Xmas mood

Nothing special, only another way to create festive mood at the Christmas market at Teurastamo (old slaughterhouse now used as a venue for fairs).

Recalling studying Russian law and great times at Petrozavodsk State University

It seems that there has been a suspicious absence of law-related posts in my blog recently. There is no other choice but to correct it! I will start from publishing the article on law educaton in Russia, which was published in latest issue of Inter Vivos magazine for law students of the University of Helsinki.

What I was keeping in mind when writing it is that there is actually no many grounds to criticize Russian legal education system for. One can name the lack of focus on studying foreign language and it is sadly true, especially after bringing into force new standards, which prevent studying to take minor degree without additional payments. In all other aspects, I am happy that I have spent my bachelor degree in a small but so home-like Petrozavodsk State University, despite being told right from the submitting the application documents to the secretary that staying in a "provincial" university would turn out to be a huge mistake. 

As I mention in the article, there are so many common hobbies uniting law students despite the ranking position of their university. And definitely there is always the chance to go forward and develop yourself. The aim of bachelor degree is to give strong foundation and strengthen interest in future steps, no natter where they will be undertaken. It has happened!

Every law student needs some childish magic

My moomins collection and snow which doesn`t melt that soon helps me to feel a bit more childish and see each new day not only in the light of approaching deadlines:)

#LearnSwedish reading news easily

I went to German language cafe yesterday (last one of this semester, time is running fast!) and made observations that in my mind German words start to mix with Swedish. It is time to rehearse Swedish, really!

It seems that I have found a good resource for that: http://arenan.yle.fi/barn

Actually, you still can look for resources aimed not only at children and even read political news from the first months of studying this language (my progress with Finnish was not that fast).

All in all, my experience of studying Swedish is not extremely encouraging, but it really suits any business schedule. So, it basically comprises of reading news and stories during metro trips to the university and back.

The list is short:

8Sidor The articles there were easily understandable for me from the first month of me studying Swedish (or maybe my brain just was working extremely good during sunny August days?)

svenska.yle.fi I like the new design which allows to read the headings and first paragraph with the most essential and easily comprehensible information. Also, a good way to keep up with what is happening in Helsinki.

Klartext More difficult than Klartext, but still quite useful for me as a person who has been studying Swedish on her own and quite occasionally.

Sesam also seems to be a useful resource.

Please, note, my advice is based on me trying to get the best of studying the language alone due to the total overlap of law classes with classes offered by Language Centre. Anyway, I think lättlästa texter på svenska is a great way to boost the confidence in your language skills even at the beginner`s level:)

Joulu in the air

There is no snow outside, and approaching exams doesn`t add Christmas mood...
Luckily, I was celebrating my birthday last week and my friends are always there to make me feel a child. Now I am sure that every new day is not only about approaching exams and deadlines, but also about finding out new Moomin figure in joulukalenteri (Christmas calendar).

My Cyparus is a really nice friend - it doesn`t like being watered, but enjoys ice cubes to be put to the pot.