Blog change

I've decided to give this blog a bit of a change. I'm a bit of a foodie and I've decided that maybe I will try and share some of my successes (and failures) in the kitchen.I don't think I have a style of cooking, but I am influenced by India and the Far East. Neither Finnish nor English food have a good reputation, however during the long winter months, both cuisines have a place in our kitchen and you will find recipes from both countries.  Bon Appetit!

Food for thought

If you have 20minutes I urge you to head over to watch Jamie Oliver's TED prize acceptance speech. This is a fantastic achievement. For those of you who have never heard of TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) it is an amazing concept bringing together some of the most innovative people from many different fields who are working to improve and change our society for the better.

While I know that Jamie Oliver can be a bit like marmite for some people (you love him or hate him...), I believe that the work he is doing to try and improve food awareness is incredibly important. All too often people are too lazy to learn to cook properly for themselves, citing time as one of the biggest factors. This doesn't have to be so, but you have to be motivated to learn short recipes and spend 20minutes cooking something from scratch for yourself. I sincerely believe that if Jamie's idea of improving food awareness via the education system is successful it will greatly help future generations.

I was never taught so formally to cook at school, but I got a love for food by being allowed to help in the kitchen from the age of 5 or 6, at childminders or my grandma's. When I went to uni I made sure that I could cook some things so that I could support myself without resorting to eating at the Uni restaurants. In Finland everyone has to take cookery lessons, boys and girls. They learn to make all sorts of foods and meals and are taught skills that allow them to be confident and creative in cooking meals for themselves, so they can be self-reliant when leaving home. I think Jamie has a mammoth task ahead, hopefully the TED prize will give him some public awareness and attract the backing of fellow forward-thinking and innovative people to support him in achieving his goal.

Bloggers for Haiti

EDIT: As of today 07.2.10 £4,194.50 has been raised for Shelterboxes for Haiti - Well done! That's just under 10 boxes :)

I read over at arewenearlythereyetmummy.com that there is a campaign for bloggers  (started by English Mum) to raise money to send shelterboxes to Haiti. These boxes are incredible. Designed to be relatively self-sufficient providing people with tools and shelter (10 man tent) they are an incredible lifeline to those caught up in horrific natural disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti, the Indian Ocean Tsunami and the massive earthquake that hit the Kashmir region of Pakistan where the need for shelter was desperate. The boxes can be adapted depending on what is needed and are relatively inexpensive at £490 considering that they can provide support for 10 people for upto 6mths and the fee includes everything in the box and its deployment to the disaster zone. Currently the campaign has raised just over £1,150, they had initially hoped to get enough for one or two boxes but with a little extra support they could buy 3!

Having seen these boxes myself at a local event when I was visiting the UK, they are easy to handle, self-sufficient and what made me realise that these guys had really thought of everything is they have included a children's pack containing drawing books, crayons and pens. If you have lost everything as a child then a small gift like this is something to be treasured.

I urge anyone who reads my small ramblings to head on over there to give, it doesn't have to be much - whatever you can afford. If you do decide to give and you are from the UK, remember to click yes to GiftAid, which is tax relief on the money you give to a UK charity. This is where the British Government will donate the equivalent of the basic tax rate on your donation e.g. if you donate £5 they will donate an additonal £1.41 with no extra cost to you.

A decade of growing-up

I started the Millenium, very drunk, without my shoes, in a silver sparkly dress and almost featherless feather boa. I end the decade 2000km away from my home country, with my own apartment, still a student of sorts and a fabulous person to share it all with. I'm hoping tonight may be slightly more civilised ending to what I started the Millenium with. We'll have to see though - since I now live in a country renowned for celebrating almost everything in life with alcohol.

Early 2000's saw me through my final school years - not excelling quite as many hoped due to my discovery of boys and underage drinking and going out. I somehow made it to Uni, where I promptly got myself a long term boyfriend. If there is anything I have to regret about Uni it would be having a boyfriend - it was a restriction, I had tonnes of fun but I could have had more. But, without him I wouldn't have met some wonderful friends - people I still know, love and keep in touch with.

Just before halfway through the 2000's I came out to Finland for a year's practical training. Life changing does not even come to describe that decision. I lived in student apartments 17m2 with a tiny bathroom and shared kitchen with all the other exchange students. It was fabulous - I had so much fun and met so many other people. I also met my current love - who really opened my eyes - not just to the real Finland but also on attitudes to life. I don't think he meant to alter how I saw things, I think I was just ready for a change. I returned to finish my degree & finish my old relationship - if I hadn't I swear I would be married, middle-age before my time and miserable. I was in danger of following the path that is inbuilt into you by society's expectations and I'm glad I did a u-turn.

I returned to Finland with a view of being here for a couple of years. As all graduates do, I thought I was employable. I hadn't factored on language being such an issue - everyone speaks good English here and science is conducted in English. Sadly, many Finnish companies feel that hiring a foreigner will upset the balance to their workforce even if speaking Finnish is not necessary to perform the job. I also overestimated my degree - what is a good bachelor's degree with a year's solid practical experience in a country where everyone graduates with a Master's?   Due to my being completely unemployable and the job market being incredibly small for Finns and practically invisible for foreigners, I embarked on a PhD. I would never have done it without one of my old professors at my UK university encouraging me. For that I thank him. When I started the PhD I thought I would be finished by now, but sadly I'm not, but in this economic climate, I am perfectly happy where I am. I enjoy my work, the flexibility I have and the many responsibilities I have with it.

When I started this decade - I didn't have a clue that I would end up here. I had great aspirations of having a fabulous job in London or something and moving high up rapidly and making lots of money so I could go traveling and see the world and have lots of nice expensive things. I thought I would look different. I thought my life would be different. What has happened this decade is I have grown up. Life isn't so rosy and sometimes the day to day can be a drag. There's more resposibility as you realise that no-one is going to come to the rescue anymore - that you are responsible for yourself. But on the other hand it can be tremendous fun - that same resposibility means you decide what you do and you are answerable to no one. For that I am glad to consider myself a grown-up (still with very childish tendencies though!)

This decade has been fabulous - mostly thanks to the support of my family who are an amazing bunch and my friends who are always there for me. Some people I have lost along the way, but the ones who have mattered the most are still with me and I have met a number of new ones who are still along tor the ride. I love you all so very much xx

Happy New Year everyone!

Around the World in 80 Blogs - An expat view of Finland

This post comprises part of the Around the World in 80 blogs over at Everyday Stranger.

As you may have guessed this blog has its roots in Finland. I have to say I'm a bit of a cheat since I'm not actually a Finn, although the more I live here the more I feel like I am becoming one. I came here in my early 20's for training and upon finishing my degree I came back for want of something better to do (I was too lazy to find myself a job back home). As with the overwhelming majority of foreigners who choose to make this seemingly hostile land their home I came back because I was in love - a state in which I still am very happily.

You may or may not have heard of Finland and if you have you'll most likely have heard the following... its cold, dark ALL the time, the locals aren't friendly and are alcoholics, they have polar bears and penguins up North, Santa Claus lives here and they eat reindeer. The last two are true, the others less so.

Currently, it is dark, we are approaching the darkest day of the year where if we are lucky we may get 6hrs of sunlight - that is if the clouds clear - otherwise it will just be a murky grey all day. You know what though - all the snow and dark (and perhaps the thought that Santa lives only 12hrs drive away) makes Christmas really feel like Christmas.On the flipside our summers are so incredibly light... we may have only four hours of semi-dark and this means that we sleep less and enjoy the summer sun - it can get over 25C here some days during the summer season. When you go out at 11pm it is still light. Summer is a time of celebration, if you visit in winter you could be forgiven for thinking that Finland has a popluation of 100 -when the sun shines everyone comes out, even the winos from where they've been hiding all winter, and the city where I live comes alive. Midsummer celebrated somewhere around 21st June, the lightest day of the year is cause for a huge celebration. The picture below was taken around 10 or 11pm. Everyone whose family owns one or can rent one goes to spend Midsummer at their mökki (cottage) and usually spends the time eating lots of bbq food, having sauna and getting drunk. I'm fairly certain that Alko, the state-owned liquor store, has its busiest period in the run upto Midsummer. Inevitably following this there are usually stories of people having to be rescued from drowning because they tried to stand up on their rowing boat and pee off the side...The mökki is a central part of Finnish culture, during July the country shuts down, people disappear for 3-4weeks for their summer vacation which is usually spent at their mökki.

From what I understand the Finns love this institution because it enables them to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life (the Finnish idea of hustle and bustle of city life is at worst what the experience of living in Tunbridge Wells would be like) and get back to basics and nature. Indeed there are a number of mökki still without electricity and sometimes running water, often by choice. Visiting these types of mökki usually requires one to get water from a well and use composting toilets - an experience I'm not convinced I'll get used to due to an irrational fear of something leaping up the composting toilet and biting my bum - though usually it's only the mosquitos.

I love this country and it is now very much my home, while the people are hard to get to know, once you do get to know them they make brilliant and loyal friends. They are forever amazed that someone would actually choose to live in their country and are very forgiving and happy when you attempt to speak their language - it is one of the hardest languages in the world to learn and they are fully aware of it. They are pretty well educated, even those who didn't go to Uni can speak English fluently, which sadly means my fluency of Finnish is rather lacking particularly when everyone wants to practice their English on a real live Brit. Admittedly getting to know a Finn properly usually requires one to go out and get drunk with them a few times and alcohol is a part of their culture here. What you don't see though when out on the town is the violence that is commonly associated with drink. I never see the convergance of police in the city centre on Friday and Saturday nights like you would in England and I have only ever seen one fight in the 6 years I have been here. So you could call it a pretty safe country - especially where the most common crime seems to be bicycle theft!

I mentioned sauna earlier in this post and this is a massive finnish tradition, if your own apartment or home does not have one, then the building you live in will have a communal sauna. Life in Finland without sauna... well it just doesn't exist. While many people think Finland is part of Scandinavia (Sweden, Norway and Denmark) it actually isn't and synonymous with Scandinavia, particularly Sweden, is design. Finland also has deep roots in design and architecture. Alvar Aalto is probably the most famous Finnish designer-architect, arguably one of the most influential icons of the modern design movement. Although the vase design above was originally designed in the 1930's it is still massively popular and a common feature in the form of the vase, candle holders and other types of glassware in Finnish homes - I even came across it in the shop of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York about 4 years ago. Finnish design for me is uncomplicated and aesthetically pleasing and designed to feel contemporary even if it is 20 years old. It is exactly the kind of design that appeals and you can see this irom the way they design and build their homes, to the way they decorate them.

Living here can be a challenge, it isn't always easy getting a grasp of the language and the climate but if you make a little effort to get out there and enjoy what this country does have to offer I think you can be very pleasantly surprised.

Talented blogging

While I don't post much - usually because everyone else has something more interesting to say than me - I do read a fair few blogs. Most of these are about the day to day goings on in people's lives or jobs, usually well written and some have even had book deals as a result. One blog that I discovered sometime ago, really stands out from the crowd. His writing is powerful, beautifully descriptive and evocative. For any of those of you who fancy a different read I suggest you head on over to Siren Voices, if you appreciate excellent writing I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Science and the media

Science and the media don't seem to go hand in hand at the moment. The more time I spend studying and the more I understand, the more I realise just how much science is completely and utterly misrepresented in the media. A fabulous example (as with many in his blog) comes from Ben Goldacre of "Badscience" fame. I thought journalism and reporting were supposed to represent both sides of the story, a fair and unbiased account. Obviously not.