In the footsteps of Prince William...

On Friday night we came up with this idea that we wanted to go somewhere on Saturday to see something else than Dundee...the problem was we didn't have any bus tickets. To get cheaper bus tickets in Scotland/UK, we have to buy them online at least 48 hrs before the take-off - so we better know in time what our plans are... difficult, we know ;)

All right, around 11 am on Saturday we set off towards Seagate bus station, and saw on the billboard that the first bus went to St. Andrew's - sounded fun, so we jumped on :)
We didn't have a clue on how long it was going to take to get there - if you check it up on the map it doesn't seem too far away, but still, it's no walking distance... For the first time we actually crossed the Tay Bridge and saw Dundee as a city from further away - it's actually not that small in the end, only the centre is.

The bus drove through smallsmall towns and villages, one smaller than the other. Through fields of hay and cows (with the countryside smell!) stopping along the way to pick up oldish people. About half an hour later we arrived in St. Andrew's - immediately we liked the town! As it was Saturday, the town was filled with people - students and senior citizens mostly - which was a bit surprising, it's supposed to be a small town/village... Anyway, we checked out the major sights - St. Andrew's Castle, the "harbor", St. Andrew's Cathedral, the Haunted Tower, St. Rule's Tower, The Church of St. Mary etc etc. We tried to spot Prince William, but unfortunately without any success (probably 'cause he's all ready graduated :D) - the university we saw though...everything seems to belong to the oldest University of Scotland...

We had a great time strolling around the city without any concern of what time it was. But we still have to get back there sometime, 'cause we didn't get to see the famous golf course!! Saving it for Jess' brother I s'pose ;)
Back in Dundee we decided to have a chill-evening - yupp, on a Saturday evening we stayed in!! What's happened to us?? :) Today is a new day though, who knows where we'll end up ;)

(you can see pics from St. Andrew's on our facebook-sites ;))

Discovering Edinburgh!

Our first Edinburgh trip is now behind us - first of many we're sure, 'cause there seems to be loads to see in the capital of Scotland! Our friend Jessi, first of many visitors, arrived in Edinburgh Turnhouse just after 10 a.m. on Sunday the 23rd and we were of course there to meet her :)

Left Dundee in the rain at 8 a.m. and arrived after about 1h45min later at the St. Andrew's Sq Bus Stn. Edinburgh bathed in sun when we arrived, and the town was packed with people - Rugby Fans is more like it, don't know if they can be called people ;) hihi! Edinburgh hosted the Rugby World Championships that weekend, and there were lots of nationalities all around - mostly Kiwis and Scots though... Scotland - New Zealand was Sunday's game :) Princes street, which in a way could be called the main street/shopping street in Eburgh, was full of Scots dressed in kilts and wearing wigs in lively colours, and bagpipe music was played in all corners! (mind you, bagpipe music can become really annoying in the long run...! something everybody should experience ;))

Before Jessi arrived we had enough time to start with a cup of Starbuck's latte and a walk in the Princes Street Gardens, which was really green and beautiful, and the view of Edinburgh Castle added so much to the experience. After browsing some stores on Princes Street we met up with Jessi - great to see her, even though it's been only about a month since we last saw her... ;) Together with Jessi and her big rugsack we then made our way towards Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile that runs down from the castle - "Don't miss the street life on the Royal Mile" A:s Scottish guide book says, and we definitely didn't! What an experience with the mixture of rugby fans and tourists! Still, we just saw a small part of the Royal Mile, so def. have to get back there! ...especially as we found a Starbuck's up there :P

After being enough touristy for a day, we ended up at an Italian restaurant called Bella Italia, which we found thanx to the Freshers' Fayre @ UAD :) The garlic bread was amazing, so if you ever go there, you just have to try it! Nothing to complain about the pizzas either ;)

The Megabus back to Dundee left St. Andrew's Sq 3.40 p.m., and Jessi saw the first of Dundee at about 6 p.m. Later on Sunday we had some people over; a bunch of French peeps and some Polish - really a fun night! ...and Salmari was really popular, thanx Jessi for that ;) Seems the black look of it didn't at least scare people off, quite the opposite :)

Coming home...for Xmas :)

Haha, we can't stop laughing!! :D We did it again...! We just proved that we shouldn't be let on our own, especially in a foreign country ;)

Riiight. We booked our flights home for Xmas, that's the good news. The return part is a bit fuzzy, but we have the tickets for that as well... ;) We fly together to Helsinki on Dec. 15th, but Annina will return to Dundee just in time for New Year's (Yiiihaaa!) on Dec. 30th, while Jess returns a bit earlier, on Dec. 27th, with Jaakko, a friend of ours. The interesting part is that Jess and Jaakko will take seperate flights (haha!), leaving the same-ish time from Helsinki, arriving in Edinburgh about the same time. Jess will fly via Frankfurt, Jaakko thru Manchester (been there done that, not fun. haha - but Jaakko, u'll be fine ;))... This wasn't how we planned it, but hey, look on the bright side, Jess & Jaakko will still arrive on the same day, to the same airport ;)

Btw, guess how we payed for the flights (all three of 'em)? Jupp, with Jess' VISA (as Annina has all ready reached her limit on her Mastercard...haha) Mums & Dads, do not worry - all details later ;) ...haha, we've become real Dumbdonians :D

Oh lazy day...

Today we decided to just relax and take it easy, no alarm clocks going off in the morning and no special schedules to follow... With a late start to the day, we headed down town and beyond. So far we've only walked about the city centre and the campus - today we went further :) We walked past the Seagate Bus Stn (very fancy...not.) and towards the Tay Bridge, but ended up in a "shopping centre", some really huge stores, which included another Starbuck's - whoooa, that was a nice surprise! The one in the Overgate shopping centre has become like a second home for us (how can coffee taste so good??), the staff nearly recognize us all ready :) so now we found a new one, with more staff to harass ;)

In between the window shopping, we came across the JJB Fitness Centre, and we totally fell in love! So from now on, if you're looking for us and we're nowhere to be seen on campus or at the Hub, check JJB! ...or Starbuck's ;) A huge gym, swimming pool, two jacuzzis, a steam bath and all the classes you can imagine, for a student friendly price! Too good to be true...?

--- EDIT 17.04
...so much for our relaxed and take it easy-day - the fire alarm just went off in our rooms... Noup, it wasn't us, probably somebody burning their toast, again. Aaargh, that annoying sound!
Let's hope the rest of the night goes smoothly...

"Fire!"....where??

Otherwise the Hub, where we live, is veeery nice and cozy. Big beds, modern kitchen and en-suite bathrooms... you'd think that a messy kitchen would be gruesome, but there's something even worse - the fire alarms! In normal flats they'd actually function as they should, when there is a fire or a looot of smoke, but here it's not at all like that...

In each room there's a fire alarm, and it's not just any fire alarms, they're the really sensitive ones. When for example somebody in our flat cooks/burns food or makes toast, the fire alarm goes off. When somebody in another flat in our staircase burns food or makes toast, our fire alarms go off...and it's not even only the alarm in the kitchen, it's in every single bedroom, every time! ...so imagine yourself waking up to some reeeally annoying beeping sound, and there's no way to switch it off! Aaargh! Actually it's just as annoying at other times of the day, 'cause it goes on like forever...! Sensitive stuff - guess some people should learn to cook? ;) (probably jinxed it now, tomorrow it'll probably be us :))

Not a day has gone by without an alarm going off somewhere on the premises... Today when we got home from uni, the residents in staircase E stood outside in their pyjamas! And we were coldish even with coats on... Can't wait for the winter to creep up on us...guess we have to sleep in our ski outfits to survive the fire alarms :) haha, some kind of student life, huh? ;)

Japanese or Scottish?

Today was an interesting day... we had our second lecture, International Management with Yi Chang. Her name in itself says quite a lot of where she's from; Japan, China, Korea perhaps? Anyway, her accent was very... interesting. Even for us it was a struggle to understand what she wanted to communicate to the class, and by the looks of the others they had the same problem...

Guess it's gonna be one of those classes we reeeeally have to listen carefully and not miss out on a word - that was the problem today; if we missed even a sentence, we were lost! It actually started to sound like Japanese...! So we're wondering... do we need to have some kind of previous studies in Japanese to pass this course perhaps? Anyway, it's gonna be interesting actually understanding what she's saying, or trying to teach, as the powerpoints were very disoriented... We'll see how it goes ;)

Afterwards we went to the Sports Fayre at the Student Centre. Pretty enlightening actually. Quite a few sports to choose from; Basketball, Hockey, Football, Rugby, Netball, Badminton etc etc, and Sky Diving! :) That really caught our attention, sounded like fun, and is at least cheaper to experience here than back home in Finland... Going to go listen to the information session on next Tuesday, so we'll know more then...but it would be sooo exciting, don't u think?

Freshers' Week

Guess we belong to this segment also - we're Freshmen in a way at UAD, so we decided to take part in some of the stuff going on during Freshers' Week 10.-16.9. During days it consisted mostly of the same stuff we'd come across during the international orientation, but there was also some lectures in Business and Economics...boring talks, have to say - we didn't sit through 'em all...

But during the evenings/nights the Student Centre across from the University main buildings came to life. There were lots of different parties and happenings - Comedy night, DJs playing, bands....Wednesday we just had to join - Taywatch beach party starring Jeremy "Hobie" Jackson from Baywatch (D. Hasselhoff's son, remember?). Who knew he's a dj these days...? Anyway, that was quite some party!! :) and quite some outfits too, I mean, who would wear that kind of stuff?!
That same night, Scotland played football/soccer against France - you should've seen the sports bar! It was packed with people, well Scots and French guys actually... and when Scotland scored their first goal - you wouldn't believe the noise!! It really was an experience in itself - not that they were even half as bad as the Brits I presume... But it was hmm... interesting :)

Two days ago on Sunday, it was the big finale of the Freshers' Week @ the Student Centre. Pretty surprised to see the place nearly empty when we got there about 11 pm - but it didn't bring us down! :) Played some pool and chatted with some new people, it was a really fun night! But unfortunately the details will remain secret ;) haha! Naah, but really, it was a great night of great fun! Absolutely something we will remember for the rest of our lives, or at least for the rest of the year ;)

Now our studies have all ready begun, with our first lecture today - Service Operations Management. Tomorrow will hopefully be a good day - first a lecture 9-10 a.m. and then Sports Fayre from 12-5 pm :) tell u how it went later! ;)

International Orientation Week @ UAD

Compared to Arcada, there's a lot of international students here at Abertay Dundee. During the orientation week 3.9 - 6.9 we found out that we were about 600, all though it later turned out we were more like 700... which is a lot in our opinion! No use in trying to get to know 'em all, it's just impossible!

Most of the international students seem to come from France or Belgium, but there's quite a few Polish, Indian and German. We're all together about 10 Finns - us from Arcada, two from Vasa, one or two from Åbo and at least two from Rovaniemi - We're pretty sure there's still some more (you can tell by the looks) but at least we haven't met them...yet.

The Orientation week was all about getting to know the other internationals, but first and foremost we got to hear about the country and the city we'd arrived in - Dundee's the fourth largest city in Scotland with about 140.000 inhabs, Ben Nevis is Scotland's highest "mountain" with some 1400 m, Scots are really proud of being Scottish and should not be named Brits etc etc... What stuck in our minds was the food - "Fried fat" is what Jess calls it, and it seemed like the other internationals pretty much agree with her. James and Hazel ("dad" and "mom") asked what we'd come to think of first when thinking about Scottish food - Greasy and fat were the most common adjectives, which is why we mostly cook at home ourselves :)

During the international orientation week we learned a lot about Student Services, about how to open a bank account, where to go for this and that and all the important stuff we need to know to make our year in Dundee start as easily as possible. In the evenings there was plenty to do also - UAD organized game nights, quizes, ten-pin-bowling, a movie night (on which we didn't fit unfortunately) and last but not least on Friday it was time for our first Ceilidh [keilid], which is a typical Scottish party with men in kilts, Scottish music and drinks and sackpipes, the whole nine yard! And it was fun, lots of traditional Scottish dances - pretty much like the dances we danced during our Elder's ball in High School :) Funfunfun!

Anyway, the Orientation week came to an end, and hopefully we at least learnt something useful... at least we made new friends, which in the end really was the most important part, at least for us :)

Hillside-ish

During the international orientation week, from Monday 3rd 'til Thursday 6th, the university provided us with a place to stay. As our flight was so late, and thus delayed our arrival to Dundee, there was no other option than to sleep at Hillside, student accommodation about 15 mins outside the centre by bus. From outside it looked like a typical dorm, and I guess it did from the inside too... the rooms were small and a bit shabby (is that even a word? anyway I guess u know what I mean), the kitchen even shabbier... but it was okay, as long as we were many there... We lived with 6 other girls; Barbara (POL), Jennifer (GER), Keti (IND), Tuuli (FIN, Arcada), Tia and Johanna (FIN, Vasa) - typical that we lived with the other Finns, but they're great girls, so we didn't really mind :)

Hillside was great only because lots of other internationals lived there - just about all the apartments were filled... Lots of French..! ...the apartments in themselves weren't that great though, the fact that Hillside will be torn down in Oktober pretty much says it all...;) But we managed!

On Tuesday night it was time for our first night out :) It was just us two for some weird reason... We decided to try an Irish pub across from the Courthouse Accomodation - quite a nice pub, but Tuesday definitely wasn't a peak day for them! From there we went to Fat Sam's (one of the "in" bars in Dundee; 4 stories & 7 bars) and before heading home, we even stopped by Yuppies, which is a bar pretty close to UAD. Fun night, and fun bars :) Prices were at least cheaper than back in Helsingfors ;)

Because we only got to move into our apartment at the Hub on Saturday the 8th, we were worried about where we were going to sleep between the 6th and the 8th - James, our "dad" fixed it though, we got to stay at Hillside (oh joy!)... And let me tell you, it was not fun to stay just us two girls in the crappy apartment for two more nights... needless to say, we slept in the same room :) Tuuli heard from somebody, that some French/Belgian guys were going to be staying there as well for some more nights, so we ended up in their apartment on Thursday night - it was just nice to know that we weren't the only ones there, all though the French/Belgian guys lived in the building furthest away from us...

Anyway, we survived, and on Saturday morning we "carried" our bags downstairs (more like pushing them and hoping for the best ;)) and headed for the local bus - that really wasn't fun, especially as we missed our stop and ended up downtown... Oh well, we got to the Hub eventually... End of Hillside adventure, thank God!

At the final destination....at least for now ;)

Take-off on Monday morning Sept. 3rd, flying to Edinburgh thru Manchester. What a trip! (and not in a good way...) The flight from Helsinki went fine, arrived in time at the airport in Manchester - thats where the fun started... First of all, know that Manchester airport is not big, and there's not much to do there. Then picture a couple of Finnish girls stuck at the airport for 5 hrs!! Bored to death before our adventure had even started...! When we finally got to board our plane for Edinburgh, we just had to cross our fingers and hope that the plane would take us to our destination - which it eventually did! :) (the plane was smaaaall, a propeller one...scaaary!)

We arrived in Edinburgh about 2,5 hrs late, had to drag our luggage from the UK arrivals to the international arrivals hall, where some guys from UAD awaited us... our good luck continued - we just missed the previous bus, by like 3 minutes! Oh well, fortunately Edinbrugh Turnhouse had some cafés and shops, so we kept ourselves entertained - as well as everybody else :) So if you saw or heard three giggly Finns in Turnhouse on Sept. 3rd, that was us! Busted!

Finally got to leave the airport at about 5.20 pm, the bus drove us up to Hillside, where we lived for the first night - but that's a chapter in itself! ;)