time for finland

As noticed I have been away a bit. Some working and vacation have had me thinking of other things.

Today my vacation of two weeks started which really feels great. Tomorrow I will be heading to Finland to meet up with the parents. Going to spend a week there and crossing my fingers for nice weather as it can be quite boring there if it isn't.

I also have something to look forward to when I get back. Because then I will start packing for real. Not only a tiny suitcase...

fazer salmiakki

This one is on my top five list of favorite candies. It is milk chocolate with salmiac filling, delicious! I really have trouble stop eating these and somehow this package disappeared rather quickly. I was happy to see a few years ago that they started selling it in Sweden as well. Only to discover that they sell only the chocolate bar and not these individual chocolate pralines. The salmiakki chocolate bar is not at all as good as these ones.

Finnish chocolate, Fazer Salmiakki

On another note, Fazer is probably also one of my absolute favorite candy producers, they have so much good stuff. Unfortunately most of the really good stuff is not even sold in Sweden and can only be found in Finland. That is why I usually stack up when I am in Finland. The Fazer breads are delicious too, and that they also finally started selling here in Sweden some years ago.

By the way, Fazer is pronounced 'fatser' and not 'faser' if there is someone out there in unawareness. When I was on my exchange in Helsinki I had a friend taking a course in which they visited companies. She said they had been to a company and pronounced it 'faser', I interpreted that as Pfizer the medical company. Then she was all excited as they had received all these free products and my immediate reaction was: What?! Free products? Would that be medicine and pills and stuff?! Then she took out the candy bags and I realized she had visited Fazer. Then I had to teach all of them that they had visited 'fatser' and not 'faser'. What I cannot figure out is how they could have visited the company and not picked up that it is pronounced 'fatser'.

lonkero

To celebrate a bit I decided to have a lonkero, or long drink. It is a Finnish drink made of grapefruit soda and gin and I imported it from Finland and it is too bad they do not sell it here. I really like it, which is odd since I do not really like gin.

Now here comes the problem. We put all the cans in the cellar and I am all fine with that. However, some week ago dad discovered a guest in the cellar. A bat! As you might imagine I have been hesitant to go out there.

But today I did it. I really wanted my lonkero and you just have to weight the pros and cons.

The fabulous Finnish drink: Lonkero.

puolukkapuuro

Mom made some delicious puolukkapuuro yesterday, that is the Finnish name for what in Swedish is called klappgröt. We make it by cooking the fresh lingonberries and a bit of water and sugar and adding mannagryn (what is apparently called semolina in English). The next step is to whip it cold and fluffy with an electric mixer. You eat it with sprinkling a little bit of sugar on it and some milk to it.

Puolukkapuuro, or klappgröt.

in the land of thousand lakes

It still hurts. It is like the time at had the back surgery and I always had trouble getting up from a sitting position. Also tricky to get into the bed since I have the top bed in the bunkbed. But I am surviving. It would have been better if there was not all these clouds in the sky so I could have lied outside in the sun. It is quite warm but all these damn clouds. That is why I am now sitting here in front of my uncle's computer. Something to amuse me with. Reading news and blogs that I have not read in one week.

It is funny how you become totally unaware of what is going on in the world when you are on vacation. Something major can happen without you knowing about it. Maybe you hear about it from someone else who have been in contact with the outside world and then transfer the news to us.

So maybe I should give up the internet now and switch the reading to my book. I have finished two books in one week now, so I am know starting on my third one. Either Pope Joan or 1984. I will see what I am in the mood for.

home

Back from Finland. What a crappy vacation. Weather wise. Not even a whole day of nice weather. I got about three hours worth of lying in the sun. Only been home now for two days and have had more sunshine than during the two weeks in Finland.

bad, bad weather

Still waiting for my contract. So I am not offically employed yet. But they know I am on vacation and I will call them when I get back home.

To something else, the vacation here in Finland basically sucks. Only rain, gray and windy weather the whole time. If we count together all the sunny hours during this time, maybe we have had about 10 hours of sunshine. Really something so cheer for. No tanning here. I have a few more weeks until I have to be serious so maybe there will be some better weather. I can only hope.

Staying inside in a small cottage is not the funniest thing to do in this crappy weather. I am for sure longing for my own apartment :) Soon I will get that too. Hopefully. I have contacted all my friends in Copenhagen and all other connections that might be able to help me. So crossing my fingers that I will find somewhere to live in Copenhagen.

hasta la vista, baby

So I am off to Finland. Soon at least, in six hours my flight leaves. Which means I will have to wake up in about 3-4 hours. Yeay. The same time as yesterday. But I have a car ride of about five hours to look forward to in Finland so I can sleep then.

I will be in the middle of nowhere for about two weeks. With no internet so the blog will die for just a moment. Maybe some revival tries if I get in touch with a computer with internet. This year I am hoping for better weather than last year. We had three days with sunshine last year. Out of 16 days. I am hoping for better odds this summer.

So hasta la vista, baby!

i don't wanna get serious

It all hit me when the bus was driving in to Jönköping again.
How much I have to do for school now. How little free time I will have.

It was so nice to get away from it all and just enjoy life for a while. Life as it should be, with not that many worries. Just enjoying life and having fun with your friends.

But now all the worries are back. Worries about the thesis and the upcoming exam I have not read anything for. Worries about my future. Whether I get the internship in Singapore or not, or if I get any internship or job at all.

One week of no worries was great and needed. But it has taken its toll on me and now it comes rushing back. It all sucks. What I wish I was in Finland again being unserious and just having fun.

back again and so tired

Back in Sweden again to the normal life. What a blast I had during Vappu in Helsinki. So great to see everybody again, the people still studying there and all of us coming in. It was me and all the guys. Truly memorable. More info and pictures later.

It was just to fly back home and go to bed since I was so tired and had to work the next day. Now I am back from an eleven hours shift at the bar. Another one tomorrow. My eyelids are not staying up so really need my bed now.

disappointed

These peoples.
Supposed to be my peoples.
Don't know if they are since it keeps happening.
Not angry or anything. Just disappointed.
Miss my friends who actually do care about me.

cottage weekend

I'm back.
This weekend was the 'Cottage Weekend' for all exchange students. We were put in two buses and went to a house in the middle of nowhere. During the day on Saturday we had Finnish Olympics and tried on for example wife carrying (I got carried...) and throwing Nokia rubber boots.

For dinner there was an international theme, we all had to cook something from your own country. T and I did some potato salad and herring to that. Believe it or not but I've actually started to like herring! Tried it on Friday when I was at T's place to prepare the food. I decided to try it since it was a long time since I've tasted it, and I liked it. One more thing of the list of things I don't like. Anyway, there was a lot of good food and it was fun to try on all the different things.

Later in the evening it was time for the sauna. Of course there has to be a sauna involved and the jumping into the cold water in between. It was fun that so many tried on the sauna and actually got into the cold water. I think we were about 30 people in the sauna!

The party continued until 6am for me and I went to bed. But had such a trouble falling asleep since it was so hot in our room! We were 13 people in a small room with four bunk beds. In two of the beds we were sleeping two and there were three people sleeping on the floor. I shared the bed with a friend since there was not enough beds for all of us. There were people everywhere! So it was so hot in the room and with no air.

At 10am it was time to get up for breakfast, after four hours of sleep. At this time some people were still drunk since the party continued until 8am. But it was a lot of fun. A memorable weekend to say the least. Everybody slept on the bus ride home.

countdown

Eight more hours in Sweden. At seven tomorrow morning I'm lifting off to Helsinki. My home for the coming four months.

I'm feeling okay now. Not nervous or anything. I calmed down when I left Jönköping and got home to Stockholm. Change in environment is always good. It's great to live only ten minutes away from the airport. And I don't have to be early at the airport.

Goodnight. The next post will be from Helsinki.

packing light

I've become pretty good at packing. I learned the hard way when going to US for one year. I packed everything and used the maximum of kilos you are allowed. 64 kilos. I did a good job going to Singapore, still I brought a couple of things I never used. And traveling in Asia you had to pack light. Now I've packed 24 kilos and I think it will be OK even though the limit is 20 kilos. Now I have only packed things I use. I guess it still be problems going home again. Since I'm probably gonna do some shopping. Hopefully I'll have some visitors to help me bring it home. But that's a future problem.

nervous?

This morning I woke up at 8am. A little hangover but mostly tired. And the first thing on my mind was that I was leaving. I felt so sad. Don't wanna go. It's the worst feeling waking up with all these worries.

I guess I'm getting a little bit nervous. I just wanna stay here in Jönköping where it's safe and the same old. Right now I don't wanna go to a new place and new people. Strange how I feel this time. Didn't feel this when I was leaving for Singapore. Why is this different?

Of course I'll feel better when I'm settled in with all the new in Helsinki. But still, don't feel like leaving.

more of finland

Our street.

Heather covered with spiderweb.

Queuing moss.

Aiming for the stars.

back from the rain

Can't say that the vacation in Finland was that great. Out of 16, we only had 3 days with sunshine. Had a wish of coming home tanned.
Not so much.
Rainy and windy. Gave me time to read some books. Annika Lantz with 9 ½ månader and Selma Lagerlöf with Jerusalem. Great books. Very different.
And I got to spend time with my cousin and her daughter. Adorable.

So now I'm back in Stockholm for a couple of days. Then I'm heading to Jönköping. Gonna try to do some studying.

finland so far

It has been raining.
And raining.
And then some more raining.
One day of sunshine. And I hoped that I would come home with a tan. Not that hopeful anymore. I have met my relatives and my cousins new baby. My books and my dvd's have kept me company after my sister left for 'Arvikafestivalen'.

Sister and me.

Suvi and her Emilia.

Emilia is enjoying the water.

Really funny book.

a break

I'm proud of myself.
1) I've managed to pack light! (the Southeast Asia traveling taught me something)
2) We're leaving in two hours and I'm already packed!
It has been a tradition that I'm finished packing 10 minutes after we are supposed to leave.
There's a first time for everything.
How about that.
Maybe it gives me more grown-up points. According to this test my estimated age is 25. Pretty accurate.

The reason why I'm packing is that I'm heading to Finland for vacation with my family. It's time for the yearly visit to our summer cottage and all the relatives. Since we don't have any internet the activity will be pretty low here.

See you in 2 ½ weeks. Enjoy the summer.

no activity

Not much happening. Don't know what I've been doing the last couple of days.
Nothing really.
It's no point to write about nothing. It's boring.
And the weather sucks so no tanning. Only rain.

But I can tell you that I'm reading a book that is hilarious. It doesn't have a great story, it's just a diary of a Swedish comedian that got her second child. The author is Annika Lantz and the book is '9 ½ månad'.