Don’t you just love ruska?
Tag Archives: finland
September Equinox
The September Equinox marks the start of the big changes for autumn and the point at which days become shorter the fastest here in Finland. This far north, for every day we lose 5 minutes of daylight, which is quite a noticeable difference.
If you haven’t bought a bright light lamp yet and you live hereabouts, you should.
Have I mentioned how beautiful Finnish lakes are?
Mexican Independence Day, 199th edition
This year we celebrated Mexican independence day in Helsinki. The reception, organised by the Mexican embassy, had very high attendance with over 300 people. You can check mine or Ricardo’s great photos of the event or a couple of videos below.
Challenging stereotypes and learning the local culture
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: given that the amount of foreigners in Finland is the lowest in western Europe, and that I have little if anything to do with the stereotype of immigrants here besides the fact that I’m a little bit darker than the average I continuously feel I’m some sort of pioneer on a mission to challenge those beliefs.
The latest episode was funnily enough with a teacher of Finnish as a foreign language. When I explained I’m very interested in knowing what kind of Finnish literature are teenagers exposed to in high school, she was more than a little surprised (I’m not sure in a positive way) especially since I continued by saying that it is so that I understand Finnish cultural references better as I haven’t been exposed to them in my professional studies (“Oh, so you have a profession?”) even though I have taken the Yleiskielentutkinto, the official exam of Finnish proficency.
I wonder what kind of reaction would I get if I told her I’m thinking of starting Swedish lessons, which would be my 9th language…
Parikkala
We have been visiting this small corner of Finnish Karelia a few time sin the past year because a good friend lives there. While it is far too small for me to even remotely think about establishing myself there, I was really glad to meet good friends and have Carelian pies (Carelian stew was not available this time, but it’s awesome over there).
Waking up early in the morning has its advantages
Helsinki Twestival
Good people, interesting conversations, beer and live videoblogging of the event. All for a good cause: saving the Baltic sea.