Life in Lappeenranta.

Being student here in Lappeenranta, I am going to write down my experiences during my study hours (in Lappeenranta), which I hope will help to new comers to figure out the overall life style of Lappeenranta and all of Finland.

           As you come to Lappeenranta by train from Central Railway station, Helsinki ( Fare With student card €20, without student or VR card, €40) Most of your assumptions from Nepal has already become contrary to the fact. You will not find Europe according to your immagination. If you had come from Suvarnabhumi Airport Thailand, you consider Vanta airport very small. As you see everywhere forest in the way to Lappeenranta, building of your imagination start to collapse slowly. Coming to Lappeenrata in Train is very easy as it informs each and every locations through voice and in monitor in Finnish, English and Swedish. As you get down in Lappeenranta, you will call your tutor. Here tutor are students responsible for helping new-comer students. Don't forget to get the phone number of your tutor from Nepal. As you can ask with college/ University through email. They will provide you all details. I am emphasizing tutor here because he posses the key of your new room and he will take you to room from train station. You may feel little bit cold in August just as you come to Finland being new to here, don't worry ''-30'' or even more in coming winter will coach how to face cold in Finland.


 Tutor will take you to your new home. As you see, apartment be very simple, don't worry apartment in Finland are well facilitated. You can get hot and cold water from the same tap, as you can spin round the tap handle for hot water. Water is pure you can drink directly without filtration, unlike in Kathmandu. Attached bathroom is there with your room. You can get electric heater, refrigerator and furniture in kitchen and even mattress and a bed , table, chair, and case to put your belongings. This time you feel somewhat like Europe. Your 1st night would be night with doubt and confusions. Don't worry too much as you have already chosen Finland for your study, €6000 is there to save you.

I have mentioned overall travel feelings based on my own personal experience.



GOODS PURCHASING

You can purchase your daily food stuffs from Prisma and Ledil. Ledil is still cheaper for many stuffs. But Nepali lai jaha gaye pani dal ra bhat nai pyaro,  so you can get rice in prisma it is known as 'riisi' here. For curry, canned foods like Mushroom, Tomato puri are used here, you can find pulses also. R-kioski and Valintalo are little bit expensive shops. All Nepalese here choose Prisma and Ledil for food stuffs. Average cost per student for foods is €50-€70 Euro, depending upon your food habits it may be more. If you smoke bring enough cigarettes from Nepal, for they are expensive here.

Gigantti is there for Laptop, Bi-Cycle etc purchasing. You can also try with Anttila where you can find food stuffs ,clothes to electronics goods.


SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER:-
Social Security number is very important in Finland. All you personal data and your status are saved in social security number. It is your date of birth followed by four digit numbers/alphabets. You can apply for social security number as soon as you come to Finland taking acceptance letter from your University/Polytechnic.  It is in the city center of Lappeenranta. You can consult www.migri.fi  or www.pollisi.fi . You need to fill up a form and submit with visa copy ( they will copy themselves), you will get social security number later on mentioned apartment through Post Office known as Posti here.

JOBS
          If you have a habit of studying blogs and give your time to Internet in Nepal, you already have known that jobs are almost impossible in Lappeenranta. But can apply to posti and Jakeluseura. You will just fill the form there and need to wait for a year or long, you need to be lucky to get job even after one year. I am writing this blog during my leisure time of not getting posti job even after waiting for one year, so sad. Only one/ two Nepali guys do full time posti jobs, which is thought to only one best job in Lappeenranta, while other do for one month during summer to collect bucks for coming year. If you don't have any sell-able Hospitality skills and Finnish Language, it is very hard to get jobs in restaurants. If you believe in miracle, I have nothing to say :). But trying never harms.

As you have thought in Nepal, that I have schengen visa, I can go to 24 European countries, I will go to Norway and do jobs there. I will go to Germany bla bla bla...This is not as easy as you have thought. Firstly you will get work permit only in Finland, so type of work you need to do in these countries is Black jobs, sounds disgusting by its name right? If you don't have any reliable person to recommend, don't think to get even black jobs in those countries because in Europe law is very strict in such cases, people are very honest and they don't want to go against law. Don't think that I will roam myself and get jobs, because going there, staying (?), searching jobs for 2/3 months (average European trend for cities with better jobs probability) etc etc a ... there are lots of difficulties.... NOT THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES EVEN HELSINKI WHICH IS around 250KM FAR FROM LAPPEENRANTA WOULD BE FAR FOR YOU IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYBODY THERE.

ENTERTAINMENT:

Gigling Marlin Lappeenranta

Lappeenranta Swimming Pool

I gave too much time talking about jobs section, because it is prime thing that most Nepalese students longing for or needs mainly. Being jobless, you may find hard to entertain in spite all available entertainment resources. Please bring sport Jersey if you are coming to Lappeenranta ( Only for Saimma Student not for LUT cuz they are senior than me and can scold me after coming here) because the football grounds here are very nice, you feel like you are in world-cup playground, where you can enjoy in summer. Most of the students here do so. If you are good in football there is also the chance of getting opportunity to play from local club, though they may not pay you it will help to get with Finnish people. You can also go for fishing in Lake Saimaa during summer, you need to purchase fishing tools yourself costs around €10.  You can even go for ice fishing during winter .Saimaa lake is very near from here, which is the largest lake of Finland, feel proud sometimes that you are in Lappeenranta.


Nepali guys Fishing on the Saimaa Lake

Saimaa Lake

    If you like Disco/Bars Gigling Marlin and Diva is waiting for you, Most of Nepalese students go to get relief there. It costs around €2 ( not sure :D) for tickets, disco may not be disco without drinks, so take another €2-4 for drinks. There are free days to get tickets too I think on Wednesday it is free. If you want to go frequently you can also make silver card to reduce your cost.

If you like swimming, there is also sophisticated swimming pool, near college. Ticket cost €2.50 for a day for swimming. All these things are of International level. You can get Saunna, stem saunna ( My fav) ( will discuss about Saunna in details later).

Saimma College not sure about LUT, also organise different entertaining programmes like international dinner night etc frequently in nominal cost you can participate and entertain there.

HOST FAMILIES
Host families ( somewhere known as Finnish Families), but in Lappeenranta Host family is common, are like your parents away from parents but this blogger is fucking unlucky here he hasn't got host families either, alas!!. You need to apply for the host family as soon as you come here. Contact UAS's international department for this. They love you, feed you in different festivals like christmas, vappu and even call you in every weekends for meals. But if you talk about jobs with them, they seems like they cannot do anything. Actually Finnish system is such,  where assisting others for jobs is not practical. They cannot do anything to you regarding job issues. If you have any special technique of persuading, again I have nothing to say. But keep good relation with host family, exchange gift in their festivals, this would be rewarding for you.

NEPALI FESTIVAL CELEBRATION:-
If you are in Helsinki, it is no wonder that even Nepali students will give damn to you. But in Lappeenranta, Every Nepali recognize other. Here is good relation between Nepalese. During festival like Dashain, Tihar, New Year, Teej we all unite together and do party in mess. Cost will become nominal and enjoyment will become ultimate, it also strengthen our relationship and understandings. Brothers are very friendly they give all emotional, psychological guidance, but don't think to talk about jobs with them, even they are fed up with job search except few ones.

CLIMATE

Snow During winter

Summer in Lappeenranta.

What to talk about climate here? Forget four seasons here are only two dominant seasons either the big SUMMER or f¨*king winter. In summer you feel like you are in heaven ( again forget about job issue), During winter you think that, I am in  entire hell, where sun gets disappear for 2/3 months continuously, ( You have nothing to do with the sun if you saw cuz you cannot withstand in ''-30 degree'' to feel the warmth of sum beams) sometimes you may feel like, why I left my beautiful country, Country road take me home, to the place I belong!!!!!!

In summary it is very difficult during winter. Temperature continues to minus degree even for 2/3 months. Don't worry, this time it works that this is Europe, inside the room you can stay with your simple Tshirt and Shorts. All rooms i.e college to LOAS (Student Apartment here) are sufficiently heated. Bus, Cars and Train are also heated. So your life will be confined from room to college and again to room. Shopping becomes extremely difficult, we cannot neglect it though, as our stomach demands. In Lappeenranta bus card cost around €40 per month. I salute myself and to all those Nepalese students who dare to ride bicycle over the slippery snow, in ''-30 degree celcius'' temperature because cost saving is important thing as we don't have jobs.

SOCIAL SECURITY:-
     Previously I talked about social security Number, Now I wanna speak about social security around Lappeenranta region. It is indeed very good in whole Finland. If you lost anything, and if Finnish People get that, 99% probability (No entity is perfect) you will get that returned. But as there are some international students /people with different backgrounds, so don't be so much careless (Nepali buddhi na paryo hami pani kaha kam chau ra?, but WHILE IN ROME; DO AS ROMANS DO . But you will feel very very very much social security than that of Nepal. It is fantastic that you feel more secure in Finland rather than in your home country. Crime rate is almost none, you can walk freely anytime, but remember one thing that here is one criminal to which Finnish Police ..(POLLISI here) can do nothing guess what?  i.e Cold winter!!! hehe) so get rid of winter other will not harm you in Lappeenranta. Though Finnish youth has huge body figure and good stamina, they will not even give a eye to you. They follow each and every government rules. So be honest and act in a civilised manner with them. Although Fins (Finnish People) are bit shy,  they are friendly on the flip side once after the ice is broken. Speak frankly with them.

    Cheating during the examinations are supposed to be crime here. So better to remove all your evil habits. Finnish students never try to cheat during examination. But sometimes Nepali here apply ''Nepali ko buddhi'' depending upon the nature of teacher. Remember that if teacher is strict, please don't even think about cheating because you may fall in negative consequences.


TRANSPORTATION

Bus in Lappeenranta

Train in Finland

Transportion here is good. You can get taxis, but no Nepali uses for they are expensive, I have only rode taxi here while coming from Nepal. Buses are also expensive it costs €40/ month for bus card in Lappeenranta. Almost All of the Nepali uses bicycle as the mode of transportation ( Don't let know to your friends USA cuz they may own cars there) Still it is well respected here, Even some sophisticated Finnish drive bicycle during summer and it is called bike with huge respect here LOL,  the matter is that we drive bike of low price sometimes second hand ( But better to purchase new one cuz u need not waste in repairing) whereas they choose expensive. It is really difficult; ''sometimes funny'' other times ''Pain-NY'' to drive bicycle over the slippery snow during winter. You never know where you gonna fall. But good cycle lanes are there for cycling. Take care about traffic lights here, it is not same as Putalisadak or Durbarmarg. If you study in Saimaa, and if you are in Karankokatu, normally students gets apartment in Karankokatu initially.. u need to drive cycle for  25 min to reach Saimaa UAS.

SAUNNA

Saunna

Steam Saunna

I am feeling warm while typing about sunna. It is place of ultimate pleasure to make my body resistant to cold and remove all cold related alignments. I have experienced electric and stem saunna ( in Swimming pool) here. Both are really wonderful. First you take bath ( or may not take) then you will go to a extremely heated small room covered by wooden frame, until your body can withstand. And you will take bath and feel ultimate pleasure. Saunna can be mix with ice know as ice Saunna. Saunna is typical Finnish culture. It is very necessary here for its extreme coldness. Beer is common in Saunna, although some different visions about it is heard.

FACEBOOK:-

 While talking about the lifestyle of Nepali student here in Lappeenranta Faceooking has been the integral part of their daily life. During winter, it is good way of passing time accompanied by watching movie. If you don't still have Facebook account why not to make one? Moreover it always refresh your relationship with your old friends.

I have jot down some of my experiences of my life in Finland. I hope this will help forthcoming Nepali students to figure out the simple lifestyle of Finland. Although I use ''You'' pronoun for my writing comfort, it is experience of me and me-alike Nepali students here. I will continuously update if anything come in my mind. Keep on popping up.


THANKS FOR STUDYING THIS PAGE IF YOU ARE NEWCOMER TO FINLAND ALSO WATCH PHOTOS PAGE THIS WILL BE VERY HELPFUL TO YOU!