Well My Time is Up

Here I am, 4 months later. My time in Europe is up, I guess time does fly when you're having fun. Let's see I have made it to 5 different countries (Finland, Sweden, Germany, Estonia, Italy). Plus multiple different cities (Tampere, Helsinki, Turku, Stockholm, Tallinn, Frankfurt, Munich, Rome). I pretty satisfied with all the different places I went. I got to experience a lot in the time I was here, saw so much history that I never thought I would see, and I was able to eat authentic Italian and German food. It seemed that most of time I couldn't believe I was there and doing it. I got to touch the Colosseum, see the glockenspiel in person, ice skate in Sweden, and see a Finnish hockey game. I got to have reindeer for Thanksgiving and get to travel around Europe with one of my best friends. Absolutely incredible. I hope to be back someday and see more and different countries. I also hope to see a different continent, but that will be a different time.

Now for going home..I'm looking forward to it. Getting to see my friends and family again will be quite a treat. I will enjoy this nice break until I have to go back to school and work, good grief, let's just say it won't be like Europe at all. Eugene ain't Europe. But I will get to see the basketball season, and watch cable, but still obviously no Europe. I will adapt once again to my surroundings and environment and I will be back to doing some nice blue collar studying and work.

I will be leaving Finland with snow on the ground and about 20 degree weather. Right now it looks like Finland, or at least the image people of have of Finland. I will also be leaving behind good friends I have met from all around the world, and the memories I made with them. But maybe I will see them down the road somewhere, maybe in Europe, maybe they come to the state, who knows. As it is time for me to move on it doesn't mean I will forget my time, I will never forget. And from now on I will be a proud Finn, even though I'm Norwegian..I hope everything goes smoothly in my travels on the way back, hopefully way better than on the way here..I will see you guys back in Oregon!!

Moy Moy Finland

Rome

Well the anticipation was killing me the whole week. I couldn't wait to get to Italy. The previous night my departure it was hard to sleep. On Thursday morning I took the 730 train to Helsinki then took a bus to the airport and got there at about 1045. So I didnt board until 1 so I just grabbed a little to eat and hung out until board. I went from Helsinki to Frankfurt, than to Rome. Once again I was spoiled by the Lufthansa service. Its a great way to fly! When I got into Rome I made my way to the train where it was suppose to be the quickest and easiest way to get to my hostel. I made it to termini, which was the main station, and made my way to my hostel at about 8-830. Finally, after that long day of travel I met up with Sean and grabbed a bite to eat.

The restaurant we went to ended up being our favorites. We went there more than a couple of times. We walk into the restaurant where the owner greets us with, "prego, we have table for you, prego". He stole me over with that great service. It seemed so stereotypical of what a Italian restaurant owner greets each person and gives you a "home like" feeling. Just great. I started with having cannelloni and then Sean and I split a Margaretta pizza and a bottle of the house red wine. So good!! Food was amazing! Just great. But after dinner Sean and I retired for the night to get to the monuments early the next morning.

The next day was an unreal day. After walking for a while we stumbled upon the Colosseum, which once you see, you can't believe its right there. It's like from a movie or something. Just unreal. Going into the Colosseum was so cool. We had a guided tour, and the everlasting information that just poured out, there was so much to grasp. After the Colosseum we went to the Forum, and saw the Arch of Constantine. Everything was so cool. We were probably in the same area for about 4 hours but it never seemed like it. With all the things to see and all the pictures to take the time just flew by. After we spent a good chunk of time there we made our way into the direction of the Pantheon. We stopped at a restaurant in the area where we were greeted the same way, and had some amazing food. I had some traditional spaghetti and meat sauce and Sean had some lasagna. Had a taste of his and it was like my mom's home cooking! I would have to say my mom's is a bit more cheesier. But any ways, the Pantheon, there was a huge group of people. Which I should add, Rome is a pretty hectic city, lots of people, lots of traffic, hear the sounds of car horns anywhere. I have never been to NYC but I have a feeling that it was like this. The Pantheon had so much to look at, there is an opening at the top of the dome, so if it rains, it pours into the middle of the Pantheon.

After the Pantheon we made our way to the Fountain of Trevi, and got some gelato on the way. I got some biscotti and almond combo of gelato. It was of course "to die for!" As we made it to the fountain, it was night time, a busy area once again, and as you see this very cool sight I just can't believe the circumstances I was in. I'm eating gelato in Italy, in front of this unbelievable sight. "So this is my life". Thats all you can say.

After we made it back to our hostel and cleaned up a bit we went out to eat once again. Went to our favorite place again. This time I got risotto with marinara sauce and then Sean and I once again shared a pizza with spicy salami. Now this pizza was the best I ever had! The meat was so good. You could tell it was hand crust, your fingers are covered in flour after you handle the pizza. Just so good. Man there will be a picture of this pizza. After dinner we made our way out in the town. As we stumbled upon a local hang out where everyone just hangs out outside in this square. Some bars. And we got by with Sean's Spanish, because it was more useful than English. Mingled with the local Italians.

The next day held a different destination. We went to Vatican city/museum. We made it to that part of town it was definitely not as hectic. Less angry people on the road. Our first destination was the Vatican museum. Which was filled with art, sculptures, and history. So much to look at and you can spend so much time in there. It is the biggest museum in the world after all. We also made it through the Sistine Chapel, where you're not suppose to take any photos, but I snuck in a couple. After spending a lot of time in the museum we made our way to the most famous spot. Over where the St. Peter's Chapel is. The biggest chapel in the world. Sean was destined to go to the top so we made our way up there. 551 steps to the top. Where you take a windy, narrow, cramped stairwell. If you were claustrophobic I would not recommend you could go up. But once you get to the top it is quite a sight. You can see so much of Rome. Plus it was a perfect day and the sun was setting. It was just perfect timing on our part. When we decided to go down and actually go inside the chapel you see why it is the biggest one in the world. You are just taken by the art. We even attended mass! How many people can say they have attended mass in the biggest chapel in the world. Grant it was in Italian and we didn't know what was going on, but we can say we have done it. On the way back we made it to the Spanish Stairs, where a lot was going on. There was a huge group of people and a band was playing music, and then marching around the area. I got some sweet photos of that as well.

After we made it back it was time for dinner again, mmmm. I had the rigatoni this time with meat sauce, and then Sean and I split a Italian sausage pizza this time. Very gooood! If I lived in Europe, I would be fat and poor..Well maybe. After dinner we went to a wine bar. You know when in Rome. We had a bottle of this dessert wine, that to me almost tasted like a cool cider, but it went very well with the cheesecake we ordered.

It was time to go out and so we decided to drink like the Romans do, and had some Limoncello. Tasted like lemonheads with a kick, a 30% kick. They said it was a traditional Italian liquor. We made it to a dance club and once again mingled with the local Italians, also met some other Americans studying in Rome.

The next morning came very quick. I had a 635 am flight out. I made my way to the airport smoothly, and had my boarding pass in hand, until I realized I forgot my passport back in the hostel locked up in Seans bag. I had to push back my flight and pay the fee...That was a hard thing to get over. I agonized over that the whole time home. Very frustrating. But I was able to go back and sleep a little then eat again and made it back to the airport. Everything else went smoothly but it was a long day of traveling. I didnt get back until Monday morning. Where I went back to my room and slept slept slept.

So now here I am with one week left. After that traveling experience and a whole burnt through my wallet I am looking forward to home. I'm getting everything ready to go this week and hope this time my travels go smoothly and harmlessly. I will try enjoy myself this past week cause I know it might be my last time in Finland. It will be nice to be home for the holidays and to see family and friends. Some more home cooked meals and relaxing. Soon enough I have to go back to reality, school, work...Man its been a nice Vacation with a little sprinkle of class. But I know what I want for Christmas good food, family, holiday spirit, and maybe a little bit of cash haha.

Until next time,

Moy moy

THE dinner of Thanksgiving

I bet you were wondering "what did Mitch eat for Thanksgiving dinner?" Good question. Since turkey, mash potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, gravy, rolls, pumpkin pie with cool whip topping, maybe some side of fruit, devil eggs with a paprika topping, side salad, and course the vegetable appetizer that my mom puts out 3-4 hours before the actual dinner wasn't available to me I had to improvise. As I told you earlier I was going to have a traditional Finnish meal or close to it. After finding an appropriate restaurant I wanted to make my experience very Finnish. So I started off with a drink that I guess was very Finnish, or so said the waitress, it was a berry flavored sparkling wine/cider with fruit inside and some vodka. It was a warm drink and very delicious, also quite spendy$$$. As for the meal I had smoked reindeer over a bed of pasta in a cheese and onion sauce. It also had some greens topping the dish. It was different to say the least. The smokeyness came out a lot and the meat was lean but some what tough. Quite the combo though with the pasta, usually reindeer is complimented in a stew traditionally, but with a budget in mind I couldn't afford the Rudolph cut so I settled for Blitzin..

Just another thing I can check off my list, I had reindeer on Thanksgiving day in Finland. Check. You know I couldn't have ever imagined experiencing a situation like that, but life is full of surprises. Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone it's now a countdown to Italy! I can't wait. The warm weather, the food, the history! So excited. So until then I will just be hanging out trying to learn some Finnish (goodluck Mitch).

Moy moy

Happy Thanksgiving

To be honest I have counted down the days to Thanksgiving. Why? I'm not quite sure, because no one knows anything about it here, it doesn't exist. There might be some other Americans here but I don't really no them. The friends I made here are from all over the world, no Americans, one Canadian though. So none of them really know how important this holiday is. The tradition of coming together as a family, or having an annual football game with your friends, the feast you can indulge yourself in. To describe what Thanksgiving is like to the Europeans I tell them its like Christmas but without Santa Clause and presents. Which for me, Christmas hasn't been about the presents, its been more of the spirit of Christmas, the family, the food, and yes a little bit of Santa Clause. So being without my family and friends for Thanksgiving is hard, but I have to realize what I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for having the opportunity to be in Europe, live in Europe, meeting people from all over the world, learning in Europe, traveling around with my best friend. I can be thankful for that. I can be thankful for my parents helping me get here. I can be thankful for a caring brother and sister. So although I can't celebrate this traditional holiday with my family and friends, I can dedicate this day to all that I'm thankful for. Its funny how you never realize how much you appreciate something until you don't have it.

Now as for what I'm going to do on this day, I am going to go out to eat and have some traditional Finnish food. What's traditional Finnish food you might ask? I don't really know..But I will find out and I will eventually find out how to cook it. Also, hopefully I can find a way to watch some football and of course talk to my family at some point. So enjoy the 3 F's that Thanksgiving is all about, food, family, and friends. I will look forward to Christmas! Go ducks!

Moy moy

Stockholm was a 'chilling' experience

Good ole Sweden. What a weekend it was in Stockholm. It started at 5 am Thursday morning, I woke up to catch my 556 am train to Turku. I was already packed and had everything I needed, the only thing I was missing was sleep. I really couldn't sleep the night before, mainly cause of excitement, which I always get when I travel. The train ride went smoothly and I hopped on my ferry to Stockholm.

The ferry ride was going to take about 10 hours, now we boarded at 845 am in Finland and was suppose to get into Sweden by about 730 am their time. The ferry is giant, has a bunch of slot machines, video game systems, a night club, karaoke bar, cafe, tax free store, and plenty of bars of course. Enough to keep you occupied for the time being. I spent most of my time either playing video games, cause i never get to in Finland, or trying to sleep. I was pretty unsuccessful sleeping so I tried to read magazines and books. Once we were in viewing distance of Stockholm I went outside to the nice, cold, and dark weather to view the city. It was pretty cool to see the city at night with the bright lights from the water.

Once I got off the boat it was time to find my hostel. Stockholm is split up into islands that are connected by bridges. The middle island is old town where the Royal Palace is located among most of the Swedish restaurants and bars. I walked through old town and caught a glimpse of Stockholm during the night time, which isn't hard to do since it starts to get dark up here in Scandinavia at about 330 pm. Continuing my trip to the hostel I went to the city hall which is a very cool sight because it lays right next to the water (dont worry i have pictures). After that I went to the hostel to get some rest and ready to meet Sean, as he was flying into Sweden at about 230 pm on Friday.

When Sean arrived we started to do some sight seeing. We went into the town central where all the shopping malls were. I had heard of a park in central city where there was ice skating, so we headed out there. We found the outdoor ice skating rink, it was pretty cool, mainly because i had never been ice skating outside, or even had seen one outside. I was a little bit rusty at first but got the hang of it, just like riding a bike. We spent about an hour skating enjoying the nice evening, but we knew we had a reservation at the ice bar that we couldnt miss so we headed out. We walked around in central city where there was alot going on. So many lights and stores. Mainly just H&M stores. Now those for you who don't know H&M is a very popular clothing store in Europe and in the U.S. It was started in Sweden, so they have these stores at like every corner, just like Starbucks but even to a further extreme. They were just everywhere I don't know what distinguished each store to the next. But anyways we went back to our hostel to make some food that we got from the grocery store. Stockholm/Sweden is a pretty expensive place, they have the Swedish Kronor for their currency. Once we finished eating we headed to the ice bar.

The ice bar was connected to this hotel. It's called the Absolut ice bar, so it belongs to the Absolut vodka company, which is Swedish for those who didn't know that. You have to make reservations in advance to get in, and it's 17 euros for entry plus one drink. Once we got in, it was pretty cool. Everything was ice. The walls, benches, tables, the bar, cups, just everything. Now they limit you to 45 mins per group, but as the time went on my hands got to be freezing cause, I mean, the cup was ice so it was holding a block of ice. Plus it is kept at -5 degrees celcius in there so its pretty hard to warm up your hands. Everything on the drink menu included vodka so we settled for the 'Absolut Cog'. It had lingonberries in it, plus there finest Absolut vodka. It was a very 'cool' experience and if you ever go to Stockholm you got to check it out.

After that we came back to the hostel to figure out what we were doing that night. We talked to a local girl that worked there and said there was places near by. We ended up choosing the Lemon bar, which was "very Swedish" she said. We waited about 20 minutes in line before we could get in but we were able to talk with some Swedish guys and girls. This is where I found out Gunther, this joke of a pop singer, was Swedish because there was a picture of him up in the bar. Once we got in we went downstairs to blasting music in Swedish. This made it a very unique experience because Sean and I could have easily been the only non-Swedish people in there. Every song was Swedish, except for two "i would walk 500 miles" and "take me down to paradise city", but other than that. We met some people and enjoyed the night. After this we made it back for some sleep, which wasnt very much, but much needed.

The next day morning we made it to our other hostel which was located in the central city and dropped off our stuff. We decided to go to a couple of museums during the day that were recommended to see. The first museum being the Vasa museum, which is the world's only surviving 17th century ship. It was preserved for 10 years before its museum opening in 1990. The boat was very detailed, there was so much craftsmenship that went into that boat. It was King Gustov and it was suppose to pick him up in Poland but it only lasted 20 minutes into sea outside of Stocholm before a large gust of wind knocked it over. Later they found out it was top heavy and not built well...But this was a nice history lesson for us about Sweden, since we had a guided tour and watched a video, we came out educated about some Sweidsh history.

The next stop was the Nobel museum. This was located in old town. By this time it was 330 and getting dark awesome...But once again inside carried a lot of information. A lot about Nobel winners, and had some important artifacts. Like Galileo's first telescope, and the document of the first patent. Plus controversial winners who didn't accept the Nobel winners, but once you have been chosen as the winner, if you accept it or not they don't change it.

After our exciting trips to the museums we made it back to our hostel for a much needed nap. We enjoyed some dinner after the nap and met some people all over the world traveling as well. A big group from Sevilla, Spain (where Sean is studying), Belgium, Australia, Holland, and even Cleveland Ohio.

We made our way out to another enjoy the night life once again, and we found a nice place to say the least. The cover charge was 16 euros...Yeah they take there clubbing very seriously in Sweden. But I will confirm the stereotype of beautiful Swedish women is true. There are lots of tall good-looking blondes. Once again in this club as well I heard the song "i would walk 500 miles" song. The Swedes love that song, so when I got back home I looked it up and the band "The Porclaimers" were Scottish. I guess they just love that song.

On my trip home from Stockholm I met these two men who made my trip home very interesting. One man born in Stockholm now lives in Finland, named Magnus, is a professor of the Swedish and Finnish language, plus a pastor in his city. He spoke 5 different languages. But that wasn't the only thing the man who he was traveling with, Originally born in Johannesburg South Africa, then lived in London for 10 years, is married to a Finnish women so he is citizen in Finland, also had lived in Portland Oregon the past year and was going back in December. Unbelievably small world. In Portland he is a pastor for a Finnish cathedral for a small Finnish community that lives in the St. John's area. There is also a larger Finnish community in Astoria. But his name was Patrick and he knew how to speak 8 different languages...Um wow...South African, English, Welch, Finnish (which tookk him 2 years to learn), Swedish, Danish, German, and Spanish. He said he could understand Estonian as well but i'm not counting that. Anyways I sat by him on the train ride from Turku to Tampere and he gave me a cultural lesson on Scandinavia and Finland. He made 2 hours go by in 15 minutes. Plus, I got to learn some Swedish and Finnish. Not much of course. But it was amazing running into these two nice gentlemen, just totally capped off my trip.

Since then I have made it back and caught up on sleep that I was deprived of the whole weekend. Sean and I agreed that Stockholm wasn't what we expected, it was that much better. Its a beautiful and elegant city that carries a lot of history I didn't know about. There is a reason why its the capital of Scandinavia. But as for me I have a test on Friday than my next trip will be to Rome, Italy on December 3rd.

I hope to be spending Thankgiving with some new friends and be eating the famous Reindeer I hear about over here. But i'm sure I will be blogging before then.

Moy Moy

My first Finnish league basketball game

Saturday morning was my first league game of the season, because I was in Munich last weekend I missed the first one. Our team is made up of one Finnish kid about my age, 2 Finnish guys in their early 30's, really old Finnish guys, and then 4 young international students (including me). Besides myself there is two Italian guys and a French guy. The team we played was definitely younger than us on average, which could of gave them an advantage. The old guys didn't really play because for obvious reasons. I was playing a lot a bit rusty, had a bad time from the foul line.. But I managed to still keep my sneaky and crafty ways that they weren't ready for. Despite the rusty trips to the line I was able to have a productive scoring and rebounding. I did injure myself in the first half which I hope to recover from soon, but I ended playing in the 2nd half because of foul troubles from the younger guys and couldn't rely on the old guys.. The guys on the other team were better than I expected, they were all kinda of thick and played rough. This also caught me off guard, of course the older guys played dirty cause of lack of athleticism. We ended up losing by 6 points or so but it was fun, our next game is next Monday so I hope I can recover from my injury by then. We will see. This week I have an exam on Tuesday, homework due by Wednesday, then Stockholm bound on Thursday.

Time is flying by now. Im almost down to only a month left, but still have places to see and school to finish. So its time to soak up the moment, causing my moments are running out.

Moy moy

The First Glimpse of Snow

Well this evening marked the first sign of snow in Finland as it started falling around 11 pm Nov 4th. I was caught by surprised as I just randomly looked out my window to a covered pavement of whiteness. I got pretty excited of course but now I realized that it will probably be here for the rest of my time here..Nevertheless it's exciting and now I guess the lake is next thing to freeze!!

Moy moy

Halloween in Munich

Well last weekend was really fun for me, I didn't want to leave so soon but school comes first. My trip started waking up at 6 a.m. so that I could comfortably catch my train to Helsinki at 7:32. I made it to the train station about 20 minutes before departure so I just hung out inside until it came. The train was fine until we kept stopping about half-way through for unknown reasons. Unknown for me because when they would update me on what was happening it would be in Finnish. The only thing I was worrying about is catching my plan on time at 1:10. The train ride ended up taking 3 hours when it was suppose to only take 2. So I arrived into Helsinki at about 10:20 and I didn't know what bus to take to the airport or where it was. I heard the bus takes about 30-45 mins to get to the airport, so I was hurrying to find out information. I tried to find an information booth, but I came about the public transportation reception desk. He told me the general area and what bus to take. I tried to follow his directions but I found myself running in a circle. I went into the Holiday Inn to find better directions and she was a lot more helpful. So it took me 30 mins to find the bus, so now it was about 11. I get there at about 11:40 and there is a huge line at the check-in, but I was smart enough to do my online check-in the night before so I had already printed off my boarding pass. So I skip the line and the security check line was very short. I happen to trigger off the metal detector, so I had to be padded down thoroughly... But I made it with plenty of time to spare before my flight boarded so I was relieved. The flight was very nice. They surprised me with a meal and great service, I was very pleased with my experience. When I arrived in Munich I contacted my two friends to let them know I flew in and to meet me at the hostel in about an hour. I found the subway that lead me to the main station, which was where my hostel was located, fairly quickly. I met this couple that helped me out with subway ticket and since they bought a short-trip ticket that includes up to 5 people they said to include me, so I rode for free. I found my hostel fairly quickly and it was very nice and accommodating. The price was very cheap for the quality we got. Once the guys got back and I put my stuff away we were off to our first destination.

We decided to go see Olympic park. Once you get off the subway and come up to street level you can see the place where the athletes stayed. This is the same place the terrorist shooting was of the Israel team. We made our way to the main area where we saw the massive swimming center, and the park outside. After searching for about 10 minutes we found where the track stadium was. By that time it was dark and the stadium was closed. But we were able to find this guy working for the catering service and he was entering the stadium to drop-off something. We asked if we could go in while he was in there and just take a couple of photos, he said he would only be 2 mins but that's fine. We ran into the stadium and checked it out. Such a sight! It was so big, seeing all the rows of empty seats and then the track, it was very cool. As we were hanging out taking pictures we hear the guy leave, so now we are locked inside. That didn't really worry us, so we just started to take more pictures. We tried to find a way onto the track (which you are not suppose to do), and were successful jumping a fence. We ran down the stadium stairs right onto the track. I ran around the track with my hands up in the air looking up at the huge empty stadium, I couldn't imagine the feeling winning the race with thousands of people watching you. I was so excited to be on the track. We took some more pictures of all of us and decided that we should probably head out since we were not suppose to be in there in the first place. We jumped the fence and proceeded to our next destination that involved beer and food. Yum!

Our next destination was the Hofbrauhaus, which was a big tourist sight and the old watering whole of Hitler's. It was very lively inside with a mixture of tourists and local Bavarians. They were wearing their traditional German outfits that you see from the movies and a live band playing the typical German music, which is just what I wanted. They just had these long benches with a long table to sit at. The whole place was full but we ended up finding one empty one. We also found some others visiting for the weekend they were studying abroad in Vienna and London and are from the East coast originally. We started our meal by ordering the darkest liter of beer they had. The waiter comes back with like 8 liter sized mugs for all of us. We cheersed or "prost" in German and enjoyed this authentic German experience. The food arrived and I ordered the pork knuckle with two dumplings, so good!!! I thought it tasted more like Turkey but nevertheless it hit the spot. The whole meal was a success and affordable which was awesome for us.

We headed back to the hostel and were looking for places to go out that night. We ended up walking around a lot not finding the destination we were looking for. We kept asking locals but we would get mixed directions and they kept recommending other places. We ended up coming back to the bar at our hostel where it was packed. Sean and I even participated in a little karaoke where we blew the crowd away. After that we headed to bed at about 3:30 am to get some rest for Halloween day.

The next day we make it out to Marienplatz (old town) to go on this free bike tour. But the guy never shows up but we did get to see the Glockenspiel in full form. Everyone in the platz gathers around to watch it go off at 12 or 5. That was a very cool experience. After the guy didn't show up we decided to go to Dachau and see the concentration camp. It's about a 15-20 min subway ride outside of the main city center. Once we got there we had the option to take a bus or walk the path the prisoners took from the train station to the concentration camp. So we chose to walk it. There were boards of information and pictures all the way down the path with tons of historical information. When we arrived at the concentration camp there had already been a ton of history thrown at us. The camp was pretty big. We started looking through the prison then main area where most on the information was. With all the disturbing history thrown at you it drains you emotionally. All of these terrible stories of torture and death, makes for a very impactfulexperience. We looked at the barracks where they lived and the Crematorium where the corpses were burned. It took about 3 hours to look at all the sites inside of the concentration camp. It's not a pleasing way to spend your day but it involves so much history that you have to see when you're visiting the Munich area.

When we got back to our hostel it was about 5:30 pm and Billy had to go back to Heidelberg. Sean and headed out to the famous English Garden. Unfortunately it was dark so I wasn't able to get some great pictures but it was a beautiful area. It was a huge park full of green grass and huge trees. The colorful leaves were scattered everywhere and there was a river/creek that ran through the park. Sean and I sat by the river with some wine and hung out for about an hour. We tried to grasp in all of the beautiful landscape the English Garden had to offer.

After the Garden we went off to get something to eat. Our destination was the Augustiner. Another really cool place with a band playing the traditional German/Bavaria music, and there was also some special party going on where once again everyone was dressed up in their traditional German outfits. Sean and I enjoyed the food, beer, and atmosphere once again it was another great experience. For dinner we got duck, pork knuckle, beef and pork bratwurst. We also had a bed of sauerkraut and red cabbage. With our 1 liter mugs of beer this was one true German/Bavarian meal. Everything was once again delicious, so we decided to get dessert. Fried apples with creme and chocolate drizzled over the top. Also very good. The Augustiner exceeded both Sean and I expectations and were very pleased with everything.

During the night we made it out to a club. Apparently there is a holiday that only Bavaria only celebrates and clubs are not suppose to be open and prevent acts of dancing. But the clubs are able to have private parties that if you send an email to them then you will be put on a guest list and that is the only way to get it. Luckily, we found a place that I guess doesn't follow those rules and we went there. At the end of night we found ourselves going to bed at 3 am again and flight left at 8:50 am... I woke up at 6:30 and made my way to the airport. Even with the lack of sleep I was able to function and make it to my flight in time with no problems again.

I took the same airlines back and they provide coffee, mochas, lattes even before you get on the plane for free! Which totally bump them a notch on in my book. The flight and service was great again, very pleased. I arrived in Helsinki without a time schedule at about 12:45 pm. I wanted to see the city thoroughly this time because I have only been able to see a glimpse before. I was able to take a bus straight to Olympic park, yes, that makes two Olympic parks in one weekend. Helsinki held the Olympics in 1952 in case you didn't know. Once again it was a very cool sight, I saw FinnAir stadium which is a huge soccer stadium. 4 practice soccer fields surround the stadium. I also got into the track stadium and onto the track once again. I just walked past the booth and no one stopped me. I proceeded out the doors and into the track stadium right onto the track. I didn't run around it this time but I was on it. After seeing Helsinki's Olympic stadium I walked all through Helsinki. Saw the nation Finnish opera house, the Senate square and cathedral (which is huge and has lots of stairs leading up to it), Kiasma-Museum of Contemporary Art, and downtown. The city is a lot bigger than Tampere, so much more going on. I walked around for about 3-4 hours before decided to take the train back to Tampere. I arrived into Tampere at about 8 pm local time. Where I proceeded to start my long sleep to make up for my lack of sleep that weekend.

This was a very cool experience I enjoyed so much I didn't want to come back to Tampere. I saw so much in the matter of 3 days and 2 nights. But now it's back to school and taking care of some business. I cannot ever forgot about this experience it was just so cool. I got the experience I wanted and then some. Plus, I got to see Sean which made it very rememberable. In 2 weeks on the 13th of November will be my next trip to Stockholm, Sweden. I will be meeting up with Sean again and hopefully we can make the most of our time there. Until then I have a paper and an exam to worry about. But at least I have something to look forward to!

Moy moy

Helloooo everybody

Well I was able to rest for a week, because my university has a one week break in the middle of the semester. It was nice and restful I managed to see more of Tampere. The days are becoming shorter as it becomes dark now at about 4:45pm now, which is about time I had to class awesome...October 23rd was a big day for the city, because they unveiled the lights that hang over the main street Hameenkatu. They seem to be more like Christmas decorations, but I guess they do this every year. The mayor of Tampere was there to present it and there was a large crowd of people. I swear I will put up pictures of the lights as soon as i get them on my computer. Also I finally shaved my head...Not bald of course and not too short, but the shortest I have ever done. I'm taking baby steps here. My Cuban friend Carlos was my barber and he did a mighty fine job. This weekend is going to be big, and not just cause its Halloween, but because I'm heading out to Munich. I leave Friday morning to Helsinki, then fly out at like 1:15 to Munich. I get to meet up with Sean for the first time and we get to spend Halloween together. I'm pretty excited just writing about it, but I can't wait to actually get there. I'm starting to plan what we should see, but of course I can write a detailed itinerary when I get back, with pictures of course. But I will be coming back Sunday morning, then I wanted to hang around Helsinki for a little bit before I go back because I haven't really seen the town, just a glimpse. Since I will be in Munich this weekend I will be missing my first league game that I'm playing with some Finnish guys, plus some other international students. I think 2 others actually and guy from Italy and then one from France. That should be fun once I'm actually in town to play of course.

So now everyone knows what I'm doing you probably won't hear from me until I get back, so Happy Halloween everyone and go Ducks!

Moy moy

The biggest party of the year

Well I survived test #3 today for services marketing, I thought it went well and it didn't take nearly as long as the other two. Next week is off for all students, because the first period is over of the semester. Then period 2 starts up a week from Monday. This is also a significant date because this the half way point to my trip, and 2 months from today I will be heading back over the pond to the great northwest.

But back to the biggest party of the year. Today is what is called around here the "drunken crawl" where thousands of students all around Finland come and do this race from pub to pub drinking the night away. So I guess at the start you choose what degree you want, but I guess it represents like grades 1-4 or frosh-senior or something like that. The higher the degree the more drinks you have to drink before you finish. The lowest degree is 8 drinks, and it goes up in increments of two each degree, so the highest would have 14 drinks. But you only get 4 hours...Plus, you have to go from pub to pub. So the starting line is at Keskustori and then from there you have a map to follow the route you have to take, or in what order you have to go to the pubs. Some pubs you only have two drinks, but some have as high as 5. Now in Finland it's a tradition to get overalls, and each colored overall distinguishes the different subjects you study. So I believe business majors are blue and international relations are green, but i'm not sure about any of the other colors. So there is a ton of drunk Finnish students running around in there different colored overalls all over downtown Tampere on Hameenkatu. So basically the streets of Tampere will be one huge party, I'm imagining something along the lines of Mardi Gras, probably not that big but something to shoot for.

This happens every year so apparently it can't be too dangerous. I got some pictures of earlier in the day, it definitely wasn't at it's peak but there were different colored overalls everywhere. Have a safe October 15ht everybody!

Moy moy

What a night

After a big week of school, two exams and an essay, I decided to unwind on Friday and have some fun with the others in Lapinkaari. The night started at about 8:30 where I met up with my companions started talking about the Olympics, and watching competitive skiing trick challenge thing. Apparently it is big in Europe and Sweden apparently is very good at the sport. The others were also telling me stories about their trip to Stockholm and how EVERYONE was beautiful. As we kept talking, socializing, and hearing about Lapinkaari drama it was baout time to head out. At about 11:30 we head out as a group to walk to the club Saha, it was a big international party or something, but it was free cover charge so that is the only reason I went. At Saha I met some Finnish people who wanted to teach me some of the language. I never grasped it of course because Finnish is impossible and don't remember what I was taught after the first 5-8 minutes. We were there until closing, which was 4 in the morning. Afterwards we were all about to go home, until some of my other friends decided that going to sauna would be a good idea. I agreed for some reason, so we went to one of the other student housing complexes and went to the sauna. At about 6 a.m. was the time I got back to my room, so it was a long and fun night. I get to bed and wake up at about 11:45 a.m and open the window cause it felt pretty stuffy, then went back to sleep. The around 1 I awoke to something flying into my room and it freaked me out for a second. A bird had made it into my room and decided to chill on my night stand right next to my bed. Of course I didn't feel comfortable going back to sleep with a bird in my room, so I go to my computer thinking that the bird would get timid and fly back outside. But the bird was pretty content, and decided to hop around on my hat and then flew to my suitcase and hopped around some more. I kept encouraging it to get out of my room but no luck. I got some pictures and a video because I couldn't believe a birdwas just hanging out in my room. After about 20-30 minutes it decided to leave, and I was not tired anymore so he played the role of unwanted alarm clock. This was a good time since I hadn't hung out with my friends in a while and I got my mind off of school. Sometimes you forget about that you're in Europe, and you have to enjoy yourself because I will probably not live in Europe again.

The lesson I learned is that even if you're cold walking back home don't be tempted to go sauna because then you get to bed at 6 a.m. The other lesson is that if you don't trust your alarm just open up your window and let the birds be a frightening waking call. Live like Fin!

Moy moy

School School

Well I just got my feet wet with school. I just took two exams in back-to-back days on Monday and Tuesday. The first one was in Integrated marketing communications and the other was in strategic thinking and management. Both were time consuming, because they were both free response questions. The strategic thinking and management exam took 3 hours since it was 3 essay questions on 2 books and 5 articles..bughh..But I got through them and now I'm going to relax/write essays/read/study for my next exam on the 15th. Still a lot of work ahead of me still. But it keeps me busy and I knew school came first anyways, they don't call it JUST HAVE FUN abroad, I believe study made it in there. Since my time is going to be bottled up with school and such I guess I can just count down the days til Halloween, and Munich of course. I will get to Sean for the first time but not the last. Everything else is still the same for the most part. Days are getting colder and darker, but I'm kind of liking it. It reminds me of the fall and it's somehting I'm accustomed to. Still waiting for that snow.

Until next time,

Moy moy

Another Day in Tampere

I went for a jog Friday afternoon, and it was very refreshing. The day reminded me of Thanksgiving morning, play in the traditional turkey bowl game, and eat some donuts with some orange juice. It was cold crispy day with yellow and red on the leaves of trees. A very colorful sight. The day was cloudless and all I was surrounded by lake Nasijarvi. After I was done running I sat right next to the lake and stared into the open water. I always have to remind myself I'm in Finland, half way across the world. It always never feels real every time I say it, "I'm in Finland." Once I leave Tampere in December I will always remember that lake, luckily, was conveniently right next to where I live. I can go there to relax, think, and write. It's easy to get lost as all your thoughts reflect back at you off the water, and you can't help but think about all the things that lead me here, why i'm here, and why I love being here. It hasn't been easy being away from home, but I seem to adapt to the environment around me, and learn to love it. It's funny how something like weather can bring you memories from home and almost fooling you in thinking you are home. But then you realize, no one celebrates Thanksgiving, football is nonexistent, and that none of my friends are here. Which is exactly why I came here, to experience a different culture and meet new people. It has been fun thus far, but time sure does fly..I also forget I'm a senior in college..Weird..

Moy moy

Getting to Know Lapinkaari: Story 1

So I decided to write about interactions with some of the people from my building complex, Lapinkaari. My first story took place yesterday, or this morning rather, at 1 a.m. This conversation was with Elias from France. He is very entertaining to talk to, because he loves to talk about stereo-types. The conversation took place in the basement where the one television is. I was sitting there alone watching the tail-end of late night with Conan O'Brien, when he walked in. After we exchanged our hello's we talked about class, and then got into stereo-types again. He had a story to tell me about his interpetation of American women when they come to France. How they always are trying to fall a French guy, because they think all French men are artists, wearing there beret's, in there black and white striped long sleeve shirts. They would paint them and write them poems, like all French guy's are very creative and artistic. Well, then I jokingly said,"is it true all French people are snobby jerks." Elias responded, the snobby jerks mostly reside in Paris, and it's cause they are constantly surrounded by tourists that come obnoxiously to them asking for directions. He came back with his own, "is it true all Americans are fat?" I responded with, you are about 80% right with that statement. My favorite part of the conversation is when we talked about Mcdonalds. I quoted something from Pulp Fiction by asking, "what do you call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?" He seemed stumped. I could tell he really wanted to answer but was just befuddled over the question. He couldn't come up with an answer, and I responded "a Royal with cheese." His eyes lit up and started laughing, "of course, of course!" A very common burger in France, a Royal with cheese, he knew exactly what I was talking about. So it is true for all those who don't know or wanted confirmation. He also told me he liked Wendy's cause of there square patties, he thought that was really bizarre. The last part to this story is when he talked about his trip to the Bronx in New York. He said that he would be in neighborhoods, and a guy would be riding in a Cadillac Escalade, with the music really loud, and spinners on his tires would drive slow as the kids would chase after them. He asked me, "what is the status of the people who drive Cadillac Escalades and who drives them?" As a Snoop Dog music video conveniently comes on, and what do you know, he is driving a Cadillac Escalade, with spinners. I wonder if that answered his question?

Until another story,

moy moy

The Cabin Trip to Ruovesi

So when you come to Tampere the university assigns you to a Finnish tutor, who is just a student in the same field of study as you. My Finnish tutor, his name is Ollie, just so happen to have a cabin right next to the lake in Ruovesi, which is about 2 hours out of Tampere. It was a 14 person crew, 11 Germans, 2 Finnish tutors, and one lone American. Since there was only two cars we all couldn't fit, so some of us had to take a bus there and back, but of course the bus didnt go straight to his cabin so they had to come chauffeur us from the bus station to the cabin. The cabin was about an hour into the woods and the last one on the dirt road. The cabin was very impressive, apparently his dad built it himself, and the guest room/sauna. It was right next to the lake, just a very beautiful sight. It was calming to sit on the front porch and stare into the lake. Everything seemed so authentic, since it was built by hand. The tutors provided us with a traditional Finnish meal, which consisted of salmon, potatoes, mixed salad, and this pastry which is a vey authentic Finnish food. It had the texture of a crispy biscuit, but in the middle was mashed rice covered with cheese. Very tasty. Also enjoying one of Finland's finest beer Lapin Kulta, which Ollie later reffered to as reindeer piss...Anyways after that bonding session we hit the sauna of course, you start it up with a fire that heats up the coals, very old school. The sauna felt good, and after we enjoyed a dip in the nice and cold lake, just as the Finns do. It was nice standing in the lake, couldn't feel anything from my knees down, no wind, and a cloudless sky so you could stare at the stars. A moment I will never forget obviously. After a couple sauna sessions we washed up and headed out to the fire pit. We cooked some pancakes over the fire and enjoyed it with some jam. After the fire went out we headed inside where we continued the night for a little bit with some king's cup. By that time I didn't need to play, but I participated anyways. Right after the game ended it was pretty late, so everyone headed off to bed. It was a very easy sleep for me right into a rough morning. No breakfast for me, I feel like crap. Around 1 o'clock Ollie taught me a couple others a Finnish game called "molkey." Pretty entertaining game, one similar to horse shoes, but not really. Around 4 we left and said our last goodbye's to the Finnish wilderness. Made it home where I was able to sleep for 10 straight hours.

This trip was definitley incredible. I could of never imagined receiving this experience when I left for Finland. A priceless moment in my life. I mean when is the next time I will be with 11 Germans and 2 Finns at a log cabin in the Finland woodlands? Yeah probably never again, assuming we don't go back.

Moy moy

My trip to Tallinn, Estonia

I was pretty excited for this trip, mainly cause it was going to be my first time traveling in Europe. Also, Estonia intrigues me because it's a small country no one even thinks about going. Plus I get to be the only one that said he has been to Estonia, that I know of at least. So we decide to take the early train from Tampere to Helsinki at 7 am that way we could hop on the ferry to Tallinn at 10 am and be there the whole day. So I get up at 6 with anticipation, shower, eat, and have some coffee. Then my friends and I take the short bus trip to the train station and arrive there at about 6:45. Since the main ticket area isn't open yet so we go to the manual machine to purchase tickets. There are a couple problems though, one is that everything is in Finnish, two we have to pay with a Finnish card. Luckily one of my friends had gotten his Finnish bank card already and we borrowed a local Finn to help us with our purchase. We get our tickets and book it to the train. The train ride was smooth and I got to know my Canadian friend a little bit better. He teaches me all of Canadian history within an hour and half train ride, with time to spare. We get off the train and now were in Helsinki. The downtown area is a lot bigger then Tampere, its very beautiful and clean of course. We take the walk from the train station to the harbor and its about a 20 min walk. We get to see some sites, especially around the harbor. I definitely need to go back and explore the city more. We arrive at the harbor and purchase our ferry tickets. Once were on the ferry and moving out to Estonia it's a very cool sight. Being able to see Helsinki from the water was very cool, and traveling across the Baltic sea was quite a sight. The feery wasrather fast and bumpy, which made one of my friends sea sick..But she was able to make to Estonia without puking, Once we arrived to Estonia we toured the city while looking for our hostel. One thing was apparent about old town Tallinn, which was the architecture of the buildings. Very medieval, some buildings you could tell use to be old castles. We found our hostel and it was not that bad. It was the one recommended to stay at, and I would stay there again (assuming I would want to come back). We got something to eat at apparently the oldest bar in the town. It was downstairs and had a good atmosphere. I got bavarian beef stew over onion potatoes it was very good, oh and a beer called Cobra, imported all the way from India. Aftert that successful meal we went sight seeing a little bit more. There were a lot of churches and farmers markets. We met up with some friends at the only Mcdonald's in town, nice common meeting spot. We got to know what everyone was doing and made plans for the night. It was nice coming to a place that was a lot cheaper than in Finland. Also it was nice getting away from the Euro (they have the Estonian Kroon). This comes to my main story of my trip. We go back to the same bar that we ate at first and got a round ofKatu beers. As I was finishing mine I was walking to the men's restroom brining my mug along. I was minding my own business while this Estonian man comes and yells at me in Estonian I'm assuming. It seemed like he tried to yell the samething in 3 different languages. I had no clue what he was saying, so I responded with "I dont understand you!" He leaves and I go wash my hands, just so happens he comes back and yells at me again. At this point I have no idea what he wants, but he finally figures out I only understand English. He says, "I don't like it that you bring your mug in here!" I respond with "I'm sorry..." He leaves I go back out to my buddies and they asked me about the guy, I told them the story, and then apparently that guy comes over to chat. He puts his hand on my shoulder and starts talking to my Canadian friend. "The only thing I know about Canada is Wayne Gretzsky and Montreal," he says. He ends up making small talk and then says "I'm going to get you guys a round of beers." He keeps his end of the deal and we get a picture with him. Only in Estonia. That night was very fun but the morning was not. We decided to wake up early to get the free breakfast they provided and so I had some nice cereal with no milk. They refused to give us any milk since breakfast was technically over in 5 mins. We took the 4pm ferry back to Helsinki, and made it back to Tampere by 11pm. Had a nice lounging Monday morning before I had class at 12.

One thing I forgot to mention that its common to buy a lot of hard alcohol in Estonia and bring back to Finland, because its a lot cheaper. So my 6 friends brought back 40 bottles. I contributed 4 more, but I plan to bring back a couple to the States. Some nice Estonian liquor will make nice gifts.

Moy moy

My Finlandia Time

Well I will start off saying it has been awesome being here. The weather has been beautiful, and it hasn't rain that much at all. The city of Tampere is very clean it's very rare to see garbage on the floor. All the people don't seem outgoing and don't wear flashy clothing. The standard of living is pretty high here, so everything is pretty expensive. No one will make eye contact with you while walking down the street. Also, they dress with a typical European fashion sense, which is tight and dressed up clothing. There is not one Starbucks here in Finland, which sucks because every coffee shop only serves the tiniest portions of coffee. The coffee isn't very good either. But the pastries and baked goods must be the M/O because those are to die for, simply delicious. The scenery is stunning here. The city is in between two massive lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhajarvi. I live right next lake Nasijarvi and its breath-taking. It's so nice to go there to hink and read, especially while the sun is going down. I have taken so many pictures of that lake. The main road Hameenkatu is where everything is. The main shops, pubs, markets, train station, etc. It's fun to go explore the town and find different things I didn't know were there. Suchas the indoor Tampereen market, it has baked goods, coffee shops, meat counters, fresh produce, all up and down three aisles inside. Another thing I have found out is that this child's book called "Moomi Valley" is very popular in Europe, the author was from a town outside of Tampere. He is like the Dr.Seus of Europe and he happens to be a Finn. Another weird thing I found out about Finland is that they pay everything through the bank. If you pay bills, or fees to the university, you pay them at the bank and not through the university. In fact, the university doesn't even touch the money. The companies all have invoices and if someone wants to pay a bill or a fee they pay at the bank and give the correct invoice they are paying it to. Bizarre.

Well the stories will keep coming, as soon as I put forth the effort to write.

Moy Moy

The Trouble to Get Here

I know I have started my blog late, so I can catch you up on some stories. First, the bad start to my trip.. It was the morning of the take-off to Finland, and I was anxious and overwhelmed at the time. My first time being away from home for an extended period of time longer than two weeks. Also, the first time traveling alone on a plane. So right when I get there after getting my tickets my parents and I notice that my flight has been delayed by 2 hours. I find out later it was because that the pilot got sick, so they had to fly one up from San Francisco.. Anyways, I only had 2 and half hours to originally to transfer planes in Chicago. Needless to say I had no faith I would make it time for that transfer, so I went up to the lady working at the desk if I had a chance to make it to my connecting flight? The Asian lady responded, "of course, of course. Just in case I make you a different itinerary." Now that I knew I had a backup plan I felt a little more comfortable if I didn't make it. When I looked at my ticket I grew depressed, mainly cause I had a layover of 8 and half hours in the Frankfurt airport. This gave me extra motivation to run to the next terminal and try and make my flight. As I land in Chicago, I had approximately 25 minutes to make it off the plane, through security, and across the airport to the international terminal. So as I leave out the door I'm booking it, while carrying my carry-on bag and having my backpack on. Really not knowing where I'm going, and just running I asked for directions. The man said that I need to go to the tram that is in the other direction I have been running to make it to my terminal. This discouraged me, but I still had 10 mins. I had faith in my speed and endurance, no matter if I was tired already. I find the tram, go up the stairs, wait for the tram, as I grow weary of how much time I had left (5 mins). Tram arrives I hop on, wait, and wait, and now I'm at the right terminal. Not much of a line for security, I kick off my shoes, take out my laptop, hope for a plane delay. I get through security, gather all of my things, and start booking it again. As I arrive to the terminal, it was empty, and my heart sunk. Not only cause I missed my flight, I was tired and sweaty, know I have a lay-over of 8 and a half hours in Frankfurt, and I had to pee. I just sat there in defeat for 10 mins, mostly to gather my breath. For me, then was to find my next terminal, and play the waiting game. I had about 2 hours before this next flight, so I just went right away to it. I have to take the tram again because it ends up being right next to the terminal I originally flew into to. So I have to go through security, and there is a massive line. Get to the security lady show her my ticket, and she said "oh this is only a reservation for the ticket. You need to go to the front desk and have them print you one out." Just effing great! I officially hated my time, so far traveling at this point. Although, the security lady did say I could just come back to her once I recieved my ticket and skip the line. So it was another 20 mins waiting in lin to get the ticket, and I notice this guy who is behind, has been following the whole time. We make conversation, and apparently he is in the same boat as I am. He is trying to get to Estonia to meet his friends. So I meet Ryan, my new travel buddy. I get up to the lady and she looks like she is not having a good day, of course this is what I need. She has trouble getting my ticket, and starts talking to the computer screen. She keeps getting asked questions to the guy to her left about the system, so she is extra irritated. Then under her breath she says, "this is going to be close". I was like, "excuse me, umm, what is going to be close?" "Well this flight is almost full, and the system is acting up, I might not be able too book i...t....Oh there we go!" Finally I get my ticket, after it seemed I was going to be spending the night in Chicago. I get my ticket, and so does my buddy, we go through security (cut the line), and get to our terminal. This flight was fine, nothing bad happen, thankgoodness. Get off the plane I meet up with Ryan, we decided since we both have a long lay-over we should go into town and have lunch. But first thing first, we should go get our tickets. Of course we have no clue where to go, so we ask some man. He tries in his best English to tell us where we would specifically pick up our tickets, and to our dismay he lead us right to appropriate area. We go to the front desk and get our tickets, and then my tutor calls. My tutor was assigned to me by the university of Tampere to help me get aquainted with the town. He was also going to pick me up from the bus station. He calls because I was suppose to be flying into Tampere at that time, and so I had to tell him that actually, uhh, I won't be coming in until 1 am. He was perplexed but he said he would pick me up from the airport at 1 am, this was the best news I got the whole travel time. Anyways, Ryan and I make into to town after a lot of directions from the local Germans. We looked around and had some lunch and a beer. It was pretty nice, had a brautwurst and sauerkraut. Made back with plenty of time back to my terminal, Ryan and I unfortunately had to split up. His flight left earlier than mine did, so when he left I just tried to sleep. It was terrible to say the least. I flew into Stockholm at like 11pm, everything looks closed. Make it downstairs and there are only two airline front desks open. I choose the right one and get my ticket. Go back upsatirs through security and wait 2 more hours. I forgot to say, I received first class tickets from Frankfurt to Stockholm , and from Stcokholm to Tampere. That was nice, but once I got to Tampere I tried to forget about my travels to get there. My tutor was there, and had my keys to my room. I was thankful for that. Took a shower and then slept for 13 hours, while my dorm was having a party..

Now I can onlyhope, nothing comes close to this on the way back to the States. But it was a nice experience going into Frankfurt unexpectedly. What a way to dive into Europe, but this is not the only story. I will post more stories when I feel up to it. Neeedless to say I'm happy and enjoying every single minute I am here.

Moy Moy (Finnish for goodbye)