Baseball Game (2)

After a baseball practice in the morning, on 14 May evening, we watched a local baseball match in the same field that we used in the morning. The match started at 6 pm, but we already arrived there at 5.40 pm. The game is a Finnish baseball game or Pesäpallo, which is regarded as a national sport in Finland because of its popularity. Pesäpallo is a combination of traditional ball-batting team games and North American baseball.

Pesäpallo and baseball actually have quite many things in common. For example, there are two teams consist of nine players per team. One team tries to score by hitting the ball and running through the bases (three bases plus one home base), the other team tries to defend by catching the ball and putting the runners out.  The game takes place over nine innings and the team with the higher score wins the game. Furthermore, according to game's governing board, the Pesapalloliitto, players are allowed to use approved equipment such as helmets, gloves, and bats to aid in play.

The most important difference between Pesäpallo and baseball is that the ball is pitched vertically which makes it easier to hit and control the power and direction of the ball. This gives a more variety to the game compared to the regular baseball. The fielding team is forced to counter the batter's choices with defensive schemes. Furthermore, unlike in baseball, the manager has an important role to lead his team's offense by giving signals to the players using a multicolored fan. The defensive team is directed by the manager's orders and hand signals by the fielders.

 

  

   

 

Baseball Game (1)

On 14 May 2014, we practice Finnish baseball game which is called Pesäpallo (Finnish pronunciation: [pesæpɑlːo] ) .  If we translate, Pesäpallo literally means nest ball.  The field that we used to practice is located in Leirikatu 24, Lappeenranta near the Prisma or city center. The location can be found here. We gathered at 10:00 am and finished at about 12:00. After about ten minutes of playing, suddenly it was raining pretty heavy. However, we did not lose our spirit just because the fact that it was raining or windy.

We started the practice with some warming up. We make a pair and then throw a ball to each other. One people will throw, and another will catch the ball. After that, Mr. Jari aka our coach taught us how to hit the ball using the bat. Every person will take a turn one after another, and we have about 10 chances to hit the ball. When one person hit the balls, the others will guard and catch the ball.

One by one, we had our chance.Start fr om Vlad, then Chandra, then it came to my turn. For sure, it was difficult at first time, but slowly and sure I managed to hit the ball a couple times. And even though I could only hit as half far as my guy friends did, still I felt proud of myself. At least, I tried my best :)

Me, playing baseball

Prof. Jari, our coach

Vlad

Chandra

Me

Maike

Rohan

Dorine

Vitalii

Nahin

Fisayo

Group photo

  

Ice Hockey Game

To improve our knowledge toward Finnish culture, our professor, Mr. Jari Porras took us to watch an ice hockey game. As you know, ice hockey is very popular among Finns and in fact Finland counts a total of 52,597 registered players, which amounts to 1.0% of its population. Therefore it will be a good opportunity for us to at least watch one of ice hockey match during our stay in Finland.

The match is between the local teams. I did not remember the guest (opponent), but I knew that the host is the Saimaa team from Saimaa University. As LUT students, which its building is literally next to Saimaa building, of course, without any hesitation, we support the Saimaa team. For your information, if you look at the pictures below, the Saimaa team is the ones who wear the bright yellow uniform. In the end, the Saimaa team won the match, and we went home feeling happy for them.

  

Looking for a Sweden Residence Permit

As part of the PERCCOM program, the next semester will be spent in Lulea, Sweden. Therefore as a non-European citizen, I need to have my residence permit ready before my semester begins. To apply for a residence permit for study, first of all, I need to check the general requirements in Swedish Migrationsverket (Migration Board) website.

The documents that need to prepared are among others passport, insurance, Letter of Acceptance from university in Sweden and bank statement or scholarship letter. Remember that the Letter of Acceptance should state the duration of the study, for example, 6 months from August to January 2014.  Otherwise, the application will be rejected.

The first step is to fill out the online application form here. When we fill the online application, the website will give an automated username and password. Keep this username and password in case we need to make any changes toward our application. However, once the application is submitted, we can no longer make any further changes. Therefore please be careful.

After completing the online application, we need to wait for a couple weeks for a decision. The current waiting time is different upon the particular situation. To check the estimated waiting time, please click here. We can also check the progress of our application in here. By inputting the 7-8 digit numbers of case application, we can check whether or not a decision has been given toward our application.

The next step is to take a photograph and fingerprint in Embassy/ Consulate General/Swedish Migrationsverket. To do this, we need to make an appointment in advance. We can book, cancel, or see the schedule of appointment in here. Please note that you can make this appointment either before or after a decision has been given on your application.

On 3 April 2014, my friends and I visited Swedish Migrationsverket Office in Solna, Stockholm. There are many offices available and we can choose one in our convenience. The list of offices and their respective addresses is provided here.

If the decision has been given, we will receive a confirmation email from Migrationsverket regarding the status of our application, whether it is granted or rejected. Finally, if we are granted with the residence permit and have our photograph and fingerprint taken, then we can wait approximately four weeks until the residence permit card is ready. We can either take it on the Embassy/ Consulate General/Swedish Migrationsverket or have it delivered to our home address. 

And that is how we get our residence permit in Sweden :)

My friends and I visited the office of Sweden Migration Service in Stockholm

Master Thesis Progress

On 29 April 2014, we had a master thesis progress presentation. The meeting is held on LUT Sauna Beach House near the Lake Saimaa. The meeting was attended by Prof. Jari Porras from Lappenranta University of Technology (LUT), Prof. Karl Anderson from Lulea University of Technology (LTU), and of course, all of PERCCOM students.

Basically in this meeting, we were given a chance to present some of the works that we have been done for our master thesis. The majority of us, present about the literature review about the journals that are used for our references. While, others also present more advanced works, like a company survey or project timeline. Each student has roughly about 30 minutes for presentation and question. After each presentation, Prof. Jari and Prof. Karl will give some questions or comments. The first student who prThe student who finished their presentation point another student who will be in the next turn.

Grilled Salmon, anyone?

In the same day after Master Thesis presentation, we had a barbecue party at evening in the Sauna Beach House. Mrs Susanna helped us to prepare the food and drinks, while Mr. Jari prepared the grill. We had two grill, one is gas and another is charcoal. Because some of us have a diet preference like Vegan or Vegetarian, the grill is separated. One for grilling the fish and vegetable for the vegan and vegetarian, and the other grill is used for grilling the meat for the rest of us.

After the barbecue, the event was continued with sauna together. There were two sauna rooms available, one for girls and one for boys. As the Finnish tradition, after sweating inside hot sauna room, we should jump into the lake as the cold water from the lake will refresh the skin. By the time we finish sauna, the sun was almost set and it created a beautiful view on the horizon. So before going home, we did not waste our chance and took one group photo on the beach.

So much food on the table

The meat section

The guys are enjoying their time

Mrs. Susanna helps us in the kitchen

The charcoal grill

The guys are grilling the meat

Take a group photo before going home

No-Rooz, The Iranian New Year

On 19 April 2014, the Iranian Student Association of Lappeenranta University of Technology organized the Iranian New Year party. The event  is held to celebrate the Iranian New Years which called No-Rooz. Unlike the regular new year which we celebrated in 1 January every year, in Iranian culture the No-Rooz marks the beginning of the Spring season. So the date is changed every year depending on the astronomy. No-Rooz ritual and tradition has been celebrated since 3000 years ago by the Iranian people. 

The No-Rooz rituals include clean the house, buy new clothes, and set the Haft Seen. Haft Seen is seven specific items that starts with letter S and symbolize the holy sacred things that important in life such as, health, beauty, growth, etc. These seven are: Seeb (apple), Sabze (green grass), Serke (vinager), Samanoo (a meal made out of wheat), Senjed (a special kind of berry), Sekke (coin), and Seer (garlic). Sometimes instead of Serke they put Somagh (sumak, an Iranian spice). 

In New Year, people will go outside their house to hug and kiss each other and wish a happy new year. Then they give presents, usually older ones to the younger ones. And then, they also visit older members of the family, relatives and friends.

The important event of the New Year is the 13th day of the new year, which is called "Sizdah Bedar". People spent this day mostly outdoors. They go to the parks or local plains to have a festive picnic. The Sizdah Bedar is the most popular day of the holidays among children because this is the time when they get to play a lot. According to Iranians culture,the 13th day is a bad omen and therefore they believe that by going into the fields and parks they will avoid misfortunes. It is also believed that unmarried girls can wish for a charming husband by going into the fields and tying a knot between green shoots, symbolizing a marital bond.

Opening of event

The front rows

The back rows

Ali (my mentor) is playing traditional music instrument

This is me and Ali

This is the Haft Seen, table of seven things that symbolize the new year celebration

The snack buffet

More food...

People are eating and talking in the livingroom

The quiz time

Get to the dance floor!