A Real Finnish Welcome
So for continuity I’ll finish up about last night. I met Stephanie and Johannes for a drink at the bar “Hemingway’s” in the city center. Stephanie is a French woman and Johannes is an Austrian man. We talked for a long time about missing our friends from home (while drinking a very expensive beer). Of course, we started telling stories of the funny things that our friends have done. It’s interesting how similar practical jokes are across our cultures. We are all very frustrated with our inability to use the internet as well. However, only Stephanie did the sensible thing; she utilized that oh-so-obsolete method of actually writing a letter by hand and sending it via airmail. It’s funny how we so quickly become dependent on modern technology. When I traveled in Hungary, I had only sporadic access to the internet, but it was somehow expected and thus not such a big deal. I had imagined that the Finns, who are very tech-savvy, would probably have free broadband wi-fi everywhere in the city! I suppose they probably would, but it seems that the Finns are also a very cautious people, and are very wary of internet fraud, etc. The curious thing to me is that there seems to be practically no crime here. Everyone I’ve talked to has mentioned this, and my limited experience seems to bear this out. One guy left his book-bag on the bus with 300€, his passport, and all his credit cards. Someone found it, sent him an email, and returned it with everything intact. And the Finns are very trusting in some other ways. They leave their hats and coats in the foyer of every academic building, even though these buildings are open to the public and someone could very easily walk in and take a coat – and this is Finland, so coats are pretty valuable!
So around 11pm Stephanie and Johannes decided to head out, and I left with them. But on the way home I ran in to Sigrid, Bernhard, Alex, and Daniella (the Austrian crowd). They were coming from Sowhi, a bar which evidently has a happy hour 10-11pm every night with 2€ beers! This is quite a deal. I decided I would hang with them for a while. We ended up talking until 3am! I don’t quite know how this happened. Mostly we talked politics and culture. I felt bad – I was the only one in the group that didn’t speak German. However, they were very nice and often spoke in English. It really brought home that I have very poor language skills. I should have kept up with my French – then at least I could communicate in the home-tongue of some one! Anyway, I might try to take a German course while I’m here too – but only if there is one available with English as a helping language, which I kind of doubt. They do have a fairly active “Each One Teach One” program where people pair up to learn each other’s language. I’m sure that there are plenty of people willing to trade for Finnish or German.
So I woke up the next morning around 10, and around 11 Sigrid and I went to the a shopping center only 10 minutes walk from Ristonmaa, the neighborhood I live it. I didn’t even know it existed. This will make getting food much easier – no more worries about starving. We went to the Finnish version of Super Wal-Mart, “Prisma”. It really was just like a Wal-Mart, except the quality was much higher. I bought a few Spanish navel oranges that were possibly the best oranges I have ever eaten in my entire life. I also bought stuff for stir-fry. We’ll see how that turns out. After that Sigrid and I went towards the University to take some photos – while it was still mostly cloudy, there was a lot more sun than usual. I went on into town afterwards because I needed to check email for where to meet Pekka for the hockey game at 8pm. Unfortunately, the library was closed, so I had to go to the internet café, which I had been unable to find in the past. I asked a few older people, but no one I found knew until I started asking the Heavy-Metal Dudes, who were quite scary looking but actually quite polite and friendly. It’s quite an experience to be cordially welcomed to Jyväskylä by a 6’4’’ 250lb. monster with 12 piercings and lots of tattoos. Anyway, I eventually found it, and discovered that I was to meet Pekka at a bar near the hockey rink. He wrote, “I have long hair, a beard, and will wear a black winter coat. I will probably be drinking a beer.” We’re going to have a good time, I think.
After email, I tried to find out how to get phone service. Luckily, I ran into Lisa, the Dutch woman, on the street. She helped me get a “SIM-card” and set things up. I’m glad she was there because it would have taken me at least three days to figure out what to do. One actually inserts a tiny piece of plastic card (like a 1-cm chunk of a Kroger card) into a slot in the back of the phone. So now I have a phone! Unfortunately, it doesn’t accept calls from abroad, so you can’t call me on it. However, I can call other people here, meaning I won’t be isolated once the semester starts. On the walk home, I found a very, very beautiful sunset.
Upon returning home, I found that one of my roommates had returned. His name is Sammi (spelling?), and he seems quite shy but very nice. He is Finnish, from Vaanta near Helsinki. He apologized for the mess and had brought with him an extraordinary collection of cleaning supplies. We had a short conversation and then he headed out to do some shopping. I left for the hockey game before he returned. I think things will be ok. I’m sure it will take some time to get to know him, but this seems to be the pattern with the Finns. So I headed out to the hockey game around 7. When I got there at 7:30, a huge crowd of people was leaving the rink. Evidently, another match was just ending. I found the pub and met Pekka. He was quite friendly. I gave him the bottle of Jack Daniel’s that I had brought as a gift and he seemed amused. He insisted on buying me a drink and then also the ticket to the hockey game. He told me a lot about the teams and the strategy – it was neat to see. Hockey in person is a lot different from hockey on TV. For one thing, it’s a lot louder – and you can tell how painful it is. At the end of each period we would head back to the pub for another beer. We also tried marrakas (sp?), Finnish sausage, which was quite good. The game went to overtime, which was exciting, but in the end the team from Jyväskylä lost – their first of the season. Afterwards, we head to a bar that Pekka said was a real “neighborhood bar”. Sure enough there were no students there, and some very bad Finnish karaoke was going on. It was quite an atmosphere. So we started to talk a little math, and politics, and weight-lifting. It was fun, but after a while I was beginning to feel the beer. After about 5 I was pretty wasted, but Pekka kept bringing more despite my protestations. Finally, he switched to bringing me Salmiakki, which is a licorice-flavored liquor that you either hate or love. I really like it. Anyway, at the end of the evening, I was really wasted. Pekka had given me a real Finnish welcome – namely, he drank me under the table! I wasn’t sure if I could walk home ok, but the cold was helpful in keeping me alert and I made it back to my place in one piece. A few aspirin and a liter or two of water, and then I passed out at around 2.
So around 11pm Stephanie and Johannes decided to head out, and I left with them. But on the way home I ran in to Sigrid, Bernhard, Alex, and Daniella (the Austrian crowd). They were coming from Sowhi, a bar which evidently has a happy hour 10-11pm every night with 2€ beers! This is quite a deal. I decided I would hang with them for a while. We ended up talking until 3am! I don’t quite know how this happened. Mostly we talked politics and culture. I felt bad – I was the only one in the group that didn’t speak German. However, they were very nice and often spoke in English. It really brought home that I have very poor language skills. I should have kept up with my French – then at least I could communicate in the home-tongue of some one! Anyway, I might try to take a German course while I’m here too – but only if there is one available with English as a helping language, which I kind of doubt. They do have a fairly active “Each One Teach One” program where people pair up to learn each other’s language. I’m sure that there are plenty of people willing to trade for Finnish or German.
So I woke up the next morning around 10, and around 11 Sigrid and I went to the a shopping center only 10 minutes walk from Ristonmaa, the neighborhood I live it. I didn’t even know it existed. This will make getting food much easier – no more worries about starving. We went to the Finnish version of Super Wal-Mart, “Prisma”. It really was just like a Wal-Mart, except the quality was much higher. I bought a few Spanish navel oranges that were possibly the best oranges I have ever eaten in my entire life. I also bought stuff for stir-fry. We’ll see how that turns out. After that Sigrid and I went towards the University to take some photos – while it was still mostly cloudy, there was a lot more sun than usual. I went on into town afterwards because I needed to check email for where to meet Pekka for the hockey game at 8pm. Unfortunately, the library was closed, so I had to go to the internet café, which I had been unable to find in the past. I asked a few older people, but no one I found knew until I started asking the Heavy-Metal Dudes, who were quite scary looking but actually quite polite and friendly. It’s quite an experience to be cordially welcomed to Jyväskylä by a 6’4’’ 250lb. monster with 12 piercings and lots of tattoos. Anyway, I eventually found it, and discovered that I was to meet Pekka at a bar near the hockey rink. He wrote, “I have long hair, a beard, and will wear a black winter coat. I will probably be drinking a beer.” We’re going to have a good time, I think.
After email, I tried to find out how to get phone service. Luckily, I ran into Lisa, the Dutch woman, on the street. She helped me get a “SIM-card” and set things up. I’m glad she was there because it would have taken me at least three days to figure out what to do. One actually inserts a tiny piece of plastic card (like a 1-cm chunk of a Kroger card) into a slot in the back of the phone. So now I have a phone! Unfortunately, it doesn’t accept calls from abroad, so you can’t call me on it. However, I can call other people here, meaning I won’t be isolated once the semester starts. On the walk home, I found a very, very beautiful sunset.
Upon returning home, I found that one of my roommates had returned. His name is Sammi (spelling?), and he seems quite shy but very nice. He is Finnish, from Vaanta near Helsinki. He apologized for the mess and had brought with him an extraordinary collection of cleaning supplies. We had a short conversation and then he headed out to do some shopping. I left for the hockey game before he returned. I think things will be ok. I’m sure it will take some time to get to know him, but this seems to be the pattern with the Finns. So I headed out to the hockey game around 7. When I got there at 7:30, a huge crowd of people was leaving the rink. Evidently, another match was just ending. I found the pub and met Pekka. He was quite friendly. I gave him the bottle of Jack Daniel’s that I had brought as a gift and he seemed amused. He insisted on buying me a drink and then also the ticket to the hockey game. He told me a lot about the teams and the strategy – it was neat to see. Hockey in person is a lot different from hockey on TV. For one thing, it’s a lot louder – and you can tell how painful it is. At the end of each period we would head back to the pub for another beer. We also tried marrakas (sp?), Finnish sausage, which was quite good. The game went to overtime, which was exciting, but in the end the team from Jyväskylä lost – their first of the season. Afterwards, we head to a bar that Pekka said was a real “neighborhood bar”. Sure enough there were no students there, and some very bad Finnish karaoke was going on. It was quite an atmosphere. So we started to talk a little math, and politics, and weight-lifting. It was fun, but after a while I was beginning to feel the beer. After about 5 I was pretty wasted, but Pekka kept bringing more despite my protestations. Finally, he switched to bringing me Salmiakki, which is a licorice-flavored liquor that you either hate or love. I really like it. Anyway, at the end of the evening, I was really wasted. Pekka had given me a real Finnish welcome – namely, he drank me under the table! I wasn’t sure if I could walk home ok, but the cold was helpful in keeping me alert and I made it back to my place in one piece. A few aspirin and a liter or two of water, and then I passed out at around 2.
posted by Kevin at 1:08 AM
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