The end is near and we didn’t write for a while, so here we are with a major update about our last weeks.

First: DevLAB

Both our teams set our cycle-goals (per two weeks) in a way that we could end our project peacefully. This meant that we had everything done on time and we could enjoy our last days as a team, having fun and finalizing the last things. Laurences team searched for a buyer of their project, but this isn’t as easy as it seems. Eventually her team gave their idea for free to a company in Oulu who makes learning apps for schools. In that way they hope to see their idea or at least parts of it on the market in the (near) furure. Lore’s team also tried to pitch their idea to a company but was a bit too late with contacting which resulted in a funeral of their project instead of a sale.

We had our final presentation on Monday the 7^th of May. There we explained what happened the last months and some more about our learnings. The day after that we handed in our portfolio and had our final personal evaluation and grades. We all passed DevLAB, YEAAAAAAAAAH! Almost graduated!

Second: Winter is coming, just kidding, IT’S SUMMER!

Finally we can feel warmth on our skin and see the sun shining. To celebrate that we swam in the sea although the Finnish people thought we were crazy. Maybe we are, but we don’t care.

In the mean time we also had to say goodbye to a lot of people and friends that stayed in our dorm. Saying goodbye definitely is the hardest part of Erasmus . We had some last parties and had a last dinner in the pancakehouse with our Belgian crew for Laurences birthday.

Third: Enjoy our time

Because we love the north so much, we wanted to see more. Sooooo, we went to the Lofoten islands in Norway. What a trip! (not talking about the views but about our way too long bustrip! 15 hours is way too much) But once we were there, we were amazed by the views and a bit later by our cabins. How happy can a human be to see that there’s a couch and a warm and fluffy blanket. A day later we went on a roadtrip through the different cities of the Lofoten Islands, WAW! What a view and what a smell! We almost fainted of the smell of the cod fish that was drying outside on giant racks. The body and head were separated, the head goes to Africa to make ‘a lovely and rich’ soup of it, the body is sold in Europe. Our Belgian Friend bought some of it, but we’re happy that she wants to share it with her mom. (No smelly fish near us please!) We ended our stay with a kayak trip. Unfortunately there was a lot of wind so we couldn’t go out of the harbour . That’s why we had a small tour, but enjoyed it either way! (Did you know that our kayaks had pedals which we had to use for navigating, it’s pretty useful ) Because of our lovely trip we missed the event of the year: Wappu. It’s the announcement of the beginning of spring/summer for them, people actually come outside! They celebrate it with a party and some fun (drinking) games.

Next trip: Helsinki/Tallinn

We reunited with our Belgian classmates Inne and Xenia whoare real locals after 3 months of Erasmus. They guided us through the city and showed us the coolest and prettiest places. We were very lucky to have good weather! It was 20 degrees, we didn’t see that coming . We ran to catch our boat to Tallinn (Estonia) and the rest is history…

We arrived in a still warm city and walked to our Airbnb. Just walking in Tallinn gave already a nice atmosphere of the city. Although there is a nice old part it is also very young and innovative in their architectural and fun ways of ‘decorating’ the city. We had a fun time, relaxing in the sun, having a picknick in a park and enjoying a (cheap) drink. What do you want more? In the evening we enjoyed the last sun of the day and some two year old kids caught our attention. They were jumping and discovering the square and at that moment we realized we didn’t lose our ‘ECE(PJK)’ eye during the last semester. Our days in Tallinn passed by fast and after our travel back on a (fancy) boat, we visited the national library in Helsinki (major beauty and beast feelings).

Fourth: Cleaning/making our suitcases and say our final goodbye.

That’s what we’ll do on Wednesday and Thursday. Wish us luck with our journey back to rainy rainy Belgium! Thanks for tuning in with us during this adventure .

See you soon!

Laurence and Lore