Long Study Tour: Finland & Estonia

Hi blog,

It’s been a minute. It is getting to that point in the semester where I’ve really been fighting to stay motivated. After a whole week of traveling (which obviously is a dream), I can definitely say it really tires you out. I’ve spent the past week taking some much needed time for some rest and relaxation. This post is going to be a long one, so I’m just going to hop right into it!

Sunday – February 23rd, 2020

I have waited the entirety of the semester so far up until this point- long study tour. At DIS, you spend a week further diving into material based on your core course in a different country (or two)! From the beginning of the semester, at least my roommates and I, were counting down until this moment… and then it arrived super fast. I trekked to the airport along with two of my roommates (Ann and Guyania) who are also in my core course and met up with our class. Before we knew it, we had landed in Tallin, Estonia!

We arrived in Estonia around 4 PM so we had the first few hours to settle in before dinner at Peppersack Restaurant in Old Town. The restaurant was medieval themed- which was hugely represented in the waiters outfits and decor. The class was served some kind of fish (which I do not eat), so I was served a very yummy vegetarian plate with rice and a variety of vegetables. When leaving dinner, the street outside of Peppersack was lined with what seemed like endless tanks and humvees. We were all very confused about what was going on- did Estonians normally showcase their military vehicles? We found out that they were practicing for their Independence Day parade the next day, which was relieving, but regardless, it was really cool to see. We were given the rest of the night to go off and explore the city- which I did with a few of my friends.

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Monday – February 24th, 2020

Today was Independence Day in Estonia so we did not have any academic visits planned. We started the morning with a guided walking tour of Estonia. It was really cool to hear about some of the history of Estonia and get some recommendations on touristy things to see and do. Estonia has a lot of russian influence since being apart of the Soviet Union for so long! It’s really interesting to see how this has shaped the city and their culture. Our tour concluded around where the parade was taking place so we got to watch part of Estonia’s Independence Day parade- which truly was a once and a lifetime experience. My professor told us how long study tour usually doesn’t fall on Estonia’s independence day, so she had never witnessed this either! After the parade, we had lunch as a class at Restaurant Da Rocco where I had a steak which was SO SO good! This restaurant was super cute and homey and all of the food was delicious! After lunch, we had the rest of the day to ourselves so a few of my friends and I headed to Café Maiasmokk which is the oldest cafe in Estonia! We spent the rest of the day exploring the Old Town and then had dinner with friends at F-Hoone where I had an AMAZING vegetable curry. This restaurant was a little bit of trip from the hotel, but we were given transportation cards which made it super easy to get to! I highly recommend going here! They had a large menu and everything we got was so good.

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Tuesday – February 25th, 2020

Today was our last day in Estonia before heading to Finland. Because of Independence Day, all of our academic visits were today. Our first visit was to the Pirita Family Health Clinic. Here we talked to a physician and a resident about their experience working in the Estonian healthcare system. The resident also gave us insight on what her education experience was like which was interesting to see how it differed from getting a medical based education in the U.S. The physician also talked about what her day-to-day work day was like and it is incredible how she handles such a large number of patients! This visit helped me gain a better understanding how the Estonia healthcare industry operates.

After this visit, we headed on over to E-Estonia Briefing Center. Estonia has a very successful online data base which holds all medical records, one can vote, gain residency, and more! This system is so developed that laptops in Estonia are frequently bought with a slot to insert your residence card to access this online system. I was absolutely mind blown after hearing about all of these initiatives and how Estonia has made such a digital society. Our presenter was also very passionate and informative. This was one of the best presentations I have possibly ever seen. I think this was my favorite academic visit of the trip- it was so intriguing.

After a long day of visits, we headed to the ferry which would take us to Helsinki, Finland. The ferry had a very large and delicious buffet which we had for dinner. We also got to watch the sunset on the ferry which was absolutely beautiful.

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Wednesday – February 26th, 2020

On Wednesday we started our day by visiting KELA where we learned about the Finnish social security and healthcare system. It was interesting to hear about Finland’s universal healthcare system and how it differed from Denmarks. Despite Finland being one of the most equal countries, their healthcare system still struggles with a lot of inequalities. Being abroad has taught me that even universal healthcare systems have inequalities and issues- which I didn’t really consider at first. It is so fascinating to me to see how different the healthcare systems are between these countries, but how they all tend to struggle with the same things.

After KELA, we headed to the Old Market Hall where we started our food tour. During the tour we tried a large variety of foods, like reindeer, different kinds of cheese, fresh cranberries, cinnamon buns, Frazer chocolate (which I highly recommend going the the Frazer store and stocking up), and more!

We had the rest of the day on our own post food tour so my friends and I spent some time exploring Helsinki. We first checked out Uspenski Cathedral which is a Russian orthodox church in the middle of Helsinki. Finland was also apart of the Soviet Union for a while. Like Estonia, you could see hints of Russian influence throughout the city.

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Next we headed to Suomenlinna Sea Fortress which was a recommended activity on our study tour itinerary. We had to take a quick ferry here, but the fee was included on a travel card that we also received upon arriving to Finland. It was really pretty to see more of the sea and some killer views of Helsinki.

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For dinner that night, my friends and I got pizza at Pizzeria Via Tribunali. Connecticut has some award-winning pizza, but this might have been the best pizza I have ever had. It was a little bit on the pricier side- but if you’re looking for good pizza in Finland, this is the place to go! After dinner, our professors invited the class out for a drink at Olutravintola Villi Wäinö Bar. This was a great way to end the night and get to bond with my class and professors a bit more!

Thursday – February 27th, 2020

Thursday was our last full day of long study tour. It all went by so fast! Thursday was my favorite day of long study tour!

We started the day with our last academic visit to Folkhälsan. Folkhälsan is a NGO in Finland that carries out scientific research and provides social welfare and health care services as well as information and counseling in order to promote health and quality of life. They work primarily with a minority in Finland- Swedish speaking Finns. We talked to four different employees here who all had different roles and projects. We talked to a woman who promoted inclusivity amongst sports as well as a volunteer doula. The research and missions that each of the employees talked about were very compelling.

After our last academic visit, we headed to Oulunkylän Curlinghalli Oy where we learned how to curl! Curling is SO FUN and also not as hard as it looks! By the end, we were definitely not anywhere close to professionals, but definitely a few steps closer. It was fun to have a bit of friendly competition with my class. My team ended up winning (:

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Our last visit of the trip was to The Green Window. This was by far my favorite visit of the whole trip. We ate lunch on the bus and traveled about 45 minutes outside of Helsinki to the forest! We were greeted by Pekka and Mainio, our guides for the evening, and started the visit by having a Finnish coffee ceremony in the lappish hut. We sat around the fire in the very hygge hut and shared cinnamon buns and Finnish coffee.

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After the coffee ceremony, we checked out the lake that we would later be jumping into and went on a hike. The forest was absolutely breathtaking and it was so refreshing to be outside of the city for a while. Pekka told us about his relationship with the forest and gave us different tidbits of information about what we were seeing during the hike. You could tell how passionate Pekka was about the forest which was so delightful to hear about.

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Following our hike, we sat in a tiny building on the property that a family of 15 used to live in. We learned more about the history of the property and the Green Window from Pekka and Mainio. They also told us about their friendship (we thought they were father and son, but just colleagues)! We then played a bonding game as a class before dinner!

For dinner, they cooked us reindeer (a huge Finnish delicacy), mashed potatoes and a cream of mushroom soup with mushrooms they picked from the forest. Everything was very, very good.

After dinner we went winter bathing! To do so- you start off by jumping into an ice cold lake and then sitting in a sauna. Saunas are a huge Finnish tradition- Pekka told us there are more saunas in Finland than cars. The lake was frozen over and there was a tiny spot carved out for us to jump into. I was scared at first- I had never even thought about jumping into a body of water in the winter. It was quite shocking at first, but honestly nowhere near as bad as I thought it was. The wood-burning sauna was also soooo nice. We got to choose between the wood burning sauna, an electric sauna, and wood-burning hot tub between each dip. I never thought I’d do this- but I’m so so glad I did.

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We ended the night by sharing tea in the tiny house again and by hugging trees. This is a practice that Pekka shared with us- he told us how the trees accept us and how they will always welcome us with open arms. He also explained that much more eloquently. Pekka is a very wise man and his words were very beautiful. We all left that night feeling very relaxed and with a new perspective on the outdoors. I can confidently say that this evening was one I’ll never forget.

Friday – February 28th, 2020

And just like that, long study tour was over. We wrapped up this morning with long study tour presentations and then we were off! At first, I honestly was skeptical of Estonia and Finland. A bunch of other core courses were traveling to places like England, Paris, Germany, and Spain. However, I am so incredibly glad that I got to experience two places that were completely off my radar. Estonia and Finland were truly magical and I am so grateful that these were the countries my core course got to explore. I hope to be able to further explore these countries some other day- especially Finland.

Thank you Long Study Tour for allowing me to gain memories of a lifetime and an even stronger bond with friends I wanted to get to know more (shoutout to Claire, Anne and D)! Here’s to more insightful experiences, more memories with friends, and to an unforgettable long study tour.

Xoxo,

Julia