Hello! And now for something completely different...
So, having read all about my weekend adventures, I thought it high time for me to tell youall about my weekday life. Essentially, it centers around the workday at Suvimaki (8.30am to 16.00, or 4pm for those non-military folks out there). Until last week I was working mainly in the Employment and Education office. I helped to gather information about member work placements and to coordinate weekly trainings on various employment and education topics. Twice I presented to the group how each of these programs (transitional employment and supportive education) worked at Fountain House. People were very interested at how much we can do at FH and are hoping to expand their programs so that more members have the opportunity to achieve their goals in these areas. Occassionally, as I might have already mentioned, I help members and staff translate important Clubhouse documents from Finnish to English and from English to Finnish. Because of this translation work and the language barrier (which is actually more like white picket fence than a barrier), I have had to become more precise in my word choice and expression. I can think of at least two people (maybe more if former English teachers are also reading this) who are excited about this development. Aside from this, I have really enjoyed talking with people about how best to capture the true meanings of the words they are translating. I have stressed a need to be careful about how something is translated. If not careful, meaning could be changed or even lost.
Since last week, I have been working in the Kitchen unit. I am loving it!I love cutting things (imagine that! Folks who knew me when I was four years old know from experience the importance of me loving to cut things...ha!) and helping to create the daily lunch. Today we are making spaghetti and meat sauce. Yum! In the kitchen, there is a work deadline every afternoon at 12pm. We get a lot of help from the members and time just flies! Meghan (hi!): you would be interested to know that the first thing I do every morning is to make the salad (haha). Anyways, cutting things is a nice change of pace. I will work in the kitchen till the end of this week and then I will spend my last two weeks at Suvimaki (yikes!) working in the Reception unit. I am not sure what I will be doing there but I have been told that its very similar to my unit (Research!) back at home. I really like being able to work in different units. It allows me the opportunity to get to know more people. There is no such thing as boredom in Clubhouse.
Last Thursday was a day off for everyone in Finland (Holy Thursday) and so I spent the day with a friend from work. She just moved with her husband and two girls to a new house and it is really nice. Most of the day was spent driving to pick up some furniture from a friend. I was happy to tag along especially because it gave me an opportunity to see more of what lies outside of Jyväskylä. It was a cold clear day...perfect for taking a drive. The Finnish countryside reminds me a lot of Washington State (without Mt. Reiner sadly). When we got back to the house, we had dinner and watched some TV. My friend's youngest daughter and I have become great friends. She is really adorable!
This weekend was very relaxing. I spent a lot of time reading and listening to music. On Saturday, it was nice enough to read outside. In the evening, I went to see The DaVinci Code. I haven't read the book so I don't know if I should feel disappointed. I liked it well enough and thought it presented some very interesting ideas (if only they weren't fiction!). On Sunday, I went to have dinner with the director of Suvimaki and her family. It was really great to sit back and relax and to talk to these friendly folks. After dinner, we went for a walk to the big lake nearby and then "got lost" walking in the woods on the way back to the house. I cannot tell you all enough, it is really lovely here, everything is so green and fresh looking. I have been relishing the cool spring here, knowing that pretty soon I will be going home to sit in a boiling pot of water until September (and thats if I am lucky). Boooo! for NYC summers.
It is hard to believe that I only have three weeks left in Findland. This experience is almost over and I am at once happy to be góing home and sad to be leaving these wonderful people. The one thing I am certain of however, if I had to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat. Until next time...
I love you and miss you all!
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Monday, May 29, 2006
Whew...ok here we go
1) In case youall are forgetting (have forgot?) what I look like, here's me with the beautiful city of Tallin behind me.
2) An artisy shot of one of the old look out towers that is part of the city's defensive wall.
3) Another artisy shot of the city wall.
4) What you might find when turning a corner in Tallin.
5) The walkway between the two city walls.
6) A view of the Town Hall and its Square from one of the narrow side streets of Tallin's Old City.
7. A lovely little park tucked away between the narrow side streets.
8. A narrow side street (ha).
Well it was still raining when we got to Tallin, and actually it was getting worse by the moment. After some searching (aka following everyone else into town), I finally found my hostel. Most hostels I have had the pleasure of staying in are these big, dorm filled places that if you are lucky will also be filled with friendly fellow travelers. I really like hostels, even the crappy ones, for this very reason. I never have felt so comfortable having impromptu discussions with perfect strangers about politics and religion and traveling. If you have never stayed in a hostel, I suggest you try it. Anyways. This hostel I stayed in Tallin was in the Old City and felt more like a guesthouse than a hostel. It was ridiculously small…seriously there was one room with two bunk beds, and that’s it. I felt a little weird but then I figured that I wasn’t going to be spending much time there.
The man who was running the hostel when I came in was very friendly. He even offered me to use one of the hostel umbrellas when I went back out in the rain to explore the rest of the town. I accepted, figuring that this wasn‘t NYC and I wasn‘t libel to get my eyes gouged out and so my whole principle thing about umbrellas was unnecessary. It was pouring when I came back outside. But despite the rain, there were quite a few people out and about doing just what I was doing.
Tallin is the capital of Estonia and because it is so easy to get to from Finland, many Finns travel here for the weekend. Though their motivation is a tad different from the average tourist. Everything in Estonia, including alcohol and tobacco, is cheaper. Essentially, folks come for the weekend to stock up as it were. Those interested in doing the touristy things stick to the Old City. Which is what I was planning on doing.
The Old City is very old indeed. It dates way back to Medieval times (again no history lesson this time) and is separated from the other parts of Tallin by two huge, protective walls. Inside the walls, you feel as though you have stepped back in time. The streets are all cobbled and narrow. There is a big town center which also contains the town hall where concerts and town meetings are held. When I walked by the town hall, I could hear a choir warming up for practice. Standing outside in the rain and listening to those voices was a really beautiful moment. I walked on through the square and climbed the hills to the top of the city. The view of the old city from the top was just amazing. The Old City also has several fantastic churches, each following a different style of architecture.
Even though it was still raining, I felt encouraged and fortunate to be able to see this city. Unfortunately it was at this time that I discovered my camera battery was running low. I was going to have to come back in the morning to take pictures of the city. And hopefully, it would be nicer out in the morning.
For dinner I decided to go to one of the two Medieval-style restaurants in town. I met two other Americans while eating (the food was good by the way) and we got to talking about our travels. They were very nice people and after dinner we decided to go in search of a good bar. After some searching we finally found a place. I spent the next couple hours talking to them and it was really nice. This kind of thing is exactly what I like about traveling.
I went back to the hostel and with the rest of the group (of four) staying there, watched the final night of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was really hilarious. The commentator was British and he kept making all these pithy, very English comments about the show and the scoring. To make it even funnier, there was an American woman and a Greek man running the show-they had no chemistry whatsoever and managed very well to come off as being horribly awkward. In the end, Finland was victorious!! I have noticed in the last few days the contest that news of Finland’s win made the news in the States. So maybe you all have read about this already?
I woke up early the next morning, camera batteries charged and ready to go. It did turn out to be a really lovely day and all told, I took about 200 pictures. Here’s a note to my day (hi, dad!): I took these pictures in both black and white and color. I think they all turned out very well. Also, I am going to have a hell of a time deciding which pictures to post…there might be more than usual folks.
I miss you all and can’t wait to see you! *mwah*
The man who was running the hostel when I came in was very friendly. He even offered me to use one of the hostel umbrellas when I went back out in the rain to explore the rest of the town. I accepted, figuring that this wasn‘t NYC and I wasn‘t libel to get my eyes gouged out and so my whole principle thing about umbrellas was unnecessary. It was pouring when I came back outside. But despite the rain, there were quite a few people out and about doing just what I was doing.
Tallin is the capital of Estonia and because it is so easy to get to from Finland, many Finns travel here for the weekend. Though their motivation is a tad different from the average tourist. Everything in Estonia, including alcohol and tobacco, is cheaper. Essentially, folks come for the weekend to stock up as it were. Those interested in doing the touristy things stick to the Old City. Which is what I was planning on doing.
The Old City is very old indeed. It dates way back to Medieval times (again no history lesson this time) and is separated from the other parts of Tallin by two huge, protective walls. Inside the walls, you feel as though you have stepped back in time. The streets are all cobbled and narrow. There is a big town center which also contains the town hall where concerts and town meetings are held. When I walked by the town hall, I could hear a choir warming up for practice. Standing outside in the rain and listening to those voices was a really beautiful moment. I walked on through the square and climbed the hills to the top of the city. The view of the old city from the top was just amazing. The Old City also has several fantastic churches, each following a different style of architecture.
Even though it was still raining, I felt encouraged and fortunate to be able to see this city. Unfortunately it was at this time that I discovered my camera battery was running low. I was going to have to come back in the morning to take pictures of the city. And hopefully, it would be nicer out in the morning.
For dinner I decided to go to one of the two Medieval-style restaurants in town. I met two other Americans while eating (the food was good by the way) and we got to talking about our travels. They were very nice people and after dinner we decided to go in search of a good bar. After some searching we finally found a place. I spent the next couple hours talking to them and it was really nice. This kind of thing is exactly what I like about traveling.
I went back to the hostel and with the rest of the group (of four) staying there, watched the final night of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was really hilarious. The commentator was British and he kept making all these pithy, very English comments about the show and the scoring. To make it even funnier, there was an American woman and a Greek man running the show-they had no chemistry whatsoever and managed very well to come off as being horribly awkward. In the end, Finland was victorious!! I have noticed in the last few days the contest that news of Finland’s win made the news in the States. So maybe you all have read about this already?
I woke up early the next morning, camera batteries charged and ready to go. It did turn out to be a really lovely day and all told, I took about 200 pictures. Here’s a note to my day (hi, dad!): I took these pictures in both black and white and color. I think they all turned out very well. Also, I am going to have a hell of a time deciding which pictures to post…there might be more than usual folks.
I miss you all and can’t wait to see you! *mwah*
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Well! My weekend was jam packed with new experiences and new places. This is the way I would life to be always. Brace yourselves folks, this is going to be a very long entry. In fact, it is so long, that I have decided to break it up into two parts (and even those parts are enormous). The first part will be about my trip to Tampere and Helsinki and the second trip will be about my time in Tallin, Estonia. So here goes…
On Thursday morning, about 25 members and staff from Suvimaki (including me) go on a bus bound for the city of Tampere, which is about 200 km south west of Jyvasklya. Many folks were going to spend the day at a local amusement park while another handful of people were going to attend a Finnish Clubhouse Coalition gathering. I was asked to come along with the director of Suvimaki and some other members to the coalition gathering. I really enjoyed the gathering, as it gave me a chance to meet more people working in the other 17 clubhouses in Finland. Everyone was so excited to meet me and to ask me about my Finland experiences. I had the chance to tour the clubhouse in Tampere where the meeting was taking place. I also was asked by some folks to help with a major translation project. I felt so honoured to be asked to come to Finland and now people were asking me to help with this very important project. I was overwhelmed. Each clubhouse in the coalition had the chance during the gathering to get up and talk about what their clubhouse was up to. When it came time for Suvimaki to speak, our director asked to say something to the group of about a 150 people (more people than attend the Wednesday afternoon FH meeting). I was really nervous and was hoping that I would be able to speak clearly. I avoided embarrassment thankfully and articulated well enough!
After the gathering, I met a few members and staff from the Helsinki clubhouse, which is the largest clubhouse in Finland (though still smaller than FH). I was going to be travelling with them back to Helsinki and the next morning would visit their clubhouse. On the trip back, many people came up to me and asked me to talk about what I thought about Finnish clubhouses and to explain the differences and similarities they had from Fountain House. I talked about all the wonderful things each clubhouse is able to do and what I can do to help Fountain House become better. I really like the attitude of the people here. The Finns I've met seem to very pragmatic and while they are proud of what they've accomplished, they are always thinking of what they could do to be better.
We got to Helsinki and it was than that I realized that I had forgotten to write down the address of the place I was going to be staying. Fortunately, one of the members knew the hotel and offered to take me there himself. Unfortunately, for me, the members and staff at the Helsinki Clubhouse already had some experience with this establishment and it was not positive. A couple of years ago, they had some of their colleagues who had come for the three week training stay in this hotel. The colleagues did not have nice things to stay about the place. I was very nervous and a little pissed off that I was going to be spending so much money to stay in such a place that rented by the hour (if you get my drift and I think you do). Here's my impression of the place after staying there for two nights: Not the worst place I had ever stayed (that honour goes to Prince Street Backpackers in Edinburgh...yuck!) but I think I would have hated it with a passion too if I was to stay there three weeks. On the positive side, the hotel offered free breakfast and free morning sauna in the price of the room. I was definitely going to be taking advantage of these things while I was in Helsinki.
Helsinki is a really wonderful and charming city, even in the rain and the wind and the fog. Its very European but has a Russian twist. Its brightly colored buildings and many churches make the city feeling cheerful and inviting. I hope my pictures will do it justice better than my words. But the best part of the city: the trams! I loved riding around on the trams and did it as much as possible, even if I was only going to go a few blocks. And it was cheap too! For six euros, I got a 24 hour pass.
When I got to my hotel I decided to go back out and explore the city. After all, I still had at least 4 1/2 hrs of daylight left before it got "dark." I went to Senate Square and took in the beauty of the cathedral and the surrounding buildings. I walked around some more and when my feet could take me no more, I went to a supermarket to get my dinner! Just like when I was in Ireland, my dinner here has often consisted of a baguette and some yummy cheese spread. I also treated myself to a can of Murphys-what a delight to find it here in Finland! I took my goods back to the hotel and ended up eating my dinner while watching a hockey game with another hotel guest. We talked about American sports and he told me about a friend of his who is obsessed with American baseball. In fact, to my dismay, his favourite team is the Yankees (booo!). When the game was over, we watched the first part of the Eurovision Song Contest. Youall should look it up if you don't know about it. Its kinda like American Idol only bigger and more outrageous (if you thought that was possible). This year happened to belong to Finland and their selection, a heavy metal band named Lordi. The song is pretty catchy (if still a bit cheesy) but the members of the band are very scary looking! I am not kidding. Look them up yall!
The next morning, I went to the clubhouse and worked in the kitchen unit until lunch. The size of this clubhouse is larger than Suvimaki, but I think the members and staff have struck a really good balance between the resources they offer their members and the type and quality of the relationships that exist in the clubhouse. I really enjoyed working in the cafe -and I can happily say my Finnish is improving with use. I now can count to 100! Woot!!
After helping with the pre-lunch duties I had the chance to talk to the director of the Helsinki, which was very helpful to me. It is becoming more and more clear why I have been sent here to Finland on this exchange. When I come back to work at Fountain House I will help to formulate an action plan of sorts that will help us all become better members and generalists. The prospect of my experiences being the catalyst for change in such an institution is a little daunting to me. It will involve a great deal of thought while I am still here and then consultation and the actual planning when I get back to NYC. Talking to other clubhouses is incredibly helpful and will help me articulate my ideas to the folks back home.
The rest of the afternoon was spent riding around on the trams and seeing various Helsinki sights. There are a lot of churches and markets in Helsinki and I tried to see as many as possible. I was planning on leaving for Estonia the next afternoon and because I wanted to see as much as possible while I was here, I gave myself a schedule. I stopped at this nice little cafe after a couple of hours and had a cup of coffee while I planned my next moves.
I should just take the opportunity now to point out to you all that once again, I might be addicted to coffee...and no wonder with all the imposed (ok they aren't imposed) coffee breaks here in the clubhouse. I think Finns might drink more coffee than Americans, which is saying a lot! It doesn't help that coffee (or kahvia in Finnish) is cheaper than soda (no surprise there really) and even water. I found myself in this situation in Ireland and ended up having tea stains that my dentist thought were caused by a decade long coffee habit. So yeah, I have been drinking more coffee lately. I am sure I will be able to break the habit once I get back to NYC. Although....ice coffee from Amy's sounds really, really good right now.
Because of my limited time and the amount of space I had to cover to see the sights, I was not able to go to any museums. Therefore (and I am sure you all will breath a sigh of relief) there will be no history lesson on Helsinki. The only thing I really know historically is that the Russians, when they took over Finland from the Swedes, moved the capital from Turku to Helsinki. I think I might have pointed this out to you all already. Yay! for redundancy! I understand that the museums in Helsinki are all very nice and informative, so count yourselves lucky that I ran out of time.
That evening I went to a Karelin (Finnish country style) restaurant called Mamma's Place and ate to my hearts content! Two things about this dinner: 1) I finally tried reindeer, which is the national dish of Finland (I wonder what the US's national dish is? apple pie?) and it did not taste just like chicken...needless to say, I don't think I will ever be eating it again; 2) Despite the reindeer, the rest of the food, especially the homemade bread, was delicious! The atmosphere was great too! I definitely went back to my hotel happy and full.
And now folks, a short (ha) evaluation of my first Finnish sauna experience. It was fabulous!! At first, when all I was doing was sweating and having a hard time breathing, I thought sauna was very much my worst nightmare. Thankfully, there was another woman with me who not only showed me the ropes but who struck up a conversation with me while we were perspiring. That definitely helped pass the time away. After about 15 minutes in the sauna, we got out and stood under freezing cold showers (this in lieu of a frozen lake to jump into). Now I know why the Finns love to sauna! I felt so refreshed and invigorated and relaxed and happy! I jumped right back into the sauna to do it again...
I spent my last hours in Helsinki checking my email at the Tourist Office and then sitting in a cafe by the harbour drinking kahvia and eating pulla (yummy bread with different fillings). I was excited about going to Tallin and only hoped that it would not be raining when I got there.
to be continued (lol)....
On Thursday morning, about 25 members and staff from Suvimaki (including me) go on a bus bound for the city of Tampere, which is about 200 km south west of Jyvasklya. Many folks were going to spend the day at a local amusement park while another handful of people were going to attend a Finnish Clubhouse Coalition gathering. I was asked to come along with the director of Suvimaki and some other members to the coalition gathering. I really enjoyed the gathering, as it gave me a chance to meet more people working in the other 17 clubhouses in Finland. Everyone was so excited to meet me and to ask me about my Finland experiences. I had the chance to tour the clubhouse in Tampere where the meeting was taking place. I also was asked by some folks to help with a major translation project. I felt so honoured to be asked to come to Finland and now people were asking me to help with this very important project. I was overwhelmed. Each clubhouse in the coalition had the chance during the gathering to get up and talk about what their clubhouse was up to. When it came time for Suvimaki to speak, our director asked to say something to the group of about a 150 people (more people than attend the Wednesday afternoon FH meeting). I was really nervous and was hoping that I would be able to speak clearly. I avoided embarrassment thankfully and articulated well enough!
After the gathering, I met a few members and staff from the Helsinki clubhouse, which is the largest clubhouse in Finland (though still smaller than FH). I was going to be travelling with them back to Helsinki and the next morning would visit their clubhouse. On the trip back, many people came up to me and asked me to talk about what I thought about Finnish clubhouses and to explain the differences and similarities they had from Fountain House. I talked about all the wonderful things each clubhouse is able to do and what I can do to help Fountain House become better. I really like the attitude of the people here. The Finns I've met seem to very pragmatic and while they are proud of what they've accomplished, they are always thinking of what they could do to be better.
We got to Helsinki and it was than that I realized that I had forgotten to write down the address of the place I was going to be staying. Fortunately, one of the members knew the hotel and offered to take me there himself. Unfortunately, for me, the members and staff at the Helsinki Clubhouse already had some experience with this establishment and it was not positive. A couple of years ago, they had some of their colleagues who had come for the three week training stay in this hotel. The colleagues did not have nice things to stay about the place. I was very nervous and a little pissed off that I was going to be spending so much money to stay in such a place that rented by the hour (if you get my drift and I think you do). Here's my impression of the place after staying there for two nights: Not the worst place I had ever stayed (that honour goes to Prince Street Backpackers in Edinburgh...yuck!) but I think I would have hated it with a passion too if I was to stay there three weeks. On the positive side, the hotel offered free breakfast and free morning sauna in the price of the room. I was definitely going to be taking advantage of these things while I was in Helsinki.
Helsinki is a really wonderful and charming city, even in the rain and the wind and the fog. Its very European but has a Russian twist. Its brightly colored buildings and many churches make the city feeling cheerful and inviting. I hope my pictures will do it justice better than my words. But the best part of the city: the trams! I loved riding around on the trams and did it as much as possible, even if I was only going to go a few blocks. And it was cheap too! For six euros, I got a 24 hour pass.
When I got to my hotel I decided to go back out and explore the city. After all, I still had at least 4 1/2 hrs of daylight left before it got "dark." I went to Senate Square and took in the beauty of the cathedral and the surrounding buildings. I walked around some more and when my feet could take me no more, I went to a supermarket to get my dinner! Just like when I was in Ireland, my dinner here has often consisted of a baguette and some yummy cheese spread. I also treated myself to a can of Murphys-what a delight to find it here in Finland! I took my goods back to the hotel and ended up eating my dinner while watching a hockey game with another hotel guest. We talked about American sports and he told me about a friend of his who is obsessed with American baseball. In fact, to my dismay, his favourite team is the Yankees (booo!). When the game was over, we watched the first part of the Eurovision Song Contest. Youall should look it up if you don't know about it. Its kinda like American Idol only bigger and more outrageous (if you thought that was possible). This year happened to belong to Finland and their selection, a heavy metal band named Lordi. The song is pretty catchy (if still a bit cheesy) but the members of the band are very scary looking! I am not kidding. Look them up yall!
The next morning, I went to the clubhouse and worked in the kitchen unit until lunch. The size of this clubhouse is larger than Suvimaki, but I think the members and staff have struck a really good balance between the resources they offer their members and the type and quality of the relationships that exist in the clubhouse. I really enjoyed working in the cafe -and I can happily say my Finnish is improving with use. I now can count to 100! Woot!!
After helping with the pre-lunch duties I had the chance to talk to the director of the Helsinki, which was very helpful to me. It is becoming more and more clear why I have been sent here to Finland on this exchange. When I come back to work at Fountain House I will help to formulate an action plan of sorts that will help us all become better members and generalists. The prospect of my experiences being the catalyst for change in such an institution is a little daunting to me. It will involve a great deal of thought while I am still here and then consultation and the actual planning when I get back to NYC. Talking to other clubhouses is incredibly helpful and will help me articulate my ideas to the folks back home.
The rest of the afternoon was spent riding around on the trams and seeing various Helsinki sights. There are a lot of churches and markets in Helsinki and I tried to see as many as possible. I was planning on leaving for Estonia the next afternoon and because I wanted to see as much as possible while I was here, I gave myself a schedule. I stopped at this nice little cafe after a couple of hours and had a cup of coffee while I planned my next moves.
I should just take the opportunity now to point out to you all that once again, I might be addicted to coffee...and no wonder with all the imposed (ok they aren't imposed) coffee breaks here in the clubhouse. I think Finns might drink more coffee than Americans, which is saying a lot! It doesn't help that coffee (or kahvia in Finnish) is cheaper than soda (no surprise there really) and even water. I found myself in this situation in Ireland and ended up having tea stains that my dentist thought were caused by a decade long coffee habit. So yeah, I have been drinking more coffee lately. I am sure I will be able to break the habit once I get back to NYC. Although....ice coffee from Amy's sounds really, really good right now.
Because of my limited time and the amount of space I had to cover to see the sights, I was not able to go to any museums. Therefore (and I am sure you all will breath a sigh of relief) there will be no history lesson on Helsinki. The only thing I really know historically is that the Russians, when they took over Finland from the Swedes, moved the capital from Turku to Helsinki. I think I might have pointed this out to you all already. Yay! for redundancy! I understand that the museums in Helsinki are all very nice and informative, so count yourselves lucky that I ran out of time.
That evening I went to a Karelin (Finnish country style) restaurant called Mamma's Place and ate to my hearts content! Two things about this dinner: 1) I finally tried reindeer, which is the national dish of Finland (I wonder what the US's national dish is? apple pie?) and it did not taste just like chicken...needless to say, I don't think I will ever be eating it again; 2) Despite the reindeer, the rest of the food, especially the homemade bread, was delicious! The atmosphere was great too! I definitely went back to my hotel happy and full.
And now folks, a short (ha) evaluation of my first Finnish sauna experience. It was fabulous!! At first, when all I was doing was sweating and having a hard time breathing, I thought sauna was very much my worst nightmare. Thankfully, there was another woman with me who not only showed me the ropes but who struck up a conversation with me while we were perspiring. That definitely helped pass the time away. After about 15 minutes in the sauna, we got out and stood under freezing cold showers (this in lieu of a frozen lake to jump into). Now I know why the Finns love to sauna! I felt so refreshed and invigorated and relaxed and happy! I jumped right back into the sauna to do it again...
I spent my last hours in Helsinki checking my email at the Tourist Office and then sitting in a cafe by the harbour drinking kahvia and eating pulla (yummy bread with different fillings). I was excited about going to Tallin and only hoped that it would not be raining when I got there.
to be continued (lol)....
Tampere and Helsinki
1. Its strawberry season in Finland (this one's for you Shyam!)
2. The Union Workers Memorial (they say that if a virgin walks by these guys, they will strike the anvil...)
3. A view of Senate Square (with its famous cathedral in the background).
4. Another view of Senate Square from the top of the steps of the cathedral. You notice the tram in the background?
More pictures next week...stay tuned;)
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
More pictures...these are all shots I took when I was out this Sunday biking and getting lost. I hope you enjoy them!
Hope all is well with everyone! I have loved all the comments people are making on the blog and hope you guys keep it up. If you haven't posted a comment yet, go to it!
I am going to be seeing a lot of Finland in the next couple of days. Tonight I am going to a Finnish Women's Baseball game (the Jyväskylä team is apparently really good) with some folks from Suvimaki. Tomorrow morning we are all off on a spring trip to Tampere. Most people are going to be hanging out in the local amusement park, but (sadly) I will be participating in the Finnish Clubhouse Coalition meeting that is to be held at the Tampere clubhouse. From there, I am leaving my Suvimaki friends for the big city (in this case, Helsinki). I will be there until Saturday morning when I depart for (I still can't believe this one) ESTONIA! lol...seriously though, it is not even a hop, skip, and jump from Helsinki (its a much shorter distant then you would think) and I have been told that I must go there at least for one day. Sunday I return to Helsinki and then Jyväskylä. I am tired just thinking bout it;)
Love you and miss you all!! *mwah*
Monday, May 15, 2006
Tomorrow I will have thirty days left in Finland. I can hardly believe how fast the time is flying. Last week I was very homesick and now I feel as though there is so much for me to do before I leave. I am trying to figure out if I will be able to go to the Åland Islands-as I was telling my mom about my potential plans, I realized it sounded like a crazy idea. Its not cheap and it requires a lot of traveling and not a lot of time. I am going back and forth about this. Do I want to spend the money and jam a trip into a short amount of time? Or do I want to take the chance that I will be able to do it someday, this time at a more leisurely pace? I wish I knew for sure...*sigh* oh well. Like these are real problems anyways! You all are probably rolling your eyes or something equally overdramatic;)
Looking at my calender has also inspired me to make the most of my time here and to stop thinking about how I miss everyone. It would suck if I spent all this time doing nothing but missing because then I really would miss something! So. Yesterday, after it rained and the blue sky was full of big white fluffy clouds, I decided it was high time to get lost. I think some of you out there might know this (certainly if your last name is Butorac and Bob and Darby are your parents) but one of my favorite things to do is to get lost! I remember moving to Virginia when I was five and getting lost (someone might have called it having an adventure!) all the time. Oh what fun! Discovering roads that wound and wound (those were the best) and listening to music and singing along with my sisters, brother, and our mother. Getting lost was the best way to orientate ourselves to a new area and they are some of my favorite memories.
Today I got lost and wound up at a lake about 4 miles away from my apartment. According to someone I work with, the lake is about 240 kilometers wide. In the summer you can take a steamboat from one end to another. Needless to say, it was gorgeous. I was very jealous of the folks who live on this lake. From my side of the shore, I could smaller islands where one or two houses sat, waiting to be used. I was even more jealous of these people:) I took a lot of pictures of the lake and the woods surrounding it and noticed that Spring had finally come. Everything around me was either white, blue, or green. It was absolutely beautiful!! This made me very happy.
I was sad to leave the lake behind, but I figured I needed to start heading back to my neck of the woods. I found a road that brought me to Lake Jyväskyläri and I went across the bridge to the marina below. All the boats that just a week ago had been stuck in the ice were now floating in rather choppy early Spring waters. I am so excited to get on one of the steamers to go on a boat tour. That won't be possible for another week or so though.
Alas, my time has grown short and there is much for me to do before it runs out all together! Hope you all are well. I love you!
P.S. Pictures will be posted *hopefully* in the next day or two. Hope you all can wait until then:)
Looking at my calender has also inspired me to make the most of my time here and to stop thinking about how I miss everyone. It would suck if I spent all this time doing nothing but missing because then I really would miss something! So. Yesterday, after it rained and the blue sky was full of big white fluffy clouds, I decided it was high time to get lost. I think some of you out there might know this (certainly if your last name is Butorac and Bob and Darby are your parents) but one of my favorite things to do is to get lost! I remember moving to Virginia when I was five and getting lost (someone might have called it having an adventure!) all the time. Oh what fun! Discovering roads that wound and wound (those were the best) and listening to music and singing along with my sisters, brother, and our mother. Getting lost was the best way to orientate ourselves to a new area and they are some of my favorite memories.
Today I got lost and wound up at a lake about 4 miles away from my apartment. According to someone I work with, the lake is about 240 kilometers wide. In the summer you can take a steamboat from one end to another. Needless to say, it was gorgeous. I was very jealous of the folks who live on this lake. From my side of the shore, I could smaller islands where one or two houses sat, waiting to be used. I was even more jealous of these people:) I took a lot of pictures of the lake and the woods surrounding it and noticed that Spring had finally come. Everything around me was either white, blue, or green. It was absolutely beautiful!! This made me very happy.
I was sad to leave the lake behind, but I figured I needed to start heading back to my neck of the woods. I found a road that brought me to Lake Jyväskyläri and I went across the bridge to the marina below. All the boats that just a week ago had been stuck in the ice were now floating in rather choppy early Spring waters. I am so excited to get on one of the steamers to go on a boat tour. That won't be possible for another week or so though.
Alas, my time has grown short and there is much for me to do before it runs out all together! Hope you all are well. I love you!
P.S. Pictures will be posted *hopefully* in the next day or two. Hope you all can wait until then:)
Friday, May 12, 2006
I thought you all would enjoy these...
Last week, some local firemen came to Suvimaki to talk to us about fire safety. The coolest part of their visit was a demonstration of how to put out a fire using a fire extinguisher and then with a special fire proof blanket. THEN, they let us all try it! The blanket was a little frightening because you had to get so close to the flames, but I felt all macho after I put the fire out. Maybe I will become a firefighter:)
In other news, the police came this week to give their safety talk. Let me just say the police talk was seriously lacking folks...
Thursday, May 11, 2006
And so you all can stop holding your breath now...
From top to bottom: 1) Enjoying the summer-like conditions on the best place possible; 2) Well, maybe the second best place; 3) The outside of Turku Castle; 4) King Erik XIV's favorite home away from home; 5) I would like to say this is my boat, but alas they don't pay me enough (hint, hint); 6) An artsy shot of an artist's workshop (from the Handicrafts Museum); 7) A view of Turku Cathedral from the harru (meaning hilltop park in Finnish).
On a sad note, my friend Larita passed away on Monday:( For those of you who did not know her, she was a joy to be around. Larita had an endless supply of positive energy and love for those around her. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know her. I am even more blessed that I could help her during her darkest time. I am grateful that her suffering has finally come to an end.
Love you and miss you all!
Monday, May 8, 2006
Ok when I said I would have more pictures tomorrow I really means next week. And also that (sadly) there will not be any pictures. You all will just have to deal with another long winded post from me. Lol. It sounds like a lot of you love looking at my blog and reading all about my adventures (the washing machine story is an instant classic I am afraid). This makes me very happy:)
This weekend, as I might have mentioned, I went to the city of Turku. Turku is situated on the southwest coast of Finland and is a popular point of departure for folks wanting to go to Sweden or through the Archipelago (essentially a large group of islands, in this case the Åland Islands) that lies in between Finland and Sweden. The trip is supposed to be absolutely beautiful and I hope to have time to do it before I leave Finland, but it is looking as though it might may not be possible. We shall see. Aside from being a big port, Turku was the capital of Finland before Helsinki. I was told that when the Russians recaptured Finland from the Swedes, they wanted a capital closer to St. Petersburg (so they could keep a closer eye on the people and not feel threatened at every turn by the Swedish...very intelligent of them) and therefore changed the capital to Helsinki. Unfortunately, the history lesson is not over yet folks!
I arrived in Turku on Friday evening and went immediately to check into my hostel. The Turku Hostel is the only hostel in Turku and surprisingly, I was able to book a dorm room. I was very excited because I really like the experience of being in a hostel. People are usually very friendly and up to conversation with anyone, anytime. I was hoping that I would find someone(s) to see the city with, or if nothing else eat and drink with while I was in Turku. Sadly, it turned out that I had one other roommate and she had no interest in talking. Resigning to my fate as a single traveller, I went to eat at a little Italian place close to the center of the city. The food was good and the guy who waited on me was very nice. Unfortunately, he knew almost immediately that I was not Finnish. So much for keeping the illusion:) The river that divides the town is called Aura and it is a nice place to walk after sunset. There were many people out by the river enjoying the good weather when I was walking back to the Hostel. From what I had seen so far, I knew I was going to like the city. I decided to rent a bike for the following day and see the sights.
Saturday was another beautiful morning! The first place I went to see in the morning was Turku Cathedral. The cathedral is located near the center of the city and alongside the river. Turku Cathedral is another typical Scandanavian structure, simple in style and materials used. I really like this style. It seems more in line with function then with showing off. The inside of the cathedral was as dark as any I had seen before but again, there was very little non-function related decoration. There are several people buried in the crypt of the cathedral, including a Swedish Queen (married to the unfortunate King Erik XIV, who you will read about soon) and several national war heros.
This weekend, as I might have mentioned, I went to the city of Turku. Turku is situated on the southwest coast of Finland and is a popular point of departure for folks wanting to go to Sweden or through the Archipelago (essentially a large group of islands, in this case the Åland Islands) that lies in between Finland and Sweden. The trip is supposed to be absolutely beautiful and I hope to have time to do it before I leave Finland, but it is looking as though it might may not be possible. We shall see. Aside from being a big port, Turku was the capital of Finland before Helsinki. I was told that when the Russians recaptured Finland from the Swedes, they wanted a capital closer to St. Petersburg (so they could keep a closer eye on the people and not feel threatened at every turn by the Swedish...very intelligent of them) and therefore changed the capital to Helsinki. Unfortunately, the history lesson is not over yet folks!
I arrived in Turku on Friday evening and went immediately to check into my hostel. The Turku Hostel is the only hostel in Turku and surprisingly, I was able to book a dorm room. I was very excited because I really like the experience of being in a hostel. People are usually very friendly and up to conversation with anyone, anytime. I was hoping that I would find someone(s) to see the city with, or if nothing else eat and drink with while I was in Turku. Sadly, it turned out that I had one other roommate and she had no interest in talking. Resigning to my fate as a single traveller, I went to eat at a little Italian place close to the center of the city. The food was good and the guy who waited on me was very nice. Unfortunately, he knew almost immediately that I was not Finnish. So much for keeping the illusion:) The river that divides the town is called Aura and it is a nice place to walk after sunset. There were many people out by the river enjoying the good weather when I was walking back to the Hostel. From what I had seen so far, I knew I was going to like the city. I decided to rent a bike for the following day and see the sights.
Saturday was another beautiful morning! The first place I went to see in the morning was Turku Cathedral. The cathedral is located near the center of the city and alongside the river. Turku Cathedral is another typical Scandanavian structure, simple in style and materials used. I really like this style. It seems more in line with function then with showing off. The inside of the cathedral was as dark as any I had seen before but again, there was very little non-function related decoration. There are several people buried in the crypt of the cathedral, including a Swedish Queen (married to the unfortunate King Erik XIV, who you will read about soon) and several national war heros.
From the Cathedral I went to the Handicrafts Museum. Don't let the name fool you...it was awesome! It was kind of like a smaller, more contained Williamsburg. The museum is set on a plot of land with buildings dating back over two hundred years ago. This community was practically the only area in Turku that was left untouched by a hugh fire that destroyed most of the city about one hundred and fifty years ago. In the early 1900s, city officals decided to make the land and buildings an open air museum showcasing the crafts and the lifestyle of people living in the 1800s. It is a very popular attraction now. I really enjoyed walking around the "town" and looking into the different buildings. There was virtually no one there when I went and so I could take my time going through. After visiting the Handicrafts Museum, I went to lunch at a Thai restaurant near the center square. I know what some of you are thinking, how good could that have been? But let me tell you, it was some of the best thai I have ever had!!
One of the most famous attractions of Turku is the castle. It dates back to the middle ages but has additions dating back from about two hundred agos. It is not like any other castle I have seen, and while it looks old, its design is rather simple and beautiful. This is no Versaille. Thank goodness for that! The castle is located at the mouth of the Aurajoki (joki means "river" in Finnish) and it is also happens to be where it meets the Baltic Sea. Its most famous for being the "home" of King Erik XIV from Sweden for several years. Erik was imprisioned in Turku Castle for seven years by his own brother. But don't feel too sorry for Erik though...before he was put in Turku Castle for being deemed insane, he had his brother and his brother's wife imprisioned in Sweden for (probably) the same charges. See Mom, at least I am not holding my siblings prisoner and telling everyone they are insane! Overall, the castle was very nice and I think I saw every nook and cranny there was to see. Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures of the castle within the next couple of days.
After all that touring, I decided it was high time for a drink on one of the city's boat bars. There are about six or seven of these restaurant/bar boats along the Aurajoki and everyone of them was filled to capacity this weekend. I was fortunate enough to get a seat next to the DJ (which probably resulted in me losing some of my hearing). I sat and listened to the music (the DJ was playing Funk and old R&B) and read my book and it was really wonderful! At some point I started talking to the women next to me. We talked about the weather and how my trip was going so far. Both of them commented on how well I spoke Finnish (well its easy to master ten words!!), so I felt pretty good about that. I stayed there for a couple of hours and I decided that I would really like to come back to Turku. It is a truly beautiful city! I also decided that all I wanted to do the next morning was sit by the Aurajoki and read and watch the world go by me.
And thats just what I did! Hope you all are well. Look for pictures from my trip to Turku in the coming days. Love you!!
Thursday, May 4, 2006
From top to bottom: (1)Ritva's youngest daughter Beanja celebrating Vappu with a game of chase, (2)tasting Sima (traditional Vappu drink) for the first time, (3)first impressions are not positive, (4)vowing never again to drink (yeah right), (4)the lake continues to unfrost...and the Vappu sunset makes it look even more beautiful.
Hope you all are doing well!! More pictures tomorrow...*mwah*
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Happy May!
This past weekend, all of Finland dropped what they were doing to celebrate the coming of Spring. Along with Summer, Spring is a time that is universally revered in Finland. I think it has something to do with all those long winters;) Anyways, from what I understand from my friends here, it is usually really crappy out for Vappu (Finnish word for May 1st). This year was definitely an exception. I can still say that I have not seen rain (or snow!) while I have been in Finland. On Friday, the skies were blue and the temp. rose to about 15 degrees Celsius (that about 60 degrees for you anti metric system folks). As the weekend went on, the weather got better and better.
This past weekend, all of Finland dropped what they were doing to celebrate the coming of Spring. Along with Summer, Spring is a time that is universally revered in Finland. I think it has something to do with all those long winters;) Anyways, from what I understand from my friends here, it is usually really crappy out for Vappu (Finnish word for May 1st). This year was definitely an exception. I can still say that I have not seen rain (or snow!) while I have been in Finland. On Friday, the skies were blue and the temp. rose to about 15 degrees Celsius (that about 60 degrees for you anti metric system folks). As the weekend went on, the weather got better and better.
On Saturday, I spent most of the day trying to figure out how to use the washing machine in my apartment. As you can imagine, all of the directions were in Finnish. Aside from the directions, I didn't think there was any difference in how this machine ran and how American models run. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't figure out why there was no water going into the machine, which made the machine keep switching into different cycles. I kept hoping that water would eventually come from the pump that was connected to the machine. I really did not want to call anyone from work to come and help me. Call it foolishness, I call it pride. I wanted to be able to do this on my own. Finally I gave up thinking that water was ever going to come, and thinking that this part of the machine was broken, I used water from the shower (which is right next to the washing machine), I started a load. Miraculously, it worked!! I was so proud of myself. I didn't need anyone's help to figure out how to work this machine! This should be the end of the story...alas, I decided to share my triumph with people at work. When they found out what I had done, they almost fell down laughing. There was (and I suppose is) a switch on the water pump that you have to turn in order to get water to come out and into the machine. *sigh* Well whatever.... :)
MOVING ON...I was invited by my friend Ritva to go with her family to a Vappu celebration on Sunday at her friend's house. I was a little nervous about socializing with people I did not know, but the promise of good conversation did not allow me to hesitate. And afterall, it was a great time. Ritva's little girls are really cute, and while they didn't know any English, we managed to get along just fine. Most of the people at the party knew English so conversation was not that difficult. We talked mostly about Vappu traditions and how I was going to spend my time here in Finland. There were tons of other families at the party and much eating and there might have been some drinking as well;) The Finnish have a special drink that they only make on Vappu. Essentially, its brandy or cognac with two kinds of sugar, water, yeast, and lemon. The non-alcoholic version is pretty tasty. That being said, I have to say that Sima (the name of the drink) in its purest form (ie. with alcohol) is pretty nasty stuff. Or at least the stuff I was given was...that's probably a clue right? Lol....
Did I mention that Vappu is a national holiday? Because it is, everyone has the day off...except folks who work in restaurants and bars that is. I spent most of Monday riding around the two lakes surrounding Jyväskylä and than walking around the town center-where many Vappu revellers were hanging out. The center was really crowded, like Little Italy during a St. Ginero (I know I am spelling that wrong...anyone want to bet how many emails I get about this one?) festival. In fact, pedestrianrian street looked a lot like a street fair in New York. Anyone want to buy some socks? Possibly some incense sticks??
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