I Have A Camera Now

Busy work week, don't ask me what we did. There's a lot of weight behind this Heimtextil project, but so far it feels like we haven't done any work, I really just want to get designing...

Thursday brought along our first Finnish class! We learned: how to count to 12 (now I can count to 19!); that in Finnish they don't ever need to write anything phonetically because they pronounce every letter; they don't really use B, C, D, G, X, Z and one or two other letters, even though they are in their alphabet; double consonants are harder sounds and double vowels are elongated (kiitos = ke-etos).

Friday rolled around in good timing, no class but instead a trip to Helsinki to the Habitare design fair. This was great opportunity to check out some funky design and collect lots of free postcards. Friday night brought the weekly outdoor Paivanpaiste party, meeting strangers in the dark and playing the 'What's your name, where are you from, where do you stay, what do you study?' game. If your lucky, the conversation will move past that. By midnight it was cold and there were only a couple dozen of us left, time to move inside. As soon as the table was strategically relocated out of the kitchen, the police were called and we all trudged back to our flats. Never mind, if things keep going this way the parties will keep going on till we're fighting zero.

Saturday morning brought a terrible shock to the system – the cooker was not working. Ordinarily, this wouldn't bother me so much, I adapt well to change or a fork in the road, but this was a curve ball that sent me spinning. We have no microwave. No toaster. No kettle. I couldn't even make a measly cup of tea! I say measly, but really tea is all I've wanted all weekend. I like salad, and sandwiches, and fruit – but there is no replacement for a hot drink. Feeling tired and betrayed (by fire), I reached a desperately low point – I wandered wearily into the kitchen looking for some kind of fix, only to return to my room with a sad mug full of nacho cheese balls (they don't really do crisps here). This also ruined our plans of making Mars Bar Crispie Cakes for Marianne's birthday that evening. Rose and I packed our bags, which were surprisingly heavy, though contrastingly light on the return journey, and efficiently made our way to Rachel's where she played the role of the much more developed human – she had FIRE! 

 

Cakes made, bodies dressed, bus caught and all on time! (We're getting better at this) A very cool party, in yet another very cool flat. Even though I didn't understand what a lot of people were saying at the start of the night, tequila, food and a good atmosphere kind of unites people regardless of language. Plus, we got to show off our counting skills. Then to Dynamo (Doonamo, 'Y' is an 'oo' sound) where all I can recall is that there are two floors, that I thought I lost my camera, but I left it in my jacket pocket, that my hat is very popular and that 'snus' is some kind of tobacco you put under your lip – don't do it, it's just weird (and apparently illegal in the EU, cheers Wikipedia). I managed to get the night bus home, but don't ask me about any of the details.

The next morning was not fun. No tea, no noodles, only ham and salad and apples – not what I wanted. However, I did end up with a rather nice lunch - a tin of cold baked beans, heavy on the Tabasco and free Hesburger pepper. I was also due to meet two people in town that afternoon, which felt impossible at 10am. However, that really was the hangover cure. 

 

The world is tiny, the summer really reinforced that feeling for me, and I was about to get another dose. A friend of my sister's in Manchester had two girls doing an intern-ship with her for 6 weeks during the summer - not only were they from Finland, but they also go to the same university. We decided to meet on the 18^th, which was also incidentally Turku Day. The city was extra busy; lots of stalls, people and events. So much happened that I shall just have to give you a sort of running order of events... Uber cute cafe, connections = free pancakes and coffee, riverside walking (most things kinda happened along the river), festival liquorice, up a hill for a view of the city, cider on a boat, a little tour towards the Art Academy (where they study), discovering a City of Culture art instillation which was a boat full of taxidermied animals, crossing the River Aura on the little free ferry, musical entertainment from Negative performing on a bridge and the best fireworks I've ever seen with a hot snack of Muikku (sardines perhaps) for the bus ride home.

 

It really was quite an epic weekend.

Oh, and a Blue Tit broke into my kitchen.