Terrifying SUCCESS!

Ever since going on maternity leave, I've been promising myself regularly that I'll study some Finnish.
I'll sneak in a chapter here and there...heck - even a paragraph a day would be nice!  But I'm not succeeding very much in reading any of my Finnish text books...*wipes dust off the books...*
Then I decided the LEAST I could do is listen more and without translating to English in my head - try and listen to my friends talking among themselves (i.e. knitting groups) and try to guess what they're talking about.
And then I thought I would take it a step further and try to speak Finnish once in awhile.
I'm pretty much a pro at ordering a Big Mac or Kerros meal (ateria) at McDonald's or Hesburger...I know the basics - food, drink, here (or take away).
Then I had this wild idea yesterday...I missed the bus - I'm going to go to Subway.
I know - mother of 3 becomes a wild party animal at 12:15pm on a Monday....watch out!

And I'm going to order in Finnish.  Oh yes...as long as there isn't a huge line - because it may take me awhile.

So with baby #3 strapped to me and my hands full of second hand goodies and some new cotton yarns - I walked into Subway.
There wasn't a line up....that means I HAVE to order in Finnish...and nobody coming in behind me.
Alright - let's DO THIS!

So I calmly put my bags down at an empty table and went to the counter and this is my conversation (excuse the grammar, spelling and the fact that I have no memory of what she said in Finnish - written in green):

• "Moi!  Kolme-kymmenta senttimetria Subway Melt." (Hello.  30 cm Subway Melt.)
• "What bread?"
• "Hunajakaura" (me feeling excited that I made it this far...Honey & Oat bread)
• "We have  X, X, X, X, cheese - which would you like?"  (At the same time she's training someone who is studying her every sandwich-making movement like a hawk).
• "Normaali - kiitos." (Normal cheese - no idea what it is - but I'm still going - HOO RA!)
• "Would you like it toasted?"
• "Joo kiitos."  (Me hoping that was the next question...I am rewarded by her sliding my sandwich on the pan and tossing it in the oven swiftly...*fist pump in the air!)
• "What vegetables would you like?"
• I actually prepped before walking in what I'd say....  "Kaikki mutta ei tomaattia ja sipulia."  (All but no tomatoes and onions.....phew....we're almost done and STILL nobody waiting behind me.)
• "Okay - and what sauce?"
• "Hunaja sinaappi."  (Accidentally said "Hunaja sipulia" - honey onion - oops.  Then quickly corrected myself and she kept talking to me in Finnish!!! SCORE!!! I'm almost at the finish line....)
• "And would you like oils or spices?"
• "Vain pippuri.  Kiitos."  ("Only pepper - thanks." ..I'm digging my bank card out quickly before they realize I only wanted to test myself in Finnish and ended up actually ordering the sandwich by myself...without a single word of English...)
• "For here or to go?  And would you like anything else?"
• "Mukana.  Ei kiitos."  ("To go and no thanks.")

And I order the same thing (usually the meal) every time - so just need to fine tune this bad boy and I'll be a Subway ordering machine eventually!!!!

I then proceeded to calmly insert my pin code, decline the receipt, get my sandwich and bags and leave the shop....but inside I felt like I was having a Finnish fiesta!!!

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

(Huge thanks to the Subway staff who kept speaking Finnish and by this, I felt encouraged to keep going - despite the look of fear on my face - which MAY have been mistaken for starvation and exhaustion from carrying a heavy baby.)

Reader's Request!

Unfortunately I'm having difficulty getting into my e-mail account.  I'm able to receive the e-mails but writing back isn't possible currently! (Darn technology!!)
So, what I'll do is copy questions from readers with questions about life in Finland and share my response that way!

"I have a 4 year old son and a 2 year old girl, they are Finnish citizens and we'd like to move to Finland.
My older child is diagnosed with autism.
Could you tell me how things work for a child with autism? what benefits could we expect for him there?, how is the diagnose and how do schools react for them?"

Hi there!
It's so nice to meet another parent with an autistic child!!!
** The following is based on my experience as a Canadian with residence permit (A-status) and both of my kids are Canadian and do not have Finnish citizenship.  Your experience may differ than mine.**
I recommend bringing all documentations (in English or Finnish translated if possible!) with you that confirm your son's diagnosis and get him into a Neuvola and they can help you in terms of setting up doctor appointments or hospital assessments if necessary.
It depends what kind of autism your child has. 
Mine is 4-years old too and non-verbal.  He has speech and occupational therapy on a regular basis at the day-care.
Both of these services are free, along with his day-care because it's considered a rehabilitative service for him.
He also has assessments every 6 months at the local hospital for about 2 days, where he meets with various specialists and we try to plan his school year and how to better connect and understand him.
It is also possible to apply to Kela for Disability benefits for a child/person under the age of 16.
The Neuvola should be able to (or the hospital staff) put you in touch with your local social worker who can do a house visit and give you forms to fill out.
We've filled out a lot of paperwork and qualify for:

• Kela Disability for Children under the age of 16
• Special Care Allowance - it's provided from the city 
• Free rehabilitative services (limited amount of visits with the Occupational Therapist & Speech Therapist) - day-care included
• Taxi service to and from day-care - because we live about 3 km away from the day-care and without a vehicle - we're unable to get him to day-care on time so he can have that solid scheduled routine.  Also I was studying - and he refused to sit on my bike (in his chair) with me....and wasn't able to make it to class on time myself.
• Overnight care - we pay a fee per day and once a month - 3 days/nights a month - our son stays at a professionally-run and 24-hours monitored place (I won't say facility because it looks like a 3-bedroom apartment) and  it gives us a small break and him a break from getting picked on by the little brother! :)
• Free diapers - as my son isn't potty-trained and refuses to.  

Your son will probably go to a school that will be better for him in terms of be equipped for his needs and so he can focus.

Kids don't go to school here until they are 7 years old - so the day-care director in your area should know and have a copy of those papers as well - and hopefully they have a day-care that is suited for your child.

I hope this helps!
Thanks for writing and have a great day! :)

Good-Bye Furniture!

Sorry it's been awhile.

Well, I just had a tonne of stuff shipped out which was nice.  Not to another country but to the local Jyv�skyl�n dumpster.
I asked around and found out there is such a service that the city provides (not sure about all cities in Finland - but at least in JKL) - where you can contact them for a truck and people will come take your bigger waste items away and deposit them at the dumpster.
(I've linked the JKL one for you - but it's in Finnish only).

I thankfully had the patience to wait for my Finnish friend to call them - as the person on the phone didn't speak English.
They wanted to know what we had to get rid of (as this determined the price) and my name, address and phone number.
And also - my Finnish social security number.
The reason for this is because I didn't need to pay on site!!
The city of JKL will send me a bill later for the service...which was only 30�!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a great price - I mean really!!!

This is what I got rid of:

• Sofa - wooden framed, old, creaky and the cushions were also falling apart!
• 2 dressers
• HUGE television (thanks to the four-year old who pulled it down twice...)
• A double stroller 
• A crib

All this stuff was broken, not worth selling (or buying) and wouldn't fit into a car anyway.  

After speaking with them, they advised my friend that my info has been passed on to their logistics center and they'll contact me with a scheduled time and we can arrange when to pick everything up.

Fantastic!

We started knitting and watching a movie ("The Vow" if you really must know) and within half an hour - my phone rang!!
It was the logistics center and because the guy didn't speak English (nor is my Finnish up to par with the whole "I need X, X, X, X, X tossed away") - my friend thankfully spoke with him.

They had an immediate opening and could come right away!

Well, small problem - I wasn't home.

So we scheduled it for the following day at 12:30 and they were on time, friendly and professional.

Within 15 minutes - everything was gone and loaded up.

I sort of cheated and got the smaller things like dressers, cushions and so on - tossed out in the hallway....partly because I didn't want the guys to wake up the baby and partly because my place is a mess! ;)

Time for a donut!

Reader's REQUEST!

I recently got a comment on another post asking me the following:

"1 thing I would love for you to post is, things you wish you HAD moved, what you used most in the
first few months that you brought and things you wish you HAD LEFT 
BEHIND and did not end up being useful. I am looking to move in the 
first week of April with 4 kids ages 11-8 months"

This person is moving from the USA to Finland...

Alright, let's see.

When we moved here in August 2009, I was 26-weeks pregnant and we brought with us 2 carry-on luggage (back-packs with our laptops in them), 5 pieces of luggage and our 2 dogs plus their kennels and dog beds.

We ended up leaving their kennels and dog beds at a train stop because we were beyond exhausted (delayed and re-routed flights etc.) with breaking down the kennels and carrying EVERYTHING on our own...as we sort of got on the wrong train a couple times.

They were mandatory items however - for the dogs to travel in SOME comfort on the plane.  And seeing as you didn't mention any pets - I'm guessing you aren't planning to bring any.

What we left in storage in Canada:

• Movies...SO many movies...DVDs in North America are Region 1 based and EU DVDs are Region 2.  It's entirely possible to alter your DVD player (once you get one) to change the Regions back and forth as you like (depending on the model - just look it up online).  You cannot do this with a laptop or computer because after so many switches - it'll permanently stay on your last changed region.
• Play offers free shipping within EU...but not everything is available for shipping to Finland.
• Amazon has online shops in Germany, France and the UK (and Italy too I think) - but shipping can be pricey.  Also, you cannot order a Kindle E-Reader from these sites.  It has to be from the US one (.com) because they have an international version (slightly more expensive too).  
• Kindle Fire tablets do not work here - in terms of downloading things.  You need an American credit card and address to do so...or find some way to side-download things...major pain in the butt.  You can download E-Books onto a regular Kindle then it will transfer wirelessly (if you have access to WI-FI) to your Kindle Fire...that and Amazon won't ship them at all to Finland for some reason.  (We got ours second hand from Finns who have bought them in the USA).
• Furniture - nothing that we'd bring here due to size and cost.  And nothing that we couldn't find here!  So that's fine.
• Books - books here tend to be quite expensive, especially the English variety.  HOWEVER!  I go to the library to look through books (if not borrow them) and for the reference-type books (craft or cooking/baking) - if they're available in Finnish, I look through them and if I really need them or want to buy them - I do so online.
• Adlibris offers free shipping within Finland (and possibly Sweden).
• Book Depository does too - well, international "free shipping" (shipping is secretly calculated in the prices that you see online).
• Clothing - we packed as much variety as we could.  Winter, rain gear, a pair of winter/rubber boots each, everyday clothing, loads of socks and underwear and some dressier outfits.  The good thing is that there are tonnes of second-hand shops scattered throughout Finland - so you'll be sure to find something in case you've forgotten your "thickest sweater to battle the ice on your bike lock in -29*C".
• Tori is available throughout all of Finland.  You can find anything and everything to be sold here.
• Huuto is the Finnish equivalent of Ebay.
• Of course there are a wide variety of "Kirpputori" Facebook pages as well - which are very handy!
• Craft Supplies - when I left NS, I was chin-deep into scrapbooking.  I also had loads of time to do it after work and no kids to rip or hide my stuff...but there are plenty of online shops and most of my scrap-friends order from the UK because it's cheaper (even including shipping) than Sinelli or other craft stores in Finland.

We've discussed several times what we would do if we could save up enough money and consider getting our parents to ship our stuff for us...however, we've gone 4.5 years without those boxes of clothing, the furniture and the craft supplies...so those wouldn't be a huge loss if they were donated or sold.

But we would love to have the DVDs and books because for my husband - many of the books are academic-related.  And we have a pretty solid DVD collection started so far!

Any DVD we've purchased here has not been a duplicate of what we already have in Canada.  So now our collection is pretty big....

Of course we started out with borrowing DVDs from friends and watching them from the library....and eventually once we saw stuff on sale at the department stores or bigger grocery stores - then we started buying slowly...and at the second hand shops too....

Watching movies for us really helped to beat the dark winter nights and with a new baby in the home and not a lot of friends - it was a way for us to just chill...and do something identical to what we'd do in Canada (now with Finnish subtitles as an option!). :)

So everything we brought with us - we have used and still have, for the most part.

We tried to be cautious about not packing "the extras"...the stuff we can totally live without.

I'm digging deep into my memory bank and I think the big "extras" I personally brought with me were:

• A huge skein of cotton yarn (still have it - still no idea what to make with it)
• A couple crochet hooks and knitting needle sets...
• Some cross-stitching stuff...
• A book about pregnancy
• A digital camera, couple memory cards and my laptop (which has since bit the dust).
• Some children books and few baby items I got as baby shower gifts.  The guests were awesome and had set up a piggy-bank instead because they knew we would be flying and not able to bring so much with us.
• A Gameboy Advance...and yes, we had a plug converter with us.  Pack as many as you can - we live in a smaller city - so you can't easily find these plug adapters...we've had to order them online.  We were told it was because it gives local electricians a way to be guaranteed income- by converting your plugs for you.
• Cell phone with charger and was SIM card compatible.  Then you don't have to buy a new phone when you get here...just the SIM card and perhaps a phone plan or contract.

The yarn, GBA and pregnancy book was more to help me with the flight times...

I think my husband packed his rock climbing shoes and has used them once since being here.  There IS a rock-climbing indoor facility in JKL - but he didn't know anyone else that climbed and finding time to do it is even trickier.  

Since visiting Canada twice - I've loaded up on some things.

• Measuring Cups and Spoons - I still don't get the whole dl and weight-measuring of ingredients...and my recipe books usually consist of "cups/spoons".
• I miss the dollar stores in Canada...they have pretty much everything for a fraction of the cost in Finland.  (Especially in kitchen utensils!)
• Buckley's Complete Cough Syrup - it's a Canadian brand..."tastes bad but it works" (actually it just tastes super strongly of menthol) and covers a wide variety of symptoms - where as Finnish meds seem to only cover one thing or another.  Thankfully I have a couple friends who are able to ship me a nice big bottle of it for Christmas.... :)
• Intuition Razor Blades - they don't sell the razors or the blades here for that specific model.  (Intuition razor blades come with a soap bar around the blade so you don't need to use shaving cream too. You CAN buy disposable and re-usable razors here for both men and women...but Intuition's my favourite...)
• Aveeno Body Lotion - it's oatmeal-based cream, non-scented and not greasy.  YES there are Body Shops in Finland - but they can be pricey and I hate their body butters...I hate that greasy feeling.
• Underwear and socks - it's pretty pricey here...although I lucked out the other day and got a bunch of bras at Sokos for 5� each!  The concept of 6 or 10-packs of ANYTHING here is rare...I kind of DO miss Walmart.
• Gripe water - this is some sort of dill flavoured water (and other stuff) to help settle baby's tummies and helps to break down gas when burping won't do.
• Teething gel for babies - I once showed my nurse friend what was in Orajel (?) and she said the medicine was the same time of pain relief used for a minor surgery for example on someone's shoulder.  The medicine regulations are quite strict here in Finland and the EU.
• Supposedly there is some light version of teething gel being sold at the pharmacy now - but I haven't looked - nor do I need it anymore...I have managed to get by with Panadol and Burana (liquid tylenol and ibuprofen).
• Homeopathic medicines for babies - some say they work, some disagree.  For us - they did...then again, our (now 4-years old) son was such a screecher with teething - that NOTHING worked.  He didn't take a soother or bottle, but that homepathic stuff was a blessing in disguise for us.  I also have never seen any of those fancy "amber teething necklaces" for babies here...not sure if THOSE work - but anyway.

I haven't been back to Canada in awhile but I suppose if I won the lottery and was leaving next week - things I would buy and bring back would be the same as above and:

• Light-weight craft supplies - craft supplies here can be ridiculously expensive!
• Vanilla extract - it's almost 3� for a tiny bottle here.  
• Yes you can use the vanilla sugar here and supposedly there is no difference - I have yet to try it... maybe some day!
• Stick deoderant /anti-perspirant - it IS possible to get it here...but roll-on (liquid) deoderant is cheaper and more common.
• Liquid flea and tick treatments for dogs - the vet stuff here is very expensive and there's no such thing as Walmart or cheaper brands here for that kind of product....we've gotten lucky last year and invested into flea/tick collars from the pharmacy (pet shops stopped selling the cheaper dark green ones) and while it was 22� a piece...it was also good for 5 or 6 months and we didn't see a single tick at all.  I have a friend from Manchester who also stocks up when he goes home because you can get it at the local Pound Shop.
• Craft Magazines - they're really expensive here (at least 9� each) and the variety is limited.  I hesitate to get an E-Subscription of any kind because I might run out of space on a computer or iPod thing or just not like the patterns...where as with magazine - you can usually look through them quickly to determine if it's worth buying or not.
• My Black and Decker Food Processor - I probably wouldn't because it's so huge and I love it so much...and knowing my luck - the plug converter wouldn't work and the thing would explode and die.
• A small slow-cooker - they're not common here and if you do find them - they're really expensive I've been told.
• Our 4 cats - they're staying with my in-laws currently and they are horrible at car rides...so realistically, I may never be able to bring them to Finland...but I really would love to.

Anything else I've forgotten must not be overly important because I've survived this long without!!
Of course at first, it's difficult - trying to get all of your necessities (we didn't even pack towels...) at the lowest price possible so you're not super broke within the first month of moving from one country to another.  But it IS possible...and I went a year and a half without visiting a second hand store because I didn't know they existed here!!

Things we cannot live without in Finland (the really necessary stuff):

• Winter gear - wool socks, snow pants, good coat, mittens and so on.
• Rain gear - summers tend to be quite wet in central Finland...and muddy in the woods.  We had packed 1 pair of winter boots (we're the same size believe it or not and my boots were men ones anyway) and then just picked up a pair of lined-winter boots and made do with those for a few years!
• A pocket-sized Finnish/English dictionary - bought it here when I started lessons but when we first moved here - we invested into the regular sized one...which was a pain to drag around!  Of course if you have a smart phone or tablet - then it's easier to use online dictionaries....
• Baby carrier - bought it here - very handy for hikes, shopping, stairs and so on.
• Food, toilet paper, passports etc. - of course.

I suppose the lucky thing for you Reader, is that you have kids who are older than 2-years old...so they can help bring some stuff in their luggage.

And if it doesn't bother you to shop second-hand - then you can find a TONNE of stuff at your local second hand stores and online too.

Pretty much all of our clothing has been second-hand and in excellent condition - same with bigger items like kitchen utensils (i.e. blenders, pots and pans), movies, books and strollers for the kids...we've managed to save a lot of money this way!! But perhaps not a lot of space ;)

I hope this helps you and anyone else looking to move to Finland with pets or kids or by themselves!

1 Text Message To Rule Them All...

The husband got a text message the other day that our residence permits have finally arrived.
Excellent!  His new employer (University of Helsinki now) needed a copy of it - so it was really great timing and took LESS than 4 weeks!
AWESOME!

Today I got a text message from him saying,

"F**king A!  Residence permits good till 2016!"
Actually it said "Residence permits home till 2016!" - I'll assume that's a typo.

I was baffled because the officer had told me that it would be good for the year because we still have to wait another round before we can apply for a 3 or 4-year permanent residence status.

I'M NOT COMPLAINING!
Just slightly confused... I mean, wouldn't YOU?

They didn't explain anything to my husband - just confirmed his ID, took away our old residence permit cards to be destroyed and gave him the new ones with a "Have a nice day."

I asked why about four times since he's been home and shown me the cards...and then - to really ice the cake so to speak...he showed me our kids' residence permits.
Theirs is good until 2016 too!  (Well, end of 2016...so even longer!)
Now I'm MEGA confused by this point...because in December 2012, I got a call advising me my oldest child was here illegally.
Yep.  His residence permit expired a couple months before ours and you can read the rest here.
So in short - I was told by some head-huncho that he won't qualify for a permanent status the same time as us or in average length of time (4 years of A-status) because he was late applying for that year's renewal.

That and our youngest is 2-years old - so he's not even up to 4-years of ANY kind of status in terms of residence permits...

We're just going to assume it's NOT a typo and it has something to do with his work contract...

So why would this make us incredibly happy?!?!

We don't have to stress about putting aside over 500� (assuming fees don't go up by the end of the year) in the month of December this year!!!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Residence Permits - SUBMITTED!

Today is New Year's Eve (by the time this actually posts - it'll be "next year" aka 2014! as I am a bit slow posting this) and was the big day for us to go as a family and renew our residence permits.

I thankfully had made an appointment in advance and the Jyv�skyl� license department was FANTASTIC!!!The kids were a bit antsy and our oldest had a melt-down/few tantrums and they handled it like champs.
At one point, the oldest kid was pinching the youngest and the youngest was punching back and took his dinky cars and smashing the oldest in the face...
I brought an apple or two - thinking it would keep V�in� (oldest) calm and occupied...like it does at home.
No of course it didn't.
He decided to chew big bites off the apple, chew it up - then drop regurgitated apple bits all over the floor.
Or he would toss himself on the floor crying and yelling.
But the officers totally understood and thankfully set us up with 2 people to process our applications.

Obviously waiting time to get the permits back is about 1 month/4 weeks...
But while one guy was taking our paperwork and going over it - there was a lady photocopying everything so the guy didn't have to run back and forth and saved everyone a lot of time.
They managed to get my husband and kids' paperwork sorted in 20 minutes - holy awesome!
Husband had to get his finger prints done (digitally) - so right after that - they were free to leave (kids under age of 6 aren't required to have their finger prints done).

After they left, I apologized for the mess (thankfully I had baby wipes and scooped up the apple chunks my son kindly left behind) and the racket my kids caused - and they were very gracious.
Well, the lady photocopying could be heard chuckling from around the corner and she poked her head around and said to me very nicely, "It's okay!! Really!  We have children and we totally understand!!  They all do this!"
PHEW!  (My Facebook status had expressed concern the night before in regards to whether or not we could get sent to jail for screaming and fighting children...kidding!)

Anyways, I went over some of the extra paperwork I brought with me today, including some extra benefits that are given to us not via Kela (since the police have direct access to Kela information anyways) but from the city of Jyv�skyl� and I also included a copy of V�in�'s most recent diagnosis from his last appointment.
I wasn't sure if it was necessary - but I thought it would be good for the police to have on his file - so they are aware he is autistic and that maybe it would explain why his photos are not necessarily posed as exactly as requested in the directions.  You know - don't smile, look straight at the camera, no teeth showing etc...
The fellow seemed appreciative anyhow and kept the copy we gave him...anyways, better to be safe than sorry.

I was reminded again that none of us could travel during this time that our residence permits are being processed (no problem!), was given papers stamped by the officer confirming they have received our applications and that they were being processed, paid the fees and was out the door 10 minutes after my husband left with our kids.
I will be sent a text message to my phone number when they are ready for pick up and I just have to bring our passports and the old residence permits to the police office.  They will take the old residence permit cards and destroy them (I assume - as they've expired) and give me the new ones!

That's it!
So here's to another wonderful year of living in Finland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And Happy New Year to you!

Gl�gi

I know I've written about gl�gi before...way back in 2011 apparently!
But I thought it needed a bit of an update!

Gl�gi (or as Wikipedia calls it: "mulled wine" but doesn't contain alcohol unless you add to it) is available in the fall for the Christmas season and is typically a burgundy colour (unless you get the light-coloured version in the gold/mustard yellow coloured container) and is served warm.
I'm one of those weird people that likes to drink it cold.
Thankfully, I have met 1 Finnish person who also enjoys it cold - and I'm not sure if it's out of lack of patience (or straight up laziness) to drink it cold - or because it's like a juice and really, when it comes down to it, you just want a drink!  (She's my Finnish teacher actually!)
It turns out her family and friends think she's strange too...

Right, so gl�gi is traditionally served warm and with almonds and raisins that you can stir in (spices are available too)...and I remember the first time I had gl�gi at a friend's home...I started to nibble on the raisins and almonds, as they were in a little dish in the center of the table - and my friend thought I was odd.  I couldn't figure out why she was looking at me strangely, until she dropped a spoon of raisins and almonds into her mug of steaming gl�gi...

For our Christmas dinner, I offered to heat up gl�gi and one of my guests said thanks but no thanks.  Which is totally fine with me - but he explained quickly that he was at a party a few years ago (a work Christmas party I think) and someone had the brilliant idea to heat the gl�gi in an electric water kettle (you know - to boil water for tea)...
Well, sign one that was a bad idea?  Everyone was pacing themselves and rushing to the bathroom to vomit.
Once it became very obvious that everyone was feeling under the weather, someone called the poison control center and they said that yep, everyone's poisoned but nobody's going to die.
"As long as everyone has vomited from drinking the heated gl�gi - that's a good sign.  Then you'll have diarrhea for a few days afterward," were the wise words of the poison control officer.
Great way to party!
Well, my husband and I were stunned and promised our guests we only planned to heat it on the stove in a pot - as per the only way we've seen it done...but the thought of gl�gi still made our friend's tummy do somersaults apparently.

After posting this on Facebook, a few people were surprised by the silliness of the idea - I mean, have you ever tried boiling anything other than water in a water kettle?
Someone suggested it was copper poisoning and someone else suggested a microwave if you're only heating a mug at a time.

So may this be a lesson to you - drink gl�gi cold or drink it warmed from the stove or microwave!
Have a great New Year!

A Visit With The Police

Ah, it's December...and that means for my family, residence permit application time.
It just sucks the life out of the holiday spirit for me personally - but ah well - it has to be done, it's only once a year and it's worth the paperwork and costs because we really enjoy living in Finland.

Actually, I was quite optimistic this year because we were told LAST year that we could (my husband and I) apply for our PERMANENT residence permits this time!
Meaning, we've lived here for four years and a bit - and then we'd never have to do it again...or at least not every year - something like that.

I woke up bright and early (okay - I'm lying - it's still dark at 7am) - threw my kid in his taxi and raced downtown by bus to make it to the police station for 8am last Tuesday.
I got there at 8:03am and was excited to be one of the first foreigners there because the line ups after 10am are ridiculous.  Sure they have lots of chairs to sit in and a water cooler...and I packed my knitting AND a book with me just in case...
But the door wouldn't freaking open!
I tried - I yanked and pulled and looked up with groggy eyes to see "8.00" and only that part...and couldn't figure out what the heck was going on.
The lady behind me had an electronic key to get in and pointed out that it was Tuesday.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8.00 is the opening time.
Tuesday and Thursday they open at 9.00.
What a cruel joke...honestly.

I lounge about at the post office getting some empty packages so I can send stuff overseas later on and still had twenty-five minutes to kill.  After a cup of tea and a piece of cake, I rush back to the police station.
I punched a button for services for foreigners and grabbed a chair and waited.
I waited for less than 2 minutes before my number "F00" popped up.  Honestly, I've never had a "00" number before!!!  Normally it's something more depressing like "F182" or "F59" and either way there's at least 10 people ahead of me.
The day was looking good.

I had done some research beforehand and wasn't sure what fees we were supposed to pay.
According to their site with prices listed for 2013:

Residence permit
Residence permit	156 �
Students, minors	116 �
Renewal of the residence permit card	76 �

Right - so looking at this - I got excited!
"HONEY! We're going to save money this year for us! We already have the residence permit cards...so they probably just take them back and change the expiry dates on it then send it back - because there's a "Renewal" fee...surely that's what it means?"

Husband was skeptical and of course as it turns out, rightfully so.

All of my Finnish friends - even one who is half Finnish and works in the other department of the police licensing office thought we'd be paying the Renewal fees and not the Residence Permit fees.

Well, guess what?

That wording is freaking awful.  

I went in and provided my ID and residence permit card and told the lady (whom I have never dealt with before) that I needed an appointment made (the internet appointment system was saying it was full or not available) for my family as we needed to renew our residence permits.

2 adults and 2 kids - yep.

She kindly printed off all of the paperwork we needed (my forms and the kids are the same, since my husband is the one with the contract) and informed me that we needed to bring with us:

• Recent photos of all of us (passport style)
• The paperwork filled out
• Husband's work contract
• Husband's pay slips (the last 3...why I don't know because the salary has a change with the new contract - which was clearly listed - but anyways)
• My paper work confirming the various benefits we get for our son. (Even though she said she can see most of it on the computer via Kela's system.)
• Our passports
• The kids
• Current residence permit cards
• The fee - as you have to pay when you drop off the applications.
• Also, my husband and I have to get fingerprinted (it's digital) but the kids don't have to because they're under the age of 6.

So I asked her what fee are we paying because it says online "Renewal of the Residence Permit Card".  She referred to her chart and said, "Oh that!!! No - that's if you lose your card or it gets so badly damaged you need a new one."

WHY DOESN'T IT SAY "REPLACEMENT" instead?!  I may have to make a suggestion and drop it off in their suggestion box if they have one...because that's so misleading in the English language - really.

Fine - so we're stuck paying 544� and then I remembered the possibility of a permanent residence permit for my husband and I.

"Oh one more question - because we've lived here for four years now, are we able to qualify for the permanent residence permits? This way we don't have to do this every year for my husband and I?"

"Yes you have lived here for that time - right...let me look...no.  Because you have to have 'A-Status' residence permit for four years...so NEXT year you can definitely apply for that and then you won't have to do this again.  Because when you first got here - you were 'B-Status' only.  So you've been B for one year then A for three." 

That's not what the officer told us last year...oh well.

When I got home and updated my Facebook status to reflect this disappointment in non-consistent information, an American friend said that was even technically wrong - because there's some point system involved.

B-status = � a point

A-Status = 1 point

You need 4 points (minimum 1 year of A-status) to qualify for the permanent residence permit status apparently.

Well, first we've ever heard of this points system but yes, it still works out that we have 3.5 points and need to wait until next year (anytime after August) to apply.

Thankfully our police station accepts bank card/credit card payments now (they did last year too) - because carrying around over 500� in cash is NOT my cup of tea.  Not that I am worried in the slightest about robbery or pick-pocketing - also something that doesn't happen here (it's more of a bicycle-stealing city - and even then, it's usually drunks trying to get home) and I hate carrying cash of any amount.

And Finland doesn't use bank cheques at all and haven't in over twenty years.

Needless to say, it'll be a fairly quiet and simple Christmas for us!
Happy Holidays from our family to yours and thanks for checking out my blog!!!
Learning About Finland

Another Bus Trip - Another Embarrassing Story.

Today I had a knitting meet-up with the ladies from the university.  We try and meet about once a month and usually at someone's home - we bring snacks and have tea or coffee and it's great.
We kind of didn't really have anything planned for December - so a day or two ago - someone suggested a caf� and some of us were able to make it.
While waiting for my bus, as I missed the first one - and this one was late of course, I helped an elderly lady hop out of a tow truck that pulled over to drop her off.
She couldn't reach the 2nd step from the bottom - they're really narrow and more ladder-style than protruding outwards like stairs - so I reached out to hold her arm and she gave me her purse and shopping bag to hold on to.
Thankfully the ice has melted over the last few days and she was grateful for the hand.
There was another person at the bus stop and he must not have noticed the lady was having difficulty jumping out of the cabin of the tow truck.

Anyways, the bus finally arrives, the little old lady is gone and me and this guy get on the bus.
I sit near the middle - as the bus is almost empty - with the exception of a couple sitting near the back and am excited to go knitting (Old Lady points are tallying up!).
Suddenly, I notice that the other guy is faced towards me and smiles at me and begins to sign something to me.
I looked at him a bit funny and he did it again.
So I started signing back.
"My name's Dominique."
He signs something else and I'm thinking, "CRAP! Finnish sign language might be different than English!"
So I start to sign, "Sorry", and decided I'd go sit closer to try and practice my signing skills (which I haven't used in YEARS) and perhaps make a new friend...and find out how different Finnish and English sign language signals are!
I sat across from him but on the opposite side of the bus and notice that he hasn't looked at me but he's still signing.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

Yep.  He was signing to the couple in the back.  

Then he got up and went to go sit with them...thankfully, some people were getting on at the next stop and I just looked like someone who wanted to sit closer to the front door.

At least I still know how to say, "My name is D-O-M-I-N-I-Q-U-E."

Finland VS Canada - School Related

As I mentioned before, I'm doing a work-placement in a school that has grades 1-6 (children are aged 7-13 years old) and while I'll try to write about my daily experiences - I thought I'd try and make a list of things that are strikingly different than Canada (and probably a good chunk of the world).
This is totally based on my opinion and experiences with this particular school in Jyv�skyl�, Finland.  While many apply to all schools throughout Finland - smaller details like breaks for example - may differ than other schools in Finland.

• The school year is from August-beginning of June.
• They have an Autumn holiday in October and a Ski Holiday (equivalent to March break) in February.  These holidays vary in occurrence throughout Finland - so a school up North might not have the same holiday week as the schools in the South of Finland.
• Kids call all the staff/teachers by their first name.
• They start school at the age of 7 (grade 1) and in pre-school (ages 5-6) - they do learn things!
• Every morning, the class stands and greets the teacher with a respectful, "Hyv�� Huomenta!" (Good morning!)
• One teacher I worked with also shook each of her pupils' hands and thanked them for coming and wished them a good afternoon when their class was over.  I was amazed! What an excellent way to teach respect!! By giving it as well and equally to each individual student!
• Kids don't wear shoes inside - some have slippers or "indoor shoes" if they really want to - but for the most part, it's all soft (socks) feet.
• Unless they're doing wood/metal work...then they have to wear shoes!  Even in gym class there were bare-feet!
• They have a 25-minutes long recess break in the morning and between 5-15 minutes between classes.  It does help with preventing stress and fighting among the kids.
• There are ping-pong tables  in the hallways to encourage children to burn energy, play together and how to share in between classes.
• There aren't any labels for "Boys" or "Girls" bathrooms.  There are individual bathrooms lining up the hallways with just "WC" written at the top of the door and you just lock the door behind you - do your thing and leave (yes there's a sink and soap).  No urinals.  Staff use the same ones - as far as I know.
• Teachers have some say in their kids' schedules.  Sometimes school ends at 1pm, sometimes at 2pm or sometimes it's a long day and ends at 3pm.  Then again, it might start at 8 or it might start at 9.  This was very interesting for me because I could never figure out why the buses were so packed full of kids on certain days and at various times.
• There's no water fountains in the hallways.  Every classroom has a sink and kids either have their own cups or just drink straight from the tap.
• No vending machines - no chocolate bars, no chips, no pop...
• Lunch is provided and it's a hot meal (meat or fish with veggies, bread and butter, milk or water) for all the kids.
• With that said, I don't see children snacking at all.  They're generally in better shape physically and mentally than their North American counter-parts.
• By "Hot meal" - it's all filling and nutritious! No pizza, French fries, cookies or ice-cream... nope.
• Kids can refer to their text books during tests.  Sometimes it's noted they get points taken away, sometimes it's only for certain questions or information...depends on the teacher or class I guess!
• They do get homework - but not a lot.
• School supplies are provided - with the exception of backpacks and pencils...all the text books and note books are provided to kids (so a friend told me).
• I can't seem to find a single special needs child at all in the school.  I have been told from a friend (but not confirmed with one of my teachers I'm working with yet) - that this is a bit of an issue.  Mostly because of this segregation - "regular kids" don't know how to act or politely inquire what's going on with a "different child".  I'm confident there are some children in the classes I've been in so far that have ADHD...but I haven't seen anyone with an assistant, in a wheel chair or requiring an interpreter (hearing impaired) for examples.  
• In Canada, I grew up with kids who couldn't speak, were deaf or hard of hearing, were in wheel chairs and had assistants and even with Downs Syndrome.  This was great, in the sense that I was prepared to help those that need it in the future and I learned some sign language and forged friendships with children in a different position than myself.
  And since having a child who has been diagnosed 2 years ago with Autism - I find this really interesting too.  I know and am aware of a school in JKL that is just for kids like him - but at the same time, I feel bad he won't be going to a "regular school" like his little brother probably will.
• Religious studies is a subject taught in Finland.  Finland is primarily a Lutheran-based country with some Orthodox and other religions are here but in lower numbers (i.e. Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses etc.).
• No hats are allowed to be worn during the class or at lunch.  Only when leaving.
• Nobody chews gum during class either.
• Not allowed to throw snowballs.
• I haven't seen a teacher with an exposed tattoo...so I made sure to cover mine up the time I was there.  I don't know how much it would matter or bother the other staff or kids - but just in case - I made sure none of mine were showing.
• There's no dress code for teachers.  I was expecting to have to go re-vamp up my wardrobe with dress pants and skirts (despite the snow coming) and I asked the teacher in advance if there was a dress code...NOPE.  So I got to wear comfy jeans (I didn't wear ripped up ones or ones I'd wear to go help a friend move and get messy in), t-shirts or sweaters...whatever!
• In Canada (at least where I'm from), teachers had a casual Friday (got to wear jeans) if they chipped in a dollar or two towards the charity of the school's choice (usually a children's hospital for example).
• Same for ball caps on Fridays for kids too.  When I was in higher up elementary and junior high - there was a program that if we donated a dollar - we could wear ball caps on Fridays during class.  Then again - that was the 90's...times have changed!
• Use common sense - it's not a club or a bar.  The only teachers I saw wearing sweats were usually the gym teachers.
• Kids learn a 2nd language beginning in grade 3.  Each school has a variety of languages - it depends on who is trained and able to teach it to the children - but Swedish is mandatory at some point in their lives because it's Finland's 2nd national language and English seems to be pretty common too.
• Handicrafts are taught and you can do half a year of knitting/crocheting/sewing and then the next half - you'd switch over to wood/metal work.
• There aren't any private schools here.  That means no uniforms for every child, no crazy expensive school tuition fees that are the equivalent to a down-payment on a house/mortgage...none - nada.

*Unfortunately my work placement has to end early due to some other things that popped up - but I'm very grateful for the opportunity to be there and learn about their school system!  

Huge thanks to the staff, kids and school for hosting me!!*

Postage Increase

Finland is bumpin' up the prices to send mail (20 grams or less)...
And this sucks for those that still do write letters and post cards!! (Especially us Postcrossers!)

Here's the info from the Posti's site in English.

So I'll be stocking up on stamps right before the New Year...will you?

Mun Ty�harjoitus (tai Ty�harjoitelu..aka My Work Practice)

Today (Dec. 2) was my first day working in an elementary school.
So during my studies I will have to have 6 weeks of "ty�harjoitus" - which means getting myself a position in my field (which I don't actually have - since I have a variety of experiences but I don't carry a diploma or certificate)...I had originally opted for a baking position...then I thought of early hours...and in the darkness of December?  Too hard.
It's being split into two three-week periods...we'll do the next round in the spring and probably at a different location.
So I decided to go with teaching English and being an assistant to the teachers.
I'll post this once a week or every so often - but I'll try and write a bit everyday!!
I'm scheduled to work with the same teacher and group of kids for two days in a row.

Day 1:  Grade 5 - 20 kids - 2 teachers and me

Within five minutes of the kids' sitting down, there's some announcements - that can't be taken too seriously as the volume is so low and nobody is listening to them.
Then I hear some music - I know it's in a Shrek movie - it's instrumental and the kids are asked to be quiet. I KNOW it's not the national anthem....but the kids are instantly silent.
The teacher greets the children with a "Hyv� Huomenta!" (Good morning)
And the kids respond with respect.
One girl is late and she knocks before entering, goes to the teacher to apologize for her tardiness then sits down.
One boy is late - and doesn't apologize and right off the bat - I realize he's the "trouble maker".  There's one in every class isn't there?  (Not that I like giving labels - but since I can't write their names - no matter how common they may be! - I'll have to stick with various nick names.)
Well, after 45 minutes of chit chat - which included a blurb about where I'm from - the kids have recess for 25 minutes!
I'm pretty sure I had 15 minutes as a kid...then again - this is Finland.
I asked the teacher while we were outside on supervision duty if having so many breaks and shorter classes reduces fighting and she said yes - because it burns more energy when they're not studying or focusing on being taught something.
"But of course we have the occasional fist fight...but it doesn't happen often!"

Well, once the happy chiming of the bells go off - the kids file back inside and one kid has snow all over his face.
At first I think, "snow ball - wow, we're not allowed throwing them in school in Canada!" (At least when I was a kid...circa 1990-something...HELLO DINOSAURS!)
Turns out you're not allowed throwing snowballs here either.
The kids are in class and the teacher questions what happened among the boys.
Well, turns out that Trouble-Maker kid - might also have a case of the "Anger Management Issues" too.  We'll call him "Angry Birds" (so appropriate as Finland is the country that brings you those green pigs and red/yellow/blue/green birds).
Angry Birds tries to justify his reasoning for kicking another kid in the eye - which is swelling a bit, red but not purple or black....and the teacher asked me if I understood what's going on.
Unfortunately, Kids Kicking Another Kid in The Face 101, was not part of my lessons... - but I faked it and I think I understood some anyways.
The smallest kid in the class - who has interesting English vocabulary (keep reading!)- confirms that Angry Birds was at fault and while he's protesting the truth of witnesses - the teacher looks at me again and says, "This is the special kid who you ask him a simple question and all he does is BLAH BLAH BLAH!"
It was soooo hard to keep a straight face - because she said this in English and the kids have studied some!
Then the kids had some more energy burning sessions and got to play dodge ball...and Angry Birds was mega mad that he got tagged out easily (even though they had some weird system where you could get back in the game if your opponent got someone tagged out)....
I went to the city library attached to the school - which was gorgeous - and I caught the boys being a bit rowdy and asked them to be quiet.
So - Little One points at his best bud and whispers loudly to me, "Hi!  He's STUPID....so stupid...He's a MO-RWON!" (moron)
I told him that wasn't very nice and to keep quiet in the library - and he looks at me then runs off...quietly.

The whole class had a biology test this afternoon and while they were asked to sort their desks apart from their groups and into nice, neat rows....they were allowed to use their text books.
A friend who is a teacher said she docked points if a text book was used...but I don't know if that was the case today.

The afternoon was laid back and I had handicrafts with some older girls (the school is grades 1-6...so 7 years old to 13 years old) and unfortunately I finished all the yarn I had on me with the hat I was working on.
So I helped about when asked and started to make a gingerbread lady felt toy.
Then the power went out.
In all the four years I've lived here - never had a power outage.  This lasted 15-20 minutes...I thought this happened in the countryside!!!!
Oh and the handicraft teacher kind of looked like Ellen DeGeneres...I felt like dancing whenever I looked at her...but maybe that'd scare the crap out of her.

Day 2
We had art class and were given a huge sheet of thick paper and some paints and told to paint  around the edges towards the center but leave a blank spot in the center.
Then kids started drawing random things - so I joined in.
Turned out the point was to draw something involved with the time of day.
I tried drawing my dog, a cupcake and random words...then I  penciled in "LOVE" in the center, on a diagonal - and wrote in black pen words that went with "love" and all around the center word.  After, I erased Love and the inked words formed the shape of the word.
Well, Angry Birds thought I was AMAZING...and earned more cool points.

It was another teacher's birthday and he brought in donuts...and someone brought in a traditional Finnish mocha cake in the staff lounge/lunch room...usually chocolate looking, a tad dry and with chocolate frosting and sprinkles...
An older male teacher walks in - and this is what kills me...Finns know the MOST RANDOM things in English.
I get up to fill my water bottle and he bends at the pelvis, sticks his hands out in a "come-hither" way and starts to thrust himself towards the mocha cake and says,
"Come to Daddy...oh yeah baby...come to Daddy..."

This was to a cake...and I had to bite my tongue HARD (as I was just going past his back when he started doing his little dance and chant) so I didn't burst out laughing at him...seeing as I was the only native English speaker in the room...

Day 3
I had one period of English first thing in the morning with a substitute of the teacher who is my supervisor (technically) and turns out to be her son as well - and he had no idea about where I was from or why I was even in the school.
During that class, they were prepping for an up-coming test and one kid that sits alone in the front (probably because he's the trouble-maker) wanted to ask me a question and the teacher sub said, "Ask her."
Well, the kid had a fit and thought he said, "A**hole".
So of course, he's screeching in Finnish and suddenly screams, "A**hole!"  The teacher sub firmly tells him to sit down, settle down and to ask me a question if he had one.  (He didn't.)
Few minutes later, we're about to play Snakes and Ladders in English in their text books - and kid in the front (we'll call him "Mr. Extensive Vocabulary") stands up, flexes his muscles and screams:
"F**k the b**ch!"
I was so stunned at this random burst that my eyes nearly fell out of my head and the teacher looked at me and was equally stunned too.  He got a firm lecture and had to apologize to the teacher (it wasn't directed to me).
But yes, by the time I got home, I had a good chuckle - not that I approve of kids swearing - because I don't!  But it was SO random...and of all things to know in a 2nd language?!
After telling hubby about this - he wondered out loud, "I wonder where he learned that from?"
Seeing as their tests were about fruit, animals and where they are from - I doubt Mr. Extensive Vocabulary learned it in class!
Then again - the radios do not censor swear words in English music they play...so it's another possibility he learned it from there...or a movie.
One girl was super sweet and gave me a paper fan...and sang me a song in Finnish.  She even sat with me at lunch time...and didn't hold a grudge - despite me kicking her butt in Snakes and Ladders twice.  And she understood my Finnglish.

Then I'm with a different teacher - a fairly popular one from the looks of the kids' faces whenever he walked by and the cheerful "MOI! Hei!" from all the star-struck/swooning girls of various ages...
Anyhow, it's also a different grade - grade 3.  It's the first year that they start to learn English as a second language too!
I introduced myself with the typical: "My name is Dominique and I'm a Canadian.  I've lived in Finland for 4 years.  I have two boys and two dogs" - in Finnish AND English...so they could hear what words are similar in both languages and which weren't.
Then the questions came.  I mean - the grade 5's didn't ask me anything.

• "How old are you?" (this was asked at least twice)
• "Do you like cats/grapes/apples?"  - the grapes and apples is on their test soon...
• "Do you know Sidney Crosby?"

How is it, that a bunch of 9-10 year olds know who Sidney Crosby is, but any other die-hard ice-hockey fan (Finnish men usually) - have no idea who I'm talking about?!

Well, this blogger got even more awesome points and respect when I told them I'm actually from the same city(ish) as Sid the Kid.  And that no, I don't know him personally, but a friend saw him and has a photo with him from the airport in Texas.

This class had a TONNE of energy - which was great...but the teacher confided it was hard to find ways to get them to concentrate some times because they are everywhere.
Which was later confirmed by the other handicraft teacher (not the one who looks like Ellen) and I was mega impressed because she had 3 or 4 different craft stations on the go for this 1 class.
Even in music class, the music teacher gave up on yelling to get their attention - and just used a microphone in the music room.  I don't blame her at all.

They also teach religious studies in Finland.  Yep - even in elementary school.
The day's lesson was fairly basic.  They don't do it from the Bible, as far as I know (I haven't seen one yet) but from a school text book called "T�hti 3" (Star grade 3).  It had some colourful pictures, some text and seemed to be fairly basic in terms of lessons.
It was all about Joseph and Mary giving birth to baby Jesus and that the Angel Gabriel told them to name their baby Jesus.
They have notebooks with half lined paper, half blank - and they had to write a few sentences and then draw pictures imitating the book.
The religious studies teacher was an older man and when I told him we don't study religion in Canada during our basic school years (unless you go to a Church of some sort, study independently or choose to study in university) - he said he's sure Finland will go the same way in the future.
He didn't necessarily agree with the idea of teaching religion in school and I can only assume (as this was  quick conversation) that it's because there are so many different religions in the world.  But it's part of the curriculum and his job - so he does it.
He told me as well, that they do have Jehovah Witness students, and they have their own teacher - interesting!  I'm not sure if it's another teacher that happens to be a JW too or they have a member of that religion visit the school to educate the kids.
They don't do morning prayers either - like some schools in the USA used to (maybe some still do - but I wouldn't know).
Finland is primarily Lutheran based.

Day 4

I was with a grade two class - a group of less than 12 kids (I think some were sick) and they had math class. They're about 8 years old and learning fractions and already know their division (up to 12), multiplication tables (up to 12), addition and subtraction.

Because today (Dec. 5) is the day before the Finnish Independence Day (Dec. 6, 1917) - the whole school went outside and had a few scouts carry torches in, raise the Finnish flag, sing songs, wave flags and then we went back inside.

So today was quite relaxed since tomorrow is a holiday in Finland - and I helped mostly with the arts and crafts for our group.  They coloured flags, folded them and glued them to strands of yarn and I got to pin them up on the board...

Here's the dumb moment I had (there's always at least 1...):

Mr. Cute teacher says, "Hey Dominique - looking good!"

Well, I was surprised - I didn't even have a shower this morning! HA!
I say thanks then realize he's giving me a thumbs up and looking behind me...

At the garlands of Finnish flags I just finished pinning up.

Go me.

I also had two periods of gym/sports with kids and the most popular game is Tag.  But it's not just "TAG - you're OUT!"

Noo....it's once you get tagged, you have to freeze into a random position and someone has to "free you" by imitating your pose!

Then it was basketball with the grade 1 kids - and since the amount of kids were odd - I got to help with dribbling exercises and such.  One of those exercises had me teamed up with a girl who wasn't overly sporty...she missed the ball a couple of times when I passed it to her - and it kind of smacked her in the face.

She laughed.  Hey! I'm not complaining!!

The grade 3's had the same activities but a bit more running around, a proper game and harder basketball drills...it was fun!

I was complimented on my stop and pass...I didn't have the heart to tell him that in order to grow up in the North End properly - one must know how to handle a basketball...even if it's only basic stuff!

Next week I'm with new teachers every two days..one who just got back from a long time sick-leave...and hopefully had some sort of warning that a Canadian was coming over for a bit.

Time to enjoy the weekend!  I'll try and compile a massive list of major differences between Finnish schools and North American ones...soon...

Kahvila Muisto (Jyv�skyl�) - 2.5 Reviews

Why would a place get 2.5 Reviews?  I'll tell you.

In the heart of Jyv�skyl�, there is a little area called Toivolon Vanha Piha.  It opened up again to customers last year (2012) and has been quite successful.  There are little shops, a black smith on site, a small house that you can tour (be sure to cover your feet with the blue plastic covers!), a yarn shop called TitiTyy (the name is after the sound of a bird call), and a caf� called Kahvila Muisto.

I was there once this past summer (2013) with a friend and it was lovely being able to sit outside, knit, chat and have a cup of tea and a pastry!
The unique thing about Kahvila Muisto is that the wait-staff take your order from the table - you don't order, get your food then go sit down like at many coffee shops in Finland.
And they also serve alcohol.
Anyways - my friend and I heard many great things about this place and thought we would go.  She had been there once and thought she could go again - and since TitiTyy is nearby - we could pop into the yarn shop beforehand.  So we did just that, bought a skein of yarn each, grabbed a table in the sunshine and waited.
And waited...and waited for a waiter(ess).  I think we waited about 10-15 minutes just to place an order - granted it was summer and busy.  It took awhile for our food to arrive and we had to ask for our water again a couple times...again - a bit of a wait to get our bills - but overall - a nice place.

In JKL, we've started a handicraft group that meets weekly and you don't even have to have any experience at all!  We're of all different levels and backgrounds (it's mostly foreigners-based) and eager for new members to join us!
We decided that we would meet up at Kahvila Muisto (without reservations as it was a Thursday evening) and I arrived first to grab our table.
I managed to score the biggest one there - that holds about 10 people comfortably and told the waiter that there were more of us coming.  He said no problem and shortly after that - one person came.
More were on their way and I was getting confirmations on Facebook that the snow was slowing people down a bit - but they were definitely on their way.
My friend and I were looking at the menu and un-packing our bags of knitting and then the waiter comes back and asks us to move tables because in an hour there was going to be a big event of about 50 people (maybe he said "15"?  Because I don't think that 50 would have fit in there anyways considering most small tables were taken).
There was no reservation sign on our table we had  - but we figured okay - we'll move over and across the room - to a table that comfortably holds 6...when we reminded the waiter that more were coming - he apologized and said it was not a problem for a waitress to bring another chair.
So that's what we ended up doing - and the waitresses looked like they were THRILLED to be asked every 10-15 minutes to bring another chair.
Because in the end there were 9 or 10 of us, we were crowded too close together and it was a little difficult to do any crafts because we were constantly elbowing each other for the most part.  And it was kind of dark on that side of the room too!
We heard one short speech from this "party of about 50" people...and they were in a side room anyways...and I don't think there was ANYONE at that big table at all.   Nor did we hear a gaggle of 50 people...and nor would we be that loud that we would trump a group of 50 either.
It's not like we were having debates or improv group meeting..or board games...no - we were knitting.

Then when I spoke to a friend of mine - who belongs to a different knitting group in JKL (don't ask me the name of it- I don't remember) - she told me they had horrible experiences at KM because the owner requested that they take their knitting group elsewhere, especially on a Saturday, because other people pay to have their coffees there.  Perhaps they should've made a reservation - but at the same time - people cancel last minute (with or without notice) or people join last minute...so it's always a hit or miss with reservations.
It sounded to me (this is where the "0.5" part of the 2.5 comes in - as I wasn't present) - as if the owner didn't appreciate these regular customers who do nothing but buy food and drinks (refills included!) - because they also happened to bring their knitting too.
Then I happened to meet another member of this group - one of the head hunchos I guess - and she confirmed this story.
The owner of Titityy was very apologetic about the whole thing - but the owner of KM?  Not so much.  And this group even met in the summer up to 4x a week AT Kahvila Muisto!!!
Considering that Kahvila Muisto even charges 0,50� (50 cents) a glass of water - yep, even for customers who already ordered something - I'm shocked you would turn away customers that are not just drinking water because it's the cheapest item on your menu.  And at 4x a week?!
AND new customers whenever friends or family visit and want to try somewhere new?!

Oh and here's the thing about running a small business in a small city - word spreads like wild fire.

I don't expect Kahvila Muisto to shut down overnight because I wrote this review or to even see this - maybe they will - stranger things have happened!
But from a customer service-experienced and a could've been a regular customer's point of view - you're going to lose a lot of customers from kicking out a knitting group or two.

One last point these ladies noted to me about their observations from being in KM on any day of the week:

"Quite often there are other customers there with a single cup of coffee and maybe a pastry (no refills or other purchases) and talk with their friends for a much longer time than we are there for...they aren't knitting or crocheting...nor do they get asked to leave."

After thinking out loud on Facebook about whether or not to blog about this - a couple friends wrote on my status things like:

"Nice place but un-professional service!"
(I.e: long waiting times, forgetting orders, wrong bills, different staff and they were acting confused or nervous..."We thought we were on Candid Camera ..." - Guess it was bad.)
"Sounds so familiar..."

I hate to sound corny - but Kahvila Muisto is not really my cup of tea anymore at all.

My Speech Test Made My Teacher Cry...

This is the last week of school and I had three tests this week. The written one was on Monday and today I had a spoken and listening test.
I didn't know there was going to be an actual spoken test, but I guess it is to be expected in the end of a language course!
I was asked the basics like where I live, how long I have lived there...what do I like about the area, what do I do on the weekends and so on.
Then the fun part. I was given a black and white photo of a couple eating dinner in some posh restaurant and some suggestions on what to say were written on the side.
Describe what they are doing, their personalities, what they look like and their conversation.

After doing all that but their conversation part - my teacher asked what are they talking about?
Initially I started with :

His name is George and he is 35-years old and works in the hospital as a doctor. His wife Lisa is 30 and she's a teacher... they have been married for four years.
They are at a restaurant in Italy which is beautiful and very hot unlike Finland.
Lisa is eating chicken pasta and George is eating potatoes and beef.
They are drinking white wine.

Here's the conversation -picture deep manly voice for George and a soft high pitched voice for Lisa:

"Moi, Italia on kaunis!!"- Lisa
"Joo, sin� on kaunis my�s!  Haluatko menee katsoo elokuvaa?" - George
"Joo!  M� haluan katson 'N�lk� Pelit'" - Lisa
"Um - m� en.  M� menee baariin ja m� odotan." - George
"Oh....George -m� haluan lasta!" -Lisa
"Um...m� en. Mutta ehk� ostamme koira??" -George
"Ehk�...mutta m� haluan on vauva!!!" -Lisa
"Sin� nimi koira 'Vauva'"- George
"Ei sama. M� haluan eronut!!"- Lisa
"MIKSI?!?!"- George
"Koska m� haluan vauva ja m� nukkun sun velje� kanssa!"- Lisa
"Mit�?!?!"- George
"Joo!! Eilen kaksi vuotta...."- Lisa
"No niin!!...m� en tied�!!!!"- George
"Joo....heippa hei."- Lisa
"Heippa."- George

After changing my voice - my teacher jokingly suggested we record the conversation I make up and play it for the class later...
By the point I got to "M� haluan lasta!" - she had tears down her face and couldn't stop laughing...

Here is a translation of what I said...I apologize for the spelling errors and in-correct grammar above!

"Hey, Italy is beautiful!" - Lisa
"Yes, you are beautiful also/too!  Do you want to go see a movie??" - George
"Yes...I want to see Hunger Games!" - Lisa
"Um - I don't.  I'll go to a bar and I'll wait." - George
"Oh...George - I want kids!" - Lisa
"Um - I don't.  But maybe we can buy a dog?" - George
"Maybe...but I want a baby!!!" - Lisa
"You can name the dog 'Baby'" - George
"Not the same.  I want a divorce!" - Lisa
"WHY?!?!" - George
"Because I want a baby and I'm sleeping with your brother!" - Lisa
"What?!" - George
"Yes for the last 2 years..." - Lisa
"Oh well...I didn't know!" - George
"Yep....bye bye." - Lisa
"Bye." - George

After all this - I said I was done and she thought it was hilarious but very dramatic.
I told her it was the "Amerikalainen versio" - (American version)....I made a reference to Jerry Springer but she didn't get that part.

I think I passed.

My 1st 100% Finnish Phone Call!

I'm totally over the moon right now!!
My oldest is home with a nasty fever that started yesterday afternoon - but the medicine is kicking in now - so that's nice.
Anyways, my dentist sends me a nice little post card with an appointment time on it whenever it's "that time of the year".  I knew and was expecting a card in the mail soon because at my last appointment he told me he was moving cities - so this was the last one before he moved.

For those that don't know me too well - I am the Queen of Losing Things.  I put things down for just a moment and POOF!  Gone.  I'm starting to wonder if there's a little fairy that lives in my house that hides everything...the same one who steals socks (and we don't even have a dryer to blame THAT on) in most households - so you're forced to wear mismatched pairs...or wear the same colour everyday....(which I find personally a bit sad).

Anyways, all I remembered from this post card is that:
A) I have an appointment
B) It's in November
C) It's on the 20-something...

And of course I forgot to write it down or to in-put it into my phone's calendar...

So I had a hunch that today might be the day - so I gave them a call.

"Moi! Puhutko englantia??" - me hoping partly that yes, the receptionist does and partly hoping that no, the receptionist doesn't - so I can practice my Finnish...
She advises me that she knows a bit...alright - Finnish it is...time to *gulp* TRY.

"Ok - mun nimi on Dominique ja mulla on ajanvaraus Juha kanssa.  Mutta m� en muista milloin aika on?"  I'm practically speed talking because I want to say it as accurately as possible and at the same time - get off the phone as quickly as possible.
(Okay - my name is Dominique and I have an appointment with Juha.  But I don't remember when the time is?)

She was quite pleased and seemed to understand me because she confirmed my name and told me my appointment is today and gave me the time.

I feel awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(When school is done - I'll post a huge vocabulary list of what I learned in school...probably during Christmas break.)