Where are the oldest hotels in Spain?
11 August, 2025
Estela is a fourth-year student on the Bachelor's Degree in Hospitality and Culinary Management at EUHT StPOL. This year, she decided to embark on the Erasmus experience, spending a semester in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, specifically at Haaga-Helia University. After a few weeks of classes, settling in and getting to know her new classmates, she tells us how she is living the experience:
How have your first few days in the city and at university been?
I have adapted to the city very quickly. Helsinki is not a very big city, and in a couple of days I was able to visit the most important places, although I still have some corners left to discover little by little. Joining the university has been easy, as I had three days of orientation, during which they explained the entire administrative process to us, showed us the facilities and organised activities to get to know my classmates.
The climate is very different. At first, the weather was more pleasant, but week after week I notice how it gets dark earlier and how the temperatures are dropping. There are also quite a few rainy days, although that makes the sunny moments much more enjoyable.
Have you had the opportunity to meet other students?
Yes, I have met many people. Most of the Spanish students I have met go to the Pasila campus, while my degree has its own campus, a little further away, smaller than Pasila and more similar to Sant Pol. There I have formed a group with my classmates, with whom I work on projects and also go out to explore the city.
This way, I have my trusted group of Spanish friends who live near me, and at the same time, I have my international group with whom I practise English and share different cultures.
Why did you choose this destination for your Erasmus?
I wanted to live in a country with a culture and climate completely different from Spain, to broaden my knowledge and learn new ways of life.
I chose Helsinki because, as the capital of Finland, it has more international activity and a larger number of Erasmus students, which makes it easier to meet new people and share experiences.
They explained the entire administrative process to us, showed us around the facilities, and organised activities so that we could get to know our colleagues.
What do you think of the classes so far?
The system is completely different from Spain. The timetables are flexible and allow plenty of free time to organise yourself. The teachers are very understanding, both in terms of learning and in cases of absences or difficulties with the language.
Classes are very dynamic and focus on group work, creativity and communication. We often have the entire class period to work on projects, which I think is very positive, as most of the work is done during class time without having to devote so much free time to it.
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