Shopping | environment | maniac | re-using | trash |

Reading another blog about shopping inspired me to write about my habits.

I don't think I have ever been a shopping-"maniac", having thousands of clothes and buying new ones every week. My mom may be saying something else, since she thinks I have too many clothes ;-) The problem is actually me having all my old clothes back home. It is not only what you buy, it is what you get rid of and can let others to re-use.

When I started studying Nordic literature, I met many co-students and friends who were vegetarians, and some talked about "saving the world", not buying a lot of new stuff, but re-using everything. Someone also had a principle, that she buys a new clothing only when getting ride of an old one. I have also read blogs about people who don't make any trash at all - no idea how they actually do that. It feels kind of extreme for me at this point. As long as I try to use less.

All these things affect me, without a doubt. Coming to Denmark was a way to experience having only certain clothes with me. When I went back home for a visit I brought with me only 2-3 new pieces, leaving behind at least the same amount. I did not miss my clothes as much as I thought, and it will be interesting to see how I feel about them when I get back.

For a while now I have wanted to get rid of all the extra clothes I don't use. You know, the once I have in my wardrobe, and never use. Getting rid of them is surprisingly hard. I have tried to sell some on flea markets, but people don't buy all kinds of clothes, and don't always want to pay for them. I gave some away, but not that many friends or relatives wants my old clothes. I gave some to UFF, too. My boyfriend's mom has given me a lot of clothes, and some fit me so well and I love them, but just increases the amount of clothes I have.

These days I try to focus on quality. Not buy as much stuff that I just see, but actually go looking for things I need. I have realized that shopping does not really make me happy. I also stopped shopping from certain stores that sells cheap clothes for no good quality. I try only to walk around in he stores that do. And also, I use some of mom's old clothes. Especially old jackets, which actually look really cool these days ^_^ She sometimes laughs who good they fit. And why wouldn't I use them? She doesn't anymore, they just hang around in our home, and that way I don't have to use money for a new one.

But on the other side, I use my time and money on small things around the home. As an example, this picture. The poster on the wall I bought in an old cinema called Øst for Paradis, which I love. They posters are so cheap, and no way I will find them for the same price back in Helsinki.

In this picture you can also see a bear, or whatever it is. It's a wooden small creature I bought at a student flea market by a girl, and her grandfather made it. I think it's awesome, since it has a history, it's handmade, it was very cheap and also, it's unique, as far as I know.

But, see the small box in the middle? It is bought in a store, all new. I bought it because it looks pretty and made me happy back then. I don't use it, I just have it as a decoration. Although, one day I hope to have a gift in it and give to someone ^_^ so maybe it was not that bad an investment.


Using, re-using, no trash, shopping, environment, flea markets. All these words that encourages, reminds and intimidates us to be a part of something bigger. I wish people would think about this more and slowly change to using less and re-using, but not to stress about it and make your life a lot more complicated. Is that possible?

I don't wanna miss a thing

Ah, this feeling of happiness.

I always experience it when I have been doing something. Like when we were shooting or editing our movie; even though it was hard work, the feeling of doing something creative that I love is just unexplainable. Sometimes, when I was taking the bus to the editing room, I just couldn't stop smiling.

One would think that not doing anything for a whole day would be great, but it does not work like that for me. The first weeks here in Aarhus I had a hard time feeling satisfied with me and the things I did. I felt a huge pressure of "I should do something right now but I am not". All the photos people posted on Facebook, all the thousand likes they got. Why am I not somewhere, meeting people and posting about it, showing how popular I am?

Wait. Is that the happiness I want?

Not really. I do want to meet new people, but not feeling forced to do that. I do want to party, but not all the time just to do it. During these few months I have talked to many new people and found friends to hang out with when I - possibly - some day return. There is nothing else I could wish for, and after all I seem to do really well here, even though I don't actively do something awesome with everybody everyday.

Even this picture makes me happy. I'm chatting with a close, but let's face it, irritating friend. You know who you are, Tauri.

"what's up?"
"not much. Can't you see I am playing? ^^
"I though you would do something interesting"
"Nope. Too mainstream"
"^^"
"And you? you're not doing anything either :D"
"I'm writing in my blog ^^"
"Exactly"




A random discussion can sometimes make you feel really good, and remind you of the people surrounding you.

My happiness consists of doing something creative, read, watch and talk about film & tv, share my everyday life with the people I like. Be alone, having a great time with new acquaintances, thinking about my family and all my lovely nephews and nieces. Being happy with who I am. To have a balance with doing nothing and doing a lot. Taking this risk by coming to a new country alone, but also to go home in two weeks. Not to compare myself to others.

The older I get the more I realize these things. I needed 24 years to learn all this ;)

Just a while ago I finished my part of our groups report about our short film. We are ahead of time, and have control over everything, and working great together. I am happy enough with my part ^^ And now, I am happy with not doing anything. Or, right after this post. Because this is doing something, right?

After the report I listened to I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing, and thought about all the people I know, the place I am in my life right now and all these new great friends and situations I find myself in. The feeling of calmness inside, just being happy right here right now. I always feel lucky when having one of these moments.

The sweetest dream will never do, I'd still miss you babe

Of course, this song does not make it easier to be away from home. And suddenly two weeks feels so far away.

When life gives you hard choices

The older I get the more difficult decisions I face in life.

At least that is what it feels like.

Coming to Denmark, or generally going abroad during my studies, was not something I planned. Especially when I started my studies in 2010. I didn't really see myself as a person who studies abroad, I don't know why. I felt like there were certain kinds of people who become exchange students: they who want to meet new people and party abroad, or they who long for adventures since they are bored in their home country.

I never had the need to go abroad. I like to meet new people, but not so bad that I will take an exchange year and move from my home country, family and friends. And I certainly wasn't bored back home, I was busy with studies, work, student organizations, movies and my friends.

One of the main reasons I started considering an exchange year was to have a chance to study something I love. One of my friends told me about some university courses online in Sweden I could take during my studies, and then I realized how different some courses can be from the ones back home. Especially courses in film, which is my main interest. Since I can study film only as a minor at the University of Helsinki, and I have taken almost all the courses there is, I needed to find a way to continue studying film. Preferably some different kind of courses that I have taken in Helsinki. When I started studying Nordic literature and heard about other people going abroad, at times I considered it too. I did not really feel the excitement or a need to study literature abroad.

Like, eh. Why would I do that?

But a couple of years ago I started thinking about my chances to study film abroad, and I couldn't resist the thought anymore. To get a chance to study more film studies, abroad, with new approaches and new people interested in film? I thought about moving to London, Sweden, France. I thought about the different possibilities and chances I could get. New people I could meet who love film, and new, inspiring teachers. Yeah, suddenly I was really excited. I didn't go abroad to hang out in another country for a year, I went abroad to broaden my perspective about something I truly love.


So why Denmark? Well, through Nordic literature I had an easier way to go the Nordic countries. I also loved Danish series, had already learned some basic Danish and it wasn't too far from home. Now I can't even describe how satisfied and blessed I am choosing this country, this town, this university, these courses, these teachers, these classmates. I can't imagine myself being anywhere else, and I am seriously considering coming back here, to finish my Master's. I mean,

how_cool_would_that_be_?



Very.

But what about those hard choices? Well, deciding to come to Aarhus was a choice. Not a very hard one, since it would be only 4-5 months, I would study something awesome and I didn't really know what to do after my Bachelor's.

It wasn't easy to decide to move here, away from my family, my boyfriend, and all the things I were used to. Even though I like to see my family more often, we have had many phone and Skype calls. I can feel their support. Every time something great and amazing happens, I call them. Every time I feel insecure about things here or my future, I call them. I get all the help I need, and they make me feel like I did the best decision to come here, which makes me feel even happier.

My boyfriend also supported me all the way, and it doesn't feel like this time has changed our relationship to something unfixable. It has actually made it stronger - I trust us more than ever before, I am so very grateful for his understanding and support, and I couldn't love him more right now. To stay here is not only a huge thing for me, I can't forget that.

Now I have one month left, but the decisions do not end here. My next step is to decide where I will do my Master's degree, but at times I feel that I made the choice already. I really love Medievidenskap, C-linie here in Aarhus. I have not found anything similar back home, I already know some of the teachers and students, I feel like home here and I never imagined myself being this happy and this interested in studying. And I never imagined being so excited to come back.

It's easy to see myself back here again next year and stay for at least 1,5 years. But when the time comes, it will not be as easy. To again have two homes which I travel between. And what happens then? Will I stay here or go back? Maybe move to another country? Will I continue having a long-distance boyfriend, or will we move together? What happens when he is going abroad in five years? Will I still have my friends from back home, will it be the same when I return? Are we really that close?

I really hope so.

I guess I just have to follow my heart. It brought me here, to one of the best experiences I have had in my 24-years. But at the same time I left a piece of it in Finland.

Cats & birthdays

The two cats meet. 

Apparently the grey cat, that visits me every now and then, has a owner here at Skjoldhøjkollegiet. And the cat's name is Lenny ^^ Luna and Lenny play often together, although in the beginning Lenny was not that interested. Nowadays I see them often together, sometimes they happen to visit me at the same time. 

In the kitchen, enjoying pie.

I forgot earlier to mention my 24th birthday. I visited Finland a week before my actual birthday, but celebrated my upcoming birthday and one of my best friend's birthday with a gathering at a bar with some close friends. I got some presents, which I didn't expect ^^ When I came back to Denmark I thought of making a blueberry pie for my "house", nr. 25 at Skjoldhøjkollegiet. Here is an apartment downstairs, which me and Martina share, and upstairs is maybe 12 rooms, and they share a bathroom and a kitchen. 



I made a pie that did not succeed in a way I hoped for, but the guys seemed to like it ;) I also got the honors to hear a Danish birthday-song, which included dancing, loud singing and playing imaginary instruments. The evening ended with some Family Guy-clips and other stuff on youtube. The residents here are mostly Danish, at least one from Poland, one from Italy and one from Germany, and so forth. They are great and fun people, and I'm happy I live in such an awesome house. It was a fun birthday evening, and I'm certainly happy I made the pie!

A short update about everything

When it was time for the autumn week in the middle of October, I visited my dear home country. I met my family and went to a movie and a great dinner with them, spent a lot of time with my boyfriend, went with him and my friends for a beer (or five) at Ølhus København, went to see an apartment and had a job interview (didn't take the apartment and didn't get the job), visited my brother and his family and got acquainted with their new dog, visited the bar I work at, went to lunch with four of my other friends and enjoyed my time.

 It felt like I hadn't even been away that long, but I had many stories to share. And I got a chance to show my first short film ever, and the feedback was great!

  

When I came back it was time for some Oktoberfest at the Studenterhuset. That was a lot of fun - 1liter beer for 50 krones, a lot of dancing, great people to hang out with, and even some Finnish music; Bomfunk MC's -Freestyler 
We came late back home that night, and stopped, of course, by a kebab place on the way.

The day after I felt just a little tired, and on that evening a Danish girl who ownes the little cat Luna invited me ower to her place, where I met some of her friends. It's really fun to party with young Danish people too, since I mostly see a lot of international students. Which is not bad either, I can meet people from all around the world, but it's fun to see how the young people party in Denmark. I'm happy they invited me over ^^

As for my studies, we started to plan our next short film with the group the week before I left. It is supposed to be 4-7 minutes long, and after I came back we worked on the storyboard. It feels great to get some experience in film making, even though I am kind of nervous to actually film it - feels like I am not ready yet. But I'll get better the more I work with film, and I wish it turns out good.

We also had a visit from M2Film here in Aarhus, a place we visited earlier this fall. We had a workshop on acting, too, and it was great to see how Nikolaj Feifer showed us ways to work with our actors. We are going to have 5 actors in our film, so all the advice we get is great. I have not really worked with acting or actors, so I don't really understand how much work it actually is, and how bad acting really looks like. I am so used to watch known and popular series on tv, so there's not much I actually know about acting. The workshop with Feifer really opened my eyes.

Friday the 31st of October came, and it was time for some Halloween. Stephane from France, my flatmate Martina, her friend from Italy and me dressed up and went to the Esperanto-fridaybar (a bar for students who study English, Spanish etc, but basically anyone can be there). It's a small bar, but very popular.

/love Filmstudies

Screening of our 90 sec film "The Wrong Girl"

In the fall of 2014 I live in Denmark and study at the Aarhus University. I'm attending two courses; one of them is Film- og tv-analyse in Danish and the other Visual Media Production 2 in English. The courses are awesome and exactly what I wanted to study here.




 Back home in Helsinki I took all the film courses at the university, but the courses were only about film history, film analysis and film theory. In Aarhus I have the chance to do some practical work within film; to actually make my own short films. It's an opportunity I am very grateful for, since I wasn't sure I could ever try making my own short films. I mean, without doing them on my own or going to a film school.

Making of "The Wrong Girl"

Now I have the chance to do this on university level, getting instructions and try out the equipment, and later on decide if that is something I want to pursue.


I have learned so much about the process of making my own short films, everything from brainstorming ideas, make the storyboard to decide on actors and edit the movie. There have been times of frustration and bad ideas, but also feeling of success and satisfaction of doing something so creative and interesting. One of the best things with this exchange student-period is the chance to go these courses and get these experiences within film. That maybe sounds geeky, but I really mean it ^^

I hope my studies here in Aarhus help me find out what really interests me in film and what I possibly want to do in my future.

New home vs. real home

Being away from home is not the hardest thing I have done, but I am also not that far away from Finland. Naturally I miss my family, friends, our pets and all my homes. I also miss all the things I can't do here and places I am used to going - the movie theater Orion, the library I usually go to, all the supermarkets and foods I am used to, a proper oven (I don't have one in my kitchen here), to go to a dentist or a hair salon and be sure I can be understood, to use euros and actually know how much I am paying for things, and so forth.

But those things seem so small compared to this experience. This is so worth it - I meet many new people from Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, USA, even from Finland. I get to know a new city, have a chance to live at a new place with a different language, to get to know a new culture. And the greatest of all: I get to study something I love and meet new people who wants to or already works within media, culture and film. I also learn to take care of myself and know that I'll do fine.

One of the hardest things when moving here was to turn my relationship into a long distance relationship.

A loving relationship full of closeness and much time spent together, that is now mostly taken care of through Skype, texts and letters. But I knew the risk, and the first weeks were the hardest. And now it has been over a month, which doesn't sound too long.

But I have to be honest; sometimes I wonder what I was thinking. In the end I still believe it's worth it, and 4-5 months abroad is not too long. And it certainly doesn't end our relationship, only makes it stronger ^^ Even though I was unsure in the beginning. I don't only learn new things in this new country, I also learn new things about everything I left back home.

Joku liikkui lähelläni koski poskeain Tutun käden tunsin ihollain

Aarhus and Brabrand in my heart

My bag containing my comforting friend.

I can't believe I have been here over a month.

I arrived here later on a Sunday, after a Saturday at work, being home around 3 a.m. On Sunday I didn't do much else then sleep, pack, get ready for my flight, check that I had everything I needed and say goodbye to my family and boyfriend at the airport. Which wasn't the easiest thing to do.


The I made the trip from Helsinki - Copenhagen - Aarhus, and then arrived to my new home at Skjoldhøjkollegiet, in Brabrand, Aarhus. A place that many people call a "ghetto"...

My room ^_^

Sure, the "kollegie" is about 25 minutes from the centre of Aarhus, but I like it, and I have no problems living here for 5-6 months. Maybe I would get a place from downtown if I lived here for a longer time, but that could easily be more expensive. And now I have a chance to live at a kollegie, since back home I would probably live in an apartment in the middle of Helsinki. And I found a great dentist in Brabrand, which is a relief. And yes, I got a toothache the first week I was here, just my luck?

Skjoldhøjkollegiet is nice. The rooms are big enough, the people are very friendly, there is a small shop 1,5 minutes from my room, we have our own bar here and the environment is really nice. I really don't mind living here. I believe this is the biggest kollegie in Aarhus, with over 220 staircases (or buildings, whatever you call them) with apartments or just single rooms. I live in an apartment, with my own room, and the bathroom and kitchen I share with a girl from Italy - Martina. She is so nice, and very social ;)

My sweetest Luna 

I have talked to some people living here, many of them international students, who live here for 6 months or a year. But I have also met people who have been living here a few years, some even four or six years.

One of them is a neighbour from Denmark, who has a cat! And we started talking to each other thanks to that cat ^_^ The cat is only a few months old, called Luna (I think), and she is very playful and happy. She has a bell around her neck, and I always know when she is coming, thanks to that bell.

The grey one, very beautiful.
I hope the cat is okay, even though I
don't know who the owner is.

Thanks to the cats I feel a bit more like home. We have always had an animal or two in my family, so they are comforting. I haven't seen Luna for a week or so, but there is another cat visiting pretty often. That one is grey, way bigger cat too, but just as cuddly as Luna. I don't know who owns the grey one, if anyone, but it seems to be in good health. Sometimes the cat just wants to sleep in my chair, but after a few hours it disappears into the night..

Det er et meget godt liv i Aarhus!

View from the Aarhus Book Tower

Det er de første måned i Denmark, og jeg er meget glad at være her! Which probably means that "this is my first month in Denmark, and I am very happy to be here!"

I have never lived in a city with this many students - over 40 000 students and over 1000 new international students this fall. I studied for 3 years before I even thought of going abroad, and suddenly I am here, one of the 1000 international students in Aarhus University in the fall of 2014. 

This is the first time I have been living abroad for more than a month, and that was just for my first Interrail in 2011. Now I am actually living in another country, and that will look good on my cv ;)

The Aarhus Rådhus - very modern 

The first month here was confusing and exciting, with many new things, places and people to get familiar with. But then again - I haven't moved that far away, just to another Nordic country with many familiar ways and routines. What is new to me is being around new people, getting to know a new city and university, and also to get to know the Danish language. Which is not that hard for me - I have had some courses in Danish back home, and have watched some Danish series before I moved here. After I month I understand way more than I did before, which I am very pleased with ^^

Let's have some Hoegaarden 0,5l for like 6 euros?
So cheap - so good.

This is just a first post, there's more to come this week. Was supposed to do that many weeks ago, but you know how the times just flies by...

Time - where does it fly?

Here I am, after two years!

Happy news: I have almost my Bachelor's degree! Although some problems came up, and for those reasons I am back, writing for this blog. But it is nothing to be stressed over, I will see this issue as a challenge! And it is nice to update this blog.

I do not feel as comfortable writing here as I did two years back. After the course I took I haven't really been working with my English, which is really a pity. I loved being able to express myself without being this unsure. But then again, I have been practicing my Danish and Swedish, and I think it is going well. I am going to Denmark this fall, so I am not practicing my Danish only for fun ;)

The course in English I took at the University was really helpful, and now I see how much my English has changed. I wonder if I could practice my English by reading more books in this language, or should I take another course? It is amazing how languages affect each other. Feels like I am loosing a bit of my Finnish while studying and listening to Danish, and my English is not what it was two years ago.

Anyhow, times flies by so fast. I could have sworn that I took this course like 6 months or maybe one year back. But two whole years? What have I done during that time?

Well, I have been studying, mostly Film Studies, and working. I have two jobs right now! Not as much for the money, as for the experience. And I just can't say no to new challenges ^_^


But that will soon be history, since I will be starting my Master's in Aarhus in three months. Scary, exciting, fun. I am ready for new challenges!


Just as soon as I get this Bachelor's degree.. Next time I will be sure to check through my courses!

Best regards,

Anni