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Welcome to my space! Life in Finland (and beyond)Odds and sods of an ex-pat in Finland June 23 Mail from random people: Finns are keen Postcrossers!Finns are keen travellers. They are also keen armchair travellers and pen pal writers.
The proof is here:
http://www.postcrossing.com/country/FI Postcrossing is a postcard sending network that is free to join. The only costs you will incur on your own are buying and sending postcards from your own country to other random postcrossers.
I have joined the fray and been a Postcrosser for three years already. (I have my friend Pia to thank for getting me into it.) Per capita, Finns are the world's most prolific postcard senders. With 10526 members (and growing) in a country of just over 5.3 million, Finland far outstrips the sending capabilities of the U.S. - the only country to have more Postcrossing members than Finland.
A Finn is on the top of the heap for sending the most postcards, as of this writing, "Linus" (from somewhere near Jyväskyla) has sent more than 1500 postcards; "Kukka1979" is not far behind with more than 1350... All of the top 10 Postcrossers in Finland have sent more than 1000 postcards each. Overall, Finnish Postcrossers have sent more than 520,000 postcards to destinations around the world! That's not cheap!
However, it's fun to get random mail - and in this day and age of reduced funds for travel, this is just one small way to see the world - and share it with others.
June 01 Welfare bum immigrants are a threat to the Finnish way of lifeKai Pöntinen (www.kaipontinen.fi) who is representing the conservative National Coalition Party in the upcoming EU elections thinks it is necessary to stop "welfare bum immigrants to preserve the Finnish way of life." He is sadly mistaken if he thinks an argument like that will get him a place in the EU parliament. (EU elections are set to take place on June 7.)
I hate seeing politicians who think like this because as an immigrant myself, he is painting all immigrants with the same brush. I am NOT a welfare bum immigrant. Party leader Jyrki Katainen is concerned that Pöntinen's ad will fuel the spread of a racist mentality. Sorry Mr. Katainen, Finnish society is already at that stage... Finland is in fact rather racist, and this is often highlighted in the media. That, however, is another story.
I immigrated to Finland over 10 years ago and not once have I been unemployed since that time; not once have I "taken money from the state" in order to be supported. (Having a baby a couple of years ago doesn't count in my opinion.) In fact, I have paid my own way since I have lived here. I pay taxes and I pay my bills, so how am I threat to the "Finnish way of life"? What the heck is the Finnish way of life anyways?
To appease facets of Finnish society who don't want immigrants here, Finland needs to focus parts of its immigration strategy on educated foreigners who will probably integrate into the workforce more easily and adapt to "the Finnish way of life" faster. Make it easier for those folks to stay here - immigration red tape is still a problem! As an immigrant of those stripes, perhaps that is where the focus on future immigration policy should be...
My idea is backed up by former Keskisuomalianen editor, Erkki Laatikainen, who wrote a guest column for YLE's English news service back in March: http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2009/03/column_immigration_issue_becoming_political_touchstone_633137.html May 26 The humble Finnish pancakeFinnish pancakes are thin and fried with butter/margarine in a hot frying pan. Try this recipe (makes about 16 large pancakes):
1 litre of milk
2 eggs 30 ml (2 tablespoons) of sugar 500 ml of flour Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly with a mixer or a wisp and a lot of elbow grease. Heat up a frying pan on high heat. Results are best when you spread butter/margarine over the whole base of the frying pan. Use a ladle to scoop pancake batter into the frying pan. Note: Finnish pancakes are meant to be thin, so don't put too much batter in at once. Flip the pancake over when the bottom has browned. Remove from the pan when both sides have been fried and repeat.
Nothing beats pancakes with strawberries and cream! If you're not up for that, top them with a little sugar.
They're great at any time of the year!
  April 23 And then they buried their heads in the sand againI've re-discovered how fickle people really can be. They get outraged over something on the news, "shout" on some discussion boards or websites for a few days and then are no where to be seen when others take action and try to recruit them to help make a change.
You would think that when it comes to child abuse and child protection that almost all people would immediately jump on board to try and do something to help.
I am afraid that is not the case.
With recent revelations in the Finnish media* that sentencing of convicted child sex offenders (AKA paedophiles) is like a lottery and that some of these sick people don't even serve any jail time, I decided I needed to take action. Even the Mr., who usually never comments on any news piece, exhaled angrily when he heard that the latest sentencing of a convicted paedophile in Helsinki was only 20 months. He's a parent, so am I - so are many people that might read this.
Doesn't that make you want to do something about it?
I am going to do something about it.
First, I will shamelessly promote a petition I have started demanding the uniform sentencing of convicted child sex offenders in Finland: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/uniform-sentencing-for-convicted-paedophiles-in-finland.html
Second, if you're reading this now, I would like to ask you to sign it. (You can even sign anonymously.)
Third, tell your friends!
I am looking for 5000 signatures. You wouldn't think this would be very hard to achieve, but it appears the petition has a long way to go.
And if you have made it this far and actually signed the petition, you can go and bury your head back in the sand again.
STOP CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT!
April 20 The application...I told you about the "test" back on November 12 last year... The results are in! In order to be able to apply for Finnish citizenship you have to have a level 3 certification according to the exam issued by the National Board of Education. In the five elements I scored all of the points I needed and even got a 4 in "Kirjoittaminen" - yeah!
Now for the application...
The application for Finnish citizenship can take various forms, so you have to consider your situation before getting started. See more at www.migri.fi. The thing that bugged me was that there was no final "check list" to tell me exactly what I needed to bring with me. Here's a checklist for you in case you're about to go through with the process.
Anything weird on the application? No not really, but my parents divorced when I was a child, so I had to ask both of them to dig deep to think about the dates I needed to include on the application. I was surprised I didn't have to submit a picture of myself, or provide any proof of marriage or ID from the Mr. I did have a photocopy of his passport just in case, but the lady who took my application told me I had been in Finland for so long already that she didn't need that. The lady who took my application took the time to make sure it was in order and during the half hour I sat in front of her in silence she printed off scads of information, which left me wondering, just what to heck do the authorities have on me? <gulp> After I paid and she issued me a receipt, she told me that she didn't fill in the expected waiting time because she couldn't really tell me how long I would have to wait for a decision. The time could be anywhere from 10 months and onwards. She said there is nothing for me to do except wait, which implies that I shouldn't call or contact them to find out what the status of my application is. She said if I receive a letter from the Immigration Service asking for clarification on anything, that I should respond immediately with the information they are looking for. (Lesson: make sure I have the information ready, I suspect they will send me a letter!) I am just a plain old immigrant to Finland, so a trip to the police station and EUR 400 later and the wait begins. This could take up to two years and even then I am not guaranteed a privileged place in Finnish society. March 19 You know you've lived in Finland for a long time (too long?) whenHow do you measure your life in Finland...
 March 12 Delayed reaction...I have wanted to react to news items in a more timely manner, unfortunately that has not been the case. Life with a 2 year-old, school and full-time work has pushed aside observations on life in Finland. I have been keeping tabs on some recent news items. I actually commented on these they day they were published (see more below). Now I have time to publish - albeit with a delayed reaction.
 You've got one new message... (From February 17, 2009) http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2009/02/beep_beep_youre_fired_551123.html Getting fired by text message appears to be more popular these days, especially in the IT industry. Let me clarify this... "Being laid off" is not a phrase that is used in Finland. If you lose your job due to cut backs, you have been "fired." This has a different meaning in North America...
How ridiculous is this...? I always thought Finns were pretty open, although blunt and willing to resolve things face-to-face. Any Finnish employer who doesn't have the balls to tell an employee to their face they are being fired or laid off should be given assertiveness training! What the hell are they afraid of?
Get on with your life! (February 16, 2009)
This woman is unbelievable... Susan Ruusunen, the former girlfriend of Finnish Prime Minister is insatiable.
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2009/02/vanhanens_ex_appeals_book_ruling_550558.html http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Prime+Minister%E2%80%99s+ex-girlfriend+wants+to+appeal+court+ruling+to+Supreme+Court+/1135243602538 After getting divorced from his long-time wife a few years ago, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen began dating one Ms. Susan Ruusunen (nee Kuronen). After several months the relationship was over, the tabloids had a field day with it and Ruusunen made a mockery of the it by publishing a book called "The Prime Minister's Bride". In what was called an invasion of privacy, the Prime Minister filed a complaint against the publisher (and rightly so) because the book divulged intimate details of their relationship, which are not the business of the public at large - Prime Minister or not.
Ruusunen claims she never meant to hurt anyone and she said that she had the right to publish a book about her life. Yet this case is now making a further round through the appeals process, with Ruusunen whining that she cannot possibly pay the fines imposed upon her for violating the PM's privacy. Gimme a break, it's only a couple hundred Euros! She has lost all credibility by continuing to appeal this verdict.
In my opinion, the Prime Minister does indeed have a right to privacy as he stated to the courts when he appeared as "a citizen" in front of the judge and not as Prime Minister. The PM contends that in front of the courts all citizens are equal and while I am not a political follower, I have to agree with the PM on this one.
Get on with your life Ms. Ruusunen, the Prime Minister certainly has!
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