SC Tampere 2004
Sometime this spring, I read about the possibility of cheap summer courses all around Europe, organized by an association called BEST. I was curious, so I immediately gathered more information about those events from their website, and applied for three summer courses with topics related to my studies (medical computer science). I couldn't wait for the day when the list of participants became public, and ... I was accepted to my most favourite course, "Bioelectric Signals of the Human Body" in Tampere, Finland.
I didn't know what to expect, but got in (written) contact with almost all of the participants, so I could already imagine the people I would meet.
Finally in Tampere, I met with some other participants at the airport and we travelled together to the University. What I experienced the following two weeks is almost impossible to express in words: 20 people from all over Europe attended great lectures, travelled around Finland and experienced its culture, celebrated crazy parties, presented their own culture, visited different companies, went to sauna very often, played funny games and on top of all: made friends with very special, open-minded people.
The two weeks in Tampere went by fast - we almost couldn't imagine not to be together anymore and to leave homewards. Lots of tears were shed when we had to say good-bye. The following days were horrible: alone in my room again, no one occupying the shower, no one playing wild games when I wanted to sleep, no more parties. The new-made friends were some hundred or thousands of kilometres away, spread all over Europe again.
However, my recent trip to Rome, where some of us met again, showed that these friendships are on a strong base; a trip to Lisbon is already planned for November.
If you want to travel around Europe, meet young people, celebrate great parties, learn some more things than your studies cover, and experience the BEST spirit, just check the BEST website and apply for the next courses!
You can also join our weekly meetings, to learn more about us, or to organise events in Vienna - this makes even more fun than attending an event!
I joined BEST immediately after my summer course, and I can advise you to do just the same!
text and photos by Heiko Reitner
