Second Blog

Here it goes for the second blog.

Finishing off the first week and as well as having a great time getting to know everyone from the different countries we're getting to grips with the level of work that needs to be completed.

At the beginning (after a lengthy delay in Helsinki) we were introduced to everyone, the programme, our hosts and the beautiful SAMK university (serves great meatloaf). We were shown the campus and the facilities that are available to us including the gym and pool as well as the classrooms and library.

The University jaunt then led into our tour of Satakunta Hospital which gave me my first glimpse into how the Finnish system varies from the British. Patient comfort appears to be of paramount importance to the Finns and whereas on all of the wards I have worked on do have a day room they generally only consist of some hard chairs a television or serve as storage for the physiotherapists. In Satakunta however they contain homely furnishings, books, comfortable chairs and even musical instruments. This is obviously a financial issue for the NHS but it did lead me to wonder if time spent as an inpatient can be reduced if people are able to feel more at home and normal.

The next day we were further exposed to the Countries and the people with whom we will be working in the guise of video stories and the food market. The stories gave great insight not only into the nation itself and where students study but also into the pride of the people filming regarding their homeland. Danmark making several references to their beloved H.C. Anderson and their royal family's long lineage, Italia's images of renaissance Finreze and Malta's exquisitely beautiful San Anton gardens. The food market was a great opportunity to indulge ourselves in the fine cuisine of each nation. various types of cheese, bread and meat were the staple at all tables with one or two less palatable items making an appearance at the British stall. I fear we won't be exporting pork pies, pickle and marmite (which is illegal in Denmark) on a huge scale to our european neighbours.

It may have been the strong Czech liquor but the market created a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere where upon reflection (the word had to be mentioned of course) I realised for the first time how easy it was for the British to communicate with everyone else and the effort that the Europeans had to put in when talking to each other. I had never appreciated how hard thinking in one's own language and then translating it into an English that could be understood by another non native speaker could be, with the exception of Glen who has a wider vocabulary than I have hence why I am using words like 'exquisite' and 'hence' in my blog.

Hei, Aw, Ahoj, Ciao, Hej

Sorry for the late post but I've never been a big fan of blogging, but in this instance I think it'll be a great way to introduce ourselves and like one of my colleagues said, very addictive.

I enjoyed looking through the wiki and found it very informative. It was good to be able to see how it all breaks down and what we can expect when travelling to each of them. It was evident that a lot of work had gone into each one.

My only criticism is that it would have been nice to have some common use phrases in each language as when British people travel abroad most people speak English and we get very little opportunity to learn the local niceties.

In certain cases it was also quite funny, it's very typically 'British' to have the price of 6 cans of Carlsberg  along with bread and milk as a necessity of daily living. The authors of the 'applicable laws' section also saw fit to remind us to abide by local laws in a foreign country just in case we were all to turn into criminals the moment we set foot onto foreign soil.

Looking for ward to meeting you all