¡San-Petersburgo en un día para los jóvenes!

 San-Petersburgo es una ciudad muy buena y agradable. Está situada cerca de Lappeenranta, solo  a 208 kilómetros. Hay muchas opciones diferentes para llegar allí - en el coche con otros estudiantes, en bus o en tren (solo 1,5 hora!).

San-Petersburgo es la capital cultural de Rusia. Esta ciudad es muy joven - tiene solo 311 años pero hay muchísimas cosas interesantes que puedes hacer y visitar allí: ir a algunos museos, exposiciones, palacios, parques, etc.

Todos los lugares conocidos de interés como Fortaleza o Hermitage los puedes encontrar en cualquier guía de viaje. Sin embargo, yo, como local, quiero dar algunos consejos para pasar un día diferente e interesante allí. Un día diferente para los turistas.

Primero, empieza el día con una visita a algún centro de arte moderno. Ahora tenemos muchos nuevos centros de Arte - Etagi y Tkachi, donde hay exposiciones de arte contemporáneo, mercados de productos artesanales, cafés y terrazas. Si vas a visitar San-Petersburgo en verano, Etagi tiene una terraza en la azotea donde puedes tomar un café con un pastel, una cerveza con un bocadillo y disfrutar de buenas vistas.

Después, recomiendo ir a algún parque, como el Campo de Marca o el Parque de Verano. Hay muchas posibilidades para tomar algo para llevar, alguna bebida y disfrutar la comida al aire libre - hacer un pequeño picnic.

San-Petersburgo tiene mucho ríos y canales, y por eso debes hacer una excursión por ellos y conocer la ciudad desde otro punto de vista. Hay más de 300 puentes!

Y para terminar su día perfecto, puedes ir de copas a los bares de San-Petersburgo! En el centro hay muchos bares nuevos muy populares para los jóvenes, como el bar Producti, Mishka Bar y otros…

La última cosa que hacer: ver los puentes levadizos por la noche.

¡Bienvenido a San-Petersburgo!

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/bridges/bank-bridge/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/your-travels/9188406/St-Petersburg-Russia-readers-tips-recommendations-and-travel-advice.html

Text: Alexandra Bigaeva

MY WAY OF LEARNING TO SEE THE WORLD

Being able to travel is a great thing. You get to visit places that you have seen in the internet or in television, and meet people who have lived very different lives than an average Finn. For a beginning traveler as myself, Europe has more than enough places to start seeing the world. Travelling today is relatively cheap, and the students of Finnish schools even have a great possibility to do this while making progress in their studies at the same time. Although taking the first step to the life in a new environment might not be that easy.

I was an exchange student in Hungary for the spring semester last year. My intention was to learn talk with people in English and maybe a bit in German too, so it would become easier and feel natural to use foreign languages. I even studied a bit of Hungarian while I was there. I tried my best to use the local language in daily grocery shopping and such, sometimes even succeeding at it. I also had a German roommate so I really got my share of language practices. Before that trip I had used hardly any of my foreign language skills while talking to people. Outside the classrooms, that is. Afterwards I felt a lot more confident when communicating in English, which really helped me in my later weekend job where I often spoke with foreign customers. Now I’m also excited to go and explore places when abroad, and not being afraid to have a conversation with people even if there is a bit of a language barrier.

A year after my studies in Hungary I started to think about the possibilities of working somewhere in Europe. I would do well with my English and with a bit of learning, I might even get by with my German or Swedish. It is only a question of what would be the country I could consider working in. Or at least going there and seeing what it’s like for a couple of years. Finnish engineers seem to be well appreciated in Europe, so I’m thinking of staying somewhere nearby at first. The problem is that many places don’t use English as much as we have gotten used to. In Finland it’s a common thing to be able to handle the basics of English but that’s not the case in many of the bigger European countries. That is why I have started practicing by using the languages that I consider needing in the future, in my daily life. With the internet giving access to all over the world, it’s easy to read news or watch television shows from different countries even in their own language. Hearing or reading the language has helped a lot in getting familiar with it, but it has to be done often. It helps to read about something that is close to me, about my hobbies or maybe some technical stuff that could be a huge help in my future job.

If you consider of travelling on any scale, do it. Start with a small trip and practice talking to people. If you don’t know all the words, don’t worry. Use hand signs, draw a picture or do whatever comes to mind. There are no specific rules of communication you would need to obey. Even with my limited experience I have noticed that to really understand and enjoy the foreign cultures, you need to know the people. And getting to know the people requires you to talk with them. Maybe it’s just about the day’s weather at first, but that is a start. The main thing is to lose the Finnish mentality of being afraid to fail, and to see what happens.

Keeping an open mind, who knows how far the road will take you.

Text: Joonas Kolehmainen, student in the course FV11A9502 Independent Study in English

Language and culture: what are we learning when we are studying languages?

I once counted that I have studied six different languages at some point in my life.  In my resume I have narrowed down the number of languages to the ones I feel comfortable enough to communicate with either in writing or in spoken language. If I only count the languages I have actively used in a work setting or in my free time the number continues to drop.

Really, as so many other Finns, I rely on my fairly good English to navigate through most situations where I need to use other than my native language.  After all, English is one of the most spoken languages in the world and we expect people in almost every country to be able to communicate with it or at least understand it. I used to think that learning English would help me sail through most situations, as it did for a long time, when I used it in my travels to Central and Northern Europe and in my interactions with exchange students around the world. But once I found myself living and working in the hauntingly big and culturally self-sufficient Russia, I had to readjust my deep-seated beliefs about what it means to know a language and what is the true benefit of learning g the local language and not just being able to get by using English.

When I moved to Russia, I had a fairly good understanding of the language and the ability to understand and to be understood in most everyday situations.  Still, there were many times when I found myself in more difficult situations hopefully asking people “Вы говорите по--нглийскийpeak Englihslanguage, английски?” (do you speak English?) , a phrase taught in every language class whether it is an English class or not. More often than not the answer was a stern “нет” (no) or when interacting with a twenty something a blushing and silent “немножко” (a little).  I had no other choice but to speak, use and sometimes abuse the beautiful and astonishingly difficult Russian language.

Why is this then beneficial? Wouldn’t it be more convenient if everyone spoke excellent English? Yes, in passing situations like in business negotiations and when travelling, there’s nothing wrong with using English so that there is a shared language. But to truly understand the country, people and to enjoy the culture, you have to speak the language. This becomes painstakingly obvious when you are not a tourist but you share your everyday life experiences with local people. After all, language is not just a mean of communication.  Language is the culture, heart and even politics of a country. You might even say that when you don’t understand the poems, jokes and menus, you are missing out on the best part of culture.

Of course, you can’t expect to learn the language fast even if you are the most enthusiastic Francophile or Slavophile.  Learning a language takes time and a lot of effort but it will be worth it. After all, it does not matter how long you live in a country, as long as you don’t take the time to learn the language, you will always stay a tourist.

Author: Hanna Dobrowolski, a student in a course FV119502 Independent Study in English