It is still pretty cold in Finland, but the weather is getting better. It is getting closer to 0. Last weekend I finally did something that was weather related. We went ice skating! This was the first time in my life that I could go ice-skating outside on a not man-made ice skating range. It was a lot of fun! The Finnish students that came with us (by us I mean exchange students) were really good at it, and I found out that's because ice skating is compulsory in primary school! So they all know how to work the ice. I have to admit I was a little jealous. I want to be able to make a pirouette too! But I guess that would take a lot of training!
This week me and Anne, the other Dutch intern from SOTEPO (the social services and health care faculty of SAMK) set up a get together for the students in Rauma and in Pori. In the International Week 11-15 April we will be organizing the International Café, which is basically an event where the Finnish get a chance to talk to the International Students about their home country and home institution over a cup of coffee and a country-specific snack. The get together was really nice; I always enjoy spending time with the exchange students and getting to know them better!
Other than this it has been a quiet week again. I'm leaving for America tonight so I'll be gone for two weeks! I'll try to put in some new entries in my blog there, but I'm not sure if I'll have the time. Either way, talk to you soon Finland :)
Friday, 18 March 2011
Friday, 11 March 2011
finni.. finaly I mean :)
I got invited to some kind of bar-hunt today. Appareantly it is a tradition for after school ends, after you get your degree, to get a 'degree' in the different bars. It's not until the end of April but it should be fun! It will be nice to do something that is typically Finnish. At least I'm guessing it is!
I've also finally started to make some Finnish friends. It was really hard because unlike the exchange students, I didn't have a Finnish tutor and thus 'a way in' to the culture. I have to say though that everyone at work has been really helpfull. But it is really nice to get to know some Finnish people my age, so I'm excited for that!
I don't have much to say this time, but I'm sure there will be more soon :).
I've also finally started to make some Finnish friends. It was really hard because unlike the exchange students, I didn't have a Finnish tutor and thus 'a way in' to the culture. I have to say though that everyone at work has been really helpfull. But it is really nice to get to know some Finnish people my age, so I'm excited for that!
I don't have much to say this time, but I'm sure there will be more soon :).
Monday, 7 March 2011
I'm not good with titles.
Poor a little bit of alcohol in them and all borders vanish. I think that sentence says it all. In my opinion the Finnish people pretty much keep to themselves. It's in a way hard to make Finnish friends, when you don't have that one thing in common that 'binds' you (e.g. work or school). The weekend before last I decided to join some exchange students and the other Dutch intern to a club. I'm not much of a partier so I usually don't go out, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to spent some time with my friends and to talk to some Finnish people.
Apart from the fact that every drink was insanely expensive, I have to say that the club was excellent, so kudos to Finland for that. It looked really nice, there were different rooms with different music and they even had a smoking area.
I ended up talking to some Finnish guys who, after some alcohol, were surprisingly talkative. Sadly, my interest in their culture and country was quickly mistaken for interest in them, so I had to cut the conversation short and go back to my friends.
The interesting thing though was, that they were soldiers. Or marines, one of both. Here in Finland you are obliged to go in the army, or as alternative you can choose to do some kind of social work (I think) for a longer period of time. This thought kind of scares me because I'm not big on armies and wars and things like that, plus, it's pretty much a foreign concept to me. In the Netherlands there hasn't been conscription since 1996. I was 7 in 1996, so I can't remember that. In my mind, I've grown up in a country where the army is optional and not compulsory in any way. Which then again also means that I don't have a lot of contact with 'the army'. I'm not confronted with it in daily life and I pretty much have no friends that joined the army. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that conscription is intimidating to me.
I would think that if you were obliged to 'fight for your country', that would make you kind of cranky. I think if I would HAVE to go in the army and didn't have a choice that I would be mad about it, and really negative towards the whole concept. However, this is not the case. The guys that I did talk to were proud to serve their country, and they said they would die for it. A nationalistic sound that I'm used to from America, but hadn't expect to find here. Well, for what it's worth, I'm proud of them for being proud.
I'm a little late with this blog, I was supposed to post it on Friday but I forgot. I guess the main reason I forgot is, because my dad arrived here in Pori on Friday. He's staying for a week and he came just for me.
On Saturday we walked around Pori and we pretty much saw all there was to see, and we took some pretty good pictures. A whole day of walking was more tiring than usual.
I think the ice has to do with it as well. Temperature went up, which means that during the day the snow melts, and during the night the melted snow freezes, leaving an ice paradise for the morning after. It makes it pretty impossible to walk really, and I can't even think of cycling. I must admit it makes me feel kind of stupid if I'm slowly tip-topping across the ice, only to be passed by someone elderly. It's good that the Fins are used to this and know how to walk it, but I wish I was too. I've only fallen twice since I've lived here, so it's not too bad. I'm clumsy anyway so I would have probably fallen had there not been ice and snow.
But I'm ready for the spring now! I'd like to see what Pori looks like in green, I can't even imagine all the snow to be gone, it'll be a whole new world!
Apart from the fact that every drink was insanely expensive, I have to say that the club was excellent, so kudos to Finland for that. It looked really nice, there were different rooms with different music and they even had a smoking area.
I ended up talking to some Finnish guys who, after some alcohol, were surprisingly talkative. Sadly, my interest in their culture and country was quickly mistaken for interest in them, so I had to cut the conversation short and go back to my friends.
The interesting thing though was, that they were soldiers. Or marines, one of both. Here in Finland you are obliged to go in the army, or as alternative you can choose to do some kind of social work (I think) for a longer period of time. This thought kind of scares me because I'm not big on armies and wars and things like that, plus, it's pretty much a foreign concept to me. In the Netherlands there hasn't been conscription since 1996. I was 7 in 1996, so I can't remember that. In my mind, I've grown up in a country where the army is optional and not compulsory in any way. Which then again also means that I don't have a lot of contact with 'the army'. I'm not confronted with it in daily life and I pretty much have no friends that joined the army. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that conscription is intimidating to me.
I would think that if you were obliged to 'fight for your country', that would make you kind of cranky. I think if I would HAVE to go in the army and didn't have a choice that I would be mad about it, and really negative towards the whole concept. However, this is not the case. The guys that I did talk to were proud to serve their country, and they said they would die for it. A nationalistic sound that I'm used to from America, but hadn't expect to find here. Well, for what it's worth, I'm proud of them for being proud.
I'm a little late with this blog, I was supposed to post it on Friday but I forgot. I guess the main reason I forgot is, because my dad arrived here in Pori on Friday. He's staying for a week and he came just for me.
On Saturday we walked around Pori and we pretty much saw all there was to see, and we took some pretty good pictures. A whole day of walking was more tiring than usual.
I think the ice has to do with it as well. Temperature went up, which means that during the day the snow melts, and during the night the melted snow freezes, leaving an ice paradise for the morning after. It makes it pretty impossible to walk really, and I can't even think of cycling. I must admit it makes me feel kind of stupid if I'm slowly tip-topping across the ice, only to be passed by someone elderly. It's good that the Fins are used to this and know how to walk it, but I wish I was too. I've only fallen twice since I've lived here, so it's not too bad. I'm clumsy anyway so I would have probably fallen had there not been ice and snow.
But I'm ready for the spring now! I'd like to see what Pori looks like in green, I can't even imagine all the snow to be gone, it'll be a whole new world!
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