You Either Can or You Kant(ele)!

I have been hunting (not very hard) high and low for a Kantele.
What is a Kantele?

It's a Finnish harp - usually made with 5 strings...although there are variations!
(Unfortunately I have exceeded my photos limit on this blog so I cannot post photos of my own turquoise coloured Kantele I bought recently!)
And if you happen to be a self-learner - there ARE English Youtube videos on how to play this beautiful instrument!

Why in the world would I want one?
My oldest son is named V�in� which is short for V�in�m�inen - who is famous in the Finnish Epic, The Kalevala, for being able to play the Kantele extremely well...along with being awesome as magic and so on.

Recently, I was at a craft fair held at the University of JKL last weekend and there was a Kantele maker selling them!
It was a bit pricey but I don't know when I'll ever get the chance again!  It also came with an extra string and a tuning key...

This instrument is still being taught in Finnish schools today!!
So if you ever get the oppourtunity to test one out - definitely try it!!

Arts & Crafts & Baked Goods!

Hello all!

If you're in Jyv�skyl� and happen to be going to the Arts & Crafts Exhibition going on at Ilokivi - perhaps you will see me there!
I will be selling freshly baked goods (INCLUDING dog biscuits!) and there will be other vendors involved too!
One person is selling Vietnamese food, some people are selling cards and who knows what else!
It should be lots of fun and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Cheers! :)

Real Mail...You Want Some?

Do you remember life before the internet?
Before speedy emails and funny forwards...a life before chat-rooms, MSN, Skype and video chats?
Before Myspace, www. some website . com, Google and Yahoo?
A life before FACEBOOK?

I do and I miss it some times!  I now hate talking on the phone but I do love writing letters!
The problem is that I don't always have time to write nice, long letters!!
So what is the alternative? Post cards!
They are small, limited space to write in and you can find all kinds of different designs!  They're affordable, available pretty much anywhere in the world and light-weight to send.

And if you want to send a post card to someone at random - there is a website that can help you do so!

Postcrossing allows you to send up to 5 post cards at a time (with free registration) to a completely random stranger in the world!
Once your card is registered (you have to write your code on the back of the post card) then you are able to send more cards!  The number of cards does increase over time.

So far I have sent cards to Germany, Poland, Taiwan and the USA!
And I just received my first one yesterday from Poland!!

Enjoy and have fun Postcrossing! :)

Got Kala?

A couple nights ago, I had to do a MASSIVE grocery shopping trip in preparation for Restaurant Day.
I ended up missing my bus back home and opted to eat my sandwich and smoothie at the little dining area of Sokos (bottom floor).
Munch, munch, munch was me and happily enjoying my sandwich and my new knitting projects I started.
I noticed someone else was enjoying his meal but I could feel him staring at me from a couple tables away.  I looked up at him to see if I recognized him - nope.
So I took my phone out and checked my email and Facebook and continued to enjoy my late night supper.
When I was finished, I still had some time to kill so I just sat there and returned some emails and this man (older fellow) who had been eating and staring at me decided to pay me a visit.
I instantly wondered what I could have done wrong and if there were any signs of my supper in my teeth...
He decided to say hello and tell me that his piece of fish was fantastic.  It was so good that he decided to try and get me to go and buy some (despite my 3 massive and fully packed grocery bags - the re-usable kinds not the smaller plastic ones).
He even gave me his price tag sticker so I would know exactly what to ask for and he was just so excited about his fish (kala in Finnish) being tasty that he knows I would love it too.
How did I respond?

I nodded, grunted a bit (I did have some food still in my mouth when he first popped over to see me) and nodded some more.
I then smiled and said, "Hyv��!  Kiitos - ja heippa!"  (Good/great!  Thanks and bye!)
This was deemed a very respectable response and he merrily went on his way.
I don't think he was drunk at all - just wanted to get courage to perhaps talk to someone - maybe he felt lonely or maybe that fish was to die for.

Another Reason To NOT Go With Sampo!

"Dear Sampo Bank (Jyv�skyl� downtown branch):

Please put someone at the front desk who knows how to do their job.
By doing their job - I don't mean a pretty face who just sits there and directs people here and there without a care.

Today I walked into the bank at 10:15am with a baby (thankfully asleep) and advised you I needed to deposit a cheque.
Your staff looked at me as if I was wasting his time by asking him this and directed me to the teller line up.
I in turn, gave him a weird look because I have never deposited a cheque with the teller before but always with a personal banking officer (PBO) because there is always some lengthy sort of process required.
I thought maybe there is a new procedure, as it has been awhile since I've made a bank deposit (cheque-wise) and patiently waited 15 minutes.
I got to the teller and handed him my Finnish ID card, my phone which has my bank account number written in it and the cheque.
The teller tells me immediately, "I'm sorry you have to go over there (gesturing to the PBO area) to deposit this."
(I knew this was going to happen....a part of me just knew it.)
I informed him, "Well, your staff at the front desk told me to come wait here.  It is in Euros and from the Nordea bank in Helsinki..." I point at the bottom of the cheque.
He rushed over to his colleague at the front desk who confirmed that yes, I should be waiting for a PBO - please note he didn't even look in my direction because he knows he f'd up.
But because it was written up in Canada - it was deemed an "international" cheque and I had to get a number and wait.
So I waited another 20 minutes to see a PBO and may I point out that had I been directed to go to the PBO area to begin with - I would have been out almost right away.  Because numbers 002-005 weren't present. They were probably tired of waiting for the 1 PBO who happened to be actively working with customers - since the others were doing paperwork of some type.

The main point of this complaint?  Aside from your staff giving me poor directions and wasting over 45 minutes of my time - he seems quite under-educated.
Why would I suggest this?
A) I spoke in English and I look like a foreigner and was mentioning the word "CHEQUE".
Why should it have been SUPER obvious that I am depositing an "International" cheque?

B) Because Finland hasn't used cheques in over 20 years.  So it's obviously not from Finland...

I sincerely hope someone in your organization reads this and perhaps you can give a crash course to whoever sits at the front greeting desk.

Sincerely yours,
A Pissed Off Customer"


______________________________________________________________________________

If you are making a deposit to your own account - yes, you do need identification.  Seems silly I suppose but I believe it's for the safety of the bank and your account.
Just make sure you bring your ID - either a passport, driving license or a Finnish ID card to make your banking transactions in person.
Do NOT bring your Finnish Residence Permit Card as it may not be accepted as proper identification.

Good-Bye English?

As you probably already know, I am a member of the "Foreigners in Jyv�skyl�" Facebook Group, where we are able to exchange information about local events (i.e. sales, shops being closed, events and so on) and have monthly meet-ups.
So one SUPER hot topic that is going on in Jyv�skyl� right now is the possibility of shutting down ALL English-speaking programs and classes in Jyv�skyl�.

Why is this bad?

• Some families don't stay in Finland for very long - so continuing their education in English would be SUPER important for them (and make life a heck of a lot easier).
• The oppourtunities for foreign families to move here would drop significantly and that means less money for local businesses and less enrolled students.

Want to help and try to DO something about this?

Kirsti Earl started a petition that can be found here and there are only 9 more (digital) signatures required!!!

So PLEASE sign if you live in Finland or know someone who lives here that benefits from having English-speaking programs!!!

And spread the word!!