So the big off is getting closer.
a bit of background on this to begin the blog with.
I'm Jonathan Weir, 20 Years old, and a third year product design and technology student in the University of Limerick.
For third year every year the students go on co-op work placement, but this year due to the circumstances...i.e. the screwed economy, there aren't enough jobs so we're off on Erasmus. myself and 3 others, Barry, Eoin and David are all going to Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences in Finland.
This blog is part of our Erasmus, and will serve as a link back to UL and a guide for others going to Mikkeli in the future. I have another personal blog, which varies in quality and quantity which can be found through my account.
any who,
preparations are getting underway for the trip which i'll be driving.
Am i insane everyone is asking. possibly.
Newmarket-on-Fergus(near Shannon)
Nenagh(collect Barry)
Waterford (collect Eoin)
Rosslare-Fishguard(Ferry)
drive across UK to Harwich
Harwich to Espjerg(Denmark)(Overnight Ferry)
Esbjerg-Stolkholm (drive)
Stolkholm-Turku(Finland)(Ferry)
Turku-Mikkeli(8 Hour Drive)
all to be done leaving 4th of January arriving the 7th/8th
so, on my to do list is renew my insurance,get some cold weather gear etc. we're facing -30 Celsius and we'll need heated car parking spaces.
the process so far has been simple enough. though whether or net we'll get the modules we want when we get there is questionable. The UL Erasmus office has been excellent as has the Mikkeli International Co-Ordinator Ulla Vuorinen. any email to her has been replied to within a day.
MOAS has been the biggest hurdle. they're the main company organizing accommodation in Mikkeli. seemingly it is very rare to get Furnished apartments in Finland. MOAS only have two furnished buildings out of 40. having applied 2 months ago we only got our accommodation during the week. then you have to bank transfer a deposit to them. they're very inefficient and their application makes no sense but we just ignored some of the gaps. why the have to know our weekly income and the size of our current abode baffled all of us. any queries are easier to put through Ulla.
Anyway. i got a new NEX-5 DSLR camera yesterday so i should have photos of the trip and a breakdown of each day once we get going. i'll also be using this as a notepad for FYP ideas as well as a Finland journal.
