Interviewed: Nella and Miisa Vuolli
I ring the doorbell in Rantavitikka and a moment later, a young woman, Nella Vuolli, opens the door. She and her sister Miisa have agreed to be interviewed by me. We meet at the nicely and homely decorated two-bedroom apartment of Nella and her boyfriend. We shake hands at the door as the sisters tell that they have been re-planting some of their plants in new pots. We set the interview up in the living room where the conversation soon starts.
First off, would you like to tell something about yourselves?
Nella: I’m a student from Rovaniemi and I’m finishing up high school after my current fourth year. I am spending a year-off from school and I’m currently working. Next year my goal is to apply university to major in psychology which now seems like the most interesting major.
Miisa: I am an 18-year-old high school student. I’m interested in studying physiotherapy after high school.
Nella tells me she will have lived in their current apartment in Rantavitikka for a year by the upcoming June. Previously she has lived in Kuntotie. Miisa says she has moved to Asemarinne in her first own apartment in February. She describes her shared apartment and says her flatmate seems nice even though they have not had much time to talk because of very different personal schedules. They are also very different age. Sharing housework, she says, has been easy because they both mark down the dates they have cleaned up the bathroom on a list they have there.
Why did you originally apply for a DAS apartment? Have the rents been reasonable?
Nella: Perhaps the first reason to apply was because DAS is the leading student apartment provider in Rovaniemi. Secondly, we used to live in DAS Timo as children so the foundation was already familiar from that time. The rents are reasonable, especially in as big of an apartment as this. I bet there is no other provider in Rovaniemi which could rent out apartment as big as this with this level of rent.
What kind of memories do you have from your childhood in DAS Timo?
Nella: I can clearly remember the view from the windows and that my best friend used to live right across our apartment, so we would shout out greetings to each other on the balconies quite often. I was 1 year old when we moved to the apartment and I was 11 when we moved out. Miisa was born when we were living there and she was 9 when we moved out. There was this small playground between the Rantavitikka Jukola buildings already back then and we used to play there. Where there are now Männistö and Lukkari used to be a flower field full of wildflowers that we used to go and pick a bunch for the living room table. The flower field is perhaps the strongest memory from those times.
Now that you are living in the same area, do those places, familiar from your childhood, still have that sense of childhood feeling and spirit?
Nella: Yes, they do. Especially when you see the familiar playgrounds, you start remembering all the games we used to play. Although they are worn-out by time, the nostalgic feeling comes back around them. In fact, my boyfriend and I went on a nostalgia-walk in the familiar places when we moved into this apartment.
We talk about the images regularly attached to student living. Nella says that the differences with regular houses are quite smalls, for example, with the fact that both rooms in their apartment can be locked. Other than that, the houses seem neutral. Of course, the neighbors are young and bring a sense of a student community but other than that the living environment seems regular and in no specific way ”student-like”. Miisa says she sees things from a bit different perspective and talks about her room specifically as a student apartment.
So Miisa sees her place as an apartment. How about you, Nella? Is this more of an apartment or home to you?
Nella: This is a home for me. As people say, home is where your heart is. If I was living alone, I might call this an apartment but now that I live here with my boyfriend this is definitely home. I kind of see my parents’ place as a second home.
We discuss DAS’ services. They both say that they have received service quickly in situations where something has broken down. Miisa tells she uses the tenant pages actively to book laundry sessions and says that the pages are clear. When talking about images and brand that come into mind when mentioning the word “DAS”, they both have positive things to say. Nella says that she instantly thinks of student apartments and their affordable rents. Miisa says that she somehow considers people living at DAS nice people even though she cannot pinpoint the reason why. Nella continues that perhaps the idea of seeing DAS apartments as nice places to live come from the general service attitude of DAS which has been positive.
The conversation slowly moves towards decorating and as two people into interior design Nella and I find things to talk about the topic.
You have clearly decorated your apartment with thought. What have been your principles of decorating?
Nella: I am very environmentally aware, so basically all pieces of furniture here have ended up here through recycling. It is specifically those recycled items that bring a feeling of home since they all have their own tale and history behind them.
Do you, Miisa, share your sister’s passion with decorating?
Miisa: Actually yes, because the first thing I did in my apartment was to place all the furniture in the right places.
After carrying on the conversation on the topic for a while, we conclude the interview and I get up in order to leave. The sisters return to re-planting their plants. As I’m tying up my shoes I mention re-planting my Monstera deliciosa and Nella friendly offers me an extra pot. Despite not needing a new pot this time I thank her for the offer - and both of them for the interview, once again.