NUS Student Exchange to Finland Packing List

So I decided to recap on my memory of my exchange in Europe and write down my feelings and thoughts during that time hehe

So this was some time nearing the end of my semester in 2018...

Wew Received a Letter of Acceptance from Aalto University which was in Finland and here I am embarking on the preparation for Student Exchange!!!

Technically, this isn't my first Student Exchange Programme as I did went to Summer School Exchange with my friend in Korea. But this is the first time I'm leaving Singapore for almost 5 months ALONE and being a vegetarian, I think it is not going to be easy, especially since I don't cook at home oops 🙈

My air ticket was fixed to be on the night of 30 December and I will reach Finland on 31 December, New Year's Eve and this will also mean that it's WINTER!!!

I have not really experienced WINTER (other than sec3 in Nepal maybe? but my memory of it was kindda vague oops) so I am kindda excited but also worried as I heard the temperature can go as low as -30 Degree Celsius hmmm

And I don't really have much winter clothes so gotta start preparing all the winter clothes and necessities as well as some food to bring there!

Here's my packing list which is really long for reference if anyone need haha (I really brought a lot of foood being a vegetarian going there not really sure what there was) and I really need to thank alot of my temple's friends for giving me tips and some even prepared food for me to bring over like the chilli she made (which was one of my favourite food). Had I not brought it over, I think I will be home sick the entire period and also tom yam paste, kimchi, ham and my fav vegetarian fish cake are a must for me to survive there.

I really use a teeny bit everyday of the food and all of those lasted me about 4 months ish, really proud of myself I would say XD

Preparation

There are a lot of preparations needed prior to the trip, from buying the air tickets, settling accommodations, insurance, residence permit and money.

Air Tickets

For my air tickets, I bought it online via FINNAIR as it offers direct trips! Although a lot of people told me that STA in school offers really competitive pricing but no direct trips were offered so instead, I booked via FINNAIR and they had some student policy which was nubbad

Insurance

I did not really buy any insurance as NUS has a student insurance which already is quite comprehensive. As such, I relied solely on that insurance throughout my entire Exchange.

Settling Accommodations

For accommodations, I just applied via Aalto for the off-campus housings (they only had off-campus). I compared a lot of prices online but the prices Aalto University offered was the best but it was allocated randomly. As such, there was a high chance that it could be quite a distance away from the campus we go, especially since they had several campus at the time of my exchange. Indeed, I was unlucky enough to get a housing that was about 45min away from both campus :( But, on the positive note, my housing was quite pretty and made quite a lot of friends thereee!

Residence Permit

Applying Residence Permit was actually quite simple. All I needed to do is go to their online website to apply and submit the necessary documents. Once approved, you just have to bring down the documents as well as an appropriate passport photo to the Finland Embassy (they were quite strict and my passport photo wasn't approved. As such, I had to go to the photo taking nearby to take another one and I was quite disappointed with the photo but at least I managed to get it approved eventually). And then you will be able to get your residence permit and done!

Money!

One worry we had was how do we make payment there? Are we going to bring a lot a lot of cash? BUT what if we get rob along the way or while sleeping on the plane? No worries, you do not have to bring a lot of cash there, Finland and Europe in generally loves contactless payment so you will hardly use cash in the end. As such, you have to ensure that you have a card that will allow you to pay there. BUT how do we avoid the high conversion rate if we are using our original account. Several banks actually have the multi-currency account which you can make exchanges to euros in ur account and make sure you pay in Euros (in the case of Finland) and hence avoiding the potential conversion cost. This is one way.

During my time there, YOUTRIP appeared. And I would say this is really good. Not only will you not need to do conversion beforehand, you just need to top up your wallet there in SGD and it can help you convert after payment at the best rate in market, even much more competitive than Multi currency account!

Thus, I would say, it is really worth considering!!! YOUTRIP is a must have card whenever you travel :)

Necessity

Food

Some necessity I mentioned was food! Bring some Asian food over during your exchange or you will really regret. I brought a lot more since I am a vegetarian. Technically, there is also Asian markets everywhere in Finland (which i managed to find some vegan ham similar to the SG brand I buy over there but only in 1 Asian Mart which was near my house hehe) but the price there will be much higher haha. So it will be good to bring some basic food if you still have luggage space! Maggi Mee too! It is something you will definitely need when you are feeling lazy to cook and unwilling to spend (esp since the cost of living in finland is quite high)

Shoes and clothes

Shoes: Do bring along slippers, boots and normal shoes. You will need slippers around your accommodation and normal shoes once winter is over!

Clothes: Please do not make the same mistake as me. I brought all long sleeve and winter clothes and forgot that I still have spring to go through which will be relatively hotter. Also, in your accommodation, there is heater, so you cant wear too thick or you will be really really hot which I had experienced through that phase haha

Typically I wear about 2 top and bottom layers as well as a down jacket to keep warm during the winter. The thermal wear and the down jacket is the most important!!!

A very budget recommendation for thermal is the one from UNIQLO! HEATTECH Ultra Warm is really LEGIT. It really helped me keep warm. But of course, I topped with another layer of long sleeve and the downjacket. As for the bottom, I wore the ULTRA WARM LEGGINGS from UNIQLO too and another pants that is thicker and it managed to keep me warm enough

Boots and socks is important too. Do ensure that your socks is thick enough to keep your feet warm or your feet will be frozen by the end of the day >< Also when buying the boots, do buy a size or two bigger than your actual size so that it will not be too tight when you wear your thick socks. In addition, please please please ensure that it is not easy to slip as the snow are very very very slippery. I bought mine during the winter fair and it was good enough :)

Before I forget, gloves are important too! Esp in the winter with strong wind, your hands will be frozen. You can bring some heat pack along too, i used them when I'm outside but rarely in the accommodation/shopping malls.

Other Necessity

I brought a mini rice cooker which cooked rice in 15 min ish and it was really convenient so you can consider that and not have to fight with your accom mates for the rice cooker or if you are living with friends maybe yall can bring one to share!

That is all my input so far. I can't really think of anything else to take note of when packing for long term trip/student exchange to cold countries. Will add on if I think of anything else haha

Bye for now!