1) I speak "excellent English" for an exchange student. My apparent skill and fluency level in English has been commented on more than once. Yes, well I am a native speaker...
2) Although I speak "excellent English" once people know I am a native speaker, they then say they find it very difficult to understand my accent.
3) When meeting new people, I am frequently introduced as "Emma, the native speaker" once we have got past the earlier stages shown above.
4) My own English seems to be deteriating rapidly. In order to be understood I have switched my normal expressions for more European ones and now say "maybe..." at the start of every proposition, and no longer abbriviate. Or say "like" every other word. Sadly this trait remains even when I talk to the other Brits.
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So, I've been in Helsinki for almost a week now and its different, to say the least. As I've mentioned before, I am sharing a room this week, but the girl I am sharing with is lovely. She is from Italy and is scared to buy the pasta and pizza here. Yesterday she experienced her first filter coffee... it wasn't a pleasant experience, apparently!
My room is equiped with a full on kitchen (4 hobs, oven, sink, HUGE fridge freezer) and is en suite, so I feel as though I've moved into the Chancellors Court of Helsinki. Its a tad unsociable though as I could potentially never leave the room! Had a trip to Ikea today to buy equipment for the said kitchen. I don't understand why they don't just give you shared facilities and then equip you with essential items such as a sauce pan or fork... but c'est la vie as my French friends would say. My courses start on Tuesday and registration has been 'interesting'. Everything I proposed in my learning agreement in Edinburgh has changed to a Finnish language course, so I've had to find alternatives. To get 30 credits this semester I only need to take 4 courses, one of which starts in October, meaning I have 6 hours of lectures a week. They seem to give credit for anything here- we've already gained 5 credits for attending the compulsary orientation course for exchange students! Although I don't think Edinburgh would be too impressed if I came back home with an array of such courses to my name, so I'm not counting being told where the nearest doctors is, or how to join the gym as part of my allocation!
Questions I've been asked relating to Scotland:
* can you buy vodka in Scotland, or is it just whiskey?
* as I am from Scotland, do I speak Scottish? So if I speak Scottish, how can I speak English so well?
* why do men wear skirts (kilts) all of the time if its so cold? surely its more sensible to wear trousers?
I've resorted to being Scottish for a year. Its easier than trying to explain that I go to Edinburgh University in Scotland, but I am from Nottingham in England orignially. But no, I am not an international student in Scotland as its still in the UK and thus my own country. And secondly, no, I don't commute back and forth for 6 hours on the train every day!
