Classes in Finland

Well! I feel like I have lots of time at the moment to write about my time here (despite having those projects which I have started but are due in 2 weeks!). We have started classes here now and I have to say, I'm having a brilliant time! The place where we are at, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, is great. The facilities are fantastic and the teachers and students are all so nice and very helpful! The welcome we have recieved was very good and has definitely helped settle in.

Another great thing about where our campus is, is that it is right in the centre of the city-which means shopping! Haha it's not like we are all rolling in cash but as our Erasmus grant has just come in it seems only right to celebrate a little! I am glad however that we are all quite responsible and everyone I have spoken to has mentioned that dreaded word "budget". On that note, I'm pleased to say that as a student in Finland, there are lots of perks! We get very good discounts on the bus (and the buses themselves are a pleasure to take!) and with our student cards get good discounts on many other things. The best I have to say is the canteen at uni! We get a full, hot meal (with unlimited salad!) for 2.35 Euros. Its so cheap and very yummy and it fills us up so much that we don't need to eat much in the evening, which means we don't need to do as much food shopping! I can't help but tell my friends this when they ask (actually they don't even need to ask, I just tell them!).

As far as lessons go, we are given short classes with very respectabe teachers (our scriptwriting teacher wrote and directed his own feature film, which I have to say was very good!) and then left to work on our own. I'm glad we are at this stage now where we can work together and get on with things on our own, I guess it's all part of the learning process. This is a very important subject for us, making this film, and we all feel so passionately about it. We all have our input and everyone will put all their effort into, because at the end of the day, it's not only our degree that will be affected but also our careers. Oh dear, on that thought I feel a wave of stress come on! Time to go do some research! ...