I moved to Helsinki, Finland a week ago to start my 6-month internship at Nokia, where I'm working in the Sourcing and Materials Planning group on a project that has to do with supply chain risk management. It's an area that's been relatively under-studied, but has been getting more attention over the past few years. A lot of companies are either starting to devise or re-examine their supply chain risk management strategies in light of recent events such as the earthquake in Japan. The core of the issue is how companies strike the appropriate balance between efficiency and resilience within a supply chain. While I'm still trying to figure out the exact scope of my project, it will have something to do with the initial step of identifying and predicting risks as part of the company's overall risk management strategy. It seems like the project has the potential to have real impact, which is encouraging.
It's been an interesting experience so far, and I can already tell that it should be an awesome learning opportunity, certainly professionally but personally as well. Having spent my entire life in one area of the US, I've admittedly been a little nervous about moving to a foreign country, especially one where I would be forced to interact with people very different than what I'm used to. I figured it was something I needed to do at least once in my life, but wasn't sure about how I'd deal with the newness of it all. So far, I think I've settled in pretty nicely.
There's a lot I could write about at this point, but to keep it short, here is a quick summary of the good and the bad so far.
GoodThe people: I heard that Finnish people are very business-like and serious, and not so keen on small talk and socializing with people they don't know well. It may be true to a certain extent, but I have been pleasantly surprised at how friendly and welcoming people have been. At work, people are eager to help and share their ideas. I've met some people outside of work as well who also definitely don't fit that stereotype.
The routine: This may sound weird, but I love the routine that I've settled into. It's my first time working "normal" hours (8-5), and it's awesome coming home and having the entire evening free. I can go to the gym, cook dinner, watch TV (already through 2.5 seasons of The Wire -- awesome show), all while not stressing about work. It's kind of ironic that I'm experiencing this normalcy for the first time in such a foreign place, but it's definitely been a highlight so far.
The city: Helsinki is a small city and seems to have a good balance of nice, quiet areas where I can go relax or unwind, but also lively areas to hang out and meet people. It's convenient as well, with good public transportation. The weather has been relatively nice so far, but I'm pretty sure that'll change before I leave here. And, of course, the days are really long right now, which is weird but pretty cool. Here's a picture of one of the more lively areas in town, which I took a few days ago around 11:15 pm.
BadFood: I actually haven't been to any restaurants yet, so maybe this isn't fair, but I am not excited about the food here. I think one of the locals here put it best when he said that it's not as if Finnish food might taste really bad, it probably just won't have any taste at all. Strangely, it also seems like there are kebab places everywhere, though I haven't tried any yet. The bad food could be a positive thing, because it's forcing me to learn to cook and because things aren't cheap. Which brings me to...
Cost of living: Yes, it's really expensive here, which is tough to deal with when you're not getting paid. The cost of living seems to be around 30% higher than I'm used to, and I'm comparing to New York and Boston, which are relatively expensive themselves. For the most part, things are priced in Euros what they would be priced in dollars, and of course the dollar isn't too strong right now.
That's it for now. I'm definitely looking forward to traveling around Europe while I'm here and have a few trips planned already- London next week and then Switzerland and maybe France in July. This weekend is
Juhannus, which is the celebration of the summer solstice. My classmate Ed is coming to visit, so it should be a good time.