Conversations over Glögi and gingerbread cookies

I woke up with a pretty bad headache, so I went to a cafe to learn Finnish and have a cup of hot chocolate. Exams are coming up, and I have a lot to study.

This evening I went to a pre-Christmas party with other journalism students (plus Ana, majoring in political science; and Zhenia, majoring in English philology) at a Finnish student Viki's house. Viki and her roommate (also Viki) live in a cozy apartment near campus with sliding doors that separate rooms.

The girls served gingerbread cookies, pastries with plum jam, chocolate and glögi. Albert, from Catalonia brought a traditional Catalonian desert that tasted like rice porridge. I'll have to ask him for the name of it and the recipe. Everything tasted sweet and wonderful, and the warm glögi was awesome.

Everyone was surprised to hear that I was from Hawaii. "What do you speak there?" I was asked by two girls. And: "Is it always warm?"

The international students started discussing why we chose Finland. I said that there were a lot of reasons: UTA was reasonably priced and had a journalism program, and I wanted to experience the advanced social welfare system in the Nordic region. But really I had heard about friends' experiences in Spain, Italy, Germany, France, China, Chile and other popular destinations for American students, but I never heard anything about Finland, or much about Scandinavian. Finland seemed exotic and strange, and I wanted to bring back stories to America.

Conversations finally led to politics. One of the Finnish students said that the political climate is changing in Finland, and a right-wing, nationalist party called "Basic Finns" or "True Finns" has gained traction. They are now the third largest party in the Finnish parliament. In Spain, the right-wing victory has also upset a lot of liberal, left-leaning students I've met. Anyway, I'm not an expert on politics and economics, so I didn't and won't really get into that.

I learned that only four percent of the Finnish students who apply to the journalism program at the University of Tampere get accepted. That's 40 out of 1,000 applicants. The university chooses students based on grades and a very rigorous standard exam. There are vocational schools that last three years. There is less competition to get into these schools, and your personality is weighed with your grades. "But once you're in, you're in," Viki said. Her friend applied to be a dentist for five years before she was accepted. "So what if you don't get it?" I asked. "You work," Viki responded, in a matter-of-fact tone.

Every time I learned something new, I was oohing and ahing. The Finns on the other hand showed a calmness and subtle interest.

Something of note: In English, our intonation rises when we ask a question. In Finnish, the intonation lowers. Sometimes Finnish speech can seem monotone compared with Spanish and Chinese and English.

I had a great evening with friends from Spain, England and Russia, and with the journalism students that I met.