(written on August 27 - just now posting)
Tuesday marked three months since I moved away from Austin. I wouldn’t really say I’ve been in Helsinki
three months since my schedule has been so crazy, but I’ve definitely been
somewhere other than home for that time.
The thing that happens each time I think three months is another number
automatically pops in my head – 21.
Probably not great if I’m already counting down the months – if not
consciously, subconsciously. I’m on the
plane from London to Austin with several hours on my hands and am hoping I
finally post an update or two (or draft them – no wifi which is highly
unfortunate).
Overall, I’d say the last three months have been fairly high or fairly
low – not much of an in-between. The
highs are when I’ve traveled with family or co-workers or when they have been
visiting me. The lows are when I’m in a
new place alone or in Helsinki without much to do. The unfortunate thing about the highs is that
they are probably contributing to the lows – as in I haven’t had much time to
set any foundation in Helsinki. My
schedule plus the near impossibility of gaining Finnish friends plus my
shorter-term stay does not necessarily equal the extroverted, on-the-go life
I’m used to. I’m enjoying the highs so
I’m not sure I’d want it any other way.
At the same time, this is completely uncharted territory for me (and
almost everyone else I know), so it is hard to have too many expectations one
way or the other. More on the deep
thinking later – but for now, here is a bit about what I’ve been up to.
Mom and Dad’s Visit
I think I posted last just before they arrived. We had the summer party for the Finland
office on Wednesday before the midsummer holiday. It was on a boat. Ship?
Sailboat? I’m not sure what the
proper term is….it was built in 1947 whatever it was. The weather was pretty looking (ie not
raining) but pretty darn cold. We
toasted on the deck and took pictures and then went down below for dinner. No one made it back up to the deck the rest
of the night because of the crisp “summer breeze.” It was a neat time though and a little
different from the dinner cruise you might take in Austin. We went out after and I somehow got conned
into singing a Willie Nelson song on karaoke with our CEO. I apologize for all who had to hear that.
Mom and Dad came the next day and arrived to the beautifulness of June
– mid 50s and rain. They had spent one
day there in late June on a cruise a few years back and kept swearing to me how
nice the weather in Helsinki is…based on their one day. I think their opinion changed over their
visit. We had a bit of a hard time
finding things to do on Friday as it was midsummer. I had no idea midsummer is the equivalent of
Christmas when it comes to stores closing.
And there are no Wal-marts or Waffle Houses in Finland. Saturday we took a boat (cruise ship-like) to
Tallinn, Estonia. It is about a 2 hour
ride. It rained the whole way there but
cleared up a bit when we were there. We
went to Old Town and just couldn’t really figure much out…parts were pretty but
we weren’t sure what all the hype was about.
We took an earlier boat back and checked that country off our list. We were scheduled for the 8pm boat and took
the 4pm. That one was so bad we can’t
imagine what the 8pm would have looked like.
Everyone in Finland takes the boat to Estonia to buy cheap(er)
alcohol. By the case. And they apparently start drinking it by the
case before getting back on the boat. By
now the sun was out but the only open deck on the boat was on the back – where
the air doesn’t move. Guess who was out
there? Approximately 100 smokers. So we
went back inside…where the only seats were in a bar where terrible, loud
karaoke was going on. We were happy to
be off that boat once we made it back.
The next week I worked while they worked on the rest of my Ikea. We bought one more piece and I could say my
apartment was officially put together by the time they were gone. It seemed like forever then but of course now
it already seems quick and I’m mostly over that trauma. It was nice having them around and having
someone use my guest room! I worked from
home that Friday and we went to lunch in a little town nearby called
Porvoo. It had way more charm than
Tallinn. It reminded me a bit of Hill
Country towns that people get away to for the weekend.
The second weekend they were in town we headed to Oslo Saturday
morning. We had nice weather Saturday
and froze Sunday. We went to a few
popular museums there and spent most of the time walking around just checking
things out. The Oslo Gay Pride
parade/celebration was Saturday and I marched Mom and Dad right through the
middle of it looking for dinner J
France
Monday morning in Oslo Mom and Dad left to go back home and I met a
co-worker from the Oslo office to head to our Rennes, France office. Rennes is about 3 hours from Paris by
train. It was a full day of travel to
get there but when I did, I found summer.
I had frozen for almost 6 weeks and was thrilled to find temps around
90. I was less thrilled when I realized
they aren’t so into AC. My Rennes
co-workers took us to a nice dinner there one of the nights and I enjoyed
getting to know them. After Rennes, I
went to Paris to meet our local accountants.
It was 102 degrees when I got there.
I felt partially responsible J I met the partner for lunch and melted
through that and then went back to their office to meet the rest of the time
and was horrified to find they didn’t have AC either. Sweat was literally dripping from my forehead
onto my notes. Caitlin joined me for the
weekend (July 4th) and we had a great time. It was both of our first time in Paris. We felt extra special as we took French
together in high school. We regularly
baked quiche for extra credit. Note: we
learned very little French then and know even less now! But, we acted like we knew something at
least.
Elizabeth and the Girls’ Visit
After I got home from France, I had Q2 close to keep me occupied at
work, and occupy it did. It was pretty
rough and there may have been a tear or two shed after many late night phone
calls back to Austin, but I did live through it. The awesome thing about that week is I knew
once it was over I was off on my next adventure. I went to Copenhagen on Saturday afternoon
and my sister and her three girls were meeting me there Sunday. I thought I’d be bold and adventurous by
going a day early and staying/exploring by myself. I’m still not any better at it. I guess maybe I wouldn’t say I regret going
but at the same time I just don’t enjoy doing this stuff alone. I ate dinner out by myself and got asked to
move tables because I was told to sit anywhere and then after an awkward 10
minutes of no one waiting on me, someone came to talk and I was ready to order
and they just told me to move to a 2 person table since I was alone. I wanted to disappear. I did end up talking to an American family
briefly after dinner from Sunnyvale (where we have an office) and turns out the
mom used to work for AMD in Austin.
Sunday I went back to the airport to meet the girls and it was so
exciting. I couldn’t wait for them to
come through the doors – of course their baggage was delayed and they walked
through about an hour later than expected, but oh well. We took the train back into the town and it
was so neat to watch. All FOUR of them
acted out the first scene of Harry Potter for half of the ride (confession – I
haven’t seen it and had no idea what they were doing….perhaps when I have
nothing else to do this winter I will read and watch all things Harry Potter). Bennett exclaimed “I LOVE Europe!!” on the
train and then again in our hostel hotel room.
Yup – we “roughed it” at an “upscale” hostel – it was perfect with 3
sets of bunkbeds and a private bathroom.
We didn’t spend any time there anyway.
It was unfortunately next to a strip club so one of us had to distract
Bennett each time we walked by, but I think we were successful…perhaps not
entirely subtle, but successful.
We spent the evening at Tivoli Gardens and had a great time. The girls all loved it and the rides were
really fun. They said it certainly was
no Fiesta Texas. The next day we took a
canal boat tour which was rather boring and then went shopping and poking
around the main shopping area. The girls
perked up a bit for that. We headed to
Helsinki for 2 nights after that. The
first place we went was the Rock Church which is very close to my
apartment. It is a Lutheran church
literally built into a big rock.
Helsinki is mainly flat but has these random rock formations all over
town. We walked in and I assumed the
girls wouldn’t be that interested but they charged straight down a pew and sat
down. Quietly. Bennett whispered it was her happy place and
Kate said she liked it there. Eventually
we realized a prayer service was going to happen at noon and I assumed again
the girls would want to leave, but Molly said we should stay. It was such a poignant moment to me. While they have grown up in the church and I
shouldn’t have really expected anything else, I think what struck me was this
was her making the call, not being told to do it by her parents. She went through confirmation last year and
has gotten really involved in Young Life and her church’s youth group.
We got lucky with a beautiful day the second day there and went to
Suomenlina and had a picnic on the island.
That evening we flew to Oslo and spent the next day there. One gem from the week is Molly and Kate had
Bennett “whip” all over Helsinki and Oslo.
Molly has 2 videos of it that I’ll hopefully post one of these
days. I had no idea what whipping was
until they sang the same 2 lines from the song for 4 straight days…and then I
saw someone post something about JJ Watt being taught to whip and nai nai on
Facebook. I’m sure I spelled that wrong…
In Oslo, we went up a little North of town to the big ski jump and ziplined
down it. It was a little lower key than
we expected, but Bennett got to do it so that was fun after she had to sit out
of some of the Tivoli Gardens rides for being too short. They left Friday morning and I headed to
work. Three countries in 4.5 days –
definitely not enough time, but way better than them not coming at all. When they left is when the aforementioned
Camp Hangover set in.
The next Friday I went to an Internations (expat organization) happy
hour after work and met some people to go on a hike with the next day. It was good because I discovered some new
trails to run and bike to work on that were very pretty and close. Sunday I went to church for the first time
since the weekend I moved (I think that was only the 2nd Sunday I’d
been in town alone). I don’t know what
to think about church. When I first went
in April I was thrilled to find English-speakers and a somewhat familiar
service. Now it just seems
depressing. There are some hymns I might
recognize, but they are slowed way down for some reason and all sound like
funeral dirges. There are not many
people there and it is a sung mass. The
few I have met are very nice but my Austin Sunday School class has more people
than the entire church service here.
I’ve expressed this sentiment to a few others and apparently I’m not
alone in feeling that way. They say
“church is depressing in Europe and no one goes.” Hmmm – well that isn’t great news.
I had one more work week after that weekend before more fun. My co-worker Erin who I’m pretty close to and
another guy from her department came in for work and arrived Saturday
morning. I met them around 11 Saturday
morning and think I got back home after 9.
Sunday I met them at 8am and we were on the go until 9 or so again. Wiped me out but was great showing people
around. Also by this time I was starting
to believe summer might actually happen.
Was finally able to go out a bit without a jacket and rain boots. Around that time too people also started
saying this was the worst summer in 50 or so years in Finland (cold and
rainy). I’m not sure if I’m comforted
knowing it isn’t always that way or skeptical not trusting it won’t be that way
again next year.
Anyways, it was another close week for me but being non-quarter-end,
and hopefully me getting a hang of things, it wasn’t quite as bad. I also did a lot more work the days before
close week this time that hopefully alleviated some of the close stress. We went to some nice dinners with other
co-workers and I generally just enjoyed having the company. Wednesday night Erin and I decided we needed
to try Long Drink – something very popular in Finland. I had decided it was basically a wine cooler
in a can that made it manly enough for guys to drink it. Gin is the alcohol in it and they sell 2
versions. The wussy version at the
grocery store and the real version at Alko (Alko is the place you have to buy
all alcohol over a certain% - I think 5% or so). We were skeptical from the
beginning but went to Alko and picked out a few cans. Open container laws were sketchily described
to us, but generally if we were picnicking, it should be okay. So we went down to the shoreline and had ice
cream and then long drink. We split one
can in 2 plastic cups and I think I poured ¾ of my half out. Erin wasn’t much more successful than I
was. It was very sweet – probably not
great after ice cream. Oh well, it was
fun to sit on the rocks on the shoreline and just have girl time.
Thursday morning I stayed in town before their flight to guide them
around for last-minute purchases. Mostly
chocolate. We stopped by the Rock Church
because they tried to go Saturday and there was a wedding. We said goodbye across the street from my
apartment and they headed back to the hotel.
I had an instant Camp Hangover again.
Not as bad, but it was there. I
walked across the street to my apartment and saw what is becoming a familiar
sight in my ‘hood – people with a map looking confused. I heard them speaking English so I asked if I
could help them and they, like everyone else on my street, were looking for the
Rock Church. We got to talking and it
was a couple from Colorado and one from San Diego on a cruise. They were probably in their late 50s/early
60s and very entertaining. We probably
talked 15 minutes. They were impressed
with me doing what I’m doing. When we
parted ways, both ladies asked if they could give me a hug. It was really sweet. The Camp Hangover was gone as quick as it
came. No doubt someone above was telling
me I’m going to be okay. I went inside
to get ready to bike to work and kept hoping I’d see them on my way out –
totally random, and I don’t know why, but I wanted to. Sure enough when I came out on my bike, they
were walking back down the street. They
didn’t recognize me, but I yelled something along the lines of “tell America I
said hello” or something. We stopped and
talked again for a minute and one of the ladies asked if she could take my
picture on my bike – how cute and sporty I looked. I had to giggle but rode off to work thinking
I will be one of those people they might come home and tell their kids about,
or their friends, or someone. For
whatever reason, that left me feeling a bit better.
I had two more encounters that day that were feelings of “it’s going to
be okay.” I took the train to the area
where our new office is going to be (it has a mall) to run some errands and
heard American girls behind me on the train.
When we got off, I said hi and found out they were Mormons here from
Utah and Nevada on their mission. We
only spoke for a short while but their friendly American demeanor was not lost
on me. I then walked down from the train
platform and heard music playing assuming it was being played over a speaker
somewhere. I was stunned when I came to
a string quartet playing in the tunnel area.
It was four well-dressed, clean cut guys I’d expect to see playing
anywhere other than for coins at the train station. There were tears streaming down my face as I
stood listening. I’m not entirely sure
why, but again I felt like God was telling me I’m not alone.
Amsterdam
That weekend I went to see Caitlin in Amsterdam. I really really enjoyed it. While it is definitely cooler (NOT
temperature J)
than Helsinki, I realize that wasn’t entirely the reason I liked it. Caitlin is a good bit of the reason I liked
it. She has been there long enough too
that she has a bit of a routine down and spends a good chunk of time where the
tourists aren’t. We did go into the City
Center a bit as well but it was nice seeing both sides. We rode bikes everywhere and I equated it to
driving in NYC. I’m a great driver in
Texas, but would be scared to death to do it in NYC. I’m a great (decent? not reckless at least…)
biker in Texas and even Helsinki – but Amsterdam is another world! It actually probably wasn’t nearly as bad as
driving in NYC would be but unlike anything I’d done before. I rode Peter’s bike when I was there too and
it was a bit too tall. So I felt like I
was 7 trying to ride Elizabeth’s 10 speed.
Saturday morning we went to Amsterdam Bos Park so I could get a long run
in and it was so beautiful. I kept
saying it felt like Camp Olympia – huge wide open grassy areas bordered by
forest. At one point out of the corner
of my eye I noticed people in the trees and realized they have a huge challenge
course. Caitlin and I must do that soon.
We ventured to the red light district to check it out and were there
early enough it didn’t seem really seedy or scary. Mostly a bunch of tourists doing the same
thing we were. Around 10:30 people
started to get a little more drunk and the best I could describe it was similar
to New Orleans. That’s when we decided
we should probably head home. Sunday was
more playing. WE didn’t get up early
enough to go to the Anne Frank house but just added that the list of things to
do when the weather sucks. That list
also includes inside things in Paris and anywhere else. We didn’t go into any of the museums when we
were in Paris because the lines were long and with it being 100 degrees, inside
may have felt worse than out. Hopefully
Peter doesn’t mind sharing Caitlin once he’s in Amsterdam for good (he has had
to travel like crazy hence me getting to steal Caitlin a lot). I plan to be their Dupree.
The weekend after Amsterdam I ran my first race in Helsinki. It was a 17km race to go along with their
marathon. The marathon started at 3 and
this race at 3:45. It was the first time
my race prep has included lounging on the beach beforehand. I had told myself all along 17k was 10ish
miles. I trained less for this race than
anything else in the past. I obviously
wasn’t going to “race” – just planned to finish it. I figured I might end up walking the last
however many miles and was okay with that.
The race turned out to be long – and was a solid 11 miles. 11 miles is a very long way when your
previous weekly long runs leading up to the race had been 2, 3, 6, and 8. I actually ran pretty well for my
unconditioned state though and was glad I did it.
Munich and London
Saturday night at 9 I had not yet started packing for my trip the next
day to Munich and London. My flight left
at 7am Sunday morning. Almost daily, I
shake my head thinking how different my life is now. In my “previous life” I would have been
packed way way earlier and had at least two lists for that packing.
My co-worker Crystal was in Munich for work as well and I met her over
there. She brought a friend along for
the trip and made it work and vacation.
Munich weather was unfortunately reminiscent of July in Helsinki – 60
and raining. We still got to see a lot
and again it was so nice to be with friends.
Crystal is awesome and provides an amazing dose of perspective when
around without remotely trying to.
Monday night a few guys from our Munich office took us to dinner and we
had a great time. They were total
characters. Tuesday afternoon I flew to
London and met with the accountants there Wednesday. London is huge. That is about the only conclusion I made on
that trip. I wasn’t there long enough to
see much but did treat myself to a night at the theater and went to see Billy
Elliot. I went alone and have never gone
to something like that alone. Caitlin
had encouraged me to do it and I’m glad I did.
It was way less awkward than eating alone! I left my hotel at 9:15am Thursday morning
and didn’t get back to my apartment until after 6pm that evening. So while yes, I’m in Europe, I’m still far
enough away (and Heathrow is enough of a pain) that it can take most of a day
to get somewhere. Helsinki is also 2
hours later than London so that is where some of that time went.
Last Friday night was another Internations event (they have one big one
monthly) and I was happy to recognize a few faces this time. We had a picnic Saturday with a women’s group
of Internations and that was great too – we went to a beach/area at the far
east end of the Metro line and it was really nice. I was pleased to see summer had stuck around
a bit longer. The water was freezing but
the air was pleasant. Sunday I joined a
different expat group for a hike in Espoo that started at the Finland Nature
center. We hiked 11.5 miles and there
were 21 people there. I was shocked that
many people showed up to hike that far but I guess Europeans are used to a
little more time on their feet than Americans!
After that I began my frantic packing for almost 4 weeks away including
10 days in Peru and Panama. Again for my
last big trip like that (Kilimanjaro), I had literally begun the packing
process 9 months before the trip. This
one started days before. Granted
Kilimanjaro requires more stuff, but I’m amazed at my total lack of
preparation. It is becoming my new
status quo though and so far I haven’t done anything too terribly stupid…that I
know of.
Oh my gosh. This is six pages in
word. And I still have FIVE HOURS LEFT
ON THIS PLANE!!!!
I have way too many pictures to post here, so there are in an album here. Enjoy!
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