It was a long morning leading up to the interview but surprisingly, it went by fast and was rather painless. We had an 8:30am research seminar lesson and I'd gone to bed a bit late but I surprised myself but getting up easily AND catching up with an old friend on Skype.. around 7:12am. (Gotta love how productive time differences can make you feel... and so not annoyed at early mornings.) After class, I went to get a coffee before our second class started and everyone arrived. The first part of that class was a presentation that Di and I had to do (well, each of us had different presentations) as punishment for having missed a lecture (due to Switzerland trip, see last post.)
I'd had a bit of a panic getting myself organized the night before because I was supposed to read and analyze a thesis - or more specificly, the interview portion of the thesis. Upon logging onto our school's online thesis database, I discovered that I counldn't open any of the files. Luckily, an FB status update and 15 minutes later, my good friend Evgeniy came through and emailed me, not 1, but 4 theses! So yeah... it didn't take too long to come up with a 2.5 minute presentation.
Then lunch with tons of people (playing musical chairs as people came and went) as Sara, Mette and I grabbed a table at the back until the late afternoon. Alex came to join us and later walked with me to my interview because the sun was shinning and it was such a nice day to be outside!
The interview went really well. I felt really confident because I'd be referred to the position by a friend but I also knew that I was the kind of person they were looking for. Still, that didn't mean I didn't have to prove myself. I was there for almost an hour and there were lots of questions about career plans, future, hobbies, reasons I came to Finland, languages I speak... etc. Ultimately, I felt they got to know me pretty well and liked me. In turn, I found out my interviewer had lived with a Romanian girl before so that was a neat surprise! At the end, they told me that they would definitely offer me a job, but unfortunately, training starts next week and I'm going to be away but if the project time is lengthened, then they'll be in touch for the next training session.
So I walked back to school pretty happy! What you have to realize is that it's not always about going in, selling yourself and getting the job, but also about how the interview makes you feel. And I felt that I gained a lot of confidence, good practice and experience from my one hour there. Sometimes it's easy to get all tangeled in your replies and say something that sounds bad... so thinking really fast about what you're gonna say before you say it is a big help.
Otherwise, it was nice to hang out with everyone at school again before heading back to Tampere. The funny thing was, as I left school to run and try to catch the tram, a bus went by and splashed a HUGE puddle all over my pants, boots and purse. Then to top it all off, the tram drove off without waiting for me... even though I was running after it, soaking wet. It wasn't until after it pulled away that I started to try to wipe my purse and well... there was nothing I could do about my pants or boots but the walk to the station helps dry them off.
(Photo credit)Still, nothing could ruin my mood today!
Juha met me near the train station and we went grocery shopping. Then I dragged him to Eurokangas (European Fabricland) to score some CURTAINS for my room in Helsinki. I dropped 62 euros on those babies and I hope they'll be perfect! (And that Anne likes them too.) I was inspired by some pastel coloured buildings close to Hanken so I tried to recreate the atmosphere of the street in my room. They're hemming the ends for free and I get to pick them up in 2 weeks.
As if that isn't exciting enough (my Helsinki room needs spunk, you'd be excited too) I get home and check facebook only to see a random picture of a friend on my profile. I click and, lo and behold, she's dating a Finn! I comment on the photo, I stalk around a little and then she messages me. Long story short, her boyfriend now lives in Canada but they're coming to visit Helsinki in May. We were both so excited we couldn't stop smiling (she was in class) or dancing/being hyper/cooking dinner (I was at home.)
So yeah. That's my day. And I'm freaking ecstatic about it!
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