A Different School Year

It has been a while since I last wrote about my time at the Finnish summer cottage, and the atmosphere could not be more different. Swap blue skies and sun for grey skies and snow, +20°C for -20°C, and 0 to 5 COVID cases per day for 10 to 25. It is definitely a different season.

Before school began, I was pretty nervous about the influx of students. I was especially concerned since I was an international student tutor, meaning I held the role of introducing my tutor group to everything LUT and Lappeenranta. Thankfully the system changed this year, and tutors didn’t have to hand off apartment keys to newly arrived tutees. All incoming international students were directed to self-quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. This was a hot topic since there was much confusion about how one was supposed to self-quarantine after moving to a new country with few options. I even met with the LUT coronavirus taskforce online to voice my concerns. It was too late to take broader action, but to my knowledge, the start of the school year was not a significant source of spread.

LUT began the autumn semester with a hybrid model – most classes on Zoom with the ability to attend in-person at 50% capacity. Needless to say, I haven’t attended lectures in-person since March. I continued working part-time in the lab and attended lectures from home or my new office, which has space for five but only one other person comes occasionally. Talk about an upgrade from my home office!

Many signs popped up on campus advising students to practice good hygiene, social distance, and stay home if sick. While those are beneficial suggestions, I wanted to see more strict policies, such as mandatory masks. But apparently telling people what to do in this way is a not a thing in Finland. So alas, I just tried to keep my distance and began eating after 2pm to avoid the crowds.

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My girlfriend and I had a fun time making our own masks with the sewing machine that I found in the basement give-away pile. Though most did not, basically since arriving back to Finland in June, I have been wearing a mask every time I get on a bus or set foot in a public place.

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In early September I visited my local family’s summer cottage for the weekend. It was a peaceful time of exploring nature, going to sauna, practicing my Finnish with the kids, and playing games. The connection wasn’t the strongest and I was conserving my battery since the cottage didn’t have electricity, enabling me to take a much-needed break from my phone and everyday life.

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Finally at the beginning of November, LUT officially recommended masks for everyone, shortly after the region’s health district made a similar announcement. LUT even gave out free masks. Masks still aren’t required, but in only a few weeks I noticed a huge difference, from no one wearing masks to around 75% of people wearing masks. A few weeks later we were informed of the first confirmed COVID case on campus. And the week after that, LUT entered scenario 3 of its COVID contingency plan, meaning only essential activities (like exams, lab classes, and research) would take place on campus, while everything else shifted to online. In practice, many students still hung out on campus, but university-sponsored programs, such as the recreational facilities, were closed.

After much deliberation, I decided to go home for Christmas, which I was only able to justify by combining my work holidays to create a month-long break. During the trip I wore an N95-equivalent mask (I guess there’s not a shortage in Europe because they’re widely available) as well as a face shield. To make sure I was as safe as possible, I started out wearing a mask and face shield around the house, dropped the face shield after the first week, and dropped the mask after the second week. It was certainly not a typical Christmas break, but it was incredibly nice to see my family after the year we’ve all been through.

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Upon arriving back to Finland, I quarantined for two weeks and then returned to the lab to begin working full-time on my thesis. Unfortunately, last week there was somewhat of a COVID outbreak in Lappeenranta due to a gathering amongst exchange students. Instead of 3 or so like usual, the cases have been 23, 13, 9, and 8 the past few days. Campus is closed to students for the next two weeks, and I am quarantined since an infected person was in my lab. Luckily I tested negative. I can foresee this incident having a ripple effect that continues for many weeks.

26.2.2021 update: Now Finland has announced a March shutdown. This feels eerily similar to last March…

1.3.2021 update: Finland declared a state of emergency.

4.3.2021 update: Campus has been closed to students until April 5th, but I have been granted permission to continue my thesis research.

18.3.2021 update: Campus will remain closed until the end of the semester, and May / June graduation has been cancelled.

Last winter was Finland’s mildest winter in 100 years, and it hardly snowed at all. This year has been completely differently. Temperatures reached below -25°C, some of the coldest weather I’ve ever experienced. Once when it was -18°C, I walked a minute from the student union to the bus without gloves, and my fingers felt as if I had burned them. Not a sensation that I wish to endure again anytime soon! We were able to sled, ski, and walk out onto the frozen lake. The pictures I took just can’t capture how much it has snowed. There are huge snow piles everywhere and some untouched areas come up to my knees. Later this week the temperature rises above freezing for the first time in a month. I’m not sure how quickly this snow will melt, but I’m expecting a lot of slush in the next few days!

26.2.2021 update: There is indeed a lot of slush and partially frozen ice. This morning I have seen multiple people sliding down the road, some being pulled by their dogs.

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Somehow two years have nearly passed, and I will finish my master’s degree by the end of May! I plan to stay in Finland for the next few years and am currently on the hunt for jobs relating to bioenergy, biorefining, or sustainability. Last week I had my first summer job interview, and it went pretty well. Even so, I am open to any and all contacts that you might think are useful. Thanks in advance for helping me network and for following my adventure in Finland thus far!

14.4.2021 update: Now that I’ve signed the contract, I can officially share that I’ll be working on a sustainability project at Konecranes this summer!