The Palapeli Experience!

Sorry I haven't been writing much...first it was the flu...then the ski holiday - where I didn't actually ski...and then my kids went back to day-care only to end last week with a nasty case of Noro Virus which hit all of us in some way or other...and since STARTING this post over a week ago - my oldest kid got hit with ear infections in both ears...
Anyways, pretend with me that you're reading this the beginning of March!

I had been prepping for the Palapeli Finnish language assessment week.
A friend of mine had already completed this 5-days long assessment so I sort of knew what to expect.
There would be some basic math, writing components, learning a bit and some tests at the end to see what you know.  Both a spoken test and a written one.
In Finnish.

Hmm - well then.

I arrived there last Monday (4th of March) and the group of people were divided based on language spoken, as there were translators available from English to Chinese, Spanish to Persian, Russian to Swedish...
We were treated with a slide show explaining why Palapeli exists and what will be done in the assessments.
Here's the quick version of it (my words):

• You're separated into the 2 or 5-days assessment.  
• 2-Days assessment (I didn't do this one) is for people who:
• Speak multiple languages (not necessarily Finnish)
• Have graduated college or university. 
• Have studied Finnish in the past.
• 5-Days assessment (I did this one) is for people who:
• Recently moved to Finland.
• Do not know any or very little Finnish.
• Have not studied or completed post-secondary education.
• Have not studied Finnish before.
• I'm sure there are other criteria to distinguish the two but really - you're all on equal grounds by the end of it!
• Everyone is an equal in the long run.  (This was emphasized a hundred different ways in a span of 40 minutes...)
• Once you've completed your testing then you return for your results or you can call and get them over the phone.
• This assessment determines not only your Finnish language skills (if any and I assure you - many people DON'T have any!) but your basic math skills, memory and writing/reading skills. 
• If you are not very good at any of the above - do not worry or stress about it!  The big thing is that they can find you the help you need so when you are ready to look for a job in Finland, you will be employable.
• This is NOT a test of your IQ - but to see what is the best Finnish language course for you to be placed in and if you require any other help in the other areas they cover.
• Bring a pencil and an eraser and your exercise booklet when you go there.
• Don't be late because if you are - you may not be able to get into your classroom and you'll have to start over at the next assessment - which is every 2-3 months.  (Not sure how true this is because one fellow was late and he still got in on the 4th day...and this presentation was due to start at 9am and did not start until almost 9:30....so...take it for what it's worth?  Besides, it's polite to be on time/a bit early!)

Day 1

I was placed in group 1 of the 5-days assessment group (which there were 2) and there were no translators - we all spoke and understood English to some degree.
However, the teachers did not speak English when teaching us - it was all in 100% Finnish, which is a good thing!

We had our math test that morning and were given a piece of paper with 50 mixed math equations that had to be solved.  Multiplication, division, addition and subtraction...and you had 4 minutes to complete as many as possible.  When the timer went off, the teachers/assistants marked on your sheet where you finished and then we were given an extra 10 minutes to finish the test.
Yes, one girl in the group finished all 50 in 4 minutes...I made it to question 42 by the time the first timer went off - thanks for asking! :)

Day 2
A test of memory.  We learned some bits of Finnish and had to do a memory test.  As well, we learned how to say "My name is ____".  Along with some other super simple phrases.

Day 3
We learned more Finnish..."I'm married/I'm not married", "I have __ child(ren)", "I have __ sisters, __brothers, mother/father..."

Day 4
We had a speech test.  We were taken individually into a room with 2 teachers - one using the computer and typing your answers I guess, while the other asked you the questions.
Everything they ask is stuff you covered....but if you've lived in Finland for awhile or have studied prior to that assessment, they'll throw you some curve balls.
I was asked, "Kuinka vanha olet?"  I stumbled big time.  I apologized in Finnish (Anteeksi?) and she repeated it again.  My little brain fairies went through every filing cabinet in my head regarding the Finnish language and I recognized that "kuinka" meant how many or how - something!
But what?!
Finally I gave up (this was all in a span of 20 seconds) and she said in English,

"How old are you?"

Insert the brain fairy pulling out the image of Homer Simpson screaming, "D'OH!"
I quickly responded my age in Finnish and then they asked me (in English):
"What else do you know in Finnish?"
Well, that's not really a good question considering I've been here almost four years.  So I quickly said I knew mostly food, baby-related things and some conversation and craft terms.
That was that.

Day 5
The written test day....
We were allowed to correct our exercise book that we had been using for the past week, with one of their correct-answers-already-filled-in copies - so I had assumed the test would be a blank copy of our exercise booklet.
No - not true.
The first half I understood easily and flew through it...the second half was more challenging and that was a good thing for me.  I was able to push myself and see what I could answer.  I admit to using the process of elimination multiple times until I got the proper answer (so I hoped).

Once that was done, I had to wait about a week to go back (or call) to get my results.
I opted to go in person to get my results because the un-employment office had no idea I finished the assessment and they wanted a copy of my results and proof that I did it all.

It took a few minutes to explain to the person working in the office that SHE had the results and I was there to get them and that SHE needed to send a copy of my tests to the un-employment office...but after 5 minutes of blank stares and me pointing and making weird gestures and speaking repeatedly slowly...she got it.
And I found out that yours truly will be learning Suomea (Finnish) as of April 2nd for a 2.5-months long course!!  I'm excited and will be in the "Beginners Fast Paced" program.

I'll keep you updated as I struggle with all the joys of learning Finnish!

**Kortepohja Flasher!**

Hey folks:

This is a pretty serious post, especially for those that live in the Kortepohja Jyv�skyl�-area!
There have been reports of a man going around showing children dirty videos and flashing himself (dropping his pants or un-zipping them) to girls ages 7-10 years old.  He is described as a small man, a foreigner with a tanned complexion and is most active in the afternoons.
Not sure if it's the same fellow but a friend of mine has also seen a man shooting videos at a nearby school...

The police have not caught this man and do not have a firm description unfortunately - due to the cold weather - I'm sure this fellow is quite bundled up too!

Anyways, please keep an eye out and warn your children about this guy and for them to call for help and try to remember anything about him that may distinguish him - so the police can catch him!

In Finnish:
Kortepohjan itsens�paljastaja on taas liikenteess�. Olkaa vanhemmat ja lapset valppaana ja soittakaa poliisille havaintonne!

This is very sad and unfortunate that someone wishes to do these things in public and to children  (or do it at all)!!  I hope he's caught and I sincerely hope that Finns do not think all of us foreigners/expats behave in such a disgusting fashion!

Fig-a-no.

Recently I went on a date with my husband, which was fantastic as we haven't had a date in ages.  By ages, I mean at least 6 months.
It's not easy finding someone that is able to care for our children but we lucked out with a couple of friends and happily rushed to downtown to eat somewhere.
In previous years, we've gone to Harald - the Viking-style restaurant.  But since Tim has been to a few other restaurants with work-related meetings, he thought we could try something new.
We had looked online at some different places and opted to go to Figaro.

Figaro is fancy and fairly high in price but we figured an anniversary date/valentine's date/my birthday dinner all in one - justified a fancy place...that and a date for the first time in over 6 months - yep let's go!

We were greeted by servers dressed in black and advised them that we do not have a reservation.  They quickly found us a table, we were handed large black (single-sided) menus, served water and after a few short minutes took our order.
We started with the "Overcooked Lamb Shank with Allspice Ice Cream".  I advised the waitress that we could share this and she nodded and left with our order of Grilled Wild Boar and Beef � La Figaro.  We also ordered two glasses of wine and decided we would have our wine with our meal.
The waitress must have misunderstood because she showed up with two identical appetizers.  Of course the food could fit into my hand, the portion was so petite and the plate was rectangular and large.  Go figure - fancy food.
We didn't say anything about the mistake in ordering once we realized how small the portion was.  There was a TINY piece of lamb, a small brick the size of my pinky finger, a tiny blob of mustard, a bit of greens, a slice of a tortilla and a small scoop of this Allspice Ice Cream.  I honestly had no idea what to expect with this ice-cream and when you hear the word "ice-cream" you usually think of something sweet.  It looked like chocolate..with black specks...that's right - pepper.  And it tasted different - like spicy and soya sauce or Worcestershire sauce mixed in there...you really couldn't taste anything "dairy".  A very odd combination and not something I would eat again - and I'm pretty open to trying new things!

After we were served our meals, I decided to wait a couple minutes to see if our wine would arrive.  Tim began eating his meal right away and suggested I do the same before it got cold.  We ate our delicious food and I noticed that the wine probably won't be arriving any time soon, despite the fact that our waitress was still working and our table was beside the bar.
When we were more than half-finished with our meals, we managed to get a different server's attention and asked if we could have our wine that we had ordered.  He was surprised that we had ordered wine and immediately got us our glasses.
The server never asked us how our food was during our meal - which I figured would have been a good idea and a good oppourtunity to see if we needed anything - like our wine...
And the female waitress that we had at the beginning no longer served us after we got our main course - I'm not quite sure why because our table location never changed and she was still working the other tables - so who knows.  Perhaps she was a hostess but she didn't wear anything that distinguished her as different than a waiter(ess).

Oh right, the food - so Tim said the wild boar platter was really tasty and he seemed very happy with it all.  I thought it looked kind of plain sitting on a top of a puddle of sauce but he was super happy about it so I'm glad!
My steak was cooked perfectly medium, the bacon was nice and smokey and the jalapenos really complimented the steak, bacon and aioli.  The potatoes were fantastic and had a strong garlic flavour - so if you order this dish, make sure you have some gum or a mint afterwards!
And the Italian wine that went with the meal was fantastic and much easier to drink with the food!! (I'm not a huge wine drinker and can't have wine without food...)

So in short?  Figaro's food is impressive but the service is lacking.  I'm not sure if it was because we didn't dress to the nine's for our date or because we weren't much older than our first server that she decided to ignore us (not looking in our direction either)...but take it for what it's worth.  And yes, there were people dressed more casually than us - more suitable for a house party or club...but anyways!
If you don't care about excellent customer service during your meal but you care about fancy, expensive food of (slightly) odd combinations - definitely try Figaro.

Oh and another example of Figaro's poor service (based on a friend's experience) - my friend went there for a Christmas work party one year and they had pre-ordered their food, had a reservation and so on -  and when they arrived, nothing was available except water for at least an hour.  Then they were asked what they would like to drink, alcohol-wise, and then the food arrived almost 2 hours after they arrived.  My friend was quite disappointed by the whole experience and I can't blame her!

Next date night will be held elsewhere...same with next anniversary date night too.
Sorry Figaro - but it was more of a Fig-a-no.

Yet Another Restaurant Day!

Yesterday was Restaurant Day (Feb.17th) or in Finnish - 'Ravintola P�iv��.'
The point of Restaurant Day is to sell food of your making or to experience little pop-up caf�s/restaurants for 1 day.  Restaurant Day occurs four times a year and I think it's a great way for people to share food from their culture - especially if they are foreigners!  In a small city like Jyv�skyl� (compared to Helsinki or Tampere), the amount of foreign food is very limited at restaurants and we do not have a North American-style bakery!  

Yesterday was my "one-year anniversary" of selling for Restaurant Day as "Hooked On Sweets" and I hosted it outside for the first time.  Normally I set up my shop in a yarn store (permission required) called Poppeli.  

But recently Restaurant Day has been alternating between Saturdays and Sundays and because yesterday was a Sunday - Poppeli was closed!

What was I going to do?!

Well, I decided to set up on a long red bench located in downtown Jyv�skyl�!  There was no permission required and the police didn't swing by until the last 10 minutes of my selling!   They sat a few meters away facing me in their super-obvious-it's-a-ghost-vehicle (aka solid grey and same shape as their vans) and didn't leave until I did!

I drew a sign clearly stating that it was Restaurant Day and people have been very welcoming of me selling at a downtown location.

I offered take-away only - although the bench was so long, anyone could have sat there to enjoy their goodies!  However, sitting on a metal bench during a windy February day might not be ideal!

I get asked a lot of questions during my times of selling and they're all pretty good questions, that you as a foreigner probably experience all the time!

1. How long have you lived in Finland for?
2. Why do you live in Finland?
3. What part of Canada are you from?
4. Did you bake this all yourself?
5. Do you make any profit off of this?
6. How do I set up a caf� myself?
7. I bought ___ pieces - can I have some thing for free?

1-3.  I've lived in Finland for 4 years and moved here because my husband is studying to do his phD here (also a Canadian).  We're from Nova Scotia - home of Ellen Page (actress - Juno and Inception) and Sidney Crosby (a hockey player that no Finn seems to know of but is supposed to be the next Gretzky), the blueberry capital of Canada, home of Jost Winery and we have a lot of humidity too.

4.  Yes I baked everything myself - I take about 2 days to bake everything and try to make it as fresh as possible for Restaurant Day.

5.  It is possible to make profit depending on what your prices are like.  As a stay-at-home mother currently, waiting to study Finnish intensively, this is my only source of income that I can make independently.  I also think that asking if profit and how much of it is being made is quite intrusive because it's really no different than asking, "How much do you make?"  It's not something I would ask another person - let alone a pop-up-caf� owner.  Then again, curiosity killed the cat...

6.  You can set up a caf� yourself once every 3 months and you must register on the Restaurant Day site (listed below) in advance.  I strongly encourage it because it's a great way to educate others about food from your country and if there aren't any regular businesses that sell food from your country - it's a great way to see if there is potential to open a business some day!!

7.  I don't know why this is becoming a common trend and the people asking me this have been Finns.  I don't think it's fair to ask for free food because this certainly would not work at a restaurant or any shop..."Can I have a free pair of sneakers since I bought a pair and some socks for my kids?"  Yep, sounds ridiculous as you asking me (or any other Restauranteur) for free food because you chose to buy X-amount of food.  Not that I do not appreciate your business - but I certainly don't enjoy being asked for my hard work to be given away.

One thing that was pointed out to me several times by customers - both new and regular visitors to Hooked On Sweets - was that there were not many restaurants set up yesterday in Jyv�skyl�.  And there wasn't - perhaps because of the colder weather or because it was on a Sunday - I'm not sure why.  In fact, there were two places that were registered that were already restaurants/caf�s prior to Restaurant Day.

Yes, they were promoting new foods or discounts for the special day but a lot of comments received from my customers were that it was not fair to the one-day restaurants that were open because they are open everyday of the week (minimum five days) and Restaurant Day is not like that at all.

Looking at the Restaurant Day map now, the day after, those two registered businesses are no longer listed on the map even though the other pop-up caf�s are.

As long as you respect the property you're selling from and clean up after yourself - it's pretty much a green light to sell anywhere.

For more information and rules - check out Restaurant Day's site.  They are also listed on Facebook but you register yourself via the website.

So take advantage of this oppourtunity, have fun and share your culture and love of food!!

Restaurant Day! :)

Tomorrow is Restaurant Day and I will be set up in downtown Jyv�skyl� between Sokos and Forum.  There is a long red bench if you start walking down the hill towards the bus stops and I'll be there from 12 pm-4 pm.

Here's my menu and prices.

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHY?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Don't forget - press it twice.

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

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

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

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

Ch-Finn-glish.

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

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

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

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

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

That Red Head...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Night Fisher!

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

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

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

10 Years Or More!

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

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

You can find a very short article here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Difference Between Blue & Red

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

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

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

How do I know this?  EXPERIENCE.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Guess what happened?

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

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

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

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

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

Anyways, lesson learned.

Post-Crossing Meet-Up - Jyv�skyl�n Style!

Remember I wrote about Postcrossing recently?
Well, I dug around in their Forum and found out there are such things as PC Meet-Ups in various countries all over the world!
Well, I was worried that there wasn't one in Jyv�skyl� - despite having a pretty awesome shop that sells great post cards and other stationary items (Harjun Paperi) near the downtown/University area.
I was wrong.

I discovered they actually host their meetings at Harjun Paperi and was giddy with excitement!!  Since my weaving course has ended back in November, it would be nice to have some sort of regular meeting again!  And with my newest hobby of post cards - to know that I'm not alone in Jyv�skyl�...well, I just HAD to go!
Unfortunately - hubby was in Istanbul during their December meeting...BUT!  There was one being held yesterday - on January 2nd.
So I emailed the person who wrote about it in the Forum and found out the details like what time and where...then I emailed her again...asking a simple yet stupid-sounding-to-me question:

"What do you DO at a Postcrossing meeting??"

Her answer was simple.  We meet each other, show each other post cards we have received or are sending and sometimes we have snacks if people wish to bring some.
Ohh okay!  I advised her I would be there and was looking forward to meeting her.

I was expecting about 5 other people - I really had no idea how many to expect!  It just so happened to be one of the biggest gatherings that night (totally by chance!) and there were a total of 15 people (approximately)!!

WOW!

Immediately everyone was whipping out notebooks and passing them to everyone and I was in the cross fire of books being handed to me from both directions...I had no idea what to do.
The lady beside me explained that everyone has note books so we can write them a note, leave our Postcrossing User name or address in them...and if we like - we can exchange post cards with that person.
Ooooh I get it.  So here I am scribbling away and hoping my ink dries fast enough that my wrist won't smudge the previous line (I'm right-handed - I know lefties have it harder!)...and suddenly there are post cards being passed around.

"What do I do now?!" was my immediate thought and quickly my neighbour advised me that some people send group post cards to their random Postcrosser.  So I looked at one I was signing and yes indeed, the message was in English wishing that person a Happy New Year and that this was being signed by the JKL Meet-up!
Cool.  We also had snacks and did a round of introductions too.

I ended up buying a beautiful notebook and joining in on the fun and got most of their addresses and PC user names so I can send them a card of thanks soon.  
I even found out that some people sent cards on behalf of stuffed animals!
Well, I decided to make an account for my dogs...and I even stamp the back of the card with a dog-stamp.
I know - super geek - but I cannot help it!

This group of people were fantastic, so welcoming and friendly and I no longer felt like a "weirdo" for drooling over post cards and stamps...or for taking photos of things when travelling (i.e. I have to take photos of: mailboxes, food, all 3 emergency type of vehicles and Stop signs or similar signs)...
So thank you very much ladies (and 1 gentleman) for welcoming me to your group with open arms!!

I've been tweaking my profile here and there whenever I get an idea (usually off of someone else's profile) like what kinds of post cards I would like to receive (really not picky honestly) but then some of the ladies were showing off the stamps on their post cards...and what happened?
I had a flash back to the 90's.

I remember being a child (7-10-ish) and getting mail - REAL mail and looking at the stamps on the envelopes (most were the Canadian flag and 40-45 cents each back then or of HRH Queen Elizabeth II) and if there was one that was NOT Canadian - I got excited.
My Mom showed me how to soak the bits of envelope in water and once the glue dissolved and the stamps were dry - then I could save them.  I had tonnes of them from relatives who received mail from Asia and other countries...sadly, they're in storage (I think).

So I decided to start a new collection!!
I think this weekend will be spent cleaning, hanging out with a friend and digging for stamps on envelopes!  I don't want to ruin a post card and I would like to be able to connect the post card with the stamp it came with - so I won't remove them from post cards.  It was a hard decision but I'm sure I'll come across many stamps from all over the world via envelopes. :)

So, what do YOU do in a Postcrossing meeting??

6 Fingers & 2 Thumbs

Today is the 27th of December and for many that means waiting in massive line ups for all the wonderful Boxing Day sales (Boxing Day is the 26th of December and way-back-when rich people would box up their gifts they did not like and give them to their servants/hired help) and returning the gifts they didn't like or had duplicates of already.
Today my family got to hang out for a few hours at the police station so we could renew our residence permits (3/4 of us) and apply for a Finnish ID card for the husband so he can get a loan here.
After a lengthy wait and once my husband was finished his share of the process - it was just me and the officer in a cozy office getting my share of the paper work completed.

What's new this year is that the Finnish Residence Permits are no longer pieces of paper with your photo and  some info on it glued into your passport.
This time the Finns are going all high-tech!
The Finnish R.P. look like an ID card of sorts (we won't get ours for awhile so I'm sorry I can't describe it properly) but is not an official piece of identification.  It's merely a permit saying yep we live in Finland.
In this RP there is a microchip and that contains a copy of our finger prints and our signature along with other stuff I'm sure.

A child under the age of 6 does not have to have their finger prints taken.  (Thank goodness!)

And it's all digital....there's no more ink and paper and rolling your fingers this way and that on the ink pad.
Your prints will be taken from both hands - right hand first and beginning with the thumb and each finger is printed twice (you lift your finger between prints) to "ensure quality prints" for their records.
Now because it is winter time and I am TERRIBLE at moisturizing my hands - the scanner was not able to pick up some of my prints.  So I had to rub my fingers onto my skin to get some oil to help make the print clearer.
Good thing I had an apple and lots of peanut butter for breakfast at least 5 hours prior (and nothing else since)...my face was a little oily...not that you care or needed to know that!

Oh!  You're wondering why my title is "6 Fingers & 2 Thumbs"?
My pinky fingers couldn't leave a print because they were "too small".  Alright - not sure if he'll put on my file "She has small baby fingers - no prints available...but she DOES have all 10 digits!" or not - but I found it amusing but didn't ask if he felt the same.

Oh and some friends of ours had to fly to Ottawa to access this machine to get their RPs before moving here - because Ottawa had the only Finnish Embassy that contained a digital finger print scanner...GO CANADA!

Then came the interesting part.

It turns out that my oldest son's RP had expired back in September.  Why it was a different date than ours - I don't know.  Ours typically expired in August but because of this new system - we were advised they would extend the date on our RPs and we had to renew it before 2013 and that we could renew the child's at the same time.  So maybe they didn't extend his??
I apologized profusely and said that I thought we could renew the 3 RPs at the same time and that our expiry dates were all the same - oops - seriously.  That and the lady that we normally dealt with was in the next room - I didn't want to point fingers and play the blame-game...anyways...
He informed me that this was illegal but because he is an under-aged child (he's 3-years old) there won't be any fines.
I advised him that if it was such an issue to be a little late on a RP renewal - why weren't we contacted??
"Well, we don't send notices like that."
"Obviously a 3-year old is not a major threat if his residence permit application wasn't submitted on time and nobody contacted us about it..." - was my grouchy thought...
BUT!  I have received notices - FROM THE POLICE/IMMIGRATION SERVICES in the past - when a residence permit was due for renewal or past due because we were waiting on a proof of contract renewal etc.
Interesting!

THEN!  I realized that the youngest one doesn't have a RP in his passport because we only applied for it in October and it was the first one for him - so it's still being processed in Helsinki at the Immigration's office there.  I informed Mr. Officer this and he asked if we had been in contact with the Immigration's Office - I advised him no, they're probably waiting to see proof of us getting our RPs renewed before they send it back to us or finish the process.
NOW I'm looking like a sneaky suspect because it sounds JUST like something that would happen in Finland and because I sound calm yet like I have experience.  I mentioned that it had happened in the past with our first son - so that is probably what's happening.
And why would the Immigration's Office contact us about submitting OUR RP applications when they/the Police cannot contact us inquiring about an expired "under-aged child's" residence permit??? HMMMMMMMMM!

After showing his paper work to a colleague and coming back to see if I still had that "WTF" look on my face - he then decided to play good cop and ask me why I gave my boys Finnish names...and if my Canadian friends/family can pronounce them....

And there you have it.  My first taste of illegal activity in Finland.

MANTELE!

"Oooh a new post - and it's technically Christmas DAY in Finland...I wonder what is going on..."

Why thanks for your worries!  I assure you all is well - some gifts are wrapped, stockings are stuffed and hung on the book shelves with care, the dogs are sleeping and the kids are dreaming about sugar plum fairies (HIGHLY doubt it - but you know...).

I've mentioned before several times (it IS my 4th Christmas here now - WOW!) that Santa comes from Lapland, Finland (according to the Finns)...he sings and gives gifts to the kids when they're awake on Christmas Eve...the big dinner is usually on the 24th...and you relax and enjoy a bowl of hot rice porridge on Christmas Day morning.
What goes in the rice porridge?  Kaneli usually - ah ha!  I DO know some Finnish (if I could double/triple underline I would)!! Kaneli = cinnamon by the way.  Of course rice porridge smarty pants!
And a single mantele.

At first glance - it probably means nothing to you if you don't know Finnish.
At second glance - you might have thought I was swearing - given the capitalized title...
By third glance - you don't care and know I will tell you what it means in a moment....

Anyways a mantele - is an almond.  (Some Finns know it as manteli...but Google Translate say both spellings are acceptable...and the dictionary says it should be manteli...GOOGLE TRANSLATE - get your act together!)

As per Finnish tradition - a single almond is placed in a pot of rice porridge and whoever scoops that up and gets it in their bowl will be VERY lucky and have good fortune in the new year!
I only learned about this tidbit recently as I had my first bowl of Christmas rice porridge at a pikkujoulu ("[Little]Christmas Party") I attended.

I have never personally cooked it before as it can be quite time consuming and burns easily if not attended to - and with two mobile children and a husband that probably won't eat it either - it'd be a waste of time and ingredients.
Maybe next year...

Anyways, Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas/Hyv�� joulua to all!