Vol 21 Issue 16

INSIDER 08.02.2019 I VOL. 21 I ISSUE 16

STUDENT MAGAZINE OF XAMK

EDITORIAL STAFF

POLINA VISHNYA Kouvola Current Affairs

LEIF HEFLIN Kouvola Current Affairs

MINH-TRANG LE Kouvola Current Affairs

LONG NGUYEN Layout Editor

MARIJA MARASH Kouvola Current Affairs

ANNA RYNDINA Kouvola Current Affairs

LENA GELFERT Kouvola Current Affairs

NIKITA MUNENKO Kouvola Current Affairs

GLORIA TAZZINI Layout Editor

ELIZABETH AKINLABI Kouvola Current Affairs

LIDIIA BENKOVSKAYA Kouvola Current Affairs

MUHAMMET ÇAKIROĞLU Kouvola Current Affairs

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

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HUGH CLACK Editor in Chief

EDITORIAL

Hello lass and lasses!

It has been a long time since my last editorial. How are you all doing? The weather is just playing with us at this point, isn’t it? If it is not unbearably cold, there will be snow showers for the whole day. And the colder it is, the more sunny it gets. Life is just plain cruel.

But anyways, if you are fed up the weather, feel free to take a look at what the INSIDER team has to offer this week.

As Lunar New Year is finally here, Long gives us an insightful article on our most important traditional holiday of the year. This is the third year in a row that I do not get to be at home to celebrate with my family and eat tons of tasty foods, but that is not a big deal. Next off, explore Polina’s trip to Denmark through her amazing experience. That is a 2-page article that is totally worth reading. We also have a fascinating article on the sauna cabin in the ferris wheel in Helsinki by Anna. Our girl Lizzy is in charge of not one, but two articles this week: the usual Profile segment with Heini – a restoration student at XAMK and a poster about her university back home in France on the back page. If you are not aware of the heartwarming project that Lizzy, Long and their team are doing to raise fund for Ablaze Football Academy in Nigeria to encourages youngsters to have a better future, tune into Lena’s article. And what do we know, Lena also delivers another article on Italian Country Night. Apart from those interesting articles, we of course have a recipe from Marija. Keep turning the pages to see what she brought us this week.

That is all for this issue. Have a good read!

Minh-Trang Le 3

ITALIAN COUNTRY NIGHT After the French country night, it was time for the Italian exchange students to introduce the typical habits of Italy as well as some Italian food. All I can say is that Italy is not for nothing the land of the good food.

First, there was a little introduction about the country itself, as already in the French night. The Italian exchange students showed a map about the different Italian dishes and where they come from which was super interesting, Risotto comes for example from Milan, one of the top fashion capitals in the world. Pizza, one of the most loved and desired food by us students, comes original from Naples, so if you want to have the ultimate Pizza experience you should consider a trip to Naples. Then, after listening to a famous Italian Rapper Duo and sweet tunes like the song “L'Amour Toujours” from the famous Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino it was time to taste the luscious Italian cucina.

As a starter they served Tomato sauce “al ragú” with white bread. Tomato sauce al ragú is a meat-based tomato sauce. It can be eaten with bread as well as with different types of pasta like Tagliatelle for example. Very easy to prepare and tasty like heaven – perfect if there is not much time to cook.

The highlight of the night was the main course, a real Italian Lasagna.

A mix out of flat pasta layers, cheese and Bolognese – pure perfection.

Although it takes a lot of time to prepare and bake it is worth every single minute that is needed to create this delicious mixture.

Either loved or hated, there is no in between feeling for the dessert that was served. We are talking about Tiramisu, a dessert that comes originally from Venezia and means translated something like “cheer me up” which it does in fact. It is a layering of mascarpone cheese and in espresso bathed ladyfingers. After cooling it in the fridge for several hours the Tiramisu gets its final touch by refining it with cocoa powder. If you ever have the chance to taste it: don´t miss it!

In total: there is a reason why the Italian kitchen is one of the best in the world. It not only tastes heavenly, it also gives you kind of a break from your daily life. Maybe that´s why we students love it that much!

Text: Lena Gelfert

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2019 - YEAR OF THE PIG Although it is the beginning of February, in some parts of Asia, New Year celebration has just begun. The first day of lunar calendar for 2019 is 5th of February.

Lunar New Year starts based on a lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar, which is calculated depending on the cycles of the moon.

The tradition has existed for thousand years of history. Therefore, it becomes an evitable element forming Asian cultures. The reasons behind this most important occasion are to gather family members, share their upand-down stories in previous year and enjoy traditional Lunar New Year food. People are trying their best to come back home with their families no matter how far they are. That is the spirit of this holiday.

Only East Asian celebrates Lunar New Year in late January or early February. Historically, it was influenced by Chinese culture. These countries are and what it is called in its language: + China: 春節 (trad.)/ 春节 (simp.)/ chunjie (pinyin) + Korea: 설날 (hangul)/ Seollal (RR) + Mongolia: Цагаан сар/ Tsagaan Sar + Tibetan: ལོ་གསར/ Losar + Vietnam: Tết/ Tet Holiday Each year represents for an animal in Chinese-based Zodiac. However, the animals vary depending on history and culture. For instance, in Japanese zodiac, the Goat is replaced with the Sheep and the Wild boar instead of the Pig. Each animal has its characteristics and it is labelled for years with the hope of wishing people a new year with those good things. Last year was the Dog. As you may know from the title, this year is the turn of the Pig, which means wealth, comfort and luck.

According to Kehan Chen, a second-year Game Design student at XAMK, Chinese people gather to have the fanciest dinner called ‘Family Reunion Dinner’ and watch Spring Festival Gala Evening on Chinese New Year’s Eve. For the next 7 days, they will pay visits to their friends and relatives and play ‘mahjong’, which is the most popular game in Chinese culture, wherever they go.

Different places have their own traditional dishes, but dumplings must not be missed in this occasion.

Migyo Choi, an IB exchange student from Busan, Korea, shared some interesting information with us about how people in her country celebrate New Year. Since Koreans are grateful and respectful, in this occasion, they come back home to see their parents and hold a memorial service called ‘charye’ to honor their ancestors, mostly in graveyard. Additionally, children and younger people will perform ‘New Year’s bow’ to elder family members. After the bow, cash gift known as ‘sebaetdon’ is given to them. Besides that, Koreans love playing folk games such as kite flying, ‘neolttwigi’ (Korean jumping game similar to seesawing) and ‘yuunori’ (Korean traditional board game). Rice cake soup, beef or pork ribs, fish pancake, fried vegetable, ‘japchae’ and the dessert ‘yugwa’ are prepared and served when Korean New Year is coming.

Lunar New Year is similar to Western New Year. It is the time to relax, reflect and plan for future. The difference is the traditions, cultural values and beliefs that Asian countries try to maintain throughout generations and for more than thousand years.

It is hard to imagine the vibe by words then why don’t you take a chance to sense ‘Asian spring’ next year?

Happy Lunar New Year!

In Vietnamese culture, Tet Holiday is celebrated for 2 weeks. Cleaning house, cooking food, eating together and visiting relatives are traditional activities. Lucky money inside red envelopes known as ‘lì xì’ are given to children as a wish to grow up faster, study well and be lucky. Traditional dishes differ from areas. However, Tet is not Tet without ‘bánh chưng’ or ‘bánh tét’.

Text: Long Nguyen Image: Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

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PROFILE Heini Korhonen What are your passions?

I am passionate about the sound & smell of the ocean, kind dogs, little green things growing, golden light and soft shadows, art, words, and dreams. I am also passionate about history, memory, and people's varying ideas of "home", which is probably why I'm so interested in caring for old objects and artefacts too. Every 'thing' has it's own story!

What is your name and where are you from?

My name is Heini Korhonen. I was born in Helsinki, and have spent about half of my life around there & the other half in various places in the US. The last place I lived and studied at before Kouvola was Rhode Island.

I've moved around a lot, so home has always been more of a concept than a place for me.

What do you study at Xamk?

At Xamk I study restoration. Restoration/conservation is such an exciting world to dive into, and I'm excited to constantly learn about new techniques, materials, and histories.

How many countries have you visited?

I've visited nine countries as an adult (USA, Canada, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, and Iceland). I also had a layover in Dublin last summer and rushed out of the airport to visit the botanical gardens - does that count? Maybe not, but it was beautiful nevertheless.

How many languages do you speak?

I am fluent in Finnish and English and am working on my French and Swedish. I'm always eager to learn more about new languages and cultures and do my best to learn at least some basics when I visit a new place.

Who inspires you the most?

I am most inspired by the passionate, creative, imaginative women who came before me and were, for some reason or another, kept from achieving their dreams. My mother, my grandmother, and my great grandmother are my biggest guides and muses! There are lots of photographs and notes left behind that I love looking through. They make me feel connected through time and inspire me to work towards a better future.

What is your favorite meal?

My favorite meal is any variety of little snacks friends have brought to share on a picnic by the sea. Also, what I would give for a good steaming hot tamale these days! If you plan on making some, please find me.

Give us 3 tips about how to cope in the Finnish Winter?

1. Gather some plants around you to remind yourself of the concept of ‘leaves’ 2. If you are feeling very cold, take deep breaths, close your eyes, and imagine yourself under warm sun 3. Layers! layers! layers! Socks on socks and pants on pants and shirts on shirts! One hat is usually enough unless you are fashionable and choose to fold it so it doesn’t reach your ears Where is your most favorite place on Campus?

I do like that there are plenty of quiet study spots around, especially in the main building. There is also a classroom with a piano that I sometime sneak in to play.

Text and photo: Elizabeth Akinlabi

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SKY SAUNA Can you imagine taking sauna at an altitude of 40 m above the ground?

Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? But in Helsinki it is nothing special, rather just a normal weekend for sauna lovers. This unique and first in the world Ferris wheel with sauna cabin is located right in the heart of Helsinki. For 240 euros, you and group of your friends, can have great time in the cabin “SkySauna” for at least one hour. After enjoying the amazing seaview and refreshing beverages in good company you can relax in the massaging hot tub on the ground. Unforgettable experience in Finnish style!

Text and photo: Anna Ryndina

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COPENHAGEN city of a thousand words

Visiting Denmark was on my “to travel list” for a pretty long time. So, I was damn excited about this trip. It was one of those my favourite “impulsive travelling” as I made a final choice to go and bought tickets less than a week before. By the same token, another distinctive and fundamental feature of “impulsive traveling” is travelling with an empty head meaning absence of almost any information about place you are going to. It feels like stepping into the unknown as if you are a baby crawling around, touching stuff and putting everything in your mouth. You get yourself lost in the city you have no idea of and you learn about it in real life from every move you make. You never know where this particular road will bring you to and where you are going to end up after the next turn. It is a great chance to meet new people also and get your ass into adventures.

Of course, along with pros there are also cons of “impulsive traveling”, since it is completely unplanned and unorganized, you may just spend half of your day searching for hostel or some particular sight-seeing point and not manage to cover as much as you could probably do if you planned everything ahead. Also, you might spend more than expected since decisions are made on point and some things like tickets, accommodation cost more if you don’t buy it in advance. I must say “impulsive traveling” is an amazing and thrilling experience that not everyone would take a risk of joining this gamble, but I would not trade this feeling of freedom and uncertainty for any predictable scenario.

There are no words to describe what kind of city Copenhagen is. I must say it is impossible not to fall in love with this city. It is a combination of everything you could ever imagine: old and new, traditional and modern, formal and crazy at the same time. Taking a walk through the city centre I felt special spirit characterized only this city. Of course, everyone sees and perceives city in their own way and understands it from their own perspective same as we find different meanings of a book or movie. For me it is a spirit of “living a moment”.

What is interesting, they actually have a word describing their main principle of life – “Hygge”. This word can’t be translated straight to English or any other language.

It means Danish art of creating joy and cosiness. The idea of “hygge lifestyle” is to enjoy every moment in life whether with friends or family and appreciating things

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that you have at the current situation. Going for a picnic with your family or watching a movie under a blanket with your loved one – all of these are examples of “hygge”. It is wide spread opinion that Danish are some of the happiest people in the world. Perhaps, “hygge lifestyle” is major component that forms happiness for Danish people. And I can truly relate to that, walking around the city fills me with that relaxing, joyful and positive atmosphere. Streets are covered with tones of people speaking different languages, on every corner somebody is playing various musical instruments or singing, air is full of seductive food scents, wherever you look your glance stumbles upon those small food courts with their coming from the grill cloud of steam playing on the wind. I walked along the main shopping street which is snaking through the whole city centre, it is decorated with Chinese lights and umbrella lights and triggers your eye with bright signboards all around lightening up the night. Spectacular sight!

On the first day I took a free walking tour which I usually take in every city I go, but this time it happened spontaneously as just in one second I found myself in the heart of the city thrown out from a taxi without any idea where to head and then as I was crossing City Hall square I run into familiar red umbrella with the writing “free walking tour”. Those tours are literally the best, you get to walk through the main seeing sights of the city along with learning the most interesting facts of the city`s history plus it is FREE. Copenhagen also impress you with its diversity, it is very international, seems like people from all over the world gathered in one place. You can hear not only different languages but also different accents and wonder where this person is coming from. Except from its internationality, it is also very innovative. It feels like artificial intelligent is embedded in every little thing and everything is done for the comfort of people. As far as I know, Copenhagen is the only city in the world having automotive subway, meaning that it circles around the city on its own without a driver controlling a vehicle.

That’s so damn impressive. I literally couldn’t believe my eyes!

Surprising and indeed very pleasant fact for me that I have discovered is that Copenhagen has lots of similarities with Amsterdam and I am a huge fan of Amsterdam. As we reached to Nyhavn or New harbour in English, I felt like in one moment I was teleported straight to Amsterdam. Brightly coloured townhouses from 17th and early 18th century across the river appeared before my gaze. The canal harbour is being a

home for many historical wooden ships. I had a feeling of déjà vu.

Another common fascinating feature that characterizes Amsterdam and Copenhagen is that both of them are cities of bikes. Bicycles like ants are racing all around chasing poor pedestrians, so you have to always watch your back and check if you are walking on the right side of the road.

Copenhagen is also famous for its hippy neighbourhood called Christiania. It used to be a military base until in 1971 a group of hippies broke down the barricades and began squatting there. Nowadays, it a separated district in a way with its own rules and regulations. But its history is what catches our attention. It also called Freetown Christiania due to the cannabis trade occurred in its famous “Green light district”. This bring us back to Amsterdam once again as it is known for its legal selling and using of cannabis.

In addition to “Green light district” there is neighbourhood called Vesterbro which used to be Copenhagen`s red light district, which is also fun since the world wide known “Red light district” is in Amsterdam. Nowadays Vesterbro is a popular entertaining area with crazy nightlife filled up with clubs, restaurants, bars, shops and galleries.

Copenhagen… there are so many things to say about this city and a lot more to feel. For me, I can confidently claim that Copenhagen is one the best climaxes I have ever had, and I will do my best to experience it again.

Text and photos: Polina Vishnya

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RECIPE: Cookies Hello there, The recipe of this week’s issue is very special. It is about the cookies that were served during the Humanitarian project on the 4th of February. So here we go: What we need?

1 cup of softened butter 1 cup of white sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract 2 teaspoons of hot water Half a teaspoon of salt 3 cups of flour 2 cups of chocolate chips Preparation time:20 min.

Cook in: 15 min

How we do it?

Put together the butter, the white sugar and the bright sugar until it is smooth.

Beat in the eggs one at a time of course and afterwards add the vanilla extract.

Dissolve the baking soda in hot water. Added to the butter together with salt.

Now add the flour and chocolate chips.

Drop by large spoonfuls onto an ungreased pan.

Be careful! The oven should be at 175 degrees.

Be ready to taste the best cookies ever!

Text and photo: Marija Marash

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