The Official Opening Post

St. Petersburg on 26 May 2012. 

So I decided to open a blog.

I have been thinking of opening a blog for a good while, but I have been missing a solid theme. It would feel futile to babble this and that without concentrating on a certain theme... i.a., because I don't believe that it would be interesting at all.

Finally I got a theme that is both interesting and current to me: Russia. I will leave for student exchange to Moscow, Russia in 2013, and I want to share my experiences with others. The blog may end up being a six-month project, but I might continue posting about Russia-related things after my exchange as well. Time will tell.

Oh me oh my

I am a 21-year-old BBA student from Finland whose major is International Business. I started in Lahti University of Applied Sciences in September 2011, and currently I am only 9 ECTS away from graduation. My interest in Russia has been in small scales before my UAS studies. I would have wanted to start language studies in high school, but I did not have time for that due to overlaps with my other courses. At that moment, studying Russian did not feel that important, so I was not particularly upset for that. I started to search for information about Russia on my 3rd year in high school. I have had moderately good chances to specialize in Russia through language studies and some special courses offered, plus I have read some literature and followed news related to Russia. My work as a customer servant in a department store has supported my courage to speak Russian, even though my vocabulary is not that extensive.

Language: why in English?

I feel the most comfortable to write this blog in English, because

1) I have (and will have) English-speaking friends;

2) I study in English;

3) by using English, I can reach more people than with Finnish (my native language); and

4) for me it is actually easier to write in English than in Finnish!

I considered to write the posts both in English and in Finnish. This blog would not work as bi-lingual though, because I write long posts and it would take me a lot of time to prepare the actual post first and then translating it. English is thus the most convenient choice in this case.

Before the blog

A lot of things happened already before opening this blog. (I should have started earlier, but I just did not bother. Sorry.) Here is a summary about how we reached this moment.

Autumn 2011 ♣ Immediately in the beginning of my UAS studies, I march to the International Office and made it sure that I want to go to Russia for my obligatory exchange. My plans are rejected, since our only exchange school in Russia (St. Petersburg State University) teaches Bachelor courses only in Russian. My Russian language skills are on level zero. Language studies begin immediately. 

Spring 2012 ♣ I try a couple of times more to ask whether there is any chance to go to Russia for exchange. The coordinator LK hints about the school in Moscow where studies in English would be possible. She adds though, that the preparation of the partnership agreements would take two or three years. I would graduate before this would happen! I examine other exchange destinations, but they do not feel like interesting enough. Since I need to stay abroad (either study or internship) for a semester anyway , I decide to seek for an internship place abroad.

May 2012 ♣ My first visit in Russia occurs, when I have a class trip to St. Petersburg. I get a good impression of the city and wish to come back some day. 

Autumn 2012 ♣ I hear that the negotiations with the school in Moscow have proceeded. In the meanwhile, I search for the internship place. As a long-time worker for S-Group, I get a chance for the internship in Tallinn, Estonia. At this point, everything is agreed, and only the contract needs to be signed. Not quite what I wished for, but silently I accept this destination. Contacting is a problem right in the beginning: I would not get any answers again from the company in question. (I am not blaming Estonians in this case at all. My contacts in Tallinn were Finnish.)

November 2012 ♣ The third time comes when I receive the e-mail about exchange application times. My situation with Tallinn is frustrating. I decide to apply for exchange only if this school in Moscow is on the list of partner universities. Try to guess what happened next.

December 2012 ♣ I book a time from LK and examine the courses offered. The agreement with the school  was finished quickly, because our school would receive two exchange students from Moscow alreaduy in next semester (Spring 2013). My numerous e-mails to Tallinn have been sent to no avail.

January 2013 ♣ At first I was a little afraid of telling about my plans to my parents, because I had changed my mind concerning the semester abroad so many times. My fear was needless: my family knows my interest towards Russia very well, and they also understand my communication problems with Tallinn. I thank for the office in Tallinn for offering me the chance for internship and tell that my plans have changed.

February 2013 ♣ Three other students have been interested in the school in Moscow. There are two places left. I ask about these three others. LK cannot tell anything because of professial confidentiality (of course I knew that) and adds playfully that otherwise I would choke the other applicants. (No, not really? :D) I use a pink marker to accentuate all Russia-related courses from my transcript of records.

March 2013 ♣ I am the happiest girl in the world. "Congratulations! You have been internally selected for a student exchange at Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration - RU RANEPA." All this time I was able to trust that LK would remember my motives for studying in Russia. I start thinking of my course choices.


April 2013 ♣ The exhcange application leaves to RANEPA by post. The visa invitation letter would be expected in next month, once the application papers reach Moscow.

May 2013 ♣ The Russian Post loses my papers. Fortunately, our wise international coordinator had the scanned versions of the papers, which she sent by e-mail to the coordinator in Moscow. The Russian coordinator, EP, decided to wait for the original papers after all. Papers are finally delivered successfully to Moscow. The estimated time of the visa invitation letter is two weeks.

June 2013 ♣ The invitation is not here yet. After a couple of e-mails EP tells that the Russian Ministry of International Affairs is busy. Two weeks is added to the waiting time. The invitation should go to the school before coming here to Finland.

I would love to write more, but I think that it is good to stop here. I will try to update this blog always when something happens. I might even start writing about the Wonderland of Bureaucracy today ;)