Go, enjoy, and maybe come back….and in our case, we have come back. This is the main point in all histories. In my opinion, that is the life.
During this period in your life, or in some trip, or maybe in some relationship, you must to enjoy as much as you can. Perhaps at first can be difficult, but when you realize, that you are enjoying, maybe is too late.
We have been in Kajaani, and at least, my opinion before coming it wasn’t the typical Erasmus experience, where everyday you are in parties,…
However, it has been a great experience because I have put to the test myself on several occasions and you learn how to manage yourself without others helps.

In these 3 months,I have been living in different places, I was in Lapland, I spent a great moment in Kuhmo where I never imagine that I could feel as good in this small place, in Team Academy Jyvaskyla, and more and more stuffs, nervertheless I if I had to choose one thing, it would be the people that I have met there.
Not only the people who I have spent good time, but also the people who have been 3 months and we did not deal or talk to much. From all of them I got something positive.

When I look backward, I only remember the good feelings and the great moments I spent.
At first, I felt maybe a little bit stressed, because I am a person that I like to be with people around me, talking, playing ….and at the beginning I was almost alone. I mean, in Basque Country 24 hours of the day, 10 I am with my friends. In Finland was not the case.
AND(not BUT, AND like Nic said) this experience I don’t change for nothing in the world, I would recommend this experience to everybody.
In Finland I have meet so much people, but above all I am very pleased to Marisanna, Ollis, Heidi, Nic and Anne Kempainnen (MÁlaga...) I don´t need a lot of words or paragraphs to described them, they are great people, and I hope to see them.
Also people like Juha Matte, Malla, Andreas, Kalle, Juho, Lasse, Satu, Minna, Kuhmo´s guys and more and more and more people remain in my mind.
Thank you very much for our blog followers, that one of them I hope to meet him, I heard good things about him. This blog has been the first step, the following I try to writte down stuff more interesting.

These months I have the opportunity to read some interesting blogs, people that write ideas, other that write his experiences around the world….
I realize the world is changing faster I have never imagine, and there are some much people with great ideas willing to change the world.
Also, I was able to see the value of the persons, and what important they are to get aims. We live in a really big world where we must to forget our pride, and we should speak or ask or share our feelings, ideas….with the people.

I encourage people to make, create, do, things they never imagine, and they realize what amazing things they can get.

This trip has serve to not stay in the same position, I mean, to look ahead and take part of a society that they want to improve “wrong” things; can be in the world, in your city or maybe inside your family. And also create new things thinking in a different way.

Finally, I have been able to see what important THE FAMILY, AND FRIEND are.
Regarding the family and friends, I can only say, that they are amazing treasures that everybody has, so we must be, speak, enjoy, and much more things with them.

Karmelo Vicente

One last post from Mikel

Hello our dear followers of the blog. We have only few days left to end our adventure in Finland and this is the last post that I will write in the blog, at least from Finland.
I must say that you don’t appreciate what you have till you lose it or till you are about to lose it. Until now we have though that our stay in Kajaani was little more than a waste of time and that we could be in another place better than in here, but now that we are about to go and if I look backwards to the last three months I see that is a long way that I have walk myself. I thing that this experience is not going to provide me with heavy words to write down in my curriculum of which people would get surprise while reading them, but I think that It have provide me with another type of knowledge and growing that makes the stay in Kajaani really worth experiencing.

It have been sometimes hard to live in here, I’m not going to lye but I thing that those things that don’t kill us makes us stronger and I thing that in that sense I’m much more stronger now than when I came 3 months back. But I also had great moments here and that is mainly thanks to that people that have been around us and supporting in every moment. Those people that have been doing their best in order to make us feel like at home and have been trying to make us feel comfortable, finding us accommodation, taking us to their homes to dinner or just inviting us to go partying with them. In this sense I would like to thank specially the work of Anne Kempainen, who have been so friendly and nice with us that we cannot thank her enough even if we would try it.

Another person that I would like to mention in this last post is Nic Mephan, our coach during the project and that in some way have been our academicals but also spiritual coach in some way, trying every day to push us to make our best and who many times have achieve to do so. And of course the rest of the people that have been so nice and helpful with us such us Ollis, Marisanna, Heidi…

I must say that have been a pleasure and a privilege for me to find so nice people in here and to spend this time with them.
Hopping all the best for them, and for all the followers of this blog, just thank you for following and supporting us in this time that we have been in Finland and hope that you have enjoyed reading our posts us we have enjoyed writing them.
All the best.

Mikel

Man's search for meaning

This is the last book that I have just finished to read. It’s a book written by a psychologist that have been imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camps during the second World War in so well known places such as Auswich or Mathausen among others in the three years that lasted his imprisonment. As psychologist he writes his story not in the way that we might be used to read for those kind of experiences, but from a psychological point of view and analyzing the different stages that a prisoner goes thru during the imprisonment.

After that first par of the book that can be the easiest part to read, there are other two parts in the book in which the author explains the ne psychological current that he created that is called Logotherapy, and known as the third Viennese school after Freud and another man’s theories whose name I forgot. This two parts can be much harder to read than the first one and even boring some times to someone that is not used to read psychological technicalities, but if you are somehow interested in psychology or in Logoterapy, or just (and this is going to sound maybe too deep) in the meaning of live, it’s an effort that is worth doing it and that its not going to leave cold anyone.

Personally, I recommend this book, but just if you are in the right mind set for doing it. There are moments to make things and this book needs to be read in the right moment to provide as much knowledge as possible, if not it can be really boring and it can feel like a non sense for the reader.

So this last book there are allready 5 books that I have read during my stay in Finland. Not bad for me, having in mind that I'm not a real fan of reading, but I thing that I have taken a very good habit in Finland about reading, so I hope that can continue when I get back home.

Mikel

Our last two weeks we are spending in Kajaani, in a student apartment.

I know, that maybe this kind of apartment are only for Finnish student, however, nowadays there are 9 people living in this apartment, and 7 of them are from Spain, yes, 5 from Galicia, 2 from Basque Country and two from Finland.

I mean, in our student apartment there are three buildings, one is empty, in the other one are the 5 guys from Galicia, and we are with Finnish guys in another building.
The point is that we have been here almost two months and everything was written in Finnish.
When we sign up the contract of the apartment was written in Finnish, was Anne the one who help us to understand the contract terms.
Yesterday, in the bathroom there was a paper was written also in Finnish, so we couldn’t understand what meant. We had to ask our flat mate what it meant.
The “boss” of the apartment speaks English; besides we are 7 people who don’t know anything about Finnish.

We are quite good in the apartment, so I can´t complaining about that. However, I think that if some company or what else be, want internationalize the first think that they should do is not only speak another language, but also reflects in their action in this case, also in the web page….

“Oh, Gran Espíritu, ayúdame a no juzgar a alguien hasta que haya caminado dos semanas en sus mocasines” - Oración de los Indios Sioux

karmelo

We have come back to kajaani, and this two last weeks we are going to spend working as hard as we can to finish our project about Team Academy.

In T.A we have learnt several things, but now it´s time to write down this metodologies and feelings.

Regarding to Kajaani, I have to say that this city belongs to Kainu´s region.
Ancient, this city had a paper company, but like all in this world improves maybe another paper company was open. And because of that Kajaani´s Company was closed.
This happen hurt so much Kainu´s region, but above all Kajaani, as so much workers were dismissed and without work, and what that meant.

I had the opportunity to talk to different guys, and I have asked them, their opinion about Kajaani. Their first answer is:
- “Kajaani??? Ufff…….not so much happening there….and after that I say:
-“ In fact, I´m doing my practical training there”. And their answer very often was:
-“Really? Why? We have better places like Tampere, Kuopio, Jyvaskyla, Helsinki…

During these months, we have been doing a practical training in INTOTALO, located in Kajaani, this place was start up by Ollis, and the main point to start up this business was to give hope to the city.
I realize that in Kajaani, the people is not as open as in Jyvaskyla, but I guess that the fact of close a company where almost all the habitants were working was not very easy to accept, and maybe the time goes by the people can overcome this event and create own businesses.
Intotalo basically is a place where there is a group of people that they go some days in a week and thanks for support of coaches, the aim mainly is that in a future they can achieve their goal, I mean, to create their own business.

Regarding with I am study, I usually ask myself:
“What should we do: to create a “ innovate product” to improve the “rich people” conditions, or however one that can satisfy the most needs’ people?
And finally, have we ever thought how many people are needed in the world? I think, that the main point is that the future should be focus in improving this people’s conditions.
Let’s think!!!

Karmelo Vicente

Sábado, 30/05/09 nos despedimos de dos semanas intensas en Jyvaskyla, las cuales hemos tenido la oportunidad de conocer tanto diferentes personas como ver una nueva metodología de estudios en la que probablemente sea tan revolucionaria que cuando se extienda por el mundo, puede que sea incorporada en muchos centros educativos.

Estas dos semanas me han dado pie a reflexionar sobre la importancia del trabajo en grupo y sobre los grandes beneficios que se pueden obtener con disciplina y un poco de empatia, respeto, humildad, responsabilidad…al fin y al cabo, son cosas intangibles que no requieren de ir a universidad ni de tener grandes cantidades de dinero, o de ser más inteligente que otro, sino que son conceptos que todo el mundo puede lograr da igual su posición social. Solo require un poco de esfuerzo personal; nada más.
Me gusta una definición que dijo en su día Henry Ford, que dice “Reunirse es el principio; mantenerse unidos es progresar; trabajar unidos es triunfar”, frases tan interesantes como estas y muchas más se pueden encontrar en el libro que recomiendo que se llama GRANDEZA PARA CADA DÍA, escrito por Stephen R.Covey.

Por lo que hoy para hacer una reflexión sobre la importancia de la cooperación, me gustaría centrarme en un ejemplo, se trata del F.C Barcelona, los que me conozcan, sabrán lo que siento por este club que ha hecho historia con su triplete.
Estos triunfos no serían nada sin la unidad de un equipo al que se ha mantenido firme durante una temporada y no se ha tratado a uno mejor que a otro.
Es cierto que dentro de la entidad existen jugadores con más peso que otros, como en cualquier empresa, sin embargo todos han sido tratados de un modo uniforme.

Al principio, de la temporada se demostró que grandes jugadores, sin espíritu luchador y con ganas de un beneficio o protagonismo solo individual, no tenían cabida en un bloque en el que sus pilares eran cooperación y superación. Con lo que se podía ir intuyendo de que nadie podría llegar a algo a menos de que cada uno llegase.
Por lo que fue una decisión difícil, echar a dos grandes jugadores, me refiero tanto a Ronaldinho como a Deco.
Pero muchas veces si quieres triunfar tienes que tomar medidas con gran nivel de riesgo, a veces saldrán bien y “chapó”; pero pueden que también salgan mal, y en esos momentos son cuando tienes que levantar la cabeza y “disfrutar de ese sufrimiento”.

Dentro del club, se estableció un código interno, se trata de una ley que rige el vestuario y que regula el comportamiento de los jugadores, de modo que cualquier retraso no justificado o comportamiento inadecuado serían sancionados, un código aplicable a todos y cada uno de los jugadores.
Es cierto que, en el otro extremo de un codigo interno se encuentra la autogestión, donde cada uno es capaz de “controlarse” a si mismo, sin embargo y en mi opinión, por lo menos, al principio de cada actividad que se quiera iniciar o poner en marcha, creo que es necesario establecer unas conductas mínimas para que nadie los sobrepase. Ya que sea cual sea, lo que se quiere iniciar, bien sea un modelo deportivo, una empresa…..existen gentes de diferentes madres y los valores de las personas no están en el mismo lugar, ni son los mismos.

Durante la temporada, ha tenido sus altibajos, y su pequeñísima crisis, pero que se supo recomponer y sacar beneficio y aprender de ese pequeño tropiezo.

Resumiendo la temporada, tengo que decir que ha sido casi perfecta, y que ha sido un equipo elogiado en todo el mundo, y parte de ese éxito se debe a la humildad de un grupo a que no ha bajado la cabeza en ningún momento y no se le ha subido la fama cuando iban bien, ni se han hundido cuando las cosas no iban del todo bien.

El final….. ya lo sabe todo el mundo, por lo que, pienso, que lo importante es el esfuerzo, la cabeza fría cuando se requiera y sobre todo el concepto de unidad como grupo y en cuanto los éxitos…..los éxitos ya vendrán.


Karmelo vicente

More pic about pain days:

Today, has been the tortures days or pain days, all the teams are showing their product inside T.A in a kind of established, and the students were visiting each products.
Inside this idea are dreams, plans, ambitions, vision..that they are developing everyday.
It was kind of Expo.

Mikel and me presented the IGNITION´s event, it has been a special case because this one is not an “new” products, however we wanted to present something and this one was a great idea.

We usually have lunch at 11:00 o´clock, in Finland is very common to have at this time, then at 16:00 or 17:00 they have a lunch, and before sleeping, maybe they eat some fruit.
We can have lunch at 11:00, but we can´t take a dinner at 16:00, is allmost impossible.
Sometimes we also do “brunch” breakfast and lunch at the same time.

So, after eating one team had to present the other teams products, but now, over all Team Academy, and above a stage.
For example, One team called Manifant, have to present Cromita´s(another team) product. But not with power point or in serious ways, but with a humour and having fun.
I have to say, that we didn´t present IGNITION, however Kaisu told to me, that I must take part in their “show”….
I had to walk like a model to the scenario, showing a paper, and then answer to a question… It has been funny, because in our environment is not common to “having fun” during the university classes, you should be silent, and in T.A is very, very different…

Tomorrow, this products must be presented to customer in the morning, and they must do all they can to sell this products, because in the end is the aim of every company sell their products, and generate wealth.

Grandes palabras de kipling:

“si piensas que estas vencido, lo estas, si piensas que no te atreves, no lo harás;si piensas que te gustaría ganar pero no puedes, no lo lograras; si piensas que perderás, ya has perdidoporque en la vida encontraras que el éxito comienza en la voluntad del hombre, todo esta en el estado mental porque muchas carreras se han perdidoantes de haberlas corridoy muchos cobardes han fracasado antes de haber su trabajo empezado, piensa en grande y tus hechos crecerán,piensa en pequeño y quedaras atrás piensa que puedes y podrástodo esta en el estado mental. Si piensas que estas aventajado, lo estas tienes que pensar bien para elevarte tienes que estar seguro de ti mismoantes de intentar ganar un premiola batalla de la vida no siempre la gana el hombre mas fuerte o el más ligero porque tarde o temprano, el hombre que gana es aquel que puede creer hacerlo”

karmelo

So much time without writing…it explains how busy we are now…

The last week we received the visit of Juanjo, the Mondragon English teacher, that has come to Jyvaskyla, to know more deeply about T.Academy.

On Friday, we were in Tampere, but this time not to visit, but to meet with a ProAkatemia student, in a international training session.
The aim of this session was to discuss about collaboration, between this two “teamwork”, as much of their projects are similar. We were talking about a project that could be developed together, in this case was about a programme where students around the world have the possibility to know Team Academy and Proakatemia´s methodologies, and also the surroundings of Jyvaskyla, Tampere and Helsinki.

In this visit Mondragon University also get some agreements, I mean, Juanjo was talking to Jukka, about the possibility to send some Basque student to Tampere, concretely to TAMK, the university of Tampere.
Also, the last week we were said(mikel and me) to make the marketing plan of IgNitioN.
Ignition is a kind of “trip” around Team Academy, and surrounds of Jyvaskyla when you can deeper in this World of new methodologies , way of learning’s and learning by doing….also you can get the possibility to know another students from another countries, and of course having Fun!! It is focused in students between 18-25 years old.
If you are interested in T.A and you are teacher or you are over 25 you can visit it, in a programme called Learning Expedition.

Till now, we could say that we have a rough idea about methodologies, way of learning and working(projects) training sessions, coaches (more or less)…. Besides, we have been inside several offices like Crocodiili, Cromita, Manifant, Unelmania and the opportunity to know his and her members. And of course the great MoNkeY BusiNeSS members!!

I have to say, that I remember Intotalo´s people. We are thinking how to spend our last two weeks in Kajaani, maybe reflecting like Buddhist monks…or we will see.

Today, Kaisu has come to her Home Sweet Home Team Aademy. He has been speaking with everybody.
Kaisu and Hiro are two Team Academy students they have been working in Ametsen Ekaitza´s event held in the end of April.
I have been the opportunity to speak about some T.A students, and they said me that they are willing to go to Basque Country, and take part in this event.

“Muere lentamente quien no viaja, quien se transforma en esclavo del hábito, quien no arriesga lo cierto por lo incierto para ir detrás de un sueño” Pablo Neruda

Karmelo

We have been in Kajaani like two months, and we think that it would be a good idea to move to another city, and enjoy of this experience that we are living.
I strongly think that you have to do your place, your friends, your sweet home and all those things, but also think that the people should open their minds and travel around different cultures, countries and have the opportunity to meet different kind of people, that maybe one day can help you. Because of that more and more benefits, I encourage the people in open their minds and be open to live different situations…

Sunday at 21:00 we took the train to Tampere, but first the train had to stop in Oulu, finally at 6:00a.m we arrived to Tampere, Sari´s city.

We spent almost all the morning looking for any hotel, we had gone without any reservations. The hotels were very expensive or were full of people, but at least we find an hostel, called Sophia, where we pay 26€.
At 17:15 o´clock I was called by Sari, where 45 minutes later we were going to meet.
She was in Hopemyrsky event with another T.Academy people, and with Heidi and of course with our coach Nic.
So, at 18:00 o´clock we meet with Sari, in the train station, and after speaking about some things, and showing some confidencial photos(Sari knows), we went to a Mexican restaurant where Sari friends were.
This friends are from Monkey Business. Monkey Business guys studied in Team Academy and now they have their own company.
We spoke and shared some experiences while we were having the dinner.
After that we went to a bar to take some drinks where 20 minutes later Nic came.
We were speaking about our worries, ideas, how we thought that should be focus LEINN degree…..
It was a great and funny day.
The following day we were in Pro Akatemia(Tampere), is like a Team Academy, however here, the first university year was spent in one university and then they have the choice of going to Proakatemia.
We met Jukka Siltanen, he is coach and nice person, he showed us the different places were the student undertake their projects,
Also we had the opportunity to be in a meeting where a customer was speaking about his enterprise. This customer order to the student to make 3 slogans, a web design, an one logo, in 24 hours.
If the customer was satisfied, he must pay them (the student), if not the student must pay the customer for spend his time with them.
Proakatemia take place in three rooms, the first one is where the meetings rooms are given, and where you can sit to take the coffee.
The other one is where the student have their own place work, and they are working in different projects.
And the third one is a place where student from different university can go share their ideas and make projects together.

Then, about 12:00 we went with Nic, to Jyvaskyla, to TEAM ACADEMY.
Team Academy is another feeling comparing with a traditional university that maybe you can not understand what is happening, is like a chaos!! Some people are speaking; others are putting some chairs in another room, other playing with the ball, other in the sofas….it ´s funny.
So, we entered in Team Academy, and we were talking with some coaches, students….and Lasse was showing us the different areas inside T.A.
It has two flats, and in this flat are some places for the different groups, each group has its own name, and 15-20 people per group.
T.A is looks like a big factory adapted to students needs, feelings, wilings…
While we were walking around T.A we could see how each group had their own sofas, music, coffee maker, papers in the wall….
Today, 14/05/09, Thursday, we have been in a training session. Trainins session is a meeting with your coach where you can explain you what ever you want. In this session has been spoken about Motorola questions, learning, how to innovate, and above all economical result so far.
The coach has been mainly guiding the session, but not giving a class.
Then, I have been speaking with some student explaining my project about sustainable development, also talking about their projects, how is their way of working, so sharing our ideas, and feelings.
Also, we have meet Johannes Partanen, the headcoach of Team Academy, however, I think that he was so busy because he had to give a meeting about friendship a leadership.
In my opinion, it´s another kind of learning, where you have the opportunity to work with the real market, with real customers….besides you must to “leave” with your team partners and use the empathy to have a nice relation.
I think, that a lot of conditions are needed to go on in the projects, that without knowing you are making stronger yourself.

karmelo

This weekend we have received some news, from Basque Country.
We are told that Ametsen Ekaitza's event is going on so right, and different kind of people are going to speak in the one. People like Zubizarreta, Jart, Pukas and they will explain their experiences over 400 students.

Sari also, told me that she is going to come to Tampere, where Hopemyrsky will be held 13 of May. So, the day before, we could meet to speak about our experinces in different countries.

I have speak with some basque country student that they are thinking in going to university, and their opinion about the new degree(LEINN) seems very good. They are exciting in new degree ´cause seems that could be the new and revolutionary educational system for the future..

Besides, we have received our feedbacks about the personal proyects.
In my case, apart from J.Mari opinion about the topic, it has been very interesting the feedback because I have been the chance to meet(by e-mail) Ivan Marcos.
Ivan Marcos is from Oviedo, and he studied engineering, nowadays since february to february of next year(2010) is around the world looking for business opportunities.

An example

Last day we were told to write all our frustations and fears about the project in a board, and after that Nic say us that we should answer those questions with a optimistic point of view, I must say that we havent done it... I think that is a really hard work that if we finally achieve to de it is going to be very beneficial for ourselves in the future, but I think that we still need some help to reach that point.

Talking about it, Miika a guy that learns in Intotalo tells us one of his experiences, last year there was a competition between different groups in Intotalo about selling socks, the thing was that the socks were hand maded and were really expensive 45€ a pair. Who was going to buy a 45€ sock? at the beggining they did it really bad, they coudn't sell any sock but then they thought that was impossible to sell only a sock for so much money and they stop to think what kind of added value could they see in those socks to sell them.

In this way they came up with an idea, the socks were hand make by grandmas all around Kainu, and they thought that that idea might work, so they stert to develop it and they achieve to create the feeling that the one that was buying the socks was not only buying a pare of hand made socks but was helping to those gandmas to keep the happines in life and the feeling of feel useful.

So they start to sell that idea that was behind the socks and finally they won the competition selling over 100 pair of socks which create an income of 4,500€!!!!!

With this real live story, I meant that if you are going to sell a product that is not the cheapest or the best in the market the most likely situation is a failure in your try, but if you are able to sell more than a product, an ilusion, a feeling, a state of mind and you reach the right audience, you can be amazingly succesful.

Mikel

In this enviroment, where the innovation , creativity and working together maybe are the most important things, reading books can be a good options to develop and to create some new ideas, and also to develop our own writing skills.


The truth is that I'm not to a passionate of reading books, however one of my goals in this experience was to try, at least reading 4 books.


I really think that if you don't like reading, you must start with books that maybe can attract or like you.



So, I started with a book concerning with how adapting to different kind of situations, or how to move to achieve your "cheese", I mean, your aim.


Because of that, I read: " who moved my cheese?", I will just say that is an interesting book where you can see the amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life.

Now, 20 pages left to finish another book, this one "Screw it, Let's do it".

The book is Richard Branson´s autobiography, and he tells about his life, his achievements, his many remarkable things... Moreover, he explains the history both his failures and his achievements, from a humble perspective.

In Intotalo, , there are rooms for meeting and larger proyects, a small kitchen with a coffee machine, and storage space. The atmosphere is hectic and creative: the team is working out a solution to a problem, someone is inmersed in his thoughts at a computer, a couple of people are sitting on a sofa in the corner chatting with each other.

Books

I have just dinished of readyng a wonderful leadership story, the book is called The Sackletons Way its based in real life happenings, real testimonials and real biography of a famous antartic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton lived between lived from 1874 to 1922 and had been one of the most famous antartic explorers of the time. The book doesnt't only speak about the life of this men, but it focus specially in the leading skills of this great men who was able of the impossible and after 2 years of the sank of their ship he managed in taking back home all his men a live and full of moral. I personally recomend this book very strongly to those that are interested in leadership and maybe also to those that are pesimist and they dont see the point in trying what seems imposible.

Another book that I'm reading at the moment is The Guerrilla marketing handbook and I think it should be a must to all of those that are studying business and more exactly marketing, but this book is not only woth reading for students, every single person that have a company, a business a small shop... should read this book. The book doesn't focus, as the common books, in theorical marketing but gives much more importance to the real life examples, giveing a lot of ideas and tips to save money advertiseing but giveing some therorical knowledge at the time. As I said it should me a must for every company and in every business school.

Mikel

thought

When you have a project in your hands you have to have clear one thing: What do you have to lose, it's easy and everybody knows and dreams about what do you have to win but what really measures a project and the value it has for you is what you can lose and if you are ready to lose it.

Mikel

This easter, we have decided to go up even more, and we have go towards Lapland.
Firsty, we were in Romanievi, where Artic Circle starts, and we visited Santa Claus Village, by the way, very commercial place, in spite of his its peculiar charm. And after sending some postcards to our family since S.C village(they put the stamp of the Artic Circle, the only place in the world), we went to Artikum museum, here we had the opportunity to see more deeply how the Northern Lights are, how can they appear....
The following day, we took the train, and we went to Muonio. Muonio is in Finland, however we were in a cottage in Undermuonio, that it´s in Sweeden, and they are only separated by 5 Km.
The place we were staying it´s called Rajamaa (which we strongly recomend you you are thinking in visiting that area of Lapland) http://www.rajamaa.com/eng/current.htm , here you can see some pictures of us), and their owners were really nice people.
We were doing some sport like huskys safary and sky background and besides we ate reindeer with salad and strawberry made by bossman.
It was a good trip, because besides of meet new people we knew something about another culture.

interesting info

Hello our followers! how are you doing? As in the last dais we are not having any task or anything to do, we have started to develop our personal projects and the common one.

As we don't have much relevant things to tell I just going to mention some contrasting or at least different thing that we have find in here comparing to the Basque country, that might be interesting for the people visiting finland.

-If you are in the bus stop and you see that you bus is coming even if it's the only bus that stops there, you should make a signal to stop, if not they will drive through.

-When you meet Finnish people it's not usual to give two kisses as we use to do, maybe can be better jut a shake of hands.

-If you see people eating at 6 it's not that they are having a late lunch they are having dinner, so be careful and check the closing hour of the restaurant you want to go for dinner.

-If you are planing to buy some alcohol you should know that is much more expensive that in the basque country, and at unless you want to buy beer or sider you are not going to find it in a super market, you have to go to acohol shops called Alko and make sure you are over 20 to buy drinks over 20 degrees.

-At the time of shoping make sure that you take the bags you need from home, if not you have to pay for them every time.

-When you buy botles or tins you are paying an extra suplement for the recicling, so you should return it to the recicle machines if you don't want to loose the money.

-The finnish people use to eat a lot of ready cooked food, so you can buy them in the super markets (hot or cold)

Now, I will give you a cuple of references of products you can buy in a super market in order to show you how cheap or expensive are things here (I have tried to get some international brands in order to give the posibility to you to compare them with the prices in the Basque Country):

-Potatoes: 0,79€/kg
-Lettuce: 2,19€/kg
-Tomato: 2,99€/kg
-Leek: 2,25€/kg
-Oranges: 1,49€/kg
-Corona beer: 1,99€
-San Miguel 0,5l tin: 2,40€
-Milk chokolate: 1,69 (200g)
-Milk: 0,88€/l
-Activia (Danone): 1,25€
-Actimel: 1,89€


Mikel

Today we have not so much to explain, so we are going to write a superb word that, we think that is very important to grow up, be it in the business or in your life...: Otherness!!!

The last Friday, we were in Tampere, about 6 hours by bus. So the day was very long....We took the bus at 5a.m in kajaani's bus station, here we met coaches, some students...and after 6 hours by bus and some stops in the way, we arrived to Idea Park(Tampere).
Idea Park is a big mall where there are a lot of shops, and where in this time AIVOMYRSKY was going to be celebrated.



AIVOMYRSKY, brain storming, ametsen ekaitza...is an event created by students, for students, in this case from Team Academy, where different kind of (famous or at least known) entrepreneurs go tell their experiences, what they do, how they arrived there... and where many people can go to listen them make them questions...



So, we arrived 11 a.m. and there were many people with their bags and their accreditation willing to came in the annual event.


After, walking around the big shops and get our accreditation, we entered to the event, that was happening in the middle of the mall, in a large open place closed by large curtains and big lights.

There were many chairs and in the front of them a stage with two sofas where two Team Academy students present the "performance" and the guests were innvited to seat and speak about their experiences, all this of course in finnish.

One of the Aivomyrsky´s most expected moment happened when Jarno (the dudesons)(for the ones you don't know them is a kind of Jackass but in a Finnish version) appear speaking about his histories around the world and how do they make the things.


Apart from that, we made several new contacts during the event, most of them from Team Academy and we speak with them about several things, Finnish education, TA, the Aivomyrsky (which some of them were organiceing).


At 7p.m, we took the bus, and after some hours sleeping and having sung the "happy birthday" mikel, we arrived to Kajaani.

http://www.dailymotion.com/teamfactory/video/x53qii_peter-senges-congratulations_webcam?from=rss

We have tried to upload this video to the Blog, but was impossible, so we have decided to put the link in order to offer you the option to enter an see the video. In it you can see Peter Senge (an American scientist and director of the Center for Organizational Learning at the MIT Sloan School of Management (you can find more information about him in wikipedia)) congratulating team academy adn giving his oppinion about that institution.

Tomorrow (3rd of April (my birthday:Mikel)) we are going to Tampere to the Aivomyrsky event, so we will inform you about it further when we come back.

By now I think that can be agood thing to tell you that Intotalo have many motos and that one of them is that everything can be done, so i think that the following sentence used by Adidas can feed quite good.

Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.

In these last days, there has not been anything significant, so I(Karmelo) will explain briefly my opinions about the people around me.
In a world where your only goals are to pass your university exams and to study as less as it´s possible, I have come to Intotalo(Finland) and the people who are around it, are people that they have their dreams and they do everything to achieve them.
They work very hard every day, some achieve their goals, others don´t reach as far as they would have like.
All of them I have learnt something: if you want a goal, you have to do everything possible to achieve them. In the worst case you will not get it, however you will know that you have done all you are able to do.
Besides, to get this aims you don´t have to wait until tomorrow, or the following year, if you can do now: JUST DO IT!!
I would like to say, that to get your aims, it´s not necessary to be working every day and 24 hours!! But the time that you are working, don´t waste it!
Finally, I am going to write a few words of the book, I´m reading from Richard Branson:
“Believe it can be done
Have goals
Live life to the full
Never give up
Prepare well
Have faith in yourself
Try and try again
Help each other”

Now that the Swedish guys have gone it's time to make a feedback as we usually do when something that we have been doing is finished. This 3 weeks have been special in some way, as we were taking part of the "road tour" that was the project of t he Swedish, so now we are going to start knowing which is the real routine of Intotalo.Speaking a beat about the academicals aspects of this 3 weeks, we must say that after every activity we made a feedback as I had said previously, for this feedbacks we have used the Motorola questions that are the next ones:1-What went well?2-What could have gone better?3- What I have learned?4- What can I do better the next time?With these 4 key questions, you enter in a learning circle by yourself and you can go improving your actuation little by little.

But apart from the feed backs we have learned which are the Intotalo’s values, that are graphically shown in the graphic above (I1, D2, E3, A4).

But this is not all, between other many things that we have learned this last two weeks we must underline the lesson of Progress economic value that we have received. In this lesson, Nic explains us the importance or adding value to what we do and he did it with a simple example that we all could understood the process and the value change of the Coffee, that when is still in grain is very cheap, just some cents, and then is getting more and more expensive as we keep adding value to it and every time we are getting more money for a smaller amount of coffee. This case also is represented graphically in the graphic that I (Mikel) had made and shown above.

After the weekend comes again the work! So we have started again... We had a new presentation for the snowpolis day and this time Nic wasn't there with us, he preferred to keep in the margin and give the protagonism to us that are the ones that have to make the project really. Even like that I think that the presentation have gone better than the other day and we have been able to answer all their questions and to get the control of the meeting was have been very nice for us. Like in the previous presentation Anssi, Kalle and me (Mikel) were presenting and Andreas and Karmelo helping.

In the meeting we have arranged that we have to meet every week since the event is happened and that we have to send them a rough approximation of what is going to be the budget for the event and a provisional time table. When they ask them what theme they preferred, the all answered that they wanted the Snowpoly so we will make the first Snowpoly day!!!

After that we have gone to see a company that works for the TV and then we moved to our new accommodation, a student apartment in Kajaani, which was founded by the great people that works in Intotalo.

As we said, we have gone to Kuhmo and there we meet with the “low profile” team, that are the young of the “Into station” another organization similar to Intotalo, but that is still starting in the little village of Kuhmo. We bough things for dinner and we went deep into the forest until we arrive to a small cottage by a frozen lake. Was a small but very nice cottage with a chimney, ancient and electric kitchen and without current water, so we have to take it from the lake. There is also a sauna.

We make fire in the chimney and cook different things like a salad and a potato omelet in order to make something from our country. Before having dinner we played who, how and where was killed game, was very funny. Then we had dinner and the once that want went to the sauna. We must say that we have never seen so many stars in the heaven, really amazing. Everybody has been very nice with us and when we were about to go they say us good bye by singing a traditional Finns song.

We returned to Kajaani and we went to the Hotel that is where we are going to spend the following couple of days, until we can go to our definitive accommodation in a student’s apartment.

In the evening we meet with Anne and Atte in Intotalo, they have bought Finnish traditional food for dinner, what was very nice in the major part and after dinner Nic meet us and give a little concert with the guitar. After all this we went to a bar were a Jazz band was playing. It have been two very nice days.

Today, we have gone to Kuhmo, this city is 100 Km by car from Kajaani.

First of all, we have visited the music school where a lot of musicians started making their way, then we have walked a little bit around this city where almost everything was snowed, the bridge, the buildings, and what have been amazing is how many ice was in the lake.

After lunch, we went to a museum where we have seen different photos and weapons from the winter war between Russian and Finland before the second war world, just after visiting this museum we have gone to a place were is recreated one of the scenarios of Kalebala the most famous Finnish book, that is consider in Finland as the “Don Quijote de la Mancha” in Spain. We have been given a sweet drink (similar to a tea but very sweet) and a kind of what in Spain is known as “Bomba” but with a marmalade of berries. Here we have been challenged to give them ideas of what they should do for attract people in summer. They have a lot of people in Christmas time because they have often Santa Claus in there, but in summer is not body going in there, so they have asked us for new ideas.

After this we drove to another museum, but in this case about the animals that habit in the surrounding forests and in Finland in general.

Today, we have realised one more time how fast the finish people eat, it’s incredible, in 20min. they are able to eat a salad with tomatoes, chicken with pasta, bread with rice or butter ( typical meal of Finland) and of course taking their coffee, we don’t understand.

Tomorrow, we don’t know how the day is going to be; but the only thing we are sure is that we are going to sleep in the middle of the forest, around the trees, animals… sounds funny let’s see…

We have spend 3 days discussing how the snowpolis day should be, what we should do, how and so on and the previous day to the presentation we present our ideas to Nic, Heidi and Anne. Has been like a kick in the ass, they didn’t like our idea and they make us see how lost we were. After this we felt really depress and tired, he had spend the whole day thinking about, and the 2 previous days also and now we see that we completely lose our way. Actually the critic has been a bit hard but I feel as it has made us to waken up.

After discussing if we were presenting the next day or not we decide that we all were going to try to come the next day with new fresh ideas in order to make it happen and possible even if we felt that perhaps was a better option to change the day, but was not a good starting to delay the presentation, so we went home.

Once at home we relaxed a bit and take our minds out of all that stuff of the snowpolis day. And once that we were relaxed the Swedish guys came with a great idea of making a theme around a international day, we spend some time discussing and developing the idea and we came out that Snowpolis have 5 floors and so each floor can be a continent and each company a nation inside that continent.

Then we went bed, but we continue to search for some ideas with our laptops, and was then when I (Mikel) have the idea of making the “snowpoly” day becoming each company in one street of the famous board game Monopoly and were each company have to complete different tasks and games of other companies in order to get their card and like that in some way “own” that company.

So the next morning we meet in Snowpolis Intotalo to share our ideas. We start to get a bit enthusiastic about the fact of present it that day, because we came out with some great ideas, so we start to prepare the presentation and to search about the Snowpolis companies in order to have a general idea of what they do. So we split up in two groups, the ones that have to present and the ones that were going to find the information.

The presentation went well, they liked our ideas and they look as they were kind of enthusiast with our ideas, so we have complete our first task that was to sell our product to the intotalo people, but this is just the beginning, in a couple of days we have to presented again as the hotel manager and someone else were not there for the presentation and if we are allowed to follow with this task we are going to be in charge of all the organization and everything so we will have the opportunity of learning a lot!!

Not only we were knowing each other, and speaking about our lives and long-terms goals, but also we were playing different games like curling.
Curling it´s a fantastic game such as difficult, however we were playing a match where we did two different teams. We had a really good time together.
But, the aim of this game, was not only to have a good time, as when we arrived again, to Intotalo, he said us, that this game had a direct relationship with business, and he explained us his point of view.
He told to us, that when you trough the stone your team partners help you to get your target, that is to set the stone in the middle of a red circle, so in the business happens something similar, as when you decide to set up a business, your partners must help you, to achieve your goals.

The truth is that till this point Nic and all the people around us are behaving very well with us, we have lots of information about Kajaani, Sotkamo, and their surroundings like what to do, what is it, where is… We also have been given a empty book and a pen-drive in order to work and write our ideas or take notes.

The first days in Intotalo have been introductory, meeting new people hearing where they are coming from, why they are there and which are they future projects.

The second day two Swedish came also to Intotalo for three weeks in order to develop their own ideas inside a European program of developing projects in the northern Europe. They are Kalle, who wants to be a TV presenter and producer and Andreas who is a song writer and a bass player who wants to make from his hobby his way of life. They are very nice and they are going to life with us, in the same flat for the next weeks.

Once the introductions are made and all knew roughly each other we made some games in order to collaborate and to get to know each other better, in few words to break the ice between us.
Now that we know something else from each other was time to start working. We had a meeting with the responsible of Snowpolis (one of the paces were Intotalo is located) both the hotel thief manager and the main responsible of the technological park. They challenge us by giving a event to develop in the following month, consisting in getting the whole complex to a especial day with the Snowpolis environment where they all can know what the other companies are doing and make relationship between them.

So we start making a brain storming about how should be the day, what we should do, in which way are we going to focus the day, what are we going to understand about the “Snowpolis life style” and so on.

We got up, and this time, we get our breakfast!!! We make our suitcases leave to Kajaani. After taking the free bus that the Cumulus airport hetel offers, we arrived to the airport.

When we arrived to Kajaani, Nic waiting us. Kajaani´s airport is not as big as we have thought, just few planes can land in it.

Nic, is going to be our coach in the following three months, he is around 1.85 m.high, and of normal conplexion, he has a long hair and he seems to be a great person.

Then, he brought us to see an amazing lake where we can see the horizon and the white snow. It´s a good start!!!

After that, he takes us to see the main street of Kajaani, the truth is that is not very large city, and Nic explains us the most important places of this city as the super market, the restaurants, the bars, the theatre...

Then, we went to Intotalo, Intotalo if you don´t know is the office where we will have to work the following three months, this place is not very big, however it seems very comfortable place to work, with no classes at all, there is one meeting room, some smaller rooms to work in group, a kitchen, and other spaces with confortable chairs and compters. Here we meet three youngs, the grafic designer, and other coach, they welcome us open-armed, and were very kind with us.

Intotalo´s decoration is a little bit peculiar, it has an only one rooms where the coaches gives their opinion about the projects wich are presented. The people that work here can be visited or seen without de needs of through a door, in our opinion is a good office to interchange your ideas.After visiting the office we go to eat together. We ate some burritos and burgers. Nic gaves us here his first “lesson” and we speak about several things like the importance of being careful, about innovation, and those things that in Intotalo gives huge importance.

Then, we went to our accommodation to about 30Km to Kajaani. Once we arrived there, we realized that we were in the middle of the forest surrounded of a lot of trees covered by snow. But it doesn´t matter we are in FINLAND, a realy amazing place!!!!

Everything starts the 7th of March of 2009 when we first met in Bilbao’s airport to start our trip to Finland. We took the first flight from Bilbao to Frankfurt were we had to take another plane in 2 hour time in order to get to Helsinki. You should be careful if you are going to Frankfurt’s airport, because is so big that you can get easily lost, but fortunately we get the right way and we arrive to our gate in time.

In case that you are staying in Helsinki for 1 or 2 nights as we have you have 2 options, the first one is to take a hotel in the centre of Helsinki and get there as soon as you arrive with all your things and like that you already are in the centre in order to see the city, or you can also stay in a hotel near the airport where you have a free bus every 20 minutes from it which takes you to the door of the hotel and maybe go next morning to see the city. We choose the second option and we think that was good, we were in the Cumulus Airport Hotel who has a pool, sauna and a buffet breakfast which was quite good. Also if you are coming in a weekend you can be interested in going to have a beer around here. If you ask in the hotel reception, they will give you a VIP card to go to Flamingos disco were you have not to wait, you have free entrance and you can enjoy a lot either with direct music, in the disco or in the karaoke. It’s also important to know that you can’t enter with your coat so you have to pay the wardrobe 2€ and then is also important to know that a beer is about 5,5€, so be careful about what you ask.

An advice for those of you that are interested in coming to Finland, you should look if you have change the hour of the alarm, if not you can be without breakfast!! As happens to us the first day, so we took the bus (4€) and get to the centre of Helsinki. We also must say that you shouldn’t be worry about asking people about anything, most people speaks English and they are very happy of helping you in what they can. Once in the centre, we took the tramp to see around little bit, because you can get with the same bus ticket any bus or tramp in the period of 1 hour, so don’t throw it away!!!

Helsinki isn’t a very big city for sight seen. You can see it in a morning just walking around. The most beautiful places to be visited are the train station and its surroundings were the national theatre and museum is, the Cathedral (which is the highest building in the city), the Orthodox Church and the harbor and its surroundings.

For having lunch you can go to one of the many restaurants of the city or you can also save some money by buying the lunch in the supermarket, where you can get hot food as lasagna and chicken for around 6€.

After a bit of more sight seen we get to the hotel and after relaxing a bit, we went to have some dinner. We arrived around 21:15 and everything was closed so we had to walk back to the hotel and we eat some things we had bought from home. It’s important also to know that they usually have dinner around 4 or 5 o’clock and that the restaurants close at 21:00.