INSIDER 15.02.2019 I VOL. 21 I ISSUE 17
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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PHONE +358 44 702 8758 WEBSITE insider.xamk.fi EMAIL insider@xamk.fi
FACEBOOK / INSIDERSTUDENTMAGAZINE
HUGH CLACK Editor in Chief
EDITORIAL
You know the game where you sit in a circle of people and whisper a phrase into the ear next to you? The next person can decide whether or not to mutilate or transform the phrase, or just repeat it verbatim. Over time traditions follow these same patterns. Take for example Valentine’s Day, when an Emperor in ancient Rome banned marriage to make sure his soldiers stayed focus on battle. Enter Valentine, the rule-breaker who married people while the authorities were not looking. Well one day the Emperor caught wind of these malfeasants. He raised the long arm of the law and smacked Valentine into his place – a jail cell. Misfortune bequeathed an opportunity unto Valentine where he met his true love – the jailer’s daughter. And as destiny unfolded for lucky Valentine, he was executed on February 14th. So when someone tells you the number 13 is unlucky, tell them this story. But maybe murder for secret love is not your cup of tea. Maybe you can tell more uplifting stories to boost people out of the singles-phobia attached to the more recent incarnation of Valentine’s Day. Tell them about Lizzy’s humanitarian project. Tell them about a French exchange student named Nicolas. Perhaps you are into the arts? Discuss a concert, recent movie, or some meticulously crafted food from Helsinki. Need more fire for the cold nights? Recall how Swan and Marija traveled across the city to promote XAMK, or discover how to conquer the glass wall in your life. For some true inspiration from an often overlooked sport tell your friends about Lidiia’s journey through the world of table tennis. What? You don’t know these stories? Turn the page to change that.
Leif Heflin 3
THE GLASS WALL
The morning walk to school was markedly unusual. The plan was to document a startup event and foster interest in the local entrepreneurial scene. There were speeches littered across two days in Kotka and Kouvola but the ones offered in English were very limited. Unfortunately, even when there is a schedule, shit happens, or should I say, shit doesn’t happen. As an Insider staff member, I showed up, albeit 5 minutes late, to an empty room. The only trace of human life was at Finnish talk in the adjacent room and the footprints upstairs to claim the fresh lunch offered at Paja.
“Use the leftover supplies from the campus. Use the leftover food from cafés. Let the people cook their own food. See what they cook but you (Leif), create the atmosphere. If you are making a restaurant focused on a unique atmosphere, then make this first. Use a free location like the school or an apartment and invite people. If it looks as you are really describing, then people will take pictures. They will market instinctively. Abolish your assumptions on what a restaurant is. Is it a costly location you rent in the city, with a full line of kitchen supplies, or is it the experience?”
I pull out my camera and ready my erasable-ink pen in anticipation for what is to come and follow the second-hand of the wall clock. At 10-past and energetic fellow walks through the door and drops a bag on the table in front of me. “Candy for the table”. To my dismay, it is riddled with licorice, but I am still grateful for the unexpected gift. As the man pulls out an A3 sheet of paper and a marker, another mind joins the table.
Dumbfounded, it took me a few minutes to process this mindfuck. How many things in life can be flipped upside down just by walking around the glass wall instead of climbing over? How much good advice is out there if you just ask people who possess passion? More useful than any talks that day about “How I became an entrepreneur”, this is actual, philosophical advice. Its like when you see a good movie and it just ends in the middle of an action scene. It’s your job as the viewer to decide how it ended. You can walk home and think for hours, days, weeks, or years…and there may never be a true answer. The point is for every question in life, there are multiple answers. If it is not working, step back and ask yourself: What am I not looking at? What is in the negative space of the sculpture or painting? What are they not saying in this comedy that makes the jokes even funnier? What can I do to start my life tomorrow?
The three of us introduce ourselves by first name, study degree, and aspirations in our fields. Erik, a Dane, Minh a Vietnamese/Russian, and I, from the US. A fourth, Adams from Kenya, joins and contributes his story, and later the fifth and final member, Anna from Russia (our fellow Insider). The leader of the table, Erik, quickly realizes that he can split us into two groups based on our shared visions. He says, “From tomorrow, you start your new life”. Really awkward timing considering the tomorrow mentioned is Valentine’s Day. For a restaurant idea I had he could see that what was holding me back was money. His suggestion was to build a prototype.
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Text and photos: Leif Heflin
HIGH SCHOOL VISIT Hi there Insiders, What I did last week was kind of different from what you are used to see coming from me. This time I had the pleasure to go to a Finnish high school named Yhteiskoulu Lyseo. I visited this high school with my lecturer Hugh Clack and my friend/co- brand ambassador Swani. The main scope of this visit was to promote XAMK to the Finnish high school.
They welcomed us with a warm heart in the moment that we arrived. Afterwards we went to the classroom where we had to present XAMK. Our lecturer had prepared a very nice and informative presentation giving facts about his life and facts about XAMK. I found the presentation very interesting and fun at the same time. I and Swan had the time to talk as well. We mostly mentioned the fun parts of being students like: parties, events and the cultural environment of XAMK. We emphasised how lucky we felt to be part of this university and we also shared some stories like: how did we end up here and funny stories about our student life.
Text and photo: Marija Marash
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PROFILE Nicolas Di Matteo
Where is your most favorite place on Campus? I like the Auditorium and our school entrance (I love the designs). What do you miss in France? I miss my sister Méline, my friends, Lucas, Tito, Ewan and Ludo.
What is your name and where are you from? My name is Nicolas Di Matteo, I am from France. I live in Lyon. It is a very nice cities and you can visit some monuments ‘La Basillique Notre Dame de Fourvière. It is a very old church. You can also visit Le Vieux Lyon, it’s a very colorful city where you have little corridors linking one places to another. How many countries have you visited? France, Spain, Sardegna in Italy, UK, Autriche, Slovaquie, Czech Republic, Romania, and finally Finland. What do you study? I study International Business Management but in France, it is translated “Management des Enterprises à International”. How many languages do you speak? I speak three languages, French, English and a little Italian. What are your passions? I have a great passion for music. I play drums. I used to play at school for ten years at Le Pont de Beauvoisin. Who inspires you the most? I am mostly inspired by Entrepreneurs. I like Elon Musk who created a company without knowing anything about cars, sciences or space. He created Space X out of nothing, and now he has invented Tesla an electric car which can help we humans travel down to the space. What is your favorite meal? I love Pizza and Lasagna. I love mostly Italian food because my Grandma.
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What do you like about Finland? I like the sky, its beautiful during the nights, the snow, big and tall Finnish trees. I also love the center of Kouvola, it Is quite bigger than my city in France. Why did you choose Finland for Erasmus? Actually, Finland was my second choice. I wanted to study in Sweden. But I was selected here in Finland because it was my second choice. I have always wanted to study in one of the Scandinavian countries. What do you like about Finnish people? Finnish people are quite shy, when you know them, they are open minded and are very helpful. Would you encourage French students to come to Finland for studies or Erasmus? Yes, of course, They have new teaching methods and encourage students in their projects. Our teachers are really nice, they listen to us and motivates us a lot. Any regrets about choosing Finland? I have no regret at all. Finland is a really cold country but when you have layers on, you don’t need to worry about the cold. Would you encourage French students to come to Finland for studies or Erasmus? Yes, of course, They have new teaching methods and encourage students in their projects. Our teachers are really nice, they listen to us and motivates us a lot. Coming to Finland for studies, is a cultural shock for me at the beginning. It is really nice to discover how people study in another way. People are quite nice and very helpful. So, Choose Finland for studies or Erasmus.
Text and photo: Elizabeth Akinlabi
HUMANITARIAN PROJECT
As we already promoted the humanitarian project in one of our latest issues, the project coordinated by Elizabeth, one of our student insider writers, took place and it was a full success. Her goal was to collect donations for the humanitarian group Ablaze Football Academy, which is a non-profitable football academy who picks boys from the street in Nigeria and trains them to play football. By doing this, they help the children to prevented cultism, kids roaming around the streets, hooliganism and even kids becoming armed robbers. The Ablaze Academy was founded in 2013, with only eight children during that time, but as time passes, they grew, and they are not only supporting eight children anymore but already 70. Helping so many children exceeds their capacity a little bit, which is why Elizabeth felt the need to step in and create this helping cookie project to contribute to their growth. On Sunday, the 3. February 2019 fifteen XAMK students from ten different nations met to bake and prepare a wide variety of cookies, muffins and cakes so that everything was set ready for the big day. Then finally on Monday, the 4. February 2019 from 10 AM until 3 PM they all worked together at a booth in the Main entrance hall of XAMK to collect donations such as jerseys, football clothes or shoes. Apart from the physical event Elizabeth also created an online campaign where one could donate as much or as little as they felt to. In total, an amount of 100,61â‚Ź was collected. Text and photo: Lena Gelfert
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TWENTY ONE PILOTS Apart from the excruciating weather or the pressure of deadlines for ~ 4 years straight, studying in Finland does have its own perks. Over two years ago, I went to a Twenty One Pilots concert in Helsinki. Last Wednesday, I went to my second one by them. I suppose it is safe to say that everyone should go to a concert of some sort at least once in their life. The excitement of waiting for your favorite artist, the pure joy of seeing them in person for the first time, or the indescribable feeling of singing in unison with thousands of other people who share the same music interest; they all contribute to a priceless experience. My second time going to a concert in Finland was way better than the first one, regarding the preparation step as well as having a company. There was way less of wearing jacket while jumping and singing in a pit full of people for 4 hours and way more bringing enough coins to so that an assuring looking guy would take your clothes for you. The door opened at 7, so me and my friends came at 5:30, since we want to get a good standing spot. When we arrived, the line outside was already super long. Most fans were wearing yellow clothing and/or clothes with yellow tapes on them (it is the theme of Twenty One Pilot’s new album). The line was moving slowly, then it stopped, then it moved again, and stopped again. It was -9 degrees in Helsinki
that night, so I could barely feel my feet. But after 1.5 hours, we managed to get inside, and that was when the fun began. The concert started with The Regrettes – an indie-rock band with a very young vocalist. Their music is not my cup of tea, but they certainly sang their hearts out. After their performance ended, the whole venue was filled with ominous music. Then we heard a bang, and that was when the boys appeared. Lt me tell you, it is absolutely still a one-of-a-kind feeling. They started with Fairly Local – a song from the previous album. It was a mix of old and new songs throughout the whole show. There were several moments where we did not know where the boys were, since the lights were all turned off, and Twenty One Pilots is known for their performance tricks, which means they could literally appear above your head without you knowing. During slow-paced, ballad-ish songs, we all turned on our flashlights and put yellow notes which were handed to us while we were outside by the fans over them. It created a mesmerizing atmosphere which is like no other. I almost dropped my phone several times, lost my voice because I was singing so hard, had neck, back and leg pain because I was standing for so long. But it was all worth it. It was an amazing concert, a precious memory that I will keep for life of my time here in Finland.
Text and photo: Minh-Trang Le
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SPORT - TABLE TENNIS Table Tennis (Ping-Pong) was founded in 1891. It was included in Olimpic Games in 1988. This sport is famous between world-famous sportsmen, politics, actors. There are some some reasons:
Table tennis promotes international peace Table tennis become popular and all people from such countries as England, Scotland, Wales, India, France, Singapore, USA, China, Germany, Russia, Australia, Finland, Czech Republic, Iran, South Africa and more… play table tennis. Also, there are International Table Tennis Day, it celebrates on the 6th of April. You will be agile. As the scientists say, dexterity is “highly developed muscular sensation and plasticity of cortical nervous processes”. Table tennis works to improve both of them. During the match, you are focused all the time and solve difficult motor coordination problems several times a minute (the average pace of the game ranges from 30 to 120 beats per minute).
It will help improve the handwriting Table tennis is the development of fine motor skills of the body, constant training of the muscles of the arm and hand. As a result, your handwriting become more beautiful as it is. It will help your eyes Nowadays more and more people have problems with eyes, as they work at the computer, or look at the screen located at the same distance all day long. So, this sport, useful as a short-sighted, farsighted, and those who have recently undergone eye surgery. During the game, your eyes continuously do exercises, focusing on the flying ball, then flying right at you. As a result, if you play regularly your eyes view become better more and more. Any age can play (and win) If you come to any table tennis club or sport gym you can find that different ages (from 5 years-to 97years) compete equally with each other. Table tennis is not all about ‘power’. You need good technique, good touch and good tactics to win.
As for me… I play table tennis since 2006 and to tell the truth this sport teaches me too many lessons, I will point some of them. Firstly, it teaches me to respect your competitors. Secondly, be more concentrated, put goals and archive them me to find new ways, how to solve different problems, not to give up. Thirdly, it helps me to be strong, healthy and positive. Finally, as every competition usually small holiday for every people who like and play tennis, it is a good way to communicate with people, watch how stronger sportsmen plays, gain new knowledge from them. Do not be afraid to try! Go for it! Among the currents of stormy days, the heart beats a little stronger when you open the doors to the spacious bright hall, Here, like a bird, a white ball, among the spins and innings, knocks and beats on the table like wings to take off. Table Tennis - a magical game Table tennis - the best time to come And if the belief in yourself, and the spirit of the teams is bright, That is no limit on the way to the heights of excellence!
Text and Photos: Lidiia Benkovskaya
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FOOD CORNER - Lost in Helsinki It is no surprise, that food is one of the hottest topics of any discussions. People are attracted by endless universe of tastes and smells. We all eager to reach climaxing sensations which could be stimulated not only by graceful gourmet masterpieces but, surprisingly, also by everyday simple food recopies familiar to our eyes but performed in a fresh and unique way. Everyone would argue for one’s favourite dish or cuisine providing hard evidence in its favour. Yet, food is what undoubtedly unites everyone. In these series of articles named “Food corner”, I am aiming to share with you some of what is called “best of the best” places according to my opinion and experience to tickle your stomach and delight the most extraordinary and wild preferences. This week restaurant with an incredibly romantic name located just in the heart of Helsinki is next on the list!
Lost in Helsinki. I was passing it by a few times and every time it was catching my eye. I always like to get lost in a new city that I travel and just in general in my life. Finally, me and my friend decided to give it a shot. They have a few taped beers and a wider selection of bottle beers, which is always very important for me since I am a hopeless alcoholic from my nature. Also, you will be quite satisfied with diversified menu options such as snacks, salads, burgers, pizzas, pastas, burritos, soups and etc. They also have many options for vegetarians. In addition, you can experience traditional Finnish food in that place like Salmon soup or Reindeer pasta. Sounds cool, doesn’t it?
We tried burritos with salmon those costs around 14€, which I think is too much for burrito, but still. Burritos were fresh and quite fulfilling coming along with side dishes: nachos and salad and blue cheese. Except for pretty toothsome food and drinks, distinctive feature of this place is its authentic atmosphere and old-fashioned design with attributes from last century and muffled light reflecting on bright scarlet walls. The whole atmosphere dives you in and you get lost in it.. like in the arms of a lover or in those special creative moments. Overall rating of “Lost in Helsinki” is 4,1 out of 5 according to google. If you feel like it is your thing then head to this address: Kaisaniemenkatu 3. Discover the world of culinary enjoyment and indulge in exotic taste adventures!
Text and photo: Polina Vishnya
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MOVIE REVIEW Hope for a better story DIRECTOR: Yorgos Lanthimos WRITERS: Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara STARS: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz PERIOD, DRAMA BUDGET: $15 Million
STUDIO 123 Kymenlaaksonkatu 1 45700 Kuusankoski 044 375 3686 www.studio123.fi
15.02.2019 - 21.02.2019 STUDIO 1 RISTO RÄPPÄÄJÄ JA PULLISTELIJA (S) | 11€ | 1h24mins Every evening at 17:00 For children Sat - Sun 15:15
THE FAVOURITE
(16) | 12€ | 2h Every evening at 18:50
This week, a new perspective arrives on the movie review. To be honest, I wanted my first review to be a positive one. So, I want to start with all the positives about The Favourite. Certainly, the cast. As a person that values the skills of the stars, this movie is certainly highly appreciated. Especially, Emma Stone had an outstanding performance on the movie. Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman are certainly worth mentioning. I do not remember a movie that is about royals and it would feel so sincere, and real. Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) was actually a human being with feelings which we do not often see in historical movies. By the way, the reason we talk about only three actresses is that there is not many of them. The whole movie is between those three people and others are just like figures who come and go every now and then. It was a movie that was made in almost one place, with very limited numbers of people. This is probably for keeping the costs at some level, but it was not disturbing at all. The costumes of the movie were very well done as well. All the characters had their own style and it was very well made. I do not know if people are interested to know about technical issues, but I will cut them short. This movie was exceptional. The Greek director, Yorgos Lanthimos, has put some effort in this to make the best out of it. And I would like to thank him for that. Let’s hope to see he does this with a better story. But then, we must talk about the music. At first, Somehow, I thought this was a musical show because of the constant music ripping our ears. A haunting music from start to end. Literally, I had to put my earphones on and listen to some good music right after the movie to clear my mind from that torture. As you all can see, I have not talked about the story and most of the review has passed. That is because I do not want to talk about it. This is about two cousins that want to become The Favourite of the queen. Abigail, (Emma Stone) is a smart woman trying to become someone important again. Playing mind games with people around her. Was she successful? I do not want to spoil the movie for the ones that want to watch it. Sarah, (Rachel Weisz) is already The Favourite of the queen and she wants to keep it that way. She is also smart and leading England on the decisions about war against France. She has few rivals in the palace and this makes life hard for her. In the end, I pledged my 119 minutes for this movie and when it ended, I was wondering if this was worth it. And I decided that it was not. Two girls playing games against each other around the queen trying to impress her. I think all this effort were wasted on such a boring story. Overall, I do not think you will be happy for your time spent after you watch this movie. Muhammet Çakıroğlu
JUICE
(7) | 11€ | 1h46mins Thurs 21.02 at 13:00
STUDIO 2 ONNELI, ANNELI JA NUKUTUSKELLO
(S) | 10€ | 1h18mins For children Sat - Sun 15:30
LEGO ELOKUVA 2 (dub) (7) | 11€ | 1h47mins Fri, Sun, Tues, Thurs 17:15
RÄYHÄ-RALF VALLOITTAA INTERNETIN (dub) (7) | 11€ | 1h53mins Sat, Mon, Wed 17:15
KAKSI KUNINGATARTA (12) | 12€ | 2h05mins Fri, Tues - Wed 19:30
AURORA
(12) | 11€ | 1h47mins Sat - Mon 19:30
STUDIO 3 IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (12) | 12€ | 1h59mins Sat - Sun 14:30 Mon - Tues 19:15
NÄIN KOULUTAT LOHIKÄÄRMEESI 3 (dub) (7) | 11€ | 1h44mins Fri, Mon 17.15
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (S) | 12€ | 2h15mins Sat. Tues, Thurs 16:45
GREEN BOOK
(12) | 12€ | 2h10mins Sun, Wed 16:45
BEAUTIFUL BOY
(16) | 12€ | 2h Fri - Sun, Wed - Thurs 19:15
Students/armed services, pensioners 1€ discount on all full priced tickets of 10€ or more
I
NG IN HU E S R U O MER C M U S rogram EE P R r F e A m NDING of Pécs Sum E T T A N i ve r s i t y STED I NTERE the Un
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University of Pécs Centre for Internationalization and Connections
Come to the gorgeous city of Pécs in Hungary and join our Summer School
‘The Cultural Heritage of Hungary’ from 30 June to 14 July 2019 with the help of a scholarship offered by Tempus Public Foundation, Hungary. The objective of the very enjoyable summer program is to introduce the Hungarian cultural heritage from many different perspectives. Students learn about the history and the current political, economic and societal challenges of Hungary. They will also gain insight into the Hungarian classical and folk music, the gastronomy and the wine culture of the country. The language of instruction is English.
The application deadline is
14 March, 2019
The scholarship covers full tuition, field trips, meals, accommodation and various social activities for the duration of the program. Who can apply: • Higher education students and graduates • The citizens of the following countries: Albania, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korean Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Singapore, Taiwan,Thailand, Turkey, UK, USA ts
mes/4 apply? ational-program o t w o rn H u/inte ka.h
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For more information, visit
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The University of Pécs, the oldest university in Hungary, was founded in 1367. Today it is one of the largest universities in the country and specializes in a wide spectrum of courses to some 20,000 students in approximately 500 different study programs. The University of Pécs provides a truly international learning environment with its 4,000 international students coming from 110 countries. Pécs is a safe and friendly, a culturally diverse and stimulating UniverCity.