Mum. Camden Market.

Now I know where to go with Mum the next time she visits: Camden Market/s.

It's just great. A really big area with everything from jewellery to clothes and home decor to delicious food.

Mum, you'd love the place. 

We walked around the place just to see what there was, because we'd never been there before. There are lot of different sections with different things and you could spend a day there. And when you walk more towards Camden Town tube station, you'll find other stores as well. 

In my opinion it seems like a better place to shop than Oxford Street. Not just chain stores, you can find real bargains and unique things. Hand made locally. And then there's the food. 

There always is. 

There are a lot of food stalls selling Chinese, Turkish, Mexican, Italian foods, fish&chips, Indian. Polish. So many different options! And they give out tasties!

That's when I tried the best food I've ever had. Turkish pizza thing. (A bit ashamed that I didn't make a note of the name of it...But I do know where to find it there next time we go!)

It.Was.DELICIOUS.

Even now my mouth waters. It was SO good.

And the food's quite a bargain there. I bet you can get better food there than in a restaurant, and for a lot less.  Everything costs pretty much the same, so there's not so much a competition of prices, but of flavours. And that's never a bad thing. 

That Turkish pizza thing. I'll have you in my belly in January. You just wait.

..................................

In other news, going back home for Christmas in two days. The flight leaves at the crack of down on Monday (7.30), so we are heading to the airport tomorrow night. 

Yes, the night will be spent comfortably at the airport.

Maybe this time photos of me looking like I'm dead won't appear...

Maybe the peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks will help. 'Cause that's what I'm getting. Best hot chocolate (that's not homemade) that I've had.

Done. For now...

Violets were blooming in October/November.

I think my summer job changed me. I notice flowers so much more now than before. 

There aren't really flowers blooming anymore. But there's no snow either. But the sun has been shining. But there should be a storm coming up, I hear. We shall see.

But for now, I'm done. I've printed out my essay which is due tomorrow. Just need to bring it to the office tomorrow and that's it. Till January 9th when the next one is due. 

Won't these ever end? 

No. They won't.

So I probably should go and research for the next essay, right?

I kinda love it..

We've been having this interesting weather here.

Let me explain. 

It has been wonderfully sunny during the day, but in the evenings and during the night it rains and the wind blows.

I'm now listening to the wind blow outside and the rain hitting my windows. 

And remember, my windows aren't double-glazed. They're old. 

I can hear the wind hitting the windows, how it comes inside. I can see my curtains swaying in the wind.

This doesn't make me angry or annoyed at my windows or this house. 

This I love to hear. 

I love strong wind. Strong rain. 

It's so powerful.

But I'm protected. 

Traditions.

I am a fan of traditions. 

Christmas is full of traditions, and it's my favorite holiday. And favorite time of year. 

I've mentioned before that this year has been a bit difficult for me Christmas-wise. Don't seem to be able to feel the spirit. Where I get my Christmas spirit, are our traditions. Be it family or Finland. 

Come December 1st, and usually I have a batch of gingerbread cookies baking and a mug of glögi in my hand. 

I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year. To bake gingerbread cookies, to plan the menu for Christmas eve with Mum and cook. Ham will be left for M to handle, but this year I think I'll be taking notes. At least mental. 

Christmas eve. It has a schedule. I love it. It is so familiar and safe. In the morning, me and bro decorate the tree. Then it's sauna. Then church. And from church I'll walk back home with H. It's a great little tradition that we have. Little time for both of us to spend with a friend during an extremely family-oriented day. Once at home, we eat. Ham, casseroles, sauce, cheeses, Carelian pies, potatoes, dessert. Then it's gifts. And eating. And relaxing. And eating. 

Got to have your priorities right at Christmas. Eating. 

Or maybe there is a more spiritual message in Christmas...

A nest.

I made a nest of my blanket. I'm in it now. It's the only warm place in the house.

Outside this blanket, it's freezing. 

It's the coldness INSIDE houses that makes me not like London. 

It's like they choose to live in cold. They're not doing anything about it. They're not even trying to figure out a solution to their leaky windows and absolute lack of insulation. 

It's normal that you can't keep the heating on all day, because it would just go away.

NO, it's not normal. Normal is having a warm house. Having a well insulated home. Normal is when you're not freezing in your room. That's normal.

Winter Wonderland

This made me think of Harry Potter. And You-Know-Who.

There's this huge big Christmas fair thingy in Hyde Park. 

Some parts reminded me of German Christmas markets, which I love. Some parts were a bit more extravagant. 

The Bavarian Village was the best. They even had poffertjes. If you don't know what it is, you are missing out! Google it. OK, I'll let you in. Poffertjes are mini-pancakes. It's a Dutch thing. And freaking DELICIOUS. Love them. Ate them last year in Germany multiple times and had to have them now. This time they were a bit under cooked though. But gooood. Mmm.

There was a lot of food on offer. Lot of German stuff, then some English stuff. Prices were, however, in true London style, ridiculous. I mean, seriously, who's going to pay £4 for a bratwurst?!

December 1st

There should be snow here. I should have a mug of glögi in my hand and Christmas tunes should be playing in the background. Instead, I'm eating a pineapple. (mind you, cost me only 35p - one whole pinepple, so i'm not complaining). 

December is bumming me out a bit. And the essays are stressing me out, so put those two together and good things do not ensue. 

But let's try to be positive. The weather has been great here. It's not cold. 

That's Occupy St. Paul. 

And no, it's not always sunny here. I just don't take pictures if it's not.

PS. I remembered I have Christmas music and I feel better already. Christmas, I love you!

Finnish grammar whaat?

This is what I saw at the window of Waterstone's when I walked past it this morning. Seems normal to you? Novels displayed in a shop window. oih. Look more carefully. The bottom left corner. Ha! See? New Finnish Grammar! What is that book doing there with the novels? Why is a book about Finnish grammar specially displayed?

That's what I wanted to know. So I went inside. And it's a novel. In which Finnish grammar plays a central part. It's written by Diego Marani, an Italian author. It was published in Italian in 2000 (Nuova grammatica finlandese) and published in English only this year. The book tells a story of a soldier who is found in Trieste in 1943, but doesn't remember anything about himself. His tags tell he's Finnish, but that's all. The doctor is Finnish and decides to teach him Finnish hoping that would trigger his memory back on.

The book seems really interesting. No, I didn't buy it. Yet. I'm thinking that will be my reward when I'm done with my essays. The question remains - read it in English or Italian? English translation was according to some a bit wonky and possibly not conveying exactly what Marani did originally. And the Italian would be good exercise for reading comprehension.

Oh, I know! Someone could read it with me in Italian during the holidays.. you know who you are. think of the fun! check it out. now. We could talk about it. Super.

______________________________________________________________________

If you're interested in it in Finnish, it's Sotilas ilman menneisyyttä, and was apparently translated in 2004.

Diego Marani has written another book that has something to do with Finland and that's L'ultimo dei vostiachi.

PS. I saw that in Finnish the book was more than 20€... And I was thinking the £10 price tag on it here was a bit too much...

Few questions.

Having had this blog for a couple of months I've come to realize what it is that I want to do with it. First, I had grand plans of getting a wide readership and eventually making money with the blog. Now I'm come to realize that I do not want that nor would I have the time for that. So, there are few questions I'd like to ask from you regarding the future of this blog. (I'd like to hear your thoughts so, please, reply in the comments or email me.)

I'd like this blog to be a sort of safe haven, where I could write about my life in peace and security and where you could freely comment. So, what do you think

1) English or Finnish? -Writing in English seems sort of preposterous to me and I've noticed I miss Finnish. I speak it every day, but still. And basically all my readers understand Finnish. It's a very small group that's reading this.

2) Public or private? - Now that the blog is public, you can just come here and read. And so can everybody else. And I'm not sure whether I like that. I had in mind to make this private. Those who have a gmail address would receive an invite and would be able to read this after having logged in. Those who don't would need to make one.

3) Any other thoughts?

Please, let me know what you think.

I hate essays.

It’s essay season here.

In the beginning of the year I attended a talk on study tips. One of them was that since there will be 2-4 essays due at the same time, it could be a good idea to write one in the first four weeks of term and so on. So that you wouldn’t have to write all of the essays simultaneously.

I’m not in the need of writing them simultaneously – yet… – but they are causing massive stress. On the one hand we’re told that a) essays count only for about 20% of the grade and b) the first year doesn’t really matter towards your final grade of the degree, but on the other that these are important. And I get it. Now is a good time to learn how to write essays and what is required.

But I just don’t like them. I can’t get a straight line of thought in my head so how am I supposed to get one on paper?!

I just want to watch movies and be with V.

I ask your forgiveness...

through these photos. Enjoy. If you will.

From Sunday when the sun was up and it was warm. It was nice.

Home cooking.

If you know me, you know I like food. I like to eat and I like to try different things, different dishes.  I have even been blamed (thanks, little bro) to favor a refined cuisine, a fancy one, if you will.

Here we've been making mostly pasta and rice with various things. It's been good and fulfilling - has kept the hunger at bay - and we've found some good stuff. But. I was getting bored. As I said, I like to try different things and I just can't keep on eating the same thing day in, day out. I get BORED. 

So, we bought potatoes. And made mash. With.... meatballs. (See where I'm getting at here?) And brown gravy. And people, I couldn't have been happier. Even the delicious bolognese didn't get me this happy. Lihapullat ja perunamuusi. Mmmmm. And some rye bread to go with it (thanks, mom!). I was in Finland heaven. 

Added bonus: I have Fazer chocolate. Sounds like a desert.

In other news, next week is reading week which means no classes. Holiday? No. Days used to catch up in reading and writing essays? Most definitely. But this weekend? Total holiday.

Aftermath.

The fam came and the fam went. It was so so so so so wonderful to have them here. Their stay seemed long before they got here, but once they had arrived, time just flew by. Unfair. There is so much more to see and do here. 

But we did get around doing something, don't you worry. We went to my school and I remember there being surprised faces when the smallness of the campus was noticed. Or was I imagining? Maybe I'm still amazed at the different in size between say my school and the one right next to it. 

Whilst I was at school, they got around to the beginning of Oxford Street, shopped till they dropped and went back to the hotel. On another day, the fam went to day "hi!" to the Queen and the Houses of Parliament. 

They went to Oxford Street without me, you say? Well, yes. But then we all went to Westfield shopping centre in Stratford. You know, the biggest one in the EU? We barely managed to go through the two top levels before we got too tired. It is BIG.

One thing that I wanted to show to them (apart from my glorious room, which they saw as well - bro defined it as small) was Greenwich. It is so quaint. And green. 

Good times were had and I'm so glad it's only a bit over a month till Christmas holidays. My love of Finland just grows and grows while I'm here. (See following post.) I'm so happy they were able to come. Friends - when are you coming?

The Fam is in town.

Folks are coming here today and are going to be here till Thursday. That means sightseeing and, naturally - since it is us, lots of shopping. Fantastic.

But there is a little, minor issue that makes this week a bit more stressful. I have a presentation on Rousseau on Wednesday. However, I'm coming to the conclusion that I like stress. I feel that when I'm working under stress, when I'm so close to the deadline, I'm working harder and more. I've had time to get this done. I could've spent Friday in the library, but I didn't.

I'm almost dreaming of working late and being tired the next morning because I worked so hard the day before.

But at least I can still wear ballerinas.

Oh boo.

Usually at school don't talk with people. I'm not the one to chit-chat. But I have been noticing, that other people are talking to each other and are having fun apparently. So maybe I should engage in some of this too? Am I missing out on something?

Today I talked to people. Or with them. Which ever. And it was nice. I wasn't the one initiating the talking, oh no no, but I did find myself liking it. Surprise surprise... So it was a good day. I came home feeling happy.

And that's when things started to go wrong. My wellies were the wrong size, internet wasn't working (now it is, obviously) and it was just not nice. However, this day still has a chance to turn out good.

I am going to meet people tonight. It's a get-together for a society I'm in and I'm really excited. I hope it'll be fun and I'll get to know more people.

The society has members from this country. And the arch nemesis. 

Christmas.

School's barely started and I'm talking about Christmas? Well, sort of. We just bought our tickets for the holidays and just wanted to let you guys now, that December 19th will be the day that we'll come back to our beloved (well mine at least!) Kuopio. Can't wait!

My bad.

I know, I haven't been blogging in a long time. In a week to be exact. I really wanted to put up photos and I didn't have any worth posting last week, hence no post. No photos now either, you say? Well, blogger is being annoying (or the internet) and it's not letting be upload anything, so yeah, no photos. Sorry about that.

London is getting cold, both in and out. Basically meaning it's as cold inside as it is outside. Thinking about buying a heater. Can't really trust the radiator in my room, 'cause I don't know when the landlady is going to put them on.

But it's still sunny. *fingers crossed* And the sun is still warm. Which is nice. But I hear it's going to rain next week. So maybe I should be trying to find wellies and not buy cheapo ballerinas as I did last Saturday... Whoops.

Other than that school is kicking my butt. However, I find the time to watch one or more episodes of NCIS in a night.. Wonder how that could be...

Ha Ha.

Had I chosen to study History at SOAS or a joint degree with History, I'd have to take a course called Approaches to History. Now, here at SOAS we read a lot. I mean A LOT. The readings are heavy. The book that was mentioned first on the recommended reading list of that course was McNeill, J.R., and McNeill, W.H., The Human Web: A Bird’s Eye View of World History (Norton, 2003). Ring a bell, anyone? Maybe Verkottunut ihmiskunta woud do the trick. A book that I've actually read through MULTIPLE times and studied thoroughly. And why is it that I'm not studying history?  

Aah. My baby for two springs.

"We want popcorn!"

mmm.

My sweet tooth started aching yesterday. I wanted something sweet, but was too lazy to go to the supermarket (and we had already made our weekly grocery shopping..), so I started thinking about recipes that contained only what we had: milk, butter, sugar and flour. Baked custard was the only one I could find. Unfortunately, that would've taken ages to make. So no. I resisted.

The tooth kept aching today, so I went online again. Custard didn't seem like a good idea, brownies was more what I had on my mind. Brownies without cocoa powder? No, I was able to get some.. hihih. And I made brownies. So loaded with butter and sugar that even the thought of it makes me sick now. Yuk. 

And then, after having brownies and milk, this voice started saying: "We want popcorn!" (read: V wanted popcorn). Naturally, popcorn was made. On the stove. And they are gooood! 

I bid you farewell as I go munch on them and watch a movie.

It's here!

My new laptop arrived yesterday, finally, after a few bumps on the road.

It arrived on Tuesday for the first time. I think it was Tuesday. Or Wednesday. Yeah, it probably was Wednesday. In all excitement, I opened the box. Took the laptop out, but the cords in and turned it on. All seemed good. But then, the right click on the mouse button seemed of. And so did the sound buttons too. They didn't work!

I felt tired. After having had problems with Amazon not accepting my methods of payment, I did not need this. I wanted to give up and just leave it at that. My laptop was broken. Luckily, V said I could return it and Amazon would send me a new one. But how long would that take!? Not long apparently. Complaint was made on Wednesday, the old laptop was picked up on Friday and the new dropped off.

So, now I finally have it. My new, fully functioning, fast laptop with a long battery life and a great ability to detect wireless networks (aka. I have Internet in my room. As long as I'm on my bed, near the door.).

Life's good. Except that I'm still sick. But everything's better with a laptop.

Sicko.

I wanted to tell you how I much I enjoy the fact that school started. I love school. I love going to classes, doing homework, studying. Getting all that knowledge into my head (hoping it stays there..). And that is all still true, but I'm sick.

It started off as a sore throat, but it escalated into a good old flu aka. a runny nose, cough, chest pains and a sore throat. Luckily V had packed some medicine along, so I was able to get stuff from him. And I do feel better.

So, to celebrate that, I'll return to "The Emergence of Islamic Civilization". No joke. I love it.

This is the beginning.

My little minimalistic blog has a member! I'm so proud. Thank you for the comments. Luckily, I noticed both of them. It was great fun. Let's continue this, shall we?

I went to the computer today at uni and it hit me. My new laptop won't have ä and ö. Sure, I can change the keyboard. I mean, this laptop that I'm writing on now, is American, but the keyboard has been programmed (I hope that's the right term...) so now it has ä and ö. Hopefully I get my new one next week. That'd be lovely. 

Internet really is a must have. Already for school. Everything has to be done online. Any documents you might need, you have to request online. Going to the Faculty office will do no good. I guess they are good for something. And the professors answer e-mails suprisingly fast. I should know.. having harassed two because one course hadn't been approved yet... But it's cool now. I got an e-mail from the office in question and all is dandy. So we could say that I worried over nothing? 

Dress Weather.

My laptop broke a few days ago. It's the charger or the battery. In any case, I can't recharge it. So, I can't use it. I had been thinking about buying a new one and now I had to. And I did it. I just bought myself a new laptop. It's small, 13.3 inch Lenovo. I think I'll like it.

In other news, the weather is gorgeous here. It's sunny without clouds. And, it's warm! It's roundabout 25C. So I'm wearing a dress. It's September 28th and I'm wearing a dress. And I'm not on holiday. And no tights people. Love it.

First Day at School.

My academic career started yesterday at SOAS. I had a Welcome Talk, Afternoon Tea and went on a tour to the other campus. The place is a paradox in a way. They give out a lot of information, but still it feels like you don't know the basic stuff. And everything is online so go there. And you can ask help from almost anyone. So who do you turn to? I don't know! But apparently everyone will be given a personal adviser from the department with whom they can talk about things academic. And non-academic. Yes, about personal problems. With a member of the staff. Interesting.

The campus is nice and quite easy to understand. It is quite small after all. It's really loud now as well. But I suppose that's because it's Freshers' Week/Fortnight. And each day there's a Hare Krishna stall giving out food. Yes, that's right - GIVING out food. It's karma (their words), so they give out free food every day. Donations can be given. I haven't has a chance to taste it, but I'll get to it soon. That's for sure.

And I did find a Waterstone's a 100 meters from the campus... I died and went to Heaven. It's wonderful! I love it. The one on Piccadilly is the biggest in Europe, sure, but it doesn't have that wonderful bookstore feel. This one has and so much! And the books...Oh, the books. Because it's so close to SOAS and UCL, there are a lot of study materials and other books in specific subjects. I love it. Love it.

Books, chicken and Hitchcock.

On Thursday we went to town. We wanted to see some sights (ended up seeing St. Pauls from the outside, not the inside. I love going to churches, but not if I have to pay £14 to get in..), but mainly to get books. And to do something else than watch Hitchcock movies. I had none before that. Sure, yes, I had Pride and Prejudice, but I have that always. And as much as I love that book, and I do, I wanted new books. New material. Lines I didn't know by heart.

So we went to Waterstone's. A great shop. They really have such a great selection in books here (not just Waterstone's) and what's even better, there are always great offers. The bookshops are really selling the books, getting people to buy them and read. I love it. I came away with 3 books. And so did V. (They have this 3 for 2 offer basically all the time. I like to take advantage of it.) 3 wonderful books. I got one by David Nicholls, one by Stephen Fry and one on Mao and the great famine. It can't all be fun and games now, can it?  V's books are this Game of Thrones series. Something or other. Weird language, that's all I can say.

This post was supposed to be about three things, but I can't seem to get the two others in. The books are taking so much space. But speaking of books and book offers, I really have to try my best not to buy cooking books. Yesterday I saw one that looked really great and it was dirt cheap! But I resisted. I mean, we are fully capable of making a great (it is) roasted chicken with our own spice combo and a little help from Jamie Oliver. I can smell the wonderful smell. And chicken here is so cheap. You can get two whole chickens for only £4. Like we did.

And watch more Hitchcock. Like we did and will do. Tonight is North by Northwest. And then there's Vertigo. We've seen Birds, Psycho, Dial M for Murder and Rear Window. It's a really different type of storytelling than in other movies. I like it. Though I do not understand what the fuss is about Birds. What's so great about that? Or would it have been better with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant? I mean, who can beat Cary Grant? Hmm.. Rock Hudson maybe. Or not. Well, that's a whole different story.

Hey, I got all three things in. Yay.

Tottenham.

Tottenham is where I live. It's where the infamous riots started. Just there, on the High Road. But it's calm now. Quite quiet. Except on matchdays. Then there are a lot of people walking towards to stadium. Well, before the match starts at least. After kick-off the streets are basically empty. I mean, Tottenham Hotspurs is a big team and we are in Tottenham here. So if you're not at the stadium watching it you're either at home or at a pub, right? Well... Most people.

Some roast a chicken and feast on it for four days. They might also bake a delicious lemon drizzle cake and just walk around Tottenham. 

Originally this picture was the right way around.

Sorry, no pictures of the chicken nor of the cake. At least not a good picture of the cake so you won't be seeing any. Instead, I leave you with a picture of our friendly neighborhood fox.

Isn't he just adorable? 

First Monday.

It was quite uneventful. Lot of things were supposed to get done, but not that much did. To get a contract for the phone, they require you to have a debit card. Visa Electron is no good. Right. Bank requires a letter from the university to home address stating student status. Well, that’s not going to happen ‘till next week. The earliest. The university needs to mail me stuff. And my school is a bit on the slow side in this mailing thing.

However, I do have the papers to register for NHS (lääkäri) and I was able to fill my online enrolment. Now I just need to upload a picture for my student ID card. The picture is going to be on it for 3 years. 3. So this is a big decision. There’s one that might be ok. Or then I just use the one I’ve used for the past 3 or 4 years. Any thoughts?

Fantastic Mr. Fox.

It's not raining. At least not yet. It's nice, sunny and warm. Well, sort of sunny. There are a lot of clouds.

Yesterday went quite smoothly actually. No problems with the flights, we got our luggage (3 times flown with SAS, 1st time I didn't need to wait a few days before getting my luggage!) and the tube ride was easy. And we only had to pay for one ticket. And even that we got 2 pounds cheaper because someone forgot to take their change. Ha. But it was a long ride. Our stop was the 32nd. In rush hour London on Friday. Safe to day the day was long so the bed was calling quite early to come to sleep.

But it wasn't that easy. Headache kept me awake at first. Then the coldness. The windows in my room are not double-glazed. There's wind coming in the room and the radiator isn't working. Yet. And all I had was my sheets. No fluffy, warm and fuzzy cover. It's good we're going to Ikea today.

I'm sure you're wondering what's up with that "Fantastic Mr. Fox" thing up there (if you even paid attention to it). Well, as it happens, there's this fox that likes to come and hang around in our backyard. Just lying there, relaxing. How is it that there's a fox living in residential London but it's impossible to see one in Finland where there are woods all around?