I Was Just Walking Around in the Sun...

The summer is finally arriving in Finland. Or maybe its just the spring, I cant tell. Either way the sun was shining beautifully yesterday. So after work I met with Mira for pizza and then we went for ice cream along the river. We went for a soft-ice/99 flake style ice cream this time. Except of course they don't have flakes here :( BUT they did have a choice between vanilla, chocolate, or a mix of the two! Magic. So we sat along the river for a while until the sun went behind some bushes. In search of more sun, we went higher. Towards the observatory hill. We found a second spot, but once again the sun moved behind some trees, so we continued yet higher until we were practically at the top of the hill. Success. Anyway, I'm not sure whether it was the prolonged sun exposure, the high altitude, or a sugar rush, but I was in such a bizzare mood. It was the best afternoon I've had in a while. It made me feel young again, in the days when you could just chill out with friends without a care in the world and forget about the passing of time.

I have some pictures and a song to share with you. In my crazy state I ended up singing a random selection of songs to the increasingly concerned Mira. This being one of them...





I should mention that Mira had never heard of Adam and the Ants before. Anyway, I also have some lovely photos. They're just of the sunshine, but still...

BBQ tonight! Although its partly a farewell party for my housemate who is leaving early tomorrow morning. There have been a few goodbyes this week. It makes me sad. Mostly because it reminds me that it will be my turn before long :(

Last Weekemd

So, its been an interesting few days. We didn’t have the bank holiday weekend like you lucky souls at home (although we had a bank holiday Thursday so cant complain too much I guess). But my weekend has been made up of films, food, and cheerleading.

The film society (I’m guessing) hosted another film festival this weekend, where I saw an interesting Norwegian documentary on the acidification of the ocean, and how co2 emissions are threatening the future of all marine life. Heavy stuff, but enlightening. I also saw a few shorts, some good, some bad, some indifferent. It was all free though, so why not eh? I then went to my boyfriends where he was determined to show me Rocky. He is convinced its not just about boxing. And ok, it isn’t entirely, but is still a bit :p But yeah, it was actually alright, better than I expected. So that was the film section of the weekend. I should mention also, that in return for showing me Rocky, I am introducing him to a wealth of British comedy – Black Books, Fawlty Towers, Michael McIntyre, Frankie Boyle… The list goes on.

Next for the food. I have made Yorkshire pudding for unsuspecting Finns twice this week. The first time was more successful than the second, but both were edible :) I’ve also had mince meat soup and meat balls and potato wedges cooked for me. Its nice to have proper meals for a change. I should get more into cooking. Its not that hard. But supernoodles or beans on toast is just so much easier :) And sandwiches, never underestimate the beauty of a good sandwich :)

Then the cheerleading. Well, yes, my boyfriends sister was competing, and he was official photographer, so I went along with him. It was actually quite entertaining. There’s a lot of different skills involved. Dancing, co-ordination, trust and impressive acrobatics. And with the right music, its pretty cool to watch. I agree that Waldo’s People makes for a good song to cheerlead to, but I must have heard it more than 5 times within an hour! Oh, and 30seconds or so of a remix of Fairytale, which was odd.

But overall an enjoyable weekend. Although the thunderstorm on Saturday wanst so nice. I mean, I was indoors at the time, but inside a wooden hourse… Wooden houses somehow seem like a major fire hazard when surrounded by bolts of lightening… The weather is glorious now though, and I’m thinking of wondering around for a while after work with my camera and taking a few pictures to share with you all.

And I promise I will finish the Russia diarys sometime soon. I took way to many pictures, but have finally sorted through the best and the rest, so should have those started up again by the weekend…

Last Night

So, the plans didnt all work out. I never made it to the sea sauna due to a rather late night last night. For starters, the Russian film was in Russian (funnily enough) but the subtitles were not English as we thought, but in fact Finnish. So I was a bit out of the loop. My housemate, bless her, tried to translate the important bits of dialogue for me. Actually, I was surprised by how much I could get from the Finnish subs :) Proud me, hehe. Anyway, it also helped that the film was about a Ballet Dancer just before the Russian revolution, so a lot of the film was dancing and no dialogue. So wasnt a complete waste.

Then we didnt make it to Dynamo. We went there first, and it was comepletely empty. So we went to Koulu for a quick drink, and then ended up in Onnela. This is a chain of clubs in Finland, not unlike Oceana in England. Not really my kind of music, but once it got busy there was enough atmosphere not to care. Drinks were blooming expensive though, so was sober by the time we left for the last bus. My housemates Russian friend that had joined us didnt know which bus he needed to get home (the night buses have different routes and numbers). So he ended up getting our bus home and stayed here. So we just enjoyed a lovely leisurely breakfast together.

Anyway, so due to a 4am bedtime, I didnt fancy getting up at 11am on my day off to go off to the sea sauna. I need to buy a few things before Lapland, so maybe I'll go shopping instead :)

Oh, I should say there were some bizzare goings on last night, I shall list a few;

• Bruce Forsight of all people was in the Russian film!
• There was a man in a full kilt in Onnela (long socks and all)
• Russian physicists dance just like English ones.
• I seemed to be the only one dancing to Lady GaGa, but everyone was on the dancefloor for Sash! later :)
• And a trance remix of the Pirates of The Carribean theme song seemed very popular also.

Its All Starting Up Again

So, its already got to the point where I'm a busy little girl. The next few weeks are gonna be packed.
* Tonight I'm off with Russian housemate to watch a film with the Russian Language Circle (The English Language Circle meet was a bit of a disaster last night, so lets not dwell on that). After the film, we're heading to Dynamo, a funky club in town, my favourite in fact.
* Tomorrow I've been invited to the sea sauna. I thought I could get away with the sauna and then just look out into the sea, but I have a feeling that if I dont go for a swim voluntarily, that I will be forced... Oh, and its meant to be like -5 tomorrow. Goodie. Then in the evening I'm meeting a friend from last semester who is heading back to Korea to say goodbye :( Then the Finnish esc selection final in the evening!
* Then Sunday some people are going sledging. We'll see how the snow is, but not sure whether I'll join them yet. Might still be frozen after the sea!
* Monday will be business as usual.
* And then Tuesday, well Tuesday, I am just popping up across the artic circle for a week of skiing, cottaging, and husky safaris! Yes, I'm off to Lapland for 5 days! Should be awesome, I'm so excited!!! I'll be sharing a cottage with some of the French people I met on the last cottage weekend, and also my housemate and her Russian friends will be around somewhere, so should be a fun week. Also, it will help take my mind off the fact that Rachel will no longer be just across the Baltic sea, and in fact back in the UK. Going to Guildford no less. I'm not jealous. Well, I am a bit, but being up in Lapland should numb the pain (see what I did there?)

Still Keeping Busy

Tonight was the first meeting of the English Language Circle for the spring semester. There weren't nearly as many people as last semester, but they seemed like a nice bunch. We went for coffee and had a nice chat. I hope they keep coming, and that the group will get going again like it did last semester. After all, its pretty much my only way of meeting other exchange students here.

As for the past week, its been going pretty well. I made a silly mistake in my calculations at work this morning, but other than that it feels like a really successful week. Pretty much doing the same things I did just before Christmas, but just before Christmas I had the startings of a terrible cold, and so my brain wouldnt work. Although I could do the experiment, I didnt really understand the hows and whys of it. But now I do! Hurrah! My work has a purpose. Actually, feeling fairly confident at work recently. Dunno whats got into me. Being all independant in my work, and being bolder with colleagues as well (smiling, saying Hei etc).

What else have I got up to this week... Well of course there was Helsinki on Saturday. Was a really nice day, possibly just because it was so spontanious. Went to Kiasma with my friend, which was pretty fun actually. Look at the pretty human kaleidascope made by one of the works of art...



Then we went for lunch in a cafe, where we met up with our old Finnish teacher. And then 3 hours late, I also met up with another friend from my language course, and went back to the old flat in Passila, where there were more familiar faces to be seen :) Actually, got so carried away in conversations that I nearly missed the last train home. Thank goodness for the night buses in Turku on the weekend - I had never intended to stay that late!

I'm hoping to head to Tampere this Saturday. Need to make the most of my free Saturdays while I still have them :)

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.

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...

The Week Revised

Sundays are slow in Finland, so lets see if I can type up this weeks goings on...

Saturday 8/11
I went along to the Jubilee concert of the Åbo Akademi symphony orchestra. It was really nice to listen to a live orchestra again. I used to play in a brass band back home, and my aunt and uncle would often take me to orchestra concerts, so it was a nice nostalgic feeling. Except of course this orchestra were blooming fantastic (compared to our learners brass band at least). The first half featured a novel composistion by the orchestra's composer and had a Finnish zither as the solo instrument. I have never seen this instrument before and it was surprising the range of different sounds that it could produce. There were then some pieces with a clarinet solo. The second half was my favourite though. It featured a daramtic peice by Sibelius (a famous Finnish composer, who has a monument dedicated to him in Helsinki, which I have vistied). I prefered this purely because there was much more brass. They then finished off with Finlandia, Sibelius's most famous piece and a sort of unofficial national anthem for Finland.

Sunday 9/11
I went back to Ruissalo to the sea sauna with Carrie, my fellow native speaker of the English Language Circle (except she's american, but dont let that put you off). The weather was miserable, but it meant that the sea actually looked like the ocean rather than just a lake, as the winds were causing waves that splashed along the coast. Also it was so misty you couldnt see the islands. The sauna was in a beautiful littel wooden cottage, with a real og fire in the main room, and then the sauna round back. We had the sauna to ourselves for the most part. We did try and follow the Finns down to the sea where they were swimming without a care in the world, but it was absolutely freezing. I managed to go in once, but my hands were nearly blue by the time we came out, so after that we just stuck to putting our feet in to cool off. All in all, a relaxing way to spend sunday afternoons.

Monday 10/11
After talking to Finns in the language circle, Carrie had the idea of setting up a knitting club as a kind of spin-off from the language circle. So now every monday we plan to meet, knit, drink tea and chat. Last week I missed them in the Kauppatori, so didnt have any yarn, but carrie lent me some of her left-overs and I made a bookmark... This week I plan to stock up on wool and try out for a hat :) My aunt often tried to teach me to knit, but I never stuck at it long and so would always forget. I prefered cross-stitch to be honest. I quite enjoyed it last week actually, and can see how knitting a jumper or hat is more practical than cross-stitching a horse onto a tea-towel...

Thursday 13/11
The language circle met again, and this time we just went to a pub. We went to Poro, which is Finnish for reindeer. I've been there once before and really liked it. Its all decorated with fur and antlers, and funky lighting. And they do a mean hot chocolate.


After that, some of us carried on to Bounce Around the World, a night organised by one of ESN. It was to feature international music from all around the world, and I tried to help out by providing some songs, but it seems that it had all gone a bit pear-shaped for the guy organising it, and the international music was only being played in the lobby while the main dance-floor was filled with the usual generic stuff. So we sat in the lobby. Was cool to see a couple of Russian girls going a a bit mad when Gore Zima by Dima Bilan came on. I enjoyed the company and the music, but the actualy club and atmosphere was a bit of a disspointment. A nice idea, just poorly exicuted I think...

Saturday 15/11
Me and a friend decided to head for a museum. There are a number of museums in Turku, and despite visiting a few in Helsinki, I hadnt thought about going to any here really (apart from the castle, which I guess could count as a museum). So we chose to visit the Aboa Vetus | Ars Nova museum, which is a museum of archeology and contemporary art... Strange combination. I'm not really a fan of art museums, but I like history, and with Turku being the oldest town in Finland there is a lot of it here.
For the archeology section of the museum, you descend into an actual excavation of Turku, where you can wonder around the old unearthed streets of medieval Turku. There is a running story of a fictional character called Matti, based on fact, that guides you around the museum, and lots of activities for children to take part in (although we tried a few, never too old). the highlight is possibly the chapel, where you can light a candel and say a prayer. A very intesting museum, which is worth the entrance fee alone.
The art section of the museum I was not so interested in, but since its all in the one entrance fee, we went around anyway. There was an exhibition of the CoBrA group of artists, who apparently formed 60 years ago and were influential in the development of modern art. It was alright I guess, but I've never been a fan of art in general. I always feel like I'm missing something. Although there were two pieces that I liked a lot.
Overall, I would recommend a visit to this museum, if your in the area. Its right in the centre of town, and a generally enjoyable mixture of art and history.

Another Week Over (A New One Just Begun?)

Ok, enough with the random songs posts. Time for a proper update. I won't do a day-by-day thing like normal, because well, most of them would go something like this. xxxday - went to work, rushed off my feet, went home, slept. So lets just do the highlights shall we...

Thursday (30th Oct);
The English Language Circle hosted an 'international food night'. It was something we talked about it the first meeting (when there was 30 of us) but with the deteriorating numbers of people coming (about 5 a week now) I wasnt expecting much. But the response was huge. We had about 20 people sharing food from their home countries. Some put more effort into it than others (a packet of chocolate chip cookies from the supermarket to represent America?). Anyway, I decided to make Toad in the Hole, as it is a traditional popular dish of Britain. And supposedly easy to make. Although, I've never made it before it seemed to turn out pretty well. The sausages arent really as good as we have back home (they're more like frankfurters here) so was a bit worried. But people seemed to like it :) i have to say, I loved some of the other dishes. Notably the Korean rice balls, and the Finnish cinnamon buns. Very yummy :p


Friday (31st Oct);
Friends birthday. Pizza. Pub. Karaoke. Bacon. Rave. Mess.

Saturday/Sunday (1st and 2nd Nov);
4th Annual European Film festival. There must be some sort of film society at the university, and they ran the whole programme of the festival for 3 days for free! So with nothing better to do for the weekend I went along to watch a few. I saw a German film, about a guy who is so lonely that he steals a family and holds them hostage in his flat. Strange, but compelling. Had no idea where it was heading or how it would end, so kept me interested for the 90mins. Then I watched some shorts, my favourite being a British one called Speechless.
Sunday I saw an Irish film called Satalites & Meteorites. It was a love story going on in the minds of two coma patients. But it all starts to go wrong when the doctors try to wake up said coma patients. If you liked films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (which I dont) and Science of Sleep (which I love) then you should definitely keep your eyes peeled for this one. I do hope its gets a proper release. After that I watched some more shorts (well, 2) which were very weird, and not really worth much mention.

Thursday (6th Nov);
Halloween-themed Sitz party! Seems a bit weird to still be doing Halloween the day after guy fawks night, but then thats not really a concern here I guess. Anyway, you can read about the tradition that is the Sitz party here, but the general gist is, a seated meal, with alcohol and singing. You have a 'King and Queen' who lead the singing and control the 'citizens'. We got to sing traditional Sitz songs (in both Swedish and Finnish, as well as some English and German). There is also a question set out by the 'King and Queen' which is answered going around the room at various intervals in the night. Given the American elections seeming to take over the media of every western country of late, our question was based on Obama's campaign slogan - change. Luckily I didnt have to answer in the end.
Anyway, the whole thing was quite a fun idea, and I think done properly would be great. But I think it relys on the Finns nature of following rules, even when drunk, which the other Europeans *cough* Spanish *cough* dont do so well, and after a while it felt like our 'King and Queen' were losing control of the drunken masses, so we decided to duck out early (but after the punsch of course).

And thats pretty much my week summed up. Tomorrow is a jubilee concert of the Abo Akademi, where a full simphonie Ochestra will be playing some classical Finnish compositions, such as Finlandia by Sibelius. Should be a good atmosphere I think.

What a Week

So this has been a rather long week. But its been great. I've discovered the more you put into life, the more you get back. Last night was my first night in, in over a week, so was going to blog, but ended up having an early night instead!

Here's a run down of each day/night;

Thursday; Went to an ice hockey match, as you may have read below

Friday; As you may also have read below, I went back to Helsinki for a birthday party. It was great to see so many old faces. Its strange to think how close I was to some of the people in Helsinki when I was only there a few weeks, and I've been in Turku for months, but wouldnt say I'm all that close to anyone here (yet). Was a crazy party, and that went on to the small hours, so definitely worth the trip back. And the cake was great :p


Saturday; The birthday boy (who kindly put me up for the night) took me to look around his university buildings (we couldn’t think of anything else to do, and it was a nice day so a pleasant walk). Its the Design faculty, so was an interesting building with lots of sketches and models that they have to make in the metal/wood-shops. After that we walked along the coast for a while then headed back to the city centre where we bumped into some more of our course-mates and all went for a coffee. Felt so natural to be back in Helsinki, but have since decided that although I miss the people and crazy partys of Helsinki, I actually prefer Turku as a town. Being a country girl, I've never seen the appeal of living in London, so maybe its the same for Finland.

Sunday; Slept a lot, hehe. Then we had a BBQ. It was raining but we did it anyway. It was with the language circle. There were about 6 of us, so not bad a turn-out considering the rain. We have a little bbq ‘hut’ of sorts beside our building, so that was fine. Was interesting talking to the Americans here actually. They are surprisingly nice, hehe. I've also found the language cirlce is a great oppurtunity to mix with Finnish students and get to know more about Finland. For example, the often joke about how we have 'snow days' in England - 'imagine having the day off school just because it snows!' I miss snow days, they were the best, hehe.

Monday; Bumped in a Hungarian I know on the bus home from work. (as you do, hehe). He invited me out to this pub that does a student price on Mondays. Called Bar Kuka. Its quite a cool place, with funky interior. And there was a huge group of Erasmus students along with a band playing. Good chilled out night.


Tuesday; Went out with the language circle again. Just to a little café in town where you can play board games. We decided to give scrabble a go, but its quite hard to play English scrabble with a Finnish set, because there are so many letters that they don’t have. Try using K’s when you don’t have any C’s. Harder than it sounds, but we managed to complete the board and use all the letters with (almost) no cheating. See the evidence (for those looking that hard, the vowels with 'umlauts' or whatever they're called, we used as blank letters so could be anything).


Wednesday; Two guys that I knew from Helsinki were visiting Turku for the day before heading onto Tampere. So I took them to Koulu. I really like that place and they seemed pretty happy with it. One guy is from Bavaria, and Koulu brew there own beer, so its stronger than most of the regular Finnish stuff which I’m told isn’t that good, so he was happy with the ‘real’ beer there I think. Although obviously still not as good as Bavaria. Personally I cant stand beer, but they do a great blueberry cider which I recommend.

Thursday; It still doesn’t end. My tutors ex-housemate’s boyfriend (if you can follow that) wanted to start a regular club night in town and it was the debut so my tutor had a pre-party to try and get a good group together. Its been an age since I'd seen her, and I like all her housemates, so was a good night. The actual club night was good too, with good music from the DJs and a live band (The Oders) which were trying so hard to be a British Indie band. Don't tell anyone I said this, but they were actually pretty good. Sounded like Placebo would have done were they part of the 80's electro era. Quite funky. Check them out here.

And that was my mammoth week. Dont think I'll have another like that in a while. It seriously messed with work on thursday - I made so many mistakes. It wasnt any better on friday, but because I knew I was tired, I took my time doing everything so didnt leave work till late (but didnt mess anything up!). Next week there will apparently be students in the labs with my supervisor running a class for them. Will be nice to see some new faces, and have a bit of life in the lab. Theres been a terrible flu going around, so lots of people have been away. However, I went to a seminar and got chatting with some of the people in the other labs. Seems there are some friendly faces around, and people are starting to speak to me in English, which is nice.