I find it quite ironic that when i’m leaving Varkaus, the lovely Savo region, I leave my calendar, with the details of my complicated one-month trip ‘to Europe’ and my passport with it. Luckily (after calling all the places that I visited on the 1.5hour car journey to Mikkeli, including police stations), it was found in Varkaus and I should receive it by mail tomorrow. The flight is the following day!

I’m currently printing some of the reading for the trip. I guess I need to read most of it in electronic format since it would be a pretty heavy and expensive folder otherwise (though my thanks go to my uncle for providing the printing facilities)!

I’m quite excited about the trip – though also exhausted beforehand. Imagine all the rambling and the carrying of things. I try to keep it down to minimum, but inevitably it always feels too much to carry. Besides, not all the arrangements have been done yet. I had postponed booking my flights from Budapest to the UK – and now when I did it yesterday, I had to stay until Tuesday 5 September. The next conference is in Manchester on the 6th already… I return to Finland on the Saturday the 9th as my teaching in Helsinki starts on the Monday. So little time for the UK, sorry, for those of you over there who might be reading this blog.

Soon, I’m off to Helsinki to have a lunch with my brother, go to the University Library, and meet later, for instance with my Spanish comrade Carlos (who apparently has had great times in Finland for the last six months or so – should be inspiring to hear what he thinks!).

Personally I’ve been mostly culture-schocked, which is weird when one is supposed to be in one’s own/home/native country. First night it was the habit of having dinner at 5pm. Now I got an invitation for a birthday dinner at 6pm – and I was no longer schocked but resigned about these local customs. Yesterday was a schock, though: I can’t believe even the briefing meetings at the Job Centre start minutes before the the hour, not five minutes late as I’m accustomed to ‘in Europe’! My mother lectured that keeping in time is the most important thing in Finland. Being fifteen minutes late anywhere is a major display of disinterest. And yet, although I fought really hard to be on time this morning – Mr. Murphy was with me. I was precisely those fifteen minutes late for my appointment.

Do wish me luck for my journey!