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!