Ami's Cultural Kaleidoscope

From November 1st to 3rd, I visited Tampere and Turku with my Japanese friends. It was my first time traveling domestically in Finland, and we made unforgettable memories. On the first day, we planned to meet at the station at 5:50 a.m. to catch a train leaving at 6 a.m., but two of our four missed it! One overslept, and the other’s smartphone died, so she couldn’t wake up in time (ｰｰ;). In the end, only one friend and I left Joensuu for Tampere! Looking back, it’s a funny story, and it’s become a great memory for all of us. After finally reuniting at Tampere Station, we headed to the Moomin Museum , a must-visit for us. We had a wonderful time exploring the Moomin world, and one thing that amazed me was that all the exhibit information was available in Finnish, Swedish, English, and Japanese! Finland really understands that Japanese people love kawaii characters (/ω＼). We definitely fell for their marketing and ended up buying postcards as souvenirs! In the evening, we visited Rajapor...

Hi! I just finished my final exam, and I’m exhausted (-_-). Today, I took the American Studies exam. It was tough, and I’m not confident about passing because I had to write a short essay of about 400 words. I hope it went well. Plus, I have a 3,000-word essay due by October 31st (´··`). Writing that many words in English feels impossible since it’s my first time writing such a long essay! But I have a domestic trip from November 1st to 2nd, so I have to finish everything before then. At least it’s good motivation to get through the week. After the final exam, I tried making a yogurt cake with klementiini (satsuma in Finnish) as a break. I used a recipe my Japanese friend shared with me here. I think making sweets myself is cheaper than buying cakes, so that’s one reason I decided to try baking. Sometimes, I really crave sweets, but they’re unbelievably expensive here! So far, I’ve only had cake three times at cafés, and my favorite is mandarin cake. Today, I was able to make satsuma ...

Hi! I just woke up and noticed the time difference between Japan and Finland is now 7 hours instead of 6. This is my first experience with such a change, and I find it fascinating. I even had to adjust the time on my analog clock (∵`) Last night, I couldn’t sleep well—I think it’s because I drank a large café latte in the evening to stay focused while studying. So, I ended up browsing the internet, especially YouTube. Lately, I’m into listening to K-pop, and I discovered a song called APT. It’s so addictive! The intro, which starts in Korean, really caught my attention. The song was produced by Bruno Mars and is sung by ROSÉ from BLACKPINK. I don’t understand the Korean part, but I can sing along with the English lyrics, so I enjoyed watching the music video and singing along at midnight. I also received a package from my mom in Japan. She sent some items for dealing with snow and ice, along with Japanese groceries like curry powder, packaged rice, and soy sauce. I miss the taste of Ja...

Hi! I'm Ami, currently living in Joensuu, Finland. I started writing a diary today and decided to turn it into a blog, though I’m not sure if I can keep it up ( ˊᵕˋ ; ) I came here as an exchange student from Chiba Prefecture, Japan, two months ago. Now that I’m finally getting used to life here, I thought this blog would be a great way to keep my memories and, honestly, to improve my English writing skills. I’d be so happy if you could cheer me on warmly! I’ll be sharing my experiences in Finland and sometimes highlighting the differences between Finland and Japan. Although it’s only been two months, I already love my life here—it’s so comfortable, and I believe most Japanese people would enjoy living here too. I have so many wonderful experiences to share with you through this blog, and I’ll do my best to keep up with my posts. BaiBai