A Relentless Virus Comes our Way...

Our meds and Charlie breathing in steam.

I returned home late Friday p.m. and all I wanted to do was cuddle up with Charlie and die. But, I was not the only one zapped by the brutal bug, Charlie was illin' too. The next morning I was supposed to teach my FIRST yoga class, but overnight the sickness consumed my entire immune system. At 4 a.m. during a bout of sneezing all over Charlie (sorry, babe!) and blowing my nose, I decided to use all of my energy to get up and write the dreaded email to the nice Finnish lady who invited me to teach a class in her yoga studio. Ugh! Luckily her response in the morning was very nice and we rescheduled the class for March 25. On Sunday we were supposed to go skiing with the professor we work with and had to cancel that too. You know that if I am canceling yoga and skiing, I must be sick as a dog. Together, we were one big pathetic HOT-mess! But, the nice thing about being sick with your partner is that you can moan, groan, whine, sneeze, blow noses, take medicine, and laugh at the situation together. Plus, you can really take care of each other because you know how crappy the other person feels. So, despite how much being sick for 48 hours SUCKS...being sick with Charlie made it not-so-bad.

Another Fulbright Seminar: America in Living Color

Another Fulbright seminar, this time in Tampere, Finland (1.45 hours by train from Jyväskylä). We (8 scholars, 7 graduate students, and 3 PhD students) all gathered for two days where each of us presented our project in 30 minutes to a mixed audience of Fulbright supporters and a few University of Tampere undergraduate students. It was interesting to hear how the projects have progressed over the course of our time in Finland. Topics ranged from insect tolerance in climate change to sibling aggression to funkadelic music. I began to feel a little under the weather on day two, uh-oh!

Gettin' Married in Finland!

Charlie and I are gettin' edified in the Finnish marriage process.

The piece of paper we received with the wedding details.

1.) U.S. Blessing: In late January we scheduled a meeting with the American consulate in Helsinki to receive a marriage blessing (affidavit) from the U.S. After going through airport-like security, we were asked by a Finnish woman (sitting behind a bullet proof window) to fill out paperwork and sit in the waiting room which had patriotic American videos playing. Fifteen minutes rolled by and an Asian-American young man, about our age, called our names. Again, behind bullet proof windows he asked us a few questions and signed and stamped an affidavit stating that we can legally get married in Finland according to U.S. regulations. We paid $100 ($50 for each affidavit) and we were ready for the next blessing by the Finnish government.

2.) Finnish blessing: Next, we went to the maistraatti (local register) with all of our marriage paperwork (U.S. affidavit and more paperwork) to receive a marriage blessing by Finland (how many Popes are in this process?) Our understanding was that we needed to turn in the paperwork and then they would take some time to investigate our case for marriage impediments. But, this was not the case, after signing 2 pieces of paper and showing them our passport we were cleared!

3.) Date of Wedding: We did not know that we would also be asked to choose a date for our ceremony. Well, we did not really have a choice; the woman said (more than asked) how is April 20, at 14:30? I let out a little chuckle, because back in Boulder, CO this is a BIG day--cannabis (marijuana) day (bongo drums, people smoking up, etc.) a day when every university administrator at the University of Colorado frets the implications of over 11,000 people gathering on campus to smoke up. We looked at each other and then at our calendar and saw it was a Friday and said sure that works. In Boulder they choose marijuana, in Finland we choose love!

Charlie's ring, a German designer: Carl Dau.

4.) Wedding Details: The woman asked a few additional questions, (to me) what is your last name after the marriage? (To us) How many rings? Do you have witnesses? Yes, to get married in Finland you need at least two witnesses present at the ceremony.

My ring, an Austrian designer: Humphrey!

5.) Tour of the Ceremony Hall: She showed us the small, but elegant, room where the ceremony will take place...very nice. On the website it states, "The registrars of the local register offices carry out civil marriage ceremonies. The marriage ceremony can be short and no-frills, but can also include live music and poetry readings. At least two witnesses must be present at any marriage ceremony." Charlie asked how much it cost and she said no charge. FREE! In the U.S. this would cost money, so now we feel justified for paying taxes in Finland--we are beginning to reap the benefits of the social welfare system. I asked what language the ceremony would be in...and the women chuckled and said English, I did not ask because you are American. (Ouch...that just inspired me to learn more Finnish!)

Snowmen, Snow Soccer, and Sunshine

Today was the annual "Snowday!" event at the University of Jyväskylä. Which basically means: students hanging out on the lake participating in winter sports. I met Charlie at his lake-front office and we ventured out onto the lake where loud music pumped through speakers and sunshine warmed the rosy cheeked students. Some students were busy drinking olut (beer) and ice fishing while others snowshoed, cross country skied or played snow football (soccer). In tandem with "Snowday!", another (more political) event took place on the snowy beach of Lake Jyväsjärvi , the "Snowmen Against Global Warming" event. The university community was encouraged to build a snowman on the icy lake: "Ranks of snowmen are taking a stand against global warming at Lake Jyväsjärvi." Too bad the snow was a little too crusty to make proper snowmen, but that did not stop the students...they made snowmen out of blocks of snow--very innovative!

Gone Ice Fishing...

The sign says, "Danger! Thin Ice!

Ilkka, our Finnish friend, asked us if we wanted to go net fishing on the lake with his friend Mikko. Of course, we both jumped at the chance to experience ice fishing (insert clips of Grumpy Old Men movie here). Mikko drove us to the lake and (neophyte) Charlie was handed the blue sled full of augers and one big hook of which he pulled behind him as we walked through the forest to get to the shores of the lake. We walked on the lake until we came to a branch sticking out of the ice. Mikko made a hole in the ice with the auger and dipped his bare hands into the ice-cold water to find the fishing line. He pulled it up and no fish, except for the bait that was hanging on the line. Boo! We did this for about five more holes until finally we came to the BIG hole in the lake where he had strung three long fishing nets under the ice. We pulled out each net one at a time (actually the dudes pulled out the nets with bare hands...brrrrrr) and no fish. Shucks! After two hours and no fish we were all pretty frozen (and so were the fish apparently). So, we packed up and headed back to the car. Time for hot tea!

Skiing on the Lake...

Our Finnish family, actually mama Anne, asked if we were available to get together for some winter sports. YES! So, we met up at the lake after work and their daughter, Julia, just so happens to wear the same size shoes as me...which meant I got to try her cross country skies. COOL! So, Anne and I skied around the lake while Charlie ice skated around the track. Anne drove us all back to the families house for sauna (Daddy Timo just renovated the sauna and bathroom in their apartment). What a nice way to relax after skiing. We finished the evening with Russian Earl Grey tea (remember Daddy Timo loves everything Russian) and Anne had some baked some savory pastries and homemade fruity cheesecake.

American Sunday Brunch with Sledding, Winter Biking & Ice-Skating!



Finnish bacon or Amerikan Pekoni?!

Our backyard...seriously!

One of our colleagues at the Institute where I do my research is an American who is married to a Finnish woman. They have two sons. We invited them over for an American Sunday brunch because their boys LOVE American breakfast and so do we, so why not enjoy it all together? We made scrambled eggs, Aunt Jemina pancakes, oat pancakes, bacon, hash browns, guacamole, and a fruit salad. YUM! Then, we all went sledding down the BIG hill that is about a 2-minute walk from our apartment. All I have to say is that I think sledding gets scarier as you age or at least my fear has increased.



The handlebars just disengaged...



Happy Charlie is BACK!



Classic! Look at those contradictory facial expressions.



After a little rest from the big breakfast and the sledding carnage, we tried our skills at biking in the snow. After about 2 minutes on the bike I heard Charlie spitting out cuzz words at a rapid pace and I turned around to see him holding up his handlebars that had dislodged from the body of his bike. Literally, the entire handlebar unit disengaged from the bike frame. He managed to stop without crashing and we walked the bikes back to our apartment. Wah wah!

We then decided walking to the lake would be a better idea. The lake has an ice skating track on it, that the city smooths out with a zamboni. So, our first time ice skating on our second-hand ice skates. COOL! Despite the rough ice, we managed to make it to the other side of the lake and enjoyed a hot drink in a cozy little hut. Life is an adventure!

Nice to Come Home to...

Ah, yeah. During the winter months, Finland may be lacking in the produce department, but not in the flower department. I came home to these beautiful flowers that my super-fiancé gifted me. Good thing my betrothed does not need training in the men-should-give-flowers-to-their-partners-more-than-just-on-Valentine's-day-and-major-holidays department. Kiitos, Charlie. 

Another Research Week...in Helsinki!

Someone carved "Helsinki" into the snowy steps.

Good news, I am nearing the end of conducting qualitative interviews for my PhD research project. (Yippee, another landmark in this long-winded PhD experience!) After this week in Helsinki I will have completed 20 interviews and only five more to go. Wow, this has been a process of discovery and I have actually really enjoyed the interviewing phase despite the zany planning and travel logistics. It would not be so bad, but I have chosen to research two universities in two different cities, so the scheduling of interviews and the travel means I spend a lot of time on email and in trains. Even so, I have enjoyed it...I really like connecting with people and qualitative interviewing allows a researcher (that's me) to build rapport with the respondents. There are times you feel like an investigator trying to get to the bottom of a mystery. Watch out Sherlock Holmes!

This time I stayed in the University of Helsinki international housing apartments, Töölö Towers, which are really nice and located in the center of the city. Charlie came down for the weekend and we went ring shopping (now that was f-u-n!). We both found very funky and cool designer rings at Union Design.

During my time in Helsinki I also experienced another big snowstorm, but it simply did not stop life in the big city. The Finns still continued their everyday routines, you saw moms with strollers, people jogging, and the trams and buses still moved people throughout the city. But, there was one fatality that resulted from this big dump...a woman was killed by falling ice-snow from the rooftops. Yeah, and here was the sign in our building warning us of the danger.

It's the LAST Day of School

...for the seniors in high school. Today, at 11:45 a.m. about 20 big lorries (trucks) carried the local high school seniors through the city center. The screaming teenagers dressed up in costumes and threw candy to the crowds (or shall I say pegged us in the head a few times with Finnish candy). This is yet another Finnish tradition, all kids do it. Although classes are over, they still have matriculation exams through the spring. Go, Angry Nerds!

Happy Valentine's Day with a RING!

Senate Square, Helsinki with LOVE!

I have BIG news to share...Charlie and I are tying the knot, gettin' hitched, making it legal, coming together in holy matrimony, or more eloquently becoming husband and wife! Charlie proposed to me a few weeks ago in a hot, hot, hot Finnish sauna (how apropos) and put a gaudy yet awesome golden dove (that really looks like a flying carp) on my finger (see photo).

Engagement ring (flying carp?!)

Now ladies do not judge, we actually picked out the real rings from a designer in Helsinki. In the midst of all our travels and an intensive academic week we are finally getting around to making it "public".  The time has actually allowed us, as a couple, to relish in and melt into the realities of marriage before jumping up and down with a ring on the finger and screaming from the mountain top, "I am getting married!" (Which is what I am doing now.) It has been a little weird not being able to tell people in person, as most of our close friends and family heard this news via Skype video calls or email. While email (and blog) is not my favorite way to communicate such news, in this day and age I suppose it is the most fluid way of communicating especially when you live a thousand of miles away from most of your cherished ones. All in all, we are both VERY happy and we look forward to building a future together full of compassion, playfulness, and love. At the same time we are also enjoying calling one another "fiancé" with a wicked French accent.

A cheesy and steamy photo taken in Lucca, Italy.

We are considering getting married in Finland...which would consist of a small court ceremony and a party at the sauna on the lake. For those of you in Colorado...get ready for a BIG party! Sometime in the next year, we will sojourn back to the motherland for a Colorado and Ohio (that is where Charlie is from) celebration. More details soon...

5 Days of Brain Gymnastics

Me with Sheila and Berit at the conference

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Italy, then the Arctic Circle, and now a visit from my PhD adviser from the U.S. Dr. Sheila Slaughter visited us in Jyväskylä, gave a few lectures, and then we all traveled down to Helsinki for an academic conference. Sheila was the keynote speaker and both Charlie and I gave presentations at the conference. While the week of academic gymnastics was fun, intellectually stimulating, and proved to be very important to drive my dissertation forward,

Charlie and Sheila: pre-sauna.

The swimming hole at the lake.

the real fun came when a group of us from the Finnish Institute for Educational Research (FIER) got together for a night at a traditional Finnish sauna called Savutuvan Apaja. Us ladies were lucky enough to get the sauna on the lake, while the men had a sauna far away from the lake. The beautiful antiquated wooden sauna was stocked with cold beverages of your choice (cider, beer, sparkling water, etc.), towels, and even the unique Finnish sauna shampoo and soaps. We enjoyed the hot sauna and then went for a few dips in the ice cold hole in the lake.

Before dipping in we had to break the thin layer of ice that formed on the exposed water with a shovel nicely placed next to the hole. After one hour of sauna we met up the men again in the candlelit dining hall where we enjoyed Finnish specialty foods including the ever-popular muikku fried fish (oh, and scrambled eggs for us vegetarians).

The UGA crew (or all of those affiliated with UGA) at the Nordic conference.

No Time to Unpack: We have a Birthday to Celebrate in the ARCTIC CIRCLE!

Our bags from Italy remained unpacked on our bedroom floor as we enjoyed a weekend in Rovaniemi, a small Finnish town in the Arctic Circle.The weekend was organized by the Fulbright Center, so our travel companions were fellow Fulbright grantees and their families. We stayed at the cozy Guesthouse Borealis, about a 10 minute walk outside of the city. We did not have much of a chance to "explore" the great arctic outdoors because it just so happened to be the coldest weekend in Finland (temperatures as low as -33C--yikes!) But, there were certainly many highlights of the weekend, despite the frost-biting weather. The Arctic Center, Arktikum, was our first excursion where we learned more about the Sami people, reindeer herding, and historical Rovaniemi. Honestly, I am not much of a museum diva, but when it is "arctic cold" outside a museum is a lovely place to spend the day. (Charlie even experienced pre-frostbite on the tip of his nose as we walked to the Arctic Center.) Plus, the reindeer herding photo exhibit was really amazing! In the afternoon we met Arctic center researchers and heard about their fascinating multidisciplinary projects on global climate change and the Sami people. We were also hosted by the University of Lapland and the international office invited us to enjoy the university sauna two nights during our stay, one of which we enjoyed a sauna party with other international students.


There was also a very unique opportunity presented to us...AVANTO--a swimming hole in the lake (without a sauna nearby). We were going to do it, but the freezing cold weather was just too much to fathom swimming in an ice cold hole in the lake, but others in our group were braver than us.


Of course, a trip to Rovaniemi would not be complete without a visit to the inauthentic Santa's village. Seriously, this place was a tourist trap (not a big fan)! Photos with Santa cost 20 euro and all writing was in English. We stayed one hour, snapped photos with the REAL reindeer, and then we hopped back on the bus.


We celebrated Charlie's birthday this weekend with a big traditional Finnish birthday cake. Happy 30-something, my romantic dude!

Argh! Technical Difficulties...

A whirlwind of F-U-N...in the midst of tech difficulties!

I am way behind on my blog! The last four weeks have been crazy GOOD...but left no time for creative play with my photos or writing blog entries. Apologies to my frequent blog readers which seems to be two mothers, one in Colorado and one in Ohio. Another problem that has recently depleted my blog dedication is the new YouTube copyright infringement crack-down. Argh! I love to make videos of my/our travels and normally I will very carefully choose music to play in the background to highlight the mood. YouTube has now decided to come down on these sorts of video projects with an iron fist...and most of my videos, posted on the blog, are now blocked. So, some of my free time, that would have been spent writing my blog, has been spent investigating this. Anyway, long story short...I will post an Arctic Circle entry soon. And, sorry about the videos...it sucks!

Florence, Italy: Naked David!

Florence: our last Italian city before flying back to reality (sad!) We arrived at Kursaal hotel just a few blocks away from the train station and dropped off our bags. One block away was the Italian leather outdoor market. We toured the city stopping for pizza, coffee, and views of the naked David. The David statue is regal as ever even though it is only a replica of the real deal statue--now located in Academia Gallery. This was also the coldest day of our trip as the wind cut right through our bones, so we popped in and out of cafes and stores all day long. After visiting the beautiful Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) we headed back to the hotel, exchanged photos with Dan and Julie and then bid farewell to them as they hopped a train back to Pisa. When I live outside of Colorado, it is always hard to say goodbye to my family members. Normally I get this sinking feeling deep in my throat that reverberates down into my chest and abdominal area (yes, it is a very physical goodbye). In this case, I could not even say, "See you in..." because we are unsure as to when we will be back in the States. Oh well, there will always be Italy.