a) bought two EU --> UK adapters for all my electronic appliances
b) met a girl from Helsinki University who had spent a year in Sheffield a couple of years ago, much like I will now.
Actually, exactly like I will now, because it was an Erasmus exchange and she studies English as well.
I'm really happy with the meet-up! I had never met her before, so I was a bit nervous, but she was really sweet and nice and answered all my questions helpfully. This was also so useful, because she had lots of little experiences and information that I wouldn't be able to find out online or in a book - practical knowledge, I suppose.
She mentioned a few nice places that she thought would be worth visiting, and if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be taking a cheese slicer or a brush for washing dishes with me! I knew that cheese slicers aren't that commonplace in the UK, but I wouldn't have thought of taking one with me...
Well, at least I'll have something with me that reminds me of Finland! You know, in addition to all those photos, Skype calls, and emails from home.
Until now, I had been thinking I'd try to survive without getting a British bank account. However, she told me that I would need a lot of cash with me, and withdrawing money from a Finnish account might cost extra, so we came to the conclusion that it might be worth it to try and open a new account once I get there. I'm not looking forward to actually doing it (I dislike that sort of official things), but in the end, I'm sure it'll be worth it.
It was lovely to see how positive she was and that she had obviously enjoyed her exchange year a lot. I had a great time chatting to her, and I'm really looking forward to finding out things for myself!
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