Blog The Pain Away

So last week, not only did I have a cold, but I had a terrible tooth ache. A week later, the cold is subsiding, but the toothache was still going strong. So I braved it, and headed to the dentist...

After much deliberation, it was agreed that I should have the tooth out. It wasnt decayed, but the tooth giving me jip was my wisdom tooth, and the reason it was giving me jip was because there wasnt enough room for it basically.

So out its come. The actual extraction wasnt too bad. The dental technician was very sweet and let me squeeze her hand during the procedure. I now have a beautiful tooth in a jar to show for it.

Like I said, the procedure wasnt so bad. Being numbed up to the nines helped. But now the anaesthetic has worn off and I'm in more pain than I was before!!! I hope it subsides soon. Else this will be a terrible Christmas :(

Home Safe

I've somewhat gone into hibernation now I've made it home. I'm quite happy to sit at home watching a DVD of CSI with my bro. The simple pleasures in life eh?

The journey home was pretty traumatic. My flight was leaving Tampere at 11pm Finnish time, landing at 11:45 British time. Unfortunately it was late, so we landed at 12:20, and then we didnt get our baggage until about 1:30am! Of course, to my body clock, this was 3:30am! I was shattered to say the least. And still suffering from the final throws of a cold made the whole journey a bit traumatic.

Still, it was worth it to come through the gates where my mum was waiting with a helium balloon and a bacon butty :)

I should be able to catch up with my blogging a bit after Christmas, but for now I'm just resting (still not rid of this blooming cold!) and enjoying some good British food and sunshine! Haha.

Heading Home

I go home tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. But this has been a pretty awful week. I've been sick, which means I just want to stay in bed. But its good-bye partys all round :( Some of which I've had to miss because, well, I've been asleep. The most important goodbyes were said on monday, before the worst of my sickness hit. Its 4pm now, and I want to go back to sleep, but there is another goodbye party that I really should go to. But then I still havnt really finished packing, and I have a long journey tomorrow. What to do?

Cant wait to get home and spread my Finnish germs to everyone else. At least I'll be able to sleep in my own bed. Cant believe its been nearly 5 months since I've been home. Still look the wrong way when crossing the road though. And I waited for the bus on the wrong side of the road last week too. Doh.

Its snowed again!

But I'm sick again :(

Finally up-to-date!

So perhaps we should continue with the dairy posts? I think I gave up on about the 2nd...

3/12
We had the language circle pikkojoulu. Think thats how its spelt. Its just a pre-christmas party. We had traditional food from all the different language groups, and some did presentations too. We decided to combine the two tasks, and gave out the things needed to create a Christingle, and showed people how to do it. The party itself was nice, and our group members said some lovely things about us to the main organiser of the language circles. Will be carrying on with it next semester for sure. Was the best thing I got involved with here, as nearly all my friends were met through it.

4/12
I believe this was the night of the monumental skype between Rach and I. Other than our daily emails at work (its highly important stuff of course, not just random muses on popo's, lunch, and capri-sun) I hadnt had a proper chat with her in ages. Mostly because I hadnt been in a lot. Was so nice to catch up properly though. Although the catch up over Christmas will be even better!

5/12
I had planned to go to Tampere. But I overslept. Which in my defence is very easy when the sun doesnt even start to rise till 10am. Anyway, went and did some shopping instead. Found a really huge second hand shop/warehouse out of town (had been told about it, didnt just stumble across it). Anyway, found A1's third album, The Rasmus's first album, and an old (Finnish) idols CD, which altogther cost less than €5! Bargin, hehe.

6/12
Finnish independance day. Was originally going to meet up with friends in Kuopio. But since we were told there would be no-where open and buses would be irregular, we decided to head to my friends in Seinajoki instead. But then I was told about the military parade that takes place in Turku every year, and also about the presidential palace ball, which was being shown on telly in a pub in town. So they decided to come here again, and we partook in the aforementioned activities. Was good. Although the parade was strange. We thought it would be a celebration of independance, lots of flaf-waving and cheering and such, but actually it seemed a rather sombre affair. More of a show of respect for those that fought for the country's independance.
The ball was also quite strange. I had been warned though. Basically the broadcast is just 2 hours of each guest shaking hands with the president. There's the odd celeb (Anna Abreu) thrown in to keep it interesting, but basically its a big fashion show.

7/12
Just hung out with my friends before they headed home.

8/12
More knitting. Finished one of my arm warmers so started on the next. Thats about it really.

9/12
They showed a Finnish Christmas film for the exchange students. Was a good film actually. Will write a proper film review soon (I hope).

10/12
Christmas baking! There was an ESN party on the 11th, so the girls needed help with preparing the food, so the deal was they would show us how to bake traditional Finnish cakes and we would get to eat some, but not all. Was good. We made these Christmas star things, which were so easy, I made them again tonight. We also made ginger bread cookies, and some cinnamon buns. All very very tasty. Iceing the cookies was fun too, although a bit messy.

11/12
Stayed home. Was knackered!

12/12
Film night at Carries. Watched the Painted Viel. Will write a film review on that soon too. Promise.

13/12
Today was Saint Lucia day. Being of the Lutheran religion, the Finnish dont really celebrate saint days. However this is a Swedish tradition that is upheld by the Swedish-speaking Finns, of which there is a lot in Turku (or Abo to be precise). Anyway, basically, a girl is elected to the role of Lucia, and she gets to dress in a big white dress, with a crown of green and candles apon her head. The congregation sings some Swedish songs, and then the candles get lit and she walks down the aisle. Was quite cool. And not just because Swedish spoken with a Finnish accent is very attractive ;)

I will update both my diary posts with pictures, so check back soon.

New Pic

Oh, and check out the new pic ---------->

Thought I'd get rid of the stolen one and add one of my own masterpieces, hehe. Actually really love the pictures I took of Turku in the snow. Will have to share the best ones with you soon.

Can Anyone Hear My Song?

So, I've been really slack on the blogging front lately. I guess it feels like time is running out, so have been spending as much time as possible hanging out with soon-to-be-departed friends. When I have been home though, I've been spending a lot of time listening to the new CDs I purchased in Stockholm. Here is one song I've been listening to a lot...

Mammoth Diary Post

I havent really updated on my goings-on since Stockholm. Feels like since I went back to work after my illness, I havent really stopped. Work has been getting busier, with lots of new assays and techniques. Good practice for me, but its taking me a while to catch up, and remembering to write everything up in my labbook is taking more time than it should. Plus when you look outside and its pitch dark, you start thinking that your quite happy at work (radio, internet, tea) but eventually you brave it...
Anyway, this is whats been going on in my world for the last 2 weeks. Its pretty mammoth, so dont feel obligued to read it, its more for me than anything...

17/11
Knitting club again. I started on my hat. Seemed to be going pretty well. Although found it hard to say 'knit one pearl one" over and over in my mind and follow a conversation at the same time...

18/11
The language cirlce returned to Poro as they all said how much they enjoyed it the first time. In the end only 2 others turned up, but was nice anyway. I do like that bar, even if it is maybe a bit tacky...

19/11
Carrie and Will decided to host a thanksgiving dinner. This was quite a cool idea, and I was excited about going and trying traditional thanksgiving foods. The turkey was great, as well as all the other food. I was picturing something similar to Christmas Dinner though, and it wasnt really much like that at all (no roast potatoes, no vegetables either really...), but givene the limit resources here, I wont take it as an exact replicar (for instance, they couldnt find anywhere selling Pumpkins for Pumpkin pie).

20-23/11
Stockholm!!!

24-26/11
Stayed in sick mostly. Except I did still make it to knitting. I finished my hat! Looks very nice, and covers my ears (even when I tie my hair back, which I do a lot), so have been using a lot sor these cold mornings.

27/11
The language circle met to play cards for lack of a better idea. Was nice though, got covered in glogi in a heated game of Spoons. Ah, Glogi. Apparently comes from a Swedish tradition, but who cares, its lush. Its a heated drink of juices, cinnamon, and spices. Often has some red wine thrown in for good measure....

28/11
Went out for a hot chocolate with Vlad and Malaurie (those that I met at the cottage weekend). Hadnt seen them much since the cottage weekend, so was nice to catch up. The drunken Finns in the bar also provided some amusement.

29/11
The university arrannges tours of certain attractions of Turku for free. I decided to join the group going round the Handicrafts Musuem. This is normally only open for the summer season, but they also open for the Christmas season, and I was intruiged. It is a museum about old traditional handicrafts, but most interesting it is loacted in the only area of Turku that survived the numerous fires, meaning it is the only part that gives any indication to the fact Turku is the oldest town in Finland. The guide was quite good, and although it was cold, it was worth getting out of bed for.

Then in the afternoon/evening they were holding a ceremony outside the Catherdral for the lighting of Finlands official Christmas tree. For this, my friend from Helsinki headed down for the night. Was an interesting ceremony, with dancing and a choir. Then there was someone talking in Finnish and suddenly the lights came on and everyone went home! Haha.

We headed home for food and glogi before heading out for the night. First to Koulu, where there was more glogi, and then to Zanzibar, a latin bar in town. Was alright, but the music didnt really make me want to dance, and then it was too loud to have a proper conversation with anyone. So we headed for the night bus home.

30/11
Got up relatively early and headed for the castle. Did a tour of the perimiter, before walking up along the river past the Finnish Swan (a boat in the Maritime museum), and came as far as the free ferry from Turku to Åbo. Which we went on. And then back again. For anyone unaware, Åbo is the Swedish name for Turku. The ferry just goes from one side of the river to the other :p

We got the bus back to town, and went up the observatory to get a view of the town, before heading down and round to the Cathedral to have a proper look around the Christmas market. After that we headed back to mine before going to Indre's. A lithuanian girl I lived with in Helsinki that my friend wanted to catch up with too. We had a cup of tea and a chat before going to the station to see my friend back to Helsinki.

1/12
Had the first chocolate from the advent calander that my mum had sent over from England. no idea what gave her that idea, but made me smile.
Then in the evening was more knitting. Since I'd finished my hat, I decided to start on some arm warmers. Same wool so they match the hat.

2/12
My lecturer came to visit us students. We all went out for dinner (univeristy of surrey picking up the bill, many thanks). Was nice. Went to Blanko Bar, which is this trendy looking place in the corner by the river. Go past it on the bus a lot and always think it looks nice in there. It was nice. I had a sort of steak. Pretty yummy. Desert was yummier though :)

Ok, I'm bored of this now. Will finish it off ... sometime. Another busy week this week, but the weekend is totally free, so we'll see what happens...

Just a Day Late

Happy Finnish Independence Day!

Have more guests with me this weekend, so bit short on time. Will post details of the celebrations and some pictures very soon!

Clash of The Titans

MTV Russia recently held their annual Russian Music Awards. They managed to get not only Sergey Lazarev to host, but Dima Bilan as well. Watching some of the clips it seems there was a lot of friendly banter going on. Although without understanding the Russian, I'm sure I was laughing at the wrong parts, no idea what my Russian housemate must have been thinking if she could hear.

Anyway, one clip that requires no knowledge of the Russian language, just knowledge of Believe, Zachem Pridumali Lubov and Lazerboy. I thought it was hilarious...

Stockholm Diary – Part 3

I woke stupidly early Saturday morning. Breakfast wasnt until 10am, but I was wide awake at 8:30. Especially after I saw the snow outside! Deciding not to waste the next hour in bed, I got up and dressed and went for a wonder in the snow. Felt like a blizzard at some points. Was cool though.

Went back to the Hostel, had breakfast, checked out, and discussed on how to get back to T-Centralen where we would get the bus. In the end we all went by metro.

We got the bus to Grona Lund on the island just east of the old town. Grona Lund is a theme park that closes for the winter season, but was opening its doors for its annual 'Christmas market'. Now I'm no expert, but normally a Christmas market should have, you know, market stalls of some sort.

Anyway, it was rather lovely all covered in snow (would have been truly rubbish otherwise) and me and my friend did have fun in the house of mirrors...

After Grona Lund, we decided to look for somewhere to eat and warm up before heading to The Vasa museum. In the end, we got to Vasa before we found somewhere selling food, so decided to eat in the restaurant there.

My friends tried the soup while I decided to go for the more traditional meatballs. This is possibly where it all went wrong. I'm convinced they are what made me sick, as they were the only things I ate that my friends didnt. However after contacting the restaurant, they insisted it couldnt have come from them. So who knows..?

Anyway, after that we got stuck into the museum. It was definitely the highlight of the trip. Numerous people recommended it, and I'm so glad we found time for it. The sight of this beautiful boat alone is worth the entrance money, but there are a ton of extra exhibitions for you to read through also.

In fact there was so much to look at that we were there for the last 2 hours before closing, and I was still left wanting to see more. So if ever I return I think this will still be worth a visit.

Briefly for those who want to know the story behind The Vasa;
- It was a ship commissioned by the King in the 1620s
- He demanded it have extra cannon decks without increasing the width at the bottom
- This meant there was not enough space for the required ballast
- 20 Minutes after leaving Stockholm, the boat began to tip, and water began to come in the low open cannon holes
- Unable to right itself, the boat sank just outside the harbour where it remained for over 300 years.
- Due to the lack of salt in Nordic waters the boat was well preserved, and has been painstakingly restored and set up in this museum.

And that is the story of Vasa in a nutshell. But honestly, if your in Stockholm, you should check it out. I'm not a very nautical person, but still found it fascinating. Unfortunately my photos really dont do it justice.

After that we rushed back to T-Centralen to get our stuff and head for the ferry port. At which point I began to feel ill. A 10 hour ferry ride later, I was back in Turku and went straight home to bed. The poor girls that were meant to be sharing the cabin with me left me alone for the night, and amused themselves at the disco. I'm sure they didnt mind too much.

Overall, the trip itself was really enjoyable, but way too short! Given how cheap it is to get there from here, I will definitely be going again in the spring - if I can find time that is!!

Stockholm Diary – Part 2

So as we returned to the palace there was some sort of ceremony with the guards going on. Not the official changing of the guard as this was supposed to happen on Sunday, but perhaps a smaller version. Guards were parading down the street with a Swedish flag out front. They then did some sort of song&dance out the front of the Palace. I found it interesting to watch. After it finished, the Palace was then open for guests. So we got our tickets and headed in to see the Royal Apartments. It was very grand. Lots of colour and the ceilings were painstakingly detailed in their design.


We also got to have a quick look round the treasury. Soooo many sparkly things. I’ve never seen so many diamonds. Although I found the crowns a bit disgusting up close, so much detail, so many stones, it just looked like too much for the eyes. But the overall effect was nice.

After spending quite a while in the palaces, we headed back to get our bags and check into out hostel. This was a bit of a mission, as some people wanted to walk, some were willing to pay for the metro. In the end though, we all made it to the right place at the right time-ish. So we checked in. The room was a good size and the TV was huge! Haha. I was excited to get out and do some Cd shopping. I hadn’t wanted to bore my travel buddies with it while we had such limited time in the city, so took this opportunity while the others were resting to go exploring. As you may have read, it was very successful.


Apon returning, I was told people were heading off to look for somewhere to eat. We ended up finding an Indian restaurant that looked relatively cheap. I’ve been craving a good Chicken Korma since I’ve been here, so was happy to finally have my wish granted! Twas a lovely meal, with great company. Although I did think it was a bit strange to come to Sweden for a curry! Vowed to try some Swedish food the next day…


We headed back to the hotel where some people had talks of going out to boogie in Stockholm. I liked this idea, but my feet didn’t seem to want to cooperate. So I stayed in with the girls I was sharing the room with and we watched some trashy Swedish telly. We mostly watched Singing Bee, a karaoke style programme where you had to guess the lyrics of the song. Get it right and you go through to the next round, get it wrong and you face elimination. It was a funny show actually, and although most of the songs were in Swedish, I did recognise a few (e.g. Det Gör Ont). In the end the guy we were rooting for won. I think he might have come from the Ålands, as they were waving flags that looked a little different to your usual Swedish flags for him in the audience.

After that I feel asleep.

Holidays Are Coming...

Oh, I'm loving the Christmas tunes going on on Radio Nova at the minute. Been a long day at work, but a fairly laid-back one. My lecturer came from England to do the round of placement visits. He needed some lunch, so we sat and talked in the cafeteria for a while. Was getting really stressy about it last night, but it was actually... fun? I dont know, maybe just talking to someone who knew about my home uni/degree etc was nice. And telling someone about my experiences at work who actually understood. I mean, I bore Rach with my talk of immunoassays and phosphate buffers, but it was nice to talk with someone who has a knowledge of it already.

We're (the other placement students, their supervisors, and our lecturer) going out for dinner tonight, which should be nice.

Oh, and since he spoke to my supervisor first, he passed on some of her good comments to me. Such as the fact that she thinks I'm fairly competent and know when something is important enough to go and ask about when I'm unsure, and that she respects my persistence in going and sitting for coffee with my 'colleagues' even when they continue to speak in Finnish the whole time. :)

Oh wait, James Blunt, Your Beautiful just came on the radio. Maybe its time to go home...