09 The Silence of the Finns (EN)

Summer, sun and beer cans

How should I begin this article? It feels like I've been in Finland for ages again, and then again as if not even a blink of an eye had passed between my departure from Thailand. Maybe I should just tell a short anecdote from my first week in Tampere, accounting for a unusual start and all. A few days ago, I had the pleasure of observing a particularly clever specimen of humanity. Actually, it was a Finnish squirrel. Thickly wrapped and with Bullet for my Valentine in my ears, I was on my way to the campus of the University of Tampere to attend a sports class at the university gym. A few metres in front of me, a guy, obviously also a student, was trudging through the snow, but I didn't pay him any attention. I was more concerned with the icy cold around me. Then, all of a sudden, the guy stopped and bent down. Shoelace undone? Not a chance. He started digging in a snowdrift. Fascinated, I also stopped and watched the whole thing. What was he up to? Had he lost something? Was he going to start a snowball fight, with powder? Was he freezing to death and therefore having hallucinations? None of this was true. Instead, he unearthed two cans of beer, opened one of them, and took a sip. Aha. Of course, that was a smart way to turn the snow into a natural fridge and safely stow away his half. Just don't forget where you buried your beer. Just like a squirrel. Pro-tip: Dig in the snow for free beer every now and then.

Maybe there's some free beer hidden here?!

I've been in Tampere for almost exactly one week now, and already I obviously have many little stories to tell about my everyday life in Finland between university, student dormitory and (very extensive) leisure life. Of course, I will use many, many more words than the Finns themselves would use to tell these anecdotes. Because if there's one thing I've noticed about the locals here, it's their calmness, reserve, and above all their silence, coupled with a great willingness to help and friendliness. But I actually get along well with that, because Germans are not necessarily the most extroverted warm-hearted world champions. It takes a little while for the Finns to thaw out (hehe, fits the weather conditions), but if you find a topic they're passionate about, it goes really quickly. Or when they're drunk. I know that from somewhere. A typical example of Finnish taciturnity was an ice hockey game I went to on my second day. Tampereen Ilves (one of the two local clubs in Tampere) against Vaasan Sport, a home game full of thrills: In the last third of the game, Ilves scored the 1:1, so it was a draw, went into overtime, finally penalty shoot-out. In a German football stadium, the atmosphere among the fans and spectators would have boiled over, but in Finland it was rather limited. Silence. When Ilves finally scored the decisive goal and won the game, people cheered briefly and stood up, but not too loud and not too long. As a German, you almost feel temperamental in comparison.

Finnish Cuisine

What's really cool about the Finnish straightforwardness and composure is the fact that people here give zero fucks about being hipsters. Second-hand and vintage shops, yes, but really only to stock up on sustainable and cost-saving winter clothing allà South Park. At least I feel like South Park when I'm slithering more than walking through Tampere with three pairs of tights, home-knitted socks, a knitted jumper, a shapeless winter jacket, a scarf on my face and a woolly hat. What I really celebrate here is the fact that people here are relatively unpretentious when it comes to styling, but they still look pretty cool doing it. For example, almost every Finnish student has a jumpsuit with various patches sewn on it. You get the patches at parties, in cafés, bars, from student associations, just everywhere, and they are supposed to show where you have been and what you have experienced. At the same time, the colour of the overalls expresses which student group or discipline you belong to. In Tampere, for example, green overalls stand for political science (my department basically). So you can express affiliation and solidarity with the overalls, but at the same time you can also represent yourself individually with the patches. It's like the denim frocks in the metal scene. Especially when going out, Finnish students like to wear their overalls, but they usually tie the sleeves above the hips. It looks really cool. I'm strongly considering buying one of these. But I don't know how often I would wear it in Germany, probably more at festivals and concerts, but less in everyday life. Apart from that, you notice in Finland: Punk is not dead. I see more punks, emos, goths and metalheads on campus than anywhere else outside of Nova Rock and the like. But somehow it also fits Finland. It feels like you're living in the 90s or early 00s again, as far as the liveliness of the rock and metal scene is concerned. I like it, it's good that I have a few of my band shirts with me. They somehow stayed in the wardrobe quite often in Cambodia. 

What Finland can learn from Cambodia, though, is cooking and especially seasoning. Everything I've eaten here so far that I haven't cooked myself tastes...like nothing. Underfucked, unsexy, unimaginative. Sounds harsh now, but unfortunately that's the way it is. After four months of constant foodgasms and taste explosions in Asia, I'm also pretty spoiled when it comes to culinary delights, not to mention my time in Italy. What is really easy here, however, is a vegan diet. As I mentioned, Finland is pretty eco and therefore veggie-friendly. The unimensa offers a vegan dish every day, and for little money. At first, the dishes sound incredibly innovative, creative and experimental. My first dish at the university cafetaria was Pulled Oats (the plant-based equivalent of Pulled Pork) with vegetables. I love the fact that oats are used here as a regional substitute. So, full of anticipation, I went to the self-service counter and loaded up a huge portion of oatmeal - you pay per plate here, not per quantity. Well, after the first few bites, however, I felt the need for a well-stocked spice rack. Definitely a bit more salt and (preferably Cambodian) pepper, paprika, nutmeg, a tiny bit of cumin perhaps, chilli, garlic.... I know you can't expect too much from canteen food, but still. The cafeteria at the University of Passau always prepared quite passably seasoned meals, and you could season them yourself. Here: No such thing. (Update: Found a spice rack in the cafetaria by now). The same goes for Karjalanpiiraka, a folded bread filled with rice. We had the chance to try it a few days ago as guests of other Finnish students. I slapped hummus on it in a really philistine way, and tadaaa, it suddenly tasted like something. But okay, you can't be a master at everything.

A bunch of emotions at the ice hockey game...Nope.

What the Finns are great at, of course, is taking a sauna. I could get used to this lifestyle: pretty much every house has a sauna, including the student dormitory where I live. And the university gym. After sports, before the shower, relax your muscles a bit in the sauna, it's just wonderful... And the quality of sleep is also so much better as a result. Thanks to the constant darkness, I sleep excellently here anyway. Since it gets dark at 3pm and then stays dark until 9am, I'm often relatively ready for bed by 9pm, and sometimes sleep for 9 to 10 hours straight. I haven't managed that for ages! I feel like I'm making up for the sleep deficit of the last few months in Cambodia. The other side of the coin is that my coffee consumption has risen to new heights. I now often need another cup of coffee in the evening to keep me going for a few more hours. As soon as it gets dark, my body says quite quickly: time for bed! Which is not always compatible with the plans of my flatmates. Finland is the world champion in drinking coffee, and the coffee specialities are correspondingly good (luckily they already know how to make coffee). So coffee remains my long-term vice. 

Have I grown old?

Next point: my newly awakened life as a student. The last time I really studied was in MAY. Simply because I planned and worked through my exams in Ravenna with maximum efficiency in order to experience a stress-free summer, and then I dived into the working life mindset. Now, all of a sudden, I have a weird biorhythm again, have trouble getting up in the morning (I got up at 12am today, Friday, and haven't done anything yet except write this post), ask questions like "What are you studying?" "Is this relevant to the exam?" "In which lecture hall do we have a lecture?", and suddenly I'm dictating my own time management again, not my Outlook calendar and Asana like at KAS. Somehow, though, in terms of mindset, I already have one foot in the working world, I'm always thinking about what to do after my Master's, and of course what I want to research in my Master's thesis. Most of the ERASMUS students I know here are at the beginning or in the middle of their Bachelor's degree, and are therefore on average 5 years younger than me. And the age difference is noticeable in various ways, especially in terms of party life. I'm not a child of sadness, but I just don't go out clubbing several times a week like I did in my first bachelor's semester. My tolerance for alcohol is also getting worse. When I'm hungover, at least the whole next day is shitty. A problem that you often don't have at 19, 20, 21. Well, many bachelor students haven't had a real student life yet thanks to Covid, and yesterday I went to one of those ERASMUS semester opening parties. But I've already experienced so many semester openings and wild student parties that I feel a bit like a grandma when I say "Back when I was still studying in the Bachelor...". But they're all really super nice and really cuddly, I swear. And I've also met a few peers/same-minded people in the meantime, with whom you can take things a bit more calmly. But my advanced, almost senile student age of 26 doesn't seem to show. Yesterday, when I was buying a beer, I was asked for my ID.

Uni campus, my new second home :D

Apart from that, studying at the University of Tampere has been really fun so far. The courses I am currently taking are thematically exciting, the lecturers are competent and well organised. But what excites me most here is the university library. It's such a great place, not only for studying, but also for just relaxing! There are screened-in sofas and couch chairs with sockets that invite you to snuggle in and take off your shoes. Definitely a place where you can read a good book in peace with a cup of tea in hand, draw, journal or write a letter, or take a power nap or two. Or, like right now, work on the blog. Will probably be one of my happy places in the next few months. Everything is designed with a lot of care not only to make the learning experience as pleasant and productive as possible for the students and staff, but also to provide enough space for themselves and to feel comfortable. Kudos. This Finnish fluffy-cozy lifestyle is really great.

As you can tell from the post, all sorts of things have happened again this week, and I could go on for a long time. But I'll save that for the next posts, where I'll tell you more about my everyday life in Tampere, and of course about my small and big trips in and around Finland. In fact, the first plans are already taking shape, in the best travel company, of course ;) The Finns are silent, but of course Vroni keeps on chattering.

Until then, bacioni

Vroni

P.S.: Sorry for the somewhat uninspired photos, I haven't been taking many pictures here yet. It will be better soon, I promise!