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Exchange for UTAS students

Student Profiles- University of Helsinki

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Exchange for UTAS Students
Georgie Burgess

Bachelor of Arts – Bachelor of Laws

International Student Exchange
University of Helsinki, Finland

“In January 2009, I went on exchange to the University of Helsinki in Finland to study foreign reporting. I had never been overseas before so it was very exciting, and when I arrived I felt like I’d entered Narnia, there was snow and pine trees everywhere! It was incredible having to walk to uni in the thick snow everyday, and I loved rugging up.Sledding in Finland

“I made great friends with my class, and the other exchange students living at my accommodation, and one of my fondest memories is celebrating Australia Day with them in minus 20 degrees. One thing I soon discovered was that it does not matter where in the world you are, a uni student is still a uni student, and we were certainly kept busy with socialising, sledding, and went to several traditional Finnish University dinners known as ‘Sitz’ where we sang traditional university songs, drank vodka, and ate Finnish food.

“The Fins spoke English very well, so I had no problems with not knowing much Finnish. People were really excited to meet someone from Tasmania, and were very interested to hear about it. As part of the course the class went to Estonia for a week, and we also did a trip to Sweden for the weekend.

“I also got the opportunity to meet not only Finnish people, but all the other exchange students who were from all around the world, including America, Spain, Germany, Italy, Holland and France, so now I have friends all over the place! There are always people to share the experiences with when you are on exchange, and because you are all away from home the bonds you make are even greater.

“Overall it was an amazing experience and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for some adventure and a change from the normal life!”