Finnish Independence Day, a quiet one

(Time to go, Leilani!)



(It's so warm indoors, but prettier out!)

Most public places and shops were closed today, so S, Z and I walked to Keskustori.



We watched soldiers marching and kids playing on tanks. It was crowded and cold.





We went to a cute little cafe called Valo (light) and were soon greeted by a group of friends.

And then we went home.

Lighting up the winter

There was snow on the ground this morning, and it glistened under the sun. People had to carefully lift and plant one foot after the other so as not to slip.

Tomorrow is Finland's independence day. I hope to wake up on time for the festivities. At the parade in Keskustori (the city center), there will be over a thousand soldiers, along with helicopters, jet fighters and tanks. For more information on Finland's Independence, visit: http://www.finnguide.fi/calendar/calendarevents.asp?month=12&p=79

About the event, one student wrote on Facebook:

"I've never understood the need for showcasing military. They even ran over and killed one veteran during a parade a couple of years ago. Now that is irony. The whole damn holy war history, it has soon been 70 years and we STILL cling on the 'glorious' war. The irony with independence is that we have Lenin to thank for the whole independence. Vast majority of Finns didn't even consider indepence before Russian empire fell. Be it Soviet Russia tactics, they still were the first to regognize it. There wasn't any kind of army in Finland when it was declared independent, iif you don't count the Russian garrison, ~70 000 mostly non-russians."

It's also pikkujoulu (pre-christmas party) season, where people get together to drink glögi and eat pastries and traditional dishes. A Finnish girl that I met in the cafeteria told me many young people see it as a reason to get drunk.

Since I'm in a Shel Silverstein kind of mood:

I’m making a list

I’m making a list of the things I must say for politeness,
And goodness and kindness and gentleness, sweetness and rightness:
Hello
Pardon me
How are you
Excuse me
Bless you
May I?
Thank you
Goodbye
If you know some that I forgot,
Please stick them into your eye!"

Just another weekend in Lapinkaari

Someone pushed the fire alarm button last night (well, at around 3:30 a.m.). A group of students were talking loudly in front of the building, waiting for the firemen. Some had arrived from partying, others had woken up by the annoying alarm. Finally the cracks of my blinds were lit up by the bright lights from the firetruck.

Z later said that she wasn't so much bothered by the noise, as she was by the uncertainty of there being an actual fire or a fourth false alarm.

The firemen disabled the alarm, but five minutes later it started up again. It went off and on a couple more times. Suddenly, I heard my door open, and a fireman walked into my room. He said, "Morning" and looked at the smoke detector. Then he checked out my bathroom -- no problem -- and left.

I have three exams and a paper left before I go to Germany. My brother's birthday is coming up next week, and I wish I could give him a huge hug. He's the best little brother in the world, and I don't give him enough credit for that.

12.1.2011

"I guess people want to be consistent. And maybe narrow-mindedness comes when people try to be consistent in their lives, and they shut out other ideas. But life is full of complications and contradictions..."

Dad: "Well, I don't know... I was talking to my friends about how you're having a great time in a foreign country. You're meeting other students with different backgrounds and having interesting conversations. You're really in that time of your life when you're discovering a lot."

"But when you get older, don't you continue discovering things?"

Dad: "Well, you discover most of the big questions when you're younger."

"So you think we finally figure it out when we're older?"

Dad: "Nobody has all the answers, but you figure it out to your own satisfaction.

And then you stop asking the big questions, and you start asking the applied questions.

What do I have to do to get my son to study? What do I have to do to get my daughter to stop spending money on clothes? What should I do with my time? How am I gonna make money? Where am I gonna find a place to live? You know, those questions are different."