Insider Volume 23 Issue 9

INSIDER 20.11.2020 | VOL. 23 | ISSUE 9

STUDENT MAGAZINE OF XAMK

Featuring Consumerism New Member Tips/Tricks Kouvola Sports Emigration Recipe Movie

STAFF

EDITORIAL

LIDIIA BENKOVSKAIA

JOONATAN BERG

AVE-LIIS KOOBAK

EVA MOROVSHCHIK

IKRAM BECHARI

MARIAN KEINAN

VLADA POLISHCHUK

MERVEILLE BIVU NDONGA

INSIDER STUDENT MAGAZINE South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences Paraatikenttä 7 45100 Kouvola INSIDER ISSN 1457-1587 Editor in Chief: HUGH CLACK

PHONE +358 44 702 8758 WEBSITE insider.xamk.fi EMAIL insider@xamk.fi 2

EDITORIAL Hello everyone!

It is already mid-November outside the window, still quarantine everywhere, and what can you do? Maybe buy gifts for Christmas for New Year?

Or maybe already start to re-watch Christmas films, listen Christmas music drink glögi and eat piparkakkua?

is to live for a long time, not seeing her loved ones in the real world, but only online, why moving and studying abroad become challenge for her, and what she understand and how she cope with this period and how did she get used to?

Nowadays, on 27th of November, the traditional Christmas season of sales called «Black Friday» in stores all over the world begins. However, did you know that a day called «Nothing to buy» was invented in Canada to protest American «Black Friday». So, Vlada will tell us more about this day, what word «consumerism» means, what negative Have you ever been to an exchange student in effect it brings and so on. another country? I unfortunately not, but I am sure that many students from our University have been In the cooking section of this issue, I will introduce and everyone has both good and bad memories you to one tasty and easy-to-prepare Russian Ikram, in her article, will tell you why it is still cuisine dish with the unusual name «Hedgehogs». worth going to study on an exchange, why do the guys choose to stay in their chosen country what In our regular heading, « Let’s go to the cinema! difficulties can you face all this and much more », Ave Liz brings to our attention to a film review interesting and useful information you will read in "Memories of the Murder" 2003 year. It is a Korea the article. crime drama film. She will talk about what this film is about and share her opinion about this film. She We have a new member of our team Merveille . gave 7 instead of 10 stars for this film.

In his introductory article, he will tell a little about himself. On behalf of the Insider team, we wish you luck and interesting articles and ideas. Welcome to Insider team!

Also, he prepared a very unusual and rather philosophical article entitled "Against the odds" related to a football match Spain against Finland and such a thing as “Gijon miracle”. Sounds really mysterious, doesn't it?

I think that Marian will help us with this. In her article, she will introduce us Top 3 places, where to go and what to do in Kouvola in November, also she will share her impressions and thoughts about these places.

Now, due to the viral situation in the world, students who came to study in Finland from other countries cannot see their relatives, loved ones, friends for a long time, of course it is not easy! Eva, since she is a student who came from another country, decided to share with us her impressions of how it

Written by Lidiia Benkovskaia 3

CONSUMERISM

Buy Nothing Day

In September of 1992 in Canada the Buy Nothing Day originated as the way to protest against Black Friday shopping. This day is a protest consumerism, and it is held on the day following U.S. Thanksgiving in North America, Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom (Everywhere else, it is held on the day after). The main idea of Buy Nothing Day is to urge the world to change their purchasing habits, to consume and produce less.

What is the consumerism?

From the dictionary, consumerism is " the idea that increasing consumption of goods and services purchased in the market is always a desirable goal and that a person's well-being and happiness depend fundamentally on obtaining consumer goods and material possessions." (https://www. investopedia.com/terms/c/consumerism.asp).

We can observe this process more clearly on Black Friday (27 of November 2020).

Negative side of consumerism: 1. The production of goods mainly wastes such natural resources as water and raw materials and the problem is that they are limited on our planet.

Also, the increasing environmental pollution is the aftermath of production increasing.

2. People feel that they really need to buy goods and services which they do not need just to belong to a specific group of people.

3. The number of people taking short term loans to buy luxury goods has increased drastically.

4. Consumerism increases mental health problems cases such as depression, stress because people want to follow the latest trends and what is why 4

they work harder, taking more debts, and spend less time with people who they love.

In conclusion: "Fragments"- series of Despite consumer culture helps in satisfying paintings peoples' needs, to expand production, and expand the economy, consumerism does not only feed our desires but has waste lots of earth's resources. If people do not think about the natural resources and the things which they really need now or in the future more we will face the problems even in buying necessary products in the future, so in Buy Nothing Day I will advise you to think about consumerism deeper.

Written by Vlada Polishchuk

NEW MEMBER

Who am I? Men have spent lifetimes trying to answer that one.

Here's my 10 second summary:

I grew up in Helsinki Finland, arrived in 1992 from Congo middle Africa. I strive to be a polymath. I love working with computers, and enjoy traveling, board games, cooking (seriously, I cook a lot) and I am as well creative. What I do best is selling, I can sell any ideas as long I believe in it.

I love to perform, it doesn't matter is there an audience or not, I pretty much do it in front of a mirror by myself ;). I'm religious, I believe in God. I am open minded, and I have a "try anything once"/"Live and let live" kind of personality.

I definitely take the "build relationship from a strong friendship" approach. So, let's have a conversation first, see if we actually like each other. I don't have a list of "You must be ". I like interesting people, from strippers to ministers, from professional comediennes to federal prosecutors... I would rather get to know you, and see what happens...

I’m a first-year student in digital international business at Xamk. I am positively surprised by the level of the studies at Xamk and I can’t wait to finish this first semester by smashing my goals.

Right now, I’m so exiting by joining Insider Magazine and sharing my articles with you. I will create content from the bottom of my heart without any filter and let you enjoy my thoughts.

My content will be about sport, business, selfdevelopment. Are you with me? Hope so.

I have a positive attitude towards life and am aiming as high as possible in life. Get to know me and you will not regret it!

Sincerely yours, Merveille Bivu Ndonga 5

TIPS/TRICKS

Tips for people thinking of going on exchange

research about the student life in that country and the average of money you'll need there.

By the way, there are many ways of financing your exchange studies. Always go to your school department responsible for this kind of thing, and ask if they offer any grants or scholarships.

The most common exchange studies grant in Europe is ERASMUS. If you are interested, you can take a look at their website. One last tip for you is to pay attention to the application deadlines because exchange studies need good planning beforehand.

That’s all for today’s article. I wish you all the best of luck in your studies!

Exchange studies are, without doubt, essential for every student on the planet only because it allows opening new opportunities and meeting new people. The exchange studies are a way to discover other cultures and other languages. By the way, I know many people who have decided to stay in the country that they have chosen after their exchange studies ended. So, you never know what is waiting for you. However, you should make sure that you have all the means to do the exchange studies or stay there.

Actually, employers around the world nowadays prioritize a candidate who has exchange studies.

Some studies have shown that you become openminded when you go in exchange during your university studies and acquire different cultural perspectives. So, it is highly recommended to go on exchange because it’s very beneficial for your career.

Let’s go back to the means’ part for a bit. If you want to go in exchange, you have to have enough money, and before you go, you need to do some 6

Written and photos by Ikram Bechari

KOUVOLA

Things to do in Kouvola in November

November is the time month when it gets already dark very early. 4 pm feels like it's already midnight and you want to just curl up in your bed. The lack of daylight usually takes a toll on students and their energy is love. Kouvola usually gets quiet during this time of the year and the streets are empty. Although the city looks dead, there are still many fun things to do in Kouvola, and here are some of those things listed.

Repovesi National park

cute date place. You will learn the history of the model railway and for example how exactly the trains work. The museum is a nice meeting place and has a cozy cafeteria to sit and sip some tea.

It is worth the visit.

These mentioned places are a great way to spend your beautiful November days and will take your mind to somewhere else than school or work.

Walk-in those parks and get some endorphins.

Since the colors of autumn are still somewhat vibrant, why not take a day trip to repovesi national park to also get fresh air. It is a beautiful park that is in the Kouvola city area. The park has beautiful lakes and a mountain called Olhavanvuori. The visitors can take different routes and are a lot of things to do in the national park. For example, you can climb the mountain, row, birdwatch, camp, and even fish in the lakes. You can get to Repovesi national park by bus or even a group taxi that is only 90 euros for four people.

Arboretum Mustila If you are into nature or just want to walk in a beautiful forest, you should head to Arboretum Mustila. Arboretum Mustila as a park is beautiful and almost feels like a magical place. The park has trees you can't find anywhere else in Finland.

The park also has a cute cafeteria but make sure it is open if you are planning to visit the park. It is only 25 kilometers from Kouvola center, and you can get there by bus easily.

The model railway museum Only less than a kilometer away from the Kouvola center, there is a museum for people that are interested in miniature railways and trains. It is a nice throwback to childhood and can be even a

Written by Marian Keinan 7

SPORTS

Against the odds

city in Spain. A short lesson of the history of Gijon.

I was super excited because this was the first time, I got to watch a Spanish national team match in Spain. Every boy’s dream or why not every girl’s dream too. In that match, no one gave Finland any chance. Everyone expected the match to end at least 5-0 for Spain, 27,637 spectators were about to see this match and witnessing this miracle.

The match ended unexpectedly 1-1. The Spanish team was number one in the FIFA rankings before the match, while Finland was only in 87th place.

Spain was therefore considered a clear winner.

I remember that gambling companies had given Finland insanely high bets for a draw. I should have bet. Just kidding, I was on the Spanish side and I hoped they would win because the team was full of legends such as Sergio Ramos, Xavi It was March 2013 when I was able to witness the Hernandez, Andreas Iniesta, Davin Silva, etc. miracle of Gijon. Now you may ask what the miracle Finland was determined in the match and worked of Gijon is. Glad that I got you attention. Well, humbly throughout the 90 minutes while Spain the miracle of Gijon originated when the Finnish missed goal scoring chances, and at times played national football team managed to grab a point in really arrogantly. The hero of the match was Teemu an important football match against the invincible Pukki who scored the goal for Finland, but in fact I Spain who manage to win all previous games. As a think the whole Finnish team was full of heroes in metaphor, the game was literally David vs Goliath that match. from the bible, if you know the story. David who was a little shepherd boy from a small town fought I hope you can use this Gijon miracle as an against the strong, more than three meters high, example and as a fuel in your own struggles. experienced military commander and won the duel Even if you are dealt bad cards, the situation can by cutting off Goliath's head. No one gave David change when you believe enough and are humble any chances to win, not even his own brothers. to your vision.

Now that you understood the quick biblical story let me take you back to my experiences. Everything happened really fast. My father managed to win tickets from his job, and we had four days to get ready for the match, as it was played in Gijon, Spain. The name of the city comes from the Latin word saxonem, which means rocks. Gijon is home to about 272,000 people, making it a really small town. The city was an important regional center during the Roman Empire as it is the northernmost 8

May the forces be with you.

Written by Merveille Bivu Ndonga

EMIGRATION

More than month in emigration Several days ago I was talking with my family and realized that I am already living in Finland for more than one month. Time is running so fast! 6 weeks is not a big period of time but this is enough to understand all the differences between Finland and my motherland (Russia), feel the mentality gap and starting to search the tickets back (Spoiler: it’s impossible because Russian borders are closed in case of pandemic situation).

Studying abroad is challenge to yourself. When I was packing my bags, I was sure that first few month will be very challenging and hard, I won’t have any friends, any places to go, any support and won’t be happy. Fortunately, my life here seems to be not so boring and awful. Kouvola is a small city but full of wonderful people and places to visit.

The biggest difference comparing Kouvola to my hometown is an ecology situation. The air here is so fresh! In addition, for the whole of my life I was living in a megapolis and now I have completely the opposite experience because there is a view to the forest from my windows and balcony. Living so close to the nature feels and inspires me. Also, here I have enough time for all of my hobbies.

Everyday I am cooking interesting dishes. For example, several days ago I made cinnamon rolls (next time I should share the recipe).

Changing place of residence helped me to overlook on myself and think hardly who I am, what I want and where is my finally destination. Living abroad showed off that sometimes things are not going in the way that you have used to. Changes are not always bad, more often they will bring you to a better way.

Written and photos by Eva Morovshchik 9

RECIPE

“Hedgehogs” with rice in sour cream source

(source: cookingblog.ru) Cooking time 1 hour 40 minutes /Calories: 121 kcal Supplemented with vegetable garnish (for example, mashed potatoes), buckwheat, rice or a light salad Ingredients: • rice - 0.5 cups • minced meat - 400 g • onion - 1 pc.

• chicken egg - 1 pc.

• salt - 1 tsp; • freshly ground black pepper - to taste.

• onion - 1 pc.

• carrots - 1 pc.

• garlic - 3 cloves • sour cream - 200 ml • water - 200 ml • salt - 1 tsp • dried dill - 1 tsp • sunflower oil for frying How to cook: 1. First, prepare the minced meat for the meatballs, for this we put the rice in boiling salted water (1 teaspoon of salt per 1 litre of water) and boil until half cooked, that is, the rice grains should taste soft on the outside, and hard on 10

the inside. Drain the water through a colander, but do not rinse the rice. Leave to cool slightly.

2. Peel one onion and chop very finely (you can grate or grind in a meat grinder or blender).

3. Put the minced meat in a bowl, add cooled rice, chopped onion and a raw egg to it, salt and pepper to taste. Mix the minced meat for the meatballs with your hands.

4. To prevent the minced meat from sticking to our hands, moisten our hands with water and from the prepared minced meat with wet hands we form round meatballs with a diameter of about 5 cm.

5. To prepare sour cream sauce, peel the onion and cut it into half rings.

6. Rub the peeled carrots on a coarse grater.

Then, Chop the garlic. If you put the garlic through a press, it can burn, so it is better to cut it with a knife into small cubes.

7. Add salt to the sour cream, red ground pepper (optional) and dried dill, pour in cold boiled water and stir the sour cream sauce.

8. Pour sunflower oil (about 1 tablespoon) into a saucepan, fry the onions and carrots over medium heat. When the vegetables are tender, add the garlic, stir and fry for about a minute.

9. Without removing the pan from the heat, put the meatballs in it. Fill the meatballs with sour cream sauce.

10. The sauce should completely cover the meatballs. If not, add more water and salt to taste. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes, covering the pan with a lid.

Bon appetit!

Written by Lidiia Benkovskaia

STUDIO 123 Kymenlaaksonkatu 1 45700 Kuusankoski 044 375 3686 www.studio123.fi

20.11 - 26.11.2020 STUDIO 1 KARPO (7) | 8€ | 1h24min Thur 14:15 RISTO RÄPPÄÄJÄ JA VÄÄRÄ VINCENT (S) | 11€ | 1h26min Every evening 16:15 NAURUN VARJOLLA (7) | 11€ | 1h28min Fri-Mon, Wed-Thur 18:00 STUDIO 2 METSÄJÄTTI (7) | 12€ | 1h28min Sat, Mon, Wed 16:00 AIKA JONKA SAIN (12) | 12€ | 1h45min Sat 14:00 TOVE (16) | 12€ | 1h26min Every evening 17:45 POHJOISEN SANKARIT (DUB) (7) | 11€ | 1h32min Fri, Sun, Tue 16:00 STUDIO 3 FREAKY (16) | 12€ | 1h42min Fri, Sun-Mon, Thur 18:30 ELÄMÄÄ KUOLEMAN JÄLKEEN (7) | 11€ | 1h21min Sat 14:45, Thur 16:30 BILLIE (12) | 12€ | 1h38min Fri-Wed 16:30 AALTO (7) | 12€ | 1h46min Sun, Tue-Wed 18:30

Students/armed services, pensioners 1€ discount on all full priced tickets of 10€ or more

MOVIE Memories of Murder Director: Bong Joon-ho Leading cast: Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roi-ha, Park Hae-il, Byun Hee-bong For the beginning I would like to warn you of the contents of the movie. It might be upsetting to some since it talks about rape and murder.

This movie came out in 2003. It’s a South Korean crime drama film. The director Bong Joon-ho likes to use social themes, genremixing, black humor and sudden tone sifts in his movies. These characteristics showed throughout the movie.

So Memories of murder is loosely based on a true story of a first serial murders in Korea’s history. The murders happened between 1986 and 1991 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The story is somewhat upsetting, women were murdered and raped. The local detective Park Doo-man can’t handle the case since he has never had to deal with something like this before. Even the evidence is handled poorly and the method of investigation are rough to say the least. Park thinks he can spot the killer by looking into their eyses. His partner Baek usually tries to beat out the confession from suspects. Finally, Seo Tae-yoon a detective from Soul is sent to help. The case starts to go somewhere, it’s nearly even solved.

But they never solved the case. Park Doo-man visits the crime scene years later in 2003, meets a little girl that says someone visited it just earlier. The film ends as Park realizes the truth and looks at the audience as of a way to maybe spot the killer.

The movie was long, I think it could be fitted to a shorter timeframe. Other than that, it was a good movie if you like investigation types of movies that has a little humor in it.

Written by Ave-Liis Koobak 11