One week untill the Netherlands!

EMCup is getting closer and in one week we will be in the Netherlands! We are so excited about going there and joining EMCup 2016! The preparations for the competition are in a good point, but we still have some things do before the plain departures from the Rovaniemi Airport on Friday morning. 

So what exactly have we been doing lately?

• Getting ready for the competition with different rehearsal assignments
• Shopping for the outfits for the competition
• Being super busy with studies and starting the thesis process
• Planning what needs to be packed for the trip 

And of course launching the latest competition! Watch the video to see what it is! ;)

Have a nice weekend everyone! :)

Something you might not know about Finnish Lapland

Hello everyone! We have introduced ourselves already but now we're about to tell you something about the place we live, Lapland. You all have some kind of idea what Lapland is, and you're all probably right. Now let us tell you perhaps something more!

- Lapland is known for it's beautiful nature: fells, rivers, forests and lakes.
- Nature provide us with multiple products you can only find in Lapland, for example different berries

Cloudberries. Photo: Lapland Above Ordinary

- In surface area Rovaniemi is the biggest city in Europe
- There are approximately same amount of people and reindeers living in Lapland
- Every reindeer belongs to someone

Reindeer sleigh

- By the way, never ask a reindeer owner how many reindeers they have.
- Yeah, we got the Santa Claus as well!
- At midsummer the Sun doesn't set at all
- In winter we have "Kaamos" which means the Sun doesn't rise at all

Midsummer. Photo: Lapland Above Ordinary

- We have our own aboriginal people called Sami people
- Best time to spot the Northern lights is from September to March
- In winter we go ice fishing, snowmobiling, skiing and skating
- We have way over thousand kilometers of skiing tracks in Lapland in spring

Cross-country tracks

Snowmobiling

- Only 3,6% of Finnish population lives in Lapland
- If you want to eat something really Lappish, taste sauteed reindeer and squeaky cheese!
- "Kuksa" is a wooden cup that is very common among Lappish people
- There's a Lappish belief that you can loose your luck if you wash your Kuksa
- People make a hole in the ice and go swimming in the lakes and rivers. We call it "avanto".

Kuksa

Lappish leather boots. Photo: Lapland Above Ordinary

So here's something you might not have known about Lapland yet, Of course, the best way to learn more is to discover it yourselves!

- Pure Arctic Madness

Degree Programme in Tourism

We are back from the holidays with a new post! Hope you all had a relaxing holiday and a great start for the year 2016.

As promised, I'm going to tell you a bit about our Degree Programme in Tourism where Linh and I study. After 3,5 years of studying you should gather 210 ECTS and graduate as a Bachelor of Hospitality Management (in Finnish restonomi). The intake is 30 students per year and studies are located in Rovaniemi at MTI campus. Half of the students are Finns and half foreigners. Our group is quite small with only 15 students. You can find more information by visiting our webpage from here. From there you can find groups curricula and interesting student stories!

Studying in English is a great way to practice the language. People (at least in Finland) are often too shy about their language skills, but that's usually unnecessary. It is actually not that common that there are native English speakers in the international groups, so no one is perfect. The first semester is the hardest, but when you get past that phase, you soon realize how difficult it is to study even in your mother tongue.  Besides, you get to know people from different countries and cultures! :)

Picture: Essi Koski

Linh and I are in the same group, now in the third year of our studies. Thesis project is starting and graduation is getting more serious! So what have we been actually doing the last two and half years??

We do have normal lectures and exams (sometimes). But mostly we do group works, presentations and write reports. However, we have organized several events where we students have planned and implemented the whole thing right from the beginning. We have also visited lot of local companies and learned about their operations. There are two training periods included into our degree and also a field work during the first year. The field work is done in SantaPark as an elf! 

Studying is not just boring lectures from eight in the morning till four in the afternoon (at least not always). It is so much more and the school can give you so much if you just take the chances. The best thing about University of Applied Sciences compared to University is to learn by doing and at least that is the best way to me. 

Got interested? Great! You can apply to English degree programmes untill 27th of January!

- Anni