Postponed

-Update postponed until I return from Umea, Sweden-

thanks for checking!!!

Settling In

So this is the end of week 3 and I finally feel like I'm starting to get settled and figure out my way around town.  Some things are still missing...my room is a little barren looking still and I have no bicycle (currently the bane of my existence)...but overall it's starting to feel more like home!  Oh yes, and if you want more photos, I started trying to do a photo-a-day blog (the link is on the right-had side over -----> there).  So far, I have totally failed a posting a photo per day, but I will try to get 7 up in a week even if they come in clumps.

some sweet local art....

One thing that I continue to find a little overwhelming is the finnish language.  Yes, I knew it was very different ahead of time...and yes, almost everyone has excellent english, but it's the little things that lead to frustration.  Shopping for fruits and vegetables: it's challenging to figure out the price of the plums when you have no idea what a plum is.  So the whole list of prices above the produce table (omena, päärynä, sipuli, luumu, peruna) means very little in the end.  But I'm learning. The above list translates to: apples, pears, onions, plums, and potatoes. Of course, not exactly because the finnish names are not in plural.  And if you wanted some apples (as opposed to just apples) the word would change again.
Apple = omena
Apples = omenat
Some apples = omenaa
Yes they are all similar, but just different enough to make it confusing.  Did I mention there are 15 possible endings like this ("cases") that can be attached to nouns? Plus the plural forms.  Plus possessive. Plus compound words.  Finnish is easy.  Se on helppoa.

Not quite sure how to translate these, but street names usually have pretty interesting translations...

Sorry about that rant...**ahem**

It seems that no-one looks forward to autumn here; I'm starting to understand why.  It seems that fall does not bring crisp, clear days that can be so wonderful.  In fact, I think it has rained almost everyday I have been here.  That being said, it has also been sunny most days.  But the days are getting shorter. Oh, so MUCH shorter.  On August 28 my flight arrived at 21:45 and it was dusk; the sun had set, but there was still light in the sky and it was almost 10pm.  Now, the sun sets at 19:15.  That is pretty much 2 hours of daylight lost in the evening alone in the past 3 weeks. Impressive. So, I went to the store and stocked up on vitamin D; a recommendation of many Finns!

More fall colours, against the blue sky

So...how about the Fun Finnish Fact for this week? Bathrooms.  They're different.  Ok yes, the function is the same, but there are some things that are not.  Public washrooms (like in an airport, school, or pub) have full length doors.  It's not just a little cubicle, you get your own room.  In addition to the toilet, your room also is equipped with  a little sink, hooks for your coat or purse, a toilet paper dispenser and a paper towel dispenser.  All this makes the little room slightly claustrophobic.  It is not full service though.  Often, theses rooms lack soap and a mirror, which has lead April and I to question why there would be a sink located in the stall if there is no soap provided with which to wash or mirror for "freshening up."  In the home, most bathrooms I have seen are completely tiled in and equipped with a drain at a low point in the floor, just like the entire bathroom is a shower.  This makes sense as the shower itself is not isolated and is merely a fixture on one wall, usually with a shower curtain that can be drawn closed and a second drain in the floor....have I mentioned the "hand bidets" yet?  yep, we've got those too.

a nice old wooden home I saw along my walk today

Dis-orientated

One of the many rosebush hedges that line the streets of Joensuu

I'm a little surprised.  I have traveled several thousand kilometres across the planet to Finland, and appearance-wise, I fit in better here than anywhere I've traveled before.  I cannot count the number of times in a day Finns look totally shocked when I respond in English as opposed to Finnish.  It's kind of entertaining.

Fall is coming!

Much of the past week has gone by without incident.  I've had international student orientation, forestry orientation, Finland orientation....I'm just about done with the whole orientation thing. However, orientations seem to continue trickling into classrooms and activities out of classrooms.  Fortunately, next week we get to start actual orientation-free classes.  I hope.  Most of the others in our classes are either from an Erasmus program or a European Forestry masters program.

Joensuu Market square and Kauppakatu ("Store Street")

On the home front...

I'm still looking around to try to find a bicycle, but until then, I spend a couple of hours walking every day.  It's only 25 minutes to class, but it always seems there is somewhere else to go...
Our rooms are somewhat cavernous, so to make them a little homier, April and I created paintings for each other.  Here are the results of our "painting date:"

notice the penny for an eye... ;-)

The sailboat was necessary

Having been in Finland for a couple of weeks now,  I am accumulating a list of interesting differences between here and BC/Canada.  There would be no fun in posting a big list in one go, so instead, I will have 1 item per week in each post.  I'll start with a slightly more interesting one this week: bomb shelters.

Most buildings have them in some way, shape, or form.  Usually in the basement or ground floor, these sealed, double-doored, concrete and steel bunkers have brilliant orange signs leading the way down the hall to the door.  In most buildings I have been in, these shelters are maintained.  In others, they have been converted to storage rooms.  You'll be relieved to know that both my apartment building and the forestry building at the university have maintained bomb shelters.  These dark, creepy holes in the wall seem to be commonplace enough that no-one around here really mentions them or notices them, and it's just another door on the way to the laundry room.  Has anyone EVER heard of a building with a maintained bomb shelter (other than by someone with paranoia) in Canada? Granted, our national neighbours (historically) have been slightly less inclined to invade and try to blow our cities up, but you never know what they may try in the future...right?

Take care everyone! I love hearing from you!

Suomi: Week 1

Well, I have officially been in Finland for 1 week (and 15 minutes).  It has flown by...I'm not quite sure what I have done for the last seven days...

I have accomplished most of the required running around: new bank account, student fees, housing and trying to set up an apartment out of a backpack.  One thing I  have discovered is that the Finns have a great degree of social order, which includes these four very important points: 

# 1: Take a number.  Despite all of the mayhem that should exist when the university is inundated by new students, everything remains peaceful and orderly.  No lineups: just take a number and have a seat.  If you don't like your number, leave and try again later.  Fill out your forms ahead of time and everything runs smoothly. 

#2: Be on time.  This does not mean be on time...this means early by all North American standards.  If you are required to meet at 9:00, the latest you should arrive is 8:55.

#3.  No jaywalking.  For most Canadians this is a foreign concept.  Step 1: proceed to a marked crosswalk.  Step 2:  if available, press the button to cross.  Step 3: Wait until you have the symbol for a little green man and proceed to cross the street in the designated area.

#4  Speak English.  Do not even attempt Finnish.  Do not ask if they speak English because of course they do, and it is slightly offensive to assume they can't.

In addition to all the boring stuff around getting settled, April and I have had some time to relax and try out some local "cultural activities."  I'm sure you  can guess what some of these "cultural activities" may be...

Friday night April and I went to a couple of 'local establishments' and had great fun dancing and drinking the local fare.  We met up with Aku and some of his friends from forestry tech school.  Today, we went and had a walk around Koli National Park, picked some forest mushrooms, and ate as many wild blueberries, cranberries, and lingonberries as possible.  mmm....

 

We also discovered a little creature perhaps a little more disgusting than ticks...Hirvikärpänen.  Mooseflies.  Disgusting, winged, crawling, biting, miniature crabs crossed with ticks.  prehistoric looking...originating from Russia.  They never die!

On that note...have a great week!