communicating in a foreign country

Moving to (or even just visiting) a foreign country can be a scary thing in itself.  Add in the fact that the natives do not speak the same language as you do (or, at least, not as a first language) and it can be downright scary (and frustrating!).  I can honestly say that the language barrier is the #1 thing that poses the greatest difficulty and inconvenience for the hubs and I. 



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I recieved a message the other day from a fellow American woman who is moving to Finland.  She was looking for tips on communicating and how to best deal with the language barrier.  Although we are not currently in Finland so language issues are not in the forefront of our minds with it being the off-season, I wanted to share with you all the pointers that I came up with, in hopes that it will help others, as well.  Summer is also tourist season, so many of you may be able to put these to use on your upcoming vacation. 

These tips will work for any country, though some of them incorporate Finnish culture and the stereotype of Finns tending to be very friendly, but extremely quiet and reserved (sometimes true, sometimes not).  Even if English isn't your first language either, it still may help you when traveling (or moving) to a country that speaks a language that is foreign to you.  You'll most likely be using English as your 'common language' to communicate with the natives, after all! :)

-It probably depends most on where in [insert country] you will be.  If you're in a large city, you'll most likely be just fine.  If you're further into the countryside... people may not speak English as well, or at least won't be as comfortable speaking it.  The bigger the city, the more common English is, at least from my experience.  That doesn't mean they don't know English- they all start learning it in school at a very young age- but (Finns, at least) are very shy to begin with, and even more-so when speaking a language that is foreign to them.  The key is to be patient.

-I try and make anyone who I am speaking to feel very comfortable, and they seem to be more willing to open up and speak.  They're afraid they will say something wrong or sound funny.  I usually joke with friends or acquaintences how their English sounds wayyy better than my Finnish (it's true, after all!).  If it's someone I talk to often, I also let them know how cool I think it is that they speak multiple languages.  That's more than I can say of myself!  They seem to be more confident when they are praised for their speaking :)

-Obviously going to stores or anywhere in public is a little intimidating.  We still feel that way.  My husband and I joke about how rich we'd be if we had a nickel for every time we said the phrase "Sorry, I only speak English..."  It will never be "normal" for me, but you do get used to it.  I've found that the best way to avoid some of the awkwardness of it is to make sure that when they greet you (such as a cashier at the grocery store) make sure to say a big, loud "Hello".  Saying "hi"  or "hey" can sound too much like their Finnish greeting, "hei" (pronounced "hey") so they don't catch on as easily, or if you greet them in Finnish ("moi", "hei", etc.) they will assume you speak Finnish.  About 75% of the time I say Hello, they realize that I speak English and start speaking English off the bat from there.  (note: it may be cool and exciting to use your newly acquired langauge skills, but if you're in a hurry, it only adds another step to the process.  Save the showing off for the end and say "thank you" in their language, instead :) ).

-Another thing we found was the awkwardness of making phone calls.  Anytime I called anywhere (to make a hair appointment, for example) I was never sure if I should just start speaking English, or if I should ask them if they speak English first.  I usually went with the latter, and when I mentioned my concern to my Finnish friends, they agreed.  They made a good point- it gives them a chance to "turn their brain on" to speaking English.  If they're not ready for it, they most likely won't understand you the first time you say it.  That way they're prepared and can gather their thoughts first, or pass the phone off to someone who does speak English.

I'd have to say the language barrier is my least favorite part of living in a different country, but it isn't horrible.  The worst part is probably just not being able to get a full answer- like if you're at the store and want to know about a product.  They'll tell you the basics, but probably won't get the big long speech of information you'd get from someone in your home country. The important part is just getting them to open up- once they feel comfortable, they speak English just fine!

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!

you want me to... what?

I thought I'd dedicate my post today to some of the goofy (to us, at least) things that we encounter on a somewhat daily basis here in Finland.  I'm not sure if all of these things are standard around other parts of Europe or not, but they are sure to raise the eyebrows of anyone from the U.S.!

1)  Buying bags at the grocery store (or any store for that matter).  Sure, you may spend 100 euros, but does that earn you the right to get your purchase in a plastic (that probably cause them about 5 cents, tops) bag to carry home?  Not at the majority of stores you walk into!  If you want a bag, you had better grab one and put it on the checkout counter, it's going to cost you 20 cents.  Oh, you'd prefer paper? That'll be 50!  No, 20 cents won't break the bank, but if you count every time you go to the store (x the number of bags you get) it starts to add up.  We use reusable bags both here and at home, but of course only remember them half the time.  I guess it's a good effort to encourage recycling and not wasting bags, which I don't disagree with, but c'mon, if I spend a significant amount of money in your store, the least you could do is give a sister a bag (I promise I'll reuse it as a trash bag later!)


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 2)  Bagging your own groceries.  After that shiny-new-20-cent plastic bag comes across the scanner, you had better get your tush to the end of the checkout and start filling it.  Fast.  No, the bagger boy isn't just lagging behind at the checkout next to you... YOU are the bagger boy.  You quickly catch on to a good method on how to properly pack a grocery bag (which leaves you wondering how the bagger boys at home still always manage to put your eggs and bread on the bottom...) and, if you're like me, start testing your skills and timing yourself to see how fast you can go.  I even sometimes (secretly) race the person next to me and do a little celly dance if I win.  Hey, life is only as fun as you make it, right?



hey kids... I'll give you a dollar if you bag mine, too!


3) Assigned seats at the movie theatre.  I think I could go either way with this one.  Doesn't seem like all that bad of an idea, you get to pick where you want to sit, plus you don't have to worry about rushing right into the theatre to get a good seat (you won't want to when you see how many different kinds of foods, drinks and candy are scattered throughout the lobby!).  But I think we can all think of a time or 2 when you get stuck next to the group of 13 year olds that giggle every time they say "boob" or the chatty group of ladies there for their "mom's night out" gossip session (why did you come to a movie theatre again?).  In that case, I enjoy my freedom of being able to get up and move to the furthest seat possible.

no lady, your kid throwing popcorn at the back of my head is NOT cute
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4) The bathroom door code.  So, you need to get up from your movie and take a potty break? (hey, those 32 oz. soft drinks will get the best of everyone...)  Better bring your ticket with you!  No, not to get back in the theatre... but because you will need the "bathroom code" that is printed on it.  When I first saw the keypad next to the bathroom door that was locked I thought "wtf? I have to pay to use the bathroom, too?!"  Nah, you just need the 4 digit code on your ticket, but that's still beyond my comprehension.  Do movie theatres have a problem with homeless people coming in to bathe in their bathrooms or something?

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5) No drinks in the seating area.  Ok, so the reason I go to hockey games is obviously to watch my husband play.  But as for the 8,000 or so other people, I'd venture to guess that most of them are there for some combination of watching hockey, socializing, and having a few adult beverages.  I don't usually choose to drink at my hubby's games (I like to actually watch the game, plus I'm not a big drinker as it is)  but I think that this rule is really pointless.  No one is allowed to bring alcohol into the seating area, it must remain in the concourse area.  So, needless to say, come the last minute of the period there is a huge rush out to the concession stands, bars and restaurants to binge as many drinks as possible in the next 20 minutes.  This creates ridiculously long lines and overcrowding of the concourse.  It will take you the entire intermission just to fight the crowd and get around the arena once.  I think their theory is that it slows down people's drinking (Finns tend to drink a lot, which brings them out of their usual shy shell... a.k.a. they get ROWDY) but here's a hint: it doesn't!  It just means that instead of casually drinking 3 beers over 2 periods, they guzzle them all in one intermission.  FAIL!



Crowd during the game (away game)



Intermission


5)  What's a stop sign?  There are virtually no stop signs around.  It is common knowledge that the car to the right has the "right of way" so when you come up to an intersection, you yield to them.  Sure, we use the same concept in the U.S., but it almost always accompanies a stop sign or light (or at very least, a yield sign!)  If we Americans just assumed everyone to follow this, there would be a lot more accidents, and quite frankly (thinking especially back to my days of living in Massachusetts... haha ;) )  I'd be scared to drive. 

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6) What's that?  You wanted the box with your shoes?  Here, when you buy a pair of shoes, they take them out of the box and put them, just the shoes, into the bag.  I'm guessing to reuse the box and reduce waste, but c'mon, if I buy expensive shoes I do NOT want them sitting loose in a bag while I carry it home.  This reminds me of a pair of black stilettos I bought last month- I was carrying my unboxed new shoes home in their bag and stopped at the liquor store.  I happened to stumble across some Sam Adam's Winter Lager at the store (not a common occurance, so when you find that kind of stuff, you have to get it!)  In attempt to reduce waste (okay, and save 20 cents) I chose to put them in my bag from the shoe store.  2 black stilettos and 8 bottles of beer.  CLASSY.

I wonder where people here keep all of their old love notes and memorablia from ex's?

That's all I've got for now.  I'm sure I could think of a bunch of other things, but that's what is on the top of my head tonight.  Any of you that are living away from home and experience similar quirky things, feel free to add to my list! :)

10 things i am most thankful for in 2010

Sure, Thanksgiving was a month ago.  But all of the holiday season is a time to think about what we are thankful for and also to reflect on everything that happened over the past year.  With that, I decided to make a list of my:

Top 10 Things I am Most Thankful for in 2010

(tie) 1) Family and Friends.  No brainer.  Sorry if I'm boring you by putting them at the top of every list I make, but how could I not?  We're blessed with such wonderful people in our lives, and they deserve every bit of recognition that I can give them.  You help make both of us the people that we are.

(tie) 1) My husband.  I couldn't ask for a better person to spend the rest of my life with.  This has been a huge year for us, and I know it's only going to get even better.  You're always there for me when I'm having a tough day and can always put a smile on my face. 

3) Our Dream Wedding.  It is, and probably will forever be, the best (and most fun) day of our lives.  We had 160 of our nearest and dearest all in the same room to celebrate us.  What more could you ask for?  Everything worked out flawlessly (ok, I'm sure there were a little bumps throughout the day... but obviously they weren't a big deal since I don't even remember them 6 months later!)  Everyone had such a blast and it turned out just the way we were hoping it to.  I'm even more thankful to our parents, because if it wasn't for them, it would have never happened.

4) Hockey.  Sure, it's a love-hate relationship, but there's no denying that it has brought great things to our lives.  First, it provides an income for us.  And how many other people get to move to Europe in their twenties?  There are definitely perks that come with the life.  On top of it all, my husband gets to wake up every morning knowing that he's going to a job that he loves.  Doesn't get much better than that.  As a friend of mine quotes on her facebook profile "Find a job that you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."

5) Other Hockey Wives.  Whether it's ones I know personally or not, these ladies make me feel a lot less alone in this crazy little world that we live in.  From advice to sharing stories, support to making new friends, I don't know what I'd do without them!  So few people understand our lives, so it's important to be able to connect with one another and have people to talk to who "get it".

6) Skype.  I hadn't really used Skype much until this year.  Now, I don't know what I'd do without it!!  Being able to talk to and SEE family and friends across the world is amazing.  I can't imagine what it would be like living over here without it (and it wasn't that long ago that people had to!)

7) Money.  But not in the sense that you're thinking of.  I am thankful that we have a steady income to support ourselves and pay the bills.  It seems like a simple thing, but so many people don't even have that.  The security that it provides makes day to day life a lot easier (which, I know, is where the irony comes in, since many say that money only complicates things)

8) Maddie.  She probably knows me better than anyone else, even my hubby.  She hears all my secrets and  see how I act when nobody is watching.  She nurses me when I'm sick, sleeps on my feet when they're cold, and listens to me when I need someone to talk to.  No one else gets so excited every time I walk in the door and makes me feel as important as she does.

9) Finland.  I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to live in this beautiful country.  I learn something new about it every day, and it has been a wonderful place to live.  Almost every person I have come into contact with has been welcoming and helpful.  The team has been wonderful to us, and I have only good things to say about our stay here so far!

10) Learning so many new things about myself.  Okay, that's kind of broad.  But I think I have grown a lot as a person in the past year especially, and I'm really proud of that.  Every challange that I face (and overcome) makes me aware of what a strong person I am.  I think I have always been ahead of my years in maturity, but I think I have surpassed even that in this past year.  I have learned a lot of new things about the world, cultures, people, myself, and life in general.  I'm pretty content with who I am right now :)

Also:  I added a "my story" page at the top.  For those of you interested in reading, you can also find it here.

♥

4 days until Christmas!

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ask and you shall receive

Wow, is it December 11th already!?  Where does the time go.  Feels like just yesterday I was saying "wow, I can't belive it's December already", and now it's more than 1/3 over.  Good because its closer to being done with these silly road trips, bad because the holidays are my favorite time of year and I hate to see them come and go so quickly :( 

I woke up to more snow this morning.  I don't know where we're going to put it all... literally!  They are removing it from the city by the truck load, but seemingly not fast enough.  The roads are poorly plowed and many of the sidewalks too.  I feel really bad for all of the elderly people and people on crutches or disabled that I see trying to get around.  I think it's difficult for me- I can't even imagine having to deal with that all winter.  Oh, and they don't use salt or sand or anything either.  If/when they do use something, it's little rock pebbles.  Unfortunately, I think this is about their extent of "snow clean-up" here, taking care of it initally and leaving you to fend the rest for yourself.  Maybe I'll have to hook Maddie up to a sled and use that to get around ;)

All of my whining about wanting a girls night finally paid off.  Last night a couple of us got together at one of the other wives house.  It was a nice, relaxing evening with a couple friends and some wine.  Just what the doctor ordered :)  Ask, and you shall recieve!

During our girls night we got into some discussion about the differences between the U.S. and Finland (and other countries/cultures) and why certain things are done certain ways in different places, etc.  It makes me feel so lucky to have this experience of living in a different culture and learning about it.  It also makes me proud to be able to teach others about our culture and what it is like to be an American.  Now, I'm not one to get all into politics (though this conversation was not just on a political level) I pride myself in being very accepting of others and new cultures.  It's not always easy for me being here, far away from home, family and friends, and on top of that not having all of the stuff that is so familiar to me.  However, I think I have adjusted to the differences very well and have been educating myself and learning from others about what life is like in Finland. 

All of the girls from the team that I have talked with are very accepting of our American culture as well... (though I think the hockey world is fairly cultured, seeing as many of us spend time living in different countries) and though they most likely prefer their country to mine, I'm just happy that they make the effort to try and understand some of the differences, and though it is not the way they may do or see things, they don't see it as wrong- just different.  Not everyone that I have come across in Finland is able to see the differences the way that my fellow hockey wives do.  However, I think a lot of it has to do with being uneducated.  Obviously there are lots of stereotypes out there, so I am glad that I am able to do my (small) part to help clear up any confusion.  Finnish people are very proud, which I can understand.  They have a nice country that is very beautiful, rich in tradtion, and from what I've learned so far, runs fairly smoothly (though it's a little easier when you're a cold country of only 5 million somewhat isolated in the north  ;) )  I don't agree with everything that they do here in Finland, and I don't agree with all of the ways we do things in the U.S. (political and otherwise). But, I am an American, and I'm proud of it.  If you're going to challenge me about my country, I am going to defend it :)

I also took some time yesterday to check out the Christmas market downtown.  It is lined with red cottage/huts and lots of wonderful hand made items and gifts.  There is everything from mittens to jewelry to candles to clocks and home decor and beyond.  I got a pair of really pretty hand made earrings.  I plan on bringing J back Sunday or Tuesday when he has some free time... maybe I can give him some hints to help him with his Christmas shopping... ;)  Here are a couple pictures that I took:

The guys will be home after their game tonight, yay!  That's the one nice thing about these trips... it makes it that much more fun when we do have a chance to be together.  We get excited to see each other and spend time with one another :)

successful turkey day

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Thursday was a little depressing here because the day itself was just like any other- and especially with J having a game it was really weird to not be doing anything to celebrate. It is the first time in my life that I haven't had turkey on Thanksgiving Day... he has had practice in the past on the actual day, but we have always been lucky enough to have a "real" Thanksgiving meal on Thanksgiving.


Since we didn't get a chance to celebrate on Thursday, we had our turkey day today. I can happily report that it was a huge success!! I was a little worried as to how everything would turn out, even though I've cooked several Thanksgiving meals in the past (usually 20-25 lb. turkeys!) so it was nothing new to me... but with the difficulty of finding things that we are familiar with over here and not having all of my own kitchen utensils and cooking materials I was a little nervous. The boys loved it, and it was delicious! It was so great to get together "just us Americans" to celebrate and have time together. Ther are only 2 others on the team, so you really have to stick together. Made us all feel a little more at home I think :)


Last night was the team Christmas party. It was a very nice and classy event, and we enjoyed it very much. It was kind of funny celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving though. Christmas is the big holiday here, and from now thorough Christmas day they have lots of Christmas parties around here. We're all ready for the season- we bought a fake tree along with some ornaments from Ikea (for 2.50 euros, gotta love Ikea!) and we just decorated it tonight. We also have a real tree, but it's a "Charlie Brown" tree... my other fellow American girl and her boyfriend were up at his cabin a couple weeks ago and they dug some cute little evergreen trees out and brought one to us. It's still deciding if it wants to "live" in the pot or not... hopefully it will last us through the holidays though! I can't believe it's almost December... my favorite month of the year!! Time to start Christmas shopping!!


Since we are in full holiday spirit here... I've been thinking a lot about how thankful I am for everything this past year, and it only makes me even more optimistic for the future. I hope you have all been as blessed as we have. Happy start to the Holiday Season!!


With that being said, here is a flashback song to listen to and get you pumped up for the holidays... (and to get a good laugh watching the video!) :)