Life's Little Challenges

Here's the predictable and obligatory apology for not having written in a few weeks: I'm sorry that I haven't written, that is, if you've been waiting to hear from me. If you haven't, well, then, I'm not quite as sorry.


My mind has been sort of all-consumed with thoughts of the Finnish language, of efforts to integrate into this really beautiful, efficient-yet-compassionate society, and with thoughts of my stomach. Or, more precisely, my digestive tract. You see, for about three weeks now (perhaps a little more) I've been unable to "stomach" much food. I'm eating lots of yogurt and probiotic pills in the hopes that I won't need to see a doctor. Finnish doctors are lovely, but they're still doctors, and I'm frightened of what they'll do to me in the name of diagnostics. Things have been improving in the last few days, so we'll see.

As for Finnish class, I'm pleased to report that I seem to be doing very well in it. It's terribly unhip to admit this, but there's just something about a structured classroom setting that really allows me to absorb information. To have it all explained, to practice speaking and understanding in the comfort of something that isn't yet quite the real world, to then go home and have Rami help me out with a few things -- it's all pretty ideal. I'm sort of shocked at the speed with which I have picked things up in the last three weeks. I mean, of course, I have many, many, billions of kilometers to go, but this really is a decent start.

And I'm proud to officially announce that: minä puhun vähän suomea.

Now It's Begun

Last Wednesday, I received a text message notifying me that I'd gotten into another beginner's Finnish class comparable to the one I'd first applied for. We started today, and it seems really perfect; it's 2.5 hours, 5 days a week (as opposed to 7) and so far I'm enjoying it. Relatedly, I've never been in a situation wherein I'm one of so many Elenas and Jelenas.

 The best thing to come of this is that I feel like I'm doing something. I'm getting out of the house, I'm walking by myself the (very) short distance to class, and I'm learning something which is both intensely interesting and crucially important to my life's trajectory.

During my last weekend as a woman free from scholastic obligations, Rami and I went to Muikku ja Pottu Kalamarkkinat, or "The Vendace and Potato Fish Markets." (Yeah, it may lose something in translation).

Here in Lappeenranta, vendors come from all over Finland to sell trinkets, candy and, of course, fish and potatoes. In the crisp, early autumn air, it was an experience very reminiscent of fall fairs like those back home in New England. We had a great time eating, browsing wares, and buying honey from Lapland and salmon that we had watched being flamed to perfection.







 So, overall, life in Finland has been good.

Not Much

Not much has been happening. I'm in limbo, and don't have much to do. My English class was cancelled due to low enrollment (or, rather, it will very likely be cancelled), I was deemed "not-Russian-enough" for the Finnish class (I'm joking!), and I'm left sort of twiddling my thumbs, waiting for my life to begin. Although Rami and I have plenty of fun together, I'm getting very restless and very bored.

 After discussing this dilemma with my dad a bit, he suggested that empty times like these are precisely what college is for; you learn the discipline necessary to accomplish tasks without someone hovering over you as they did in preschool. Since I have all this free time, it's up to me to fill it with important and meaningful things. What have I been doing, then? Well, I've been writing. Since arriving in Finland, I hadn't written much other than this blog -- certainly no fiction -- and I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever open my word processor again. I just felt so empty, a direct result of my empty days. The trick with writing is, though, you can pick it up feeling "uninspired" and most of the time you'll manage to get something on the page. It might not be any good, but at least you can scrap it later when something decent begins to materialize. I've made it my "assignment" to write at least a page a day. I've got some good stuff cooking, I must say.

 The other major project I've got going is studying Finnish here at home. I was actually pretty vigilant about studying it when I got here, but after taking the placement test for that class I became really discouraged. I mean, I did so horribly. It was abysmal. No one seemed terribly surprised by this given the short time I've been in the country, but I felt as if all the work I'd done in the weeks prior had been for nothing. At that point, I gave up. "Guess I can't do this on my own," I thought. But, since I don't know when my next opportunity to take a Finnish course will be, I feel as if I have no real choice. Okay, so maybe it'll be slow going here at home without the best resources and the knowledge of an instructor, but what else can I do? It can't hurt (anything other than my ego).