Setting Off for Finland: Departure, Arrival and Settling In

Dear Reader, 

 

Welcome to the first of hopefully many blogs I will write to reflect on my 10 or so months in Helsinki, Finland. I’ve enjoyed putting this together and I hope you get something out of it as well. Let’s start from the beginning shall we? 

 

On April 6th, 2021 I was sitting on my couch in the living room of my beloved and dearly missed Burlington apartment. I remember feeling sluggish and generally a bit off that morning. In particular, I felt overwhelmed by my thesis work, the date of my defense only a month away, not to mention graduation only two weeks after that. I had just gotten out of my political science seminar—on Microsoft Teams, of course #covidseniorspring—and opened up my inbox to find an email with the subject line Fulbright U.S. Student Program Application Update. My heart rose to my throat, my hands shaky and sweaty. With my breath held I opened the email, quickly scanning the text, my eyes landing on the words congratulations and we are pleased, which in the world of applications is universally understood to mean YOU GOT IT.  

 

And so the adventure began. 

 

Before I dive into the logistics and timeline between finding out about my receipt of the grant and my arrival in Helsinki, I would like to provide some brief background on the award itself. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for U.S. students to study/research or teach English outside of the U.S for one academic year. Each Fulbright-awarding country is different and the types of awards provided range. The Fulbright Finland Foundation (FFF) is Finland’s “chapter” of the international program although it is its own organization. I was awarded a grant from the FFF to carry out nine months of research at the University of Helsinki. I will be (hopefully sooner rather than later) launching a research specific blog that will provide much deeper insight and reflection on the research and academic aspect of this experience – stay tuned.  

 

Okay back to the preparations. 

 

It felt like both a marathon and a sprint from the moment I received notice about the grant to the day I arrived in Finland. Although it was exciting to find out after months of application preparation and what seemed like forever of waiting, it was emotionally taxing. My hands were full between wrapping up undergrad (amidst a global pandemic), processing the end of one chapter, and preparing for a new chapter mentally, emotionally and, of course, bureaucratically.  

 

Before the school year ended I dove into the world of Fulbright by attending the first of several zoom orientations hosted by Fulbright Finland. I tuned into this orientation from my apartment bedroom in between finalizing the writing for my undergraduate honors thesis and enjoying the spring weather, connecting with friends whom I had not seen in person all winter due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

 

Screenshot from the first zoom orientation for 2021-22 FFF Grantees in April 2021 

Photo Credit: Fulbright Finland Foundation 

 

After graduating from the University of Vermont and packing up my college apartment, I spent the summer at home in New Hampshire working to save money for my upcoming travels. In between working I spent hours arranging appointments (yes, appointments plural) to apply for my Finnish residence permit. The residence permit saga began with a flight to Washington, DC for what would end up being a frustrating, confusing and ultimately fruitless endeavor at the Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) office. After several phone calls and emails, I successfully scheduled an appointment at the Finnish Consulate in New York City nearly a month after the fateful trip to DC. After a lovely tour of some of America’s finest cities (I really should have just gone to the Finnish Consulate in Los Angeles to round it all out), nearly two months of waiting and a rescheduled flight later, the residence permit was in my hand. All in all, the residence permit process went relatively smoothly although if I could do it again I would have started it the minute I found out about the grant and read the specific requirements for different permit types even more carefully. 

 

 

Me visiting the Finnish Consulate in New York, New York in June 2021 

 

In addition to the residence permit I arranged housing, set up my insurance plan and made contact with my research affiliate with the University of Helsinki, Dr. Panu Pihkala, to make plans for my arrival. I am so grateful for Dr. Pihkala’s warm welcome and help setting me up for success during this year. I had originally planned to travel to Finland on August 19th but due to some residence permit delays, I pushed my flight back to September 2nd—which later turned out to be the worst day possible to fly out of New York City because of the remnants of Hurricane Ida. 

 

The final days before I left for Finland were a blur between packing (shout out to my parents for providing crucial moral support for this task), checking and rechecking that I had all necessary documents, and trying (in vain) to explain to my dog that I was not abandoning her permanently but for a while. After living at home for three months it was hard to believe I was actually, finally, doing the thing I had been telling people I was going to be doing for five months. 

 

 

Saying Goodbye to Home on September 1st 2021 

 

On September 2nd, after a three-hour delay and an eight-hour flight, I arrived in Helsinki, Finland. The last few minutes of the flight were really incredible, even in my severely sleep-deprived state. It is one thing to look at images of somewhere on Google, but it is a completely different thing to see it in person. Looking out the plane window at the landscape covered with blue lakes and vast swaths of green forest and hugged by the Baltic Sea, I was memorized. Not only was it breathtakingly beautiful but it was real and right in front of my eyes with a clarity that is impossible to capture with only an image. In these last few minutes of the flight after months of prepping for, researching about and stressing over this very day I felt more calm and steadfast in my belief that I had made the correct decision than ever before.  

 

 

First look at Finland from the sky on September 2nd 2021 

 

After landing and deboarding, I Face Timed my parents who, to my great relief, safely made it home from dropping me off at the airport in New York after driving through some treacherous weather because of Hurricane Ida. After assuring them that I was safe and well, I made my way to customs where after a quick look at my residence permit and my proof of vaccination I was on my way. I was fairly worried about the customs process given how in flux border crossing regulations have been so the easy process was a great relief.  

 

After collecting my luggage, I purchased a Finnish SIM card for my cell phone at the airport kiosk and called a taxi (in Finnish taksi as there is no x in the Finnish language) to take me to my apartment. After a 30-minute taxi ride, my landlord met me at my apartment in Jätkäsaari. Jätkäsaari is a neighborhood located in the Southern part of Helsinki (about a 15 minute tram ride from the city center). Known as the smart island because of its careful architectural design and practical waste management system, Jätkäsaari was previously a port and industrial area but since 2010 has been developed into a lively, aesthetically pleasing neighborhood. Most notably the ferry ports to Tallinn, Estonia and St. Petersburg, Russia are located in Jätkäsaari. I decided to live in Jätkäsaari mostly by chance. I saw a listing for a decent looking apartment and took heed of the advice I had been given about taking the first opportunity for housing in Helsinki. My decision turned out to be wise and I am rather content with my cozy, quiet spot. 

 

I will write more specifically about culture shocks in a later blog so don’t go anywhere, but I wanted to include a quick note here as it pertains to getting settled into my apartment the first day. A small difference between Finland and the United States is key holes and doors. This difference was confronted head-on during my first night here when I could not for the life of me open my door to my apartment. After 20 minutes of futile problem-solving and messaging my flat mate for help, we figured out that I had somehow locked the door from the inside while I was still outside. (How is that possible?) I was in and have not had trouble since. 

 

 

Iconic Rokkiporkkana bridge in Jätkäsaari in September 2021 

 

After getting a bit settled in the apartment, my next mission was going to the grocery store. Under normal circumstances, this is the simplest of tasks, but when you’ve just landed in a new city where you don’t speak the language, are severely sleep deprived, jet lagged and hungry the grocery store can be quite a daunting task. At the advice of a wonderful member of the Fulbright Finland team who also lives on Jätkäsaari, I went to a nearby Lidl, a Finnish grocery store chain known for its relatively low prices (woohoo). The trip was going smoothly until I got to the dairy section. An apple is an apple whether you’re in Finland or the United States but yogurt looks completely different. I was surprised to find that yogurt here in Finland is sold in cartons like liquid dairy products. I shamefully pulled out my phone to use the Google Translate camera feature and after a bit of scanning and pacing back and forth between fridges found some vanilla Greek yogurt that did the trick.  Following the dramatics in the dairy aisle I was just about done with new experiences for the day and made my way home where I soon after fell into a much needed and overdue sleep. 

 

The days and weeks following my arrival have been filled with a mix of bureaucratic tasks, making new friends, adjusting to my new city and settling into a work-life balance routine. There have been many exciting days of discovery and adventure but just as many that leave me feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and skeptical of my own ability to thrive in this new environment and way of living. In an attempt to ease myself into life here in Finland and curb some of my overwhelm, I have made an effort to slow down and be more intentional about the activities I engage in and the ways I fill my days. I am trying to be more patient and more flexible when challenges arise and plans are derailed for one reason or another. I am prone to over-scheduling myself and setting unreasonable expectations for my days, so while I am here I am working to challenge those habits. 

 

Outside the Helsingin yliopiston (Helsinki University Library) in September 2021

 

One of my first opportunities to practice flexibility and patience was when I got my public transportation pass - Helsingin Seusun Liikenne (HSL). Still battling jet lag, I made my way to Helsingin päärautatieasema (Helsinki Central Railway Station) where the HSL service point is located. When I arrived I found myself in a sea of people waiting outside the office. A kind person told me that I needed to get a ticket and then wait in line, undoubtedly saving me much time. Normally, I would have been stressed to the max, worried about how I was going to get fewer tasks done than I had planned for the day. However, in an effort to practice my goals, rather than stressing about how I had no time to cross off the other eight things on my list, I settled in to wait, made some friends in line and three hours later my HSL pass was in my hand. 

 

I am taking each day as it comes and trying to focus on being in the present as much as possible. There have been just as many challenges as there have been successes. It is easy to romanticize moving abroad and easy to forget that it can be hard to pick up your life and move 4,000 miles away from everything you know. Things are different here than at home in ways both big and small. These differences are neither good nor bad but simply are and that takes some adjusting.  

 

For now I’ll leave you with this comment: a year ago I would not have imagined I could actually move abroad, but here I am figuring it out day to day and trying to have a bit of fun along the way. Saturday, October 2nd marked one month of living in Finland and I look forward to all that is to come in the following months. Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll stay tuned. 

 

Until next time, 

 

Isabel