Day 5: Sustainability Seminars to Karaoke

Yesterday was incredibly informative for us. We attended a sustainability seminar specifically for students at Karelia University, held on the Wärtsilä campus. The day started early, and I was still quite tired, struggling with jet lag. Despite this, the experience over the past few days has been amazing. I've met some wonderful people on this trip who have shared diverse experiences from their hometowns. My roommate, Evan, and I got to know each other better. He shared his experiences of living on campus at Nipissing University, which was interesting to hear since I have not yet visited that campus.



As I woke up, I noticed the sun was shining so early and thought to myself how challenging this must be for the Finnish people. In the morning, I rented a bike to ride from the hotel to the Wärtsilä campus. The bike ride was a lot of fun, and I got to see some beautiful sights along the way. There was a hill on the route to the school that was a bit tough to climb, but it added to the fun.



Getting to the school was thrilling! We began our day with a campus tour, where we saw the smaller classroom sizes and the laboratories housing some impressive machinery. It was fascinating to listen to the professors, who are called ‘coaches’ here, discuss the labs and their various uses. As the tour progressed, we had a delicious lunch; I particularly enjoyed the potato and chicken dish. After lunch, it was time for more of the
seminar—woohoo!



During our tour we got to play some games with the team


The seminar was highly informative, with excellent speakers providing detailed insights on sustainability. It began with an expert lecture on the future of sustainability, followed by a lively Q&A session where attendees asked intriguing questions.

The view from my seat in the lecture hall

Afterward, we enjoyed coffee and snacks before diving back into the seminar. When the seminar ended, I had a relaxing bike ride back to the hotel. After quickly freshening up, I headed out for dinner with the students from Karelia University. It was great catching up and discussing Finland and their experiences at Karelia University—away from the watchful eyes of the coaches and professors...haha.

The food was too good I forgot to take an appealing picture of the meal!


After the bar and dinner with the Karelia University students, our team had a blast at the karaoke bar, enjoying a lively night of games and singing! I can't claim to have the best voice, but my enthusiasm was definitely there.

The night flew by, and we didn't get back until 1:00 AM! It felt late, but this is an experience I'll always remember. From learning about sustainability to singing until I lost my voice, today was truly exciting for me in Joensuu, Finland!

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