For the first offline meeting, Ida and I decided to meet outside TAMK, so that we could enjoy not only the Finnish and Swedish languages but also some special coffee. The meeting point was chosen because of its location, because Ida was going there from TAMK and I from home at Lukonmäki.
I had some doubts about the place, since it is in a crouded shopping mall. However, it turned out to be not so busy as I’d feared, at least the noise did not prevent us from having a conversation – although next time I guess we will try something more quiet.
The conversation was mainly in Finnish – I tried to manage some Swedish and even understood most of what Ida said to me, but still it was too difficult to keep it up for a long time, especially after a day of studies. And, I confess, it was just easier that way, since Ida’s Finnish is far, far better than my Swedish, which allowed for a smooth conversation. I always encourage language learners to try and speak the languages, but when it comes to practicing it myself I get very shy, too!
However, we agreed that next time we would do our best to speak mainly Swedish.
Talking to each other, we’ve discovered some similar interests – like, watching British tv series 🙂 We both studied elsewhere before TAMK, although my changing the study place and field were somewhat more radical. Also, we are both not from Tampere, so we can explore the city together during the next sessions.
The thing that surprised me the most is that, as it turned out, we have a totally opposite impression of how the Finnish language sounds. It is sometimes so amazing how differently people perceive the same things!
Looking forward to the next session – although I am a bit nervous, too, because, as I have already mentioned, it is going to be mainly in Swedish! We really need a less crowded location for that…
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