Shock.

Okay, so, I think it's finally time to write about it: culture shock. I got a burst of inspiration this morning and decided to start talking about it. I've been feeling this shock a lot lately but, well, on one hand broadcasting my feelings over the internet isn't how I usually choose to resolve things. On the other hand, if I had moved to Finland, transitioned into the culture, and learned Finnish within a month, there wouldn't be much point to this blog. Or at least, you'd suddenly find yourself reading about someone you hardly knew anymore. So in the spirit of being a writer, I'm going to try and explain why this topic is such a sensitive one.

When most people think of adjusting somewhere 'exotic' or different, they think of extremes like Japan or Thailand or... I don't know, that's what I think about anyway. I think of the movie "Lost in Translation." [We watched it the other night but since I am my mother's daughter, I slept through most of it.] Now imagine if Bill Murray or Scarlett Johannson hadn't found each other. Then that movie would've been a pretty sad tale. They both would've wandered around Tokyo zombie-like and completely dazed, feeling like an outsider and finding no one to share their story with.

Now I'll let you in on a secret, Finland is not Japan. And after a short time, I can actually read and understand signs. Keskusta is downtown/city center... and other signs indicate the names of different Tampere neighbourhoods. So rule out feeling like lost in translation because we share an alphabet with the Finns and on the most part, similar daily-interactions [with the exception of some funny things I've mentioned now and then.] So all in all, the only real surprise was that I had to change my people-watching manners and stop staring and people on the street. Being looked at straight in the eye makes most Finns uncomfortable. It's not like in Canada or in the States where your eyes meet and you smile to avoid the awkwardness. Here, you look away and pretend that moment didn't exist. It sounds logical at first but it can be quite awkward when you find yourself smiling at strangers and they think you're crazy...

Another aspect of culture shock is the issue of belonging. When you move to a new country, and you don't yet speak the language, you have to adapt and find yourself within a new context. This didn't seem as daunting 1 month ago, but I guess for that, I have the GMAT to thank. But as time has passed and I've met more people here, I find it pretty hard to feel like I fit in. This isn't me being emo; it's me being honest. Now don't get me wrong, I have no regrets about coming here and, like I said, a seamless transition would've been boring for you guys, but it's just a part of the process. In addition to my growing frustration with the poor level of Finnish language education I've encountered so far, is the lack of accessibility to high-quality education. I've heard rumours about good schools, they but don't return my calls! I've come across countless language schools in my area but they involve scrolling through 20 pages of information, in Finnish, about beginner courses. So as of late, I've taken matters into my own hands and decided that independent studying at home, is the way to go until I find someplace to study. I still stand by my own method, but it's not quite the same as a class environment and I'm sort of making my own lesson plans. But I'm not planning any breaks for the weekend. I want to go through the entire "From Start to Finnish" book by the end of March and then move on to an intermediate book. I know I'm capable of doing this, I just need a little push from time to time.

Now I'll let you in on another little secret. I've purposely chosen today to write this very analytical and confident-sounding post because I'm feeling particularly good about the day's events [/crap-ton of things on my to-do list]. But I also have to admit that not every day is like this. And not every day is either good or bad, it's all about moments. Good moments, bad ones, and being aware enough of what could trigger the bad ones in order to control my reactions. This has been really difficult lately.

So all in all, the two main things that are setting me back right now are: language and diet. I've hardly bothered to mention the diet because few people can fully relate but I guess I can devote an extra few sentences to it: picture yourself unable to eat anything and everyone else eating whatever they want. Now put yourself in a foreign country and try to bridge the gap...
As for language, the overall issue and dealing with the sense of belonging is harder for me than for me people. Romanians from Romania recognize my slight English accent and immediately refer to me as Canadian or point out the fact that I don't really belong in Romania. Canadians tend to preserve a sense of pride for their homeland and for this reason, I've always described myself as both Romanian and Canadian [let's not even dwell on the idiocies of being considered Francophone or Anglophone in Quebec]. In Germany, none of the exchange students felt German, but we belonged to a separate community within the university that had its own sense of belonging. And now, well... you tell me.

There is no place else to go but forward!

Huomenta!

Goood morning!
I spent today - so far - sleeping-in and after waking-up, enjoying some coffee with coconut milk and stevia and studying up on my Finnish. So I guess you can tell I'm in a better mood than yesterday and why.

We went to Päivi's for dinner last night after Juha took the Spanish boys ice swimming. Apparently the lake was packed and the door to the sauna was always open because so many people were running in and out - though this didn't affect the temperature inside. It seems we weren't the only ones who decided it would be fun to go ice swimming in -15C weather. (P.S. I didn't go. I walked to Päivi's from home because I hadn't been out yet yesterday so the 2.5 km of fresh air did me some good.) I got to borrow some Finnish children's books and a waffle iron. I can't wait to try out my almond flour waffle recipe! Meanwhile, I have to find vanilla extract in this country... so far, no luck. The liquid version is so rare (or seldom used) that Finns are asking me if that even exists. Seriously, they use vanilla sugar more here.. weird.

So today I have a fridge-full of food to eat, after which I'm kidnapping an apparently zombie-like Anne and bringing her to the grocery store with me! Tonight I have Finnish class at 6:30 and the best part is, I HAVE A CAR FOR THE DAY! This has never happened before, thus the excitement.

There are talks of Andy and Steffy planning a trip to Tampere in mid-April and before that, I'd like to spend a weekend in Jyväskylä visiting Veera. Sadly, I'm sort of broke right now BUT I'm starting up my English tutoring business as we speak so, we'll see if I can gather some students and maybe add €20 to my piggy bank ahah.

Stay tuned for pictures from this past weekend...

Delay.

There's a reason I haven't updated in awhile but anyway, I've been busy. No need for too many details. I finally submitted my application to Aalto University so I'm excited to let them do all the work now while I eagerly wait for their reply, and fill out my Hanken and Jyväskylä applications - only 2 unis with a total of 2 programs left to apply to!

The reason I'm updating now is to vent my frustration about how hard it is to find a Finnish course in Finland. If you speak Finnish, no problem, just browse the web! If you're a permanent citizen, no problem, MOL will hook you up. If you have a Finnish Siamese twin who can translate all the webpages for you, no problem - you're all set to find the information you need. Do you see where I'm going with this?
Please, just for fun, try finding out what this means: http://www.aikuislukio.tampere.fi/Mamukurssit.pdf [without Google translate.]
I did actually look through that long enough [15 seconds] to figure out that their introductory courses were in the fall. So I missed out. Now there are only 10 other webpages just like that...

So in order to ease my worries, I've mostly just decided to keep attending twice-a-week Työväenopisto course and do some independent learning. Not 100% sure how this is gonna play out but I have to start somewhere...

Going to Päivi's for dinner tonight!

The results are in...

Scaled Score/Percentile
Quantitative [aka. Math]: 40/58
Verbal: 38/83
Total: 650/79
**BREAKING NEWS** AWA (Analytical writing assessment): 6.0 out of 6.0

Boo yeah.!

[Total scores are between 200-800 and I needed minimum 550!]


Since getting home from Helsinki [Big thank you to my gracious hosts Matti&Anne!] I've just been really tired/working on my applications due next week/went shopping! Veera should be here in a little while and Xevi and Jose are arriving tomorrow. I hope to have pictures from our housewarming party up afterward AND this upcoming week and weekend!

New focus: get into university and learn Finnish.

GMAT.

Only 36 hours left until it's over!

Photo credits: not mine.

Oops.

Dear readers,
My apologies for having neglected you for the past week. I've been studying for the GMAT and getting into a slightly more intense mode than the weeks leading up to this one. I recently purchased a pack of 5 full-length GMATS which I completed over the course of a week or two, in various degrees of intensity. First in chunks and, more recently, all together. I also woke up at 7am today in an attempt to mimic this Wednesday's course of events. So yes, I do think that sufficient rest is important on GMAT day.

If that wasn't the most proper and uptight paragraph on this blog, I don't know which is!

Anyway, I didn't do anything too interesting last week. I went to class Tuesday and Thursday and put up with horrible teaching on Monday and Thursday night class. [The one really fun thing we did in morning class on Thursday was make Valentine's Day cards for our friends! I made 3 and an impromptu on a coaster that evening at Pub Quiz.] Please don't ask me how my Finnish is - it's on hold. Saturday was the infamous kyykkä world championship, for which Juha awoke at 6:45am and proceeded to drink and play the day away until about 9pm. I did a practice GMAT so I didn't get a chance to witness the event [sadly.] Then I went shopping and treated myself to a new sweater and shirt from H&M. I'm likely going back today for a hat! [They're having sales until Wednesday! ...yes, this excites me.]

Sunday was ystävänpäivä [=friends' day] or as we know it in Canada, Valentine's day. Juha had to work so I kept him company and then after his shift ended we checked out 2h+k [a restaurant/bar] because I heard they had an amazing goat cheese salad.
Oh.my.god. I've never had a goat cheese salad before and this was DIVINE. Apart from the fact that it wasn't very filling, the cheese was incredible. I'd really like to go there again... or even start making my own goat cheese salads at home. Why not? I've been making salads all over the place for the past 2 weeks anyway!. Speaking of which, today is day 14 of my diet! The past few days I've been cheating without cheating and eating a bit too much of the foods that I CAN eat but shouldn't be eating all the time so, I gotta lay off on the bananas.
BUT speaking of bananas, I made a Kenyan breakfast this morning [yes, at 7am.] [I hope Amos isn't laughing at me.] It's called plantains in coconut milk and it tasted quite delicious. I think I made it right but definitely think I could've enjoyed it more had I not been afraid that it was too sweet for what I'm allowed after every bite. Either way, it was fun to make and I didn't even mind waking up so early to do it [before GMAT start time.]

Today! I want to register as an official searcher of employment at the employment office, and go buy that hat. Ah yes, and study. And go to my evening class and visit Juha's dad tonight, who's in town from China.

Tomorrow, I'm off to Helsinki to write the GMAT and stay with Matti and Anne!
Wednesday around 12:30pm, I'll be done the GMAT!

And some more randomness that doesn't fit anywhere in the illogical flow above...
- Juha and I are planning a trip to Romania for Easter this year. I'm pretty sure we're buying tickets tonight! April 2nd - 6th: Bucharest and Galati.
- Our housewarming party is next weekend and I can't wait to see our guests bestowed with out-of-town/out-of-country honour: Veera, Essi/Xevi, Jose.
- I called University of Admissions Finland and they received my application AND my supplements so one of my apps is complete and I can sleep better at night. [Next deadline is Feb. 26th.]

So yes, lots to look forward to.

Night class.

Bad news. My Mon/Thurs night teacher hurt her back and she might be out for awhile. We had a replacement on Monday and she was completely clueless. According to her, "the worst case scenario is that she stays on as our teacher for the rest of the session" aka until April.

Right now, I think almost anyone in the class can stand up and teach better than she did on Monday. Hopefully she'll be more prepared on Thursday or I'm just going to be really upset.

GMAT is in less than a week. After which I'm going to start the job search and put a lot more effort into my Finnish... and to do that I'll either have to study on my own or find new language schools. We'll see... there's a whole thing with registering to look for employment and unemployment grants that let you take language courses but I'm not currently eligible for this.

Averie got me obsessed with this song: Iron and Wine "The Boy with the Coin"

We might cook something tonight... maybe I'll take some pictures!

Food. TGFWW [Thank God for WokWok.]

So as some of you may know, I've been on a really, really restrictive health diet [seriously, half the grocery store of off-limits. And why would you put hair mousse in the candy isle? It's just cruel...] since Tuesday. The whole thing has basically taken over my life. I have to plan meals in advance and have to think up new meal ideas all the time. When I do finally know what I want to eat, I have to go grocery shopping because the whole thing involves a crap-ton of fresh vegetables. Even when I try to by "in bulk" [aka. 6 tomatoes instead of 3] I just end up eating everything. Point being, I can't eat at restaurants. And I was getting pretty bummed out about it UNTIL a friend [Heikki!] suggested I go to Wokwok [check them out www.wokwok.fi ]. I'd been to this place before but never under such picky pretenses. First of all, they use really healthy products to make amazing food... so nothing fake in there. Second of all, you get to customize your meal so I could rule out the noodles, have brown rice or pick a vegetable based 'box.' Third of all, they're super allergy friendly (which helped me a lot) so we basically had a consultation before she made the dish and we made suggestions back and forth about what to have/not have it include. Fourth of all, the people working there are really friendly and patient so she wasn't annoyed that I had like 40 different requirements. And fourth but not least, the portions are large AND in charge so I have more than enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

So yes, this made me week... and by week I mean Tuesday to Sunday!
And yes, I did blog 3 times today!

Sarvikuono.

So the other day, when Juha and I were both still a little sick, Juha came across something he calls the Rhinoceros [Sarvikuono in Finnish]. I was a little uneasy with the whole idea but I basically decided to just suck it up and try it.
What you do is fill it with sea salt and warm water and let it dissolve. The salt is supposed to be proportionate to the ratio of salt in your blood stream. You then hold your chin diagonally downward and tilt the Rhino up your nose. Breathe through your mouth and you'll slowly feel the salt water flow up through your nose and out your other nostril. It's a pretty weird feeling. You have to blow your nose 4 different ways to get the water out but I felt pretty good after!
Last week, after this little ditty, I saw the Rhino at the health food store so I guess it's just a natural way of cleaning out your nose haha. [Although it's best not used with a stuffy nose.] So yes, just something a little different.

Flat.

I know a lot of you have been waiting patiently, more or less, to see the apartment so... here it is!

Front Hall and Living Room:


More Living Room and Kitchen:

Bathroom and Sauna:


Bedroom:

Balcony:


A ghost?

News! Uutiset!

Alright so:

- I took pictures of the flat, finally! I'll upload them asap.
- I made some amazing food today and took pictures of that too. Oh my god, soooo good!
- We're officially getting internet on February 12th because DNA doesn't have service in our area so they get it from Elisa and sell it under their own name. So we wait...
- GMAT studying is not going so well... I CAN do the math but when you add the time constraint, my results plummet and I sort of crap out. So I might skip school next week and focus on that.

I'll post pictures soon!
<3.

Virus.

Good day chaps!

It seems I have fallen rather ill due to the recent cold weather and the equally poor health of my poikakaveri. But don't tell my grandparents, they'll only get worries. I'm fiiiine. Just using up lots of tissues and doing lots of sitting on couch and attempts at GMAT studying. On the bright side, I'd rather get sick now instead of AT GMAT TIME... oh God... that would suck.

So I found out today that it is legal in Finland to ask for sex instead of rent. Yet prostitution is illegal... but I guess it depends who's asking who for what... It's unclear to me whether sex can be OFFERED instead of rent...
Anyway, I have no idea what the details are. But here's an article in Finnish to clear up all your questions: Finnlink
and the attempt at an English translation: here.

In other news, I am going out for lunch today. That's right. I may be inflicting my germs on the innocent. But it's okay. I don't plan on getting too close. And I've pretty much mastered the elbow-cough. I actually had two med students compliment me on it a few months ago. So there that is: keeping the germ-free germ-free!

Yesterday I watched the Thomas Crown Affair, The Bourne Supremacy and Vicky Christina Barcelona. Today... I haven't decided.
Someone make me soup?