Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Farewell to Another Classmate

Yesterday I battled with bureaucracy. Finally I received some papers from KELA, but I was surprised since they weren't the papers I was waiting for. They sent me the papers concerning some unemployment benefit starting from last June until last month. They also attached a piece of paper where I was supposed to explain why I submitted the application so late.

Gee...how was I supposed to know that I was entitled to get some unemployment benefit from them? I thought that since Arttu had got a permanent job starting last June, that meant that I wasn't qualified to apply for an unemployment benefit. Other than that, I had never worked in Finland before. Why would I apply for something that I thought that I wouldn't get in the first place, right? Oh well...

Today after a quick lunch, I went to the office to submit the papers. My Brit friend's hubby had told me that the girl who spoke English in the office was taking a week off, so I would have to use my basic Finnish knowledge there. I went inside the office and the girl told me to go to the inner office. Hey, it was good to know that I understood that bit of the sentence that she said in Finnish HA HA HA HA HA HA...

Then I came into the inner office and an older woman was sitting there. I came in and gave her all the forms, then she said something very quickly in Finnish, which I only understood about 5 seconds later HA HA HA HA HA HA...But at least I understood it, right?

Then after checking the forms, she asked me something (again very quickly) in Finnish. I knew some of the words, but I wasn't sure what she meant. I told her (in Finnish) that I only spoke a little Finnish, and she said, "I don't speak much English" and laughed nervously ha ha ha ha ha...She asked me the same question, but more slowly, and I finally decided to play a guessing game. Turned out that my guess was right. I was supposed to submit my hubby's salary statement and she thought that it wasn't there yet, so I pointed it out and she said, "Oh yesss..." and so I didn't need to submit any other papers (I hope not!!!).

Well, it was good practice, even though I only spoke a few sentences in Finnish, but I managed to speak only in Finnish HE HE HE HE HE...;-D I still don't know whether I'll get something from them concerning the unemployment benefit or not, 'coz I heard that if your hubby's salary reaches a certain level, then you won't get any. Oh well...at least that was done. ;-D

And when I came back home today, what did I find? More papers from the office and this time they're the correct papers for the course. On one piece of paper, it's stated how much I'll get per day and how much taxes I have to pay. So at least it's very clear now that I'm getting the student money which I DESPERATELY NEED so that I can buy a plane ticket to Indo. I'm not going to book a ticket yet, but I have to consider when I'm going to Indonesia as soon as possible (at least I think maximum next month) so that Arttu can negotiate his summer holiday.




Today my female French friend said goodbye to us, since she was contacted by her former employer about a certain job offer in Greece (she works in the travel industry). She's really considering taking that job, so today we parted with some tears. Well, at least we've exchanged email addresses, so we'll surely keep in touch he he he he...The room is gonna feel emptier than ever soon, but we'll keep studying hard he he he...

I have an idea to give to the teacher at the end of our course. I want to take a pic of each of us and then print them out and put them on a piece of carton along with our names below our individual pics and then give it to the teacher later on. I have to talk about this to the others first, though. ;-D If possible I also want to take a group picture. ;-D And for sure I'll put the group picture in my blog later on so that you can see it HE HE HE HE HE HE...

Anyway, I'm SOOOOOO tired right now, so I'm gonna take a nap now...hope you've been doing well, my friends. I'm gonna blog-hop later on, okay?


10 comments:

  1. Hallos Buddy!

    I finally have internet access to visit my fav blogs! Wow .. I have not visited you for maybe two weeks!! How's things?

    :-)

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  2. Hey Amelia,

    Yep, I am not surprised at the bureaucracy concerning the benefits (it is the same all over Europe, if not the world)! I will be crossing my fingers for you :)...
    I am so proud of you for being able to speak in Finnish and understand others too :D! This reflects your hard work at home, first, and now at the course *bowing*!

    Well, at least your friend is going to a warmer place: Greece! And with delicious food too!!! :)

    I have been doing just fine, girl :D! Thanks...
    Take a nap and I hope you dream with the angels :)!!!

    Cheers

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  3. It must have been hard before the course (& even now) not knowing the language when everyone around you is speaking Finnish.

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  4. Oh, I think it's going to be helpful if everybody around you speaks Finnish that you are used to listen to that language and becomes familiar...

    So, finally, you have the exact amount stated in black and white... That's good...

    Oh... It's sad to say 'goodbye' to someone, but she made her clear decision. I'm still thinking about the job offer (see my latest post...).

    Well, take care, buddy! Have a good nap and hope you'll be feeling fit and fresh. I'm sleepy right now, but gotta blog hop for a few more minutes he he he... ;D

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  5. Hope everything will be sure, you can go to Indo or not :D

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  6. Oops, another dropout (tho technically she didn't quit becos she dislike the class...) but now the teacher has more time for you.

    I'm glad you're getting some money from the government. Your dream vacation back home is becoming a reality. How nice :-)

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  7. Hi Amel, good for you and your win with bureaucracy. I had to smile when you mentioned how it took you a few seconds to understand what the woman said to you at the office. It's funny with a new language how there's a processing delay while our brain unscrambles everything :-)

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  8. That's great you were able to communicate with the woman in the office in Finnish. I know that the more you do it, the more comfortable you'll become with it.

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  9. HI Amel, Not sure what you meant about photos on a carton. To me a carton is what milk is kept in! I dont think you mean that!! :D Did you mean like a greetings card?
    Why not ask Natalia..as she had a group photo of us all taken at the very beginning of the course, when even K was still there. Love M x

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  10. Waterlearner: Hi, Buddy! So your new home's done now? GOOD!!! I've been doing OK despite feeling a bit under the weather some days he he...;-D

    Max: Ahhhh...it's the same all over Europe, eh? That's good to know he he...THANKS for the well-wishes and your support! ;-D

    Vince: Yeah, the first few months were the hardest, but after a while I'm getting used to it. ;-D

    Choc Mint Girl: Yeah, finally I know how much I'll get from the course. ;-D Yep, I've read about the job offer for you he he...GOOD LUCK to you on that! ;-D

    Sleep tight to you too, Crystal! ;-D

    Juliana: THANKS for your well-wishes! ;-D

    Blur Ting: Yeah...I sure hope my dream vacation will come true without any glitches he he...

    Fish: HA HA HA HA HA...Yeah, the processing delay is sometimes funny 'coz sometimes the other person thinks we don't understand at all...even though the truth is that it takes us a while to understand AND it takes us more time to formulate the correct response he he...

    Kathy: THANKS for your support, Kathy! You're right...the more I do it, the more comfortable I feel. ;-D

    Mrs Arctic Rainbow: WHOOPS!!! I mean cardboard he he he he...;-D

    I'll go ask Natalia later. ;-D

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