The University of Turku in Pictures

Besides the part where I'm not a rabbit, this is so true (also, I can spell "fourth")

So there's good news and bad news about my lack of blog posts. The bad news: I'm out of practice and I can't promise sound writing. The good news: I've mostly not been blogging because I've been having a great time doing tons of other fun things. Also, I've taken lots of photos so I don't actually have to worry about the quality of my writing! 

The University of Turku:

This is a view heading up a hill on campus towards the library - the building here is a university building, but I couldn't tell you what exactly is in there. It is a steep hill, though, and I have to catch my breath at the end of it almost every time I ascend. 

This is a path on campus that leads to a building called Juslenia, where my Finnish course and Baltic Sea Region lectures are held. The campus is situated in an interesting mix of settings. In some places it is surrounded by foliage like this, and in other places it very much blends in with Turku's more urban landscapes. Since I last blogged these leaves have changed color and fallen off...yikes!

This is the inside of the ICT building (Information and Communication Technology), and it is very modern looking. In fact, most of the buildings (even some of the older ones), are much more sleek and modern than a lot of US university buildings. If you notice, the seats in the foyer actually spell ICT. I don't have any classes in here, but sometimes I get lunch in their cafeteria. 

This is the courtyard area between the Educarium and Publicum buildings. Again, these buildings have a very modern feel to them - inside and out. Both buildings host different departments or faculties, lecture halls, offices, small libraries, and computer rooms. Educarium also houses the sports facilities, the IT helpdesk, and another cafeteria.

A closer look at the bike ports outside the buildings. Bicycling is a very popular mode of transportation not only for students but also for the population of Turku as a whole. Bike lanes all over the city make bicycling around a very practical form of transport. I personally take the bus just because I had a hard time finding an affordable bike and in the winter (now) there is no way I would try to bike anywhere. Didn't make sense to drop 80 EUR on a used bike that I would only use for two months. Plus, public transportation is AWESOME! 

This is the front of the Turku School of Economics (Turun = Of Turku, Kauppakorkeakoulu = School of Economics) - sometimes there are more bikes outside of this building than the Educarium/Publicum courtyard.

Inside the School of Economics - it is also very modern architecturally. It has a cafeteria (below), lecture halls, offices, departments, a small bookstore, small library, computer room, and most importantly for me the International Office.

Turun Yliopisto is Finnish for University of Turku. This is the Main Building - it's both an administrative and academic facility. 

This is another courtyard - to the left is the Main Library, straight ahead is the Natural Sciences Building, and to the right is the Main Building. These buildings definitely are not as modern as some of the others. The courtyard is nice, though. It's difficult to see but just beyond the red flowers is a fountain with a statue of the Finnish Maiden on it. Apparently, Finland is shaped like a woman sticking her arm out in a flowing dress. Hence, the Finnish Maiden. If you, like me, are having a hard time visualizing that this should help:

I happen to think it's shaped more like a fish (I apologize for my lousy photoshop skills):