Finland: Travel guide, visas and free housing · 2026

AGAnzhelika Gorbachevaangeliika210 · Dec 19, 2022Read

Answers began to appear in my curious mind little by little, which brought some peace of mind. Three days later, my friend took me to the International Exchange Center office, where all my worries and fears vanished, which I was very happy about. While the memories are fresh in my mind, I decided to share what I learned after getting to know the International Exchange Center. But first things first. So, various exchange programs had been familiar to me since childhood: they were written about in English textbooks (yes, those ones with the perpetually happy faces), my school and language courses participated in experience exchanges, and private exchange agencies were promoted by linguist teachers (in my school, these were trips to countries like Germany, the UK, and Finland). However, it was scary and expensive to participate in such private programs: you are alone, in a host family, without classmates or friends, and communication with relatives in your native language was kept to a minimum. One fine day, in a critical situation, you could simply be put out on the street with your belongings. Such a prospect did not please me at all, so I always refrained from such events. Now, a completely different, modern, and effective type of international exchange has opened up to me: full informational transparency, interesting speaking clubs, and the support and help of the wonderful International Exchange Center team (for which I am very grateful to them). I was surprised that you are supervised, in fact, until the very end of the program, and most of the paperwork, which I don't like very much, is handled directly by the International Exchange Center. In a word, doubts are gone, and risks and fears have been minimized as a result of interacting with the organization. This is very helpful when participants, like me, come without experience, knowing almost nothing about exchange programs.

OOOralbek Otegulovjohnfkennedy · Nov 30, 2015Read

American adventures never end and never bore anyone. Not long after arriving there, I found a new friend. He was a Kyrgyz guy named Elzar Isaev. At first, I thought he was Kazakh, but it turned out he was Kyrgyz. It was clear that he read a lot and was well-informed, but misinformation had completely poisoned his mind. When I spoke to him in Kazakh, he would speak to me in Kyrgyz. We understood each other about 70-80 percent; if there was something we didn't understand, he would say it in Russian, and I would say it in English. After this, I became convinced that there is no significant difference between the Kazakh and Kyrgyz people. A monkey and a human also have 99 percent similarity, with only a 1 percent difference. That one percent alone cannot turn a monkey into a human. Likewise, the slight difference between the two nations will never make a Kyrgyz person a Kazakh. Kazakhs and Kyrgyz have never been under the same flag. Perhaps if they had lived under the same flag for 1-2 centuries, the difference would not have grown. Moreover, a very dangerous ideological process is currently underway in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz historians and ideologues, whether for populism or state orders, seem to write whatever comes to their minds. From Elzar's words, I understood that an anti-Kazakh ideology is forming there. According to them, everyone on earth descended from the Kyrgyz. The Kyrgyz are an ancient nation and do not even belong to Turkic tribes. They claim the Kyrgyz of that time simply accepted the suzerainty of the Turks. According to Elzar, our last khan, Kenesary, came to conquer the Kyrgyz. The Kyrgyz defended their country from Kenesary and killed him for that. What kind of terrible misinformation is this?! We even argued over several topics. If such an ideology continues at the state level, the neighboring country is on the verge of zombifying its own people. This could very well lead to fascism. Some might think, what can tiny Kyrgyzstan do to us? But considering how tiny Finland, with a population of less than 5 million, put up a fierce resistance against the Soviet Union with its 140 million people, this cannot be taken lightly. Therefore, in the future, a threat to our country from the Kyrgyz is quite possible. Getting off track, I later worked with that same Elzar. One night, while returning from work in the middle of the night, we saw two girls on the street taking pictures of buildings and looking very happy. I immediately said, "Those are Kazakh girls." Elzar didn't believe it. We walked closer and it turned out they really were Kazakhs. One was Aisulu from Almaty, and the other was Anastasia Glukhareva from Kereku (Pavlodar). The girls, who work in the city of Wildwood in the neighboring state of New Jersey, used their day off to travel to Delaware. The four of us went to a 24-hour cafe near my house and sat there until dawn. After that, we decided to go to the Atlantic Ocean shore to welcome the sunrise. The sunrise over the ocean is truly uniquely beautiful. It was the first time in my life I had welcomed the sunrise. It was the dawn of July 23, 2014...

ККириллstriklend · Oct 26, 2009Read

Quest 3. Housing So, for the job offer, maybe another $120 (absolute max). Next is housing. Don't even worry about this. We'll either live in cheap motels (which is more expensive and less convenient) or (which is way cooler), we'll get 4-5 (or even more) people together and rent a decent apartment so everything is chill. But that's once we arrive. For the first few days, you can stay in a hotel. As a rule, housing offered from here is significantly more expensive. Plus, you can't see it or evaluate it, so we don't stress about it here (although I've heard it's tough in some states, for example, on the Outer Banks in North Carolina, the rates are totally different and it's scarce. That's true... but it's just another reason to go to South Carolina!). In general, we'll try to find a house there for $30-50 a week. As you've gathered, we went to South Carolina with absolutely no housing lined up)) Quest 4. Tickets Right, what else. Oh, yeah, tickets. If you live in the Far East or the Urals - yeah, tickets are expensive, but you're cool for life! And if you're from Central Russia or the Northwest - well, tickets are cheaper for you). Either way, we get to Moscow and fly from there. This year, a British Airways ticket 1.5 months before departure cost about $600. Those who took the program without a ticket saved about 250 bucks if they bought them. To get deals like that, just regularly check the website www.kayak.com. For Russian airports, it's the ideal option. Change the dates and arrival points and eventually, you'll find the one that suits you best. Plus, in the spring, most companies definitely have some kind of promotion. Also, buying it yourself gives you the chance to choose the departure date. If you found a cheap ticket, but your DS-2019 is for a different date - don't be shy, go to the CMO and ask to change the date. It will take about two weeks. The service is free, as far as I remember. To buy tickets (or anything on the internet), you need a VISA card (usually classic, not electron) or a MasterCard (not Maestro). Another plus of buying online is the e-ticket. A friend who lived with us and bought a ticket from the CMO was given a paper one. To change the date, she spent 3 WEEKS calling an idiotic company (AlItalia) almost every day and still can't get back the $75 the airline accidentally charged her account. The fault here is purely the airline's, but even if we take a ticket through the CMO, it must be electronic. It's called an e-ticket. If we have the opportunity to go to Finland or Latvia, the situation improves significantly. A ticket from Finland to the USA can be bought for $150-500. Moreover, the airlines will be in the top ten in the world. We flew British Airways for $400, there were also Finnair for $500 and (as we found out later) Ryanair+British Airways for $230. Any flights from Europe are definitely a few hundred cheaper. So, if we have the chance to get to Europe, we type 'low budget airlines' into Google and search the sites to see who has what prices. Ryanair.com is an ideal option - the company is 7th in the world for safety (cooler than AirFrance, etc.). A ticket to London from Finland costs $30. From London, there were $130 tickets to New York on British Airways. If you are not from St. Petersburg - getting from here to Helsinki or Tampere (the country's 2 main airports) costs 900 rubles by bus. It's convenient, luggage is in the luggage compartment, nothing gets in the way, the trip takes 6 hours. By car, 4-5. Buses leave right from the Moskovsky railway station. That's the city center. There are always seats, unless you're very unlucky on Fridays and Saturdays. On those days, it's better to book in advance. Just type 'buses St. Petersburg Finland' into the internet and look for the one you need. From New York (or anywhere else, if it's not the final destination), you can get around by (a) planes - again, book a ticket on kayak.com and fly peacefully. Cheaper or more convenient options might be

Gguest_16009Oct 1, 2009Read

By popular demand, here is a brief guide on importing and registering a motorcycle. 1. Buy it in the States, get the title and a bill of sale notarized by a lawyer from the seller. 2. Drop it off in NJ for shipping; I sent mine to Kotka, Finland for $300. 3. Arrange for the shipping company to send the documents to Russia (if you are already leaving), otherwise, they will hand them to you or mail them within the US 3 days after the bike is shipped. 4. Wait for the documents in Russia, or if you arrived with them, go to customs. They will give you a short list of requirements, specifically that you need to translate the documents into Russian and have them notarized. 5. Pay the customs duties they calculate for you, take all the documents, and head to Kotka. 6. Pick up the motorcycle!!! Make sure you have the title. There are tons of taxi drivers there with vans who will take it to St. Petersburg; they hang out right at the customs office. I think I paid 15,000 rubles for that. 7. Head to the customs office with the motorcycle to get the PTS (vehicle title), then register it with the traffic police (GIBDD). 8. Enjoy!