Outlandish

Listening to music before falling asleep. I put the music away when I have fallen sufficiently close to passing out. I hold a cup of tea or coffee ”wrong”: I take the whole cup in my hand(s) even if there is a handle for picking the cup up. This is a habit that was pointed out to me when I was very little and still, to this day, I haven’t been able to shake it. I have a collection of books, which I read all over and over again. I’m extremely particular with books, I can’t just read any book, it needs to match my requirements precisely... Except even I can’t describe what exactly those requirements are. In my apartment there must always be noise. If I’m home the TV is always on, even if there’s nothing interesting to watch. When I take home office, I actually work. The whole 8 hours. I must always choose and prepare my clothes for the next morning before going to sleep. If I don’t do it there’s no point getting up the next morning. ...

I came across the headline's statement one day at work Googling for something or the other. And it got me thinking. I'm usually pretty good with money, I rarely buy something just for the sake of buying. I need to really want the item to willingly part with my money for it.  Women usually have a problem with this; buying things without spending much time to think whether they even need them. Especially now that buying online has been made soo easy and returning the items after trying them on is free for the biggest companies. But I have a lot of friends who are just too lazy to go through the return ordeal so in the end they keep the items and plan to maybe sell them or give them away to charity later. I'm not big on shopping online, I like to know at the moment of paying that this shirt fits me and is the colour that it is supposed to be. I also don't have patience when there is something that I want so I don't like waiting for the items to arrive.  ...

Women and sport, 2016 edition. This summer has been a real celebration for all sports, so the media coverage has been very large on the subject as well. Recently there has been an increasing amount of talk about whether women’s sport is neglected in a discriminating way in the media and I find this discussion very interesting especially because I do follow all kinds of sports. The moment that inspired me to write this was when I watched a program, where a group  of successful Finnish athletes gather in Florida, hosted by one of world’s best ice-hockey players, Teemu Selänne, to compete in light-minded sport activities and go through their careers one athlete per episode. These athletes were some of the most successful Finns… and all men except for one figure skater, Kiira Korpi. So I wrote this but didn't publish it... until I saw a picture on Facebook: a huge headline screaming how Michael Phelps won silver swimming 200 meters. And a teeny tiny headline somewhere inside...

One evening the weather was just so nice I couldn’t stay indoors so I put my jacket on and went for a walk on the beach. There I found myself smiling without a reason, which tells me that I am happy here. But I must confess a disappointment about Tallinn; people. They are not the least bit interested in making new friends. They are helpful, for example, I got exceptionally wonderful help in finding a flat, which I appreciate enormously, but when the time came for me to take the person out for a drink or some food to say thank you, I was thanked kindly and never heard from them again. Even the Brit I know here is more interested in hanging out with his own friends than helping me find new friends by maybe introducing me to his friends. He has Estonialized in a very short time, and comparing to Brits I can’t say it’s for the better. It’s not just Estonians, this is a very Nordic problem, extremely common with Finns as well. I've seen it even with my own friends in Finlan...

We are hiring more Finnish people to the office and I’ve been responsible for doing the interviews. My favourite question is “describe yourself with three adjectives” because it totally throws Finns, every time. They go all quiet and their brain is working like crazy to come up with something and usually people say that if I had asked for negatives, it would have been easier for them. At first it made me laugh because it’s such a stereotype but so true as well. But after the third person struggled with this questions  I grew more worried than cheery. It can’t be right that people don’t appreciate themselves enough for three little words. It made me think about self-esteem and what it requires. Especially in today’s media-centric world girls and women are given the impression that they aren’t good enough until they are starving 24/7 or muscly enough to resemble a man, but also in that case they are almost required to have an eating disorder. But not just media, also cult...

Lately I've come face to face with the biggest cultural difference, not just between Finland and Slovakia, but between Nordic  (and some Western European)  countries  and the entire rest of the world: equality between men and women. I grew up in a world where my sex didn't determine anything for me or the people around me. I had a lot of boy friends (not boyfriends) already in kindergarten and it could never have occurred to me that I couldn't or shouldn't do something that they did just because I was a girl. In my family I was the only girl child and I was usually the one who did all the crazy things that boys are expected to do like climbing trees, walking first in line to a dark forest and jumping off rocks. As I got older I as a person was never seen as someone whose main function in life is to settle down with a man, not necessarily a man I would like, just some man, and produce children and be content with the fact that that's all my life would ever be. ...

Europe is in complete panic with hundreads of thousands of people flooding from Africa and Middle-East into our lands. Even if EU forced its member countries to receive these people (which it didn't do but instead made it voluntary) the European countries still could not take in all the people coming here. Nobody knows what will come from all of this, but people are fearing the worst. For example Slovakia just announced that  it will only receive Christians . Quite a tricky thing that and very short-sighted. But that's because they have never in their history taken in refugees. This country is very racist but only because they don't know any better. People are always afraid of everything new and strange. Also in Nordic countries people seem to be more racist. But I don't believe they are. But the few racists can now make a lot of noise through different medias and thus make it look like there are a lot of them. In Finland we've been following how in Sweden thei...

Parliamentary elections are approaching in Finland and living in Slovakia has made me look at our right for a vote from a new perspective. There is no such thing as democracy. There are good attempts at it, but true democracy is nonexistent on this planet. Still, what we in Finland call democracy is a lifeline that we wouldn't exist without. I live in a country that has the lowest voting percentage in Europe. People in Slovakia simply don't vote. One reason is probably that being able to influence stately matters is still a very new thing. There are still a lot of people (mainly elderly) who think that communism was the best thing that ever happened. Another reason is that in such a corrupt country people have completely lost faith. They don't think that their vote counts at all because it's just that, only one vote. And here's a perfect example for all those Finns back at home who think along the same lines: when there are enough of yous the country ...

I've been struggling big time these past couple days, I must admit. The plane crash in the Alps has totally thrown me. I can't concentrate on work, or anything else for that matter, I am just in shock for what has happened and what the poor families of everyone on board are going through. What makes this case so much worse, in my opinion, is that it seems that it was intentional. Not a fault in technology but a decision made by a person in charge. Flying is a great way to travel: you can cover huge distances in no time whatsoever. But in my life I've encountered so many setbacks when it comes to flying that I've lost faith in it almost completely. I don't trust that I will get to the other side in one piece. Biggest reason for my fear so far has been the fact that when it comes to machines in the air, it only takes one tiny loose part and the thing comes down with fatal consequences. Still, I recognize that statistically it is a safe way to travel.  Human e...

There was  discussion  about jealousy on the blog site that I follow.The sin that all human-beings have a love-hate relationship with. Love in a way that it gives us some sick satisfaction to wallow in the unfairness of life, thinking how wrong it is that somebody has a straight nose when you don't, another one has more followers on Instagram than you do, or somebody else is climbing the corporate ladder faster than you are. On the other hand we hate being jealous because I don't think anyone actually enjoys that feeling. The subject was interesting because Finnish jealousy has been scientifically proven to be different from jealousy anywhere else. In Finland we don't just feel jealous, but also hope for the worst for whoever we are jealous at: for example, my neighbour has a new, fancy car... I hope he crashes and injures himself! :D As a teenager I had a lot to be jealous for: my best friend was an A-student, I was average. She was beautiful, I was ugly. She ...

In most of the Western countries florists are rubbing their hands together happily because the day when they sell the most roses (or pink and red flowers) is upon us. Valentine's Day, or the Finnish version Friends' Day (Ystävänpäivä). Couple interesting facts about Valentine's Day; in the USA 19% of women buy and send flowers to themselves. And in Japan it is traditional for women to dote on men with chocolates etc. unlike in Europe or the United States where it's the other way around.  Anyway, while Valentine's Day has become little more than an excuse for women to demand their counterparts to present them with whatever from expensive jewelry to huge boxes of chocolate, I also think that is a very discriminating day. It celebrates couples, and only couples, even though many people these days don't even want to engage in a relationship when the social pressures (family honour, etc.) are in most countries gone.  I would much rather like to see t...

Another funny thing came into light again this week where Finns and Eastern-Europeans differ a lot. OK, I can't say this applies to most Slovaks but definitely to most of my team here. Holidays.  In Finland we work for the sole reason of having a long, lazy summer vacation. I started here last summer and people were being   told  to use their vacation days from 2013... I can't imagine how that is even possible?! And still, before Christmas people were really being told that you   absolutely HAVE to   take days off. I mean, if people here really aren't that eager to have days off I volunteer to help them by taking those days from them! But anyway, we had a funny incident in a grocery store this week with my neighbour/colleague: we were queuing behind an elderly woman talking in English, of course. When the woman got to the counter she started talking to the salesperson about us. My neighbour translated to me: according to the woman it is so important...

So far I've seen Slovaks and Finns to be very similar in culture and behaviour. But on Friday I had a cold reality call when it turned out that the salaries were nowhere to be seen. And what in Finland would end up in big headlines is taken with complete ignorance here. Ever since our teams were outsourced there have been problems from switching between work systems to salaries. Last month the salaries were late for one day and we were ensured that it would never happen again. Of course we believed it. Now it turns out that we shouldn't have: salaries were late for days. In Finland you go to work, remember it's the pay day, check your account and if it turns out that the salary hasn't even been transferred yet, you would turn on your heels and return home... Who would work without being paid? Apparently Slovaks would.  I was so furious I couldn't concentrate on anything, it was just so against all my principles to keep working when other people i...

Now, in the middle of November, I can admit that yes, autumn has arrived. This Monday was the first morning that I had to turn on the lights when waking up at 7:30. It's rainy and it's gloomy, but I can't be affected by that here. There's so much going on, so many things to do and always something to look forward to; like my housewarming party, the Christmas market in Vienna or the Christmas holidays. Lately I've come across many Austrian people. It's funny how people from one country always have some things that tell you where they are from. Russians, Brits, Swedes and French I can pretty much recognize by looks and gestures. Austrians I didn't know much about but I am starting to think that they are very well-behaved, well-informed, just plain simple nice people. Every time I tell someone that I'm from Finland they are impressed by it. Austrians weren't.  And I love the fact that I didn't have to explain myself to any of them.  Obv...

Even with everything (eventually) going pear-shaped at work I got involved in the Fun Team. It is uncertain whether me being involved in organizing activities for another firm is permitted or not but whatever the case I will be involved in it. Just try and stop me. I like administrative work, I always have. Demanding work that requires me to use my imagination as well as doing all the routine tasks every day. Multitasking I love. I was just about to get comfortable with the stableness and the safe, simple work that I have: very routine, same responsibilities, same tasks, same everything everyday. And it's good, for a change I like that there is no risk of making enormous mistakes or having to take responsibility for much. On Sunday I gathered my notebook and headed to Gorila.sk café for lunch and for some brain storming. I need an inspiring surrounding when planning events and happenings and ways of marketing them, and where I live now... I can't find a less-inspiri...

There was a lot of buzz in the social media and in yellow press  in Finland about a middle-aged woman insulting a mildly handicap girl in a café. In another article  a man described how in France traveling with a wheelchair is much, MUCH easier than in Finland because people are always willing to help. These caught my eye because I have been thinking about basic manners since moving here. I once had coffee with a man who had lived in Finland for a year and he said that as much as he liked Finland as a country he couldn't stand the fact that Finns have absolutely no regard for manners. Out loud I completely agreed with him, on the inside I cried because I couldn't think of any defence for my countrymen: the man was right.   Here in Bratislava it's a completely different story. Even though many Slovak people have told me that Slovaks are rude, unfriendly and jealous I can't but disagree. I have never been to a country were basic manners are such an everyday,...

This week, in record time, I got access to all databases and programs that I need at work. So, I've already been able to work and book quite a lot although I was told that for at least a month I would just have to sit on my ass and busy myself with internet or something. On the job front I have also had a lot of blasts from the past this week. I've received e-mails from 3 separate companies in Finland about jobs that I applied for in the beginning of the year... Doesn't give a very good picture of how they do business in those companies! But it reminded me of the fact that even though it is said that being born in Finland is like winning the lottery, the reality, for me at least, is far from it.   Ever since I was little I haven't quite fit in the mold of a Finn. Finns are calm (in public), quiet, very reserved, mind everybody's business but will tell you the opposite and worry a lot about what other people think of them. Finns...