How to Ruin Someone's Day...

This is not particularly "Finnish" but yet again, a situation that happened at the local S Market...
(I'm sure if you've read my previous odd experiences they're a hoot and I'm glad they entertain you.  No really - I am!)

I was having a pretty decent day - considering my oldest son screamed for an hour at 2am and again at 4:50am...stomach pains or teething - not sure.

Anyway - we had gone downtown to do some shopping - the grocery shops were packed because tomorrow is a holiday (Finnish Independence Day) - and of course, we needed to get some groceries....

So we walked back from downtown and headed into the local S Market and I was checking off things from my mental grocery list (milk, meat, bread, coffee etc). when the Chinese lady saw me and said hello.

What Chinese lady?  Oh, well the one who tried to give me her cat awhile ago...

She stopped me and started chatting with the boys and V�in� was in a pissy mood to begin with - so I told her "Oh don't mind him he's in a bad mood - he has new teeth coming."
She smiles and nods and apologizes to him for making him scream more...she's touching his dinosaur fleece hat and under his chin...and she pulls it back and sees a HUGE black bruise on the bottom of his chin.

Rewind to last Saturday...V�in� jumps A LOT.  He's a spirited kid (more energetic and more demanding etc.) and doesn't have very good aim sometimes.  He jumped from one couch to another - missed and caught the couch frame (bottom part where the cushions rest) with his chin.
It's black....Tim nor I have never had a black bruise before..anyway.
(Fast forward)


So she looks at the bruise and shock is all over her face and she looks at me and is about to yell "WAHHHHH" or something else - who knows.
I cut her off before she could out-loud accuse me of beating my child and said, "He fell off the couch."
She THEN continues to stare at the bruise and at me...and this is the part that ruined my day...

"Why you not watch him?!"
"I do watch him - he's very fast and ..." me (NEVER MIND the fact that I also have a new baby in the house - well he's almost 2 months old... and that I MIGHT be home alone when this happened and my husband could be at work...Anyways...)
"Why you let this happen?!  He hurt!"
"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"  I say firmly
"Oh you bad mom letting him get hurt!"
(Count to 3 before I slap her silly)
"Look - I'm going to leave now before I really yell at you.  Good bye." and I walk away.

THEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In true Chinese-fashion - she laughs really loudly and starts smacking me in the arm...
"A HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAA" (smack smack smack my arm)

I guess she didn't get my hint that I was super pissed about her comments either.
I wasn't joking about yelling at her - and perhaps she wasn't joking about calling me a bad mother and silently accusing me of beating my kid.

When in Finland...

Now if that was a Finn instead of a Chinese lady - oh wait.  That wouldn't happen if it was a Finn because they do us the kindness of keeping to themselves.  Perhaps if it was a friend that is a Finn - I'd laugh it off a lot more...but a person I barely know (whom I am pretty sure doesn't have children) borderline accuses me of abusing my kids and being a crappy mother - that makes me mad.

Pizza!

If you come to Finland - you'll be able to find many  pizza shops and kebab houses (shops).
Well, there's one nearby called Sebastian and we were told from some pretty reliable sources that their pizza was HUGE and amazing.

Lately neither my husband or I have been getting a lot of sleep - so we thought we'd go and get a pizza from Sebastian's and I was excited! (I normally do the cooking...so a night "off" was a great thing!)

When ordering a pizza there - there are two sizes.  "Normal" or "Family".  We opted for a larger size and got a "Sebastian Special Pizza".  It cost 17� and had the following toppings:  Bacon, salami, ham, minced meat, kebab meat and house mayonaise.

You read correctly - MAYONAISE on a pizza!!!
Finns seem to like to take a walk on the wild side with pizza here...

Some other ingredient options?

• Reindeer (usually smoked and crumbly like ground beef)
• Peaches
• Eggs
• Curry mayonaise or garlic flavoured
• Blue cheese
• Sour cream
• Leek
• Capers
• Taco sauce
• Asparagus
• Olives
• Banana

And of course there are the regular toppings like: pepperoni, bacon (real pieces of cooked bacon), mushrooms (usually canned unless you order from Rosso's - a chain located downtown), bell pepper etc.

So what did our pizza look like?

It was folded to fit into the box...yup.

And it was pretty tasty - although we skipped the mayonaise....and there were plenty of left-overs afterward too!

The staff are pretty nice there - especially the fellow with the bald head and HUGE smile...he also speaks English (most of their staff do).

I also got a "pizza" card - so every time we buy a pizza we get a stamp.  Family sized ones get 2 stamps...buy 9 get the 10th one free (normal size I assume).

Skype.......

Skype, MSN, Facebook and other places that have video chat - to me, are fantastic!
Internet is more affordable than long distance calls...and if the other person isn't there- no big deal!  You didn't waste anything more than time.
Internet chatting with a web cam is fabulous for a variety of reasons:

• You can have a very long-distance interview! (Even celebrities do it!)
• You can meet new people!
• You can be at the event without being there in person (if you're un-able to make it or you're ill) - like a Baptism party (my friends have done it) or other private ceremony.
• You have a business meeting of sorts...
• You can see the other person(s) - which is nice because you can't do that on a phone really...some phones you can - and I'm sure in the future it's possible to have video phones....
• You can teach things via webcam!
• You can craft or work together via internet video chatting (I am planning a card-kit exchange with a friend and we'll do the card kits together and open them together via Skype!! I'm so excited!)...think literally "stitch and bitch" just many countries apart!

Now we get to the point of this post...

There's a mall in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) that now offers Skype with Santa.

You can meet him and see him and his elves hard at work in the North Pole (a Finn would scream "LAPLAND!!!!" right about now) via a huge TV screen.  Lovely.

NOT.

How do you get your photo taken with him??
How do you whisper your deepest secrets and wishes into his ear via Skype?!

How does your child, who's been gathering courage and a list a mile long for about 360/365 days of the year SIT ON HIS LAP?!


I can understand from Santa's point of view some things like:

• His lap gets pretty sore from all kinds of children of various sizes sitting on him all day long for a month and a half... or so...
• His ears ringing with screams of babies and children....
• His face hurting when children yank on his facial hair or beard to see if it's real....
• His face hurting from smiling all day...
• His fear of having a child who might recognize him and wrecking it for their friends and other people in line....
• His worries of getting sick from one of those kids who dragged their parents to see him and having to go to work the next day anyway - because that's what pays the bills...and let's face it - Santa has to shop too you know!
• His need to use the bathroom or eat when there's a massive line up of kids dying to see him...

But SKYPE WITH SANTA?! Seriously?!

(Some parents were interviewed in the above clip and I agree with them...it takes the fun and magic out of Christmas if your kid has to Skype Santa...and I'm thinking  - what happens when they get home and see that blue button with a white "S" on the computer screen (or your cell phone)...they'll be wanting to call Santa 24/7!  But for the parent who complained that she came to Toronto and was mad about the Skyping Santa bit...listen lady.  I'm pretty sure you're IN Toronto and that Toronto has at least 3 other malls with real-live-in-person Santas available for your kid to sit on....okay I'm done.)

You better watch out...you better not cry...

If you're new to Finland - welcome.  I hope this blog provides useful and fun information for you.
One thing that you should probably know now - (especially since Christmas is in about 23 days) is that Santa is from Lapland, Finland.

Don't believe me? Of course not - unless you're a Finn.
He's from your own country....or perhaps he resides in the North Pole (popular location known by the North Americans).

Every year we gather with our friends (or try to) during the holiday season and we discuss family traditions, country's traditions (or typical ones anyway) for the holidays.
I'm ALWAYS asked about the Man in Red.

Well, let me break it down for you. (Sorry if you've been following my blog way back in the beginning and this is slightly repetitive...)

North American View of Santa

• Blue twinkling eyes, white bushy beard, a nose like a cherry, red suit with white trim, black boots and black belt with a buckle....a jolly laugh and a large round belly!
• Depending where you're from in the world - he has a different name!:
• Santa Claus (or just Santa)
• P�re Noel (French)
• Father Christmas
• Kris Kringle
• Saint Nicholas
• Papai Noel (Portugese)
• That scary man in the red suit...ha. (He's not meant to be scary but quite often to children - he can be).
• You can often find Santa in the malls around November and have your children sit on his lap - have a small chit chat and get a photo taken - and maybe he'll give you a candy cane!  
• Or in the case of Toronto, Ontario (Canada)....you can SKYPE WITH SANTA!!  I think this is totally ridiculous and takes the fun out of everything....but I'll blog about that later too.
• In Canada - you can write him a letter and expect a response (I haven't tried it outside of December...).  Here's his address: 
• SANTA CLAUS
  THE NORTH POLE
  HOH OHO
  (Volunteers respond at the post office - it's super sweet.)
• Drives a huge sleigh with 8 reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen)...9 if you include the red-nosed one who can light the way - Rudolph....
• They land on your roof top or outside your door if you don't have a big enough roof....
• Delivers gifts silently while children sleep on Christmas Eve - to be opened Christmas Day in the morning - via your chimney.  Don't have one? He has a key to your door....and can sneak in and out pretty quietly for a big jolly guy!
• Leave him cookies you've baked and a glass of milk...his reindeer enjoy carrot sticks...It's hard work magically flying and pulling a huge sled with a huge sack of toys and Santa plus a couple helping elves...
• If you're good - you get a nice toy and he'll fill your socks/stockings that are hung by the chimney with care....
• If you're bad - you get coal.  (Better get a good stain remover for your stocking! Actually...I'll blog about an excellent stain remover another time!) 

My first year here - I told one of Tim's colleagues (now one of my friends) all this and she looked at me stunned.

She then explained quite firmly that Santa is from Finland...specifically Lapland, Finland.

There's even a Santa's Village!  So - there.
And I kid you not - she said something along these lines:

"Santa does not deliver gifts to kids while they sleep and drink Coca-Cola!"  

(Thanks Americans for that one).

What does he do in Finland?

Finland's View of Santa

• In Finnish he's known as "Papai Noel" (I think - this is Google Translate talking...)
• He's from Lapland, Finland...cut the crap about the North Pole...it's not true!
  There is a Santa's Village in Lapland!   Check out their website!
• Santa delivers toys to children on Christmas Eve...in person and while they are awake!  (It's typical in Europe to open your gifts Christmas Eve and have your big dinner then).
• His reindeer don't fly...or have the above names.  I don't even think he has reindeer that assist him in delivering gifts...
  (Although in Helsinki there is a parade of sorts when Santa arrives....)

So there you have it!

There is even a Santa Convention every year...and one year the Finnish Santa disagreed with where they stated Santa came from...so he refused to attend..or something like that.... (Hello Hardcore Santa!)
And if you have a suit and can be jolly and speak Finnish - you can probably be hired as Santa.

(Kids are smart enough to pick out their parents, neighbours and uncles).

So...post an ad about your skills as Santa and you'll probably be gobbled up quickly with requests!

Some finer points you should highlight about yourself in your ad (and it has been done!):

• If you like kids at all.
• Whether or not you smoke (aka will you smell or cause some poor kid an asthma attack)...
• If you will be sober or not (FYI sober Santas are a huge hit and can sometimes be hard to find!)
• If you are reliable and honest....timing is everything!

Good luck and HO HO HO!

In your opinion....Where is Santa from?

All info is as correct as possible with only 2-3 hours of sleep and a busy memory...feel free to correct anything I may have said in-correctly! :)

How TOUGH are YOU?

Finns love saunas....there's no shame in the naked body (I'll post about that separately) and there's nothing "odd" or taboo about seeing someone else naked at all!

However, in the video I'm about to share with you (not made by me - found it on Youtube while searching for something else)  - they wear bathing suits because it's being filmed internationally and there are hundreds of spectators....

Did you know - there are such things as "SAUNA CHAMPIONSHIPS"??!?!?!?!
For real!
So the point is to sit in a sauna with other people and see who can last the longest without passing out, covering your face or eyes, leaving/chickening out or dying.  (Apparently in a sauna championship there was once a Russian and a Finn...the Russian died and the Finn was the champ.  No joke!)
And someone is increasing the temperature by adding water to the stove, which causes more steam...higher temperatures and less oxygen in the sauna for you to breathe.
People have been forced to leave (a judge looks in while another judge tracks the time) and given immediate medical attention (and cold water of course).

Don't believe me? Check out this video...

Well, may I also remind you from one of my much earlier posts (I can't find it right now but I'll quickly explain again) - that in the winter - Finns (not all but some) enjoy sauna...near a lake?

They go in the sauna and to cool off - if they choose not to use the shower (why bother since it's winter outside and dry?!) they stand out in the snow or outside of the sauna building...yeah I've done that before (in a towel outside).

And sometimes..........they jump into a hole made in the lake!
And sometimes....they jump into the hole made in the lake and then - 




ROLL IN THE SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Yeah...and they still live to tell the tale.  (And rush back into the sauna after to warm up then put their clothes back on if they're done).
I spoke to a friend's husband and he told me he did it all the time before GOING TO SCHOOL!  It was a great way to wake up and start the day fresh...yeah no kidding.
I asked about frost bite or hypothermia (or is it hyper...anyway) - and he said if you're in the lake for a couple of seconds then jump back out and rush back indoors - you're fine.
You're at higher risk for frost bite and other dangers if you stay in the water too long.

So in case you're wondering - no I have never and will probably never ever roll in the snow or jump in a lake.
Partially because the lake is too far away, the sauna's in my building and I am too much of a chicken.
(And we lack snow right now too...the rain melted it all!)

House for Sale!

No, not ours - we don't have a house.  We're renting.

However, our friends are moving to the other side of the world and need to sell their house!

You can find information here (in Finnish sorry)...but it's a cute little house with lots of space and 2 floors and a sauna house that's outside.

Located in Jyv�skyl�, Finland.

Friday's Cookie is...

Domino Truffle Cookies topped with crushed Marianne candy!

Available while supplies last from 10am-5pm at Poppeli! (Dec. 2, 2011)

I have made 10 packages - 3 cookies in each one for 2�/package!!

YUMMY!