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.

Hotter than hell

It's insanely hot! I never imagined it would get to be like this in Finland. Yesterday it was 33 degrees, which is such an enormous difference from the winter. English summers ofter get to these kinds of temperatures, but I didn't really expect it to happen here too. On Friday I even saw a rather fat old lady jump naked into the fountain outside the main library. It wasn't very attractive, but the police turned up very quickly. I can understand her feelings though. I constantly feel a bit dirty and disgusting, even right after taking a shower. I think it's going to cool down a bit next week; I really hope so because it's a bit too much now. This has been constant for about a week, and the weekend has been ridiculously hot. However, I'd rather it was like this than as cold as it was during the winter.
I've also noticed that it's not actually getting dark anymore - the sky just goes a kind of greyish-blue at it's darkest. For me it really is the strangest thing. The picture is of a very beautiful sunrise froma few weeks ago, but there isn't even a proper sunrise anymore. I'm not sure if I like this phenomenon or not.

It's now Monday morning. I started writing this last night, and apparently I spoke too soon, because I was woken up at 7.00am by thunder and torrential rain. It's not cold, just very grey and wet. I think I preferred the ridiculous heat and sunshine. Oh dear.

Vesi exhibition

Today is an insanely hot day here, which I think set me up well psychologically for seeing an exhibition about water. I enjoyed the show, but I think I preferred the last exhibition I saw at Wäinö Aaltosen.
The picture is of my favourite piece from the show, "Sink First" by Tina Eskilsson. The medium is pencil, and it looked very impressive. The placement of the figure, with a gap at the top, made the idea of sinking very convincing.
I also really liked two films, by Hannu Karjalainen and Renja Leino respectively. Both of them used sound and image in such a way that made the water seem to really be there, like I could touch it. Karjalainen's film "Surfer", was particularly good, showing waves crashing against rocks. It reminded me very much of my home, it was very emotive and captivating.
Again, the layout of the exhibition was great, and successfully showed the many functions of water - as a cleanser, as part of recreation and sport, as a dangerous force etc. In the first room there seemed to be some emphasis on visual distortion caused by being underwater, which was interesting to look at.
My only complaint would be that this show was really focussed on photography, and I would have liked to see some more paintings and drawings. There were a few included, but they seemed like an afterthought. The previous exhibition I saw at this gallery covered a wide spectrum of media, which kept things fresh, but that was not the case today. I have nothing against photography, but it's not my primary interest, and the exhibition seemed a bit unbalanced to me.
However, the subject matter is interesting, and there were plenty of really great images and compelling works, so I'm pleased that I went. This show runs until August, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's next at Wäinö Aaltosen.

Lovely friendly Finns

Once again, what's all this about Finnish people being cold? Because, once again, a nice Finnish person who I've never met emailed me to ask to meet me! This lady invited me to a summer party tonight at a kindergarten, but as the weather has been crap today I decided against that, and also invited me to visit her home and family sometime. I'd be very happy to meet her at some point. So, I ask for the hundredth time, if Finnish people are so cold and horrible, how do these things happen?
Several of the friends I have in Turku are people who contacted me after reading this blog asking to meet me or inviting me to do something with them. Additionally, there are various friendly well-wishers, some living in Turku, some in other parts of Finland, who I have never met but who often write nice messages and comments for me. Then there are also the numerous people who have sent me emails or messages with advice and good wishes about looking for a job or adapting to Finnish culture. Last week a Finnish girl even wrote to me to ask for my advice in helping her foreign boyfriend settle in this country. For such a cold and anti-social nation they're all being very nice to me. Most Finnish people are quiet, and often seem shy, but they are so clearly not unkind or unpleasant. I've found lots of cheerful, friendly, cheeky little Finns. Plus, I'll be honest, I do quite like getting the "fan mail", so please keep it coming. Really, if any of you end up alone in a foreign country, just write a blog - you'll make loads of friends.
It's nice that this is happening, because apart from this the weather is rubbish and I'm running out of ideas when it comes to the job hunt. I tried applying to Itella/Posti this afternoon but their online job search decided not to work for me. Thanks for that. I decided to try listing some paintings on eBay as well as Etsy, but every time I go near eBay it decides to be naughty too. It seems that we're just not compatible. I'm looking forward to getting paid so I can call the council and get permission to sell paintings in Kauppatori, which hopefully will bring forth money, and be a lot of fun. I'd still like to do some tutoring or childcare, as I know I'm good at it and could probably make some reasonable money. If any of you need to be taught or looked after you know where I am...

Slooow

It's been a slow week for me, I think I'm losing my momentum a bit when it comes to the job search. I've also been a bit sad because all my friends are graduating from university now, and if I wasn't here I'd be among them. This week I've had to keep reminding myself of all the positive parts of being here, and that I'm having this mad experience that they aren't. I've confirmed with the university this week that I will be back, and in a way it's comforting to know I can go back, whilst the people I know are now being shoved into the real world. I've spent this time in the real world - it's lovely and all - but going back to student land probably won't be so bad.
I've noticed that the weather really affects how I feel - it's been rubbish for most of the week, and I've felt rubbish, but today, now that it's nice, I'm feeling perkier. Maybe because it's Friday, and weekends here always seem to get interesting.
Hopefully next week will be better. I've just been getting a bit bored and restless. There's only so many times I can go to the park and draw trees before it starts to get tedious. I guess that's what happens when you're broke - you can't afford to do anything interesting, so it feels like there's not really anything you can do. However, the money situation is looking up, so maybe this won't be an issue for long.
When I'm in a good mood, like today, I keep thinking how sad it is that in a few months everything will change again. If things could stay how they are now forever I wouldn't really complain. The past few months have been one of the happiest times of my life, and after the miserable year I had before that I really appreciate it. I'm definitely back to who I used to be, and that's how I want to be.

This week so far

It's been a very hot, sunny week in Turku so far. My enthusiasm for being here is back, so maybe bad weather was the problem. I've been out today putting english/art tutor adverts in supermarkets, and it's disgustingly hot and sticky. As stupid as it may sound, it never occured to me that it would get this hot in Finland. Of course, there are hippies everywhere, wandering around and playing music in the street. It makes for a really great atmosphere. I feel like I'm somewhere a bit more exotic than Finland.
This week I've been reminded of how much Finland likes to get the flag out - they were on the flagpoles for the past two days. Sunday was Mother's Day, but I'm not sure what the reason was yesterday. In my country the flag doesn't come out so much. I think it's quite nice to walk down the street and see them everywhere. It can be a shock sometimes to go outside and suddenly be surrounded by lots of flags. I've also been told that when someone dies the flag on their building is often put up at half mast as a sign of respect, and I have seen that a couple of times.
However, the most exciting and important thing this week - I have a job interview on Thursday! I'm so pleased, and I'm very determined and motivated to get the job. I just had a phone call about it, and I have an interview and trial period in the morning. It's at an English language pre-school, and I'd really love to get that job. Luckily, my lovely mother works as a primary school teacher, so hopefully she can give me some professional advice on dealing with large volumes of small children. When I called my parents to see if she was at home my father's advice extended to "try not to kill them." It would be so great to have a proper, sensible job and be more secure. I'm determined to make myself absolutely perfect for the position. I'm even happy to sell out a bit and adapt my appearance, seeing as that's not as conventional as it could be, and frightening the lovely children definitely won't make me seem like Mary Poppins. This means tattoos will be covered, hair, shoes and clothes will be sensible, and I need to somehow get my lip piercing out, which right now is proving difficult. On Thursday I will boggle everyone with my brilliance. If that fails, I'll just baffle them with my bullshit.

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.

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.

Snow?

It's been snowing for the past few hours, which I find a bit ridiculous. By now I'm so sick of snow that this really irritates me. In England I always wanted it to snow in winter, but being here has definitely got me over that. It makes it hard to see, it's difficult to walk on...I can't stand snow anymore.

It's still comparitively warm, so I don't think it's going to settle, but that means the ground is probably going to be sludgey and slippery, which isn't so nice. I'm assuming this is some freak weather condition because it's been a lot warmer recently, and even when I was walking in the snow I didn't feel cold, I didn't even need any gloves!

I hope it doesn't go on for a long time and start building up; it's been very nice lately to see the pavement for the first time in months. I didn't even remember that market square has cobble stones because I'd only seen it without snow for a few weeks, several months ago.

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.

English people talk about the weather

I've been enjoying the weather for the past couple of days. Unfortunately it's been bitter and cold, which isn't so nice, even though I'm more used to it now, but it's been brighter and sunnier than I've ever seen it in Turku. There's still a lot of snow on the ground, but I really like how bright sunshine makes it sparkle, like someone poured silver glitter all over it. The sky has been really clear and blue; all weekend we've been lucky with lovely weather.
Another good thing is that it's staying lighter for longer now. On Friday and Saturday I saw the sun going down around 5.30, and the sky looked so lovely. There was so much colour, and it's much nicer than all the days that have been dark, grey, and depressing, and so much better than when it's dark really early. The weather here does tend to be a bit depressing, especially for someone who's not used to it. Everyone thinks of my country as being very grey and miserable, but they should see winter in Finland. We're definitely nowhere near the end of winter but I'm happy that the weather seems to be brighter and lighter. Maybe I'm appreciating it more because I'm going out and doing more things than I have for the past few weeks.
Tomorrow will be a busy day - Emmi and I are going to attempt to sort out some benefits/jobs and financial stuff for me from työvoimatoimisto and kela. I've been warned that this could be a stressful and lengthy process, but for now I'm choosing to remain optimistic...

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...

Drawing

I've just been to Puolalamäen, once again, and did this sketch of the sculpture that is there. I'm not sure what it's meant to represent but it's of several figures holding each other, and I quite like it. It's on a hill in the park and sitting next to it, there are beautiful views going as far as the cathedral. Today it was snowy and sunny and it looked better than ever. I wish I'd taken my phone with me for photos. That park must be one of my favourite places in Turku; whenever I want to do something but have no real ideas it's a default destination. It's quiet and peaceful, and today I had a sense of wellbeing just from sitting there. I think the ink in my pen might have frozen a bit though...
Obviously it's very cold now, and Jussi very thoughtfully stole my gloves this morning! He has his own, so I have no idea why he also wants my girlie purple ones. I have another pair, if I could only find them again. So my hands and cheeks ended up completely numb, but it wasn't as bad as two nights ago when I needed some food and ventured into the blizzard. How Finnish people stand this weather I will never know.

Complicated times

I just got home from the employment agency office, and they can't really help me because I still don't have a social security number. But when I went to the police station to apply for such a thing, the douchey woman was rude and unhelpful and basically told me to sit here for 3 months and then I can have one automatically. Without social security the employment people can't enrol me on a language course and can't give me immigration benefits.
The woman I was seeing today did try to help, she suggested cleaning jobs and Nokia, who apparently have an English speaking production line. Shame it's 31 miles away... She gave me a list of language schools too, which ironically, was entirely in Finnish. She said I could get started with something there until social security is dealt with.
The language course they provide is apparently 6 hours a day, Monday to Friday. That would make me feel a bit like a schoolgirl, but I need something to do, and need to study for 20 hours per week in order to claim benefits. It's been a bit boring for me since Jussi started work, with no one to talk to and no one to take me to new places.
I'm sure I'll work something out, it just seems overly complicated in comparison to Jussi's experience in London. I wish I spoke better Finnish. I hope the courses don't cost money, but that seems very unlikely. Jumalautta!
In other news, the snow melted overnight. I was a bit disappointed when I looked out of the window this morning. There are still some icy blocks, plenty of sludge too. It doesn't look so pretty anymore, but at least it's not so cold. Last night the sky was orange, it was neither dark nor light, and it was very strange. At first Jussi thought it might be a Northern Lights phenomenon, because sometimes you can see them from here, but then he concluded it was caused by the snow and the street lights. It's definitely too warm for snow today. I say warm, it's 5 degrees.
Maybe tomorrow I'll visit the Turku art gallery. I should do something nice to take my mind off all this annoying stuff. The past few days have been a complete headfuck.

More about snow

First of all, I do realise that three entries in a single day about snow is slightly excessive, but I really don't care. I've very rarely seen proper snow; growing up in Plymouth, wedged between the sea and some hills meant I only saw real snow three or four times in 18 years. The past couple of years it's snowed in London, and apart from that I've only seen hardcore snow in Paris and Helsinki. And today.
Outside it now does look like the picture below. It only went on for a couple of hours but it was thick. Everything is white, and the light outside is a strange colour. I hear there might be more overnight, so I wonder how it'll be tomorrow. Especially as I have an appointment with the employment agency in the afternoon.
I just went outside because I needed some things from the shop, and my god it was cold! I was wearing two layers, a cardigan, a coat, a hat, and a scarf, and I was still freezing. I wish Jussi hadn't worn my gloves to work today. The wind was really bitter and market square was almost deserted, even though it was only around 6.30pm and a lot of the shops were still open.
There was a little bit of rainy/sleety/icy stuff whilst I was out, which you know is going to settle on the snow and make it really slippery. I wanted to walk really fast to get inside quickly, but the snow was too thick and slippery to make that possible. Jussi text me from work earlier and said this'll be it until March. I can't wait four months to be able to go outside without getting brainfreeze! It's really beautiful when I look out of the window, but less pleasant to be walking in it. And I was only going down the street!
I remember now how uncomfortable the cold was for me in Helsinki in March. By then most of the snow was over but it was still very cold. The first day I was there was particularly cold in the afternoon, just walking down the street made my back ache and made me shiver, just as it has tonight. This certainly isn't the coldest it's going to be, really this is still autumn, even though it seems like deepest, darkest winter to me. I knew this was coming, it's all part of the experience, but I really hope I can adapt to the climate here.

Snow

As promised, the snow has arrived! It's not too thick yet and is just starting to settle. Pretty soon it'll look like the picture. Right now it's very nice but I'm sure I'll be sick of it soon. I've heard some conflicting ideas about how this is gonna go, I've been told it'll be heavy but I've also read that it'll be light this afternoon and overnight. We'll see how it looks tomorrow.
For now though I'm thinking beer, food, bed, and tv.

Cold

We have the internet again now, which is nice. It's getting colder every day though, which sucks for me because I'm really not used to this kind of temperature. In market square there are two clocks which tell you the temperature, date and time. One reads 4 degrees, the other 0.3. I think 0.3 is more accurate.
On Sunday it did snow, but it was a mixture of hail and sleet, nothing that would settle. Both yesterday and this morning it's been quite icy outside, and yesterday I almost fell flat on my arse in market square. The weather forecast is predicting coming snowfall, and I think it might have already begun in more northern areas. Things are starting to feel more Finnish. The problem is that I'm so cold when I'm outside that I'd rather be indoors all the time.
Also, financially things are going to hell. Turns out I need to pay 45 euros for a residence permit. When Jussi came to England there was no bullshit like this at all, he just turned up and showed them an EU passport. It's frustrating. I can't imagine how difficult it would be here for someone outside of the EU. Also I expect that fairly soon I'll have to face the credit card bill that paid for my flight. I'm screwed.