Hello, dear\nreaders! Jitesh here, again! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nFebruary, I wrote my first Nordic Brilliance blog post (link here<\/a>). A lot has happened between then and\nnow. Covid decided to enter our world\nand change it in ways that we are yet to fully grasp. I just hope that you and\neveryone close to you has been able to stay safe!<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this\npiece, I decided to write about trying to find my \u201csisu\u201d. This word has kept me\nconstant company ever since a Helsinki tour guide last year explained that\nthere are three \u201cS\u201d important to all of Finland: Sauna, Sibelius and Sisu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ninteresting starting point about describing this Finnish word, is that there is\nno proper translated equivalent for it in the English language. Quite a few\npeople seem to have different interpretations for what it means, but there\u2019s no\none standard agreed upon definition. Some say that sisu<\/em> stands for grit\nor determination, some others that it is a philosophy of life, and there even\nseems to be a legend that one must not talk about sisu<\/em>, rather just\nacknowledge that they have it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m happy\nto report that I have absolutely no idea about which interpretation is right,\nor if there\u2019s actually a means to find out ! The way I have come to understand\nit, is that sisu<\/em> is about having the resolve to keep going on, no matter\nwhat. We may have various reasons for doing what we do, but sisu<\/em> is not\njust about the reasons, but rather it is the feeling that we must actually\ncomplete the tasks we set out to do, no matter how adverse the situation around\nus might be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And well,\nsurely the situation around us in the recent past has been quite adverse! The\npandemic has been tough on everyone. The most basic things that we took for\ngranted, like going to class together, or enjoying a meal together, suddenly\nbecame a risky endeavor. We had to be isolated from each other to ensure our\ncollective safety. International students like myself, even had to take the\nhard call to not go back home because travel itself had become a risk to both\nourselves and our families. Ever since the restrictions were announced in\nMarch, I have been coming to terms with the new realities of life in this\npost-pandemic world, where interactions with others are limited, and distance\nlearning\/distance working have become the norm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But still,\nin these times of adverse circumstances, here\u2019s how I\u2019ve tried to find my Sisu<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finding\ncourage: <\/strong>Like for everyone\nelse, the pandemic laid waste to the plans that I had for the summer and\nbeyond. Life suddenly hit a reset button, and here I was, with no clue as to\nwhat would be coming next, and no certainty about how things will turn out in\nthe future. But it was in these very moments, that I came to realise on a\ndeeper level, the importance of sisu<\/em>. Simply feeling helpless would not\nsolve anything. The first thing to do was to find the courage to plan the\njourney ahead. Only by finding the strength within me to face the situation,\ncould I actually face the situation! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Friends and family:<\/strong> One thing that I reminded myself constantly was that I was not alone in this. Even being away from home, the friends I had made, especially those at Hanken, were more than willing to help me out with the situation. And I also tried to offer a helping hand wherever possible. I have to say that the way I have bonded with the people around me this summer, I have made friends who I\u2019ll cherish forever because they came through in the toughest times of isolation in a foreign country. Another thing which cannot be stressed enough, is the importance of old friends and family, whom I could connect with through the internet. Even in virtual forms, their company has been essential! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Help from Hanken!<\/strong>: Hanken itself, did a commendable\njob in handling the crisis, and continues to help students out in dealing with\nthe pandemic. There have been constant updates about the measures being taken\nby Hanken, and guidance on the dos and don\u2019ts of daily life. The shift to\nremote learning has been almost frictionless, and the rules for attendance and\nteaching have been modified to make room for the students and teachers. Knowing\nthat Hanken is looking out for me, helped me feel safer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Self care: <\/strong>To find strength to persevere, one\u2019s\nphysical and mental strength need to be intact as well. I have tried to keep a\nregular routine throughout this period, with walks in less populated areas and\na little exercise at home. I also constantly watched self help content from\nKanopy, whose subscription is provided free to Hanken students. It has good\nresources for stress management and self care. I also have been in touch with\nthe Finnish Student Health Service, which provides healthcare services for all\nstudents in Finland, Hanken students included! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Summer\/online courses<\/strong>: even though the number of\nclasses reduced, the number of online courses and summer courses increased. I\nhad a lot of fun doing the course called Communication, Learning and\nCognition: An Alliance for Professional Success<\/em>. It was a pilot course\nwhose basic premise was to make students discuss about what learning means to\nthem. I highly recommend the course to everyone because it seriously is\nsomething exceptional and thought provoking! <\/p>\n\n\n\n To conclude, I think that this time period has been one of\ntremendous growth for me. The situation of the pandemic has been unprecedented\nin every sense of the word, and we all need to continue to find the strength to\ndeal with it. I don\u2019t know whether I have understood the true nature of Sisu in\nthe time I\u2019ve spent in Helsinki, but I sure can say that I have at least found\nmy own version of it while dealing with the Covid situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you for reading! As always, feel free to reach out to\nme at Jitesh.Gupta@student.Hanken.fi<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hello, dear readers! Jitesh here, again! In February, I wrote my first Nordic Brilliance blog post (link here). A lot has happened between then and now. Covid decided to enter our world and change it in ways that we are yet to fully grasp. I just hope that you and everyone close to you has … <\/p>\n