Today is our last full day in Finland. We met with the director of the Fulbright Center and had a candid conversation about the University Act and the future of higher education in Finland. We all appreciated the time spent with her. Afterward, we met as a group to discuss the last part of the class . . . the paper, which is not due until July 15th. Needless to say, all of the information from the past 10 days is marinating in my head and will probably be ready around June 11th for me to analyze. ;)
If you read yesterday's post, you'll know that I accidentially left my travel pillow on the bus from Tampere to Lahti. The pillow was really my travel blanket folded and inserted into the pillow cover. Our host, Timo, gave me the number to the bus station (or maybe it was the bus company) and Jim showed me where the station is located in Helsinki. I went there after our meeting with the Fulbright Center, but was told I needed to know the name of the bus company (which I didn't know). I didn't have time at that moment because I was meeting Marta at the Helsinki Catherdal for an organ recital at noon. I met her and enjoyed the 15 minutes of beautiful music. Afterwards, I went back to the Santa Claus Land store and purchased some Christmas items. One is a stress ball that looks and sounds like a snowball. I guess you'll have to wait to see what I mean. At lunch, I called Jim and found out the bus company's name.
After lunch, I went my separate way to find the plastic puppy that I first saw at Aalto University. Here's a link to what the puppy looks like: click here. I am obessed with this puppy. ;) After successfully finding the designer and such, I went back to the bus station. I then found out that the bus company we used is based in Tampere and that is where their lost and found is located. So, no travel pillow/blanket for Sheila.
During the study tour, one of classmates is a graduate student from Boston College. She boarded a ship to Estonia at 4pm, so we said goodbye to her after lunch. The rest of us went to dinner at Wellamo (www.wellamo.fi) one last time. It was a great dinner and great conversations. That was when the rest of us said goodbye. Three of us will be going to the airport at 6am to leave for Italy (Vaughn and me) and Michigan (Linda).
I hope you've enjoyed the stories of Finland. I hope to have internet in Venice, but if not, my first post in Italy will probably be on June 1st when Vaughn and I arrive to Florence. Wish us luck on our travels!
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