Studying in Saint Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design (quite a mouhtfull) was not what I expected. I feel that the school was not completely ready for me to do my studies there. Two of my eight teachers don’t speak english, (google translate has been helpful). But everyone has been so polite and lovely and the famous Russian hospitality has really been showing!
We had one mandatory course in Russian history, which lead us to tours in museums, memorials and churches. Here are some of the beautiful places we visited:
The Church on Spilled Blood
And on the inside
The Winter Palace 
There are surprisingly many Public holidays in Russia; during my stay there has already been women’s day, men’s day, two victory days.. and the list goes on. The public holidays differ from Finland, most of them are non-working days, and if the holiday happens to be on a weekend, then there will be a day off on Monday or Friday. Or if the holiday is on Thursday, you might get a free day on Friday as well..? I think it’s best to just check from teachers if you should go to school or not, because this was very confusing to me.
The Victory Day Parade on Nevsky (didn’t see much)
On our free time, me and the other (two) exchangers like to roam around the city. We have already found ourselves in the Summer garden, different gallerias, some amazing restaurants and of course some bars as well. The culture and art is much more visible in Saint Petersburg than in Tampere, also much more accessible; students get to visit most museums for free or at leas on a discount. Also there are museums and gallerias etc around every corner.
The Summer Garden
Botanical Garden
Saint Petersburg Mosque
Acvarium
The school life itself was not so different from Finnish school, lectures in classrooms and some excursions to different companies. But I did notice some differences; when giving a presentation you should wear more formal clothing (for girls dress or white shirt and dark pants), also it is common to bring some sweets to the people listening to your presentation, or at least to those grading it. The same applies to the course teachers, it is common to bring something to the teacher after the course, not as a bribe or anything, but just to show your gratitude.
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