Just Finnish Things

As of today I’ve been home due to COVID-19 for two months. Though I have a flight back on June 8th, at this point I have no idea if I’ll be able to return. According to Finnish guidelines I can return since I have a residence permit, but my flight may still be cancelled. A few days before leaving, I secured a junior research assistant position at the university for the summer. Luckily I will still be able to perform the duties, no matter where I am. Classes, crafting, my household, and virtual gatherings are keeping me occupied.

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I’ve been writing bits and pieces of this blog post for several months, so I guess now is a good time to finish it, giving me a chance to reminisce. As you can imagine, I’ve had many cultural moments since arriving to Finland. Some good, some weird, some not so great. Below I’ll describe a few.

Sustainability

When it comes to Finland, recycling is serious business. Our trash shed behind the apartment complex has bins for trash, paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metal, and biowaste. Most plastic food packaging and bags can be recycled, instead of only a select few like in the U.S. I particularly appreciate the biowaste collection since I compost at home and had never heard of a countrywide program. Depending on the area, the biowaste will be turned into compost or biogas will be extracted and then converted into heat and electricity. Since about 75% of the country is covered by forests, residues from its extensive forest industry are converted into bioenergy, which is what initially attracted me to Finland.

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Erasmus Student Network (ESN)

As mentioned in previous blog posts, I joined ESN early in the academic year. The group hosts various events, primarily for international students, such as parties, Finnish evenings, international dinners, and trips. This was a good way to meet other students and experience new things. One was the Finnish sitz party. It is basically a drinking-karaoke dinner with lots of rules like silence except for singing and a toast with specific movements after each song. Songs were in a few different languages but mostly English. The few times we tried to sing in Finnish went as well as you might think. It was kind of fun but mostly weird!

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Instead of quad day before school began, LUT had a hobby fair in October. I thought this was strange timing because new students are usually looking for activities at the beginning, not a month in. Despite having recently joined, I volunteered to help host a table for ESN, answering questions and giving out overall badges. I’m glad I joined ESN because while others promote inclusion, joining an all / mostly Finnish club is tricky. On one hand, it would be a good way to meet more Finnish students. On the other hand, who am I to walk in and demand English be spoken in my presence? Maybe one day I’ll figure out the balance, but for now, ESN is enough.

Meet a Local Family

LUT partners with the local church for the Meet a Local Family program, which I knew I would join since I loved having an adoptive church family back at University of Illinois. In late September we first met the families at an informal event at the university, and then it was up to us. My family consists of the parents and (now) three kids- ages 7, 5, and a few months (who I need to meet when I go back!). A few weeks after the initial meetup, the family invited me to their house, a beautiful place with forest in the backyard and lake in the front yard. Per their request, I made deviled eggs, an American dish that was gluten and dairy-free. Funny because it was my first time making them and I don’t even really liked deviled eggs! It’s the only food I could think of that was easy and met the family’s dietary restrictions. Over dinner we chatted and I learned many bits about Finnish culture. With only the kids and mom, I experienced going to sauna naked for the first time. It’s really not as bad as it seems. At public saunas, the saunas are usually split up by gender and everyone is required to go naked or with a towel since the chlorine from bathing suits could cause damage. I can see how growing up seeing bodies of all shapes and sizes could lead to a healthier and more open perspective of body image. The next day, the mom and I went into the backyard forest to go mushroom hunting. We were very successful and later she taught me how to cook these coveted chanterelles.

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We met again a few months later at the beginning of December. With snow on the ground, the area had transformed into a winter wonderland. Today’s big adventure was going for an ice dip. Yes, you heard that right, an ice dip. This practice is common among some Finns, who credit it for elevated energy and good moods. The dad goes everyday before work. After a few rounds in the sauna, I made the 2-minute trek down to the lake in just a swimsuit and rubber boots. This gave me ample time to question whether I really wanted to do this or not. Outside it was about -5°C and the water temperature was about 2°C. Nevertheless, I marched down the dock, pulled off my rubber boots, and climbed down the ladder, submerging all but my head, unwise for a first-timer. Yes, it was cold, but as soon as I emerged from the water, I had another feeling. It’s hard to describe, but it was exhilarating. Though I don’t see myself becoming a regular, I would definitely try it again (and I did when I traveled to the Arctic Ocean).

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Energy Technology Guild

On the first day of the second period (end of October), I went to an event hosted by the energy technology guild, Armatuuri. Tonight’s objective was to introduce the guild and different people’s roles within it, as well as to give the students running for president a chance to make a pitch and answer questions. As I feared, I was the only international student of about 50. Luckily one of the guild members took it upon himself to translate the presentation for me, for which I am incredibly grateful. Still, I missed large chunks of information and definitely couldn’t register any of the jokes. I was also disappointed that the only two women of eight on the board held the secretary and host positions. This gender imbalance was all too familiar to me. My translator posed one question, how to integrate international students into the guild, so I was able to hear one response in English. Basically everyone directed their attention to me and even suggested that I join as a chairperson for international relations. Since I had already joined ESN, I didn’t need that kind of responsibility- but they definitely need to find someone. At the end, my true reason for coming, we got to try on and order the fancy overalls I mentioned in a previous blog post. People were already starting to drink during the one hour meeting and the sauna was warm, but I had reached my capacity for cultural moments that night.

Power Plant Tour

In mid-October my Power Plant Design class took a trip to a biomass-fired power plant in Lappeenranta. My excitement quickly plummeted when I got on the bus and the professor announced that he forgot to ask for the tour in English. Classic. The only other international student, Antonio, and I sighed internally. Thankfully we were given an English handout during the presentation, but otherwise the tour was in Finnish, with a few English explanations from our professor when we asked. When not in an environment catered toward international students, it is definitely easy to feel othered in Finland.

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Finnish Language

In the second period I began Finnish 2 at LUT, later taking Finnish 3 and 4. I knew it wouldn’t be anything like my summer intensive language course, but I was expecting a little more. How much Finnish can you really learn in three hours per week while taking other classes? Not much. However it was useful to learn some pieces of grammar that would’ve been much more difficult on my own. Wanting to supplement my learning, I began attending a new bi-weekly conversation group at the city library in mid-December. While a good idea on paper, it was just way too advanced for a beginner like myself, confirmed by another student in my class. After three attempts I decided that I needed to learn more basics first and perhaps join again at a later date. Now that school is out, I am attempting to use online sources such as FinnishPod101 to work on my comprehension. Hopefully I can take another in-person Finnish class sometime in the near future.

The Darkness

As is typical of the Finnish winter, I was not exempt from the effects of darkness. Around November the hours of sunlight seemed to dramatically decrease and my body could tell. As an example, on the winter solstice sunrise was at 9:20am and sunset was at 2:50pm, a whopping 5.5 hours of sunlight. Even during the day, the sky was usually covered with a thick sheet of grey clouds. I left my sun tracker in Finland so I don’t know the exact trends, but sometimes I wouldn’t see the sun for 5 whole days. This plus homesickness left me sluggish and a bit lost. I began taking vitamin D and tried to stay active. The school library set up a puzzle under a sun lamp, a good way to spend a few minutes before class. In early December I purchased my own, which both simulates the sunrise, fading from deep red to yellow, and emits a bright light to help wake you up. I didn’t use the lamp enough to confirm its success, but it seemed to give me some kind of boost.

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What else kept me going? Hanging out with friends and my girlfriend, attending workout classes and trying a new sport- handball, walking in the forest, crafting, attending various events, and calling friends and family back home. And eventually, the sun began to shine a little longer every day.

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Take care and hopefully next time you hear from me, I’ll be back in Finland!