Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Lots of Thoughts...

This is going to be another rambling post hi hi hi...

1. Tell me how to explain to a man that buying candles and lighting it every now and then isn't a waste of money, please he he he he...

2. I met someone online the other night and we talked via YM. She's an Indian girl living in Helsinki with her hubby. I don't even remember anymore where I met her. It must've been from some Finnish website online. Anyway, she had started her full-time Finnish course in Helsinki and I got some info from her about students' benefit (how much money I'll get from the government while doing the course). The most important piece of info was that she told me that the actual integration plan for immigrants should go like this:

a. A full-time Finnish course (from 9 am to 3 pm Mon-Fri) for a whole year.
b. 3.5 months work as an apprentice in a company.
c. The immigrant's ready to work for real.

Of course it's only an IDEAL plan. Everybody knows how hard it is to get a job here in Finland, especially in a small village like Sodankylä. I'm not being a pessimist (if God wills, nothing is impossible), but I just want to be realistic, too. Now the full-time course I'm going to go through next January is only for 5 months. I DO NOT know if there'll be a continuation course after that, but based on the Indian girl's description, there SHOULD be a continuation course. However, hoping too much from this village isn't good. My Brit friend has been waiting for a Finnish course for 3,5 years, whereas I was LUCKY enough to only have to wait for 6 months. So I don't want to complain (plus one of my resolutions this year is to catch myself before I start complaining and just stop that train of thought) 'coz for me, this current Finnish course and the upcoming one are A MIRACLE for this little village!!!! ;-D

I talked to my hubby that it seemed I would have to take another certification course before I could get a steady job here. I don't know yet what 'coz I still don't know what kind of job I want to do. I'll have to find out later on what I wanna do and what kind of courses they offer here in this village, then I'll go for it provided that my Finnish is good enough after May since all other courses will be done in Finnish.

If I still have trouble finding a job after that, then we're thinking of planning to have a baby. I don't know yet what God has in store for me, but I'm just walking through this step by step. I don't wanna think too hard, but I also want us to have the same rough map of possibilities in mind. When I asked him if he wanted me to have a full-time job still after we had a baby, he said it was up to me. GOOD answer he he he he...Deep in my heart, I want to be a SAHM until my kids are big enough provided that we have enough money to pay for our family's expenses. But we'll see about that. ;-D

So my journey's still long and winding he he he he he...but I'm determined to enjoy every step of it. ;-D

3. Sometimes oblivion means peace of mind, even though it is a mere illusion.

4. Last Saturday my mother-in-law asked Arttu and I if we wanted to eat at the nearby school, so we did. Apparently there was a group of people offering free moose and mashed potatoes since it was hunting season. Arttu said the free food was only for a certain group of people, but I don't really get it. Anyway, we went there and there were a lot of people already. I thought I could get my own food, but apparently two men were serving the food and I got a HUGE portion of moose and mashed potatoes. My stomach almost felt like exploding afterward and I didn't eat anything else that day ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...

Then she bought us some kind of raffle tickets. We had to give the official our names and phone numbers and we had to keep the piece of ticket with us. I'm not sure what this is all about as Arttu apparently doesn't know anything much about it, either. Oh well...I guess if we win something, they'll let us know ha ha ha...

OK, here are some bird pics I took at my in-laws'. Too bad there weren't any squirrels then he he he he he...








And here's a pic of my mother-in-law (on the right) and her sister-in-law at school where we enjoyed moose and mashed potatoes. We drink milk from those metal cups he he he he he...


9 comments:

  1. Amel,
    Tell hubby that candles are not a waste of money because they smell nice and keep your house smelling nice too. When it is cold outside it is nice to come home to sweet smells. HE HE

    Good luck with figureing out what kind of job you want. I still can't figure out my life yet let a long a job. I f you do deside to have a baby, you know where to go for advise. HE HE:)

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  3. Your MIL looks so young! The art pieces on the wall are so fun to look at!

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  4. moose ???

    Oh, and for your later post, when is Father's Day in Finland ? I thought it was in June.

    Sounds really nice. Like a whole different world. I'd love to visit Finland one day. Had a Finnish neighbour and we could never get her name right. She said it was spelt Thri, which is not promounceable in English !

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  5. Sindi: OK, I'll tell him that he he he...

    Yeah, I also still have a long way to go before going back to the working place. And about babies: DEFINITELY!!! I'll let you know when it happens and I'll go ask for your advice he he he...

    Blur Ting: My MIL is 63 years old, 2 years older than my Mom. ;-D And yeah, when I went to the school, I also looked around the classroom to enjoy the art pieces. They're all around the place, even on the corridor walls. ;-D CUTE!!!

    Karen: Yeah, moose! ;-D Moose is bigger than reindeer. ;-D

    Father's Day in Finland this year falls on Sunday, November 11th he he he...but I'm going there already on Saturday so I'm gonna bake the cake on Friday. ;-D

    Yeah, you're welcome to stay here if you ever come to Lapland he he he...would be NICE to meet you. ;-D

    Thri? Hmmm...never heard of such a name. But yeah, Finnish pronunciation guide is FAR different from English he he he...

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  6. Wow! this all sounds so interesting. I like how they have a plan, and you get classes to learn the language. And then you get to apprentice! I always wished America still did that on a wider basis.

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  7. Victorya: Yeah, well, I HOPE it's going to happen that way in this little village. Most of the time it happens more in big cities 'coz there are more immigrants there, but I still keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. ;-D

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  8. I said it once and I'll it again, you do some top photography :)

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  9. Shan: THANK YOU, Shan! ;-D

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