Oulun Jäähalli -- Ice Hockey Time -- 9 Helmikuu 2006

(Yeah, sorry it has taken me so long to get this entry online . . . Taken from my journal entry on 2/9/06)

Tonight was Ice Hockey night! Jeeze, I love hanging out with some of the exchange students. We have good clean fun, and do so many different activities, that I never get bored (well except on the Rovaniemi trip, but that was a special case). Anyhow, back to the ice hockey . . . the first ice hockey game I ever went to was my sophomore year of high school. Don’t remember the names of the teams that played, but they played in Knoxville. I think it was Knoxville’s hockey team. I wonder if they still have a hockey team. I wonder if I am just making up that Knoxville has even had or has a hockey team. Well, tonight the two ice hockey teams playing were Kärpät (Oulu’s team) and HIFK (Helsinki’s team). It was so much fun. I didn’t expect it to be so entertaining. What made the night so interesting and entertaining were the Finns. Why? Well, the common stereotype of a Finn is blond, blue eyed, quite and reserved (until alcohol enters the picture), and only get excited on special occasions. Obviously, stereotypes can be misleading, but they also can be quite true.

About the whole blond hair, blue eyed Finn sure there were some, but there were also many other colors of people (skin, hair, eyes). Now here comes the interesting part . . . Thankfully we had rather good seats, not only because of the view but also because we were beside the pep section (much like the student sections at (American) football games).

This section of Finns did not fit the stereotype of quite and reserved. However, they did not even come close to the fervor of American football pep sections. In fact, when you looked around the arena . . . everybody except for our section was sitting down. Random bits of claps here and there. But when a goal was made for the Oulu team an unexpected uproar and hooping and hollering followed the point made. However, Finns as they are, they sat down in a matter of about 30 seconds. During half time, the arena almost cleared out completely leaving me wondering if they would even return. Well, they did and the same scene as depicted above was seen again. When it came to the end of the 3rd round it was tied and thus only four players and a goalie from each team could enter the ice arena. The first team to get a goal won. To Oulu’s luck they got the goal in first and won the game. For a second time in the whole hour and 30 mins or so the Oulu Fans (not in the “spirit section”) celebrated by standing out of their chairs to congratulate their team and then again about 30 seconds later cleared the stands and left.

Oulu and Lampertheim meet Johnson City

I have to say that I am quite excited about this weekend. Why? Well, if I translate and explain the title, my excitement will become clearer :)

Oulu = Janika (my Kummi student, the person who I was in contact with before my venture to Finland and helped me throughout my stay in Finland; thus she became a very good friend)

Lampertheim = Tina (I don't know her, yet, but she is on exchange with Janika at UNC Wilmington; she is from Germany; where in Germany? I don't know)

Johnson City = Betsy (moi; obviously the one who is typing this post and who is going to school and living in Johnson City as the time of this post)

Therefore, Jankia and Tina meet Betsy :)

Janika and Tina are studying abroad at University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Thankfully Tina has a car. So, they didn't have to rent one (btw, Tina has a car because she is staying here an entire year, and because American has a shoddy public transportation system).

Long time, No write

3 months (or thereabouts) . . . 3 months since I left the land of the Fins. I am looking back on my 5 month stay in Suomi/Finland as a meer memory; something that seems out of grasp and too magnificent to be true. A bit nostalgic, I guess you could say I am. However, as I finally print pictures, talk to overseas friends online, and even texting a couple of them, it makes my experience in Suomi/Finland not so "unreal."

As I have now been in the states in the above mentioned time, I have realized that Fins are everywhere and I can't seem to get away from them ;) haha. Of course, not that I actually want to. Anyhow, my specific example comes from my time at Camp Hollymont, a girls' christian camp located in Asheville, NC. I have written to several of my friends already of this matter, but can't remember who else I told . . .

Here's how the story goes:
I was suppose to be with the Cardinals (the middle aged girls of the camp 10 to just turned 12), but was moved up to the Eagle hall (the oldest girls 12 going into 8th grade to 15 going into 10th). It is truly amazing how a year's difference can make in a young girl's perspective and attitude about life and their surroundings. Anyhow, the best part about the camp moving me up to the Eagle Hall is because of my CIT (counselor in training). Her name is Nina Haaskivi . . . and she is Finnish!!!!! Haha, note the double vowels and her first name ending in a vowel. We started talking by discussing why I had arrived at camp so late, and it was due to the fact that I wanted to see two of my high school friends get married. She said that she was suppose to go to a wedding as well, but it was too far away for her to get there and be back here for Camp. Like most people probably would to prevent any awkward silence, I asked her where the wedding was to be held. Obviously, I was thinking some where in the states . . . just kidding! Her cousin was getting married in Finland! Also, her cousin is a famous Finnish hockey player and the bride was Ms. Finland!! My mouth just dropped and I was like, "I've lived and studied in Finland for the past 5 months!" We both couldn't believe our ears. Later in our conversation about Finland she proceeded to tell me that both her parents were born in Finland (I think she said that her maternal grandmother is "very" Russian, and her mother has a Helsinki-Russian accent). I think her father is from around Oulu, but I could be mistaken on that. Minor details. Anyhow, so she has dual citizenship, but the Finnish government seems to have lost her birth certificate or something and she does not exist. (oh, she was born in the states). Anyhow, we have become great friends and I'll hopefully be able to keep in contact with her. She said that during holidays they still practice Finnish traditions of foods, festivities, watching hockey (she LOVES hockey), and other Finnish tidbits. Her father sent her some Fazer and Jaffa, and she kindly offered to share some of it with me, which made me quite happy ;) haha. Then for my birthday, she had her mom send a Finnish product up from Florida. iittala . . . a funny looking glass vase we always would see in Stockmanns in downtown Oulu. I was speechless, but obviously thanked her!

On the left is the outside wrapper to some Finnish chocolate "Karl Fazer" (ask me about the pronunciation), the middle is an okay view of the vasey type glass ware by iittala (ask me about the pronunciation), and the last item on the right is Jaffa (you might be able to pronounce this one). Jaffa has an orangy taste, and isn't too carbonated :)

Pretty cool huh? It would be pretty cool if I could go visit her in Florida; she said that there are several "Finnish" stores around where she lives.

Onto another little tidbit, my kummi student, Janika, is just about the most "awesomest" person ever. I don't know what I would have done without her. She helped me out before I even embarked on my journey to Finland, and she helped me throughout my stay in Finland. I know that sounds rather vague, but if I listed out how exactly she helped me out ya'll would get bored :) Anyhow, through the course of 5 months she became my friend, not just a person who shows you the ropes and then you never hear from them again. We hung out, ate lunch, talked, etc. The coolest thing about Janika is that she is actually in the states as I type! She is "studying abroad" in Wilmington, NC. A beautiful campus located, practically, on the beach. Hopefully I'll be able to visit her. Unlike Europe, the states does not have a train system that will get you to and from places if you happen to not have a car. Oh well, I guess we thought trains were/are out of style and having your own car to flaunt around is much more "instyle." haha, anyhow, I do hope to meet up with Janika and ask her what her experience is like in the states. She has already told me that she was amazed at how many books she had to buy and how much all the books cost. I was like, um, yeah, hole in the wallet. She also was amazed at how much work our professors have us do. I was like, um, yeah, stress out the wahzoo. haha.

I guess that is all for this entry. It may be a "little" while til I am able to write again. Until next time, hei, hei

Two days before I leave . . .

I sit here in the computer lab in the Uni thinking about what exactly I want to say. Do I sum up my feelings about Finland; do I say how much I will miss Finland, how much I will be glad to be home, or vice versa; do I keep on asking questions like above and never actually get to a point in this entry?

Well, moving on . . . it has been raining here everyday, off and on, for the past two weeks. So, my final days here in Finland haven't been the most beautiful, but that's okay. Everything is so green now, flowers are blooming, and people actually smile at you. My friend sent me to this website, http://www.pauldickman.com/misc/helsinki.php, and so much of it is SOOOOO true. In some cases, I think I have turned into a Finn. Read up on it and eventually I'll let you knowin what ways I have become like a Finn.

I'll most likely still be posting on this website beyond my stay here in Finland, because there are many more things that I have yet to put up here. Sooo, don't stop checking up on the site for now.

I guess that's all for now though. I need to get all my stuff together and get ready to head back home!

Written Yesterday :)

Sunnuntai, Toukokuu 21, 2006

Green finally arrived last week around Tiistai/Keskivikko. Thankfully, it has been greening up everywhere since :) Makes me happy, very happy. However instead of steadily getting warmer it has steadily gotten colder. The first week of Toukokuu, it was plus or minus 20˚C! Quite warm considering the previous week it was around 5˚ or so. But after a warm week and a half it hasn’t been above 16˚ C Makes me unhappy ;) haha. Naw, but seriously it is practically the end of May. On May 16th, when we arrived at the site, there was snow on the ground but eventually melted. Then the very next day it bloomin’ snowed! I would compare the now to Dippin’ Dots though. It wasn’t the fluffy white snow it was hard pellets of dippin’ Dots fallin’ from the sky. It was quite fun though.












(Andre, Anna, and Dario screening)


(The Dippin' Dots fallin' from the sky)










(This is Emily, one of the McGill students, eating the "Dippin' Dots")

Well, spring/summer is arriving no matter what the weather throws at us. The reason why I know this is due to several clues that have popped up around Oulu. What are they??

1. Grocery markets have signs that say “Summer Hours” or “Kesä-Sunnuntaisin”
   a. Normally they aren’t open on Sundays or if one is it is only open from 12 to 4 or 6 (Not very convenient to say the least).
   b. They even have a sign:
2. People smile at you.
3. People nod back at you when you nod in a gesture of hello.
4. There are more red cars out.
5. More motorcycles
6. There are people EVERYWHERE. Seems as if everyone comes out of hiding.

(The sign)

Today and February 27th

Well, a few comments about today and the past week in archaeological field school . . . Last week was simple beautiful every single day and warm . . . However this week has started out cold, is suppose to rain tomorrow and the next day, I will wear my down coat tomorrow, and hard pan (a iron rich substance, rock like material) seems to be the only thing I can find while we unearth our site. Nevertheless, I did find a quartz scraper! Picture of that later. We are also finding a great amount of decaying ceramics (I may have accidentally chopped right through some in my annoyance with all of the hard pan . . . all I can say is oops). Anyhow, we also have found an interesting layer on several pieces of ceramics. It looks like glazed material. However, five-thousand or so years ago it was thought that they didn't have kilns. There is an area in the east part of our trench that MAY have a POSSIBLE kiln. More later . . .

Now, this next entry actually happened February 27th. Yes, I know quite the delay in posting, but here it is now :) Enjoy . . .

Obviously back in February there was quite a bit more snow and it was on the chilly side of the temperature scale. Nevertheless, I and my roommate Eva decided to attempt a daily activity for some of the Finnish peoples . . . Ice Hole Swimming!! Yes, I know crazy as it sounds, me, Betsy Caldwell, went into freez’n cold water in -7˚C (20˚F) weather! The day couldn’t have been more perfect! It had been down to around -18˚C (0˚F) or thereabouts. Thus, -7˚C (20˚F) wasn’t all that bad. The sun is what really helped out. At first thought, one might think I was actually swimming in a “hole.” Well, I think they call it “ice hole swimming,” because it originally did have a hole that you would swim around in. However, where I went was an area of the river that is kept unfrozen by H2O pumps that help circulate the H2O so that it doesn’t freeze. I think the place is at Tuira up from the hydroelectric plant. There are dressing rooms for men and women. Thankfully, they are warm ones (Well, I was told that the men’s dressing area is warm; haven’t actually been there).

First thing I noticed about my surroundings in the changing room was that most of the women there were most likely 60 and up (probably even close to 70; of course I may be pushing that guesstimate). They come to ice hole swimming practically every day! They spend about a minute or 2 breast stroking around in the freez’n cold H2O. Oh, even the men that were there were most likely in later 60s. There were 3 guys our age, but they were practicing for the Oulu Ice Hole Swimming Championship.

The girl who took mine and Eva’s pictures did a wonderful job by taking them in sequences – from beginning to end –. Eva and I braving the cold (left). Me getting ready to take the plung! (Right)















Yep, in the water. Thumbs up; I am done and outta here ;).

Monty Python's Finland

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Pony trekking or camping,
Or just watching TV.

Finland, Finland, Finland.
It's the country for me.
You're so near to Russia,
So far from Japan,
Quite a long way from Cairo,
Lots of miles from Vietnam.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Eating breakfast or dinner,
Or snack lunch in the hall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.

You're so sadly neglected
And often ignored,
A poor second to Belgium,
When going abroad.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.

Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.
Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.

Finland has it all.

Finland has it all.


Cute Song huh? hehe. Finland does have it all (well, almost)