Bribes, costumes, and crosspoints: Introducing the freshman party

So far, all you've heard about the freshman party is that it will be the most important and memorable night of your student life. Maybe you've been told that you need to wear a ridiculous costume and bribe the crosspoint holders (later also referred to as the judges, as they are the ones that evaluate your performance) as much as you can. Everything you've heard is true, of course. But there is more to the story.

In Finland, all the student associations organize a freshman party for the new students in the beginning of the academic year. Not only is it important for bonding with new classmates, it is also how the oldies welcome the newbies to student life, and officially make them members of the university community. Traditionally, older students wear their student overalls to this event; freshmen normally don't have theirs yet at this point, and have to be wearing their theme-specific costumes anyway. The main idea is the following: there are crosspoints spread around the campuses and the city with different kinds of tasks, which will be evaluated based on performance, team spirit, attitude, and possible bribing. The students are divided into groups and they follow a route given to them, going through all the crosspoints and trying to score as many points as possible. Depending on the association, the level of drinking and humiliation at the freshman party can vary to a great extent, but for everyone, the point is to have a carefree night of harmless fun. 

How to behave at a freshman party then? Here are the main things you need to know.

BEFORE:

1. Prepare a costume according to the theme. This will directly affect the points you get for attitude and spirit at the crosspoints.

2. Get something to bribe the crosspoint holders with. Even they realize that it is not possible for everyone to be the best at everything. This is why you need to have drinks, food, gifts, compliments, - anything really - with you to make the judges give you points for something other than your performance, and if necessary, make them forget all about your performance.

DURING:

1. The teams will be randomly assigned. Make friends with everyone in your group, and come up with a team name and possibly a theme song or a routine to do along the way and upon arrival to each crosspoint. Each team will have one or two group leaders who know the drill and who will help you find your way in the city and charm the judges.

2. Be in a good mood, and spread it. Team spirit and attitude will definitely be valued by the crosspoint holders.

3. Read the map or the instructions carefully, and follow the route given to you to avoid waiting, getting lost, and missing crosspoints ( = not getting or even trying to get all the possible points).

4. Respect the judges. Always respect the judges.

5. Bribe the judges. Most definitely bribe the judges.

6. Remember also to keep up the good spirit between crosspoints as well. We have spies around every corner. If you come across another team (also known as your competition) on the way, the general rule is to be louder and have oh so much more fun than they do.

7. Do your best or your worst, as long as you have fun!

AFTER:

Join the amazing afterparty, where the team with the best overall performance will be rewarded. Share stories about the things you did and saw along the way, and compare experiences from the crosspoints - at this point it is already ok and even recommended to be friendly with your competition. Leave it all behind, enjoy a night out in disguise, and party until the dawn!

The ESN Jyväskylä Freshman party in short:

WHEN? Wednesday 24th of September at 17:30. Sharp!
WHERE? Start in front of the C-building (= main building) on the Seminaarinmäki campus, after that around the campuses and the city. After party in BAR BRA at 22-04!
DRESSCODE: Cultural Stereotypes. Crazy outfits will score points at the Freshman party, and the best costume at the afterparty will win a spot on the sold-out trip to Lapland with ESN Jyväskylä and Timetravels!

Read more details on Facebook: The Freshman party & the afterparty

FRESHMAN PARTY. C-BUILDING ON SEMINAARINMÄKI. COSTUME. Be there!

Survival guide to the Ultimate Sauna Experience

So, have you signed up for the Ultimate Sauna Experience maybe without knowing exactly what you're in for? Don't worry, I'll get you the main facts here so that you can enjoy Finnish sauna without worries. :)

I, like most Finns, have been going to sauna probably since when I was born. Nowadays I have an endless amount of fond memories from different saunas and I like to enjoy a good sauna whenever I can! I'm maybe a bit too in love with sauna and this post ended up rather long, but at the end you can find a very short version in case you don't feel like reading how some crazy Finn really likes her sauna...

My folks on our sauna terrace around 8am in the summer 2013 after a refreshing morning sauna!

When I've been abroad, for some reason sauna is the topic about Finnish culture that seems to spark the most questions (and the most bizarre questions) of all. So, first things first, just to set the most common misconceptions about sauna straight: sauna has nothing to do with orgies and we do not go to sauna to check out each other's bodies. We go there to relax. Yes, Finns do generally go to sauna naked and don't find that weird in any way - I've been to sauna with many of my male friends and don't feel like that has changed our friendship in any way. If nudity is not your thing, wearing a swimsuit is definitely allowed and recommended! Especially now that we are gathering with a lot of different cultures, you're expected to wear a swimsuit.

Other than that, you'll need a towel to dry yourself off and whatever you think you'll need in a shower (shampoo, soap etc.). Finns tend to drink beer, long drinks, cider or soft drinks in the sauna according to one's preference. Sauna beer (saunakalja) is definitely the most common option. A cold beer in a hot sauna is the best beer you'll ever have! After sauna, people tend to eat something preferably salty to recover from the sauna, and sausage is maybe the most common after-sauna treat. Take with you whatever food and drinks you prefer, but if you want to be a genuine Finn, beer and sausage with Turun sinappi (mustard) is the combination to go with!

What generally happens in the sauna? Before going in, most Finns tend to take a quick shower (or a swim if there's no shower) to be wet and clean already going in, but some people always go in dry. Once in the sauna, you choose a spot: the seats higher up in the sauna are warmer than the ones closer to floor. (So go as high as you can!) Once you're there, lay back and relax. Sauna is already warm, but you can increase the temperature by throwing water on the rocks on top of the stove. The stove in a sauna--or kiuas in Finnish--is the heart of the sauna. It heats a bunch of stones up electrically, or in our case, by fire. The rocks are super hot, so the water evaporates and heats up the sauna within seconds as the moisture in the air increases. The steam produced in a sauna is called löyly. There's always a bucket of water and a scoop to throw water on the stove. Whoever sits closest to the bucket throws the löyly and it should be thrown whenever someone asks - if it gets too hot for you, leave! And very important: leave before someone throws the löyly! It's extremely annoying when people open the door right after the steam and all the lovely warmth escapes.

When you do leave, the right thing to do is to go swimming! Having a sauna beside a lake is a luxury most Finns have at their summer cottages, but not in city apartments. Now that we'll be saunaing right beside the lake, take a dip! :) It'll probably feel cold, but remember that it's only the temperature difference between the sauna and the lake that stings. And the best part is that you can run back to the warmth of the sauna at any second!

As the lakes in Finland at this time generally are not that warm anymore, it really might be a run back to the sauna. Here are some friends of mine running back from the lake on one particularly cold Midsummer Eve.

And that's pretty much it. When you feel too hot in the sauna again, go for a swim. And then back to the sauna. And then to swim for as long as you have energy (or in this case, for as long as your sauna turn is going).

We're very lucky to have wood-heated saunas next week. If you go to the sauna in the building where you live, (there are free sauna turns for ladies and gents in practically every block of flats in Finland) you'll probably find an electric stove, which is not nearly as nice. Now, important: there are going to be two saunas heated for us in Kiviniemi. One of them should always have a fire going and the other should never ever, ever have a fire going. The one with the fire going all the time is the regular sauna, where the smoke exits from the stove via the chimney. If you feel like it, you can add more wood to the fire. The other sauna is a smoke sauna! You'll definitely know the difference once you get there. When heating the smoke sauna, the smoke doesn't have a way out from the stove and it eventually fills the sauna up. This brings a wonderful, smokey smell to the sauna! The smoke sauna is heated depending on its size for about four hours to even one whole day. Then one has to wait for the fire to go out on its own and the smoke to exit, and even then, häkälöyly must first be thrown on the stove, some steam to get rid of the carbon monoxide left in the sauna after heating it. This is why it's absolutely forbidden to try to burn wood in the stove after the smoke sauna has been heated up, even if the sauna doesn't feel that warm anymore. Because the fire has been going for so long, the stones remain warm for hours and you can enjoy the really nice, soft löyly.

There are more traditions related to sauna in Finland than I could ever explain, and sauna habits tend to differ between families quite a lot. Sauna is an essential part of Finland. Before proper hospitals, people used to give birth in saunas as it's a very hygienic space. Sauna is an essential part of Christmas, Midsummer, and other parties, and for example, it's common to have a traditional bridal sauna at Finnish bachelorette parties. Sauna is a very dear place for most Finns, I hope you all will enjoy it a lot :) It's hard to explain it from my point of view, but a friend of mine from the States who was on exchange in Finland a couple years back summarizes sauna from a non-native point of view rather well in his blog posts: Alright guys, let's talk about the 800 pound goril......uh.....naked man in the room and Ice Swimming 2: The Water Fiends. They're really funny, at least to me. :D

A friend of mine preparing a vihta: a bundle of birch twigs used to whack yourself and each other in sauna, especially related to Midsummer sauna and bridal sauna.

So, briefly:

WHAT: The most pleasant and laid-back Finnish tradition ever!

WHAT TO BRING: Swimsuit, towel, shower equipment, food, drinks.

WHAT TO DO: Relax, throw steam on the stove and swim! If you get too hot, leave the sauna, it's not a competition. There will be Finnish people to tell you what to do if you get confused. Have fun, but give everyone a chance to enjoy their sauna, take it easy :)

WHAT NOT TO DO: Do not put wood in the smoke sauna stove!

SAFETY TIPS: You don't really need to drink water excessively before sauna. Remove jewelry that might heat up and burn your skin. Be careful inside the sauna, the stove is really, really hot!

See you in the sauna!

<3Petra