How to survive Finnish winter and enjoy it?

Life is about enjoying yourself, not just surviving, and this goes for Finland in winter as well. Winter in Finland can be harsh, too cold, grey and dismal with temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius, up to seven months of snow and ice covering the ground, and fewer than four hours of daylight at peak midwinter,  but the arrival of the cold, dark, snowy winter doesn’t mean life stops. Finns always go to work or school in the morning no matter how cold it is or how much snow has fallen. They have plenty of ways to enjoy the winter season.

So , if you are visiting Finland during the winter, these are some top survival tips to help you not only stay alive but also to enjoy the Finnish winter with the snow-covered trees, magical pastel pink colors of the sky, golden sun light, frozen lakes and Northern Lights.

Dress well

The secret of spending time outdoors in the winter is to make sure you are dressed properly. Finns wear thick trousers during the winter with long-johns underneath. On your top half, you will need a thick jumper, preferably one made of wool, and a good snow proof coat. Special attention must be given to protecting the feet, hands and head from the cold. Nothing will ruin the fun of outdoor activities faster than frozen feet. Gloves should be roomy with a warm lining. Headgear should protect the ears properly, and in very cold weather a silk balaclava is excellent for protecting the face. Remember the Finnish saying: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”

Go to Sauna

Sauna is one of the most popular activities in Finland where there are more than 3 million saunas in total. In winter, the sauna is a great place for warming up frozen fingers and toes. It is a place for relaxation, tranquility and deep thought. The sauna experience includes escape from the tensions of everyday life to another reality, towards calm and contentment. Some say that having a dip in a hole in the ice of a lake or the sea is one of the joys of a waterside sauna in winter. It will certainly improve your circulation, and at the very least, make you feel refreshingly alive!

Maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle

During cold and dark winter days, it is extremely common that you feel lazy all the time. To maintain good brain health, try to include a lot of vegetables and fruits in your meals. It’s also crucial to take vitamin D supplements every day, as the absence of sunlight can even make you feel dizzy at times.

Do sports

Don’t forget to exercise frequently. Bouldering, gym and the swimming pool will help to cheer you up on cold and dark days. As a bonus, you get a healthy body, productive attitude and positive mind-set. Yoga is also a great workout regime for reducing stress and allowing for greater relaxation.  It can be done from your home or in a classroom.

Escape your room

It can be quite boring and even depressing sometimes to stay at home on winter evenings when it gets dark at 3 pm. Get outside every time you see the sun actually shining. This is crucial to your well-being! There are not too many sunny days, and especially during the wintertime all of them should be appreciated and enjoyed outside. Besides – the sunny winter days are spectacular! Go wandering in the forest or to the seaside and admire the sunset colors.

Walking on ice

Nobody likes taking the risk of falling over on the ice and looking like an idiot, but it is unavoidable to get around during the winter. There is a trick to walking on ice, however. Walking at a regular pace doesn’t distribute the body weight in the correct way to stay upright on ice. The trick is to take short, quick steps, much like the way that penguins walk. You may still fall over from time to time, but locals expect this so they won’t laugh at you.

 Watch ice hockey

Finns really love this sport and if you ask them which ice hockey team is the best, they’re going to answer “Finland”, of course. If you live with Finns prepare yourself to watch all the match and shout with them “SUOMI, SUOMI, SUOMI!!!”

Winter health

As strange as it may feel, remember to breathe through your mouth rather than your nose when it is cold outside. This is because breathing in cold air through your nose and breathing out warm air can cause the blood vessels in your nose to rupture, giving you a nosebleed. Short hours of daylight combined with isolation and dreary weather can cause a feeling of physical and mental exhaustion and lack of motivation. These symptoms are normally felt during the early winter and are usually temporary, easing off once the body becomes more accustomed to the winter. It is difficult to get up when it is so dark outside, but doing so and going for a half-hour walk every morning will expose the body to sunlight and provide enough energy to get through the day. Light therapy lamps can also simulate sunlight and are easy to find online.

Enjoy the Snow

What a fantastic feeling to wake up one morning in the late autumn and look out of the window to see that the first snow has fallen! Children waste no time rushing outside to make their first snowmen and find the nearest sledging hill, while adults dig out their winter sports equipment. Other key sports are the various branches of alpine skiing, snowboarding and freestyle skiing. The latter are relatively new sports but they have rapidly become big favourites among the young and daring. Ice skating is another national pastime, like cross-country skiing. 

Gather with friends

This might sound like a cliché, but hanging out with friends is one of the best ways to overcome the winter depression. Friends can have a great impact on your emotions, especially during winter. Just make spontaneous plans, meet at someone’s place, cook together, have some drinks and watch some movies.

Text: Basma Ragab (International Student Ambassador)

To Finland, with love.

Hello everybody!

My name is Laura and I am the tutor for the students who will join the Master’s in Neuroscience at the University of Helsinki.

First of all, congratulations on being accepted at the University of Helsinki!! I remember when I received the news I got in. Oh the excitement… and the panic! There’s nothing quite like the moment when you realise that what you were wishing for has become true. The joy and the fear become one and it’s almost difficult to tell them apart.

Every new experience can be scary, and for many of you this might be your first time in Finland. Not to worry, though. There are tutors here ready to welcome you and help you figure it all out 😊. You might have already received an email from your faculty tutor. If not, no worries, you will soon.

This is a message for you all, to remind you that you are not alone. Many new students join the University of Helsinki every year, and even us tutors have been in your place before. We understand there is a variety of things you might need help with, and that’s why we will be guiding you to make sure you can start your studies without any trouble.

We will help you finding offices and getting all the papers you need. You’ll need to register and get a residence permit, you’ll need an HSL card to use public transport and you’ll need help to discover all the benefits that students get (yes, you’ll see that you can get discounts in so many places, shops included 😉 ). We are here to guide you and tell you which offices to go to, we can answer your questions about everyday life in Finland, we can give you some hints on how to survive sauna and Finnish winter.

No need to fear, this is (hopefully :P) going to be one of those experiences you’ll cherish for the rest of your lives. I’m sure you are going to have a lot of fun discovering all the beauties of this wonderful country 😊 .

Warm hugs from Helsinki to you all and see you soon!

Cheers,

Laura Failla

New Student – Make sure you come to the Welcome Fair!

January is almost here, which means we are getting impatient to meet all our new international students here at the University of Helsinki!

Your student experience at the University of Helsinki will begin with a visit to the Welcome Fair on January 10, 2018, as well as your Faculty orientation. Please note that you will need to take part in both! Remember to bring your official ID (passport, ID card or residence permit) with you to the Welcome Fair!

The Welcome Fair is the perfect place to get to know the University and the Campuses as well as to get all the official matters out of the way. The venue for the Welcome Fair is the Language Centre of the University of Helsinki (address: Fabianinkatu 26). Please see our Welcome Fair and orientation week map for locations. Continue reading “New Student – Make sure you come to the Welcome Fair!”

Ask me!

Welcome new students!

The beginning of the academic year is almost here and more than 250 staff members of the Student Services are waiting for you to arrive! During the past year we have had some big changes in the degree programmes and University Services. We want to make sure that you will find us easily and have no hesitation to ask us anything. You will recognize us from the pink t-shirts with the text ASK ME!

Where is my lecture room or the nearest UniCafe located? Where can I borrow books or find a quiet place to study? You can also turn to our academic staff in many of your questions. That’s why we have challenged them to wear pink ASK ME! pin badges. Don’t hesitate to ask!

We are looking forward to meeting you!

Something for Everyone – Join the HYY Anniversary Celebration!

This year, the Student Union of the University of Helsinki celebrates its 148th anniversary!

Our student union will celebrate its birthday at the Old Student House on 26 Nov. However, the celebration will start already one week earlier! The anniversary week offers a wide range of activities for HYY’s members. Pick your favourite events and join the celebration!

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22 Nov Match Made in Museum – Student Edition

4pm–8pm University Museum
The singles night organised by the University Museum and HYY provides ice-breaking programme, interesting encounters and a little bit of history and culture at the same time.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1765294973731980/

23 Nov Art for Us

10am–8pm Ateneum (Kaivokatu 2)
The anniversary week will start on Wednesday when students have free admission to Ateneum Art Museum featuring an exhibition by Amadeo Modigliani.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1500879903262399/

23 Nov Seminar of HYYHY

3pm–7pm Main Building of the University of Helsinki (Fabianinkatu 33)
Friends of HYY’s History (HYYHY) association organises a seminar on the phases of the student union and students. After the seminar, you can get to know the University Museum on a guided tour. In Finnish.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1282147295151929/

24 Nov The formal wear flea market!

4pm-8pm Alina Hall (Mannerheimintie 5 A, 3th floor)
The festive period is a joyful time but can also signal constantly recurring clothing crises for some. Thankfully, we have a solution for this: the formal wear flea market!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1750332598560764/

26 Nov Birthday party at the Old Student House

11pm-3.30am Old Student House (Mannerheimintie 3)
HYY celebrates its birthday at the Old Student House. The evening will be filled with music, dance and – thanks to our anniversary partner – very, very student-priced sparkling wine. Tickets 6 euros when bought by Sunday 20 Nov, and include a free overall patch as well as the cloakroom service fee!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1786402184932503/

27 Nov HYY148 SIllis Breakfast

12am-6pm Christina Regina ja Gustavus Rex (Leppäsuonkatu 11)
Do you want to continue the bombastic party feeling of HYY148 the next day? Come to the free sillis, available to those participating in the Birthday Party on the previous day!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1836357629942414/

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Last year’s Anniversary Ball with a giant ball pit!

Continue reading “Something for Everyone – Join the HYY Anniversary Celebration!”

Student Elections – Do you use your voice?

The biggest elections of the year are here!

The representative council elections of the student union are here! What is the representative council, and why should you be interested? Read on to find out!

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Representative Council elections are coming!

Representative council elections are held every other year in the Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY). All students who are members of the student union and have registered as attending for the academic year are entitled to vote in the elections. This year the elections are held online for the first time, which adds a new twist to the elections: now you can vote from the comfort of your couch!

Continue reading “Student Elections – Do you use your voice?”

Welcome to the Student Union!

You’ve arrived, all the paperwork is done, and you’ve registered for courses. Now you’re all set for your student life, the only thing to do is to wait for the lectures to start? Think again!

The key to an unforgettable time at the University of Helsinki is being active, joining student organisations, and meeting new people! The student union, HYY, offers you a student card with countless student discounts, affordable health care, and discounts on transport. Most importantly, though, the student union is home to a huge network of student organisations, new hobbies and awesome people from different faculties and countries – everything a student will need in Helsinki!

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Continue reading “Welcome to the Student Union!”

Spring Flora Day Celebration on 13 May – Food, Drinks, Music, and Miniature Animals!

On Friday 13 May, the students and staff of the University of Helsinki will get together to once again in an annual celebration of spring and Flora Day. The celebration, lasting from 3 pm to 8 pm, spreads the spring spirit to Kumpula, as Physicum (at Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2A) fills up with music, festive events, food and refreshments and, of course, the joys of academia.

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Continue reading “Spring Flora Day Celebration on 13 May – Food, Drinks, Music, and Miniature Animals!”

“How to apply to University of Helsinki” FAQs on Facebook: the answers to many of your practical questions!

Image by Ari Aalto / UH

The Admissions Services has gathered extensive “How to apply to University of Helsinki” FAQs on Facebook, for both International Master’s Programmes and Doctoral studies.

The FAQs contain the answers to the most frequently asked practical questions about applying to University of Helsinki, and they are being updated whenever necessary.

Please read them in detail before posting any new questions about how to apply.

Thank you and have a great sunny Tuesday!

The Guide to the Complete Finnish Student Experience – Student Associations, 1/3

No Finnish student life experience is complete without joining a student association or two (or ten…)! Student life at UH and within the student union (HYY) is very active, and the New Student House hosts a variety of events and parties every single day!

The student associations within HYY are open to all students, and you too are invited to join! There are so many different student associations, though, so we’ve made joining one a bit easier for you: representatives of different student associations have written about what they do, and why and how to join them. These stories will be shared in a series of blog posts in February.

So, without further ado, here’s Emilia and Östra Finlands Nation, one of the 15 student nations of UH:

Hi there!

Have you been wondering where you could meet new people, make a lot friends and get to know the REAL Finnish student life? Joining a student nation is the answer for you! There are many student nations in Helsinki that you can join. What makes the nations different from another is that people from a certain area in Finland gather in a certain nation, but as an international student you are welcome to join any nation. I am here to tell you about our lovely nation – Östra Finlands Nation (ÖFN)!

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Members of Östra Finlands Nation enjoying the students’ First of May picnic ©ÖFN

Continue reading “The Guide to the Complete Finnish Student Experience – Student Associations, 1/3”