MOBILITY, February 2018
Programme in Joensuu
February – programme in English
Sunday, 18th of February 2018
Today we had to get up very early to take the plane at the airport of Iruña at 6:40 and land in Madrid at 7:35 a.m.
At Madrid airport we had to wait for about two hours, so, some of us went to eat breakfast and when we finished we went all together to visit the airport. We also had the opportunity to rest. The two hours passed very fast because we were all the time without stopping from one side to the other. Finally we took the second and final plane of that day at 10:20 a.m. In the plane we took many pictures to all the landscapes that we could see. We landed in Helsinki at 3:30 p.m. (there, is another hour, so the trip by plane lasted 4 hours).
After the landing, we took our luggage and headed to the train station; we took a train from the airport to the train station in Helsinki. We had lunch at Helsinki’s station and we had a rest too, we were already tired. Some of us went to get some food to the stores in the station. Our train was supposed to leave at 18:45, but it came let due to bad weather… so we left at 19:20 on our way to Joensuu.
It was a long journey on the train, and we were very tired. Most of us fell asleep or were listening to music. We arrived to Joensuu at 23:30 and all our Finnish partners and their families were waiting for us!
Irati Bakaikoa and Maitane Huarriz
Monday, 19th of February 2018
Today we went to school at 9:15 and we had a meeting in the auditorium, where we had a little breakfast with a typical bun from Finland.The principal and teachers spoke to us about the education in Finland, Joensuu and the inclusion of immigrants there. It was very interesting.
Then, some students made a presentation and they taught us the school. It was surprising how different education is in Finland comparing with education in our high school. There are plenty of places to have a rest, study or meet classmates. There are also games, instruments and really comfortable sofas.
After that, we had lunch at 11:00 and we went to “Marta office” to make some Karelian pasties. They were made with porridge rice, water, salt and cream. With those ingredients we made the dough and then we baked the pasties in the oven at 275 ºC.
After that we went to auditorium again and we did a workshop called “What’s up?”, where we had to tell about ourselves and traditions of Christmas in our country to our Finnish partner, and then she had to do the same with her traditions. It was quite nice listening how different traditions are in both countries.
To end with, we went with our host families and our friends to do different things. Some of us went to the bowling alley, were we had an enjoyable time together.
Leyre Diaz, Iraia Etxeberz and Andrea Moreno
Tuesday, 20th of February 2018
On Tuesday we arrived at 8 o’clock and we had a Finnish language lesson in the auditorium. They taught us how to say easy words like “kiitos” or “huomenta”. Also the numbers, but then there were impossible words like “lentokonesuihkuturdinimoottoria- pumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas”. We had a very good time trying to say those words.
It was Andrea´s birthday, so we sang to her in English, Basque and Finnish. This is Happy Birthday song in Finnish:
After that we went to Koli. It’s a National Park and there a guide told us about the park such as when it started. We watched a video about Koli’s nature and fauna.
Then, we went hiking to the top and we were very surprised with the snow. There was a lot of snow and we were very cold but the views were so amazing that it was worth it. Here are some photos:
At midday we ate in a restaurant near Koli. It was a self-service of a traditional Finnish soup. After this we played the piano and we returned back to Joensuu.
Once in Joensuu we met the Finnish partners and we went to the supermarket all together to buy some marshmallows and sausages.
Then, we went to a cabin to have dinner, but to go there we had to cross the forest and we were walking for one hour, more or less. The cabin was very cute, it was small with a camp fire and a chimney. We were so cold that we put our feet near the fire. Finally, we cooked in the fire the marshmallows and the sausages with a stick. They were so delicious.
It was a great day!
June Bakaikoa and Haizea Telletxea
Wednesday, 21st of February 2018
First, we met all together at 8:15 in the high school.
We started preparing everything for the “Cultures together” activity. We moved some chairs and desks to prepare different stands for different cultures, with the help of some immigrants who live there in Finland. Some of us took care of our own “Basque Culture” stand, which had lots of things of our country, like potato omelette, chorizo, cheese,…
When everything was prepared, every student came and visited the different stands. 
There were lots of different cultures, like Afghanistan, Kazajistan, Turkey, … each stand had typical food from their countries. Also some cultures danced typical dances from their countries… After that, at 10:50 we had lunch at the high school.
After having lunch, we went together with the immigrant students to a frozen lake to perform different outdoor activities. When we arrived, some monitors divided us into two groups. 
The first group went Snowshoeing and the second ice fishing. We also
played games to get warm, because that day was freezing. Ice fishing was fine, although we didn’t get any fish, we enjoyed talking with the immigrants and hearing their stories. Then they taught us how to do Snowshoeing. At first it was hard, but finally we get used to it. In the afternoon, some of us went to an ice hockey match, and others stayed with their family.
Nahia Labairu and Unai Salbide
Thursday, 22th of February 2018
We arrived to school at 9.30 a.m. and we were given a speech by a woman of the Multicultural Association of Joensuu (JoMoni NGO).
She explained us that the Finnish laws for immigrants are not appropriate for them. She said that sometimes immigrants are not allowed to be in Finland because there were mistakes in the translation. That means that sometimes it is the translator’s fault.
That girl also told us that the law in Finland isn’t appropiate for inmigrants because if they arrive on Finland without some documents, the government takes them again to their own countries. She hopes that the government will change this law so they couldn’t bring them to their countries. She explained us that the association she works for (JoMoni NGO) gives these immigrants a place to live and be safe and legal support for not be returned to their own countries.
Then an immigrant told us his own story and the difficulties he found to arrive to Finland. He said that because of a translation mistake he can’t be a Finland citizen yet.
At 13.10 we went to try Sauna and ice swimming to Jääkarhujen maja. When we were ready with the swimsuit and the towel, we went to the sauna. There we got shocked because the temperature there was about 84 degrees. It was not very harmful but sometimes we had difficulties to breath, mainly when someone was throwing water to the warm stones and the steam did not allowed us to breath properly. But apart from it, we believe that it was very nice. Then, when we were sweating and warm enough we had to go to the ice water. We think that almost all the Spanish people were a little bit scared, but when we tried it once, all of us wanted to do it again and again. It was a really satisfying feeling, because you feel your body frozen and a tickle in all your body, which makes you relax.
At 18.00 p.m. all the students of the exchange went to a buffet restaurant. There we could eat everything we wanted. All of the Spanish people ate a lot because everything was delicious. We ate for example: pizza, sausages, nachos, salad and more things, and for dessert some of us ate an ice-cream. When we finished having dinner, at 20.00 p.m. we went to a room that Finnish girls had rented to be all together and have some fun. In that room we played some games such as cards, the broken phone and more games they have shown us before.
Iván Rangel and Andoni Zubiria
Friday, 23rd of February 2018
Firstly, on Friday, we woke up and after having breakfast with the families, we went to the school. Friday was the coldest day of the week, we had around -24 degrees, freezing, isn’t it?
Then, after leaving the bags in a safe place, some of us went to history class.
It was interesting to see how the classes were.
Later, we went to English lesson in preparatory school of immigrants, were we had like a chat with people of different kind of nationalities. Then, after presenting ourselves, we spoke about how our classes in Spain were like and also how they were in Finland, and we compared them.
Next they taught us how they learn English and also Finnish, and we talked about their future plans. It was very interesting to see how they learn and also what they think about Finnish education system. They were very nice people, and we really enjoyed this activity, because we spoke as if we were friends.
Then, we went back to the school again and after playing a bit to ping pong, we had lunch all together.
After that, we had a bit free time and then, we met all together at computers room, there, we made an activity called “Being an immigrant in Finland”.
The purpose of this exercise was to make like banners talking about different aspects of an immigrant in Finland.
So the teachers made small groups of six persons each one. Three Spanish students and three Finn students.
We had to look for information on the computer and then put it on the cardboard.
Finally, we put all the cardboards in the gymnasium and it was time to explain it all.
Then, we did evaluation of the week.
After that, we took our luggage again with us and the moment of the sad farewell came. Some of us cried a lot, also Finnish partners. We were very sorrowful because we had an amazing week with a lot of wonderful experiences and adventures, and also amazing people. So, after saying bye to all Finnish people, we went to the bus, and they picked up to the train station.
We had a long trip, but finally, we arrived to Helsinki.
So we left our luggage in the train station lockers, and after that, we went to a mall, and there, in a Burger King, we had dinner.
Later, when we finished having dinner, we started walking to the hostel. We walked quite a lot, or that seemed to us, maybe because of the cold, but finally we arrived to the hostel, and they gave us our room’s key.
Finally, we had a shower, and we went to bed because we were very tired, because of the long trip.
Andrea Beraza and Mikel Mateo
Saturday, 24th of February 2018
We woke up in Helsinki at 7:30 and we had a buffet breakfast at the hotel.
After that, we visited a pretty church and then we resumed our visit through Helsinki. We visited the main Helsinki’s landmarks and we also bought some souvenirs and then we went to a market next to the sea.
The Baltic Sea was frozen and the ships were crashing the ice while they were arriving to the port. There was more or less 15cm of ice. It was incredible! Near the sea it was a swimming pool and some people were taking a bath!
We had lunch at a burger restaurant and then, we went to the railway station to pick up our suitcases. Then, we went to the airport and we took the plane to Madrid at 5.00 p.m.
We arrived in Madrid about four hours later, and then, we took a bus to Iruñea.
Ibai Agesta and Asier Itoiz
Erasmus blog 