Marja-Leena's Birthday Challenge

This week at the Somero English Club we celebrated Marja-Leena's 60th birthday. I asked the class to help me write something about her by asking questions about her life. The first response when I asked them to help me describe her was "she is a very nice woman."  She is. But there is a lot more to her than that.

Marja-Leena was born in Häntälä village and lives near the Häntälän "notkot" (hills). She has never moved far from her childhood home. For fifteen years she moved to live in Terttilä and then came back to live in Häntälä where she was originally from.  She is married to Kari. When I asked her to say something about her husband her immediate reply was "miten sanotaan ihana englanniksi?" (How do you say wonderful in English?) They have two daughters, Tiina, who will soon qualify as a maths teacher, and Terhi who works as a music teacher. Both are musical and play the accordian.

Marja-Leena has many hobbies. She speaks Estonian, goes bowling and likes listening to many kinds of music. She loves nature and enjoys simple pleasures such as picking berries and going for walks. She especially enjoys eating blackberries and strawberries picked direct from her own garden.

In 2009 Marja-Leena was diagnosed with breast cancer which obviously left a huge impact on her. Thankfully she has made a full recovery, but she said that the experience has made her think hard about what is important in life, and she has learnt to enjoy each moment as it happens and live in the here and now. She also said how it made her realise how much time we spend worrying about trivial things that really have no importance at all when you are faced with a serious illness, as she was.

Marja-Leena previously worked for seven years in the village shop in Pitkäjärvi, so will be a familiar face to many. I have only known her since we started the Somero English Club, but she is someone who radiates positivity and energy and clearly enjoys giving to others whenever she can. She has also made incredible progress in English in only a short space of time and has much more talent than she realises!

We enjoyed a delicious cake that Marja-Leena had brought to share with the class.  Before she left, she gave us all a challenge which I promised to publish on the blog. I hope you will take part, wherever you are.Here it is.

 "Take some time this week" she said, "to visit someone who may be feeling lonely. It could be someone old, or sick...or anyone at all. But take some time out of your busy schedules and make an effort to go and see someone who would appreciate it. Just think what a huge difference it would make if we all did this from time to time. We could transform Somero.  Not only that, but when you go and visit someone who needs it, you always end up receiving more that you give." 

And of course this doesn't just apply to us here. This applies all over the world. I think this is an important challenge and one which would have a positive effect on everyone who takes part. Happy birthday once again Marja-Leena and thank you for the challenge.... I hope it will inspire many people into action!

Happy Birthday Marja-Leena!

Just a quick note to say happy birthday to Marja-Leena who is celebrating her 60th birthday today!

I can't write more at this moment as I am on my way to Kurikka...but I will post the rest of the story and a photo of our celebrations last night as soon as I get the chance.  Hope you have a lovely day today with your family and friends!  With love from us all at the English Club....

Somero English Club - Men vs Women

The men agreeing to avoid diagrams

At the last meeting of the Somero English Club I split the groups so that the men were in one group and the women in another. Then I gave the two groups some topics for discussion  so that we could see the difference in views between the sexes. At one point I overheard the following comments from the men's group.  "I don't think we should say that" (followed by a lot of laughing), "I'll take responsibility for that one!" and then "no...don't draw it!" ????

We plan to take part in the Nice Run in Forssa in June

The men were accused of not listening, not being able to do more than one thing at a time and leaving their dirty underwear on the floor.

The women were told that they talk too much, gossip, nag and make things too complicated, but they themselves admitted that women are not perfect, and many spend too much money on fashion, make up, shoes and bags!

In terms of the perfect weekend, the women generally agreed that they would like to attend art exhibitions, go to a spa, see a play at the theatre and eat food together with friends. A group of us also agreed to take part in the Nice Run in Forssa in June to raise money for breast cancer. The men chose to go to the Keppana Kellari in Tammela, have a few beers and then go bowling.

The women plan their perfect weekend

When the groups were asked to consider the perfect present for the opposite sex, the men assumed that ladies would like to receive flowers and candles whereas the women were sure that most men would be happy to receive tools, machines, gadgets and tractors. In fact the ladies assumed the men would be happy with anything technical and expensive, whereas all the women wanted was diamonds. Not technical but certainly expensive...

We also had a debate as to whether the ideal man should have a hairy chest or not (most of us agreed that he should...), but it was Kirsti who summed it up on this point when she said "In my opinion we should let all the flowers bloom!"

I have found that each week at the club there is some sort of obscure word which manages to creep into the conversation.  One week I was asked the word for woodpecker, another week it was incubator. Last week the prize for obscure word of the week goes to "exhaust fumes."  Whatever.

In any event, we had a lot of fun in both groups and thankfully nobody ended up fighting, at least not yet!  I look forward to seeing what tomorrow evening will bring.

Happy Name Day Manu!

The good thing about the clocks going forward is that we were up early enough this morning to see the sunrise, which was spectacular.  The bad news was that I didn't have my camera with me, so I can't show it to you on here.  But take it from me it was beautiful...pink and orange and peaceful... one of those scenes where you can't help saying "I wish I had my camera with me..."

I have that Monday morning feeling today, but I know I am not alone.  Thankfully Monday morning only happens once a week.

Just a quick note to say Happy Name Day to Manu.  Hope you have a lovely day!

Have a happy Monday, everyone. Tsemppiä...

Spiritual Celebration in Somero

The members of Mummojen Puutarha

This afternoon I went to Kiiruu School where there was a big gathering of several hundred retired people who had come to celebrate a "spiritual weekend" in Somero. They had been to a church service this morning, and then came to the school for lunch followed by a programme of entertainment.

Elvi looking festive

Anja Känkänen and Mirja Honkanen perform

     


















 I was there to see my friend Elvi give a performance with the group she belongs to known as "Granny's Garden" (Mummojen Puutarha). She looked fantastic!

The retired Archbishop Jukka Paarma

Large turnout in Kiiruu School this afternoon

The former archbishop, Jukka Paarma, gave a talk in which he considered the eternal questions as to why we are here on earth and what is the meaning of life. I would love to have stayed to hear the answers to these questions but I am afraid Niko and Luca were not prepared to wait any longer so I had to leave early. The meaning of their lives this afternoon was to go to R Kioski and buy a tikkari (lollipop).

Still, what I saw of the event was a big success and the performance of the Granny's Garden reading group was really moving. Off for an early night tonight as it's back to work for me tomorrow. Help.....

A Minor Miracle

....occurred today.

I went skating. And I didn't fall down. That, as far as I am concerned was a small miracle. I know that almost everyone in Finland can skate almost as well as they can walk, but I have very little skating experience and have only been skating three times in the last ten years.  As you can imagine it is not my strongest point.

Luckily for me I had been invited to go though with our vet Liisa who is a very good skater. She can do jumps and spins and all sorts of impressive stuff. I can do nothing.  It was an opportunity I couldn't refuse.

To be honest I was pretty terrified. I have so little skating experience and I didn't fancy the idea of spending an hour falling over on the ice. In actual fact though Liisa was a great teacher.  She held my hand (literally) until I managed to keep my balance and eventually I managed to get round a few times.

Liisa with an impressive jump

I have no skating talent whatsoever, but it was a lot of fun, and I would love to go again.  Unfortunately the rink is now closing for the summer, and the next skating sessions in Somero will be in September. Still, that's my fault for starting a winter sport at the start of summer.

Liisa skating properly

Me holding on to the side

Thank you Liisa for your patience, I had a great afternoon and hope that we can go again when the rink next opens in September.  (And thank you also to Minna at the rink who very kindly took the photo of the two of us!)

Yritys Suomeksi

Tässä kaksi faktaa. Ensimmäinen on se, että tykkään todella paljon asua Suomessa. Toinen on että rakastan kirjoittaa. Mutta yhdistelmä näistä kahdesta asiasta, siis kirjoittaminen suomeksi, minua kauhistuttaa. Se on vaikeaa, enkä sitä osaa.  Sen lisäksi mielestäni maailmassa löytyy kahdenlaisia ihmisiä. Ne jotka käyttävät sanoja vain siitä syystä että he saisivat jonkin viestin perille.  Ja sitten löytyy taas ne, joille on erittäin tärkeää että he käyttävät juuri sitä oikeaa sanaa joka kuuluu just siihen tarkoitukseen  ja viestittää täsmällisesti sen, mitä kirjailija haluaa viestittää muille. Valitettavasti kuulun siihen toiseen ryhmään.  Englanniksi tämä ei ole niin iso ongelma, koska onneksi sanavarasto löytyy, ja sieltä voin poimia juuri sen sanan joka kuuluu mielestäni tilanteeseen. Sen sijaan suomeksi se aiheuttaa semmoista turhauttumista ja tuskaa että en edes viitsi yrittää kovinkaan paljon. Tämä on virhe, ja myönnän sen, mutta olen siinä mielessä aika perus suomalainen (en tarkoita sitä puoluetta!). Jos teen jotain, niin haluan tehdä sen hyvin.  Tehdä tietoisesti virheitä aiheuttaa mielipahaa. Se, että en osaa niitä korjata on vielä pahempi.  Häpeän koska en osaa.

Samanaikaisesti sanon kaikille mun englannin oppilaille että parempi on, että yrittää ja tehdä virheitä kuin se, että ei yritä ollenkaan. Uskon aidosti siihen, joten nyt on kai minun vuoroni ottaa tämä sama riski.

Monet ovat sanoneet että olisi kivaa jos joskus blogista tulisi jotain suomeksikin. Totta kai olisi. Ollaanhan me Suomessa ja täällä puhutaan suomea. En ole tehnyt kuitenkaan tähän asti asian eteen mitään koska pelkään kirjoittaa suomeksi. Kuitenkin, jostain kumman syystä, tänään löysin rohkeutta siihen. Tänään yritän, vaikka onkin vaikeaa.

Ja nyt sitten teidän vuoro.

Joensuuntiellä on Kukkakauppa nimeltään Kauppi. Se on puistoa vastapäätä.  Jos käyt siellä tänään, niin sieltä saat ilmaisen kukan. Ehtona on se, että annat sen jollekin että tämän henkilön päivä piristyisi. Muuta syytä ei tarvitse olla. Tämä henkilö voi olla kuka tahansa...ystävä, puoliso, sukulainen, naapuri tai ihan tuntematon henkilö. Idea on vaan se, että käytetään yksi kukkakimppu niin, että monet saavat siitä jotain iloa, eikä vaan yksi ihminen.

Toivon että tästä tuli jollain tavalla selvä. Pyydän jo etukäteen anteeksi virheistäni koska niitä kyllä on, mutta ainakin yritin! Nyt menkää hakemaan kukka ja tehdään tästä hymypäivä Somerolla.

Hauskaa Viikonloppua!

Lucie Leaves for Turkey

This afternoon I waved goodbye to Lucie who is flying off to Turkey for ten days. She is going to represent Finland with ten other Finnish people at the European Youth Parliament in Istanbul.  There will be over three hundred young people taking part in the event from all around Europe and Lucie will be the youngest person there.

The EYP is an organisation which introduces current issues to young people such as tackling problems of racism, terrorism, drug trafficking and other human rights issues. Delegations are given problems to consider and they have to work together to come up with a resolution designed to tackle the problem. These resoutions are then debated and voted on, all of which are valuable skills for the participants. Lucie participated first in the regional rounds in Helsinki and then in the national competition in Tampere before being chosen to represent Finland in Istanbul.

Until the end of last year Lucie was at school at the European School in Helsinki. She started there in 2008 when we moved to Finland.  All the teaching in her section of the school was in English and French, so she didn't learn Finnish as quickly as she would have liked to, but she gradually picked it up by going to Finnish camps over the summer holidays each year.

When we moved to Somero we gave Lucie the option as to which school to go to and she said she would like to try the Lukio in Somero. In January she went there for a trial week and was made to feel extremely welcome. The headmaster, Jari Timonen, together with Armi Nurmi both took a lot of trouble to consider whether Lucie would be able to cope in a Finnish school with English as her mother tongue.

She fitted in straightaway and had friends by the end of the week, so we all decided that she should move to the lukio full time. 

"It's a challenge studying in Finnish, but that's one of the reasons why I like it," she says. "Everyone has made me feel welcome. My two best friends are Jenni and Marianne and we all get on really well.  At first I was worried that I wouldn't understand what the teachers were saying, but the first few weeks have been ok and I think I am going to manage."

Lucie has started off studying English, French, Art and History, and again the teaching staff have done everything they can to make sure she can keep up. Even studying English has its challenges for her as she needs to be able to translate from Finnish in order to take the tests, but it means that she is learning more Finnish all the time.


"I can't wait to go to Turkey," she said this afternoon. "Hopefully when I get back I can tell the people at Somero Lukio about EYP and we can get a team together to compete next year. I know that some people are interested in going already."

Lucie has been lucky enough to travel a lot during her childhood but at 15, this is her first time going on a plane on her own, so the whole experience will be one she never forgets. Good luck Lucie.... we will be thinking of you!

Somero Flower Power!

OK.  I am going to set you a challenge... is anyone reading this in Somero up for it? (and if you are reading this at the weekend... you can still join in, it's not too late!)

This week I was dreading going back to work on Monday, but just as I was feeling really low, my friend Miia walked in holding a lovely flower and it brightened up my whole day.  Simple things often have a great effect.

Now I'd like you to help me achieve the same thing here in Somero this week.

I was given some money recently to get some flowers...but I thought that rather than me buying a big bunch of flowers for myself, it would be much better to use the money to spread a little happiness amongst as many people as possible. That way we could all be smiling!  But I need your help.

I have just come back from Somero's florist, "Someron Kukkakeskus Kauppi," where Timo Kauppi and Taina Lehtinen were very happy to help with this idea.

There are now twenty flowers at the shop waiting to be picked up. BY YOU.

All you need to do is pop into the shop and pick up a flower, then take it to someone...anyone at all (except me - because I have already had one!) in order to brighten up their day.

It could be someone you love, a friend, a neighbour, a member of your family or someone you hardly know. It doesn't matter at all. Just take a flower to someone whose day would be better as a result.

In this way we turn one bunch of flowers into twenty, and in my opinion twenty smiles will always be better than one. Let's see if between us we could raise a few smiles this week in Somero.

Will you help me spread a little happiness in Somero this week?

Firewood

One of the things I love about living in Somero is the fact that I have great neighbours. During the winter months its harder to socialise because everybody stays wrapped up indoors, but I was lucky enough to meet some of my neighbours at the end of the summer before we all started hibernating for winter and now we have become good friends.

The weather is much milder now and the sun is out, so people are  gradually starting to come out of hiding again...and this morning my neighbour Olavi Turunen was out chopping wood for his fire.

I can't help being impressed by someone who at 70 years old can chop down a tree from scratch on his own and then cut the whole thing into firewood.

He just laughed when I told him that.

I'm used to it!" he said.  "I've done this all my life. I started chopping down trees and making wood planks for building in the 50s.  We didn't have all those machines then, we travelled around with horses and chopped everything by hand...so this is just a way of life for me!"

That's what I love about the Finnish people. For the most part they don't waste time whining about things. They just get on with it. But anyone at 70 years old who is able to produce all of this by hand has my full admiration and respect. 

 I'm off to Jämsä today..but when I'm back I'll tell you about the English Club last night and their views on the differences between the sexes.  We certainly laughed a lot. Have a good day!

Blog Approaches 10,000 hits

The colour of the sky this morning...better than yesterday!

I know that at the end of the day it is only a number. One more than 9,999. But somehow I still find it exciting that we are just about to reach 10,000 hits on the blog in just over two months from the first post in January.

In that time we have had hits from literally all around the world. The countries where people have read about Somero include Japan, China, Colombia, South Africa, Nigeria, Venezuela, Sri Lanka and Australia as well as at least twenty countries in Europe. (They don't seem to be interested about our wonderful town in Cameroon, the Philippines or the Vatican yet, but you can't have everything).

I thought you might be interested to know which posts have proved the most popular over the first two months. Mostly, there has been interest in the stories about people from Somero, Manu (who started it all), Elvi, our vet Liisa, our vicar Saara, Veikko the auctioneer and of course the singer and musician Kari Luoto. I have several more people to introduce to you over the coming days and weeks.

But in addition to that, there are three posts which are still read significantly more than the others. They are "Stop to See the Rainbow," "We all Need to Dream" and "Feeling Down".  See the common theme?  I don't think I am imagining it when I say that there are lots of us who are still looking for a bit of inspiration, friendship or positivity, even if we don't always feel able to say it out loud. What I have loved about writing this blog is realising that on the days when I am feeling a bit down, I am not the only one.  When I am dreaming about achieving something one day....I know that many other people are doing the same.

We all know that life can be really tough at times, but knowing that you are not alone on the difficult days is one step to feeling a little bit better. From the titles that have proved popular on this blog I am guessing that there are plenty of us out there needing a little bit of reassurance from time to time.

So, as we approach 10,000 hits, let's celebrate the things we have in common wherever we are in the world. Even our weaknesses can be strengths if we work together and support each other. I have already experienced a very strong sense of community spirit here in Somero...let's hope some of that can reach all those further away in the world who also need a friend, a dream or just a bit of encouragement. Hello to you all from here, wherever you may be in the world, and I hope that one day you will get your travelling shoes on and come to visit this little town called Somero.

It may have been horrible weather yesterday, but today the sky is blue again....proof that even on bad days there is usually something better waiting just around the corner.

Some Sunshine After All

The good news is that even days that start out wet and grey can end on a more positive note. Just as I was writing the last word of the last post (asking for someone to bring me some sunshine) Miia, a good friend from work who I have not seen in a long time walked into my office holding this beautiful flower. So there it was...the sunshine I had just been hoping for.

I managed to get through my first day back at work, and as Eve commented on the previous post, being separated from Minttu was ROUGH. But of course I got home this evening to find out that she was perfectly happy, had slept for most of the day and probably hadn't even missed me at all. So as usual, the separation was much harder for me than it was for her, and in the end we both survived.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the journey back to Somero was much easier than it had been going to Helsinki this morning. I got back home in an hour and twenty minutes from the centre of Helsinki.  I know that to many people this might sound like too long to spend travelling to work each day... but arriving in Somero is like coming into a different world after working in the capital and it makes every minute of the journey worthwhile.

I'm off to bed for an early night as I am exhausted this evening. Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow evening at the English Club.

Have a happy Tuesday...

Grey Morning

The view on the way to Helsinki this morning...

Can anyone think of anything cheerful or happy this morning?

It is my first morning back at work after having Minttu last July.  It was so hard to say goodbye to her that I left an hour later than I should have done from Somero and then cried in the car. I hadn't slept all night anyway.

All I could think about was her little hands and feet flapping around like a Flamenco dancer.  Because I left so late, I caught all the traffic in Espoo and it took two hours to get to Helsinki.

And the weather was horrendous.  It was sleeting and it looked like late November again.  On top of this my head feels as though it will explode and my neck has knives in it.

When I got here I turned as though to get Minttu out of the car and then I realised that she wasn't there and my stomach sank. I miss her so much!

And when I look out of my window Akseli and Elina are nowhere to be seen.....

I am in desperate need of a ray of sunshine...has anyone got some to spare?

Akseli Brings a Friend

This morning Akseli surprised us all by bringing a friend to visit.  If you look at the first picture his friend is on top of the feeding box.  I tried to go outside to get a better photo but his reaction was to run across the snow, jump into a tree, climb half way up and then swish his tail and make an irritated clicking noise as if to tell me that I should not have disturbed him. Sorry Akseli, I will pay more attention next time.  

It shows that Akseli is just like the rest of us... life is always that much happier when we have a friend to share it with!

Sunset over the Sea

We're just back in Somero this evening after going on a 23 hour cruise from Turku.

Frederic after a plate of meatballs

We've had visitors to the blog this week from as far away as Australia, China and Venezuela, so if you are reading this from the other side of the world then hello to you from Somero!

Silja Line Boat

In case our faraway visitors are planning to visit our wonderful town one day, you should definitely take one of these cruises to Stockholm. Turku is just over an hour's drive from here and cruises leave every morning and every evening. You can either get off in Stockholm or simply stay on board and come back to Turku within a day.

Luca and Niko have fun in the ball pool

We managed to take five children and still return in one piece. What I hadn't realised though when I booked the trip was that yesterday's cruise was singles night... so the boat was full of young people looking for love (or something similar). This meant that there was much partying and shouting until the early hours of the morning and I kept being woken up by people outside the cabin saying things that I could not possibly write on here!


Still, we had a good breakfast this morning, the little ones had fun in the ball pool and I got a couple of shots on deck of the sunset, so all in all it was a good trip.

Don't fancy swimming in here

Few things in life are as beautiful as the sun setting over the sea

When we were on board this afternoon I received a text message from Silja Kulmala (thank you Silja - I should add that Cameron thought you were the owner of the boat....) who included this lovely poem by Maria Leinonen. It seemed to go perfectly with this picture.

Ilo sen pitää olla -

jokaisen uuden aamun

valon määrästä

väristä riippumatta

pilvinen tai aurinkoinen

sinihämäräinen

epätoivonharmaa

mikä tahansa

mutta uusi päivä

mahdollisuuksia täysi!

Ehkä juuri tämä se päivä

 jota et koskaan unohda

 jonka jälkeen kaikki toisin -

For those of you who don't speak Finnish, the poem talks about the fact that every morning brings with it new opportunities no matter what the weather or how much light there is.  It suggests that maybe today will be the day that you will never forget.. the one after which everything will be different. That's exactly how I felt when I stood on deck and looked into this sunset...so on that optimistic note, wherever you are in the world I wish you all a peaceful night and a weekend full of inspiration and sunshine.

Top Model Pays a Visit

Akseli arrived earlier than usual this morning and agreed to a quick photo session. He is a total professional of course so he was able to show me all his best angles in order to get the perfect shot.

 He asked me to wish you all a good morning and said he will do his best to make sure your day turns out to be a positive one! He had to rush off though... he's shooting the front cover of Vogue later this afternoon....

Nestori and The Artist Both Worth Seeing

Go and see The Artist if you get the chance!

Somero's Bio Jukola Cinema

This afternoon Frédéric and I went to Somero's cinema to see the five times Oscar winner, The Artist.

I have to say that I was slighly sceptical at first at the thought of seeing a silent film, but I have to say that it was excellent - the best I have seen in a long time. I was also worried prior to going that it would be pretentious. It wasn't at all.

Friendly service from Nestori

The Artist fully deserved its batch of Oscars. It deals with success and failure and touches arrogance and humility at the same time. At the end of the day it fully deserved its Oscars and if you get the chance I highly recommend that you take the time to go and see it.



Somero is lucky to have its own cinema considering the size of the town and we never have to wait very long to get the latest releases either. I hope that people will keep going to the cinema in Somero so that we don't lose this great facility.

The other big advantage of our own cinema is Nestori. Nestori, when he is not studying at Somero's lukio, works at the cinema selling tickets and refreshments.

The inside of Somero's Cinema

He is one of those people who is naturally welcoming and friendly to everyone he meets and he really does an excellent job. The cinema is lucky to have him. I don't know what he plans to do with his life in the future but I am sure he will make a success of whatever he chooses to do. He just has that way about him.... (I'll try and find out what his plans are!)

Anyway, if you find yourself with some spare time, The Artist is really worth seeing. For a change there is no sex or violence involved....it is just a feel good love story that makes you think about what is important in life, and that can only be a good thing, can't it?