What happened in Finland

It’s hard for me to believe I have been in Finland for almost three weeks now. So much for being more regular with my blog updates!

Finland is a very fascinating country. I must say that it feels harder to adjust to than South Africa, but the circumstances that I am here under are very different as well. In South Africa I didn’t know anyone before I arrived, so I had to throw myself into the culture and had only my own observations of cultural differences. Here, I have a friend that came with me in the same program, so I get twice as many observations and a kind of safety blanket in her to avoid loneliness. I think it makes it harder to adjust because it's so easy to go back to familiar Canadian things.

I am learning about the style of doing things and mindset that Finns have despite my attachment to all things Canadian. At times Finland reminds me a bit of Canada in its personality. The underdog lumped in with the surrounding countries from an outside point of view, but proud in the fact that it is an entity in and of itself. However, it is so very different from anywhere I have travelled to before. I really enjoy exploring countries I know nothing about. It makes it much more exciting because you are constantly learning new things and you have no preconceptions about what it is going to be like. The only thing I knew about Finland before coming here was that Santa was from here and that Finns are reputedly quiet people. And I'm not going to lie...there's a little bit more to Finland than just that.

But anyway, enough of my thoughts and feelings, what have I actually done while I’ve been in Finland! Well, I sorted out all the fun stuff, like bank accounts, registering for classes, etc. All of which is a very confusing process in Joensuu and not at all straight forward. You have to talk to an entirely different person in a different building in a different part of town and each task takes a million different steps. I was so thankful to have my student tutor to drive us around and let us know all the little details of what we had to get done. I don’t know how I would have done it without her!

After about a week of organizing my new life, two friends and I went to Koli National Park to go hiking. Koli is a national pride of Finland. It is a beautiful little mountain that you can hike (read: Stairmaster) up and get a gorgeous view of miles and miles of lakes and islands. We had a lot of fun exploring and picking blueberries (mustikka) and lingonberries (puolukka) throughout the park. Then we went mushroom picking. I am terrible at mushroom picking, but I had tons of fun...minus the hirvikärpänen (mooseflies). Hirvikärpänen are the most horrible little devil creatures known to man! They are blood sucking little demons that fly onto you then, drop their wings and burrow into your hair and flesh. They never die, no matter how many times you smack them, and do an amazingly good job of sticking to you despite excessive swatting. And to top it all off they look super creepy. In conclusion, I hate them with every fibre of my being.

I feel like this post is becoming far too long, so I will just quickly say that other than that excitement, I have been attending many less than exciting orientation/introduction classes (though they should all be ending this week and my interesting classes can begin), exploring the town and getting to know my fantastic roommate! Despite the conscious effort to adjust to Finnish life, I really enjoy it here. The people are very friendly and honest about themselves. I may not feel at home just yet, but I do feel welcomed!