How To Pick-Up Your Child From Day-Care...(Version 2.0)

Do you remember when your parents picked you up from day-care (or the sitter's) and all they had to do was sign a chart with their name and time they took you out for the day?  (By take you out - I mean you went home, ate supper, played a bit then went to bed).
Or perhaps they just went up to the teacher and said, "Hi Mrs. George - how are things?  Oh that's wonderful that Alice used the potty today and didn't have any accidents.  Of course we'll see you tomorrow (or Monday) - you take care now!"  Or something like that...
Maybe you have children and you use one of the above methods to take them home from day care.

Well, guess what?  That is SO old school and now known as "Version 1.0 - How to Pick-Up Your Child From Day-Care".

Finland is moving on and up to Version 2.0.
I recently went to day-care to pick up my oldest and they asked me if I had a "takki" (sounded like).
I quickly ran through my Finnish in my head and pointed to my coat and said, "Yes - I have my coat.  Why?"
The teacher shook her head and one of the parents passing by pulled out his keys and there hanging off of them was a dark blue key fob ("electronic key").
I was so confused.

Apparently the Finnish day-care systems are putting this NFC ("Near Field Communication" ?) system on trial and testing things out.
It will become permanent effective April 1st, 2013.

You have to find your child's teacher that's carrying the smart phone with the tag's sensor and press your tag twice onto the phone.  Then your child is removed from the group's attendance for the day.

WHY?

There are multiple reasons and they were confirmed by the teacher I spoke with yesterday:

1. It's not easy to keep track of multiple children leaving at the same time (assuming the parents are on time picking them up).
2. The day-care wants to bill you exact hours for services used so you don't pay too much or too little based on when your child leaves.
3. The day-care can then get more children in each groups and accommodate them with the appropriate amount of staff if they have a record-keeper of how many kids were at day care and when they left.

You only need to check your child OUT with your fob device.

Which hardly seems like the best way to keep track of exact hours used or how many staff members are required for certain times of the day if children arrive late (like mine will today) or show up early.

More than one child in the same day care group?  They'll just add them to the same electronic key!  I'm not sure if there is a limit with how many children you can put onto the same key...but ask your children's teacher if you have any questions about this new system.

Day-cares in Jyv�skyl� and Oulu have this system in place so far and it will possibly spread throughout all of Finland before April 1st.
Currently it's on a trial run so they can get any kinks and problems out before it's a permanent way to pick your child up from day-care.

Don't forget - press it twice.

Hyv�� yst�v�np�iv��! (Happy Friendship Day!)

As you probably know by now, Finns do not celebrate Valentine's Day the way many other cultures do like North America for example - roses, romantic dinners, perhaps a proposal, special treatment and CHOCOLATES....
No they don't. It's all about the friends and perhaps sending them a little post card or candy. :)

For more history on the big ol' V-Day, check out this site.

Do you celebrate Valentine's Day?  Or do you celebrate it everyday by showing the people you love and care for them regardless of the "holiday"?
Or do you hate it altogether and cannot wait for tomorrow - the day that all the candies, chocolates and flowers go on sale?

Ch-Finn-glish.

Yesterday had to be one of the most weirdest days since living here.
How weird?

I was in a grocery store dining area, located on the bottom floor of Sokos - having some sushi (don't waste your money - it's not all that great...and yes, I was desperate) and my youngest guy was happily snacking on some Karelian pies and bananas.
An older lady with her bags and walking sticks stopped by and I thought she wanted to coo at the little man - which happens a lot - and instead she asked me if I understood: "___insert some Mandarin in here while gesturing at your food___".
I had no idea what she was talking about and told her so.
"I'm sorry -  I don't understand," I said politely.
Well, I apparently committed a hate-crime against myself and all Asians around the world because I did not understand her very nicely spoken and accented Chinese speech.
"You don't speak Chinese?!" - lady is slightly upset...
"No, I'm sorry I don't." -me
"You're from China aren't you?" - her
"No, actually I'm not.  I'm from Canada." - me
"WHAT?!"
"Canada..." me - with a mouthful of sushi then repeating myself after I managed to choke that piece down.
"So... not China?" - her
"Nope.  I'm Canadian." -me
"Ohhh" - and she hobbles away quickly.

I think she was embarrassed because she spoke Chinese to someone who LOOKS like they should understand her and then maybe slightly confused by how Canadians can look Asian.
Who knows.  But I felt like I was being interrogated and accused of lying about being Canadian...
Oh and she was Finnish.

Then to add to this already strange day - a few minutes later while waiting for the bus - an Asian lady sat beside me...and kept looking at me while I was looking across the road, or at my son, or anywhere but in her direction.
I tend to have bad luck when Asians stare at me and I actually start a conversation with them here in Jyv�skyl�...
So she finally got the guts and asked me about the baby in Finnish.  I did some quick thinking and counting and managed to give his age in Finn-glish and explained that I have a double stroller because my oldest is in day-care (also in Finn-glish)....
She must not have picked up on the English part of the "Finn-glish" because she continued to chit chat to me and I am super happy to say that I UNDERSTOOD her!
She then asked where I lived but I didn't know the word "asun".  So I pulled out my Finnish/English dictionary from my back pack and she saw the cover and said, "OHH puhun englantia?"
"Joo.  Puhun englantia ja v�h�n suomea!" I said proudly!  (Yes, I speak English and a little Finnish).
Then she just ranted like wild about the Finnish learning program and I just smirked at appropriate places, smiled at semi-appropriate places and nodded my head a lot and said "Joo...niin." (Yes...indeed.)
Thankfully my bus came by 2 minutes after all this because the Finns standing around us were starting to get a little offended by her loud whisper-bashing of the Finnish language/culture.

And finally...I had to change my dentist appointment since hubby had a Finnish lesson himself during that time and when I spoke with the receptionist after greeting her, I asked if she spoke English (in English).
"No." - clear and for sure...
"Oh well, I can't come to my appointment today - can I change it to next week?" - me.  Yes it seems silly but I didn't know how to say any of that in Finnish...or in Finn-glish.
"Yes, what's your name?"
So after a couple minutes - my appointment has now been bumped to next week some time.
But she didn't speak English...

That Red Head...

For as long as I've been living in Jyv�skyl�, anytime I told a woman that I am from Canada, their first question was:  "Did you live near Anne of Green Gables?"

For those of that you that are un-familiar, Anne of Green Gables is a fictional character written in a series of books by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Anne is an orphan from Nova Scotia, Canada and is adopted by a sibling couple who were expecting a boy - to help them with the farm work and so on.  They eventually grow to love her and she grows up making some trouble, trying her hardest to please everyone and telling her interesting stories about when she was watching various children with a variety of diseases/illnesses.
The biggest thing about Anne?  She has red hair in 2 braids, freckles, wears dresses (women didn't wear pants back then or flannel shirts like a man), was stubborn and had a big sweet tooth.
The story takes place on Prince Edward Island - quite near Nova Scotia but they are not connected by land directly...at least not back then.  Now there is the Confederation Bridge or you can still take a ferry boat over to the Island.
In fact, PEI has an explosion of tourism in the summer because there are many acts and plays about Anne and people travel from ALL over the world to see the tiny little house they built in honour of this classic story.
Most recently, Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton have even met Anne (actress Tess Benger) during their visit to the Island in 2011.

Anyways, recently there was an article floating around on Facebook, that mentioned Anne of Green Gables. Well, I had to check it out!
What's wrong with the cover?  Anne wasn't ridiculously pretty (she got prettier when she got older - at least that's how I envisioned it...she's just an average-looking child when she's adopted), wasn't rocking a C-cup sized push-up bra (estimate-I actually have no idea)...she was an innocent child that just wanted to be loved.  Not posed by a bale of hay waiting to get tackled by the farmhand's son...and I'm not talking about playing football either.
Oh and she was NOT a blonde.

This has raised quite a stir in the online/book community and it's interesting how many Finns were disappointed (yes, all of them female - at least on my Facebook) with Anne's "new make over".
One friend said she looked more like "Josie Pye"...another advised me that she was "going to throw up"...

How do YOU feel about Anne of Green Gables being pictured now as a blondie?

I say, BRING THE GINGER BACK!
(Thankfully my copy of Anne of Green Gables & Anne of the Avonlea have photos painted inside and on the cover of a wonderful little red-head.)

Night Fisher!

A few nights ago, my friend and I were walking on the nearby frozen lake and our dogs were running freely and having a good time.
I noticed in the distance that there was a dark blob in the snow and that it was not moving.  We tried to guess if it was another dog or perhaps it was a rabbit...
Our dogs became very curious and dog #3 (mine are 1 and 2) began to run towards the non-moving dark blob and bark at it.  Nothing happened.
We walked a bit closer (but still quite a distance away) and I suddenly got worried.  I have pretty good hearing (the husband fails to believe me) and couldn't hear any cries of help and wondered if it WAS a person - perhaps they were stuck and couldn't get out.
The lake isn't thawing yet - no where close!  But if the person was ice-fishing, alone and in the dark...and super late at night (10:30 pm-ish) - then we should clip our dogs on their leash and go over to help him if he or she needed it!
By the time we reached the dark blob - we could confirm that yes, he was a human and alive and moving.  He had been fishing.  The hole wasn't very large and I'm not sure if he caught anything because my friend was too shy to ask.

The following night, I met a nearby neighbour walking his little dog and we chatted for awhile.  When I told him about this gentleman who was ice-fishing so late at night, the neighbour laughed and said, "It is said that fish do not swim once the sun goes down."
I guess he meant that you're not likely to catch any fish if you try fishing so late at night...because they're busy - sleeping...or floating about without swimming...

Now I REALLY want to know if that fellow was able to catch any fish so late at night!!

10 Years Or More!

If you have Finnish friends and they're on Facebook, you probably have noticed that many of them have changed their profile photo to a childhood shot...or even better - a shot taken from when they were babies!
Why?

It was "Old Photos Week" or "Wayback Week"...many have continued to keep their photo of their youthful selves.
This must be a new thing because I do not recall this many profile photo changes specifically from Finns in the last (almost) 4 years that I've lived here.  The photos also had to be a minimum of 10 years old - so I heard.

You can find a very short article here.

There's no real explanation as to why Finns are embracing the idea of posting photos of themselves in diapers, with missing teeth, balding or completely naked (hey - babies get away with EVERYTHING! :) )- only a suggestion from a Helsinki University lecturer as to why...

Here's why (I think) - because whatever Facebook says - aka someone types up a status, shares it and badgers their friends to share it and it suddenly becomes trendy (complete with # hash tags) and if enough people do it - it makes the news.

Some other trends I have seen in the past (and some quite recently) include women (and only women) updating their status with the colour of their bra and pattern (if applicable) printed on it and nothing else.
This made news because it was to raise awareness for breast cancer.  Fair enough - a great cause and it worked.  There was also something about describing your purse's location and if you have a dirty-mind - well, then you have no idea what the woman is talking about.  (I.e.: "on the floor, in the closet, on the counter" etc.)
More recently (aside from these old photos via Finnish people on Facebook) the newest trend is to post a photo of yourself or your children holding a piece of paper or Bristol board with a request to like the photo.
If they got so many "likes" they were able to get:

• A puppy
• A kitten
• A sibling (probably sold in a different aisle than the puppies and kittens)
• Their home cleaned top to bottom by their 3 daughters who offered to do it with tooth brushes...
• _fill in the blank_

I can understand the curiosity in wanting to see how far in the world will a photo asking for "likes" will go and how long it takes to reach that goal of 1 million "likes", but very quickly they were piling up and mimicking the others.

Then I finally found the perfect article explaining it all.  Thank you to the parents who raised the kids and wrote up a sign (last photo) to share with Facebook.

Thank you even MORE Finns for not falling into a "#silly_trend" like that.  

I totally dig the old photos that don't require anything more than a smile...and I probably have "coo'd" or "Aww"'d over a great many of them too.

(And yes, I changed my photo as well - I usually have it as an old photo about 3-5x a year but decided to put it back up and be that much closer to being an honorary Finn.)

Difference Between Blue & Red

There is a huge difference between a Blue Bus Card and a Red one here in JKL.

The blue card allows anyone to use it for 10 trips or 40 trips.  You can re-load it at a designated area - like SOKOS lotto booth/bus pass booth or on the bus if necessary.

The red card is good for 30 days from the moment you first use it.  So it's not a February 1st-February 28th kind of monthly pass.  Which is super convenient because you are able to purchase these any time of the year.
Just so you know - they request your birthday so they can put it on the card's memory and they also list your gender.  So if your card goes missing - you're able to call the local JKL bus service and they can cancel the card to ensure nobody uses it.
OR if someone else uses your bus card that is clearly not you  - they will confiscate it.

How do I know this?  EXPERIENCE.

My husband had been borrowing my bus card whenever he had to do a quick dash to the university - about twice a week maximum.
Then one day I get an email advising me that my bus card had been confiscated, "Sorry honey."
I asked what happened and he said the bus driver was a young fellow (probably some new guy trying to reach his quotas...) and said it wasn't my husband's bus pass and that the true owner had to pick it up at their office.
Fine.

The following day I called their office and hoped that the person on the other end spoke English.  YES - she did!
She asked me if I knew the code of my bus card so she could cancel it - nope sorry.
Then she looked me up by my birth day and I guess nobody else is missing a card with the same date because she immediately got into defensive mode and advised me that:

• It is a personal use only bus pass.
• Nobody else should use it but me.
• I have to go to their office to pick it up and I can take bus 12 from downtown to pick it up.
• It is a personal use only bus pass (x3).
• I have to get there by 4pm because then they close and they are not open on the weekends.

I apologized, thanked her for her information and time and hung up.

(Yes it should probably be common sense - however nobody said anything when I bought the card to begin with.  SO BE WARNED.)

So I scrape up the change I had lying about and managed to get on the bus to downtown, wait a bit for the 12 and told the driver I had to go to the head office to get my bus pass.  He kindly told me that he was going for lunch after the route so he'll drop me off at the office right after if I had time to wait.  Sure thing!  What a great guy.

He even took me to the person who holds the bus passes and thankfully he did not need to lecture me about what I did was wrong (lady above honestly made it out like I robbed a bank for my third time...FYI I have never robbed a bank before - nor plan on it!) - I was told there was no problem and to go on my way.

"There's no buses going right now - but if you just walk back - you get back onto the main road and catch the bus there."

"Thanks!" and I was off with a look of fear on my face (of course when I turned away from the helpful gentlemen).

I could get lost with a map, a compass and a fancy GPS in my possession.

Guess what happened?

YEP.  I got lost...and not only is it an area I have never, ever been to before, there weren't always sidewalks because it was a very industrialized area...AND it was also one of the coldest days of the season!  -29*C...I was dressed fairly warm enough but that still did not help my situation!
My phone was dying due to the cold and I was heading towards the middle of nowhere.

I eventually made my way back to the bus station and went on the opposite road (40 minutes later!) and found the proper street I was supposed to be on in the first place and while I'm shivering and waiting for the bus with other cold-looking people I had a thought.

What are the chances the driver who is picking us up, is the same one who dropped me off?

I blew it off as a huge "NAAAAAH" when I saw the driver pulling up...the sun was clearly in his face and his sun visor was in the way because as soon as I boarded - I looked at him to say "Hei & kiitos" and realized that - yep it is possible.

Thankfully I was several shades of dark red from the cold so perhaps he didn't notice or recognize who I was as I pressed my bus pass on the electronic pad and shuffled my way to the only available seat - near the front beside him.

Anyways, lesson learned.