Life in Finland - First impressions (part 1)

 Now that I’ve been in Finland for one week, I can share some thoughts or what can be called as “my first impressions” of the country and daily life here. It will be interesting to compare these thoughts in the end of my stay here after six months and see how they develop.

The cold

First thing that comes to my mind is still the cold. Coming here during winter was something that scared me a little back in Brazil. I tried to be prepared, bought some winter clothes and accessories, but I knew I would have to come here first to understand what the winter was really like here. For many people this might be trivial thing, but being born and raised in Brazil, I think I had some reasons to be concerned about that cold. When I left Brazil, the weather there was something like +30°C (86°F)! What I can say about the cold is that is not as bad as I expected. It’s bearable with the right clothes on. Last Friday and Saturday, the temperature reached -20°C (-4°F) and although it was a bit harder to breath and I felt my face skin burning a little from the cold…. nah…. it wasn’t that bad. Not much worse than the –10°C (14°F) when I arrived. My conclusion is that I am more lazy than usual here, because for me it is a big effort to put all those layers of clothes before going out for any place, and the snowy view from my window doesn’t encourage me to go outside. But I’m ok with that. It’s easy to get prepared for the cold. (The darkness, on the other hand, still bothers me a little. But I heard people saying the worst part is gone and now it’s going to be better and better)

The system works 

Some things here make me feel like I have moved from a 3^rd world country to a 1^st world one. Nowadays these classifications are not real anymore. But still, Brazil has a lot to develop in many aspects like education, health care systems, transportations, etc. The point here is not criticizing my home country. I still love Brazil. It’s just that I see many positive things here that wouldn’t work in Brazil. For example, winter here is a high maintenance period. Snow removal activities are a serious business. And it is done in an incredibly efficient way. One can say that Finns cope with these things every year, so it’s easy for them to be experts in that. But in Brazil also, we have floods every summer, and every year the chaos is the same. I don’t know what we are doing wrong (or not doing at all). Another thing that it’s interesting here is related to transportation. I bought the single tickets to go to Helsinki by train on Friday and it’s a bit expensive (€4,50) but no one checks if you have that ticket. I mean, sometimes there are some inspectors checking that, but not always. Well, if we had that in Brazil, most people would ride for free.

It’s expensive

They say life in Europe is expensive. Well, I can’t disagree. In general, things here are more expensive than they are in Brazil. In some cases, MUCH more expensive. Last week I bought a router for €70. In Brazil I could have had that for R$60. Considering that one Euro is now 2,70 Reais… that can be seen as expensive. And yesterday, I went to the movies and the regular ticket was €12,50… However, I got a prepaid phone here that allows me to make phone calls to Brazil at €0,20/minute. If I could talk less to my family, that would be a good deal. But since I cannot spend less than 30 minutes with them, the best solution for me is to get a good internet connection, which I couldn’t do so far. I’ll pay more attention to prices to see what could be considered cheap here. But so far, either things are more expensive or same price range.

Hi from Finland

Hi all,

Just passing by to say hello.
I arrived in Finland last Friday and only today I could get internet connection (Sonera prepaid Nettitikku).
I don't know if it is the best option, but I was so in need of connecting that I just grabbed the first option I could find.
It's working pretty good now.
My first impression is that the cold is not that terrible as people say. It's totally bearable. I'm even enjoying it, since it's so different from the type of cold we have in Brazil.
And the snow... It's SO beautiful! I'm in love! It can be tricky, though. I almost fell several times because of the slippery floor. But you just have to be cautious.
That's it for today, just a short post to register my arrival here.
Pictures: my living room, an old Santa at a flea market I visited on Saturday, myself in winter clothes that are saving me, and a snowy view nearby my place.

NY Trip and Visa Approved

Today I received the news that my Finnish Residence Permit is ready and they already sent it to the Finnish Embassy here in Brazil. It might take a couple of weeks before getting here, but I’m so happy that it was approved!

Last week, I was in NYC and it was an amazing experience! I’m in love with the city. It was even better than I had imagined. Luckily, we choose December for our first trip to NY and it was a great choice, since the entire city had that Christmas’ atmosphere, soooo beautiful!

We arrived there on Sunday afternoon, went to our hotel to leave our stuff and then had lunch at Brother Jimmy’s (great place). After that we bought our metro card (with unlimited rides for one week) and went to Times Square! At first, it was a bit overwhelming with so many people and all the billboards, but it’s a wonderful place where you can actually realize that “yes, you’re in New York”.

We left the city on Friday, and below are some highlights of our trip.

Monday

We bought the NY citypass, so our itinerary for the whole week was partly based on the attractions included in the pass (which were the ones we wanted to see the most, anyway). Early in the morning we went on a boat trip to see the Statue of Liberty. Amazing experience! Then we had lunch at Times Square and went to the Grand Central Terminal (which turned out to be one of my favorite spots of the city). After that, we walked to the St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which was under some renovations. Then we went to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and spent few hours there. In the end of the day we did some shopping nearby and came back to the hotel.

From left to right: Statue of Liberty, Newlyweds at Times Square, Big Clock at Grand Central Terminal, Pietá at St. Patrick's Cathedral, The Scream at MoMA

Tuesday

After a quick trip to Grand Central Terminal we took the bus to the Upper East Side and walked to MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art). We didn’t know that it was so big and so full of interesting stuff. We could stay there the whole day. We had lunch there and left in the middle of the afternoon. We crossed Central Park, enjoying the walk and the beautiful views of the park in this time of the year. Our plans included the American Museum of Natural History, but it was a bit late, so we decided to leave that for the next day and went to Macy’s.

Coffin at MET, Sister having lunch at MET with Central Park view, Giant Bubble at Central Park

Wednesday

We woke up early and went to SoHo for shopping. The stores there wouldn’t open until 10am, so we had breakfast in a café there and waited until they open. After that we went to our hotel to leave our bags there and took the bus to the Upper East Side and then another one to cross Central Park. At AMNH we had quick lunch (it was already 3pm and the museum would close 5.30pm) and visited some of the wings like the dinosaur wing, the Hall of African mammals, etc. There we saw the Lucy skeleton, the Star of India sapphire and the Easter Island head, so nice! After the museum we went to Rockfeller Plaza and up to the Top of the Rock! Amazing views of the city, and you can actually see the Empire State from there. Plus, they had that giant Christmas tree at the Plaza. So magical!

T-Rex at AMNH, Amazing view from Top of the Rock

Thursday

This was one of my favorite parts of the trip: Crossing Brooklyn Bridge! It was a great walk with wonderful views of the city. We also enjoyed the best pizza ever at Grimaldi’s right after we crossed the bridge. In the afternoon we went to Century 21 located in Downtown Manhattan to buy some things. I really liked the store (and its low prices). I remember I read some comments that it was too messy, but I thought it was pretty ok. In the end of the day we were supposed to go to Empire State, but unfortunately, we had to go back to SoHo to return a pair of boots that I bought in the wrong size. And after that we were so tired that we all agreed to leave the Empire State for the next trip to NY. But that’s ok; we had already seen amazing views from the Top of The Rock on Wednesday.

Sister and I at Madison Square in front of Flatiron, Brooklyn Bridge, Welcome to Brooklyn!

That was our lovely trip to NY. That’s a memory I’ll keep forever.

Next week I’ll come back with some pictures of my first time in Finland!

Getting ready for the cold (in NYC)

I’m going to New York this Saturday, with my mother and my sister and I’ll take advantage of this trip to buy some things that I’ll probably need to face the cold weather in Finland, when I arrive there in January.

Such cold is something I can’t even imagine, but I’ll have a preview in New York.

I made a list with some winter essentials, but I know I shouldn’t worry about this, since it will be easy to find good winter clothes and accessories in Finland. But, anyway, I’ll need something to start!

1 Good Coat

This is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of how summery and typically Brazilian my current wardrobe is. I don’t have any coats that could save me in negative temperatures. I will definitely need one of those down coats.

2 Waterproof Winter Boots

I’m so afraid of slipping in the icy floor… It seems silly, but I really am. So I’ll look for some boots that provide traction on snow and ice. I also want them to be waterproof. I don’t know if that’s really necessary. But I won’t take the risk of having my feet wet in such a cold weather.

3 A Nice Camera

Ok, this is not a winter accessory. But I couldn’t move to a different country without a good camera to register everything I’m going to see there and that I might want to share with my family and friends. I am not even close to being a pro, so I believe a mirrorless camera is enough for me. (Actually, I’ve already purchased that camera – Sony NEX-5N – and it’s already waiting for me in my hotel. I’m looking forward to having it in my hands!)

4,5,6 Winter Accessories

It’s a bit strange for a Brazilian to think of these accessories as something useful. Even during winter we use those mostly for aesthetics, not because you REALLY need them. But in very cold places these accessories prevent you from losing heat from your hands, feet, neck and head. So they are very important, and I’ll need a few sets of gloves, beanies, scarves and socks. They are also a good way to stay fashionable when you’re wearing so many layers of clothes that your body becomes shapeless.

7 Thermal Baselayer

People who are used to living in cold areas probably don’t need those in their daily lives. But I don’t want be shocked by the cold. So I’ll take one of these thermal baselayers with me. Even if it makes me look even more like an outsider.