It's funny... I realized today that as I go through each day and events occur to me, I narrate them in my head as if life were a book. I'm not going to compare my life to a movie nor a TV series, because let's face it, people wouldn't stay tuned in for very long, but I think inside my head there might just be a book hanging out in there somewhere. So after being awake for 8 hours today, this is what I've composed so far...
I woke up at 9am this morning, a little groggy but nothing too serious. I started my morning routine much like any other day: bathroom, make coffee, stir yogurt, check Facebook, etc. Juha got up at the same time and started his own routine: bathroom, check Aamulehti [lit. translation is Morning Paper], drink coffee, eat breakfast, etc. He looked up from his computer at one point to announce that today is supposed to be slippery. Instinctively I told him to drive carefully.
My morning was a little boring but that boredom was necessary to complete some university applications. I had to write something called a degree supplement... basically, European schools are supposed to write this for you so you can send it to schools you apply to after you graduate. Since McGill is not a European school, I had to write my own and ask someone to sign and stamp it. The purpose of the whole thing is to describe the context of the education system in your country and the nature of the degree, program, its structure... etc. I thought it would take me the entire day but it turns out, it wasn't so hard. It just involved some copy+pasting from the McGill website and some linking information. I even found an awesome chart for the Canadian Education system that made me really happy! Click here to see this magical chart which won't actually impress you much.
After finishing the supplement, eating lunch, watching an episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, eating a snack and studying some Finnish, I headed to the university to print off all my application documents and photocopy my passport. Just as I was walking down this little hill on my way, I thought about how I haven't updated my blog. As if by pure coincidence, at that very moment I find myself sliding down this aforementioned hill smack on my butt and I can actually feel the wetness through my pants. Last time I fell, I felt embarrassed. This time I just felt annoyed. I brushed all the snow I could feel off and headed along. So much for driving carefully - try walking carefully when a thin layer of snow covers huge ice patches formed by the recent BLAH weather. This brings me to a new point about Finnish weather, after all the beautiful snow has installed itself all over the city, it has to go somewhere when the weather gets warmer. Since the sewage system can only take so much, once we start dancing around the zero degree mark, we also have to start dancing around pond-sized puddles and deep slush. This exercise and bit of extra caution tends to put people in a bad mood. Understandably since I don't think anyone likes to have their feet wet.
I made it to the university unscathed by any more ice patches, met Juha, printed all my documents and turned them in at the near-by post office. It feels SO good to finally have three-quarters of my applications handed in! Of course, I still need to provide them with proof that I did actually graduate, but I won't be getting my diploma until June 2nd anyway so no point worrying about that. What I am worrying about is my progress in Finnish. I've been learning a ton of words lately but honestly, who wants to discuss how wide, narrow, fat, skinny, long, short, etc, etc, a book, person or day can be? How about food in general? [as if I don't do that enough] Or even the weather... yes, I now am armed with at least a dozen adjectives that relate to weather, seasons and more! So yeah, I learned all those words and many more, but I don't really have active use for them at the moment. I could write some stuff on here but that would involve BEARING my soul to you all AND boring you to death. So for now, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
GO CANADA!!
We had a bunch of friends over last night to watch the game and sadly, disturbed our neighbours, who sent us a message at midnight that the rules indicate that quiet time begins at 22 o'clock and old people live in the building. I guess the TV being on max at midnight gave our youth away...
Sid Kitchen attended the party and made blueberry pancakes for everyone! I made raspberry waffles and TOOK PICTURES!
These little almond-flour waffles almost made me jump for joy and cry because they taste soooo good and are so easy to make. I really wish there were more sporting events to bring friends together and get them to cook for one another like we did last night. However, I guess we don't need a sporting event to do that though... we could just make dinner dates haha. But there was something super awesome about yesterday too and it wasn't JUST the fact that Canada won and everyone skipped home :).
In other news, I AM A MEMBER OF SOMETHING IN FINLAND NOW, and that something is the public library. I strolled in there today and they gave me a library card! Just like that! All I had to do was show my passport. And not only that, but the woman let me speak Finnish with her, and translated when I looked confused [even though Juha was there.] Which was really nice, because often they either speak in Finnish with Juha or in English with me. I took out French, English and learning Finnish books and you can extend the 4 week due date online and I'm so excited!!!
In a less exciting turn of events, it seems that I can't get permanent residency right now after all. We went back to the poliisitoimisto today to see whether you can apply if you have sufficient funds to support yourself and the woman told us everything we already knew, and then discouraged us by adding that we can apply if we want to, for a 45e fee, but SHE wouldn't approve such an application. "Työ on paras." [Employment/work is best.] GAHHH! That was annoying. Juha and I both had to put in effort to be nice to her, especially after she made me feel like crap last time I was there. But what can you do? Either way, I hope to receive acceptance to universities soon and THEN I'll go back and be sure that I'll be approved.
After that fine morning, we ate at the uni and ran into MUTUAL FRIENDS! and put up posters everywhere for my tutoring position. I also applied for an internship today that would be my very first choice for a job this summer! [Global company, summer intern, logistics, Tampere-based!] I'll let you know if I hear back. The deadline was March 31st so I'm early on that so it might take awhile to contact candidates.
I think that's it for now. I'm a little brain-dead from learning too many Finnish words today! >.<
... I just hope I can remember them all tomorrow!
Sid Kitchen attended the party and made blueberry pancakes for everyone! I made raspberry waffles and TOOK PICTURES!
These little almond-flour waffles almost made me jump for joy and cry because they taste soooo good and are so easy to make. I really wish there were more sporting events to bring friends together and get them to cook for one another like we did last night. However, I guess we don't need a sporting event to do that though... we could just make dinner dates haha. But there was something super awesome about yesterday too and it wasn't JUST the fact that Canada won and everyone skipped home :).
In other news, I AM A MEMBER OF SOMETHING IN FINLAND NOW, and that something is the public library. I strolled in there today and they gave me a library card! Just like that! All I had to do was show my passport. And not only that, but the woman let me speak Finnish with her, and translated when I looked confused [even though Juha was there.] Which was really nice, because often they either speak in Finnish with Juha or in English with me. I took out French, English and learning Finnish books and you can extend the 4 week due date online and I'm so excited!!!
In a less exciting turn of events, it seems that I can't get permanent residency right now after all. We went back to the poliisitoimisto today to see whether you can apply if you have sufficient funds to support yourself and the woman told us everything we already knew, and then discouraged us by adding that we can apply if we want to, for a 45e fee, but SHE wouldn't approve such an application. "Työ on paras." [Employment/work is best.] GAHHH! That was annoying. Juha and I both had to put in effort to be nice to her, especially after she made me feel like crap last time I was there. But what can you do? Either way, I hope to receive acceptance to universities soon and THEN I'll go back and be sure that I'll be approved.
After that fine morning, we ate at the uni and ran into MUTUAL FRIENDS! and put up posters everywhere for my tutoring position. I also applied for an internship today that would be my very first choice for a job this summer! [Global company, summer intern, logistics, Tampere-based!] I'll let you know if I hear back. The deadline was March 31st so I'm early on that so it might take awhile to contact candidates.
I think that's it for now. I'm a little brain-dead from learning too many Finnish words today! >.<
... I just hope I can remember them all tomorrow!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
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!
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!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
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...
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...
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
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 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!
Friday, February 19, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, February 15, 2010
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