Coming back "home"

Coming back to your home after living 6 months abroad is... well, weird. Although it doesn’t seem like that long, a lot has happened within that time: I’ve changed. It’s an odd feeling: you’re still the same person your parents and your friends back home knew before you left... but there’s a part of you that just completely transformed.You learn so many things about life and yourself, so many things has happened to you... There’s a part of you that will never remain the same.

Think about it. You fly overseas for the very first time, to a continent you’ve only heard about, you move out of your parents’ home for the first time, you go to a completely foreign country whose culture is pretty much unknown AND you don’t speak either official languages. You’re alone in an environment completely different from anything you’ve ever known. That being said, you’d have to be as resourceful as you can, think fast on your feet, and get over that awkward feeling of asking for help. Finland has their own system for a lot of things so I had to learn pretty quickly. When I stopped by London on my way back, I just had the most odd feeling ever. I just felt that everything was so... easy. You wanted to ask for directions? Just ask anybody: EVERYONE speaks English. You can read signs and figure your way out no problem. This isn’t the case for, Finland. Although Turku is a university town, not everyone there speaks English, and pretty much everything is in Finnish. If you’re lucky some of it might be in Swedish and so you can more or less guess what they say. I’ve had to figure out what some signs mean, how to buy the vegetables in the grocery store, which street is where, etc. I’ve had to make educated guesses, fully develop my knowledge in semiotics as well as non-verbal communication. It can be quite exhausting, but once you’ve done it everyday for 6 months, you don’t notice it anymore, it just becomes automatic... So on my way back, both in London and Montreal, it was a weird feeling for me to be able to understand everything. So weird that it was hard for me not to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations because I understood everything.

Once I came back to Montreal, I guess I had a bit of a shock. After tasting 6 months of complete freedom, it was difficult for me to come back to my parents’ house and abide by their rules. It was difficult for me to know that I can’t be downtown in the middle of the night as often because Montreal’s commuting system kinda sucks. It was difficult for me to get back to a workaholic society who always seems pressed for time... Still, it was nice to come back to a city booming with arts and culture- surely, you must have heard about AT LEAST one of our festivals; and being somewhat of a foodie, I enjoyed getting variety on my palate once again, tasting authentic cuisines that were both local (i.e. poutines) and exotic (Korean).

Look at that miracle: I had a mango bingsu (left) and green tea bingsu (right). It's a Korean dessert. I think it's called "Shaved ice" in English.

Eurotrip #1

I went on a small eurotrip-10 days- in the end of May. I went to Gdansk, Bergen,Oslo- though very briefly- and Munich. Each city has its perks, like always, but there were some that I liked a lot more than others. I’ll give you guys some tricks I picked up in this trip at the end of this post.

Gdansk (Poland)

Located in the northern part of Poland, this tiny town was pretty but it didn’t do that much for me. Probably because I arrived during off-season and I wasn’t that into it to begin with. To be honest, I went there mainly because everyone did- so peer pressure- and because it was just so cheap.

So what did I do?

I mainly wandered around the tiny city for the first day and ate in restaurants with a friend. We came back to the hostel pretty early because there wasn't that much to do, probably because we were really off-season. On the second day, we went to Westerplatte, a memorial site for WWII, which was really interesting. I highly recommend it to anyone coming to Gdansk, you need to take the tram to get there, but it’s worth it. Afterwards, we went to a museum and had a really nice tour guide, so nice that she even offered to give us a ride back to the city center and recommended us to some restaurants. After supper, we just shared some drinks with some friends at a pub 2 steps away from our hostel. It was nice to have drinks that didn’t make your wallet bleed.

Personally, I didn't really care much for Gdansk, and given the atmosphere, the weather and other circumstances, I unfortunately didn't enjoy it as much as I did the other destinations. Maybe once I develop further interest for Poland, I would go back for a day or two and appreciate it more, during the high season maybe? For now, I’m more into Germanic and Nordic/Scandinavian countries.

View on top of the Westerplatte

Westerplatte

Bergen (Norway)

First thing I saw when I arrived in Bergen

I basically had to wake up at 3-4 AM in order to catch my flight to Bergen at 7AM. (It was amazing that the flight cost me less than 25 euros.) The connection to the city center was really good; I stopped right in front of the fish market at around a little before 9 AM.

Neighbourhood I was living in

I was supposed to meet up with a friend 10 hours later, so I pretty much had all day to wander around Bergen. What I didn’t know when I booked the tickets was that I arrived on a national holiday, so most of the stores and supermarkets were closed. So the city was pretty dead except for the tourist attractions. Also, all the hostels downtown were booked and I wasn’t able to find anyone to host my friend and I for couchsurfing. Actually we did find one, but that person lived at least an hour away from the city and we figured it was just too complicated. So, what we did was rent an apartment about 15 minutes away from the city center by lightrail/bybanen. It’s amazingly efficient, comfortable, smooth, modern and every commuter’s dream. Of course, we had to pay around 31 NOK everytime, but it was worth it. I think it’s really nice to get away from the downtown area once in a while. Like that, you get to see other parts of the city and have a better feel of how to be a local.

View from my balcony

Every commuter's dream: bybanen

 


Bergen is absolutely beautiful and I really liked it. I was also extremely lucky since I came in the perfect timing: I came in the middle of two festivals- The Bergen International Festival and the Jazz Festival-; and with fantastic weather: I was 4-5 days in Bergen and it was 15-20 degrees with blue skies the whole time, something extremely rare considering it rains at least 200 days a year. Talk about insane luck.

So what can you do once you’re in Bergen?

1.       Go up Mount Floyen (I would recommend walking all the way to the top intead of taking the funicular, especially if the weather is beautiful).

2.       Visit the Fish Market

3.       Wander around the city center, see if there are any festivals or activities happening.

4.       Go shopping (if you’re loaded)

5.       Visit some interactive museums

These are all pictures taken of Bergen on top of Mount Floyen:

Before flying to Munich, I opted for a train ride from Bergen to Oslo. Yes it lasts nearly 7 hours, but it was worth it. I got the idea from reading stuff to do in Norway and everyone seemed to love it. It was supposed to be one of the most beautiful railways in Europe. AND IT IS! The first and last hours are okay, but it’s really nice in between. You see the landscape change before your eyes: beautiful lakes to summer mountains, to winter ones, back to lakes and waterfalls and farmlands. It’s really something, especially around Voss. I upgraded a bit from the normal wagon to one that had bigger windows and more leg room (not like I needed it but it was still nice). It was maybe 10 euros extra? But totally worth it. I highly recommend everyone to do it if they get a chance.

Look at that reflection in the water...

A Farmland

Somewhere in Oslo

I arrived to Oslo a bit later than I thought so I had less time to discover the city. I had maybe 2 hours to walk as much as possible around the city? I managed to see some of it and, of course, the sun was still shining. Flowers were blooming everywhere and everything looked beautiful. It was also nice to have some sort of crowd, some urban life to a city.

And then I fled to Munich

Munich (Germany)

The flight to Germany was smooth. It was once I got there that and had to find my host’s apartment that things got a bit tricky. I took close to 3 hours from the airport to the apartment because I was so confused as to how the transportation worked. Luckily I was a
ble to ask around every step of the way, both in English and German, so I was able to get there safely. I was mainly going back and forth in the S-Bahn because it didn’t stop at some stations at night. I didn’t know that so I went too far and back… ouf.

To be honest, I was pretty nervous about this. It was my first time really travelling alone and surfing at a stranger’s apartment. Add that to the fact that I’m a female alone at night, things can get a bit scary. Still, I managed to shut my fear out brave my way through there.

Munich comes to a very close second after Copenhagen in being my favourite city. Not only is it beautiful, it’s also just so rich in history- with the dark Nazi past and all. The Nazis knew that Munich would be destroyed in the Second World War, so they drew as many sketches as the could in order to rebuild it as it was before once it was destroyed. What I also like about the city is that, unlike Berlin where there is just this huge memorial for the Jews in WWII, there are subtle reminders here and there all around the city. For instance, there is a plaque right in front of a store commemorating a Jewish family during the holocaust.

And this is part of the path Nazi victims took in order to avoid the Nazi monument that was round the corner, where they had to do the Nazi salute:

So yeah, the city decided this would be more effective and educational since it actually takes effort to think about it and figure it out. People have to research about- like I just did to write this blog- to know what it means. Since it’s all around the city, it’s harder to forget and disrespect rather than if it were really ostentatious at one place. You can’t just forget about it and go about your day.

On the second day, I decided to go visit the first Nazi-German concentration camp: Dachau. It was very heavy and emotional, but I really believe that it’s something everyone should see. You learn about so many atrocities, the history, the humiliation. What we read in history books were nothing but Disney versions of that era, so many things were left out. I walked in the barracks, the cells, and even the gas chambers. Just being there made me so uncomfortable and claustrophobic. But I don’t regret going there at all. I can’t imagine living in such conditions for years. I felt like shit within 2 minutes, imagine years. In other words, Dachau is a very dark but necessary must-see in Munich.

English Garden

So, what I did in Munich?

1.       Free walking tour!!!

2.       Visit English Gardens

3.       Caught a glimpse of the Ludwig-Maximilians Universitet (it was my 3^rd choice for exchange!)

4.       Wander around Hofbrauhaus

5.       Went up the old St-Peter’s to see the view from up top ( I must warn you, it’s one heck of a climb… it’s the equivalent of climbing up 14 flights of stairs)

6.       Visit the market place

Pimpin' around in BMW World

7.       Visit Dachau concentration camp

8.       BMW Welt (I’m not a car person at all but I must admit it was pretty impressive and fun)

9.       Olympic Stadium and Park

10.   Drink delicious heavenly Bavarian beer

What I will be doing next time I’m in Munich

1.       Go on the Third Reich Tour

2.       BMW museum

3.       Deutches Museum

4.       Get a massive beer at the Hofbrauhaus

5.       Neuschwanstein Schloss (Castle)

6.       Try some Weiss and BratWurst

7.       Try on some Bavarian costumes and take a picture with a man wearing Lederhosen
 

I only spent 2 full days there and it was unfortunate that many things closed so early. I will definitely go back there once I get the chance.

I'll leave you with a vid of hot Bavarian men surfing in the English Gardens.

Some tips when you’re traveling for 10 days straight on a tight budget (that's just how I would work. It's up to you to take my tips or not, everyone has different tastes and travels differently so don't just take my word for it):

1.       Check for free walking tours.

These tours are just so amazing and are based on tips. So, obviously, the tour guide is generally outstanding. The tour itself lasts about 3 hours but it gives a great overview of the city. Learn about history, good places to eat that don’t bleed out your wallet and such.

2.       Get a map.

Unless you’re in London where the map costs about 6 CAD (what a freakin ripoff), airports offer great city maps. I like maps because I don’t have google maps on my phone and I’m just that old school. Some places offer amazing ones (Copenhagen for example) with landmarks and good places to eat. They are really useful if you want to make the best out of your trip without getting lost.

3.       Don’t be afraid to ask for directions.

Seriously, there’s nothing wrong with that. You can be smart, suck up your pride and be somewhere in 5 minutes instead of wandering around like an idiot for 30. Also ask some info desk guy (either at the airport or the tourist info) about how to get to a destination and have them point it on a map. It’ll just make your life easier.

4.       Learn the language (or try).

Not everyone speaks English. I went to Munich, a pretty big city and even within downtown, I had to speak some German to order food and ask for directions. It’s not a must, but it’s just easier.

5.       Do your research and plan your stay.

Don’t plan every single minute of the day and be super rigid- plans change all the time. But do some research to avoid wasting time. Wandering around aimlessly is nice, but when you’re crunching for time, you need a plan. Though worst comes to worst,  go visit the tourist information center. These places offer great maps and give you really good suggestions for what to do in the city if you run out of ideas. Unless you already have everything planned out, you should go there.

6.       Get a phone/device that lets you have access to wifi.

 I was planning my stay in Munich while I was in Gdansk, looking at websites like tripadvisor. Or sometimes you need to check something like your mail, check in online for your next flight, etc.

7.       Eat well and buy food in supermarkets.

Buying food in supermarkets helps you save money and gives you more choices in foods, giving you more opportunities in eating well/healthy. Your body needs fruits and vitamins. You can eat cheap food from 7/11 for so long before your body feels like shit. When you feel like shit, you feel lazy and won’t enjoy the awesome city you’re in.

8.       Don’t be afraid, challenge yourself. You will be pleasantly surprised.

This may sound kinda stupid but it’s true. When I get nervous, I tend to overthink everything: what happens if I get lost? Will I get to my destination safely? Will I get raped? What do I do if something happens to me? Etc. The best thing to do is to just shut those voices in your head. You gotta force yourself to or else you become paranoid. Once you manage through this, you’ll be so proud of yourself you have no idea.

9.       Be smart.

Seriously, just use your brain. If you don’t feel (reasonably) safe doing something or going somewhere, just don’t go. There are other things to do/see. There’s always something or other ways. Challenge yourself, but do remember to use your common sense.

10.   Be frugal, but don’t be a hobo.

Save up where you can to go do some activities. Sure, there’s always some free stuff to do like wander the streets and visit the local markets or even check out some museums. But some things are really worth doing if you spend a little extra money here and there. For instance, the Dachau tour cost me 17 euros, but it was totally worth it because it’s not something you can see anywhere else. Basically, save your money, but try to spend a little for yourself too.


So until you decide to move your ass to Europe, I say:

Okrzyki, Skål and Prost.

I left my heart in Copenhagen

I planned going to Copenhagen in mid-May for about 4 days, it was just enough. There is so much to do and see in this city, it's crazy. I love this city so much that it became my favourite place. EVAR.

Here's why.

3. The different neighbourhoods.

Yes, Copenhagen is relatively big, but everything is pretty walkable: all you need is a good pair of shoes a small day pack and you're set. Even if I was staying downtown, I was still able to roam around the city and have a better feel of it. I went to Norrebro, northern part of the city which mainly consists of shish taouk, kebab and shawarma restaurants; students; and bike shops. I kinda like it since it's pretty artsy in its own way. I also went to Westerbro, the red light district, which isn't really that dangerous or filthy. It also consisted of many Asian restaurants, namely Thai. Frederiksberg, which, I have to admit, is pretty far from the city- but still walkable. It took me about an hour to get to the King's Gardens, which is insanely picturesque.It's a calm, peaceful upscale neighbourhood filled with pretty well-off families.
And, finally, I when to Christianshavn, also home of Christania. There's a nice harbour and Christania is basically a place where weed trafficking and other things happen. The food's not bad though. It's not dangerous or anything, as one might suspect. Definitely worth visiting despite it all.

2. There is so much to do in the city
Seriously, I've wandered around the city for almost 4 days and it was JUST ENOUGH to see/do everything that was worthwhile. You can:
Have fun in Tivoli. It's the second oldest amusement park in the world. I only spent an hour there but it was pretty awesome. I highly suggest doing it in the night tie as everything lights up and it's pretty damn magical.

More of a shopping type? Go to the Stroget pedestrian street. It's actually pretty cool. Not only are there tons of shops, but there's also some performers and nice landmarks along the way. And there's a huge Lego shop, another reason to go there.

1.The people themselves
The city was amazing but what really blew my mind was the people. They seriously got it all: super friendly, athletic, good looking, stylish, happiness... Seriously. It felt kinda good for once that the people were extroverted- as opposed to Finland- and willing to joke around, smile, and help you just because. Was it because they just hosted the Eurovision this year? I don't know. You really have to come to Denmark and see how the people are. I've never seen anything like it, it's amazing.

Side story:
There was this outside concert happening- the promotion for the Wonderfestiwall- on my last night in Copenhagen, also happened to be right next to my hostel. I was wandering around the city with a girl I just met on that day. We heard music and gravitated there. I guess we were a bit awkward but wanted to have fun. A group a Danes just decided to include us into their group and offered us beer and chips, asked where we were from and etc. How awesome is that?



A few things I noticed:
They have a thing for mermaids. (The Little Mermaid is just OK. Go see it if you have time, but if you're crunching for time, just skip to other things. Copenhagen is FILLED with cool stuff)
Carlsberg is Danish.
And so is Hans Christian Andersen
Danish bikers are pretty damn aggressive. As my tour guide said, they're the most chilled out, relax ad nicest people you'll ever meet. But once they go on their bikes, something just snaps. They're so aggressive even drivers are afraid of them. Is it because they're competing against the Netherlands to become the #1 biking city in the world? I'm just speculating. Read more about their bike culture here.
Yes, Copenhagen is expensive, but there's always a certain quality involved. For instance, in restaurants, yes the meals can be expensive-unless you're eating shawarma-, but it tastes so good and the portions are super generous. You get your bang for the buck. (Maybe I've been living in Finland for too long and haven't been exposed to real food for so long. That might be why everything tasted so heavenly.)
Did I mention the Danes were attractive?
Everyone speaks English. Perfectly.
Denmark is super flat, so if you're looking for hills and mountains to hike, this certainly ain't the place.
They're the happiest country in the world-if I'm mistaken, they're still pretty up there- and it shows. I can't imagine an angry Dane off their bike.

Anyways, I'm for sure gonna come back. I just watched the Lego Movie and I have to go to Legoland. Once I'm done with reliving my childhood in Bilund, I'll be running back there.
Till then, I absolutely encourage everyone to go there (yeah, I know I made everyone save their money to go to Norway in my previous post, but Denmark is slightly cheaper. You can go there while you save up your cash for the richest country in the world).

Skål

PS: Vikings used to drink from their enemies' skull, hence "skål". Cool isn't it?

Traveling to Medieval Europe

So, Tallinn.

To be honest, I've never really thought about going there until a friend of mine asked me to join them. They needed a 4th person to share a cabin on the ferry (though it turned out we didn't really get one, but wtv). And then I thought: Meh, why not? A cheap trip to Estonia wouldn't hurt.

I didn't really expect that much, especially from a country that I barely heard of, one that I only associate with alcohol at a bargain price and pretty coloured houses.

What really charmed me over was the medieval feel of the city. Tallinn still has parts of it fortress still up and a part of it is a museum, Kiek in de kök. I'm not much of a museum person, in fact I kinda find them boring, but this one was pretty cool. I had a tour guide, which really helped. It wasn't your typical "encased in glass artifact with a ridiculously long description that make you want to kill yourself out of boredom" sort of museum, it was pretty interactive. We had some pretty interesting videos and walked in the tunnels dating back from the 16th century (I think) and learned about the different uses it had during different periods. In other words, although I was skeptical at first, I kinda enjoyed it.

The medieval atmosphere is not only found in the architecture, but with the people themselves. You would find a girl (complete in medieval attire) selling roasted nuts on handcarts. Almost all of the restaurants had a medieval theme as well, with the waiting staff dressed in costumes from head to toe, with the cutlery and menus and everything. Basically, Estonians took their main tourist attraction extremely seriously, and it paid off.

I mainly visited the old part of Tallinn, not so much the more urban, modern part except for parks and gardens. So I can't say that much about the city as a whole. Still, I had a pretty good time.

If ever you guys want to have trip to the Baltics, head to Tallinn and you'll be charmed.

Until next time,

Terviseks

Having fun in the Arctic Circle

Woah, this post came by a lot later than I thought I would. Keeping this blog is getting harder as time passes by... Or am I just getting lazy? Meh.

So, about Lapland. What can I say? It is just the absolute best trip that I've had so far. Seriously. Here are the main reasons why.

The weather
Yeah I know, it sounds pretty random but trust me, the climate influences your mood so much. Fortunately, it was basically perfect during the whole time I was there: blue skies with perfect temperature. Cold, but not freeze your balls-off cold (like -35/40°C), but pleasantly cold like -10°Cish. When it's super sunny and warm, you're just happy and want to do everything.

The people
I was placed in the biggest cottage, the one made for 14 people. To be honest, I was kinda fearful if I was gonna get along with the other people in the cottage, I only knew a few people there. But, lo and behold, I got along with everyone so well. I developed new friendships and had a fantastic time. Everyone was just so friendly and happy. I have nothing but good memories from all of the people I've met, not only the ones in my cottage, but the whole group in general. And that's super rare.

The activities
Everything was super well organized and I really loved my guide. He was just so cool: had a great sense of humour, forthcoming and knowledgeable about everything. He was just awesome.

As for the activities, I'll just write them in order of preference, leading from awesome to legendary.

3. Snowshoeing in the night and sledding down the highest hill for toboggans in all of Europe, it being 1,2km high. It took quite a while to walk up that hill, but it was pretty worth it. I actually did the whole thing twice (well, almost: I crashed into a net and injured my ankle pretty bad the second time. I didn't want to end up in the hospital and the end was near anyway). We had some sort of relay-race with snowshoes and it was really fun. Cuz, you know, falling in the snow and having your snowshoes unbuckled is so much fun (it didn't happen to me cuz I'm Canadian). We did it at night and we went up the hill with them. We had really nice views of the town up top and it was so calming. When we were on top of the hill, we had to sled down. In the middle of the night. After that we moved to a hut and barbecued some sausages.

Personally, I found the sledding a bit stupid because it's ridiculously dangerous. I went sledding on that same hill during the day and, I kid you not, the kids had hardcore helmets and goggles. Pretty useful when you're going über fast (don't know how many km/h, just super fast), so fast that you can't see anything.
So, doing it a night is ridiculously dangerous. The guide said so himself that if we thought we were going to crash into someone, we should just jump off the sled because we can actually break our bones with the speed and our mass. Still, I had a great time, even if I came back with one injured ankle. Nice little souvenir.


2. Husky Safari

Woah that was amazing. I've gone dog sledding before, but it didn't compare to this at all. I had a partner and we were completely alone to control the dogs. I was a bit scared and doubtful of myself at first, but it ended so well. I had a pretty rocky start. Really, the road wasn't smooth at all and I was jumping up and down behind the sled. I even came really close to flying off of it, but after a while, I got the hang of it. It was just so much fun. Imagine you're there alone with the dogs, riding a sled surrounded by untouched nature under the blue sky... So therapeutic, so calming, so blissful.
The minor difficulty I had was stopping the dogs: they were so strong and eager to run and my weight alone couldn't stop 6 adult huskies completely. But it's okay, they were still really good dogs.
After that we went inside a hut and a trainer talked about the dogs and how sledding works while we sipped on hot berry juice by the fire.
After that we went to go play with some dogs and I hugged and petted a whole bunch of them. Ahhh it was so great!



1. Norway
Norway seriously made this trip even more epic than it already was. We had a few hours on bus to go to Norway, something like 3 or 4. You kinda knew when you passed the border from Finland to Norway due to the scenery. Finland was manly comprised of snow and trees, which were still quite nice. But Norway was filled with mountains and just epic scenery. You know when you're just so accustomed to a really nice landscape and after a while you get used to it? Well you don't with Norway. It just kept getting more and more epic and the guide put "World" genre music (?). Already the landscape was beautiful, the guide just had to kick it up a notch and play music that evoked emotion. So the combination? World music+ Epic scenery= Pure Happiness+ Emotional Dalena.
Seriously, I felt so happy and overwhelmed by Norway's beauty I wanted to cry. I'm not much of a tree-hugger but I must say that nature is so underrated. I'm probably saying this because I've just been to one the most beautiful countries in the world. Everything looked like it should be on a postcard. Everywhere I looked on bus, I just felt like I was living in a fantasy world. The pictures I've taken don't do it justice.

Here's just a glimpse of my ride on the bus:

Ok, enough about nature, what did I do exactly in Norway? I went to the sauna and swim in the Arctic Ocean. I know, I lied about not doing it again, but it was really something. It was so fun that I did it 3 times. It took place in this village, Bugøynes and it was great. The people there were so hospitable and charming. We had the opportunity to take a few pictures and it was nice. And then we had to head back to the cottage. That day was so epic. You, yes you, the one reading my blog, have go visit Norway if you haven't done so already. I don't care if you're flat-out broke. Get a job, save some money and fly to this magical place ASAP.

Finally, because I'm really tired (urgh, why do I do this to myself? Writing super long posts before going to sleep) and want say more thing in less words, I'm giving you other cool accomplishments I did during this trip in point-form:

• Saw the Northern Lights, but only briefly. It was pretty cloudy so the lights were pretty pale. Still, it was pretty cool.
• Ate some reindeer. Yes, Rudolph was good.
• Went to sauna and went outside to lay in the snow. It was actually quite nice, not as cold as you think it would be. (*gasps* am I turning Finn? :O)
• Went to a cottage for the first time in my life. I never had the opportunity or the means to get/ go to a cottage and it was real nice.
• Sat in a sled pulled by a reindeer.
• Learnt about the Sami people.

That's it for now. I probably did more but I probably forgot about them. They're probably not that important anyways. 

So, until next time- and I hope I get to write some stuff before I get back to Canada.

Kippis

PS: I'm travelling a lot in May. Going to so many places!! You jelly now?

PPS: And these destinations are pretty- for lack of a better word- exotic. I'll try to write about each of them as it goes. But until then, I'm keeping them secret to create some suspense! 

Don't worry, I'm still alive and writing

Hey folks,

This post has been long overdue. I know, my last post gave the impression that I was gonna write sooner... but I didn't. I really thought I would though, I just kept putting it off and getting distracted. I just had a lot of things going on in February...and March.
Sorry.

So what have I been doing all this time? I've been to a few events, parties and Finnish experiences. I've also learned a few things about myself, Finnish culture and life.

So here's what I did in order to get Finnishized.

1. I participated to a stiz, it was for Valentine's Day. Basically it's a dinner where you get to play games, sing some songs and get drunk fairly quickly. For those you used to be in cadets like me, it's pretty much the same concept, but less formal and more fun. Although I had fun, I wouldn't do it again: one sitz is enough for me. I've heard that the sitz I attended was toned down in order to not traumatize the exchange students, it was a kiddy version... How considerate.

2. I went Ice-Swimming in February. Apparently, it's super healthy for you... but it is not advised for people with heart problems or pregnant women... It was cold, hot, and somewhat awesome... but I wouldn't do it again, some Finns are quite skeptical of the ice-swimming benefits.

3. Participated in a Running Dinner. The concept is that you're in a team of 4 people and have a 3-course dinner. Each team would eat each course at a different house/apartment, hosted by Finnish people- most of which are students. Each team is also provided a map in order to navigate through the city of Turku. We had about one hour in each home, but obviously, being chatterboxes, we stayed a bit longer every time. The first course, the appetizer, consisted of a ham and cheese pie and a mini-burger; the second was oven-baked potatoes with bread and salmon sauce (smoked salmon in crème fraîche and dill!); and finally the third was lingonberry and chocolate cake with vanilla ice-cream. YUMMAY! Needless to say, everything was scrumptious. The first two meals were hosted by students and the last was a Finnish woman  probably in her 30s. That last person  felt was a real Finn: super shy and not that talkative. So cute.
What I also liked about the event, is that it made me discover Turku: I would've never gone to those parts of the city if it weren't for the dinner.

Potatoes and salmon sauce

Lingonberry+Chocolate cake with Vanilla ice cream

Some tea!

4. Cooked with a Finnish family.
The universities here in Turku offer what we call the Friendship Program. Basically, it's a program that promotes cultural exchanges between exchange students and local Finns. I ended up with a Finnish family. I've been to their place twice and we cooked a meal of our own country each time. I ate cabbage rolls and meatballs with lingonberry, and my Finnish family tried a sweet and sour beef stir-fry, Vietnamese style, cooked by yours truly. It turned out pretty good, considering I've never tried cooking it by myself, let alone here in Finland, where most ingredients just don't exist.

Visit n°1: Eating Finnish food.

Visit n°2: Eating Vietnamese food:

5. Attended my university's band/orchestra concert- Axelbandet. It was fun.

6. Went on a Nature walk, met some new people and had a barbecue.
Hurray for glorious amounts of food and meeting people in other contexts than alcohol!

7. Went to Sauna.
So I finally booked a time to go to Sauna by myself. What's interesting here in Finland is that a lot of things are categorized/super organized. For instance, there's only one washing machine and dryer available for 3 buildings where I live. So, in order to prevent ridiculously long cues and temper tantrums, there's an online system. Basically, you just book your time online and plan your day/life around your laundry time. It's really neat.
The same goes with the sauna, but there are not that many timings available so you'd have to book crazy early, like 2-3 weeks beforehand... unless you get lucky.

So, Sauna. It wasn't my first time since I did a bit of it during my experience in winter swimming, but still.
First, you go in. You're in this changing room and there's a shower between you and the sauna itself.  (Picture is taken in the shower).

Once you get in, there's a bucket full of water. It's everyone's responsibility to keep it full (with that green bucket in the previous picture). 

Already getting in there, it's pretty humid and hot. BUT, if you feel like dying of heat, you just add water to the stones and it generates heat.  You add it with the spoon ( more like a huge ladle maybe? I don't know what it is) provided in the water bucket.

Then, you just sit there and relax. Now, I must say, although I didn't add that much water, I had to get out of the sauna a few times because it was really hot. Still, I really liked the experience and am planning on going again a few times. It's really a great feeling when you decide to cool off after the sauna in a cold shower. You know when you just had a massive workout and feel all lethargic afterwards? Yeah, it's that feeling.

Side story: When it was my time to leave, I met up with a Finnish student, it was her time to go there. She asked me how it was and we talked a bit. And then she offered if I wanted to have another round there: I was really welcome. I kindly declined because I didn't feel like fainting and I had other stuff to do. It was still really nice of her. Damn, people here are really nice.
Also, every house/apartment here in Finland has a sauna. It's like a right that they have here. And so is having a cottage. I was talking to a Finnish friend that lived in Switzerland and her mother requested a sauna to be imported from Finland to their Swiss home. That actually happened. So, you can only imagine how strongly they feel about saunas.




What I learned about myself and life so far:

1. Navigation
Now, I've never been particularly gifted in that department. I don't have that much of a good sense f direction, even with a map or GPS. I even got lost in my own neighbourhood in the beginning. I remember, on the first day, I wanted to go to the grocery store. It took me a while to find it like 15 mins. And It took me about 1h30 to get back.. and the only reason I was able to find my building was that the 5th person I asked for directions lived in that same building.
But, just like any other skill, it requires practice, you work at it. I've become better at navigating (or at least I think). I don't have a GPS so I rely on maps- which are, by the way, so underrated. I've got a long way to go, but at least I'm getting better  at it.

2. Cooking
My parents and I didn't really have faith in me in that field either. Now, for those of you that have known me for a long time, you know that my mom, although she doesn't own a restaurant or anything, is some kind of underground chef. Her cooking is amazing: she smells and tastes pretty much everything in food and likes to experiment. She's a real chef.
So, growing up I've always felt this pressure that I had to be a good cook. I've watched and helped her around the kitchen since I was little, but I was never alone when cooking something... and I didn't have the motivation either. I was constantly pressured in learning how to cook properly, mainly to show off my skills to a man and that really pushed me away.
Now, I'm learning how to cook, especially because I like variety and want to eat something else than pasta, ramen, and frozen pizzas. I've discovered that I'm a pretty decent cook: I guess all those years training in the kitchen paid off.
Also, I find cooking to be fun and relaxing. When I'm in the kitchen and cooking for myself, I feel quite calm and relaxed, one part because there is no pressure to impress anyone but myself, and the other part is because I enjoy it. It's like I'm in another world when I'm cooking, it's hard to explain. Maybe it's a new found passion? I might look more like my mother than I thought.

3. Creating/Maintaining relationships
Not everyone will like you and you won't like everyone. I've always knew about that but it has become much more apparent here, probably because I get to meet 100X more people in 1 month than I do in a year in Montreal. And it's okay, if it doesn't work, don't force it. Just move one, there's plenty of people on this planet. They just don't happen to be as crazy as you are.
In terms of maintaining relationships, there are some exceptions but, I've noticed that I've grown much closer to those that I chat/skype with on a regular basis. Keeping that regular contact with people makes a big difference whenever you feel homesick. Now, I'll be lying if I said I've never had any down moments. Of course I miss people back in Montreal and there are times where I'd like to fly back and see them and hug them super tight... but I guess that's what makes every visit so special: you know that time is precious so you cherish every moment of it.



That's it for now. There's much more I want to write but I have to get ready for my trip to Lapland. I'll be going to Saariselkä for a few days. I know I'll feel guilty not updating my post before leaving for Lapland so here you go!

I'll try (I promise!) to write a new one once I get back from the land of Laps.

Till then, enjoy your much anticipated tax-returns.

Skål

Look ma, I'm in Stockholm

Hey peeps,

I'm writing another post about my thoughts and what I've learned on this exchange so far because writing both in one would just be too much.Also, I can't post the awesome pictures I've taken now because the battery to my phone/camera fried. I'm ordering a new one so it shouldn't take more than a month. I'll upload the pics when I can.
I guess my phone couldn't handle Scandinavia's awesomeness.

Anyways, about Stockholm.

Prior to this exchange, I have never really traveled anywhere outside of Canada. (There's the States, but they don't count. They just don't). Yes, I have taken a plane to go to some places like Banff, Alberta and Whitehorse, Yukon. Though, it was always with the Army Cadets so it was always super well organised. We always had adults directing us and telling us what to do. We were basically robots.

This trip to Stockholm was with the school, so there was some organisation, but not that much. Although we're all adults-ish  don't need that much direction, I still think it's important to give people instructions. It gives them security and shows that you know what you're doing. Unfortunately, my team leader didn't think like I did so he kinda improvised everything on the spot. He gave us very unclear instructions and never really knew what to do. It was really frustrating because we couldn't really trust him. Maybe it's my cadet-teacher. I even had to take some matters into my own hands in order to make sure everyone was there and that we would catch the boat back to Turku on time...
In other words, the trip could have been much better had we had a better team leader.

Anyways, back to the trip itself.

In total I guess it cost around 100 Euros ( +/- 150 CAD), everything included like meals, accommodation and entertainment. It's really inexpensive considering we had.
In order to get there, we had to take a boat from Turku to Stockholm, which was pretty awesome. My first time on a boat and it was absolutely amazing. We went with Viking Line, it was a really nice cruise. There was a tax-free shop, a gaming room, restaurants, a sundeck, etc. Really nice (The TV in my cabin even said "Welcome Dalena!"!!!!). We left in the evening and the trip from Turku-Stockholm lasted about 12 hours. The ride itself was quite smooth, it wasn't rocky at all.

When we arrived to Stockholm, we walked to our hostel. It's in the old part of Stockholm and it was at a harbour. Again, it was super nice.
Afterwards, while everyone was sleeping in their respective cabins, my friends and I decided to venture out and discover Stockholm. A friend of mine has been there a few times, so it was really nice of her to show us around. We took really good pictures and the weather couldn't be more perfect. I mean, it was super sunny, it was snowing- even the show was pretty!- and it was only -3°C. PER-FECT!
After that, we went back to join the rest of the group and we had a pretty extensive and lengthy guided tour, provided by a Stockholm exchange student. It lasted about 4 hours, and we were always walking. I didn't mind that much, though. Learned a bit about the city's history.
After that, we had a nice little party at Göta Källare, a club. It was a masquerade bal, so we all had masks, which was really cool. There was an option of going to drink somewhere else after the meal but some of us decided to stay at the club. The party also included exchange students at Stockholm so after an hour or two the club was pretty full. I didn't stay till the end, but I assure you, it was FANTASTIC!! The music was just awesome (I don't know why, but I really like the clubs here in Scandinavia, they have pretty awesome music. Or maybe I've just been to the crappy ones in Montreal?), the atmosphere was great and I felt so alive. There are no words to describe this experience except maybe out-of-this-world. Even then, it's an understatement.

The following day was just alright, we went to Vaxholm, a small city north of Stockholm. It was a cute city, but nothing more. It's just a shame that there was absolutely nothing planned once we got there so we just walked around town by ourselves for a few hours. Meh. We spent a pretty quiet evening eating shish-kebabs because it was the cheapest option.
We just went back to Turku the following day, on that awesome boat.
And then my phone/camera fried :-(.

Despite the little fuckeries, I really had a blast on this trip.
I've already been here for over a month already and I feel like I still have so much more to do, so many more places to travel, so many foods to taste and so many things to experience...
Learn more about it in my next post. ;-)

Till then,

Kippis

La vie est dure!

Holy Crap,

That last post was depressing, why didn't I slit my wrists while I was at it?

Well, anyways,  things are SO MUCH BETTER now. I'm more or less settled in Turku and  see everything in a new light. Of course, I still have some paperwork and stuff to sort out, but that's a minor detail. Those type of fuckeries don't matter as much.

Sorry for the late update, I was too busy having fun and partying hehe. However, I'll make it up for you guys by writing an uber long post.

In all seriousness, I am very happy. I can't remember the last time I felt this stress-free...
You guys all know that I've been raised in a relatively strict, traditional Asian family,so I could do so much and there was always this constant nagging, especially before I left. But right now, now that I'm on my own, I feel much  better. I can experience things for myself, have fun with no worries and be my own boss. Of course, having a mom as an underground chef, I can't really live up to her cooking, but I'm getting there. Actually, I can cook a pretty decent meal: I'm having salmon fillet- It was on sale! I had about 800g of NORWEGIAN salmon for 7 Euros, OMG IT WAS LIKE HALF MY ARM-, rice and some green peas. Not too shabby for a cooking newb, huh? My roommates are still as awesome as ever, I couldn't ask for better. I mean, although I live in the "ghetto" part of Turku and not on campus, the rent is pretty cheap, my roommates are clean, it's 5 mins from the supermarket, I live next to a forest... Seriously, what more could I ask for?

Seriously I'm having so much fun here. The first welcome party last week was at a nightclub and I had a lot more fun than I thought I would. I also learned that I can actually dance... especially when drunk. I tried the Salmiakki shot, something typical of Finland... I wouldn't try it again.I washed it down with a White Russian. Funny thing is, I didn't know what it consisted of exactly, it just looked good. And then I realized there was coffee in it. Now, for many of you, you know I can get very excited naturally. Imagine me drunk+caffeinated. Holy crap.
Still, I had one of the best times of my life and I was pretty sore the following days because I danced too hard.


Anyways, there's another welcome party tomorrow. This time, I'm getting overalls! Apparently, it's a huge tradition to wear overalls to a party here in Finland and Sweden... probably in the other Nordic countries too. Read more about it here. And, of course, I'm obviously getting one. I'm really excited about this!

Now, enough about the partying. Let's talk about the country itself.

Finland is ridiculously safe. I've read and heard about it, but I've never experienced it. People are super trusting towards one another it's crazy. Let me give a few examples.

1.When buying fruits and vegetables.
Montreal: It's the cashier that actually weighs in and types in how much you should pay for your fruits.
Turku: You weigh the fruits yourself on this scale. On that scale, there are numbers from 1-125.
Let's say apples are number 25. You put the apples, in a small bag, on that scale and you press #25. The machine automatically calculates how much you should pay for your apples and gives you a sticker. You put the sticker on that bag. So, the cashier only has to scan the sticker when you check out.
Now needless to say, it would be chaos in Montreal: that system would never work since people wouldn't be as honest and only press wtv to pay the lowest price.

2. Coat checks.
Montreal: You NEVER leave your things unattended, it's an unwritten golden rule. Even then, people still manage to rob you.
Turku: There are coat checks everywhere in my university. The thing is, they are not supervised, by no one... AT ALL. Remember that cubbyhole and hooks you had back in elementary school? Yeah, it's kinda like that. People just leave their coats on hooks everywhere at school and no one would ever steal anything. Even if you left your gloves or toques on the floor, it would still be there by the end of the day. Your things will still be there, untouched, after your class or wtv.
I'm not saying that people leave their valuable things unattended all day long. Of course, there are lockers with keys and they emphasize on keeping watch on your things. But still, it's these things would never happen in Montreal.

3. Locking bikes.
Montreal: Just look at the pictures
http://www.citycle.com/3562-agir-contre-le-vol-de-velo-les-solutions
Turku: 1 cute little lock on your bike is enough. Even if it's downtown, it'll still be there when you get back.


Speaking of bikes, I really have to talk about transportation. My brother is doing a Master's in Urban planning, so of course I'm gonna talk about it!!! I'll break it down for y'all.

1. Buses
Ok, this seems like a really mundane subject, but hear me out! First off, when you see your bus coming, WAVE! If not, the bus driver will just drive pass you as if you didn't exist. Why? Well, my guess is that, since there are a lot of buses on a certain bus stop, drivers don't know whether or not you're actually waiting for them or for another one. I guess it's to save gas/time or something.
Another thing about buses is that they really take into consideration EVERYONE, not just the young, able ones. Depending on the bus, these might differ, but not that much. Firstly, there are 3 different buttons. I've only pressed one type so I'm only speculating according to what other people have told me.
1- normal stop button: typical normal stop, so you just leave the bus.
2- you have a baby carriage button: The bus would actually lower itself in order to facilitate getting out of the bus onto the sidewalk.
3- you have a wheelchair button: there's a hatch near an exit. I think the bus driver would come help you get out.


2. Cars ain't the priority
Cars ain't the priority. The sidewalks are quite large and there are bike paths EVERYWHERE, even on highways I think. It's totally safe to bike everywhere so pretty much everyone owns bikes, even during the winter time- I think they have special tires or something. Also, no one wears helmets here. As I said, it's ridiculously safe.
Pedestrians have equal priority downtown as cars. You know how the light changes when it's time for the other lanes to go? It's pretty much the same, but with pedestrians and cars. There's an equal interval for timings for pedestrians and cars to cross the streets. In other words, you don't have to press a button for the light to turn green so you can cross the street without getting killed. It's all automated and people are super respective of each other. People can actually drive. Also, there are no stop signs. Drivers here are kind/cool/smart enough to stop whenever they see a pedestrian crossing the street. Sometimes, they'll even wait for you, even when you're still on the sidewalk. Now that's premium treatment!

3. Heated streets.
Now this is quite peculiar and pretty cool. On certain streets downtown Turku, there are what I call heated streets. It snowed a few days ago and it's pretty damn cold so there's ice and snow. On those heated streets, there is absolutely no sign of snow or ice, as if it were summer. That's pretty cool. Just imagine one side of the street full of snow and ice, and the other of nothing. Cool isn't it?

I started 1 class so far, so I can't really say how it is with my courses yet.
I still have a lot more to say, but I'm getting really tired and I have to save some things for the next blog!!

Till then,

Kippis

PS: I'm  going to Stockholm this weekend.
PPS: If you haven't noticed, the title of this post wreaks of sarcasm.

What a beginning...

It’s my first day/second night here in Finland and let me tell you, it was an emotional roller coaster.

It was exciting and somewhat terrifying during my flight from Montreal to London. I wasn’t able to sleep on the plane so I was already dead tired when I arrived in London. Once I arrived to London, at that point, I just wanted to get to Helsinki ASAP. I had to pass through security again, they took nearly everything out of my bag to find out that I had left my hand cream in there. I put everything in my bag except my computer charger. Heathrow airport is huge so they display it on screens  on the gate of your flight within the hour the gate itself closes.

My gate closes at 11:00. It wasn’t until 10:20 that I realized that I had forgotten my charger while looking for my wallet. So I ran back all the way to security to look for it. Needless to say, I ran around like a madwoman for a while because the staff was anything but useful. Until one lady actually decided to look for it with me, it took 2 mins. And then I ran to my gate, which was placed in a random place so I had to ask around for help. I got there with 15 mins to spare. Ouff. I was tired, hungry, parched  and sweaty- It was now 8 degrees in London.

Finally, when I got to Helsinki more fuckeries happened but I’ll spare you the details.

What was good about the trip was that I met up with other international students and my roommates seem to be very supportive- probably due to the state I was in. They’re super nice.

The following day, I got lost a few times in my own suburb because I arrived at night so it was hard for me to visualize where my apartment was located. Luckily, the people there were nice enough to show me the way, I had to use some occasional sign language but oh well.

Now what was really interesting/traumatizing/creepy/etc. is what happened while I was waiting for my student tutor at the market place today.

I was waiting and there was this middle-aged man that walked up to me. This is pretty much how it went:

Man:leuraskfasdlkafashrfwhefsadlfah asiduasrawesldifjas eoifdjfnas

Me:… uhh No?... English?

(Idem X 3)

Man: (shows his hand)

Me: (thinking: is he asking for money?) No.

Man: shows hand again.

Me: (Puts my hand on his.)

Man: (Holds my hand, kisses it and puts leans his head on it).

Me: (WTF?!?!)

Man: (Gives me a hug)

Me: (omg how the fuck do I get out of this? I can’t just runaway…)

Man: (doing some gestures requiring me and sleep).

Me: (thinking: is he saying that I need sleep?) Yes.

Man: (doing the same gestures again)

Me: (is he suggesting that I sleep at his place??!?!! OMG) No.

(Idem)

Man: (takes my hand kisses it, and leans on it again).

After that he left me alone. He went to bug some other lady and she rejected him coldly. He left her alone. Maybe I should’ve done that. I was smiling and being polite the whole time. I should’ve been a bitch. I told this to my tutor when we met up and he laughed and said it was interesting. Finns are normally shy and reserved… Now I think that there’s two reasons this might have happened. Mind you, this happened at 2:20-30 pm:

1.         This guy was excessively drunk.
2.       He thought I was a prostitute.

It was creepy as hell, but harmless. Kinda traumatizing, actually. I was at the marketplace, the downtown of Turku, so there many people around. I don’t think he would’ve attempted anything…

On another note, Turku is colder than I thought, even if there’s no snow yet. My experience here should get better. Needless to say, it feels kinda lonely here and I miss everyone back home. I’m experiencing culture shock. This ain’t no joke.

Let’s see what the next few days have in store for me.

Kippis