OUT OF INTEREST INDEX

JUNE 2006
- Helsinki Day (June 12)

MAY 2006
- Johan Vilhelm Snellman (1806 - 1881)

APRIL 2006
- Mikael Agricola (1510 - 1557), Father of Finnish written langauge.

FEBRUARY 2006
- Mustamakkara
- Juhan Ludvig Runerbeg (1804-1877)
- Salmiakki Koskenkorva

FLASHBACK #6: Castles, 'support package' and sleeping in the sauna

I remember my first company Christmas party in Finland very well. Up to a point, anyway! The firm had organised for everybody to go to a place called Vanajanlinna (www.vanajanlinna.fi), a Castle in the Vanaja region of Finland, strategically located between the major cities of Tampere, Lahti, Turku and Helsinki.

Straight after work, my colleagues and I loaded onto a coach. As we made our way to the Castle, darkness arrived once more. It took more than an hour to get there and, on our arrival, I discovered that a Finnish Castle bears no resemblance to the fortress look of British Castles - instead, it looks more like a Manor.

We were greeted my two female colleagues who had arrived ahead of us and dressed up as Angels. As our 'hosts' for the evening, they had arranged 'teambuilding' tasks. Together, in teams of six, colleagues had to participate in a number of tasks, resulting in points for the best performance. Along the way, strong drinks were offered, adding to the relaxing evening. Several of my colleagues from the UK offices had joined us and a good time was had by all.

After the teambuilding session, we were welcomed into an impressive hall where a splendid buffet of traditional Finnish foods graced the tables. Along with reindeer meat, there was succulent ham with a selection of mashed vegetables. With the food came lots of wine and, within an hour, a live band had started up and people were dancing; dancing in Finland is serious business and is done very differently. It's quite an unnerving experience as girls start asking you to dance then lead the way, tango-style!

Before long, midnight arrived. I had been chatting to various colleagues during the course of the evening and the drink was flowing. We all ambled back onto the coach and a drink called 'support package' was doing the rounds - it was dark black and, reeking of liquorice, tasted like a liquorice-flavoured schnapps. It wasn't until later, as we arrived in Tampere and after my fourth or fifth swig of 'support', that I was told it was called 'Salmiakki Koskenkorva' and contained 32% Alcohol! It was hardly any surprise then that, as I stood up to get out of the coach, my legs felt a bit wobbly!

The coach had pulled into Koskikatu near the Tammerkoski which continued to gush with water. Apparently, we were heading to 'Nightlife', a nightclub attached to Cumulus Hotel. After a couple of hours on the dancefloor, some of us decided to call it a night. I remember seeing the temperature displayed as -17°C somewhere as I patiently waited for a taxi - I was in a long queue of some thirty people and, in a drunken stupor, decided to make the three kilometre trip home on foot. I was inadequately dressed and had no hat.

I don't remember the rest of the evening. I must have got home after 3am and woke up at 10am, having somehow taken off all my clothes and slept in the sauna (which I hadn't switched on, thank god). What am I like, eh?!

FLASHBACK #5: Nights in Helsinki: two men on the platform

As my first winter in Finland took hold, I started to use the train whenever I visited Helsinki - I would get on the train straight after work on Friday's and return really late on Sunday. I would spend time with my friend, who lived in Kallio, and we would make food together, go to the bars and check out the local talent! It was weird because, while we did the things couples do, we weren't 'involved' in any way; it was winter and, at the end of the day, it was great company for the both of us! In the evenings, we would drink while we watched TV, played music or chatted, before heading out for a night on the dancefloor!

The more I went to Helsinki, the more familiar the faces in the bars became. I'm glad I didn't go out every weekend as I didn't want to become a 'piece of the furniture'. I got chatting to guys all the time, there was a frequent exchange of telephone numbers, but all too often that would be the end of the matter. Still, I had my friend for company. We met in the Septmber, but by the next Spring he was well and truly out of my life; we didn't fall out, I had just changed, made new friends, both in Tampere and in Helsinki. Four years later, I still think about him.

One weekend either just before or after Christmas, I had told a couple of new contacts that I would be visiting Helsinki that weekend and that my train would arrive at such and such a time on the Friday - we agreed that I would call them on my arrival and we'd sort out a schedule for meeting up over the weekend. When I arrived at the railway station, I strode down the platform: ahead stood two guys I knew (and liked!), standing on either side of the platform. I had arranged to meet neither of them nor had I told them about eachother. Not knowing what to do, I huddled deeper into my winter jacket and thrust my hat down my head as far as it would go and walked past both of them with the rest of the crowd.

In phone calls later on, it emerged that they had both come to the station to meet me because they wanted to get to know me better! Of course, I was flattered but my flirtatiousness has landed me in a tricky situation. I recovered from the situation by claiming that I had missed my train and had arrived on a later train.

Talking about the trains in Finland (I know I run the risk of sounding really boring now!), they are fab! For long distance trips, Finland's state-owned rail network uses the 'Pendolino', a train capable of reaching speeds of up to 220 kms per hour, navigating bends by tilting. As a result, the trains are quiet and smooth and, in my own opinion, utterly amazing. The trips to and from Tampere are a bit pricy though, at €55 return. More about the trains can be found on www.vr.fi

FLASHBACK #4: Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Early December 2001 was spent agonising over whether or not I had done the right thing in moving to Finland - work was going okay, but my 'new life' seemed to consist of going to work, the gym and going for walks with my neighbour and her dog! The past had proven my tendency to be impatient, but my thoughts on the matter had progressed so much so that I actually thought of not returning to Finland after the Christmas break.

On the second weekend in December, I went to visit a friend in Helsinki. I had met him in a bar during that weekend I had spent in Helsinki, having just attended the interview for the job in Tampere. We got on really well and he said that if I ever wanted to come down to Helsinki then I was more than welcome to crash at his place. I drove to Helsinki after work one Friday for the first time and got lost! I spent an hour navigating the city's streets and, finally, pulled into my friend's courtyard. The weekend was spent checking out the town by day and partying by night.

Over a liquid dinner, I spoke to my friend about the situation back in Tampere. He said I needed to settle down, do the things I would do back home. He encouraged me to sort out a decent cable TV package, get a home internet connection, invite colleagues to my place for coffee. He was absolutely right; the thing was that I had got so despondent, having had no local guidance whatsoever that I was simply accepting a situation which I had the power to change.

When I returned to Tampere on the Sunday evening, I join my neighbour on one of her evening walks with the dog. I told her about the situation and she urged me again and again to wait until Spring before making a decision. 'You've come to Finland at the worst time of year,' she said, grimacing up at the dark sky '..stick around, you'll see what I mean!'

FLASHBACK #3: English name on a door!

The weeks crept by very slowly. And I mean, very slowly. Quite often, I wondered if I had done the right thing in leaving England. Nobody from the office had offered to show me around town so it was pretty much a case of just getting on with things. The situation had to be addressed, I thought, as I started going to work on Saturdays and Sundays too, not because of a workload, but because I was bored.

One evening, after returning home from work, I noticed that there was a new name on the door of an apartment on the 2nd floor; since I lived on the 3rd floor and made the effort of using the stairs each day, rather than the lift, I noticed this new name and it immediately grabbed my attention. It was an English name. In my building. On the 2nd Floor! When I got into my apartment, I pondered upon the idea of introducing myself to the occupant. Would it be culturally acceptable?

I bit the bullet, went down one floor and knocked. No answer! Had he or she looked through the peephole and not liked what they had seen and refused to answer? Or were 'they' simply not home? I repeated this process over the next week or so, but again and again nobody responded to the ringing bell. Were they on holiday, or were they students who were out all the time? Curiosity had got the better of me, and I was determined to meet this person with the English name!

After about two weeks, at the beginning of December and after being in Finland about a month, the lock finally clicked. Surprised after waiting so long, I was suddenly lost for words. A woman in her pyjama's had opened the door slightly and a gorgeous golden-coloured corgi was attempting to bypass its owner to get to me. I knelt down to greet the dog and looked up at the woman bearing blonde pig-tails, a beaming smile and rosy cheeks! I asked if she spoke English, she said: 'Of course'. Straight away, she asked me if I would like to join her for a cup of tea. I was taken aback, wondering if there was a husband, or if a boyfriend would turn up at anytime. Not wanting to offend or seem ungrateful, I accepted and, over the next couple of hours, we got to know eachother.

Over several cups of tea and with the dog constantly vying for my attention, I learned that she was a Finn, but had an English name because she had been married to an Englishman. Sadly, they had divorced - he was career-orientated while she wanted a family. She had met her English husband in Germany and, having returned to Finland, started dating a Finnish guy. That fizzled out and now she was living in my building. I asked why she hadn't answered the door - the truth was that she had just moved in, that the name had been on the door for a number of weeks although she hadn't yet moved in.

With all bases covered, I told her about how I had come to end up in Finland. She interrupted our conversation, declaring that the dog needs his walk and invited me to join them. Although I had been in Tampere for nearly a month, I hadn't yet visited the nearby park. The snow had settled, piled up in places to allow access for cars, and we wandered around the nearby arboretum edging alongside Lake Pyhäjärvi. The dog clambered over the piles of snow which was amusing to watch. These walks in the park would become a regular feature of my life, a welcome reprieve from the lonely, dark evenings.