Canoe Trip

Saturday we went on a fabulous canoe outing with a group of 11 people... we took the canoes from in front of campus by the lake and paddled for about 2 1/2 hours to a small island called Kalasaari in the second largest lake in Finland. When we arrived we had to cut some logs into pieces to then be chopped for firewood and sauna. On the island there was a small sauna heated by a wood fire with windows looking right out on the lake and a dock with a ladder conveniently located for a dip into the water for the bravest of souls (since I remind you that there still was ice and snow in these here parts about a month ago)! A small veranda style building was nearby where there was a wonderful fire pit that we sat around as we ate a warm lunch and roasted bananas with chocolate.

The weather started off pretty poor - with scatters of rain and cold wind - but by the afternoon the sun came out and warmed everything up tremendously. After basking in the sun by the water, around 5pm we packed up the canoes and began our journey home. This time it was much more difficult of course having come one way already, chopped wood, eaten and taken a wonderful sauna - though extremely invigorated at the same time with the brief swimming sessions in the middle. The whole experience was just wonderful - a sure memory that will last me a lifetime!


More pictures can be found on my pbase site here

Essential Finnish

For those of you who are interested in learning a bit of Finnish (as per Meredith's request :-), here is the list Marika, our tutor, gave us before coming here... if you can manage the pronunciation, soon you'll be speaking Finnish in no time and have no problem telling people 'sinulla on kauniit silmät' or more practically I guess, 'olen eksyksissä' , for instance! Happy learning!

Hey = moi

bye bye = moi moi

good morning = hyvää huomenta

good afternoon = hyvää päivää

good evening = hyvää iltaa

good night = hyvää yötä

thank you = kiitos

sorry / excuse me / pardon = anteeksi

here you are = ole hyvä

my name is… = minun nimeni on…

what is your name? = mikä sinun nimesi on?

I live in cambridge england = asun cambridgessä englannissa

i’m english = olen englantilainen

i’m french = olen ranskalainen

i’m half american half english = olen puoliksi englantilainen puoliksi amerikkalainen =)

nice to meet you = hauska tutustua

a beautiful weather today = kaunis ilma tänään

a terrible weather today = kauhea ilma tänään

welcome = tervetuloa

help! = apua!

do you speak english? = puhutko englantia?

Damn / f**k! = hitto / perkele!

i don’t understand = en ymmärrä

I’m lost = olen eksyksissä

one beer, please = yksi olut, kiitos

you have beautiful eyes = sinulla on kauniit silmät

oh, what a hunk! = oi mikä uros!

you look good… = näytät hyvältä…

my place or your place = meille vai teille? ;)

hope to see you again soon = toivottavasti nähdään taas pian!

World's Largest Pizzas

After a long day of class, rain and cold temperatures, Adeline, Katri and I decided a Finnish pizza dinner was in order - or should I say a Jyvaskyla pizza dinner. Pizza places are everywhere here and each one sells these humungous pizzas for just 5 euros (plus salad and coffee/tea)! Luckily doggy bags are not taboo here so we were able to take home what we didn't finish for dinner tomorrow night...yum!

My Finnish Birthday

Had my first Finnish birthday today - and so far it's been great!! Woke up this morning to a wonderful birthday morning call from CW and then Adeline, Rachael and Sabine (from Switzerland who lives next door to us) surprised me with a little spice cake with candles and everything! They also gave me some cards and and a few little presents including a beautiful marimekko mug (famous Finnish brand) and some typical Finnish socks - blue and white stripes also from marimekko (see links). We also enjoyed some leftover pulla we made last night - even better the second day! People in my class all wished me a happy birthday and one of our Finnish friends, Katri, gave me a little box of typical Finnish candy called Salmiakki which is like a salty licorice. Marika, our course tutor and friend from EMICC, stopped by and gave me a really cute duck bottle stopper - another classic Finnish item!

So all in all, it's been really good - that is despite the absolute horrible weather we had this morning. We got to class absolutely drenched and everytime going out was just miserable. As I sit here now at about 7pm the sun is finally trying to peak through which is good for our evening plans. One of the organised freetime activities for the summer school is a pub crawl tonight since tomorrow is a national holiday and we don't have class, so we'll probably be going into the centre in a little while... But anyway, thank you everyone who has been sending me such wonderful birthday wishes, e-cards, texts and the like! It means so much to hear from you!!

Day after: So the rest of my birthday was just as good as the beginning, though again with the exception of the weather which only remained as wet as earlier and got even colder. We started at a couple of different bars and then ended up in a karaoke bar which was a completely unique and hilarious experience, mostly because you have to remember that we are in Finland - so most of the songs were in Finnish. Our (at least 15 of us) enthusiastic attempts to sing along probably sounded absolutely terrible, but at least the karaoke was of the usual standard as well. After Katri, our Finnish friend, did a great Finnish song and our two tutors, Marika and Venla made their debut singing 'hit me baby one more time', we moved on to a nightclub called the Giggling Marlin.

The place was huge - with four different rooms each with their own theme - but really creatively designed with loads of space and tons of people (today is a National Holiday in Finland so everyone was out last night taking advantage)! There was a room with live rock style music, an 'oldies' room, a 'disco' room with the typical nightclub music, and a 'Finnish' room. The Finnish room was quite special - loads of people crammed into the smallest of the four rooms - dancing on the tables and singing along to popular and traditional Finnish music. All in all, we had a fabulous evening complete with licorice shots and other varieties of Finnish cider and alcohol and didn't get home until 4am (mind, in practically broad daylight already). A perfect ending to a great birthday!

p.s. the cartons on the table in the pictures above which look like fruit milk are actually yogurt - the Finnish way!

Pulla Baking Class

Today we had class as usual, but at 6:00pm we went to a pulla baking class. Pulla is traditional Finnish bread similar to what we know as cinnamon buns. Some say this bread originally came from Sweden or Germany, but it has long since been a part of Finnish culture. The pulla we made is actually more specifically called ‘korvapuusti’. In place of cinnamon however is cardamom and crystals of sugar and raisins on top (though there are many variations which might include custard or fruit filling).

In groups, we combined ingredients and kneaded the dough by hand before finally forming the round shapes and braided circles using a somewhat unique technique. After letting them rise, coating them with egg and sprinkling sugar and raisins we baked them for about 10 minutes until they were a perfect golden brown. They were almost impossible to resist (in fact, they were impossible and I can’t deny having two straight from the oven) especially since they were hot and so fresh! It was a true Finnish experience and one I hope to remember well so I can make you all Pulla one of these days!

If you want to give it a try before then, below is the recipe we used today (though in European measurements so you may need to do some conversions). Happy Baking!

1/2 liter milk
50g fresh yeast
1 egg
2 dl sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon cardamom
200g melted butter/margarine
1 kg wheat flour

Warm up the milk but do not boil. Dissolve the yeast in milk and then add the egg, sugar, salt and cardamom and mix well. Slowly knead the flour using your hand(s) into the mixture until dough has a heavy and not too slimy consistency. Add the melted butter and additional flour if necessary and continue to knead it all together by hand. The dough should be heavy and still a bit sticky but be sure to not add too much flour (it should not be like pie dough). Divide the dough equally and shape into small round balls or be more creative and try braids. Just ensure they are all of approximately the same size so they bake equally. Let sit to rise for approximately 10 minutes before brushing egg over them. Sprinkly with sugar, cinnamom, raisins or whatever suits your fancy and place the pullas on wax paper in the oven at 225C for 8-10 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes or so and enjoy!

Week 1

Last week we took a class in Leadership and Management which was quite interesting and gave me a new perspective on organisational cultures that I had not received at Anglia Ruskin. Our class was composed of about 25 students from Finland, Estonia, Poland, Nigeria, Ghana, Czech Republic, France, Britain and Switzerland, so it was wonderfully intercultural. Each week our classes are composed in a similar fashion – combining Jyväskylä students with international students – and all coming from different subject areas so it is really quite refreshing and nice to hear all the different viewpoints. Classes are held in different buildings each week – last week on the main campus and this week in the business school down by the lake with a wonderful view (see photo). Classes are everyday from about 9am to 3pm or 4pm with an hour in the middle for lunch.

Lunch in Finland is the main meal of the day and consists of a hot entrée, salad, wonderful homemade bread of all sorts to choose from and the obligatory glass of milk. Since lunch is so heavy, dinner usually consists of Finnish bread and yogurt or something similar. Each time we go to the grocery store, Adeline and I have made a pact to try something new, and this includes different varieties of chocolate (since Adeline is Queen of Chocolate!) but I’m not complaining! They have the most amazing chocolate here called Geisha and it’s as if you were eating a chocolate bar full of Nutella so you can imagine!

This past weekend was the Uptown Festival of Jyväskylä, or Yläkaupungin Kuningaskunta. Unfortunately the weather was terrible, but that did not stop the food vendors from selling some traditional Finnish treats such as tiny fried fish (with eyes, bones and all) but which taste surprisingly good for how they appear. There were also loads of events going on indoors, such as music concerts, museum tours and talks and bands out playing in the street (despite the bad weather). We went to a wonderful a cappella performance by a group called Vola followed by a traditional Finnish folk dance performance by kids and adults alike. We also saw a choir performance with unique individually sung pieces and I even got a glimpse at a brief fire throwing show and some belly dancers. The whole festival had a lot to offer, and would have even more so had the weather been nicer but we still enjoyed it.

Speaking of musical performances, if you thought ice hockey was big in Finland, the latest thing has surpassed all expectations and claimed the hearts of most Finnish people - Lordi (see their website at www.lordi.org/ for a real Finnish and slightly bizarre experience) If you haven’t heard of Lordi, they are a hard metal band who wears plastic monster type costumes from Finland and they just won the Eurovision contest. This is the first time in forty years that Finland has won, so celebrations are abound in true Finnish style! Plus, the Finnish team just got a bronze so that also helps (especially considering the recent lack of enthusiasm for the national team mainly because of their loss to Sweden in the Olympics costing them the gold medal). Of course not everyone is so pleased with this sudden fame since the image of Finland this group portrays is not exactly picturesque.

And while the City of Jyvaskyla is not the prettiest place in the world, mainly because the architecture tends to be in the styles of buildings built in the 70s which is not my favourite, the country itself seems to have a lot to offer. I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue exploring!

Time Flies

Hard to believe I've been here for a week already! How time flies! Part of it is explained by the fact that we've had loads of coursework for our leadership class last week and also still final assessments we're finishing up for Anglia Ruskin. The fact that it is light until well after midnight and again at 4am is part of the problem as well... before you know it is almost 11pm as it is now as I sit here typing but if I were in England now with this kind of light, it would easily be just 8:30pm or so. That being said, we are hardly sleeping simply because we are so thrown off by it all, but also because we've got so much going on.

Most of the goings on this past week have been coursework, unfortunately, though we had an interesting course on Leadership and Management. We've also been busy with other activities such as exploring our surroundings and making trips to the grocery store where we've had loads to explore! It started with our first morning here... we woke up quite early, again due to the light, and were feeling pretty energized by our recent arrival and wanted to explore. Adeline and I took a quick walk around our buildings here which form part of Kortephjan or the 'student village'. Just behind us is a small lake (Finland is the land of 1,000 lakes) surrounded by large trees and through which runs a short path which people ride and skate on. The little wooded paths to the lake, with lily of the valley flowers just waiting to bloom, is swampy due to the amount of snow and ice that only just recently melted as well as the recent rains so unfortunately we could only get so close. The trees have a majestic beauty about them that is mesmorizing ... rays of sunlight stream through, bouncing off the white trunks as they reach for the ground giving life to the young ferns and flowers.

'Kortepohjan', the student village where we live, is a complex of several modern style buildings of varying heights. Each have their own sauna, though only two saunas are open each night so one must pay close attention to the sauna schedule published and distributed to all of the students or else you might just end up in one with the guys. Men and women go to sauna separately except among family and close friends. Sauna is a nude affair where you immerse yourself into a wonderful natural wood covered room (those on the 9th floor with windows offering varying views of Jyvaskyla and the lakes that surround us) and then pop out for a quick shower or brief moment of cool air on the terrace. You'll know you're with Finns as they throw water on the coals every few minutes causing the temperature to soar, today over 90C. We have taken to going just about everyday since the temperatures outside are still quite chilly (still 2C at night and not more than 12C or 15C during the day) and the whole experience is just wonderfully warming and refreshing and leaves you with red faces and damp hair bundled up against the brisk evening air.

Sauna plays an important role in Finnish culture, but the food here is also quite interesting so long as you know what to look for. I say this since the streets of Jyvaskyla are lined with pizzerias serving massive thin crust pizzas for only 5 euros while regional and traditional cuisine is few and far between. Our first morning here, Mother's Day in Finland, the stores were closed so our Finnish friend Marika invited us to her studio flat also in Kortepohjan for some Finnish breakfast. Marika spent the fall semester with us during EMICC in Cambridge so we know her very well... she and Venla (the girl on the right in the picture) are the international student tutors (or advisors). They have been so wonderful and have organised our arrivals, accommodation, events, courses, and just about everything else under the sun, including our first breakfast. Finnish breakfast consists of bread - all sorts of wonderful varieties - cheese and some sort of ham/salami with tea or coffee and wonderful honey.

First Impressions

Walking into the small one room airport at Tampere we were welcomed by a large sign saying 'Tervetuloa'. You are immediately put into a line into passport control and then get your bag from just about the smallest conveyer belt I’ve ever seen. From there we took a quick bus ride past little blue and red houses similar to those in Vermont to the centre of Tampere to catch a train to Jyvaskyla. At the station a woman overheard us say 'Jyvaskyla' and immediately started talking to us and asking where we were from and where exactly we were going and so on for the next three hours - an hour waiting in the station and and a couple on the train to Jvyaskyla. 80 years old with amazing travel experiences, including owning an orchard in Spain which she still harvests fruit for in the fall, within the first five minutes she invited us to her summer home for smoked salmon the Finnish way. We exchanged phone numbers on our Nokia mobiles and went our own ways upon arrival, but it was a wonderful welcome to this beautiful country.

The train ride lasted about about an hour and a half of train without much view since by this time it had gotten quite dark. If you put your face close to the window off in the distance you could see a light sky – but a rich deep blue– it was beautiful. A few twinkly lights here and there but really nothing else but the sounds of our voices and the train on the tracks. We got to the station in Jvyaskyla where Marika, the international student course tutor but also our good friend we met in the fall semester at Anglia Rusking during EMICC, and three others were waiting for us and hopped in a huge taxi for the ten minute ride to the student village. At this point it was about 1am and they had just come from the bars and we were full of mixed emotions of excitement and exhaustion.

Marika showed us to our rooms – Rachael, our British friend from Anglia Ruskin, on the second floor and Adeline and I on the 6^th floor just down the hall from each other. Adeline was also at Anglia Ruskin with me, though originally from France. She spent her last few weeks in Cambridge living with us, and now we are here together). There are two rooms, but my roommate seems to have gone home for a while. We share a small kitchen with a fridge, mini stove and sink and a small bathroom across from that on the other side of the entry hallway. The rooms are actually quite large and sparse (or 'naked' as one person said), spotted only with some orange curtains (necessary in summer when the sun doesn't set until after midnight and rises again at 4am), a desk, an old twisty office chair and what might be considered a bed but really amounts to a piece of wood with a mattress on top no thicker than the length of my thumb (update - my room is now spotted with two beds since Adeline moved in and an eclectic collection of Finnish postcards, pictures, candy wrappers and even flower paper because we could not bear the white prison walls!). As I went to bed, the sky was magnificently blue – similar to my description above but with some clouds added - and more like daybreak since actually, that’s exactly what it was.

The view out of my window is simple but nice… a small hill with beautiful fir and beech trees everywhere which create a wonderful jagged edge against the varying colours of sky. I am on the 6^th floor so I see over most of the few buildings in front and when (key word) the sun actually sets I get faint colours reflected on the clouds above so it's really nice. You can be assured that my first night I slept like a baby, surrounded by magical light and mystical trees... ready for my adventure to begin.