Home Sweet Home, Aveiro, Portugal!

Here it is...the home I have waited 10 months to explore and be-friend. The canals, colorful traditional boats, beaches, fresh fish, the pastries that melt in your mouth before they even touch your tongue, and 2 euro bottles of wine are sure signs that I am going to LOVE it here. Forget the student village we are living posh, as we are living in a flat in the city center with cable TV, now this is living! (I have already overdosed on Oprah, BBC, and Jon Stewart.) So the next few weeks, before I head to Africa, I will settle into my new home and travel around. Not many people speak English here, so learning Portuguese will be a big project, as well as setting up my tiny room, quality time on the beach and finding a yoga studio. Woohoo, welcome home!

Another Move-Finland to Portugal!

After packing up my life in Finland (4 boxes, 2 suitcases and one carry-on), I discovered 200lbs. of clothes, books, and misc. would be coming with me. Yes, ridiculous! Some may say...yes, Leasa, you are an American. But, I have to tell you...I find it hard to throw things away that will be just as useful in Portugal as they were in Finland. Some call this a pack rat, I call it dedication; dedication to the curtains that held out the Finnish daylight at midnight, and dedication to the coffee mugs that were on sale and held many intellectual and culturally educational conversations of hot tea. As much as I enjoy moving around, my "comfort items" continue to grow which makes moving all the more difficult. I still haven't mastered the art of truly simplifying my life.

After packing, you must move. In order to save money (like 500euro) I had to fly from Stockholm, Sweden to Porto, Portugal. That means I got to experience the Viking Line "Love Boat" from Finland to Sweden. Unfortunately, there was no love to experience just the love of watching a lot of Finns drink themselves to oblivion (imagine that?!) The drunk fest was followed by a brilliant sunny day in the sassy & posh capital city of Sweden, Stockholm where I met the Lord of Lightning (a random man who introduced himself to me at a vegan cafe and continued to tell me about the Swedish music scene for 2 hours.) Finally, an early morning

flight, with a stopover in Brussels, brought me to my new home...AVEIRO, PORTUGAL! My friend, classmate & roomie, Ali, greeted me at the airport with a big smile and the talent of

her Portuguese tongue (she is from Brazil!) Pics are from my travels--top pic from Viking Line boat and others are from Stockholm.

Moi, Moi Finland!

"Moi, moi' is a Finnish slang word for good-bye, see ya, later dude and I think it's only appropriate to use it for my last blog title in Finland. This past week I have trained to Helsinki, got sick at the Finland amusement park, said goodbye to my amazing yoga instructor, ate a munki (melt-in-your-mouth donut) at the observatory, and just enjoyed the LONG sunny days (almost 24 hours, there is no darkness in Finland these days!) All in all, I have enjoyed my time here in Finland, 6 months is a good amount of time to feel out the culture and get a lay of the land. Now, I'm ready to head off to my next destination. But before I shove off, some photos that highlight a few of my favorite Finland memoirs...Finnish potatoes (for every meal), never-ending forests, lots of lush vegetation and beautiful flowers, reindeers, the old-school industrial vibe of the town center, munki's, markets, and the never-ending daylight!

With Every End, There is a New Beginning!

It's official, as of 10:32 a.m. this morning, my first year of graduate school has come to an end! The last week of the academic year proved to be the most stressful and rigorous, which makes you feel contented when you turn in that last assignment. So, now I will be a tourist in Tampere & Helsinki for one week, as I pack up my flat (which I have come to love.) Picture: "Action Photo" with the man we call the "Pope of European Higher Education," Dr. Peter Maassen. Bottom photo: Emnet, Ali & me with Dr. Bruce Johnstone (U.S. Visiting Prof.) a.k.a. "The Economics Guru."

In case you are wondering, here are my travel plans for the rest of the summer:

JUNE
June 18- To Stockholm (via the "love boat")
June 19- Stockholm
June 20- To Aveiro, Portugal (my new home)

JULY
July 3-15 Travel with Laura in Portugal
July 17-20 To Oslo
July 24- To Pretoria, South Africa (my new home)

SEPTEMBER
September 23- To Aveiro, Portugal (for fall semester)

Full house, Full brain, Full of cavities!

So, here is my last week of the academic year in a nutshell...

My friends, Ali (from Brazil) and Preet (from India) and her mother (who is visiting), moved into my flat June 1 (just for 10 days) until they fly out of Finland for the summer. Therefore, we have a FULL HOUSE, a flat for 3 is now a flat for 5 and there are mattresses and luggage everywhere. And, if you know all of us girls, you know it's anything but a quiescent household. Here are some pics from our Indian Sari dress-up night, it was like being a kid again!

This week also marked the pinnacle of the academic year, the thesis seminar. In other words, this was the week we all presented our thesis topic ideas to a panel of intimidating experts in higher education from around the globe; 2 visiting professors (one from Mexico & one from the U.S.) along with 2 Finnish professors, 2 Norwegian professors and 1 Portuguese professor. To say it was a little nerve-racking, is an understatement...especially when your topic is destroyed, before your very own eyes. But, I'm going for the positive vibes here (cringe!) and so I will say that it was a brilliant (now that is a robust word for this sentence) learning experience. To top it off we have another 10 page paper due on Monday. Argghhh...welcome to graduate school!

But, the best story of the week was my excursion to the dentist! Imagine 2 dentists, speaking a foreign language, hovering over you like bird of prey with colossal and boisterous drills in their hands telling you to open wide. This is what I call Fear Factor! I'm not one to do the happy dance before visiting the dentist, in fact I'm quite timorous of the dentist due to antecedent experiences (emergency root canals, bad dentists, etc.) So, I bit the bullet and went for a check-up (only 6 euro) and when the dentist, in broken English, said you have 3 cavities...I nearly lost it. But, when all was said and done, it only cost me 40 euro ($54US) for x-rays, cleaning, check-up, and 3 beautifully-crafted, Finnish style fillings. Moral of the story: Fly to Finland for your dentistry needs.

Ireland double time!

The cheapest flight out of Tampere, Finland is to Dublin, Ireland via the low-cost, no-frills airline, Ryanair. Hence, the reason I have traveled there twice in the last 3 weeks, once to meet a dear friend and this time to meet my parental units. This trip was a week long celebration of 3 birthdays, mother's day, father's day, my parents 40th anniversary, as well as grieving over the recent death of my quasi-grandpa, Lil. It was a bitter-sweet week of appreciating mother nature, drinking pints while listening to trad music at the local pubs, spending QT (quality time) with the parents, thinking about my thesis topic, driving on the wrong side of the road, laughing as my mom fell in a cow pie, and eating a horrid piece of herring that took 2 days to properly digest.

Ireland is a pulchritudinous island where the green countryside meets the dramatic coastline and great musicians meet up in the local pubs.
It reminded me of New Zealand, a small piece of land that offers so much beauty; mountains, ocean, rivers, lush vegetation, sheep and cattle. The highlights were the Dingle Peninsula, Cliffs of Moher, and the Wicklow mountains. Check out the video for more scenery. By, the way...Irish people DON'T say, "Top of the mornin' to ya!" (I learned the hard way...!)

Thesis Love Affair...

The process of choosing a thesis topic is ARDUOUS, it's like choosing a mate. I have all of these expectations about how it will feel when I finally meet my match; fireworks, connection, prince charming riding in on a white horse...but that hasn't happened yet, even after a list of about 20 topics. The act of embracing the topic of my dreams by June 8, seems impervious, unfortunately I don't have time to wait for the right one to come along and sweep me off my feet. I will just have to settle...it may not be perfect and there may not be fireworks, but it will be a love affair. People say that writing a thesis is a love/hate relationship, much like a marriage. Sometimes, you love the topic and some days you hate it, but love eventually endures. My "proposal" presentation is June 8, and I'm hopeful the elusive connection will magicly occur expeditiously...I will keep you posted. Photo: Deep thesis thoughts in Ireland...!

Luck of the Irish...

Despite booking a hostel on the wrong date, Ann losing all of her valuables, being stuck in Dublin on a Saturday night with no place to sleep, and making the mistake of accepting a pint from an insolent and inebriated Irish man...our trip to Ireland was anything but platitudinous! I met up with my dear friend Ann Sullivan (a.k.a. Sully) from sunny Boulder, CO for a quick 3 day adventure in Ireland. The highlight was Belfast and the pulchritudinous and rugged northern coast of the Giant Causeway. The overwhelming feeling of melancholy can be felt throughout the city of Belfast. You can feel the pain, sadness and hope left from years of brawling between the Catholics & Protestants. We toured the badly abused neighborhoods and were surprised to see, despite the peace agreement in 1998, "peace

walls" dividing the 2 neighborhoods. Ironically, just within the last month the peace walls received a "face lift" in the form of a higher wall...I'm not sure that sends a message of *peace*! In addition to the elevated peace walls, the neighborhoods have used art as a way to heal; colorful yet disturbing murals with powerful messages are painted on the side of buildings (see pics). The Bush mural was priceless (seeing this mural more than paid for the tour), "America's Greatest Failure!" This last pic is at the antiquated Trinity College in Dublin, a beautiful campus dating back to the 16th century, where I found a comfy seat in the sun and read about higher education governance (how appropriate!).

Are you wearing an EYE MASK??

So, here is a typical poetic day in Tampere, May 22, 2007.

Temperature: High 16 (60F)/low 9 (48F)

Sunrise: 4:21 AM

Sunset: 22:24 (10:24 PM)

Eye Mask Haiku's
To shield the sunlight
pink mascara stained eye mask
protect sleepy eyes

61 latitude
4 a.m. relentless sun
eye masks rock my world

Eurovision CRAZE!

Train to Helskini. Hotel in Helsinki. Eurovision in Helsinki. Eurovision is the American Idol of Europe, and it's hotter than bacon on a tin roof. Each country votes on one singer or band to represent their country at the annual Eurovision song contest. Last year, (after a LONG dry spell of losses) Finland took the cake with their death-metal, sometimes satanic band named "LORDI!" The rule is: whatever country wins MUST host the contest the following year, hence the reason it was in Helsinki this year.
Let me tell you...it was capital F-U-N! Not only was Helsinki hosting the Eurovision celebration, but it also hosted the city 1/2 marathon and many gathered to watch the semi-finals of the Hockey match against Russia (which FINLAND won!). So, to say that Helsinki was full of energy would be a gross understatement. The sun, international vibe, hockey fever, free entertainment and Eurovision craze was quite contagious. I think this was maybe one of my best weekends here in Finland. My friend Laura, here in Tampere, and of few of her American friends who study in Helsinki, met up and had a Eurovision weekend. Commiserating on the anti-american sentiment we have all experienced and just enjoying the weekend festivities together with a pinch of sillyness was just what we needed. So, you may be asking...who WON? Serbia! Now, I must get back to reality and write my thesis proposal.

South Africa or BUST!

I have been patiently awaiting news from South Africa. All I have to say is: Woohoo! So, before I share the excellent news with you, let me rewind back to February. I blasted out about 100 e-mails (not kidding) to random people that I found on the internet and listserves that I subscribe to, to inquire about internships, volunteer work and/or summer jobs in Europe, Latin America and Africa. (I was determined to land some sort of international summer experience!) One of the random e-mails ended up being a priceless push of the *SEND* button. The magnanimous woman that responded to me runs a U.S. study abroad program that places undergraduate students in internships around the world (for a large fee), so she is well connected around the globe. She decided to take me on as a goodwill case (because we are in the same career field--collegiality as it's best) and sent me contact information for her South African friend. After a few e-mails, sending my resume, and discovering that fellow Coloradans live in South Africa (yes, there ended up being a Colorado connection), I received an e-mail, "S. Africa Internship Confirmed." WHOA! I read the subject line about 4 times before it finally registered, I'm going to South Africa. Now I'm packing my bags in July for an internship at the University of Pretoria in the Institutional Development office. I will coordinate special events for Alumni and travel to regional events (similar to my position at CU-Boulder). It will be quite an experience to work in alumni relations from an African context. Moral of the story: keep pressing the SEND button until someone responds!

Tampere Favorites!

I have discovered a few favorite places here in Tampere that just makes it feel like home. I travel often but coming home to Tampere is a nice feeling and these connections with the community are important for me. This whole "living abroad" experience has made me realize how meaningful the little things are...like grabbing a chai in a familiar cafe or walking into the yoga studio and the teacher greeting you with a warm, "Hello!"

Wayne's Coffee is my favorite little coffee house, right in the center of Tampere. The chai is frothy, the walls are bright, the owner is friendly; makes for a great place to study.

I have finally found a yoga studio that is just heavenly, Om Yoga. The classes are in Finnish but the teacher, Paula, is great, as she sprinkles the teaching with a just enough english to get me through the class. She has a gentle and flowing style of teaching that makes your mind and body melt into the yoga mat.

Fressi is my gym and the equipment is top-of-the-line, the Finnish people keep me entertained with their bad body alignment and low knowledge of how to properly work the machines, and the classes are...all in Finnish. Every once and awhile I will take a Finnish spinning class and it really becomes my own spinning class because I have no idea what the teacher says...so I improvise and do my own thing. I go mainly for the music!

My favorite eatery, (I will apologize ahead of time for what I'm about to say) and in my opinion the only restaurant worth spending money on in Tampere, is GoPal. This eatery offers a lunch buffet that will make you want more with a flavorful Indian influence and yes, it is strictly vegetarian.

The BEST Travel sites!

With all the traveling I do, I have stumbled on some useful and wacky travel sites. Bookmark this one, because you will want to come back to these sites the next time you have to sleep in an airport or use a public bathroom while traveling. Please add to this list by way of the comments section. Enjoy!

Where is the BEST TOILET? http://www.thebathroomdiaries.com/
This site rates toilets around the world. What toilet will take the 2007 Golden Plunger award? The photo highlights the best public bathrooms in Moscow, blue outhouses, and you even have to pay to use them! But, the lady who collects the money will clean the plastic seat before you relieve yourself.

UNUSUAL HOTELS around the World http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/Home.aspxm/Home.aspx
Wanna stay in a cave, an old train car, an old prison, a church, a schoolhouse?

AIRLINE MEALS that satiate or disgust! http://www.airlinemeals.net/
Wanna find out what kind of meal you will be served on your flight? Fellow travelers send in pics of the best and worse airline meals. The airline meal you see here is from our very own FINNAIR and if the airline meals are anything like the food here in Tampere, it's not worth eating. Note to readers: Buy McDonald's before flying FINNAIR! A heart attack is better than this!

Do you need to SLEEP in the AIRPORT? http://www.sleepinginairports.com/
Do you have a late night flight & early a.m. connection? Forget a hotel, sleep in the airport. This site rates the BEST & WORST airport sleeping options including pictures of seats.

Where is the best place to SIT on the AIRPLANE? http://www.seatguru.com/
Choose your airplane seat carefully by checking out this site. Select airline, airplane and then a nifty seating chart will appear with good and poor seat suggestions. I think my dad and sis enjoyed their seats to Italy (see "sleeping beauties" photo).

Stay in a HOSTEL! http://www.hostelz.com/ The premier site for booking and honest reviews!

Hotel REVIEWS! http://www.tripadvisor.com/ I use this site to look at honest reviews for hotels, B&B's and even hostels. There is also a good travel forum. Word of caution...look elsewhere before you book lodging on this site, I think it is over-priced.

Travel with only ONE BAG! http://www.onebag.com/
The author of this site is an engineer and he will teach you the magic of "bundle-wrapping" your clothes. Brilliant tips & offers a packing list too!

What shall I PACK? http://upl.codeq.info/
This site does it all except pack your bags. All you do is fill in a template about your trip and a magical packing list will appear in a matter of seconds. You will never forget your toothbrush again!

No-frills, CHEAP EURO AIRLINES! http://www.euroflights.info/
See a list of all the dirt cheap airlines in Europe and what airports they fly to.
And this site looks up the airfares on the cheap carriers within Europe http://www.skyscanner.net/

Find a SECRET PLACE to stay! http://www.secretplaces.com/ This site lists "off the beaten path" places to stay in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, and Morocco.

EUROPEAN HIKING! http://www.oranginas.nl/index_bestanden/page0055.html
A great resource for those that like to lace up their hiking boots.

EURO HOTEL reviews! http://www.eurocheapo.com/ Reviews of cheap hotels...like a lonely planet on-line.

Universal Currency Converter! http://www.xe.com/ucc/ This is the site I use to convert the U.S. dollar and get depressed.

World maps! http://www.justmaps.org/
Need to find a good map of the country you are traveling to...check this one out!

Forget the hotel stay on a COUCH! http://www.couchsurfing.com/
Locals host traveler's on their couch. A cheap way to really immerse yourself into the local culture.

Airfare search sites:
CLICK AIR http://www.clickair.com/view/default.aspx?lang=2
MOBISSIMO http://www.mobissimo.com/search_airfare.php
EXPEDIA http://www.expedia.com/
TRAVEL CUTS (student airfare) http://www.travelcuts.com/

For those who live the U.S. here is a website you want to bookmark! http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/

Other links with great travel sites:
Rick Steves...ok, he is kind of annoying but this webpage has a comprehensive list of travel websites all over europe. VERY GOOD! http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/links_menu.htm#budget

Do you have other useful or just plain zany websites to add??? ADD TO COMMENTS!!

Vappu- A FINNISH Holiday!

I survived the biggest national holiday in Finland, VAPPU! May 1, also known as May Day or Worker's Day here in Tampere. Vappu offers an aberrant mix of activities; everything from political speeches, to parades, to a carnival, to fashionable attire, to dunking University students in the freezing cold rapids that run through the center of town.
I can honestly say, it was a unique experience! April 30, the night before Vappu, was a complete drunk fest where the University students and 13 years olds (not kidding) get unequivocally inebriated and place the "white hat" on one of the statues in the center (the big event of the evening). The stylish & chic white hats (that resemble your standard white sailors hat) have been bequeathed to high school graduates for the past 50 years. After the "crowning" of the statue everyone can wear their fashionable white hats until the fall. Then, there are the colored jumpers that all of the Technical University students sport the entire weekend. I really don't know the history behind these, but they do put a great deal of love into their jumpers and spice them up with "flare", a.k.a. embroidered patches. The white hats and colored jumpers are the standard uniform for Vappu day. At 1 p.m., as a rite of passage, the freshman at the Technical University are hoisted up in a crane and literally dunked in the rapids. All of the Finns come out for this day, with the whole family, and picnic (and drink a lot... in true Finn fashion) as the entertaining MC keeps the crowd aroused for about 4 hours of student dunking. I enjoyed the eccentric Vappu, as the sun was shining and I truly got to feel the wacky Finnish culture in full-effect!

Dreamin' Starbucks!

The first Starbucks I have experienced in Europe was in Athens. Ok, I'm not a coffee drinker, but the "Tazo Grande Skinny Chai, No Water" had my mouth watering like Pavlov's dog. Sure, there are plenty of golden arches in Europe to make you feel like you're in the U.S. but the fact that golden arches ARE in every major European city, makes McD's not feel so American. Plus, who wants to eat an instant heart-attack?! Ick!!!

But Starbucks is different, there is something so cozy and familiar with sipping on a chai latte and meeting friends. It made me miss my Friday morning coffee with the Boulder girls, my meet up's at Vic's coffee before a body-slam hike or a ski day, my laptop cafe days at Espressoria or just a quick stopover at Starbucks for the drive into work. My life back in Boulder revolved around the cafe culture. It is quite interesting how a simple Starbucks can make you reflect on your life.

Needless to say, I visited Starbucks everyday while in Athens and forked out the 3.60 euro ($5 US) for my "Tazo Grande Skinny Chai, No Water" .