The end of year essay

I'm still shocked that it's all over, and I'm not quite sure how to put it all into words. I'm still trying to get accustomed to being back in England, I'm feeling very slow and tired, and still quite unhappy. Things are better than expected - I thought I'd be crying constantly at this point. Turku already feels so far away, even though I've been talking to my friends pretty much constantly since I left. Everything feels like maybe it was just a dream.
I look back on the past year with pride and happiness. I came through a lot of things, many of which were far too personal to write about here. As you all know, the circumstances in which I went to Finland were not the best, and when I think about it I realise more and more how utterly miserable I was a year ago. Being in Finland encouraged me to get my life back as I wanted it to be, and I certainly did do that!
Living in Finland was definitely not always straightforward. At times I was so scared I could have jumped on a plane home, so frustrated I could have killed someone, and so confused I just wanted to curl up and cry. However, I can say with absolute certainty that it was worth the trouble I endured. Although my memories of winter mainly consist of unhappiness, it wasn't too long before things turned around. It certainly wasn't easy, as I have stated before, but it worked out. I really think that one of the reasons this blog has become so popular is because I haven't pretended that everything was perfect all the time. I've been honest about the problems I've experienced, most of which are just an unavoidable part of immigration.
Despite these things, I've had the chance to learn so much, try many new things, and make wonderful friends, some of whom I cannot imagine my life without. On so many occasions I just stopped for a moment and thought of how amazing it all was. I think when I first arrived I didn't really believe I could make it through, but I did. I am a much stronger person today than I was when I went to Finland. I found so much happiness in Turku, even when things weren't quite going to plan. I've learned to look past the difficulties, and appreciate all the good things that there are. I really never thought that things would go so well for me, even though I often had to struggle through.
I have had so many wonderful new experiences in the past year; opportunities I would not have had in my own country. Not all of them were huge or significant, but they still mattered to me. Even things like trying a new food have their value. I'm so glad I got to travel a bit and see some new places, such as Tampere and Norway. I've learned so much about a foreign culture, which has been fascinating. Even though I've done many good things, I still feel there's more for me to do in Finland. I missed out on some things I hoped to do, due to time and money constraints. I never went to Sweden or Poland, and I never went to Muumimailmaa when it was actually open. But I will, I know I will, because I'll be back.
After a while I really felt at home in Finland, and on Monday I felt like I was leaving my home. It amuses me that I feel this way because on my first visit to Helsinki, two years ago, I didn't even like it much and suspected that I wouldn't return. How things have changed! Maybe I just needed to spend more time in the country, or maybe Turku is the place for me. There are so many people who are close to me in Turku, and a few in other places, and maybe that's why I was so comfortable. I'm impressed that I managed to find people who I got on with so well and became close to, considering the cultural and linguistic barriers. I have been extremely lucky.
Luck is definitely the overwhelming feeling for me. I feel lucky to have survived, to have received so much help, and to have been so fortunate. If I hadn't needed to leave now I doubt I ever would have.
I'm very much looking forward to the holidays I'll be taking in Finland in the coming year, and to moving back permanently next summer. I'm just going to keep working until that day comes. I think I'll be visiting Tampere and Turku in December, and I can't wait, even though it'll be dark and cold.
I think the whole experience was too immense to just describe here. I don't think I can really explain it all. However, I would encourage anyone who wants to do the same thing to just do it. Whichever country it is, however hard you think it'll be - just do it. There will be numerous difficulties, and you might think you'll go mad, but it is a hugely rewarding thing to do. My life is much richer for having had this experience, and has also improved immensely. I think it might actually have saved my life, although I never thought the effect on me would be so great. I have no regrets.

Went to Tampere

I went to Tampere yesterday, which was lovely. I saw this church from the train, and wondered if I'd accidentally gone to St Petersburg. Oddly I didn't take many photos.
Tampere was very nice, and I thought it looked rather like Oslo, or at least the part of Oslo that I saw when I was there. There's a flower festival going on there at the moment, so there were lots of plants everywhere, which made it look beautiful. I liked Tampere better than Oslo, and it had a lot more interesting stuff there. Although it was nice, I still like Turku more. Turku gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. I won't be running away to live in Tampere just yet.
Mainly we wandered around the streets, so I got a good feel for the place. We went on a big wheel in the kauppatori, but unfortunately phones/cameras were not permitted so I couldn't take any pictures of the lovely view.
I was told that every year students from Tampere go to Turku with shovels in an attempt to detach us from the rest of Finland. Disgraceful! Why would they want to get rid of the best part of this country?
We also went to a very nice park just outside of the center, where there was a beautiful lake, and some sort of botanical garden. It wasn't too busy; very peaceful and quiet.
For once my travel plans did not turn into a disaster. On the way home I was talking to a very nice man, who dragged me onto the platform for a cigarette when the train stopped somewhere. I forgot that smoking on railway platforms is still allowed in this country. The conductor was a very nice lady, who didn't mind at all, and even came to let us know when we needed to get back onto the train. Excellent. The journey between the two places doesn't even take that long, so it all went well.
I'm very happy that I went there, as I had a very nice day. It's a good thing for me to see some new places in this country before I leave. This was totally worth spending all my money.

My birthday and Botellon

It was my birthday on Saturday! Woo! The picture is of the delicious cake that my flatmate Iida made as a present for me. She made it a week early, so obviously it's gone now. It was very kind of her, and tasted wonderful.
Luckily the weather was quite decent on my birthday, so my friends and I went to Botellon, a huge drinking party in Kupittaa park. It originates from a Spanish thing where young people decided that bars were too expensive, so they made their environment a bar, and just drank in public. In Turku it's now an annual event. We went there in the evening, and like a genius, I'd been drinking all day so I fell asleep in the middle of the park quite early. The less said about that the better, but I understand I'm not the only one. One of my friends kindly half dragged, half carried me back home at midnight. Yesterday I was rather hungover, what a surprise.
Apart from that, I had a really good day, and lots of my friends came to see me, which was really nice. I'm very glad that I've met so many people here who care enough to turn up. It makes me feel loved. There were a lot of people in the park, even more than I expected, although I knew it was a big event. It was really busy and there seemed to be a nice atmosphere. I'm very happy with how everything turned out, because I spent lots of time with my friends and had fun, which is what really matters. It was a really good weekend. The hangover was totally worth it.
Next weekend should also be exciting, as on Sunday I'm going to Tampere for the day to visit someone. I've never been there before, so I'm looking forward to seeing a new part of Finland.

Thank God for the weekend

As I said previously, this has not been the best week ever, but I think the weekend is going to be a big improvement and at least mean it ends well.
Last night I went with two of my flatmates, Heli and Iida, to one of the riverboat bars in Turku. We only had one drink, but it was fun because I've never been on one of them before. They are really popular, and it actually took a very long time for us to find a boat with space available. There was a really nice atmosphere around the river because lots of people were there on the banks drinking. It was good for us to do something pleasant after spending all week dealing the with stealing.
I think that today will also be a really enjoyable day. Iida works as a chef, and today she's making me an early birthday strawberry pie! She would have done it next week but she'll be working all weekend, but today we can do it together. It's a lovely thought and I'm looking forward to it very much. Then if I can scrape some money together we can all go out again tonight. Iida and Heli are encouraging me to do this by collecting empty drinks cans and recycling them...
One unfortunate piece of news though is that I now have a flight back to England booked for the 5th of September. That, very sadly, will be the end of my time in Finland, for now at least. I'm a bit upset, but I knew this time would come eventually, and I know it's better to finish the last year of university. It's just hard to leave when I love Turku and love how my life has turned out here. This really has been a crazy, wonderful experience.
My mother booked the flight for me, and the most tragic part of it all as that she sent me an email asking me for my passport number and my name! My own mother!

So this is "normal"

I've had a brilliant week. I'm so happy that I've got this new job, not only from a financial point of view, but also that I now have some structure and routine in my life. Being unemployed for a long time is extremely boring. It's so nice to get up first thing in the morning, and have a purpose for the day. This was exactly what I needed.
I'm really enjoying the work - the family are all very nice, and the children are generally well behaved. I feel welcome in their home, and I don't have to do anything too extreme or taxing. It has been quite tiring this week, but I suppose it's a shock to my system to have to be up early and do lots of things after such a long time spent being idle. It's just a shame that this job, or something similar, never came up before now, as it's so perfect for me. I actually have all of the next week off because the children are going for a holiday, which is a bit disappointing as I'd like to be doing something. At least now I have a bit of money so I can actually do something nice, not just sit around at home.
Another nice thing about my work is that it's in the countryside, which is so different to what there is in my country, and it's quite a good experience to see this. I'm not really a countryside person, but it's interesting to see somewhere so different to Turku, and to have a change of scenery for a few hours each day. The downside is that I'm covered in insect bites as the weather has been extremely hot this week and bugs are everywhere.
On Thursday this week I went to visit Emma's sister at her home. She and her family live in Hirvensalo, which is an island connected to Turku by a bridge. I'd never been there before, but it's a very pretty area, which lots of trees and greenery. I doubt I'd choose to live there, but it was a nice place to visit, and it must be good for children living there as there's so much space. Hirvensalo is very suburban, whereas I'd much rather be in the city. I had a very nice dinner with them, and saw their home, which is lovely. It was nice to do something different and meet someone new.
On Friday Emmi and I went to see the medieval market that's being held in Turku this weekend. Unfortunately, that was the one time there was a heavy downpour of rain, and we got soaked. It's so hot that we dried off relatively quickly. We didn't buy anything, but there were lots of pretty craft items for sale, and it was good to see people dressed in costumes from the middle ages. We also saw a large hog roast, which didn't impress me much, being a vegetarian. I'm glad we went to have a look; it's a pretty big deal here and attracted a lot of attention. Many people had mentioned it to me and recommended it, so it was worth having a look.
I hope the next week will be equally enjoyable, and that I find something interesting to occupy myself. As I now have a travel card for buses, paid for by my employers, perhaps I can take a trip to Naantali or somewhere else nearby.
Plus it's my birthday in two weeks! All gifts and cash donations will be accepted, haha.

I'm home

I got back to Turku last night, and proceeded to sleep for a very long time. I hadn't had a proper night's sleep since last Tuesday, so I desperately needed to catch up. I had a brilliant time in Norway and I'm really glad that I went. Later on I'll make another entry with some pictures because I have so many nice ones.
My sleep deprivation started last Wednesday. I had to get the bus to Helsinki at 5am on Thursday, so I decided to just have a short nap before leaving. As I'd drank a large can of Red Bull it didn't work out so well. The flight wasn't very long so I only slept for an hour, and then I landed in Oslo.
I didn't really like Oslo, but other people, incuding Norwegians, all told me they didn't like it either. It was quite pretty, but it wasn't very interesting. Luckily it was very hot and sunny so I spent my day wandering around, sitting in parks (of which there are many), and sketching. What I did like was that there were so many sculptures and statues, which gave me plenty of drawing material. The thing I absolutely hated was that there were so many beggars - I was approached by about 20 people throughout the day, which seemed a bit outrageous. If I'd only visited Oslo I would have quite a bad impression of Norway, and definitely would not be willing to return. Maybe if I'd been more energetic and hadn't been alone I would have had a better time. I had been given some suggestions of things to do, but I was so tired that I just wasn't in the mood.
On Thursday night I got the overnight train to Bergen, which took about eight hours. On the train everyone gets a little bag containing a blanket, inflatable pillow, eye mask and ear plugs, which was a good idea. Norwegian trains are quite comfortable, so at least I got some sleep then. I remember waking up at 5am when it was just getting light, and the landscape was so beautiful that I couldn't close my eyes again, despite being exhausted. I must have fallen asleep eventually because I woke up to the train conductor announcing that it was 6.30 and we would soon arrive in Bergen.
Immediately I found Bergen preferable to Oslo; it's much more beautiful, and is surrounded by seven mountains. I've never seen anything like that before. I met Selina and we took the tram back to her house. Originally we'd planned to have a nap but because we hadn't seen each other for so long we couldn't stop talking! The royal wedding was on that morning, so we decided to be patriotic and watch that, with snacks and alcohol. We played the now famous royal wedding drinking game, which lead to me finishing a bottle of wine by noon...not something I do on a regular basis. This was definitely the most drunken holiday I've ever had.
In the afternoon we walked to a forest, where there is a very beautiful church, Fantoft stavkirke. It's very famous for being the first one burned down by Varg Vikernes in the Norwegian black metal church burnings. It was rebuilt, and it was absolutely stunning. I can't believe anyone would want to damage such a lovely building, but then Varg clearly isn't quite right in the head. We sat in the forest and had a couple of beers, the weather was beautiful and it was a really nice afternoon.
Later we went into the city centre to have dinner. Bergen really is a lovely city, the architecture is quite old and most of the streets are cobbled. There's a mountain in every direction, and I really liked it. I can understand why Selina is so happy to be living there, I found the idea quite appealing too.
We met a couple of her Norwegian friends, and in the evening went to quite a dodgy club night. It was set up for the foreign exchange students, and I think most people were there because it's cheaper than a night out in central Bergen. Selina went to stay with her boyfriend but a couple of her friends looked after me, a Norwegian girl and an English girl, they were both very nice. She'd given me her house key so we went back there and at least got some sleep - about 8 hours which was the most I managed throughout the whole trip. At least I felt more lively when she came back on Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon we had a barbecue with her boyfriend and friends, which was nice. We were lucky that the weather was great all weekend, warmer than it was in Turku last week, and I've since found out that it rained over the weekend. I made a good choice to go away.
In the evening we went out to an Irish pub in the centre of Bergen, lots of Selina's friends, her boyfriend's friends, and friends of friends turned up, so there was a very good atmosphere and there were lots of new people to meet. I found Norwegians to be very nice, sociable people, and as they'd never met me before they were all keen to chat to me. It was a good night and I felt very welcome.
Sunday was a typical Sunday - very lazy. We just watched tv and chatted all day as Selina was hungover and I hadn't slept very much. The good thing about northern countries is that even if you go out quite late, there will still be light for a long time. We didn't leave the house until almost 9pm, but it was still bright enough to do things for a few hours. Selina showed me around the centre a bit more, and we took a tram up one of the mountains! I found the idea a bit mad, but when we got to the top all of Bergen was visible and we watched the sunset. It was amazing, and the view was unbelievable. On the mountain there is also a Norwegian troll, who we cuddled and took photos of. We went back down and got some food, and sadly that was pretty much the end of my trip.
After a few hours sleep I had to be up to get the train back to Oslo at 8am. At least this time it was the day, so I could see the beautiful countryside. Norwegian countryside is absolutely stunning - I saw mountains, fjords and forests, and some places were just breathtaking. What a lovely landscape! Then it was back to the airport, and home to Finland.
It was a shame to leave, but it was also quite nice to be back. I finally understand my mother's mantra that "it's nice to go away but it's nice to come home again." Being in another place where everything is alien to me made me realise how comfortable Finland has become for me. It was nice to see things written in Finnish and to be able to understand again. I got back to Turku at about 10.30 last night, and it was good to get home.
That being said, I'd really love to visit Bergen again. It's a wonderful city that I'd highly recommend, and it was also so lovely to see Selina again. Even before she went to Norway we didn't see each other much just because of circumstances, but we talk almost every day and it was great to actually be with her and spend time together. I'm very glad that I took the trip, I had an awesome weekend, and I hope that at some point I will be able to go back, probably without a day in Oslo. I still love Finland, but Norway was brilliant.

Off to Norway

I'm going on holiday tomorrow! Woo! I haven't been to a new country for almost two years, so I'm extremely excited. I'll be off to the airport at 5am tomorrow, will be in Oslo all day, and on Friday morning I'll be with my lovely friend Selina in Bergen. She seems to have lots of exciting things planned for me over the weekend, so I'm really looking forward to it.
I'm pretty much ready, just need to pack my case, but I have some Norwegian money, my travel documents are printed, and I've got some ideas of what to do tomorrow when I'm left to my own devices in a strange city.
So I'll be back on Monday with plenty of dirt on those Norwegians and probably a lot of pictures. Palaan!

Frozen in Norway?

I've booked my flights to go to Norway! I'm going at the end of April and I'm really excited. It'll be great to go to a new country, visit two new cities (Oslo and Bergen), and of course, to see one of my English friends. I'm really looking forward to it.
I'm now thinking about travelling to some other places I maybe wouldn't bother with if I was still in England. For example, from Turku airport it's possible to fly to Gdansk in Northern Poland, which looks like a beautiful city, and it can be as cheap as £20, so why wouldn't I go there? Emmi mentioned it to me before and it sounds like a good idea. Obviously, going to Stockholm is also a priority because it's so cheap and easy from here, and it would make an ideal daytrip or weekend away.
I'd like to visit other places in Finland too, as I've only been to Turku, Helsinki, Espoo and Naantali, but I'm not sure where to go.

Last night

Last night was a really good end to a bit of a rubbish week. I was talking with two of the girls I live with and I said that, due to losing my keys, I couldn't go out at night because I couldn't wake everyone up to let me in at 2am, so we concluded the best solution was to go out drinking together! It was a good night, nothing too heavy, but it certainly cheered me up.
I'm really happy that we can start to become friends, rather than just being a bunch of people who live in the same flat. When I moved in I was told that it wasn't a sociable household and that the people here don't hang out together, but I think it's only that one person who has that attitude, the other two girls are equally keen for everyone to be more friendly. Apart from living with Jussi, I've always lived with friends, so it's normal to me to be on friendly terms with your flatmates and to spend time together.
One person also said she wants to have a housewarming party with her friends, and then we came up with the idea of everyone in the house agreeing on a date and having a bigger party where everyone can invite their friends all at once. It would probably also avoid arguments with the less sociable people about too many parties going on. I don't know when we'll be doing that but it sounds fun.
When we went out we went to a bar I'd never heard of before, but it turned out to be great. It's called El Gringo, it's tiny, and they serve really tasty tortilla wraps. That's the main reason we went there but we had a drink too. It was one of the smallest bars I've ever seen - it wasn't much bigger than my bedroom - but it seemed like a popular place to go. It was very cheap too - the food was €3 and a beer was €2.50. The atmosphere was nice, and as we'd been drinking at home already, a snack was a really good idea. I'd definitely recommend it to people in Turku.
The other exciting thing is that I'm looking into flights to visit my friend Selina, who's studying abroad in Norway for a year. I can go there for a little under £40 each way, so it seems like a genius idea. She lives in Bergen, and to go directly there would still be less than £80, but I think going to Oslo and getting a train saves a bit of money. I'm really excited about doing that though, it's another new experience I might not have if I was in England, and going to a new country is always fun. Even though none of my problems have magically disappeared I feel a lot more positive and happy today.

Moving forward

I'm currently looking into finding my own place to live, which would be really nice to have, but it looks like for a few days I'll be staying in a hostel or hotel, because someone (haha guess who) is making things difficult again. I realise a lot of people will think it's ridiculous, and I have questioned why I'm prepared to go through so much hassle to stay here. I'm sure that if my mother knew about all of this she'd be dragging me back to England herself, and I expect a few other people would share the sentiment. I know why I'm doing this. For a long time I've had my entire life controlled by another person, someone who even admits that I deserve better, and yet makes no attempt to change. So although it might be easier to just leave I'm feeling too defiant to do that. Some of my friends would rather I came home, my father has been of that opinion since day one, and a couple of times I've even wondered what the hell I'm thinking. I'm angry, and I'm refusing to let anyone tell me what is best for me. I've had 18 months of being told what was best for me, but it was never my best interests at heart. I'm going to do exactly what I want, even if it's more difficult, expensive, or risky. I just don't care.
Coming here in the first place was a risk, but obviously I had no idea that things would turn out in such an unfortunate way. Now I want to be here, and the fact that a couple of people want me to come home, even though I'm sure their opinions are based on concern for me and nothing else, makes me more determined and defiant. Also, the easiest way is not necessarily the best way. I'd rather be happy, and ending up living with my parents until autumn would not make me happy. I'd be fucking miserable. This is where I want to be, not forever, but for now at least. I came here, and it doesn't matter why, when or how, what matters to me is that I should get something out of this experience. It's a huge opportunity, and why would I give that up to go work a bullshit temporary job in England? There's so much I want to do. I want to conquer this language one way or another, I want to go to Norway to visit one of my friends who's studying in Bergen for a year, I want to go to Muumimaailma, I want to go to Stockholm, I want to see some other places in Finland...there's a lot of things that would be worth staying for.
Someone told me that if they'd had to put up with the crap I've experienced in the past few months they would have run home crying to their mother long ago. This was not said in a disrespectful way - I think they were trying to say that I was strong for getting through it. I don't think that at all, I think I'm too stubborn for my own good sometimes, and that's the only reason why I haven't done the same thing. Being stubborn and determined is the root of this. Why the hell should I give up just because things didn't go exactly to plan? Plus it's about time I got to do something purely for myself, and not allow anyone else's thoughts to sway me. The time to leave is when I feel ready to and I genuinely want to, not when someone else tells me I should. I'm a bit scared, but that doesn't mean I should give up. The inconvenience of it all annoys me, but hell, life is pretty inconvenient at times. I'm used to inconvenience. I don't expect everyone to agree with me on this but I hope that my friends continue to support and encourage me.
I'm sorry, I'm exhausted, angry and I've had too many bottles of ED.

In Finland

The trip to the motherland was fairly successful. As a special treat you can see a picture of my cat, who I attempted to teach Finnish to. I thought she managed "moi", but my parents were more convinced it was just a normal cat noise. Hmm. Mainly I ate a ridiculous amount of food and drank about 2 bottles of Lucozade per day. I even had a few bottles left for my suitcase.
As ever, my trip back was very...interesting. It lasted around 23 hours. Great. Due to times and prices of flights not being on my side I got back with SAS and a stopover in Copenhagen. I thoroughly enjoyed Denmark...for the hour I spent there. There are some damn good looking men in that country. Well done Denmark. It's kinda funny to think that I spent yesterday in 3 different countries.
In order to get to Heathrow in time for the flight I had to take 3 trains, the first one leaving at 11.50pm on Friday. When I arrived at 5.30am on Saturday I just wanted to collapse and die. I completely slept through both of my flights, even through the offers of complimentary coffee, which might have helped me.
Eventually, after 2 taxis, 4 trains and 2 flights (that sounds mammoth!) I got safely to Turku and went to bed. It seems that in the past week the snow has been melting, freezing and melting again, because the streets are covered in a lovely looking sludge. Last night in both Turku and Helsinki the snow seemed very thick so maybe it's only just happened. The snow in Helsinki was an absolute joke, even the inside of the train station was exactly the same as in the street. The square outside the station hadn't been cleared at all, and it's a bit silly considering how many people are wandering around there with suitcases, which are almost impossible to carry through snow that thick. It cheered me up that someone there was playing 22 Pistepirkko songs. That's what I expect when I come to Finland!
I'm glad to be back, even though I enjoyed my trip and have certainly learned to appreciate my own nation more after being in another one. The climate was much more pleasant. I did notice, however, how filthy English streets are in comparison to Finnish ones. Seriously, English people - find a bloody bin! I also found that some stuff is much cheaper in Finland, for example cigarettes and public transport. Also, all this talk of vat going up and taxes rising etc made me feel very relieved to be in another country for the time being. Also slightly concerned about going back there in the autumn, but maybe the situation will have calmed down by then. Yeah right...

In England

I'm in Plymouth, after a very delayed flight last night which was filled with screaming kids. Easyjet is always filled with very loud Finnish families. My dad drove all night from Gatwick and got here at 5am. So that worked out to about 15 hours of travel for me. Great... Strangely I enjoyed the bus trip from Turku to Helsinki-Vantaa, it was quite nice to see lots of countryside, it was just the flight and the long wait in the airport that was annoying.
It's strange to be back, in some ways I'd rather be in Turku but there are some nicer things here, such as being able to understand everything and not falling over every time I walk down the street. Now it feels really warm to me, even though other people are complaining of how cold the weather is. I've already purchased a lot of trashy magazines and food; my parents seem to want to fatten me up because today they took me to two different supermarkets to buy vegetarian food.
I won't have much to say this week seeing as I'm in England, but I'll be back next week. It'll probably do me good to have a little rest and hang out with my cat.

Cultural learnings for make benefit glorious nation of England

I don't know why I'm awake so early. My body clock is still messed up, and last night I slept at 11.30, which is very early for me at the moment. However, Finnish office hours start at 8am, so by the standards here I guess this is reasonable.
Yesterday Emma and Tommi took us to see Turku castle, and to Naantali, where the Moominworld theme park is. I also got to see the older part of Turku, which I liked, and the countryside between here and Naantali. It was really beautiful. Unfortunately yesterday was very wet, dark and cold, so Naantali harbour was deserted and quite depressing. I'm sure it would be much nicer on a pleasant day.
I've now eaten Finnish soup, pizza and orange juice. The soup was really nice but the orange juice tasted like syrup, it was too sweet and disgusting. I also found salt and vinegar crisps, which was exciting. They had a Union Jack on the packet, but unfortunately they tasted foul. I think the Finns are mocking me. In the supermarket I saw some different pastas I could eat, and some tasty looking cheeses. It would help if we owned a saucepan and frying pan so I could cook proper meals. I was a bit worried about the food here - what I'd seen in supermarkets in Helsinki wasn't very appealing, but on closer inspection I've found plenty of edible things, so I think I'll be fine. There's also a Chinese supermarket nearby, and I always shop in those in England for cup noodles, Lo Han Chai and soy sauce.
Finnish supermarkets are a big strange though. They have fruit machines in them! Who goes to the supermarket to gamble? Unless you're very poor and are desperate for food money, in which case Finland may have a point. Jussi said proper gambling is illegal here, and compared to my country Finland has a lot of crazy laws. I already knew you can't buy alcohol between 9pm and 9am (thanks to that law, I went to a club and met Jussi in Helsinki), and it's illegal for bars to sell a double measure of spirits, which is standard in England. Also you can't buy spirirts in a normal food shop, only in one government-controlled off license chain. For such a big drinking country they have some fierce alcohol laws.
They also have machines to recycle bottles and cans, and for each can you use you get paid 15 cents. I think that's a good idea, I'm going to use those. The tills also have strange vending machines for cigarettes; you choose the brand you want and it comes down a conveyor belt and lands amongst the rest of your shopping. I'm finding supermarkets fascinating here.
Yesterday was apparently United Nations day, and all the Finnish flags were flying, which I'm told always happens on holidays and special days. It looked quite impressive - from our living room window I counted 8 flags, and from Emma and Tommi's balcony I could see 7. When we walked to their house every street had several flying.
I'm learning a lot, and today I think we're sorting out jobs and benefits for ourselves. Me faced with Finnish red tape....

Day one...

By popular demand, here is a blog about my time as a Johnny Foreigner in Finland! So here I am, sitting on a lovely green rug in my new flat. to be honest, it's so cold outside that I don't want to leave the house. Unfortunately, Jussi (my delightful boyfriend) is very insistent that I should explore. Hmm.
I got here at about 1am this morning. My journey was a complete nightmare. All was going fairly well until I got to Gatwick, where it transpired I'd bought a plane ticket for the day before! There were 3 seats left on the plane so I managed to get one, whilst putting a lovely £260 dent in my credit card. Which I have no idea how I'll repay. Fuck you easyjet. I rushed back to check in with my new ticket, and then discovered that my luggage was 24kg over my baggage allowance! And to take said luggage with me would cost another £230...
Then my credit card got declined. I did very well resisting the urge to cry. Not so well resisting the urge to shout "Fuuuuuck!" However, I called my beautiful, brilliant, perfect mother, who paid the extra money over the phone, got myself checked in and rushed off to security, paranoid that I wouldn't get to the gate in time.
Thankfully, after that the journey went very smoothly. Aside from the fact that the flight was filled almost entirely with Finnish families, complete with their out of control, screaming little darlings. But I survived, found Jussi at Helsinki-Vantaa and we went for a drink by the train station.
Then we were faced with a 2 hour train journey to get to Turku. And for some ridiculous reason, Finnish trains have no luggage racks! Which is very frustrating when you've spent all day carrying around 44kg of crap. I was getting tired and snappy, and hadn't actually eaten all day.
We arrived in Turku after 1am, it was 0 degrees, and it would be an understatement to say that my mood was flagging. We dropped the suitcases off in our new flat and wandered into the night again in search of food. This is where it gets interesting.
We found a kioski (a burger stand) and Jussi bought some crazy chips, deep fried with chunks of sausages! Apparently that's very normal. It was far too meaty for me but I found it fascinating. I just had normal chips, and even those were covered in salad and sauces. I think I'll like Finnish chips...
Eventually I got to bed, and today I had a slightly strange trip to the supermarket. It might become a problem that I don't understand what most of the food is...