I'm back / finnish friday newsflash

I know it's been a little while, but I'm back in action!  I have been sick this entire week so far and haven't even had the energy to get off the couch, much less write a blog entry :(  I haven't left the apartment since J's game on Tuesday, which I clearly shouldn't have gone to either, since I was miserable the entire game.  Such a dedicated wifey I am, though! :)  Other than that my days have been filled with rest, homemade chicken noodle soup and watching 2 1/2 enitre seasons of my Newlyweds DVD's (for the 50th time... I have an extremely unhealthy obsesssion with Nick & Jessica, but that is a whole other blog post....)

Today's order of business?  My "Finnish" Friday Newsflash!   I mentioned that I decided to join in on this while visiting Marian's blog Escaping the Single Life, and since then I have been able to check out the blog where it all started- Poodleism by Casey.  I think I'll participate this week, but I'll have to see where it goes from there.  There isn't much in the way of news around here as it is (at least the "super-interesting" juicy gossip news- ha) so between that and the language barrier (my friend google translate really leaves me hangin with this Finnish stuff...), this wasn't an easy task.  What's a girl gotta do for some news in English around here? 

Anyway, here it goes.  Hopefully you find something interesting out of this, or at least learn something new :)

more "serious" stuff....

1) U.S. President Obama’s school reform seeks impetus from Finland. 

I thought some of you may find this one interesting seeing as it involves the U.S., and it definitely caught my eye from my "educator" perspective.  A research group has been sent to Finland from the U.S. to observe and learn from the Finnish school system.  As we all know, there is a lot wrong with education in the U.S. nowadays, so let's hope we can follow more in the footsteps of our Finnish friends.  They seem to have it all figured out! ;)  (Maybe this means we need to stay in Finland and raise our future children here?  Kidding, parents! ;) )

2) Snow removal can be a wild wild business. 

I had to add this one because I see these guys every day and think of how unsafe it is.  In Finland, they have men up on the rooftops of buildings clearing the snow off almost every day.  It does aid in the safety of others- once it gets a little warmer and the snow melts, it can slide off the building and fall onto people (though, if you scroll down in the article, you will see that this has already happened this year...)  BUT- is it really safe to have these men up on the icy, snowy roofs all the time?  I sure as heck wouldn't do it for 15 euros an hour!

3) Parliament Slams Anti-Begging Law.

Finland has a great social security & health care system (that I can proudly say the hubs and I are now entitled to be a part of, thanks to our contract extension!)  that takes wondeful care of people who have lost their jobs, homes, etc.  They are given a place to live and recieve great unemployment benefits.  So why are there beggars on the streets, you ask?  Because apparently they come here from other countries to try and take advantage of the Finns' generocity.  They come, beg on the streets and outside of stores in Helsinki, and (supposedly) head back at the end of their 90 days.  Now, I fully understand that not everyone is as fortunate as we are, and there may be terrible things going on in their country, but I do see where the Finns are coming from also- they have worked hard to create a great system to keep people off of the streets.


strange stuff...

1) Crazy Russains drive with the top down 

This speaks for itself.  Top down in a sleet storm in January?  One things for sure- you can bet they weren't smiling! (but, how is this a news story?)




2) Man orders McDonalds naked  Sorry ladies (and gentlemen), there's no picture to go with this one.  I think what I find more amusing about this article is the way it is translated in Google.  "Wanted to Hamburger Naked" and "the sock man could not be reached".  Either this guy has some serious issues, or he lost a huge bet.

3) "Even the Russians Wouldn't Do This"....... or would they? 

Apparently this video has been circulating around the web and has created a huge stir over whether or not it is a real baby, and if it is, how ridiculously unsafe it is to be swinging it around like this!  What are these people, nuts?  Apparently it is some sort of "Russian Baby Yoga" that involves swinging 2 week old babies around like they're a rag doll.  I'm not sure what I think about it being real or not, but I'll just pray that it's not.  Get a clue, people!


Okay, that's all I've got for today.  I hope you enjoyed it (even if you're one to prefer hearing about a Lifetime movie about William & Kate or that Miley was voted "worst celebrity influence" 2 years in a row!)  despite it being fairly dry material.  Guess that speaks for itself!

Happy Friday!