The magic of the forest

The well known fact is that Finland goes through the period of darkness every year from the middle of October to the end of year. The closer the winter solstice gets the shorter the days are and the more there’s gloom. By the time, it gets somehow light around 9 a.m. and back pitch-dark between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., depending if the sun is trying to shine or if it’s simply too cloudy.

I’ve been often asked by foreign people not living in Finland or having visited Finland during the end of the year how I can manage with the period of darkness. Well, I’m Finnish, so I guess I’m used to it. But on the other hand, every time fall has already been going for a while I start thinking that the dark period is coming. And I would lie if I said the thought didn’t feel nasty.

But even then, being unbelievable or not, there are ways to make it better. I took the photo just yesterday when I went for a walk to the forest. It was foggy and it was drizzling. It doesn’t look so tempting, does it? Actually, I would say it does in a way. Somehow the fog and the silence of the forest feel mysterious. And I have to say it feels quite amazing.

Going for walks has always been a way for me to relax – one of the ways that really relax me. When I stopped to take the photo and I had done it I looked around and I realized how peaceful it really is out there. There was no one about. I could just hear the sound of nature.

An amazing thing is that I live in Helsinki – the capital of Finland – but even then I live in a suburb that is surrounded by nature. There’s a big river passing the building where I live in. There’s a lot of forest and a whole bunch of beautiful routes where I can go for walks. Sometimes I’ve been thinking that part of me would be happier to live out in the country because there’d be more nature there and more peace and quiet than what you can get in the city. But when I’m looking at the area I live in I’m very comfortable here.

The place becomes a true winter wonderland when there’s snow on the ground and it lands on the branches of the trees that have dropped the leaves. Of course, the place is beautiful at any part of the year – even at the end of the fall when it’s dark and gloomy.

I’m not a doctor but I have common sense

On the 2^nd of June, I posted an entry Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place. And it seems that every time these days when I visit my eye doctor or the visit is getting closer I end up to such a situation – being stuck between a rock and a hard place. This time, I feel in that way already before the actual visit, thanks to the phone call I got from the hospital unit this morning.

I was supposed to have an appointment with my eye doctor on Friday afternoon. But I got a call that he wouldn’t be there. I said I could very well come next week. But the secretary said the next time he’s there is on Monday the 29^th of this month.

As I had the last appointment on the 2^nd of June, by the time I was told I’d be sent the time of the next appointment by mail. That time, it was a random doctor who just did a regular check to me. And so it happened. I asked the secretary if it should be the cornea specialist himself whom I should meet – if he was so engaged another doctor might be fine too, as it’d be a regular check after all.

She said that the cornea specialist had wanted the appointment to be booked to him because it’d be time to plan the new cornea transfer. So, I should visit him and no other doctor.

“Excuse me?!,” I exclaimed on the phone.

As there have been a few issues with the current cornea, as I’ve posted earlier, the doctors have flashed an option of a new transfer a few times. The eye is calm and the sight is clear most of the time, but there’s a little bit of swelling in the cornea which is why a new transfer is one of the options according to the doctors. But because the issues aren’t really big or extremely serious I don’t have an urgent need to have a new transfer done.

To top it all, the specialist who wants to see me in one and a half weeks has told me personally just within the past half a year that because the eye has been operated for so many times during my life it might not put up with the healing process of another transfer, it being for 12 months after all. And now he’s willing to plan a new transfer anyway!

I don’t know which word would describe my mood the best at the moment. But I do feel frustrated. It is, of course, wonderful that I’m in such good hands and the doctors want to take care of me. But the whole situation is a true dead end.

If it’s 50% or even less that the eye would carry through the 12-month-long healing process without bringing up swelling or other issues to the cornea transplant and if the doctors have clearly told me that, my sense just doesn’t get it why they would like to go for a new transfer anyway especially when there isn’t an urgent need.

But the whole situation has two sides. My common sense says that a new transfer might just be another one-year-long project that might fail with the probability of 50%. I base it on what I’ve been told for many times. But after all, I’m not a doctor. I’m not professional in medicine. So, why I’m struggling so deep is that I’m stuck between my own common sense and the professional opinions and viewpoints of the doctors. And it puts me on a hell of a spot for sure.

So, now I have one and a half weeks to stop to think about the whole thing. I have time to prepare myself what I should ask of the doctor in the appointment on the 29^th. One thing is for sure though; I won’t let him off lightly when it comes to justifying why it’d be wise to go for a new transfer or what it perhaps might cause in a long term if it wasn’t done.

Typing vs. writing

This week, there have been a couple of meetings at work where I’ve had to take the notes by writing by pen. Especially after the second meeting where I had to write down a lot of notes, I started thinking of typing vs. writing.

When I was ten years old, beginning the fifth grade in primary school, my teacher said it’d be wise that I was taught to type on the computer. She based her opinion on the fact that I’m poor-sighted, so she said the skill could give me a lot of benefit in the future.

First I was excited about the idea, as already at that age I was excited to learn new things. But in practice, it meant that every Tuesday I had to spend an hour in the special needs teacher’s classroom. It was from one o’clock to two o’clock in the afternoon. And it was the only damn afternoon when the school ended at one o’clock. So, while the other students left for home I had to go to study typing. I’m grateful now that I had to. But by the time, as a kid, it really made me upset.

I can still remember how we started. The teacher told me that the fingers would be set on the keys in the way that the right forefinger would be on the F key and the left forefinger would be on the J key.

The first word I had to practice was Jaffa, which is the brand of a soda pop here: J with my left forefinger, A with my right little finger, the double F with my right forefinger, and A with my right little finger. Just after a couple of classes, I was totally thrilled. And after that, the teacher had to nearly kick me out of the classroom when it was two o’clock and the day ended for both of us.

My primary school teacher’s, who was my teacher from the first to the sixth grade, husband was blind. So, she really thought about my future considering my sight. Kids can’t really respect such things especially in a long term. But while getting older, I’ve come to respect it highly and deeply. I was blessed to have such a teacher. I couldn’t have had a better one.

Already for a long time, I’ve typed as fast as I speak. And I use all of my ten fingers when I type. I make very few errors while I type. And every time I make an error my left little finger automatically finds its way on the Back key to erase what I’ve typed wrong, and then I retype what I was supposed to type.

Even my mother, who worked as a word processor for many years before she became a secretary in the governmental institute she’s working for, has said that I type faster than her even if she’s been typing for many more years at work than me in general.

When I was in high school, I had a laptop in use in the courses. All the students in the classes were envious because I typed as fast as the teachers were speaking. So, needless to say, I had the best notes. The same happened in all the language course I took in Helsinki Adult College as well as when I studied for the business degree. I’ve also made benefit of the typing skill in my career. For example, when I was working as a poll interview and a sales representative, it was easy to type people’s opinions, the deals’ conditions, and all such things while the customers spoke. I never had to make lists with a few words only. I typed whole sentences and I was always praised by my bosses because of the skill of doing that.

But typing has caused one bad thing. My handwriting is really poor these days – it’s been poor already for many years. The simple reason is that every time I can choose I don’t even consider a second if I’d type or write. I type. I even type the shopping lists and print them instead of writing them down on a piece of paper.

I do feel quite ashamed to show what my handwriting is like if I’m honest. Even if there are lines on the paper I can’t really even stay inside them. Sometimes I keep joking that I should go back to the primary school and take a course of handwriting again.

The type of handwriting I really envy is my mother’s. It’s so clear but at the same time very pretty. Well, instead of the primary school course, I could ask if she agreed to give me a class or two. In that way, I’d get a very pretty handwriting.

Iittala – a Finnish design brand

In Finland, there are quite a few different famous and popular design brands of different products. In this entry, I thought I’d introduce the Iittala products a bit. Iittala mostly focuses on tableware, glassware, and silverware.

Iittala brand has several product families. I myself don’t really have anything design or brand at home. I’ve never really been so fond of such things. My tableware, glassware, and silverware just like my clothes and most anything else are basic stuff, so-to-say. But last week I bought a set of plates that belong to Iittala’s Teema family. The word is “theme” in English but because it’s the name of the product family it’s a proper noun.

And I’m all over excited about them. The plates are suitable both for dining and serving. They aren’t exactly bowls but they are a bit wider. The diameter is 21cm / 8.2 inches. They’ve been designed by Kaj Franck. What makes them more special is that unlike normal plates, they can be used in cooking even in the oven.

I did think twice though before buying them because, as we all know, brand and design products cost money. The set has six plates – I always want to have six (or twelve) of whatever tableware, glassware, and silverware. One plate costs €16.20 / $21.49 in Iittala Shop. But I found the set of six plates with €75 / $100, as they were on offer. Though, it is still quite a bit just of six plates. But I never waste money. And I believe that if one really wants something and has considered it they should go for it.

My mother has some of the Ultima Thule glassware family and I think they are really beautiful too. Iittala has several beautiful product families. All the products are simple, timeless, but yet they look stylish and they would fit to most kitchens.

I could share dozens and dozens of photos of the products but it’s easier just to share the link of the web shop where all the products are available with photos.

Iittala Web Shop: https://www.iittala.com/home

There’s also a brief introduction about Iittala on Wikipedia, as I didn’t really get into it so much in this entry. Teema and Ultima Thule are my favorite Iittala product families which is why I included them to this entry. But like I said, there’s much more.

Iittala on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iittala

We Finns are introvert and anti-sociable!

Helsingin Sanomat (the national Finnish newspaper) has published an opinion piece that is agitating and bringing up discussion especially in social media. When I read it I was left both speechless and embarrassed.

“Finns’ strange mannerism made an American family leave the country. Finns don’t greet each other. Why is it so difficult to them even if it’s part of good manners?,” the man writes in his opinion piece.

A half Australian and half Finnish man having lived in Finland most of his life says that there was an American family living next door to him for three years. Finally they decided to move back to the US. The reason they had was that they got fed up with the Finnish mannerism – strangers not to greet each other.

The man writes that in the farewell party he asked his neighbors what they think about Finland. The answer was harsh – they could not have warm memories about a country where people don’t greet each other. The Americans first thought Finns behaved in the way because they were foreigners. But in time it came out it was just part of the game with everyone – even between Finns.

The man considers the issue from an Australian view point. “If you walk in a park in Australia and pass people and don’t greet them you’re considered all over weird. Occasionally, it’s also common to stop to swap a few words about the weather or something like that. If someone doesn’t greet you they are considered weird and even dubious.”

The man says that he’s noticed that if one greets strangers in Finland s/he is considered weird and greeting a stranger brings up suspicion. He’s surprised it’s totally upside down in Finland compared to other places.

Unfortunately, I cannot doom his opinion piece completely. One of the Finnish stereotypes is that we Finns are shy, introvert, and anti-social. Let’s take an example that you take a bus somewhere. People sit on the bus and either look out of the window, have their eyes stuck to their phones, read books or magazines, or if there’s nothing else to do they look at their hands lying on their laps. But they hardly even look other passengers into the eyes.

If one starts chatting with a stranger on the bus s/he’s considered weird. People might even try to end the chat – not in a rude way, of course, but just to let it die out. We don’t lack all the manners after all.

I will never forget the feeling I had when I spent a month in England in 2003. I was in a language course and I lived in a small town on Isle of Wight. It was a cultural shock when I went to shops and other places like that and the staff came to me, nearly gave me a hug, and said, “How can I help you, my dear?,” or, “What can I do for you, darling?” If I called a stranger “my dear” or “darling” in Finland they’d most probably call the white-jacket guys to take me away.

But it’s quite sad really. When I came back to Finland I was in shock again because I realized how introvert we Finns really are in a way. At the cash desk in the supermarket, the seller mostly tells the price to you and may wish you a good day – but only ‘may’. It doesn’t happen each time.

So, in a way I sympathize with those Americans. And to speak my mind, this is the type of cultural thing I’m not proud of. We Finns don’t know how to do “small talk”. It’s just not part of the culture.

And the idea of this entry is not to mock my own country or culture. It’s a cultural thing. But every time it’s brought up by foreigners it simply feels quite… umm... well, it’s even hard to find a proper adjective to describe how it really makes me feel!

Maija’s Name Day – Name Days in Finland

MAIJA

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Finnish

Meaning & History: Finnish variant of Maria, Latin form of Greek Μαρια, (see Mary).

Maria is the usual form of the name in many European languages, as well as a secondary form in other languages such as English (where the common spelling is Mary). In some countries, for example Germany, Poland and Italy, Maria is occasionally used as a masculine middle name.

Source: http://www.behindthename.com/

Name Days in Finland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Finns celebrate their name days (Finnish "nimipäivä") according to their given name on the date given by the calendar published by the University of Helsinki Almanac Office. Every day except New Year's Day, Christmas Day and February 29^th is a name day. For each day there are names in both Finnish and Swedish; the names are frequently, but not always, cognates.

Women are slightly underrepresented in the calendar: approximately 45 percent of name days celebrate only women while some 49 per cent are name days of men. The rest are those of names that may be given to either sex, such as Rauni (July 15^th), or have both a man's and a woman's name, such as Oliver and Olivia (May 29^th).

Many traditional beliefs attach to various name days, especially involving the weather and the appropriate times to perform seasonal agricultural tasks such as planting some particular crop. For example there is a saying that “Jaakko (James) casts a cold rock into the water”, meaning that on Jaakko's day, the 25^th of July, the waters start getting colder, which is not far from true on average.

The seven days from July 18^th to 24^th, being all women's name days, are known as the Women's Week. It is popularly believed to be an especially rainy week, and this is to some extent supported by statistics, as late July and early August are the rainiest time of the year in Finland.

The Almanac Office reviews the lists at intervals of 5–10 years, adding new names as they gain popularity and striking others that have faded into disuse. The university owns the copyright to the lists of names and their corresponding dates.

Tiina’s day happens to be the 24^th of July that ends the Women’s Week. My middle name is Maija, so today is also my name day. Though, I have sort of twisted my middle name a bit, as I use Maya online. It has nothing to do with the Maya civilization though. In Maya and Maija, the ‘y’ and ‘ij’ sound similar which is why I’m using Maya online instead of Maija.

By law, a Finn can have three first names at most. The common amount is two. Some names have been joined together with the hyphen. For example, my grandma’s name was Maija-Liisa. As the double vowel is very common in the Finnish language, international names such as Nora, Eva, Lisa, Ida, Sara(h), Maria, and Mona would be spelled as Noora, Eeva, Liisa, Iida, Saara, Maaria, and Moona. With Sara(h) and especially Maria, there are naturally several other variations too.

Some Finns celebrate their name days but not all do. Name day isn’t as big as birthday but it’s at least very common to wish people happy name day, just like people wish each other happy birthday. Flowers or little presents may be common too. Because my grandma’s and my name day is on the 2^nd of July, grandma always baked a cake at the summer cottage if I was there at the beginning of June – and we celebrated by having it with coffee on the porch.