Let's Start...

Let's start at the very beginning,
A very good place to start...

-Rogers & Hammerstein

Hei! I have indeed arrived safely here in Oulu. In fact, I did so on Friday afternoon. A few obstacles have prevented me from posting until now. Here is the rundown of what has happened in these 6 short days...

Firstly, my roommate. He is the coolest guy! His name is Fabio and he is from Milan, Italy. He is VERY Italian. Heavy accent, cooks sauce, hairy, wears little/no clothing most of the time, loves women/women love him, etc. He is very very nice. He has already cooked pasta for me, helped me convert my cell phone from Finnish to English and helped me get my internet set up in my room. I have never had a better roommate! All of my female friends are in love with him. They call him "Faaaaaaabio" in a thick pseudo-Italian accent. He's great.

My room is very nice. It is bigger than my room was as a freshman at UNCG and it's all mine! We have an insanely tiny kitchen with a ridiculous stove. (Mom would be aghast!) We can barely make a cup of tea. It's nice though and we're managing nicely. Fabio has been here since early August so the place is well set-up and stocked with all the essentials.

I have pictures of you all in my room and think about you often. I am limited to one power converter (poor planning on my part) so I have to perform a sort of electrical juggling act. Oh, well. Life goes on.

I have met the most wonderful people. I now have friends from Brazil, France, Spain, Finland, United States, Hungary, Germany, Austria, Italy, Canada, Mexico, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bangladesh, and many more. There are 241 international exchange students at Oulu this semester! They come from 27 different countries! The most represented are Spain, Germany, and the US. Amazingly, UNCG is the single school with more students at Oulu than any other school in the world! We were actually the first school to ever exchange with Oulu, back in the early nineties. I'm learning bits and pieces of many different languages. I now know more German than I do Finnish! Everyone tells me that learning English is extremely easy. They also tell me that Finnish is nearly impossible. Yikes!


We walked across town to a lovely lake the other day. It was huge and very cold. We walked on nature trails all around it. It was awesome. It's amazing what you can discover when someone gets lost.






THE BARE NECESSITIES...

I, unwittingly, was coerced into walking in to the city center (downtown) to buy a used bike and a cell phone. Well, 2 hours and 6.2 kilometers later (about 5 miles) I was frustrated. Those of you who know me well can only imagine the whining. I went with my Kummi student, Saila (my liason in Oulu while I'm here. She's a Finnish student here and helps me get what I need and we hang out some, too) and two nice Czech guys (Ramon and Petr). After all the walking, we were unable to find a decent bike and the phone shops were all closed.

After many days of looking, begging, threatening, and crying (just kidding!) I got a bike. I walked 2 hours and another 6 kilometers (this time with 2 Spanish guys) to a small, suburban used bike shop. The owners did not speak a word of English, so it was quite interesting. I got a very nice used bike for 50E . I have not ridden a bike in about a decade, so that was also quite interesting. (My legs, oh God my legs!!!!!!)

Today I went and got a brand new Nokia cell phone (a Finnish company, actually) for only 52E and a prepaid plan for less than 5E. I have also (for those of you playing along at home) bought bedding, food, school supplies, computer supplies, an internet connection, toiletries, and a few other things. (Fear not, gentle parents, for I hath not used of my credit for that which you would not gladly pay!) I've used cash and a little debit for other, less essential things (beer, pizza, beer, french fries, beer, and uh...beer!) When I say beer, of course, I mean Golden Cap cider. (I don't need none o' your stinking beer!) But kiitos (thanks) to mom & dad for the financial support.

I'm finally learning the bus numbers/schedule and I can find my way around city center pretty well. I know my way around the university well, too. Believe it or not, the campus I attend within the University (there are 4 campuses) is one big building! Library, restaurants, classes, auditoriums...all one huge long building. That way we don't have to walk out in the cold. It's not too cold here yet. It's actually very comfortable.

We went to a disco in the city centre last night and partied our butts off 'til quite late. I was amazed at my ability to wake up at 9 and continue with orientation. Apparently parties are very common here, about two a week, and no one seems to worry about "bedtime." I think I'm needing sleep less and less! (Don't worry, mom, I'll be careful) Two peple have told me I'm cute and one has told me that I'm a good dancer (Psh, nothing I didn't know)(just kidding). You get enough booze in me and I'll dance the eyes right out of your head! (just kidding)(not really).

Everything is going very well. I've made dozens of new friends. (PS to Amy -- the people here are gorgeous!) I miss you all (well, not really) and will be posting again very soon.

FYI:
Here's all the contact info...

Mailing address:
Yliopistokatu 18 as 301
FI-90570, Oulu
Finland

Cell phone:
011.358.50.931.5696

E-mail:
dkbritt85@gmail.com


Love!

Hei hei,

d

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