melting glaciers)
• 1/4 of the country lies within the Arctic Circle (cold is an understatement)
• At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter. (Midnight sun!)
• The biggest and most important cities include Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Oulu and Turku.
• Divided into 6 provinces.
• Current president of Finland is a lady.
• Countries nearby include Sweden, Estonia, Norway, Russia.
• The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world.
• Finnish are the heaviest coffee drinkers in the world, averaging 3.8 cups per person per day.
• The country has a population of approx 5.3 million people, and more than 2 million Saunas. (shiok)
• 12) The Northern Lights can best be seen in Lapland's (Up north) winter night skies.
• Rovaniemi is the heart of the Lapland province (Think Santa Claus Village, Reindeers, Husky sleds, Northern Lights, Midnight Sun)
• Most famous Finnish company is of coz Nokia (my nokia phone will be my conversation starter haha)
• Famous Sports personalities include F1 drivers Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen, as well as footballers Jari Litmanen and Sami Hyypia (former and present Liverpool players.. another conversation starter!)
• Finnish don't appreciate small talk (according to "A Guide To Finnish Customs And Manners")

Yupz.. so stay tuned for more as i head up north to Scandinavia. Praying for a truly fruitful experience!