Where are the police? and Parking in Joensuu

Our apartment is located a couple of blocks from the police station and hall of justice. It is the only foreboding building in Joensuu. It is ýellow brick with small windows and cement spherical decorations on the front entrances. It looks like it was designed and built by someone from Russia. But in a month here we have seen police vans only twice. And we have never seen policemen walking around. Or maybe we don't know what a Finnish policeman looks like.

Parking is controlled in the city by a variety of signs and machines. About four blocks out of the city center the only limits on parking are that you alternate the side of the road you park on according to whether the day is odd- or even-numbered. I assume that's for snow removal purposes. A little closer in there are 30 minute, 1 hour, or 2 hour limits. The time you spend in your space is controlled by a plastic parking clock that you keep on your dashboard. Everyone has them. They can be purchased at most general stores. You use the pointer to mark the time you left your car. I don't know if the limits are enforced. (Mission rules are that the driver pays any speeding tickets and everybody in the car splits parking tickets. Hopefully, we won't ever have to deal with either of those issues.) Very near the city center parking is controlled by lipukeautomaatti. In each block there is a machine and in center parking lots they have the same kind of machine. You put your money in and it issues a receipt that you put on the dashboard of your car. The church is located on Torikatu (market street) so is quite close to city center. We usually park there. A funny little side note: There is a new building being built next door to the church. They asked the branch president whether they could park in the lot. He said yes. And they have erected three signs designating three reserved spaces with their company logo on them and the license numbers of the cars that are to park there.

Snowing in April

It snowed the last three days of last week, but it alternated with bright sunny times in the same day. We had an inch each night. Imagine what life in Finland would be like if people interrupted their lives every time it snowed like they do in Washington, DC. So it snows and people are out on their bikes just like always. Everyone wears hats and gloves still. Most of the hairstyles that are worn are flat on top, I assume to accommodate the clothing that is necessary to survive. There is a lot of highlighting effects and multiple colors being used to make things interesting. I also see a lot of crayola and fluorescent crayola colors in girls' hair. A lot of young girls do creative things with brightly colored scarves to look stylish and protect their necks.

The ice is melting on the lakes. Two weeks ago people were still ice fishing. The 8 feet high piles of snow around the soccer fields remain. Last Friday we went to visit our wheelchair bound lady and she was dressed with coat, hat, mittens, etc. ready to go out regardless of the weather. I've got to learn how to dress here before winter comes. I thought I would get frostbite on the insides of my knees. Today no need to wear a coat. Watching and talking about the weather seems to be something of a national pasttime. Easy to understand why.

Sinfoniakonsertti

We attended the Joensuu City Symphony Orchestra concert last night at the Carelia-Halli on the university campus. I expected something the quality of a university orchestra. But it was far superior. There is a music conservatory here in town, located just behind the church. Some of the performers were teachers there. They performed an ambitious and diverse program of Stravinsky, Mozart, and Tshaikovski. The johtaja of the orchestra was a 23-vuotias woman who started piano at age 3 and, if I read the Finnish correctly she received her diploma in conducting 3 years ago. That's pretty impressive too. She was dignified and intense and gracious.

The concert hall is lovely and appears to be used for other purposes because there were pull out writing tables in front of every seat. Of course the floors were birchwood. (They even have birch floors in the sales rooms downtown.) In the first 5-6 rows were 50 children ages 10-13 who were perfectly behaved and attentive the entire time. They had a few adults sitting with them but not many. Quite impressive. Unfortunately, the hall was only about half full. I think the tickets were about 13€.

We walked the five blocks to the concert around 6:30P in full daylight and returned shortly after 9P, once again in nearly full daylight. It's a little exciting and a little disorienting. Too bad the light can't be stored up to use in the winter.

Home Teaching in Far Away Places

Friday we went home teaching with the branch president. The homes were located 100 kilometers away near the Russian border. One family has purchased a beautiful old wooden school and are remodeling it so that when they are finished it will be an inn or bed and breakfast type place. They are located near a lake (everyone is located near a lake in this area of Finland--take a look at a map) and in a birch forest where berry bushes are everywhere. For now they are living in one end of the school and the rest is under construction. As part of the visit, we were served Lapijuusto, a baked cheese, other cheeses, croissants, tea, berry jelly, rye bread, etc. Then she sent us home with natural berry juice and croissants. People who live in that part of Finland get 1-year visas to Russia and go over the border to shope. Gas is the same price as in the U.S. and there is duty-free shopping compliments of the Russian mafia. Otherwise, gas is about 8$ a gallon here.

At the next house we were served pullo, a creamy peach dessert, pirakka, and mehu. This house was an omakotitalo (own-home-house). Most people live in apartments that typically are 4 or 5 stories. The woman showed us some bags she had made out of Marimekko fabric. She lives near a factory and they give away the scraps. The bags were beautiful. A Marimekko bag costs 35-50€. I admired a pink striped bag and she gave it to me. I felt a little awkward, but believe that if someone offers a gift it is best to accept and say thank you. She also showed us several dresses that her daughter had made and designed. They looked like they had been made in the best fashion houses. She is a student of fashion design and construction in Helsinki.

Kantele

Kantele is, I believe, an exclusively Finnish stringed instument. It is reminiscent of an autoharp, but more haunting I think. One evening last week we visited a woman who attends church in the summers because she doesn't drive in the winters. As we approached her door she was peeking out waiting for us. Then she left the door open and went inside and played "How Great Thou Art" as we arrived. She played several other hymns and songs for us and we sang as she played. She had at least 7 kanteles in her house. I think she said they were all hand-made. On the other hand, she could have said that they were all made out of hands or that they came from Japan--considering the primitive stage of my Finnish language development. The instruments were beautiful.

She was a very educated person and interested in learning. She frequently pulled out encyclopedias to demonstrate elucidate some point she was making. Her father had sung in a Joensuu men's chorus for many years and she showed us pictures of them singing in New York City. And of course, as is the custom, at the end of our visit she served pirakka, pulla, tea, fruit, etc. We have gone to eating only two meals or less a day so that we can accept everyone's hospitality without guilt.

Beautiful Joensuu

Joensuu is located right where the the pieli river meets the Pyhä Selkä lake. So they access a lot of shoreline. Both are about 1/2 melted right now. There is alot of park area with gorgeous birch trees and evergreens. And it is all capped off by the most beautiful color blue skies I've ever seen. It seems that everywhere there is a road for cars there is a path running parallel for walking and bike riding. People here are very active and every day we see women in their 60's and 70's riding their bikes. Another popular sport/acitivity is sauvahiihto (don't know if I am spelling it right). People walk with sticks that are like ski poles as a way of exercising and training. Apparently, it has not caught on elsewhere.

The town has 60,000 people so is about the size of Morgantown. The town center is a very busy place with a large variety of stores and services. There is a pedestrian's only walkway running down the center. Everything is spotless. The streetsweepers and washers seem to be out every morning. The only trash I've seen on the ground is cigarette butts. Yesterday and today the tori was open. There was a wide variety of products available, but it seemed that the main purpose was for the citizenry to get together and visit. There was lots of food being sold: bread andother baked goods, candy, makkara, fish, soup. The only locally made items were knives and sheaths, wrought iron, some knitted items, and handmade jackets for women.

The majority of housing is 4-5 story apartment buildings. There are some omakotitalo's, but perhaps only 20% of the housing. The people seem to prefer living modestly so that they can own a kesämökki by a lake. Of the people in the church whom we have visited, only one or two have not had their own summer cottage. They are definitely people who love being outside.

OTTO--Finns favorite gathering place

Finland is a check-free society. All bills have to be paid by credit card, cash, or bank transfer. OTTO is everywhere and there are always several people standing around them. These are the bank ATMs. You can pay your bills or take out money, check your account balances, and get printed account information. Pretty convenient. There is no service charge for using them.

Appliances, etc.

Thought I would talk about the differences between appliances we are used to and what we have here. First we have had mostly successes with using transformers and adapters. However, my heating pad blew up and blew a circuit in the aparment. And my hair dryer kept going off and operated only at the low speed. I now have a Vidal, EU model which works perfectly. We are lucky to have a washing machine in our apartment. The tub is about 1/3 to 1/4 the size I was used to. It heats its own water, but you can control the water temperature quite accurately. One load takes about and hour on a normal cycle. Spent an evening looking up the meanings of all the words on the dials. The total exterior msmnts are 17x24x32H. The oven opening is 12x14x15deep. Will begin the great cookie baking adventure this evening by trying my hand at greek honey cookies. I took five minutes to calculate F and C equivalents just to be sure I did't make one of my famous arithmetic miscalculations. The refrierator is 22 1/2 inches wide and about 65 high. I think that the small size will probably help us to keep better track of what's in there and not waste so much as we do at home. We bought a TV: JVC. We have 12 channels available: 2 MTV channels, BBC World News (howsabout the lovely new royal couple), 5 Finnish channels, a German channel, a French channel, a sports channel, a webTV channel. The American shows that we've found are Friends and Will and Grace (on every day), Simpsons, Southpark, Dr. Phil, Late night with Conan O'Brian, American Idol (2 weeks behind), Amazing Race, and CSI Miami. There have been a few movies also. Think about the contents of the shows I've listed and what impression people get about America from what they are seeing.

Russian Refugee

Last week a woman from Russia left a note in the front door of the Church asking for someone to contact her. She is living in Paihola with her 16 year old son. Paihola is the site of an mental hospital and also a camp for refugees. She is a refugee because she was fired from her job as a journalist in Russia because she joined the Mormon church. The local officials told her she would have to choose between the church and her job. She chose to leave the country and has been having trouble finding a country that will give her resident status. She and her son lived in Belgium for 1 1/2 years. Then they tried Sweden who sent them to Finland since her travel visa was issued by Finland. They have been in Finland since January and are waiting for a decision from the government. If they are rejected, they will try France next. She says getting into America is impossible, which is really pretty ironic since 1M Mexicans easily come in every year. She has degrees and speaks several languages, but doesn't have the necessary papers to be transported to the West. We wish her and her son well and hope for a good ending. In the meantime, we drive 12 kilometers to bring them to church on Sunday. She has all their Church documents laminated and carries them with her to prove her Church membership wherever she goes. It is hard to imagine living that uncertain a life. We are so privileged.

Where are the water fountains?

There are no water fountains here. I've looked and looked. And there are no water fountains. Why is that? Maybe it's a public health issue. Maybe they think people who could beat back the Russian army against unbelievable odds during the winter war can probably provide water for themselves. As I think about it, how safe could those water fountains we drink out of in America be with little kids drooling on them and others leaving their wads of gum for all to admire. Now we always carry a couple of bottles with us wherever we go. Now that I think of it, there were no water fountains in the Frankfurt airport either.

Who we are...

I expected only my family members to pay attention to my posts so thought since some have commented whom I don't know that I would write a little about why we are in Finland. My husband and I are here in Finland for 2 years as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My husband was here for 2 1/2 years 1963-1966 and has always wanted to return. He has great affection for the country and for its people. So 1 1/2 years ago I started studying the language. The language is the great Finnish mystery. I have studied Spanish, French, and Russian previously and Finnish is the hardest of all. Our primary purpose in being here is to help the local congregations as there are few church members and they are quite spread out geographically. We are also encouraged to perform service in the community. We have written to the university to see if we could help students who need assistance with their English studies, but have not received a response. We take a disabled woman out every Friday also. She is a lot of fun. She has lived in Joensuu all her life and knows a lot about the city and area. If anyone has ideas of other service we could perform, would be interested in your suggestions. Would also be interested in anyone's insights about the Finnish people or the country itself.

Snow Removal the Finnish Way

Want to know how to tell if a country gets really serious snow? They don't use salt. They throw gravel on top of it. The ice in our parking lot is at least 5 inches thick and it has been melting ever since we got here. The walks are several inches above the stone base. In some areas they are starting to sweep up and clear away the gravel as the snow and ice melt. They use some heavy duty machinery to do this. In another month we'll learn where the paths are and what they look like.

One more interesting thing, not related to snow--there are no stop signs here. Any intersection that does not have a traffic light, which is most of them is controlled by the yield to the right rule. This effectively creates a four-way stop at every intersection and puts the responsibility for watching on everyone there. So no one assumes they have the right-of-way as occurs at stop sign controlled intersections in America. We are so glad that the exiting elders happened to mention this rule to us in our none-to-detailed orientation.

Internet is on the Way

After our initial experience exploring internet options--Remember the one where they wanted 400 euros to install and 75 euros a month thereafter?--we thought we would be coming to the library until we left Joensuu. Well, today David signed a contract to have internet installed in our apartment on a phone line. It is 25 euros a month and installation is 59 euros. And since we are foreigners with no Finnish ID number we have to deposit 170 euros. They swore on the stove in their sauna that the deposit would be refunded when we leave. Oh, and the last thing: They will be out to install in 3-5 weeks.

Tattoos anyone?

The first night we were at the mission president's home, he told us about two missionaries who got tattoos on well-hidden places. Guess what they said--CTR. There is a tattoo parlor very near our apartment and it appears to be a reputable place. Suggestions anyone?

First Member Visit

Today we visited a wonderfaul member of the ward. She is about 75 years old and speaks Finnish faster than a speeding bullet. Typically, people remove their shoes when they enter a Finnish home to protect and preserve the birch wood floors. As we entered David said, in Finnish, I need to remove my feet. Sister Mustonen said, "Just your shoes, you'll need your feet for walking."

Then she offered what David thought was to be a light snack. The light snack consisted of creamy fish soup, rye bread, something breadlike stuffed with meat and rutabaga, 4 kinds of juice, raspberries, cream, rice pirakka, cream cheese peach dessert. Unfortunately, I ate some of the stuffed breadlike stuff and am still burping due to liver problem. I think she was very excited to have company. We looked at all of her photo albums. She talked a lot about many of the pictures. I understood 10% of what she said and I think that David cheated and didn't pay attention. She was so generous to us. I know she must have limited means.

Hurrah! I think I did it.

Only twenty minutes left to use kirjaston tietokone. Therefore this is only a test. Will send address info by email and then begin writing all the extraordinary details of our life in Finland tomorrow.