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You've probably noticed the many Chinese students lurking in Athene's study rooms and Guild Room. These elusive "laozh" (老中, slang for Chinese people) mysteriously appear and disappear, sneakily drinking coffee or tea and playing pool. Despite sharing this shyness trait with Finns, interactions between the two groups remain limited, even though everyone secretly wants to say hi or start a conversation.

Interestingly, in our little Chinese community, we typically use animal nicknames for each other. So, to help you recognize which "animals" are stealing drinks in the Guild Room and to kickstart friendly conversations with us, this article will introduce you to the wildlife commonly spotted in Athene Guild Room!

Horse 🐴

Tall, sporting round glasses, speaks with a stutter, and rocks a Korean-style haircut. He's simultaneously socially confident yet shy, appears dorky but has a head full of mischievous ideas.

Horse loves stealing bananas (he always claims his place is infested with mice and monkeys, but really, he just loves stealing his roommates' food). He's passionate about learning swear words in various languages and enjoys playing pool despite being terrible at it but pretending to be good. When playing badminton with friends, he'll first act like he's never held a racket before, wait until everyone believes his act, then challenge someone to a bet – this trickster pulls it off every time.

Since his apartment is relatively spacious, we sometimes cook at his place, but before preparing anything, we always have to wash the dishes he's left sitting for an entire day just to clear some space. He also enjoys pilfering tissues from A-block to take home and even uses fruit boxes to store his socks. What can I say? We call him Horse because his WeChat profile picture is BoJack Horseman, which perfectly matches his absurd vibe.

Spider 🕷️

Skinny and tall with a pointy head and messy yellow hair resembling autumn shrubbery. He's frequently found in the CS building's "China Town" training neural networks and running models, speaking with a thick Beijing accent. Although he believes he speaks the most standard Mandarin, even other Chinese people struggle to understand him – not to mention his English.

Spider splurged on a 40-year-old bicycle and after his own "repairs," the bike broke down twice in less than a month. Looks like this time he'll actually have to pay a Finnish repair shop. Recently, he's been sporting black nail polish (supposedly self-applied) with a dark heavy metal aesthetic – a kind of niche, yandere-style beauty.

When the CS building grows quiet at night, he sneaks into the Guild Room, turns on the speakers to blast his rock playlist while reading research papers. This guy loves secretly studying papers to academically outshine us all. He might prefer Finns calling him "hämähäkki." Wondering why we call him Spider? His self-chosen username was Spike, but we gave him the more fitting name Spider, perhaps reflecting his nocturnal habits.

Chicken 🐔

Not exceptionally tall but not short either, has pierced ears, rarely wears glasses, and looks slightly trendy. He's a tomato enthusiast and heavy metal fan who also enjoys rap and sauna sessions.

He's decent at League of Legends but absolutely terrible at Overwatch. Loves watching movies but easily falls asleep during them (ah, the perks of youth – instant sleep!). Walks incredibly fast, always looking like he's rushing to accomplish something momentous. Talks like Ding Zhen (a Chinese internet celebrity), has mood swings, and frequently sneaks into the Guild Room with Spider to listen to music.

He joined us for a gym session once, promising to get a membership and work out together, but has only gone twice in two months – even less disciplined than Spider who goes once a week. He left a bag of sunflower seeds in the Guild Room for everyone to enjoy. This curious cat is always eager to try new things and is a self-proclaimed "sunshine collector" who frequently complains about China Town's lack of natural light.

Why do we call him Chicken? Because the last character of his Chinese name "ji" sounds like "chicken" in Mandarin pronunciation, so we just call him Chicken.

Lucy 🐹

Short and chubby with darker skin, somewhat square-shaped (just kidding). An excellent cook who loves drinking. He stubbornly insists he's not drunk, even while zigzagging down the hallway, claiming he's "only 80% intoxicated." Perhaps his standard for drunkenness differs from the norm, but age is catching up with his tolerance.

Since starting a relationship, he's often seen with Bird (Muyan, a petite girl). When asked about his favorite animal, he mentioned hamsters, but I still prefer calling him Lucy, and even though he's a guy, this nickname never fails to amuse us.

Lucy is a merciless scorekeeper in games – even when I deliberately let him win, he shows no mercy. Why call him Lucy? His Chinese name's pinyin is Lu Chang, which perfectly matches the pronunciation of "Lucy." The origin of this nickname is untraceable – could've been Chicken who came up with it, could've been me, who knows? 😜

Frog 🐸

The author of this article, wears silver round-frame glasses, multiple hand accessories, loves brown-toned clothing, and sports long hair. Loves being where the action is, has a 150-day Duolingo streak (nearly broken during Spring Trip night), enjoys joking around, and is a fanatical lover of Luosifen (a uniquely pungent Chinese noodle dish).

Daily addictions include gym workouts and League of Legends. Almost daily visits to the CS building for tea and coffee, occasionally sneaking in to play games. A film and photography enthusiast currently obsessed with "Don't Starve" and "Twin Peaks." Self-proclaimed League of Legends and Valorant esports player (not really), loves free coffee and tea, passionate about studying, can sleep 10 hours straight, and earned the name Frog for constantly sharing Pepe the Frog memes.

People often say my conversations lack substance, to which I can only respond: yes and no. Perpetually haunting China Town – if you study there, you'll likely spot me, but never in the morning since this guy doesn't open his eyes until noon. Spent 85 euros on a second-hand bicycle only to spend another 65 euros repairing it.

Other Members

Beyond our main "animal squad," we have several newer members:

• Coach and David: One can bench press 80kg, the other is quite adorable. These two joined after discovering how fun the Guild is, typically studying for 2 hours then playing pool or searching for board games for 4 hours.
• Ali: A guy from Xinjiang who frequently wears a knitted beanie.
• Xingyi: A girl who loves dyeing her hair in vibrant colors.
• Rylee: A popular Chinese blogger in Finland, enthusiastic and outgoing.

There are still many members who have not been introduced. Though they haven't received their animal names yet, most are proud members of the China Town night study crew.

Chinese Cultural Tips

• China Town: The study room A120.2 next to the Guild Room. Named after Valentin discovered it filled with Chinese students studying late into the night. This airless little room holds most of the author's campus memories.
• Sunflower Seeds: The seeds placed in the Guild Room have received unanimous approval from our Finnish bros! You can buy these snacks at Chinese supermarkets in Sello or Helsinki, offering more interesting and unique options than Prisma.

Although most members are EIT students who will exchange to other countries next year or graduate, we cherish our time at Athene. Joyful times are always fleeting. There's a Chinese poem that says: "A bosom friend afar brings distant lands near" (meaning even if separated by vast distances, true friends feel as close as neighbors).

Come say hi to this interesting gang of "Chinese animals" in the Guild Room! We don't bite – we might just steal your coffee! 😉