Syllables in Finnish Names!

So a lot of my friends are having babies (primarily in Canada) and like any other North American, I ask what the name choices are going to be.

I discussed these various names with my Finnish friends during a knitting group (which led to their children's names) and how I noticed the name "Tarmo" means "energy" in Finnish and perhaps V�in� should have been named that instead!
Fast forward a few hours of knitting and gossip, and my neighbour who drove me home, asked if I noticed that in general, Finnish people have a 2-syllable first name and a 3-syllable (or more) middle/second name.
That is a common tradition - although  not always practiced.

Thinking through all the friends we have - here are some first names for you!  (and yes they're mostly all 2-syllables!)

• Eino
• Pasi
• Martta
• V�in�
• Sohvi
• Ilkka
• Kirsi
• Olli
• Petrus
• P�ivi
• Kimmo
• Katri
• Lauri
• Heli
• Mikko
• Vilma
• Venla
• Pirkko
• Olavi
• Matti
• Markko
• Kreeta
• Sulevi
• Taneli
• Juhana
• Johanna
• Paula
• Pauliina
• Antti
• Valtteri
• Arttu

Just to name a few!

Taking a Train in Finland

Taking a train in Finland is relatively easy.  (I'll take a photo and add it to this post later today showing you what is what on your ticket -if I can find one!)

Now, buying a ticket is another story.
I don't know how it works in Canada, as I've never purchased a train ticket before...
You can purchase a ticket on VR's site. (I linked it to English for you!)  Here's the catch - your online purchase must go through between the hours of 6am-1130pm.  There are usually people available to buy tickets from on site, but typically after 8am....
When I had to get a ticket to go to Helsinki for that Arnold's meeting, I was submitting my phone number and about to click "SUBMIT" and then the clock turned 11:31pm.  The ticket could not be purchased.
How frustrating!
I looked on the website and found out that I am able to buy tickets from the electronic machines on site (they are green and look like banking machines sort of), as well as at the R Kioski (corner store) located at the train station.  Whew.
The next morning, I was at the train station by 6am, as my train left shortly after and I tried using the electronic machine and had no luck.
WHY?! Because the machine is completely in Finnish or Swedish.  There isn't an English option available! And you can buy bus tickets from this electronic kiosk as well!  Holy confusing!
The worst thing, was the label on the machine..."For technical support please dial..." IN ENGLISH!

I ran to the corner store and asked if I could buy a ticket from her and she said no, but to go to the conductor and he'll sell me a ticket.  Great!

I get on the train, pick an empty seat (hoping that nobody had a ticket for that seat) and waited for the conductor to enter our cabin.  He asked for my ticket and I explained the internet store closed before I could hit submit and the machines aren't in English!  So I handed him my Visa Electron, and they don't accept Visa Electron payments. (Cash and major credit cards I think are accepted....)
What in the WORLD was I going to do?!  The conductor had a loud and deep rumble kind of voice and didn't speak a lot of English either.  Great.  So thankfully, a younger person sitting nearby translated everything for me....
When I got to Helsinki - I had to go to the train station and purchase the ticket from Jyv�skyl� to Helsinki, and my return ticket there....then it'd be okay.  PHEW!

When I told some of my Finnish friends this wild story - they said I was very lucky I didn't get kicked off at the next stop!  (Plus there's an 80� fee for being on the train without a ticket).

However, the cool thing about buying your ticket online is that you can get a text message to your phone with a bar code.  This bar code can be scanned by the conductor, so you don't have to worry about losing your paper ticket :).  How environmentally friendly!

Just make sure you have proper ID if you're a student purchasing a student ticket...you should have it on you just in case you bought a ticket online with your name on it anyway.

And just in case you're thinking, "If I don't buy the ticket like the conductor suggested, and get on the train a few hours later...what are the chances they are working the opposite route, different train...?"
Answer: VERY LIKELY.  So don't be cheeky!

Summer Life in Finland

Another wonderful warm day in Finland...and where it is much drier than Nova Scotia...it's not humid!  I love it here!
With the exception that it can get quite hot and dry, as we're on the top floor and the sun aims itself into our flat regularly....

So how does one "Survive" a Finnish summer?
Seeing as this is our second summer...let me explain what we've been doing.

First of all - there's about 20 hours of sunlight a day now...wild eh? ("eh" is a Canadian thing...just a filler but sounds like "ei" which means "no" in Finnish)
Don't believe me? Check out this video of a time lapse I found on Youtube (through Facebook) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTjyt-6hJQw&feature=youtu.be

Where it's a drier summer - I don't recommend wearing contacts.  And nose bleeds tend to be common if you're not used to this dry, hot weather (think Alberta, Canada)...to help prevent nosebleeds - use a Q-Tip and some vaseline and put some into your nostrils.
Sounds disgusting but my brother and I grew up with awful nosebleeds (think 2+ hours)...this is the only thing that helped after our parents hunted around for a remedy for us!

Okay! So back to Finnish summers, because there is a tonne of sunlight- you need super dark curtains.  Or you will not get much sleep! Especially if you're sensitive to light!
Even at midnight, the sun sits on the horizon for a couple hours then comes back up by 3 or 4am!  My husband often takes the dogs out at this hour - to avoid other dogs and he also brings books with him so he can do some reading while the dogs run around.  That's how light it is outside.
One could do crafts outside at that hour...it's that light enough!

Mosquitoes aren't as bad here as NS but I suppose it depends on what part of Finland you go to.  The more Northern parts of Finland have swarms of them....like in Lapland!
Wasps and ticks are common...liquid flea/tick treatments for dogs run about 44� for 3 months and can be found at the local pharmacy "Aptekki" or at your vet.  Pet shops do not sell this medication but they do have flea collars.  Some grocery stores carry the flea collar as well...

Even though the sauna is hot - Finns love their sauna.  Remember in the winter, I mentioned that the "really crazy Finns" like to go in the sauna then come out, roll in the snow and then jump into a hole in the lake?  Well summer version is apparently just hang out in the breeze and/or jump into the lake to cool off and repeat.

Cottage! Jyv�skyl� is a University kind of town - so when it's summer time - it can be a ghost town downtown....it doesn't have the tumbling bales of hay - but it's pretty empty in comparison to the school year. That, and a lot of people go to their summer cottage for a month or two and spend time with their family and relax.

BBQ! I love barbecuing...or "grill" as Finns refer to it...I love it so much!  That's one less pot or pan I have to clean!

A friend of mine suggested to keep all the windows closed and the curtains down throughout the day so the warm air doesn't blow inside...then once it's cooled off a bit - then open up your windows and you'll get the cooler breeze....

Swim, visit family and friends...and just enjoy all the sunshine you can because when winter comes...the sun comes up by 10am...and goes down by 3 or 4pm!

When Travelling to London Heathrow Airport....

If you are not planning on staying in London and have another flight to catch  please ensure you have at least 4-5 hours between flights.


Why? Well, here's our trip home...(So much for that previous glowing review Air Canada!)

We were flying from Halifax to St. John's, Newfoundland and then to London...THEN to Helsinki.
Simple right?  We checked in our luggage and got our boarding passes and the Air Canada rep at the desk notified us that we have to pick up our luggage in London and re-check it in AND THEN go through customs and security again.
We had less than 2 hours to connect to our next flight...FYI Heathrow is a monster-huge airport...


We looked at this girl like she was nuts and she said yes we definitely have to go through customs.

Our flights were smooth and easy and for 30 minutes we hovered in the air in circles (you could see the little white plane and green line going in circles literally on the map on TV) above Heathrow.  Why? Probably because all the lanes were booked!  So we went from having almost 2 hours to having less than 1.5 hours to get on the next plane.
Thanks to this delay, we missed our flight entirely.  We had to wait 45 minutes in a SUPER huge line up (as we have Canadian passports and are listed in the "All Other Passports" line up in which there are less than 6 reps clearing customs)....The staff doing customs and security both asked us "Why are you clearing customs?!  Don't bother rushing - you aren't gonna make it."
Funny...we were thinking the same freaking thing.
 We were not impressed and went to British Airways to get our new flight.  They said we had to go to Air Canada and get them to re-book us....

1st Trip
We go to Air Canada and the young fellow books us in and says, "Well, I don't know if you're flying with British Airways or Finnair.  Go check Finnair and if not - go to British Airways. There's a flight at 1020am...you still have time to get in there."  (It was 8:15am or so....)
(Insert death look but with a happy voice).

We go to Finnair who has 0 record of us being there and march over to British Airways.
They have Tim registered and printed a boarding pass for him (flight is not at 1020am...but now at 1230pm)...
Nothing for me and our son, V�in�. (Insert not impressed look and stern voice).


2nd Trip 
I go back to that young man and give him a death stare that would make Darth Vader proud and a voice of a reprimanding teacher...and he says, "Oh I'm terribly sorry Miss.  I just got a call - there...*twenty minutes of me standing there he types* now you're booked.  Go back to British Airways and they'll print out your pass."

I go back and British Airways says, "You are here with a reference number but your son is still not listed as infant and doesn't have a reference number."
(I am threatening to choke the Air Canada rep in front of the British Airway reps and they smiled calmly and said, "We'd recommend flying through to Toronto with Air Canada next time then BA all the way to Helsinki in future...you wouldn't go through this garbage if this was us!" Thanks - good to know.)

3rd and final trip
I stand there with our Passports in hand (Tim and V�in� are patiently waiting by British Airways and I think, at this point, my husband is terrified of me) and the reference numbers for myself and my husband...
I have a look on my face that screams "I am so kicking you in the nuts if you don't get this straightened out..." and my voice is so cold I think Lord Voldemort might be proud of me...
"Listen.  This is my 3rd and FINAL trip to see you to get this straightened out.  This is what needs to be done and I am beyond fed up with having to run back and forth and hope I catch the 1230pm flight to Helsinki." (it's almost 11AM by this point!)
He explains that he doesn't understand why I need a reference number or whatever, because V�in� is an infant and would be in my lap anyway.  Fine - I get that.
THEN HE SAYS: "Here - take the ticket to them..that should make them happy.  And I hope we don't see each other again and I mean that in the kindest of ways Miss."

WHY DIDN'T HE GIVE ME THE TICKET THE FIRST OR SECOND TIME I SAW HIM?!
And it's not like he was waiting long for it - he calmly walked to the printer and it was already sitting there...because he avoided talking me and looking at me when he saw that I was in the line again for the 3rd time and decided this was his prime time to type like mad...

So...if you travel via ANY AIR LINE and they tell you - you have to stop in London and you have less than 5 hours to get to your next flight - fight it!

The reason why we're so upset is because we have 2 dogs at home with a dog sitter and obviously the airlines aren't going to pay for the extra time the dog sitter has to be with them if we kept missing flights.
As well, we're travelling with an infant who is very sensitive to time differences..he was accustomed to Canadian time and London is 2 hours different from Finland.  THEN we were late leaving by 4 hours...so jet lag was a major concern for us - seeing as Finland has 20 hours of sunlight now...

Gossip.

Finns love their gossip magazines as much as I do! Except I don't dig the Finnish ones....I'm all about Perez Hilton (he's really changed compared to before) and more legit gossip sites like People.com.


So - let's gossip!


Finns often ask me what I know about Finland now, versus prior to moving here.  Answer is still: not much.  Then they ask if I follow Finnish celebrity gossip - same answer - not really.
But! Ask me anything about North American gossip and I am on top of it!


So to enlighten those of you that may be Finnish (or non North Americans) - I will let you know who is Canadian...

• Celine Dion ("My Heart Will Go On" is one of her famous tunes from the Titanic soundtrack)
• Justin Bieber (yes it's true...he's from Stratford, Ontario)
• Pamela Anderson (although ask any Finn and they say she's more Finnish because of her family history)
• Wayne Gretzky (most Finns are familiar because he played with some Finnish hockey players)
• Sidney Crosby (not many Finns are aware of who he is)
• Ellen Page (she was the actress in Inception!)
• Jay Manuel (the guy with silver colored hair on America's Next Top Model)
• David Furnish (Sir Elton John's husband)
  
• Dan Aykroyd (Ghostbusters)
• Neve Campbell (Scream 1-4)
• Jim Carrey (The Mask)
• Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future)
• Victor Garber (Alias and as James Cameron in Titanic)
• Ryan Gosling (The Notebook)
• Joshua Jackson (Dawson's Creek)
• Rachel McAdams (The Notebook)
• Barenaked Ladies
• Alanis Morissette
• Bryan Adams
• Burton Cummings (The Guess Who)
• Nelly Furtado
• Michael Buble
• Shania Twain
• Our Lady Peace
• Chantel  Kreviazuk
• Nickleback
• Gordon Lightfoot
• Sum 41
• The Moffatts
• Treble Charger
• ME!

And there you have it!

What's Your Status?

No it's not Facebook related or a bad pick-up line...I really mean it!
What is Your Status?

The reason for me finding out what my status meant, is because I recently had an offer for a potential job with Arnold's as a franchisee.
How in the world did I get this offer? Remember that review I did awhile ago, of Arnold's in Turku and in Jyv�skyl�? (Click the above link to read it again if you wish!)

Well, I was requested to contact someone, who turned out to be one of the co-founders of Arnold's and is the current Managing Director.
After a meeting and several discussions via phone and email, I was offered a potential position as a franchisee of the Arnold's location downtown Jyv�skyl�.
Nothing is official or has been signed.


So after all these discussions, we realized one important factor: "Can I even work here in Finland?"
Off to the Finnish Police station I go! There's the Police station and there's the separate building across from it that's for licensing...and they have foreign assistance.
After a quick review of my current residence permit - there was confirmation that yes, I CAN work in Finland! AND there's no restrictions.

Why?  Because my residence permit status starts with an "A".  If my status started with a "B" - then it would've been a no go.  (It was "B" status my first year here and is now an "A" status).
So by "no restrictions" - I was advised that I can work as many hours as I'd like and make as much money as I wanted....

I'll keep y'all updated on everything!  Thanks for the support!

Some photos of Nova Scotia,Canada

Another cloudy day....this is the clock tower near the top of Citadel Hill (Halifax, NS)

Bud The Spud has new owners (previous ones retired) and is a fry stand!  They're parked along Spring Garden Road, closer to Barrington Street -outside of the Library

Public Gardens is a popular spot for formal photos (i.e. prom, weddings etc.) and is nice to walk around and also has a duck pond.

Part of Public Gardens

Bologna and Kraft Dinner

This is sort of what a poutine looks like...It's not the best (go to Qu�bec for that!) but it's alright!

Where I'm from...this sign is new (it wasn't there in October) and the funny thing about this sign is that the North End of Dartmouth is known for its violence, drugs and crime. (Homicides too -but hey, that's another story.)

I wrongfully called this a zoo...The husband jumped down my throat...