Bitter Chocolate has written about her yearly evaluation, so let me think about mine. What has happened this year?
1. Miraculously there was a full-time Finnish course for the FIRST TIME EVER in Sodankylä!!!!!!! We all thought that they wouldn't open one since there weren't enough students. Plus our teacher was EXCELLENT!!!
2. My residence permit extension went well and I had enough money to pay for it ---> got the money from blogging, so I didn't have to use my savings. Plus the new residence permit is valid for 4 years, so I was HAPPY! ;-D
3. Got very bad news from my brother that my uncle died alone in his house (he was never married) and his body was found out a few days later. :-(((
4. Because I received some student money during the course, hubby and I could afford buying plane tickets to Indo already in the beginning of the year. This was really unplanned, so it was the GREATEST surprise ever!
5. Got GREAT news from my brother that his wife was pregnant and that the baby was due around the time when I would visiting them in Indo.
6. In the middle of the Finnish course, the firm who organized it decided to pay for us if we wanted to try taking the Finnish National Language Exam (if we took it ourselves, we had to pay €75). I took the test without believing that I could pass, since the speaking and listening part were SO hard. But again I got a NICE surprise by passing the test! This means that after living here for 4 years, I only need to pay a lump of money and fill in some forms to apply for Finnish citizenship. YIIIIPPPPIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!
7. In July R2 and I had enough money AND time (R2 could take the holiday since he had worked overtime) to do a car trip to Southern Finland. We enjoyed our stay in Oulu VERY much at Lasaretti Hotel and it felt like a honeymoon!!!
8. In October R2 and I not only went to Indonesia, but we also had enough budget to go to Singapore AND buy a new digital camera! Such beautiful blessings!
9. On our trip to Indo/Singapore, we managed to meet Blur Ting and Trinity. WOOOHOOO!!!
10. Amazingly enough, R2 and I were able to be there for my brother's baby's birth. I was literally right outside of the labour room. He decided to come out 1,5 days before our flight back to Finland. YAAAAAAAAAAAYY!!!
11. After going back to Finland, I could start training at the library and I've met VERY nice women there who encourage me and make me feel useful. :-)))) Plus my boss is VERY thoughtful (not just to me, but also to the other women).
12. R2 got some surprise money, so we could pay off our car loan to the bank. No more debt! YYYEEEESSSS!!!
13. During the year, I've managed to hang out with my Indo friends, Finnish friends (though they're not Finnish), and also blogger friends. COOL!!!
14. Baby program hasn't succeeded yet, but that means we can enjoy our time together "freely", so we're going to cherish this "honeymoon period" still. Plus that means that we have more time to save money ---> because if and when I get pregnant, we need a bigger place to stay and not only will we have to pay more for that reason, we also have to buy the baby's crib or bed and whatnots. So better save, save, save!
15. Work-wise: AT LEAST I know that working at the library is suitable for me (even if getting a job there isn't possible yet). I know that there are many more tasks to do if I were really working there, but I've really enjoyed my time there so far.
16. Family-wise: My Dad's mind has gotten slightly worse off than last year, so this saddens me, but at least my Mom has my brother and his wife to help. Plus my Mom is close to her sisters and brother, so they are always ready to lend an ear or give support whenever she needs it.
Concerning R2's family, his Dad's condition isn't going any better (he was diagnosed with Alzheimer last year). Sometimes he's stable, sometimes his condition gets worse, but he can still function well. It seems both our Dads aren't doing too well, but at least they're alive and they can still enjoy life.
17. Language-wise: I know more and more Finnish words, but since I haven't been actively speaking Finnish like when I was in the course, my mind has gone rusty (read: it works SLOWLY and it takes time to formulate an answer PLUS I'm starting to forget my grammar!!!). I don't like this "degradation", so I'm going to try to fix this problem next year. I MUST start reading my grammar books again and try to talk to R2 in Finnish.
18. I've received unexpected gifts through the course of the year. My, I'm such a lucky girl!!!
19. Still no fight record between R2 and I ---> not that I expect/hope any, thank you LOL LOL!!! Of course we sometimes rub each other's fur the wrong way (or sometimes I get cranky when I'm on my PMS or when I'm tired), but he always managed to minimize my state of being-almost-angry to laughing-with-him. Strange but true.
There WERE a few times when I could have lashed out at him, but EVERY SINGLE TIME he made me laugh with what he said or did. He's really like my "fireman". He douses my flames so quickly that I never had the chance to be burnt away by my emotions. Plus his unbelievable patience truly helps me. Bless him!!!
OK, I think this is long enough. Of course there have been MANY more events during the year, but the list sums the major events of this year. There are bad news among all the good news, but I think all in all it's been a pretty good, eventful year, don't you think? ;-D
I'll blog-hop tomorrow. Wish you a FUN weekend ahead, friends!!!
BOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO...we're coming into our final days of the course with our Finnish language teacher. On Wednesday there will be a computer teacher. I'm gonna miss my Finnish teacher!!!
Tomorrow we'll have a final test, so I'd better reread everything we've gone through. However, good news is that Monday is a free day for us, so I'll be able to blog-hop and catch up on you then. Plus on Tuesday we'll have a trip to Luosto and we'll grill sausages in a park there. YIIIHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAA!!! Better get my digital camera ready he he he...gotta take as many pics as possible! ;-D
Today after lunch we went to visit KELA. KELA is the social insurance institution in Finland that deals with unemployment benefit, mother's benefit, etc. I wanted to make sure about some things, so I asked them a few things.
a. First of all, I want to make sure that if a pregnant woman needs a C-section, she doesn't have to pay for the operation. They confirmed about this, so I'm relieved. Why? Because in Indonesia, the cost of even a normal birth is already so expensive. Here in Finland I only need to pay for the room cost in normal birth or C-section.
I don't wish to have a C-section if I don't have to, though, because my doctor friend says that natural birth is always better if possible.
b. I also want to know if a child needs vaccination, do I have to pay it every time? Turns out that I don't have to pay for any vaccination as long as it's in the program. However, if for example we're leaving to Indonesia and the child needs special types of vaccination that's not included in the list, then I have to pay it myself.
Well, that sounds good enough for me he he he...So, baby, come to me in October, okay? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...
Btw, it was very good listening practice for us to go to KELA as they talked in Finnish all the time. ;-D
I also read somewhere that making love too often reduces the quality of the sperm, so gotta check the calendar and make sure that we do it when I'm VERY fertile (which would be 14 days prior to the first day of my period). Plus turns out that it's better to make love in the mornings as the sperm levels are often the highest. BUT BUT BUT we have to avoid heating the balls (sauna, tight underpants, hot baths etc. are not that good). Very interesting info!!!
Yeah, yeah, I know this is all so scientific talk and it's all up to God he he he...but I want to do my part as best as I can he he he...OK, better stop here and STUDY!!!
If I have time after my study to blog-hop, I'll do it, but if not, forgive me, OK? I'll blog-hop tomorrow or during the weekend. I promise! ;-D Take care, everybody, and THANKS for everyone who's joined my Photo Caption Contest!
Weather:
After a glorious few days last week, this week the weather's back to wintry weather. It even snowed very lightly yesterday, can you believe it? Snow in May HI HI HI HI HI HI...but I don't mind that since there's no ice left all around me and the birds are still singing happily. ;-D Plus I don't have to wear my long john anymore and I can wear my summer jackets already (double jackets). ;-D
Last year I told my sis-in-law that 25'C was the PERFECT weather for me (she said it was too hot for her)...I have a feeling that this year if the temperature gets that high, it might be a bit too hot for me, too.
Last year I saw two girls sunbathing outside the lawn when it was around 15'C and I told Arttu that they were crazy. This year I did sunbathe outside when it was 15'C, even though I still had my summer jacket on since the wind could be strong.
Isn't it interesting? HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...
Finnish Course:
Officially, the Finnish language course will end by the end of this month, so we only have a few weeks to go. After that a computer teacher will come and teach us something for two weeks, then we'll do the training in different places.
Today my homework is to write down a recipe in Finnish. It's proven to be a tough job to do, since recipes require different types of terms he he he...but it's interesting! ;-D
We're going to go on one last trip together, even though it's not officially decided yet, BUT we may go to Rovaniemi. Wherever we go, I'm sure we'll have fun together. ;-D
Mother's Day:
This Sunday is Mother's Day and at first I was planning on making my own Princess Cake, but unfortunately I can't find any green marzipan anywhere. I talked about it with my hubby last night and he said it'd be better to buy a frozen Princess Cake from the supermarket. Well, it's definitely nice to buy a ready-made one since I'm not too sure whether I can make one well, but if you make something yourself, even though it's not as tasty-looking as the ones in the stores, it'll be a more personal gift, right?
I've bought a Mother's Day book for my mom-in-law. We're going to write something in it later on. It's filled with pictures and quotations on motherhood. ;-D
I think I'm gonna either buy that Princess Cake and make some snack by myself OR I'm going to try making a cake on my own. We'll see about it on Friday. It all depends on my mood HE HE HE HE HE...
P.S. I want to THANK Karen from WaterLearner in advance for having made some handicraft for me. THANK YOU for your effort, time, and thoughtfulness!!!!!!!! I can't wait to get it HE HE HE HE HE HE...
Sorry I haven't been around. I've been VERY VERY tired. I think there's some kind of bug going on since today some of us suffer from a headache. Ugh!!! I think I'm going to ask Arttu to coin me again today to make sure I'll be fit tomorrow. I just don't feel 100% myself today, though this morning I felt perfectly fine, but after lunch break it was just horrible. Even our teacher's got a headache today!!!
Anyway, today we received news from our teacher that the course would be continued still, even though the French girl left the class. You see, yesterday we were worried that the course would stop since we once heard that there should be at least 8 students in order for the course to be opened. Phew!!! Yesterday I was a bit sad since if the course stopped, that meant that I wouldn't have enough money to buy the plane ticket. Well, I'd have enough, but that meant that I wouldn't have any spare money to use in Indonesia and that wouldn't be good, right?
And we still don't know if the course is going to continue until the end, since the Swedish guy in our class is waiting for the mine to open again here. He used to work in a mine until it closed down, but there's news already that the mine is going to open again in April or May. If he stops going to our course and works at the mine again, MAYBE the course will stop, but by then, I'll get enough student money to buy a plane ticket to Indo. Phew!!!
Another thing we have to do soon is to find ourselves a training place. Gee...I thought that they'd assign us to do our training somewhere, but now we have to find it ourselves??? We'll see if my husband can help in that area...hmmmm...I'm really not confident enough to ask around to know if they'll accept me as a trainee, you know? HE HE HE HE HE...
And today our teacher also told us about a national Finnish proficiency exam that would be held NEXT MONTH. If we want to take the test for free, then we should take it during this course. It sounds a bit "silly" to be honest, since we'll have only been learning it for 2.5 months during this course when the exam is held on April 12th, 2008. However, since it's for free, then why not find out how far we'll have gone by then, right? The actual exam fee is around €125 €77.
THAT meant that we'll all have to try and practise MUCH MUCH more. I must say that this is really making me a bit stressful since we're taking the intermediate test as per our teacher's recommendation. If I pass it, it'll make me VERY HAPPY since in 3 years, I can apply for a citizenship without having to take the test again. However, if I fail, at least I know what the exam is all about. I just have to make sure that I don't push myself too much to get good grades and just relax.
This kind of exam reminds me of the free exam that our faculty paid for us on our last semester at the university. It was a grueling affair, taking hours and hours. And we had to do a separate speaking session at TBI (The British Institute) where we were paired up and we had to go into a room where we were asked to do different types on conversations based on pictures or questions. In the room there were one native speaker and one TBI teacher taking notes about our conversation and our conversation was recorded on tape.
I guess that the national Finnish test would be more or less the same (reading comprehension, listening comprehension, grammar, writing, and speaking). The only difference is that we'll only speak to a microphone instead of having to speak with a partner in front of a native speaker.
We'll see how it goes then. That means that I'll probably not be able to blog-hop too much during weekdays, since I'll really focus on learning more Finnish and memorizing more words and reading more Finnish texts until the exam is done. So pardon my absence, okay? I'll try to blog-hop during the weekend, though. Take care, everybody!!!
Today, as predicted by the weatherman, it was only -7.5'C in the morning and during the afternoon it came up to -2.5'C. It was snowing lightly when I walked home from the course. SO blissful! I could almost hear the earth breathing softly to my ears...mmmm...
Anyway, today was a bit rough on everybody since we learnt the hard types of verbs and their changes he he he...and the person I mentioned in my last post had decided to stop going to the course altogether today. That person left right after lunch break after telling the teacher about the decision. That person couldn't cope with the teacher's teaching method, even though some of us had tried to share our points of view about the teacher. Oh well...no harm done, though. The course still goes on and I'm still excited about it.
I'm actually hoping for a continuation of the course. This course only covers Suomi 1 and 2, whereas I'm gonna need to pass Suomi 3 and 4 to get my citizenship in 3 years' time. I sent an email to the employment office yesterday to tell them what I thought about our teacher. I also told them that I would be happy if there would be a continuation course. They replied me and said that they were happy to hear positive feedback and they didn't know about the continuation course, but they would consider it.
OK, now I have to eat before I go to my friend's house. I have to wait for Arttu to come home first, of course he he he...so then he can take me and my Brit friend to my Russian friend's house. :-)))))
Hope your day has been swell, my friends...
1. Today was sunny and beautiful. When I walked to my course this morning, the sun started rising and the sky was partly yellowish and reddish. AWESOME!!! However, when I go back home I started seeing parts of ice here and there. SO SPOOOOKKKYYY!!!! But no matter what, I can't escape the slippery days since they presage spring he he he he he...
2. Yesterday I got a letter from the employment office that I was found eligible to get some student benefit as long as I signed a form that stated that I had indeed been unemployed. The funny thing about Finnish bureaucracy is "silly" questions. For example, in that form I was supposed to write down the reason(s) why I stopped working for my ex boss in Indonesia. I mean...isn't that obvious already? HE HE HE HE HE...
Oh well...today other than doing homework and studying some more, I also have to fill in more papers. I'll ask Arttu's help later he he he...
I don't know yet how much I'm going to get, but I'm ABSOLUTELY looking forward to getting it at the end of the month since I'm DYING to calculate whether the total student benefit I'm going to get during my course will be enough to buy a plane ticket to Indonesia or not he he he he...So cross your fingers with me, will you? ;-D
3. There was something funny happening again in the classroom today. We were supposed to write down sentences based on a picture. The teacher brought some pictures and we had to pick one of them.
When it was my turn to read the sentences I had written down, the teacher laughed when she heard one of them.
I wrote: "The cows are sitting on the grass."
In English, it doesn't sound weird at all, does it? Well, apparently in Finnish it does sound weird since animals aren't supposed to do things (except in children's books), so I had to change it to: "The cows are on the grass."
That's why it's hard to learn a new language since what sounds natural in another language may sound funny or weird in another language HE HE HE HE HE...But I'm REALLY happy since this course is giving us everything we need (at least IMO): grammar, speaking exercises, writing exercises, listening exercises.
4. Today the teacher asked me if I wanted to do a test after the course ended and I said yes. I want to know how far I go after the course ends. If I'm not satisfied yet, I hope there will be a continuation course. If not, we'll see how it goes he he he...
5. I've experienced the negative side effect of stopping the birth control pill: zits start to pop up here and there on my face. ARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!! I HATE zits with all my heart, soul, body, and everything I have he he he...It's just annoying to have zits since EVERYBODY can see them clearly. Gladly they're not too big, but still there are about 5 zits on my face right now. *sob sob*
6. I LOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEE MY LIFE, though HE HE HE...And I ain't gonna let my zits bother me he he he he...
One of the things I LOVE about my full-time course is laughing with my classmates. Sometimes some of us create funny sentences, but sometimes misunderstanding makes us give the wrong replies.
For example, today the teacher is teaching us to answer questions about our fave clothing item, our fave food, our fave colour, and our fave singer.
One of us misunderstood the teacher when she asked about his fave clothing. He answered, "Strawberry."
All of us couldn't help laughing out loud hi hi hi hi hi...
Another one of us misunderstood the same question and answered, "Banana."
HUI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI HI...She laughed along with us he he he...The teacher laughed, too. ;-D
Ahhhh...laughing is good. Laughing keeps us young HO HO HO...
This morning Arttu woke me up again since I couldn't drag myself out of bed ha ha ha...Not long after that, he laughed and said to me that I made lots of noises last night. He told me that I had snored and farted a few times at the same time during the night. He tried touching me to make me move so that I'd stop snoring. Gladly I did stop snoring once he managed to make me move my position HI HI HI HI...I still CANNOT believe that I snored AND farted at the same time!!! Unbelievable!!!
Today went well. I got plenty of practise again, but I couldn't take a nap even though I'm SO tired. I guess I should just go to sleep early again. Last night I went to be already at around 10.30 pm. Maybe I snored since I was so tired???? Hmmmhhh...I don't snore a lot, though. Well, at least not that I know of HA HA HA HA HA HA...Nobody had ever told me that I snored back in Indo. I don't know if it has something to do with the fact that the air here is so dry or not. Just weird. I used to sleep in the same room as my brother for years, but he never told me that I snored in my sleep (he's an early bird, unlike sleepyhead me).
Oh well...no homework today, but Finnish words and phrases are swimming in my head. It's been like that ever since the course started. Whenever I try to sleep, my brain keeps on repeating the lessons today or what I heard today.
One funny thing about being in an international class is that it's easy to get lost in translation ha ha ha ha ha...I had lunch in the kitchen with the French guy and the Thai girl. Both of them don't speak English fluently. The French guy speaks Finnish pretty well since he had lived in Helsinki for 3 years. When we were talking, sometimes I had to translate what the Thai girl meant to the French guy. My grey brain cells definitely have been working quite diligently these past few days ha ha ha...
Being in an international class also means that you've gotta be good at guessing and reading body languages. Even if you can't understand every single word that someone utters, you need to be able to read between the lines and just take a (sometimes wild) guess. VERY interesting, challenging, and fun!!! I can't wait to learn more things from the teacher and from my classmates.
One thing for sure, though, if I don't get enough sleep, I'll be in HUGE trouble since I need to REALLY concentrate on listening to either my teacher or my classmates who don't speak much English or who speak more Finnish than English. So I'll still be a sleepyhead no matter what HA HA HA HA HA HA...
Side note: I know what Arttu's going to say if he read my last paragraph. He'll say, "Excuses, excuses..." LOL!!!
Yesterday as usual I woke up late and hubby woke me up he he he...I didn't have time to do anything on the computer as I had to hurry. Right after we arrived in Kelujärvi, turned out that my mother-in-law had COMPLETED the jigsaw puzzle all by herself, even though we only managed to do around 1/5 of it last week. WOWWWWW!!! Here's the completed puzzle (920 pieces).
Oh yeah, almost forgot. On Friday I decided to make something that my Mom makes to sell in the traditional market he he he...
First I had to make the vla or custard or whatever you call it...here's the picture. It's just milk, rum, eggs, corn flour, and sugar (regular sugar and vanilla sugar).
Next I had to make pancakes (it took about 45 minutes to cook the pancakes since I only had one pan to make it and as you know, I'm a slow cook HA HA HA...). Again it's made of flour, a dash of salt, eggs, and milk.
Then I simply put some vla/custard in the middle of the pancakes and rolled 'emmmm...Then I covered them with some aluminum foil to make sure the wrappers wouldn't be dry. Ta-daaaaa!!!!
I brought some for my in-laws and they liked them! ;-D Mother-in-law asked me what the ingredients of the filling was he he he...As you know, she could guess most of the ingredients already ha ha ha...And Arttu LOVES these as he loves pancakes AND the vla ha ha ha ha ha...
Anyway, then Arttu and I found out that my in-laws were featured in a local newspaper. COOL!!! Let me show you the article and the pics hi hi hi...
Here's the article:
Here's another picture on the right page he he he...
The article is about how to warm up the house using wood. Apparently there aren't too many people using wood to warm up their house anymore, as there are many more modern heaters in new houses.
Well, on Friday and yesterday I also managed to study Finnish again. After all, as a newbie, I have to repeat the lessons. Otherwise, I'll forget the rules ha ha ha ha ha ha...I'm PSYCHED about tomorrow. If you don't hear from me for a few days, don't wonder why. That just means that Sleepyhead Me has trouble keeping up with my new busy life schedule HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...I'm going to study more Finnish tonight, as well.
I also managed to read some pages of Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. A VERY interesting book. A friend of mine recommended it to me and Trinity and another friend of mine who are mothers already also recommended the book. I sure hope I can practice all the theories in the book when the time comes since I think it'll be VERY beneficial for me ('coz I can't get no helper here, has to do everything on our own) ha ha ha...but first things first: I must learn Finnish well before our baby program starts he he he...
It'll be interesting to see if I can get up early tomorrow or not. I hope so, 'coz I do want to exercise first before going to my course. ;-D
Last night I stayed up until around 2 am to accompany my hubby who was battling some Trojan virus. The virus managed to "lock" his Antivirus, so he had to run the computer in Safe Mode and delete the darn virus manually. Gladly it hadn't spread to any other programs. :-)))
1. One thing I like about exercising with Billy Blanks Taebo CDs is the fact that in one CD, there's this huge banner on one of the walls: "Walk by Faith, Not by Sight". Each time I exercise using that CD, I'll always read that banner and remember to walk by faith, not by sight.
2. We've all heard this adage "Life is what you make it", but I think in marriage life, "Love is what you make it" applies.
3. This evening's class is cancelled again since the teacher's still sick. I sure do hope she'll get well enough for next Tuesday's class. After all, we'll only get 22 lessons and we've already lost 2 of them.
4. "Tai" in Finnish means "or", whereas "hai" in Finnish means "shark".
5. My orders have arrived at the local PO today (the condoms for my brother and for us), so I should burn the DVD for my brother and a CD for a friend of mine this evening. Busy, busy, busy...then tomorrow morning I should get up early to send the package to my friend in Germany. I sure do hope the package will arrive soon in her office (she says that packages have arrived late in her office recently) so that she can bring it to Indonesia next March. *crossing my fingers* I think I'm going to send it using priority mail he he he he he he...
This morning I sent an email to my Brit friend, MC, wondering if she'd got an email notification as to whether or not the Finnish course is going to continue tomorrow. She said that she thought it'd definitely continue, since there were 5 students already and that as usual, Finnish people wouldn't tell if you didn't ask.
So I decided to send an email to the organizer of the course, since the first time around, she at least sent an email regarding the classroom before the course started. I just received her reply, saying that there were enough students and that the course would start again tomorrow and she told me the classroom.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!! So I'm gonna be busy on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from now on, okay? Don't wonder if I'm MIA during those days, but I'll surely catch up on other days he he he he...THANKS for all your prayers, guys!!! ;-D
Well, today has been pretty nice for me. I got to talk for hours with my Brit friend, MC, and we had a gorgeous time he he he...I also got to be nibbled by Dexter, her newest pet. Without further ado, meet Dexter!!!!!!
It was tough to take pics of Dexter while he was standing up or running, since he wanted to run towards me and then jump at me ha ha ha ha...He's only 10 weeks old and still teething, so he loves nibbling things...including my hand HA HA HA HA HA...But he's REALLY cute with blue eyes!!! :-D And why is he named Dexter? Yeah, I assume you know the answer, right? *wink* I even teased him by asking, "Hey, Dexter, are you a killer?" LOL!!!!
I also got to pet her cats. YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!!! Unfortunately I only took pics of two of them as we were so busy chatting HI HI HI HI HI...The first cat is Mojo!
The second one is Gaia!!!
If you wanna see a short video clip of Gaia and Maia (her sister) and Fluffy, the other dog, go here: Gaia, Maia, Fluffy.
MC gave me a personalized key chain with my name on it. ;-D Unfortunately I forgot to take a pic of it, but I'll show it to you later, OK? Well, we also got to talk about our Finnish course and it seemed that they had found another teacher already, but whether or not the course will continue still depends on how many people are going to enroll in it. So tomorrow I'm going to call my Russian friend to ask if she's enrolled in the class or not. If the course continues, it's going to be interesting to see how the new teacher's going to be like he he...
Well, other than that, I also tried something interesting. It's a Finnish traditional "fortune telling", which is melting tin horseshoes and pouring them in cold water, and then reading the shadows of the shapes. Let me show you how it's done. We did it just for fun he he he he...
I tried it three times and here are my results (one of the shadows looked like a tree):
This one's MC's result he he he...This one's shadow looked like an elephant. :-))))
Then she tried my risoles, so did her two sons...and they liked it!!!! YEEEEEAAAHHHHHH! So I didn't spend 3 hours for nothing he he he he...She introduced me to an English snack (unfortunately I don't remember the name hmmm...maybe I should ask her again!) which was quite spicy. :-)))))
I stayed there until around 5 pm. Arttu was supposed to pick me up, but he got held back at work still. But then again, luckily MC was going to go to the PO downtown anyway by then, so I called Arttu and told him that they'd give me a ride home. Four hours of talking went by nicely. ;-D
We talked about A LOT of things, including typical Finnish behaviour, the school system here, her teenage sons, some bits about England and Indonesia, English food that she can't find here, and many more. As I've said before, I thrive on one-on-one conversation, so today has really been FUN, FUN, FUN!!!!!!
Anyway, now I'd better start studying Finnish before Heroes starts at 9 pm 'coz I didn't do it yesterday HE HE HE HE HE HE...I'll blog-hop tomorrow, OK? Hope you've had a NICE day yourselves!!!
The other day I just found out that our Finnish teacher will stop teaching us since she's been too busy, so her family doesn't want her to work during the evenings, as well. I don't know yet how it's going to be like now: whether or not the course will be continued or whether or not the local government has found a new teacher.
The bottom line is that there should be at least 5 students in one classroom and we (my Brit friend, hubby, and I) don't know yet whether the others are going to enroll in this spring class or not. After all, two of them had just given birth and another one is now heavily pregnant. As to the other one...hmmm...maybe she'll enroll in this course, but still that means we need another one.
Well, whatever happens, I'm still going to force myself to learn Finnish from websites and books. :-))) And of course I'm going to practise it with my in-laws HE HE HE HE...
GAMBATTE KUDASAIIIIIIIII, say the Japanese!!! ;-D
My spring course is starting again mid January until April, then we'll have summer break and we'll start again in autumn. I must say I'm VERY excited since I'll be meeting my friends again, especially my Brit friend MC. She's such a jolly, friendly person and she always lights up the class he he he he...
Other than that, of course I can't wait to learn more Finnishhhhhhhhh and practise it!!! A few weeks ago I was in my in-laws and I was trying to read some comic strips in the local newspaper. That day I was able to read one comic strip without the help of dictionary and I could understand the whole thing. I was SO HAPPY that I even told Arttu about it he he he he he he...This is how I felt like:
I still remember the first few months I was here. I was making VERY slow progress in learning Finnish and I couldn't understand a thing people were saying to me. I always tried to read the newspaper or magazines in my in-laws, but I couldn't understand anything, except perhaps just a few simple words. Nowadays I can understand more words since I know more about the changes of the word forms. Even then I know I still have a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNGGGG way to go, but I'm going to CELEBRATE each new step towards understanding the language better he he he he...
One tough thing about learning a new language is this: the limited vocabulary. So, even though I can probably ask many questions (after looking up certain words that I probably don't know in the dictionary), I may not be able to understand the answers, especially if the answers are long and they use words that I don't know yet. I often experience this when I ask something to my mother-in-law and she gives me an elaborate answer. Then I'll just give her a blank look and she'll understand that I don't get it HI HI HI HI HI...and we'll both have to wait for Arttu to translate it for me ha ha ha...
Another funny incident that often happens when you learn a new language is this: you hear some words or phrases that sound FAMILIAR, yet you can't seem to remember what they mean!!! You search high and low, even in the nooks and crannies of your brain, but the meanings aren't embedded in any part of your brain yet.
This kind of experience always makes me feel like biting my finger and think REAL hard and say, "I KNOW those words, but what do they mean?" But of course it's futile since in real life...conversation goes fast...and the moment you're stuck on the words that you don't understand, you miss out on the rest he he he he he...Such is life when you don't know the native language he he he he he...
Anyway, here is a list of the exact same words in Indonesian and Finnish:
1. Tuli ---- Finnish: fire, Indonesian: deaf
2. Sama --- It has the same meaning both in Indonesian or Finnish: the same
3. Satu --- Finnish: fairy tale, Indonesian: one
4. Kita --- Finnish: mouth (of a cave), Indonesian: us
5. Lupa --- Finnish: permission, Indonesian: forget
6. Paha --- Finnish: bad, Indonesian: thigh
It's always interesting to see how different the meanings of exact same words in another language, don't you think so? The first time I learnt about "paha" (bad in Finnish), my brain always conjures up the image of a "thigh" HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...
Juliana tagged me to do this meme. Let's see what I have to say he he he...
~ Start Copy ~Rules :1. Copy from "Start Copy" until "End of Copy".2. Before "End of Copy", share your best memories of 2007 include your name and your URL blog.3. Share this tag to your friends.For me, the year 2007 had a lot of happiness (and hope for 2008). Happiness because i see my son, grow and grow day by day. I have a great husband. I met lots of new friends from around the world via blogging ^_^ - Juliana RW~000~
For me, the year 2007 is a year of BLESSINGS and LESSONS. First of all, after battling with bureaucracy for months, I finally got my residence permit so I could at last move to Finland to be with my hubby. Secondly, an evening Finnish course started at the right time and in the right place (6 months after I moved to Finland and it was near my house). Thirdly, I get to enjoy marital bliss with my hubby (WAY better than I thought it could be). Fourthly, hubby found a permanent job miraculously!!! Last but not least, I've also started earning some money online since last month plus I've got SO MANY friends around the world now. And my in-laws are VERY warm and welcoming and considerate. Plus my brother's just got married and his wedding was smooth. And my parents are healthy (Dad had a mini stroke not long after I moved to Finland, but now he's healthy again!).
THANK GOD for everything I've been given this year. THANK GOD for every miracle He's performed in my life, for every door He's opened.
Moving to Finland also means challenges. You can read a list of lessons I've learnt and re-learnt since I moved to Finland here and you'll see why I said this year is a year of lessons. - Amel
~ End of Copy ~
I'm tagging:
Max
Fish Without Bicycle
Blur Ting
Michelle
Amber tagged me to do this meme. It looks SO interesting, though it took me a few days of pondering before I could finally write this down he he he...
Rules:It’s more fun to be in classes with friends, so include one class from the person who tagged you that you’d also like to take.Tag five other bloggers.
Write down 5-10 courses you would take to fix your life.
Okay, here goes:
1. An intensive Finnish course is the number one in my list he he he...I'd love to master this language since I'm also interested in becoming a Finnish citizen. However, to do that, I have to stay here for 4 consecutive years first and then pass the national Finnish examination. Plus I'll get a better working opportunity once I master Finnish. Plus I'll be able to converse nicely with my beloved parents-in-law HE HE HE HE...
2. A photography course (plus how to tweak your pictures using some kind of photo editor). I'm interested in learning more tips and tricks so that I can maximize the use of my digital camera. For example: how to set my camera to take GREAT pics when it's pitch dark outside yet there's full moon in the sky, how to set my camera to take great PICS of moving objects. Plus, who knows maybe I can sell my photos later on, right? There's no harm done in learning new things, anyway.
3. A First Aid Kit course. I'd love to learn CPR and learn more practical theories so that if something happens to me or my loved ones (or perhaps kids in the future), I'll know what to do.
4. A Course on How to Be More Assertive and How to Discipline One's Thoughts. I'd love to take control of my thoughts, especially when my OCD strikes he he he he he...I can obsess over something and it takes sheer will power and 100% focus to stop it. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail. Plus I'm a shy person, so I tend to be permissive. I'd love to learn to be more assertive in life. ;-D5. Webmaster: This is a course I am going to take with Amber and Dawn (Twisted Sister) as I am fascinated with all things web-related.
I'm going to tag:
In relation to my earlier post, last night I browsed for Dean Koontz' books online and found one paperback book in Finnish that cost only around €7, so I'm going to order it for my hubby as a Christmas gift. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY!!!! I'm SO HAPPY HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...
Yesterday hubby came home and I realized he wasn't as jovial as usual. Turned out he wasn't feeling too good, and I think I've caught some of his viruses. Last night I decided to sleep longer than usual to gain more strength as I had begun to feel a slight headache during the night. Now headache's gone but I'm still going to drink my vitamin C.
Good news is that there's a group of people interested in opening a project for immigrants in this village. They're going to interview us to find out about our situation, our future plans, problems, and what they expect from the project. I honestly don't know what to expect from them, but since they're interested in interviewing foreigners, then I contacted them yesterday. They said that they'd call me to set up an interview later on. We'll see how it goes.
I've got some bad news about the full-time Finnish course. I THOUGHT it would be for sure that they'd open it. Turned out that it wasn't 100% sure yet...it depends on lots of factors. I don't know yet if they're expecting to get a certain number of students or not, but the fact that it's full-time means that some of us can't do it after all. It seems to me that there are only about 3 people so far who can make it full-time. My Brit friend can't do it full-time as she has her own home business to take care of.
I asked my closest friends to pray for this...one of them said this, "I will, but just remember that sometimes when God closes one door, it's for your own good. He will make everything work out for your own good." Ahhhh...such a breath of fresh air. Sometimes I'm too caught up with my own plans so that I forget that His plans are MUCH MUCH MUCH better than mine, whatever they are. Sometimes I wish for something too much that I forget that He can open different doors for me, too, and that maybe He chooses to open other doors for me instead of the one I'm praying for. MANY times I forget to thank Him for closed doors. I'm SO glad I have friends who remind me of these things. ;-D
Okie dokie...now it's time for me to study and in the afternoon I'll bake the apple cake. I'll take a pic of it if it turns out well HI HI HI HI HI HI HI...Have a WONDERFUL weekend, everybody!!!
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!!!! ;-DI 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. ;-DSo my journey's still long and winding he he he he he...but I'm determined to enjoy every step of it. ;-D3. 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...
1. Hubby telling me this afternoon that we're going to Pori next Sunday to buy his eldest brother's car. YIIIIIIIIIIHHHHHHHHHHHAAAA!!! My first time to Pori. We'll probably be back on Monday evening or night, so don't wonder if I'm not here this weekend until Monday. On Friday we're going to the bars with my Arttu's second brother and his new girlfriend and on Saturday we'll probably go to my in-laws again. So it's gonna be a busy weekend for me!2. Being able to contribute some grammatical theories in my Finnish course. 3. GOOD NEWS: my Finnish teacher's willing to teach double lessons twice (on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). It's SO wonderful that she's willing to spend more time with us without getting much money or even asking for more for herself. Plus she LOVES languages so much so that I bet she's going to be VERY useful to us. All in all, I'm touched by her determination and willingness to teach us. This is a HUGE blessing for us.
If you wanna know, my British friend's been waiting for this course for 3.5 years whereas I only had to wait 6 months (by the time I got here, there were enough foreign people here to open a Finnish course class!!!). I have a feeling that this has something to do with GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!!4. Visiting my hubby's cousin's house and then his 3-year-old daughter (blonde, blue-eyed) asked me to play with her. I have to admit that I only understood 35% of what she was saying to me, but then when her big brother came back from somewhere, she called out to him, "Look! Here is my buddy!" while pointing at me. Ahhhh...the joy of being liked by a child he he he...She also asked me to dance and "pretend" to sleep ha ha ha ha...5. Getting a YM message from my hubby, saying "I love you" over and over and over again while we were sitting in the same room hi hi hi...6. Running toward my hubby after getting the message, sitting on his lap, and showering him with kisses hi hi hi...
P.S. It's 1.45 am right now and outside temp. is -3.5'C. Winter's coming already. I'm expecting WHITE Christmassssssssssss!!! WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Weather Prediction:
It's going to go down to 0'C during the nights this weekend.
Finnish Course:
Yesterday there was another student coming (another Russian). YAAAAAAAAAYYY!!! We are all SO happy 'coz the more students there are, the bigger the chance is to have a continuation course next spring.
Based on the third course, I realize that grammar-wise, I'm not that bad, even though speaking-wise, I'm probably at the bottom three 'coz I haven't practised that much. Hey, but at least I'm not that bad he he he...I'm SO grateful the course only starts now, not right away when I first moved here, so I had time still to learn bits about this and that and memorize some vocabulary.
All in all, I THOROUGHLY enjoy our lessons, esp. as I get to meet more people this way he he he he he...
Physical Health:
Yesterday I had a headache. I was wondering why again, 'coz I had been exercising regularly and taking vitamins, as well. Finally I couldn't handle it anymore as it got worse during the eve, so I took a Panadol. Then my belly started rumbling, though not due to hunger. It was SO GASSY! I couldn't let the gas out the natural way! No wonder I had a headache! I haven't been farting for a few days already and I should've known it was a bad sign. Yeah, I'm a farting lady hi hi hi...but if I don't fart, that means there's something wrong with me. Once I found out the problem, I asked my husband to coin me again (scrape my back with a coin and some balm to make red marks). He said I was a masochist when I said, "Ooohhhh, that felt SO good" as he was scraping my back hi hi hi...and only after that I managed to fart over and over again. Ah, the joy of farting!!!
I must say I'm proud of him 'coz he's getting better and better at coining me HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE...^____________________________^
Inner Self:
I think I've managed to conquer some inner problem that I've been having lately. It was a tough battle for me, but for some reason now I feel light and I LOVE that feeling. I've always been someone who takes some things too personally sometimes. It's really one of my sore spots. What makes it worse is that I tend to keep score cards (I tend to have high expectations for those I deem important). Sometimes I don't even realize that I'm keeping them and then BOOM!!! A blaring alarm suddenly shakes my entire being and only then I knew "a bit too late" that I had already done one of the worst mistakes in my life. But hey, better late than never, right? He he he he...
Now I feel free like a bird. Free from that score cards and free from taking things personally. I know that this may be one of my lifelong battles (just like cynicism), but I ain't gonna let them win no matter what. I LOVE this feeling. ;-D It feels GOOD to sleep or walk or do anything with a clear conscience. ;-D
Car:
My husband had to do his yearly car check-up this morning. We'll see how it goes. If it doesn't pass the test, he's given a month to fix it and then go and have another test. If he doesn't pass it, they won't let him drive the car around. In Indonesia, nothing like this has ever happened, so you can see VERY OLD cars running around the streets anywhere. My husband said that if it proved to be too expensive to fix the car (it IS old already), he would opt to buy a used car on installment.
