The last week

I cannot believe this is my last week in Turku, but at least I am having a wonderful time.
It started on Tuesday, when I got a lovely surprise in the evening. I was sitting outside a bar having a drink with Emmi, we were chatting normally, and she suddenly told me not to scream. I didn't understand what she meant, she looked away, and when I looked in the same direction my boyfriend was there walking towards us! He was meant to arrive on Wednesday morning but he decided to secretly come early, and Emmi was enlisted to get me in the right place at the right time. I was laughing hysterically for about 20 minutes! It was brilliant.
The next day I decided I'd like to have a long walk around the city to see some places that have been special to me. My boyfriend isn't very familiar with Turku so we both enjoyed it, and we walked for a couple of hours. We visited a couple of parks which I've spent time in, including one with views of all of Turku. I've written about going there several times, and it's a place I'm very fond of. We also walked past the house I lived in when I first came here, and alongside the river. As I was pointing things out to him I realised how many important places there are for me here, and how much I've done. It was a really nice thing to do whilst I still can.
We didn't do so much yesterday, except go shopping with Emmi, but tonight I'm having a leaving party. I hope I can see many of my friends over the weekend, and I'm looking forward to it.
I'm still sad to be going, and it hasn't quite sunk in yet, but there are a few positives. New people have moved into my house this week and it doesn't feel the same. One of my flatmates agreed, and she now wants to move out too. I don't mind leaving the house now. More and more i'm looking forward to getting back to my education; I'm definitely ready when it comes to that. I'm glad I have something to keep me busy in the coming year.
This might be the last entry I write whilst in Finland. When I get to England I will write something to try to sum up my feelings and experiences, and get started on a professional blog about my art practice. I hope my readers will take an interest in that too, as I'm planning to make work about people I know in Turku. I've decided that the Frozen in Finland Facebook page will remain, and contain more updates about the artwork. Hopefully no one will lose interest. Who knows, maybe when I come back here I'll resurrect this blog.

Stuff about books

Sofi Oksanen is a very popular writer in this country, who has won some really big Finnish literature prizes. I found an English language copy of her novel "Purge"(Finnish title: "Puhdistus") in the library and decided to read it, as she's very successful and respected here.
I'm very pleased that I'm reading it now, as it is a very good book. It's very powerful, quite gripping, and the subject matter is very intense. At times it's painful to read. The story is quite dark, but it is extremely well-written. I can understand why the author has had so much acclaim - the quality of the writing is very high, and she is also dealing with difficult subject matter. She makes the characters and situations very real. This means that it's not always the most comfortable book to read, but the story is very compelling. I'd definitely recommend reading it. Also, I used to have very similar hair to Sofi Oksanen, so that's another reason to love her.
On the subject of books, I decided to have a morning walk by the river today, and saw that there are many mobile libraries on the river bank. There are far too many to count, but they seem to have come from cities all over the country. There were foreign ones too - I noticed ones from Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Russia, and Germany. They didn't appear to be open at the time that I walked past, but pedestrians were very interested in them. I assume this is part of the Capital of Culture things. I have no idea how long they'll be there for, but it seems a very good way to find lots of new books. It was certainly strange to see so many buses lined up. I'm so glad I'm here whilst there are so many special things for the Capital of Culture- it makes the whole thing even more exciting.

A midnight walk

Last night I decided to have a late night stroll, and ended up wandering near to where I used to work, my first job in Turku.
First of all, I got quite a surprise. I worked there during December, when everything was covered in snow, so I had absolutely no idea that that area had quite a lot of trees and grass. I'd never seen it before! I'm glad I went in that direction because I got the chance to see it in quite a different light.
Being around there brought up plenty of memories for me. Winter was quite a dark and miserable time - it literally was that way, and also felt that way as there were a lot of problems around that time. Being near there made me both happy and sad. It was around that time that I first started to feel like I really loved Turku, and that it was somewhere I would like to call my home. I remember one particular morning, quite early, when I'd only had to be there for one hour. I was walking home, seeing the cathedral in the distance, seeing the roads in and out of the city, and the train tracks, it was extremely cold but very clear and sunny, and I remember thinking how beautiful it all was. I got that feeling last night too.
I also felt quite sad because I thought of how my first few months here were in some ways wasted, just like many before I came to Finland. Maybe they needed to be wasted so I could be so happy and appreciative of everything I have now, and especially everything I've gained since coming to Turku. I'm so grateful for how things have turned out. This is definitely one of the happiest times of my life.
Whilst I worked there I was staying with Emma and Tommi most of the time, and little did I know that every time I walked back to their house I was walking straight past my future home, the place where I live now. I actually walked past my current home on the first morning I was ever in Turku. I never would have guessed. It goes to show you never can tell how things will turn out.

Turku is a happy place

I was walking home from my friend's house at 3am on Friday morning, and it was amazing to see that very far off in the distance the sky was red where the sun was just beginning to rise. It was beautiful and strange. At the moment I'm getting about five hours of darkness each night, and I find it almost impossible to believe, it's so far from what I'm used to. One evening last week I was talking to one of my English friends on Skype, it was around 10pm, and I showed him on the webcam what the sky looked liked outside. He said it looked the same as it was in England, which is two hours behind Finland. I'm sure that it's dark by 9 or 10pm there. At the moment the darkness here seems to be between 11pm and 4am. It's so strange.
Walking home like that seemed oddly magical. It's nice that I can walk home alone at night and still feel quite safe. When I lived in Canterbury I could also do that, it's smaller than Turku and very non-threatening, but there's no chance I'd do that in London, or even the city I come from. I love living here.
Yesterday was a quiet day, but I noticed something about a particular R-Kioski shop. For people reading this in Turku, it's the one in Erikinkatu next to Lidl. Every time I go in there I've noticed that the people working there are unbelievably cheerful and friendly, more so than in any other shop. Is the management putting something in the water?

Ice hockey

In my efforts to integrate I ended up watching ice hockey in a bar last night. Unfortunately I had no money to get as drunk as the many sweating, nervous middle aged men. But we won! I would not have liked to be around if Sweden had won, but instead it was 6-1 to Finland. Excellent.
I don't really get ice hockey. England isn't very into snow/ice based sports, but the atmosphere was about the same as English people watching a football match between England and Germany. Basically, there would be blood if they lost.
We went outside when it ended and someone was already running down Yliopistonkatu with his shirt off. Walking home was a bit terrifying - there was a lot of drunken screaming, and someone had already passed out in the street. For a few hours after that there were a lot of car horns. It didn't really affect me but at least the rest of the country was happy.

Mad party

Minttu took me to a really strange party last night. It's held in an abandoned house, by people who want to do something for underground and alternative culture. It's on all weekend, there were a few punk bands playing, and they're screening films and doing various things. Someone told me they're trying to make an agreement with the council so that it can be an official thing, as right now it's underground, and potentially a bit illegal.
We had a lot of fun though. For ages we just sat on the roof drinking beer, and I saw that it still wasn't properly dark at 10.30, which is a bit mad to me. Some guys were skating on the roof, which was maybe not the best idea, but it was fun.
We spent quite a while just walking around this house and talking to people, because there were four or five floors and lots of random rooms. It was huge, and a bit creepy sometimes. A lot of people seemed to be just looking around the building. At one point we ended up smoking in the basement with some random guys, in a room filled with bits of rotting wood and paper, which they were very convinced had a grave in the corner. The weirdest part was that we tried to find this room again later, and couldn't! Spooky stuff. Groups of people were hanging out in various rooms, we found some guy sleeping behind a wardrobe. There were lots of young, different people there, and the atmosphere was really nice and relaxed. They'd even provided food, although this seemed to consist of bread and coffee. Still, it's thoughtful.
It was a really good alternative to going to a bar. We didn't get wasted, we met lots of people, and had a good time. I even had a conversation in Finnish, which never happens because young Finnish people seem to like having a chance to speak English, and therefore forget that I'm the one who might need to develop their language skills. It went well, and I was informed that I speak quite well. Excellent news.
We left around 1am, when things were getting quieter, but as it's going on until Monday we might go back sometime. We had taken the bus to get there, but we walked back and it really didn't take that long. Definitely a good night, and more fun than just going to a bar and drinking. Didn't cost anything either, and it was the kind of thing I think I would do with my friends in London, so that was cool. It would be quite nice if we do go there again.

Visiting Naantali

Today Tero and I went to Naantali, and it was nice to go somewhere different. I've been to Naantali once before but I think we only stayed for about five minutes because the weather was so depressing at the time. Today was also cold, grey, and slightly rainy, but we wandered around for a while. It was a bit surreal because everything was quite bleak, but all the buildings in the Old Town are very brightly coloured and cheerful. That area made me feel like I was in another time; nothing about it seems modern.

We walked to the Muumimaailma theme park, which isn't open for business at this time of year, but we were still able to walk through it and see all the buildings, such as the Moomin house! That was very exciting, and it was so cute. It was completely empty, and a bit eerie. I'd definitely like to go there again when it is open during the summer.

We walked through the town, and it really is very different to Turku. It was extremely quiet, and pretty much deserted today, and seems to be very calm and peaceful. It probably is not the kind of place I would like to live in. I'd like to go there when the weather is better and there are more people around. It's one of the big tourist centres of Finland, so I expect it gets a lot busier at times. The buildings and harbour are pretty though, and I'm sure it looks a lot better during the summer.

I enjoyed going to a different place, and it was interesting to see somewhere so contrasting to Turku. It seems that every time I visit Naantali the weather fails me, but I'd certainly like to return there on a more pleasant day.

Help!

I think I need some suggestions of new things to do in Turku. I've been a bit bored recently during the weekdays, and don't have anything important to do. Preferably cheap or free things seeing as I'm going to Norway in one month and seven days and should probably save some money for that. I'd much rather be going outside and doing new things, but I'm not very inspired at the moment.

Still, I do have some lovely new cultural observations:

1.) Traffic lights. Since I came here, traffic lights have baffled me. The police will warn or fine pedestrians for walking through a red light, but when there's a red light for vehicles they can drive through it if no one is crossing the street. That makes it a bit risky if you happen to reach the crossing at that time, I'm always a bit unsure whether to walk or not. And the lights get turned off at night! I said that was weird, the person I was talking to thought it made sense to save energy. Just a bit dangerous to me. Crossing the road is hard enough because I still think the traffic is backwards.

2.) Kitchens. They're all designed in exactly the same way, and it's genius! The cupboard under the sink has the bin in it, the cupboard over the sink is a draining board, and there's at least one pull-out chopping board next to the drawers. When I came here I just thought I'd been blessed with a nifty kitchen, but no! Every kitchen I've seen is the same. Where did this idea come from? Does anyone not have a kitchen like this? This is the reason why Finnish design is respected worldwide.

3.) Supermarkets. You go to the supermarket in England and have to simultaneously pack your shopping, pay for it and put your change away. Here they have clever little things to divide the end of the till up, so you wait until they've scanned all your stuff, then pay for it, then pack it in your own sweet time, and the person behind you doesn't care how long you take because their stuff just ends up on the other side, so doddery old people don't bother anyone! Why did no one in England think of this?

Finally, our housewarming party was very successful, and I'm liking how Finnish people feel obliged to bring gifts. I acquired two bottles of wine and a new phone. Imagine how much shit I'd have if I knew more than about five people! I'm going to make some new friends and then have another housewarming. Incidentally, we might have to do that, because the poor, sweet Ukrainian girl who lives here (and cannot speak Finnish or English) seemingly misunderstood when she was informed of the party, and thought that she had to go out whilst it was happening. It's very sad, considering that we'd all knocked on her door to see if she was joining us, only to find she'd gone out. So we think we need to do it again...

Reflective walk

I decided to go for a short walk near the church this afternoon to ease my mind for a bit. It was a good idea - soothing and peaceful. I don't think I've ever paid much attention to the area directly around the church, except to set off fireworks on New Years Eve. It was strange that, despite being in the middle of the city, it was very quiet around there. It's set back from the main roads slightly, so perhaps that explains why. It was a bit too chilly to be wandering around for too long, but at least the sun was shining and there's much less ice and snow on the ground at the moment.

I sketched the statue of Per Brahe too, but suffered the usual problem of the ink in my pen freezing. On Wikipedia I found a photograph of the statue that was taken in 1900. It's funny how the background doesn't seem to have changed much since then. I also noticed I've now filled the Muumimamma sketchbook I bought on that first trip to Helsinki. That was when everything got a bit weird in my life. Maybe now it can stop.

It was nice to have some quiet time to just think about things. I happened to bump into someone I know too, and I realised that Turku is becoming quite familiar and homely now. I think this is a good place for me to be, despite certain claims that my life would be better in Helsinki. I don't think that's true.

As I've said before, there's been way too much chaos in my personal life recently, and I really want it all to end now. I can't believe it's been dragged out for so long. When I wander around Turku like this I realise that, regardless of the circumstances or the past, this is the place for me right now, and there's nowhere I'd rather be than right where I am. I've made the correct choice, I'm sure of it. It's been a struggle at times, but a worthwhile one if it means I can have a peaceful time here. I've met so many people, seen the reality of some things for the first time, and worked out what I really want. I feel motivated to do, and get, what I want, so I'm going to get everything in my life in order. Then go back to England and make a mess again!

Back onto the weather

The temperature at the moment is ridiculous in my opinion! Someone told me that the clocks in market square were reading -20 degrees this morning! Even one of my new flatmates said that the past few days have been exceptionally cold, and that this isn't quite normal. Apart from at Christmas, which was around -24, this is the coldest I've felt it here, and I'm definitely more comfortable in low temperatures now than when I first arrived. It's actually painful to be outside at the moment, and earlier I managed to walk down the street in relative comfort with 4 layers, a coat, and a scarf. Even then I was a bit too cold, and even with gloves my hands were numb. This reminds me of when I first came to this country; I found the climate completely overwhelming. Luckily the weather is still bright and beautiful, which at least means that it's not completely depressing.
I still haven't managed to get to Kela - there were some complications yesterday, including trying to see a doctor and discovering that my social security number isn't in the system. They set up an appointment for me anyway, and told me to just go and complain to Maistraati. Which I did today, and thankfully it was a simple, and easily solved, problem. The address on file for me is from when I was staying with Emma and Tommi, and it was listed as only valid until January 2nd. Now I have my own house I just need to go to the police station to register as a resident of Finland, which apparently will not be that difficult, and then I should become a real person again. Although if the temperature doesn't rise dramatically tomorrow I'll be getting the bus - there is no way in hell I'm walking all the way down Erikinkatu whilst feeling that cold.
I've got so much to do at the moment that it's getting a bit overwhelming, but I'm sure things will be manageable if I just take it one thing at a time. This is clearly not going to be the most relaxing week of my life though. Plus the oven in my flat is now completely broken - everyone seems to be living on microwaved food and fruit, which isn't ideal with such cold weather.

Snowy walk

I've been for a nice snowy walk in the park to clear my head up a bit. Again, it was the park with the amazing views of Turku. It snowed earlier today so a lot of the sludge has been replaced by real snow, which is obviously much prettier. It doesn't really feel that cold anymore, but I'm not sure exactly what the temperature is.
For some reason going to the park makes me feel a lot calmer. I think I need that at the moment though. It's so quiet there, you can just hear the hum of traffic but it's very gentle. You can see absolutely everything in Turku from there, as I pointed out here. Looking at the photos from that day it looks so different - green and lively. I wouldn't describe it as bleak now, but it's a lot plainer and seems emptier without the grass and leaves. Also I noticed in the park there's a random Russian flag. Why?
It really helped to go there and think about some things in peace - I feel like my life has become far too manic recently. I want that to change now. I really am glad that I'm here, even though sometimes I've wished I'd never come here. I know why I felt that way, and hopefully that can change now. More and more I'm thinking that after I've finished my degree I'll come back to live in Turku. By then I should be in a much better position to come here. This time I really didn't think it through, and I wasn't very prepared. I'm much better off now though, and I can't believe I've been here for almost 3 months, with only one week spent in England. If all goes well I have another 8 months to enjoy here. Sometimes I've wanted to run like hell away from here, but I think I'll be happy now.

Suburbs and Forest

I just went with Emmi whilst she walked her dogs, and got to wander through a Finnish forest. It was beautiful, all covered in snow. There were a few streetlamps nearby so it wasn't too dark, and it looked so clean and glittering. There were even people skiing there. It was a nice experience, and the forests look quite different to the woods in England, so it was something new for me. I'm sure it would be even prettier when it's well-lit during the daytime, but it was impressive as it was. Nothing but snow and trees all around me.
I've also now been able to see the suburbs of Turku, which hasn't happened before because I've always been right in the centre. It was much snowier because there are fewer people walking around, so the snow doesn't get trodden down so much and there's less need for snow ploughs to clear the area. It was so quiet compared to the middle of the city, it was quite strange. On the bus it's only roughly a 15 minute journey to market square, so it's not in the middle of nowhere. It was a lot more peaceful, but as I prefer busy areas I think I'd rather be in the city centre. I guess it's much better if you have pets to think of though.
I also finally got the Christmas parcel my mother sent me! I can't get Becky's yet because I don't know the tracking code, but my mother's got to me. She thoughtfully sent me a lot of thick tights, my grandparents say it's such a surprise that I suddenly live in "Findland", and my aunty sent a set of gloves and a scarf. The gloves are fine but the scarf is way too thin for these temperatures. I suppose they're lower than she could ever imagine, and at least it's a thoughtful gift. Now I'm just looking forward to getting Becky's parcel - I know it's arrived but I need the tracking code for it.

Walking in the snow

Today I've had my first full-on snow experience here. I intended to go to a couple of small commercial galleries I've seen, and decided to walk through Puolalanmäen, the park near our house, just because I wanted to see it covered with snow. It's on a hill and has beautiful views. The park looked amazing, and so different when everything is pure white.
Ultimately I didn't actually go inside either gallery - the first one had some people inside and I felt a bit intimidated and moved on, and by the time I'd walked all the way down Yliopistonkatu to the next one I was very cold, the snow was getting heavier, and I'd much rather have been at home. Maybe some other day when it is quieter would be a better time to go to those places. Even so, it was nice to have a walk in the snow. I definitely feel like I'm in Finland now! I also learned that when the ground is covered in ice and snow I shouldn't be wearing shoes with holes in them. Probably should have worked that one out already...In my defence I wore them because they look really good with my purple legwarmers. Maybe I need to be a bit more practical this winter.
This is so different to anything I'm used to, it's still very exciting and special for me.