Bonsoir!

This blog is mainly about the experiences of two distinctive people from Finland taking an actual chance and going to Montréal to study for 5 months.

Hi, my name is Niko and I am a 21-year old finance student from Finland (Aalto university school of economics, or Aalto Biz, whatever they may call it nowadays). I have lived my whole life in Helsinki, Finland, and am now willing to share my "exchange" experience with the staggering two or three people reading this blog. Have a laugh.

...And my name is Ville, I'm the co-author of this blog. I've known Niko since high school and now we're both in the same faculty, living in the same flat. I've spent a good portion of the year living abroad even prior to this experience. I call myself an expatriate yet I dry my hands in a HIFK playoff towel. Go figure.

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Welcome to Montréal...

Ok so here’s the deal; I have this tradition of boarding trans-Atlantic flights hung-over as Fruit loop. So, as we say in Finland, it obviously was a “salee-ihan-hyvä-juttu” to stay up drinking until 4 AM on the night before. I guess Niko managed to get some sleep onboard the Airbus, while I listened to Kirka and Päivi Lepistö (=our collaborative Midsummer ’13 playlist) and watched HIMYM for the duration of the flight.

After an exhausting immigration process we exited JFK International, hollered an (almost) legit cab and headed for Manhattan. The mere sight of the impressive skyline makes a man humble. Long story short, we ended up discussing serious business with some Israeli UN mission guys on a rooftop bar, enjoying a warm New York summer night and mediocre US beer.

Dat Stock Exchange

In the morning we took the Adiron-duck (whatevs spelling) train to upstate NY, visiting exciting global party venues such as Poughkeepsie, Albany and Plattsburgh (Go Plattsburgh Penguins!) before entering the Great White North.

Our neighborhood in Montreal is “Portuguese-Jewish-Greek” (according to Lonely Planet). In my experience, it resembles New Jersey. Don’t take this wrong, I love the Garden State. It just looks a lot like Jersey, maybe a bit less tanning salons, but still.

On day one, still suffering from jet-lag, we visited important Canadian sights such as Tim Hortons, Centre Bell and the Dollarama Store. We also bought a flag of Quebec (landlady approves) and a bottle of Finlandia Vodka, as well as some fine Canadian beer (Sleeman Brothers, anyone?).

Our second day included e.g. more aimless wandering up and down Ave Mont-Royal, additional visits to SAQ and purchasing the most awesome cat-themed shirt ever (they really shouldn’t let me near any hipster-esque shops, otherwise I’ll come home a complete pretentious douche).

P.s. We also came up with a game to play in Montreal: At any point of time, when standing at a place with a good 360 degree view, if you can’t see a church tower, something happens. We have yet to come up with an outcome, as we are still looking for a place in Montreal that does meet this criterion.

Peace, I’m out (Here’s also a pic of my most awesome shirt)