FLASHBACK #2: My First Weekend in Finland!

I remember driving along after leaving Hanko docks - the single lane two-way route was lined with tall, slim dark trees. Very rarely in England did you come across such tall trees so close to the roadside. Anyhow, as the clouds grew lighter, I was unsure if it would get any light or not as people had warned me that the Finnish Autumn and Winter had to be seen to be believed.

One of my colleagues had faxed me a map and I followed it religiously, first heading towards Helsinki, then turning off onto the E3 which would take me all 170 km's to Tampere. I had agreed to pop into the office first and, from there, I would be escorted to my new home. I remember stopping halfway, at Hämmenlinna, for a coffee. I was so tired and stiff - this was my first time driving on the 'other side' as they do on the Continent and I must have been gripping the steering wheel so tightly, not sure whether or not I was heading the right way.

As I continued along the E3, a sign for Tampere came up. Forty minutes later, I had turned off and was navigating the roads leading to the unimpressive looking building where I would spend the next nearly-two years working. I parked the car and headed to the second floor where a number of colleagues were waiting to greet me, relieved that I had survived one of the worst storms in the Baltic Sea in 10 years; that had seemed like a long time ago after the little driving adventure.

Anyway, they had arranged some kind of 'getting to meet one another session' over coffee and cake. Before leaving the office, I was handed a mobile phone and a laptop by the HR Manager, a gentle man in his late 50's. He explained that the mobile phone was free to use, to call home whenever I wanted. He said the laptop is to be used for my work, but can be used at home whenever needed. With all the official stuff done and dusted, a young bossy-looking girl showed me the local supermarket, before I followed her in my car to my new home.

I was amazed. And honoured. The apartment was brand new, I had my own parking space. This was my first own home; I would be able to come and go as I pleased, no Mum & Dad to clock in with, no elder sisters to obey! My colleague left quite quickly, saying she would see me in office on Monday! She left me standing by the window that led onto a balcony surrounded by glass windows. She had left me! It was only Wednesday and I wasn't expected in until the Monday. And I had no map of the local area, no local knowledge. I had been amazed at my new home, then stunned that I had been left to 'get on with it'.

With my colleagues' departure came snow. I stood by the window leading to the balcony and huge fluffy bits of snow started to fall. Part of me was in awe, the other part wondering what the hell I had done! If it was already snowing at the beginning of November, that meant there was a long winter in store.

After the initial amazement of the falling snow, I got on with the task of emptying my car. Fortunately, the Company provided all the basics. Everything was new and, over the course of four days, I found a home for my own possessions. By the Saturday morning, the place was looking good. Several times, I felt pangs of loneliness, constantly wondering if I had done the right thing or not. On the Saturday morning, I decided to call my parents. They were relieved to hear from me. I filled them in in what had happened so far, but they just wanted to know if I was warm enough, if I had enough food (which reminded me of the box my sister had packed, containing sugar, salt, soap etc. as we didn't know if Finland had these things!), if I was happy, healthy etc.

The phone call ended with a grin on my face - it was then that I realised that, with the newfound ability to hear, if I ever needed someone to talk to then I could just pick up the phone. I had been in the house for three days - I hadn't left it once, but was determined to. I really had no idea where the centre of town was - part of me was afraid to go there in case I caused an accident in my 'funny car' with the steering wheel on the 'wrong side'. I grabbed the bull by the horns, put on lot's of warm clothing, got in the car and spent an hour or so just driving around.

The centre was easy to find, less than 3km away - I simply followed the signs for 'keskusta' (centre) and reminded myself to stay on the right! The main street, Hameenkatu, was criss-crossed with dozens of streets and, in time, I discovered two huge lakes, Näsijärvi to the north of the city and Pyhäjrvi to the south, which was very close to my apartment. More information can be found on Tampere at http://www.tampere.fi/

As I drove through the centre of the city, I watched the people... They looked very different from people back home, pale skinned, but well dressed and mostly slim. In the chill of the day, people rushed from place to place, darting in and out of stores. It was late Saturday afternoon and I headed home, with nothing planned. It was already dark and pushing 4pm. The evening was spent having a sauna - I had one in my own apartment - and reading what remained of Big Brother, the book version of the recently completed first series.

Sunday was another uneventful day, but on this day I took a long walk around the lake and took in the town on foot. My mission was to learn more about the town, find out where the video stores were, where there might be a gym or a library. It was a crisp, very blue day and as I walked around Phyäjärvi, the various chimney's that dotted the Tampere skyline emitted white whispy smoke.

Later that day, after eating dinner and getting familiar with my laptop, I started to prepare for my first day at work. I didn't know what to expect from the job, but I was sure that it would be something new, something challenging. So far, the people had been great and I yearned to be back with the people and have a daily purpose. Nothing can describe how lonely I felt during what was my first weekend in Finland.