When I first got to the middle east I had no idea about exit visas and was told I wouldn't be able to take any trips while I was here. I took this on the chin and decided to put my head down and tail up, get on with work and not think about it.
But when opportunity came knocking I wasn't about to kick it in the face, so after some extensive paperwork and a b-line via Instanbul I now find myself in Finland.
If I thought New Zealand couldn't be more different from the middle east, I was wrong. Finland and the middle east stand at opposite ends of the differential compass and the 10 hour exchange from hot sandy desert to freezing snowy outcrop has been stark.
Nothing says wake up your ideas like the transition between 30 and -10.
It is beautiful here and much easier to deal with than the middle east. For starters most people can speak english and a warm finnish greeting turns into english without skipping a beat the second I say hello.
Food is much easier to manage also, I've left the world of undecipherable cans behind for a bright new world of appropriately labelled packaging and glass jars. I swear I almost cried in the supermarket at the airport.
The airport itself felt oddly kiwi, a mix of steel, glass and stone. I could have landed in Queenstown or Dunedin. All the signage was also easy to manage as most stated their function in Finnish, Swedish and English. I've learned more Finnish and Swedish in 1 day than I have Arabic in 2 months for this very reason.
While the huge words pose a challenge and the addition and removal of the letter 'n' in conversation seems at best random, some words are very cute. For example you can't not like a country when their word for elevator is 'hissi'.
People have been warm, welcoming and drenched in smiles, a far cry from the cold, soul-less emotional voids described to me by some people. People are utterly delightful, polite and did I mention gorgeous? I have found the goose that lays the beautiful people eggs. Aside from the supermodels working in McDonald's I saw dwarf today and he was the most beautiful dwarf I have ever seen.
Finland so far has not put a foot wrong, unlike me as I negotiate the icy footpaths. It's clean, functional and a bit cheaper than I was expecting. Though it does pay to double the price of anything before handing over your money when converting from the South Pacific Peso. Most supermarket items are reasonable, fast food on the other hand is not.
Still this wasn't going to stop me trying the local delicacies, such as a nommy rye burger from Hesburger. I have photos, but can't negotiate this Finnish computer. I've been guessing the go buttons and am pretty happy to have gotten this far.
As such updates may be sparing at best as I enjoy my holiday, but fret not for if I freeze they will find me in the summer thaw and let you all know.
But when opportunity came knocking I wasn't about to kick it in the face, so after some extensive paperwork and a b-line via Instanbul I now find myself in Finland.
If I thought New Zealand couldn't be more different from the middle east, I was wrong. Finland and the middle east stand at opposite ends of the differential compass and the 10 hour exchange from hot sandy desert to freezing snowy outcrop has been stark.
Nothing says wake up your ideas like the transition between 30 and -10.
It is beautiful here and much easier to deal with than the middle east. For starters most people can speak english and a warm finnish greeting turns into english without skipping a beat the second I say hello.
Food is much easier to manage also, I've left the world of undecipherable cans behind for a bright new world of appropriately labelled packaging and glass jars. I swear I almost cried in the supermarket at the airport.
The airport itself felt oddly kiwi, a mix of steel, glass and stone. I could have landed in Queenstown or Dunedin. All the signage was also easy to manage as most stated their function in Finnish, Swedish and English. I've learned more Finnish and Swedish in 1 day than I have Arabic in 2 months for this very reason.
While the huge words pose a challenge and the addition and removal of the letter 'n' in conversation seems at best random, some words are very cute. For example you can't not like a country when their word for elevator is 'hissi'.
People have been warm, welcoming and drenched in smiles, a far cry from the cold, soul-less emotional voids described to me by some people. People are utterly delightful, polite and did I mention gorgeous? I have found the goose that lays the beautiful people eggs. Aside from the supermodels working in McDonald's I saw dwarf today and he was the most beautiful dwarf I have ever seen.
Finland so far has not put a foot wrong, unlike me as I negotiate the icy footpaths. It's clean, functional and a bit cheaper than I was expecting. Though it does pay to double the price of anything before handing over your money when converting from the South Pacific Peso. Most supermarket items are reasonable, fast food on the other hand is not.
Still this wasn't going to stop me trying the local delicacies, such as a nommy rye burger from Hesburger. I have photos, but can't negotiate this Finnish computer. I've been guessing the go buttons and am pretty happy to have gotten this far.
As such updates may be sparing at best as I enjoy my holiday, but fret not for if I freeze they will find me in the summer thaw and let you all know.
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