Finland:Less Different Than Newfoundland (or Fort McMurray) but That Leaves a Lot of Room

2003-07-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

Forest Bike

Hey everybody,
I found a bike in the forest. It is now called the forest bike, of course. If I pedal too hard the back wheel binds and catches on the frame so it's a great bike. Yeah, and it's pink.

It's better than walking,
Cole

P.S. I miss my old, blue bike, that didn't squeak. It even had the Finnish Heraldic Lion on the front of the frame.

2003-07-23T06:25:00.000-07:00

Bikes, Bikes, No More Bikes

Terve,

I've had another adventure regarding how I break everything bicycle orientated around here. Let's detail all previous bike mishaps so we all know what I'm talking about. First of all, there are the three flat tire tubes that my bike has suffered; one slow leak, one 70 liter backpack full of stuff jumping a curb incident; and one my tire came off the bike and the tube was punctured when I put it back on. My tire was so bad I had also bought a new one. Well yesterday I was crossing the street behind Tamas, the Hungarian, and I thought, "I can make it before that car." I would of if Tamas would have kept going but he, being very cautious, stopped immediately and I bent the fender of the bike I was riding by slamming into him. Neither of us fell over but his leg did receive a small bruise. Also, I say 'the bike I was riding' because my bike was stolen last Friday. I guess, even in Finland, no unlocked bike is safe forever. My bike is actually the fourth one among the students that has been stolen. Anyway, 'the bike I was riding' belongs to Gedrius, the Lithuanian, and is also a write-off because, later, I broke the pedal completely. I'm not talking about the part you put your foot on, though. I'm talking about the L-shaped metal piece that connects the pedal to the gear (I broke through a half inch of steel... obviously very poor steel). I pushed a big push up a hill in the highest gear and my foot almost hit the ground. I say almost because my butt, etc. slammed into the seat quite fiercely. Jose, thought that was hilarious and he hit the ditch laughing. He was okay but the Spanish community that has developed here thought it was much more amusing watching me pedal home with one pedal. Later I showed Gedrius the pedal through his kitchen window. He immediately started laughing at the chunk of broken metal I was wielding until I said, "Don't laugh, this is your pedal." We walked to work together today. We were going to weld the piece back together but we don't have access to the school's welding shop since everyone is on vacation. Regardless of whether we can fix Gedrius' bike or not, no one will lend me their bike anymore.

The frame to my kitchen window also broke last night,
Cole

2003-07-23T05:50:00.000-07:00

North to Rovaniemi and the Arctic Circle

Hello,

What a weekend. Tamas and I went north, way north to Rovaniemi. We went to the Arctic Circle because I missed out on my family going that far north (almost) and Tamas came because he had nothing else to do. He now refers to me as the man with the program. Either way, the Finnish Arctic Circle has farms and trees and is nothing like ours. You have to get a car or spend more than a weekend there to see anything like the treeless Arctic that I loved in the Yukon.
Instead we went to Santa's Village which is hilarious to talk about but not that great. It is hilarious to talk about, though. We bought some beer and went for a walk through a swamp because there were cloudberries there. There were about eight berries and they should be ripe in a couple of weeks. Well, except we ate them. We were pretty tired from the night train so berries and beer almost put us asleep in front of Santa. A picture with Santa cost €17 so we thought we would save our money for beer. I did send my niece a card with a Santa stamp on it (in July!?!). The question I forgot to ask Santa is, "What happens when a child comes here and you don't speak her language." Yes, I wanted to put Santa in a tough spot. Then we went out on the town and found that the kiosks stop selling beer at 9:00. Luckily we had already had a six pack and found that we had taken the bums usual sitting spot. They were quite upset and wanted money for beer (how else could they drink with us?). As always the bums spoke pretty good English. I will never understand how that works. Either way, we walked around the beach on the Kemi River and then went to a disco. That was great. Finnish guys can't dance and that made dancing with only Tamas, the Hungarian guy, quite avoidable. Hey Jason, by way of tequila, we discovered another person in this world that is allergic to citrus fruits.

When we left the disco at four in the morning it was like midday. The sun never goes down (unless your in the bar) and we were nearly blinded. We wanted to go hiking to a treeless fell (kind of like Ayer's rock but in Finland) but there was only one bus with that destination. It took two hours each way and stayed for two hours, so we went to the Arktikum Museum about worldwide Arctic cultures. It was great. Then we went to the beach and saw somebody's car roll into the river. A couple firetrucks and an ambulance with a boat came and, in front of 160 people, pulled out the car, which miraculously drove away. That was great to watch.

Monday found us in Helsinki making full use of us paying per day for train tickets. We went to Suomenlinna, the marine fortress I already visited, for a picnic. We then went to the biggest amusement park in Finland (I am guessing) and the rides were generally okay. I was soaked front and back on a log ride and the highlights were a ride like the octopus but with more g's and the Space Shot, which lifts you 30m in about 2 seconds (I'm estimating but your hair gets pushed down against your head pretty easily). The Space Shot was really exhilarating and afforded a great view of Helsinkil. Then we went home and we slept slept slept.

Other mentionables were meeting Hannu Kampurri, a short-lived goaltender for the Oilers in the 79-80 season. He was at the train station and if you want to check his stats go to http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=6308 Of course clicking on that didn't work when I tried it but if you go to the main page of the website and run a search on his name he'll be there. He has a Hungarian wife so he had a lot to say of interest to both Tamas and I. Now he is in the insurance business and has a two year old child. He also talks more and faster than me. The other blow me back thing was a motorcycle accident on Monday in Helsinki. It happened at about the same time we were on a tram, which I mention because it resulted in a tram skipping its tracks and slamming into the best known department store in Finland, the Stockman Center. We didn't see it because we are oblivious to news sources, but everyone keeps asking me if I saw it because we should have being we were two blocks from it.

And that's another weekend in the life of Brian,
Cole

2003-07-23T05:47:00.000-07:00

My Email Doesn't Support Cyrillic

Hey all,

Check this out. Koyë Hè÷ka That's what is says my name is on my Russian visa. I'm wondering if that fourth letter is pi maybe? Who knows but I am guessing my capacity to pronounce streetnames will be completely eliminated. The only other letters I know are C and P, which respectively mean S and R. How do I know that? Hockey of course; CCCP stands for Soviet State's Socialist Republic or at least that's the closest direct translation. So yes, the '72 Summit Series and Paul Henderson have taught me all the Russian I know. Why Paul Henderson you ask, because if he didn't score the winning goal I doubt I'd want to remember ever playing hockey against the Russians. Oh wait, Nina the Lithuanian babushka solidified my usage of thank you and goodbye (spasiba and dasvidanya).

Giving credit were credit is due,
Cole

P.S. Turns out my email doesn't support cyrillic script and that's not my name in cyrillic.

2003-07-16T01:42:00.000-07:00

Just in case all of you have forgotten how much of a goof I am, I will tell you about yesterday's huge blunders.

1. Almost was hit by a car driving out of a narrow alley
2. Almost burnt my hand on a pot
3. Locked myself out of my apartment

Here's the saving graces.

1. The car pulled out slowly and I was able to swerve on the narrow sidewalk just enough. Aural, the new Swiss student, was aghast at how close it was.
2. The pot had been sitting on the burner, which I had turned off, for about fifteen minutes and wasn't terribly hot. Well, it was, it's just that I had done some dishes so when I almost dropped the pot and caught it by it's bottom my hands were wet enough to save me. The ssssss sound of boiling water on my fingers was a little freaky, though.
3. I left the window open. It's two meters off the ground and the opening is forty-five centimeters in height, but I was able to ease my way through without scratching myself up too badly or breaking anything, as the window is hinged on its bottom side so it opens inward about where you would like to step. Everyone was quite amazed that I could sneak through the window without losing my life or, more importantly, my deposit on the apartment.

But I'm okay folks,
Cole

2003-07-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Being a Finnish Tourist and, Therefore, Enjoying Inexpensive Estonia

Howdy,

Well, things are going well here. I hope your enjoying the same kind of weather because were having our first sunny days. My weekend in Tallinn was supposed to cloudy and rainy but I was lucky.

Thursday night was spent in Helsinki visiting a bunch of the people from the international exchange student weekend. We stayed with the Australian girl who said we made it the best pub night ever. We being Tamas the Hungarian and I, but it probably won't happen again because drinks weren't cheap.

Friday began slowly with a view of Helsinki and a hydrofoil trip to Tallinn. The two capitals of Estonia and Finland are 71 km apart and the trip takes 1 hour and 25 minutes in good weather. In bad weather these things are infamous for making everybody throw up and ice in the Gulf of Finland can flip the boat. Arrival in Estonia was equally as dangerous. They didn't want to let me into the country because my visa was used when I went to Lithuania. The old visa rule is one visa from a Baltic country is good for all three Baltic countries. The new rule is only Estonia needs a visa and I was okay. They didn't believe me, but being the are trying to join the EU they eventually relented because I was only staying two nights.

Tallinn is a beautiful old city. I loved it. Tamas loved it. There was a medieval market with all the market people dressed historically and a pig roasting on a spit (they eat a lot of pork in Estonia). They also had the tallest building in the world until the Eiffel Tower and the last gothic town hall left in Northern Europe. So nice.

Tamas also loved the night life. I liked the night life too, but Tamas loved the night life. Tallinn has became the place where Finnish people go to gamble and drink because of the favorable exchange rate (15:1 though they inflate the prices to make it more like 7:1). Basically, if you walk around at night people hand you flyers for topless clubs like they did in Prague. The weekend accumulated when Tamas and I went to the Sundance Music Festival (a big DJ and techno jam). I left early at about one and Tamas went home at four when the show ended. He beat me to the hostel and we still don't know how or what happened, although I suddenly was walking home at five in the morning, realised I had been walking for a while, and felt more rested than before when I just couldn't stay awake any longer. I still had all my possessions and parts, so all was well.

We were quite sad to go home but it was time when it came to resting up. Another tradional Finnish thing to do is to take advantage of duty free liquor while crossing the Gulf. Being that we acted like Finnish tourists I spent the rest of the trip carrying 24 beer under my arm because "it was a good deal". Some Finns bring carts all the way to Estonia and back just so it's easier to carry their beer when they get back. I guess it makes sense when the law says you can buy 30 liters per person. But can you carry 30 liters is my question, as I was maxed out at 8.

Ever since Estonia the weather has been gorgeous (Monday) and we spent the evening at the beach playing beach volleyball for a couple hours and going down a water slide. It's crazy because, at the beach, the people I'm with all speak Spanish. Such is the life of an international exchangee.

All the best,
Cole

P.S. I received my credit card bill and yowsa. I have devised three ways to double my salary in Finland as that is now required. Well, it would be nice.

1. Get a second job
2. Something illegal (higher profit margin I'm sure)
3. Write off my entire trip as a business expense. The business - OGEC (Organization of Grain Exporting Nations), as I have spent a month travelling through the agricultural nations of the Baltics and Poland "making contacts". Of course, I will soon continue my journey through Russia and Ukraine to consolidate my power. Being in Finland has just been to throw the suspicious. I even have a company slogan... OGEC - because not starving is important.

2003-07-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

Finnish Baseball and the Never Ending Sauna Saga

Terve,

My weekend was good. I went to Päivio Island in Lake Saimaa (yes, another island in Lake Saimaa), but this time with a bunch of exchange students who are in various parts of Finland at the present time. A good time was had by all and the event was precariously cheap. In fact, I almost starved on the food that was provided but they made up for it with free beer. Anyway, the first (read: only) sunny weekend of the year was spent playing beach volleyball, swimming, suntanning, talking, rowing a boat, fishing, running, playing European football (they hate it when I call it that), we played a little outdoor table tennis, some pesäpallo (Finnish baseball), and then there was the sauna.

Finnish baseball was interesting because you get three swings and foul balls can be your third strike. That fact, coupled with my inability to keep the ball in bounds, meant I was 'burned' twice. Yes, 'burned', not out. It turns out that hitting the ball so it bounces before travelling one meter and hitting it past the boundary (aka crushing it into the bush and yelling, "Homerun baby, yeah") are both strikes. It was a steep learning curve. You can also choose not to run if you hit a ball poorly granted you have a strike left. At least I proved I can throw. I hit two people in not just the head, but more specifically, in the ear. Once I threw the ball to first, which is three-quarters up our third base line, and Jose from Ecuador didn't catch the ball. The girl running from third, which is 5-quarters up the third base line, to home took the ball in the side of the head while running and soon hit the ground. After a cigarette and a beer she recovered so that I could pick off person number two. This time I was in the outfield and I threw the ball as hard as I could to Giedrius, the Lithuanian, at home plate to cut off a runner. The ball was a little high and Giedrius couldn't flag it down and I hit the on-deck batter who thought being hit in the head was hilarious. At least I will always be remembered. In short, I think pesäpallo would be a really interesting game to play because, without homeruns and pitching, one big hitter or awesome pitcher can't dominate a game. You need smart people who can place the ball consistently and throw accurately. In addition, it's funny to think pesäpallo was started by a Finn who came back from the United States in the 1800s and started a simplified version based on what he had seen of baseball. The game ended up halfway to softball and, without pitching, anybody can play it and wreck havoc like I did.

The second memorable event was the sauna. Not so much the sauna itself but the fact that the other students hadn't been in a co-ed, nude sauna before. When the announcement of let's go to the sauna was made everyone grabbed a couple drinks for the road and off we went. Jose and I were the first ones there and we pondered whether this would, in fact, be a nude sauna because no one here was really used to not having a swimsuit. I said, "What the hell", and whipped my shorts off. Then I turned around and asked Birgitte, a Danish girl, if she would pass me my beer. She didn't hear me that well; she was a little distracted looking around at all the people she was about to get naked with and my sudden removal of all things clothing, so she said, "Yeah, thanks. I could really use a beer." Like everyone else, she enjoyed her sauna but experienced a slight case of culture shock before she found out how normal it seems here. Me and Jose were actually in the sauna for quite a while laughing as people would open the door, peek there head in, and then scurry to a bench in a dark corner. By the end people were packed together and teaching each other drinking songs. In conclusion, saunas are great; I think I might use the one in my building a lot more often from now on.

Now that I have returned home (to Lappeenranta) and eaten I can easily say that it was the best weekend I've had in Finland. It was so good to participate in some sports and the weather was gorgeous.

Ole Hyva,
Cole

P.S. On Thursday my co-worker, Kimmo, took me fishing and I caught 3 säyna. I was going to eat them but they smelled like the bottom of the lake once I cleaned them. Then I asked Kimmo how people usually prepare them because he said some people really enjoy eating them. He said people usually smoke them, which means it's probably not that great. They ended up smelling in the dumpster because I had to eat them that night or bring them to Lappeenranta from Mikkeli and, suddenly, I wasn't that hungry.

2003-07-03T05:58:00.000-07:00

Lycra vs. Culture (Never a Fair Fight)

Well it's Thursday,

High time I told you what I was up to last weekend. Well I went to Turku in Southwestern Finland. It used to be the capital of Finland when Sweden was in power but Russia soon changed that because the place is too accessible to Sweden. Swedish is even commonly spoken there. Turku has a beautiful riverside section where I sat for about a third of my time there watching people and enjoying the sunshine. For actual events, Saturday was spent going to three museums one of which I remember. Yes, the castle was okay but with the advent of cannons and other firearms the high cliffs across the river became a problem. Suddenly it was the perfect target for bombardment and, coupled with the fact that western Finland has risen out of the ocean half a meter in 500 years meaning the castle was no longer on a small, very protected island, the castle was quite possibly in the worst spot for a castle... ever. The Swedish even caught on to that but they didn't have the money to move the capital or build a new castle. That meant it was up to the Russians to abandon the place until Tourists took interest late in the 20th century. Ah, the rise of the Tourists. I also went to a handicrafts museum but it was kind of like Beaverlodge's Pioneer Museum so I taught my Italian guide about rope making, spinning wool, and basic farm implements inexchange for glass blowing, cord making, and something else. It was quite funny because they had all of these trades listed on a map and one house was the widower's house. Being my tourguide was walking around aimlessly for the hour before the tour started I asked her if she was the widower. I was the only person she gave a tour to all day so we talked for quite some time after that provocation.

It's funny because when you meet someone from another country the first thing you ask them is, "Why did you come to Finland?" The best part is no one ever has an answer so they just stare. I always say that the Finnish forest industry is foremost in the world but really it's because my alternative was a power plant in Switzerland and I've worked in a powerplant. If I actually say that, though, I usually get a remark about Switzerland versus Finland. I've also read a book where there is a mentioning of being "Finlandized". I probably shouldn't go into depth but I'll be the devil's advocate anyway; the remark is in regard to how dealing with a woman is like dealing with Russia. If you do what they say you are being cooperative and if you don't you are "meddling in their internal affairs" and "resorting to cold war tactics". The problem with the easy route of doing what women say is that eventually you end up "Finalndized" and only in control of half of your life. The book was entitled "Stanley and the Women" so maybe I should have seen that coming.

Right, Turku. On Sunday I went to a nearby town of Naantali where they have a massive Moomin theme park. This is like their Disney. The tourist stats for people visiting the town are 200 000 year per year and for the theme park 220 000 people per year so basically more people visit the theme park than the community. I, however, went for a bikeride on the Archipalego. I couldn't find a name for which archipalego it was but they nevertheless capitalise it out of shear respect. It was pretty cool out in the country side but I only made it fifteen kilometers before the one land gravel road I had chose completely ended and my butt was killing me. With no where to have my lunch I resorted to asking about nearby public places at a farmhouse. Of course it was fine if I sat on their lawn because the man and his wife didn't mind. The catch, they were going for a sauna and that means I had about twenty minutes before there were naked people running to the Bay of Bothnia. I ate quickly, anxious for my first substantial hemorrhoids, and then went to my bike to get my camera. You see, their house was the most typical Finnish house I had even seen and I needed a picture. It had the tradional red color with white trim, the 2 meter by 20 centimeter flag that resembles a windsock (I must buy one) flying proudly, and all set on a rocky outcrop near water. When I returned to capture this moment for posterity I saw a naked bigfoot figure very startled to see I had not left but instead had opted for a fake so I could draw him out in the open. I acted like I saw nothing, faked a picture of the Bay, turned the direction to show this beast my back instead of my front, then pedalled. You will never see a typical Finnish cottage as a result but I think what I did was polite and good for all tourists that find themselves at this man's cottage in the future.

The rest of the day was spent playing pool in the local bar against a local boy and reading Finnish captions on the TV to see if I could understand the Audrey Hepburn special when it was muted. Cable Guy was too much of a challenge so I just plain watched that one.

Monday I spent shopping back in Turku. I could have gone to the UNESCO world heritage site of the Rauma old town or have visited Åland (12 hours on a boat round trip though) where Swedish speaking people have a high level of autonomy after trying to separate or even join Sweden (they couldn't decide). Both would have been interesting but I was kind of pooped when it came to cultural experiences for the weekend and it rained so "vegging out" was in order. It turned out to be the experience of a life time anyway. I saw some "European" swim trunks and thought I should maybe try these suckers out. When I saw my butt in Lycra I panicked and had to leave. The fact that you try them on over your underwear, so people will touch them after, and the resulting diaper-like, bunching up effect didn't help. After a couple more hours of wandering and a fish dish buffet I found these swanky shorts in another store. This time I conquered my fear, although the loud Hawaiian style ones should be banned, and am now a more aerodynamic swimmer as a result. That's right Cole wears short shorts. Maybe not for recreational purposes (eg water balloon fights and family picnics) but when I actually go swimming they are quite nice. Surprisingly you still need a drawstring with speedos, which I found out when I dove into the water last night. It turns out the drawstring was in a loose knot somewhere around my ankles, but I learned I can swim for quite a while with no hands so it was all right. Maybe pecular looking from the surface but all right. The other handy thing was I had no clean underwear when I came home from Turku at four o'clock in the morning. To the rescue were my new swim trunks, who are now permantly "my backup pair". I felt sexy all day. Now isn't that much more interesting than Rauma, a wooden town, or Åland, Finland's Quebec? I thought so.

In other news, I will have completed my tenure in Mikkeli this week and will be heading to where there a bunch of students in Lappeenranta. I guess what I'm saying is this is where it all starts getting good. Kimmo is also taking me fishing tonight and I'm really looking forward to being fishing from a boat.

All the best,
Cole

2003-06-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

The Difference Between Canada and Finland

Terve,

I know all of you think Finland is almost exactly like Canada when it comes to climate, flora, fauna, etc. but it's just simliar enough to make you relax to the many sutle differences. Even I, when asked what Canada is like, start with the assumption that Canada is like Finland. In truth, though, this place has more extreme hours of sunlight and more precipitation so the effects on plant life are enormous. Then there's the fact that.....

Let me sum this up with the perfect and most explanitory anecdote. I was telling Kimmo, my co-worker, how their Finnish squirrels are 'exactly' like our red squirrels except their squirrels have tufts of hair sticking up behind their ears. Anyway, he replied, "Oh, and your's turn grey in winter, too?" That blew my mind because I thought squirrels inately hibernated because that's what squirrels do. It took a while to explain hibernation to him because he forgot the word and he didn't associate it with squirrels. The point is you can think that you noticed the slight differences right away, but once you get talking about everyday things it starts to blow your [my] mind how much everything familiar is now completely different. It's like that show Sliders where they 'slide' into different dimensions and everything will be exactly the same, but Elvis won't have existed and instead Mark will the most popular music figure ever (basically something correspondingly very different). Or maybe farmers control the major world governments through an organization called OGEC (Organization of Grain Exporting Countries) and God Save the Grain is the British National Anthem. Basically, the world looks the same but earth shaking 'weirdities' are occuring left and right when you're not looking.

God Save the Grain,
Cole

2003-06-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

Juhannus (Midsummer Evening (The Friday Each Year Between June 20th and 26th)) and My Life in Mikkeli

Hello,
It's been a while since my last big tell so I have about as much to say as I usually do. You know me.
Anyway, last weekend was Midsummer or Juhannus in Finnish. Everyone stays up quite late with friends and family and has a few drinks and probably a sauna. It rained here so everyone was very disappointed but it wasn't pouring so I was still out and about. My Juhannus started innocently enough on Thursday when my co-worker said, "You know, no one's going to work tomorrow." I looked at him and said thanks for telling me the day before. It turns out that Juhannus is not an official long weekend but everybody leaves anyway. Okay, so it doesn't cut into my four days vacation time - great- but it still would have been nice to know in advance. Still, I was on the bus back to Lappeenranta within three hours because I know one person there. I even tried to plan a last minute long weekend to someplace more exotic than my main apartment in Finland (yup, I have to apartments in Finland making me a complete stud), but it didn't work out.

Either way, I arrived in Lappeenranta and discovered that three other foreign students are now working at LUT. They are Gedrius "the Hyper" from Lithuania, Tomas "the Thin" from Hungary, and Jose "the Apathetic" from Ecuador. From what I've told you, you can glean everything I know about Gedrius but to add to the other two, Tomas is quite thoughtful and Jose uses the American dollar, likes MTV, and is disappointed that the girls aren't better looking. We all like beer, though, and I own the only deck of cards so I'm a very popular fellow. The cards are my Russian roommates but I asked him when he was here for the weekend and it's okay. Turns out he was graduating and his mom was here so I took there picture together for documentation purposes and too bug him.

In the end, Markku showed up and I went with him for Juhannus Friday and had quite a time. Throughout the night I was in two different saunas and two different lakes. I was quite thoroughly disciplined about not swimming too much after a sauna because on Midsummer's day last year six people died after drinking, saunaing, and then swimming. This is quite average and one guy said his office had a pool going on the subject with 5 being the low number and 9 being the high one. The first sauna was quite interesting because Markku and I were the only ones naked because, as it turns out, not everybody is always in the buff. At the second sauna it was the same crowd as on the sailboat including a fellow who's nicknamed, Noski, meaning piglet. He even gave me a hug when he saw me because he's that kind of guy and so am I. This crowd was very naked even though we had to run through about fifteen people each time we wanted to jump into the lake. It all seemed quite normal until someone very dressed would start a conversation and ask me what Canadians think of the United States' actions in Iraq or something. Another big question was, "Did you know the back-up goaltender for Edmonton is from Finland and played in Lappeenranta for the two years before he went to the Oilers." The second question had an easy, "Thanks I didn't know that," answer but the first one kept me outside until I noticed it was still raining, about twenty seconds, but it seemed like a long time. The reward was the best compliment of the night - "Wow, I never thought of that before; from a naked guy no less." I made him come into the sauna, though, so he had to answer questions about the Euro in his birthday suit. Fair is fair after all.

The next day I did nothing. I had stayed up until ten in the morning by the traditional Juhannus bonfire, my foot had a cut from stepping on something on the bow of a tugboat between its sauna and the lake, and the part of my ear above the lobe appeared to have a small infection so sleeping and eating seemed like a proper course of action.

On Sunday, I rounded up the foreign students and showed them where some things are around town. We went to the museums and they pointed out how they knew where they were when they saw the liquor store. So far they seem kind of depressed that the weather has kept them inside but Gedrius had bought a basketball and always seems to be energetic. They are impressed that I know any Finnish at all. We were looking for the museum and a sign pointing left said "Museo" and a sign pointing right said "Museot". This is a little confusing but I knew we were going to the group of museums around the fort and t is the letter usually added to words to make them plural so we had to go right. They thought that was amazing, but I didn't gather that they are trying to learn the language too proactively. Plus they've been here two weeks.

Now, I'm back in Mikkeli and it's kind of crazy to know that there is a small student life developing in Lappeenranta. Still, there are two business schools in Mikkeli so I met a guy named Pablo yesterday... Mha ha ha. He's from Spain and when I asked him if he had a broom he told me he had half of one. He wasn't lying because he had a mop with only half a handle. It worked, though, so my bachelor pad actually is cleaner than when I arrived. It's kind of sad that sweeping was all it took to do that, but I don't think Finnish cleanliness requirements for students are all that high. The first words I said when I moved in were, "That is a dirty window." You have to say that with a very serious but exasperated tone to get the correct impression. Kimmo, my co-worker, agreed and said he'd take me fishing when he saw the place which is mostly just poorly cleaned. For example, I can barely see myself in the mirror because whoever washed it last did so with a towel maybe a month or two ago. The point is Kimmo is a flyfishing guide and knows I like fishing so I was hoping he'd take me out in the boat he has access to. The sympathetic feeling instilled in him by my apartment was such that he immediately thought of what he could do for me. He might still renege as what he said was one of those "in the moment" impulses where you take life by the horns and do something completely crazy like jump off a bridge (I'm waving my arms for effect). I better remind him of what he said or maybe my apartment so I can get on that boat.

Actually I'm going to go fishing right now, so I'll talk to you later,
Cole

2003-06-18T04:14:00.000-07:00

Weekend Trip to Helsinki

Howdy,
I spent a nice weekend in Helsinki. I took the train Friday night and stayed at my new friend Jenni's house (pronounced yenny since j's are y's). She even picked me up at the train and, it turned out she didn't like wine, so I drank the bottle of wine I had bought her and we went out. Her friends were quite nice and we ended up downtown in a couple really nice lounges. We couldn't get into the dance bar Jenni's friends wanted to go into because we aren't 22. Nice age for the bar to pick but that's the way it works some times.

The next day, I went for a walk while Jenni slept (she works late nights in a hostel so her schedule is... different). It turns out that military style playgrounds are everywhere as I notice many good places for chin-ups and dips, plus a wooden bench for inclined sit-ups. These people are crazy but I had nothing to do so I did a little workout circuit. They also have outdoor ping pong tables at some of the schools. They are concrete slabs with metal or concrete nets and Dan, you would love them. I took a picture of some kids playing and they thought that was pretty weird.

After Jenni finally woke up we went downtown, saw some sights and Kiasma, a modern art museum that she liked. They had the typical "what-the-heck-is-that" and "I-don't-get-it" stuff but there were also some cool things. The best was by far a room where the mirror reflected everything but you. Creepy. I pretty blown away until it donned on me and I tried to touch the mirror. Yup, two rooms. The mirror image affect was even on the wooden table where the knots were as perfectly matched up as nature would allow. Another mirror made it look like you had a halo and that your image was surreal to the point it seem like you were looking at yourself at all.

The next morning Jenni had to go to work at eight so her boyfriend, who I had known for an hour went and played pool at a local pub. I was introduced to the "Long Drink". Grapefruit juice and gin really. The stuff is popular here to the point that it was on tap next to the draft beer. Johon (Yohon) was a lot of fun and we talked about the differences in our country; how they have so many spiral staircases, why you ask your Finnish host for something because they don't usually offer (and that's expected not slightly impolite), why they were allied with Nazi Germany, etc. About the Nazi Germany thing; they were just trying to get back at Russia and if you look at how Russia has owned them or meddled with their politics endlessly, well I don't blame them. Sure what they did was opportunistic and they actually did take more territory than they originally lost to Russia earlier in the war, but everyone gets a little carried away now and then. The Finns seem to commonly believe that the Germans convinced them it was a good idea when I think they had their own motivations.

Sunday was spent at the Fish Market, the Mannerheim Museum (dedicated to their first president), and Suomenlinna (a coastal fort where the Finns kept their submarines plus some Russian and Swedish history stuff). The highlight was sitting on the fortified walls of Suomenlinna and watching the ocean for a while. It was a good place for a little picnic. The Reindeer meatballs and paella at the Fish Market were quite good, too.

And that was my weekend,
Cole

2003-06-13T00:55:00.000-07:00

CMX - Not Club Monaco Sports but a Finnish rock band

Hey everybody,
I went to a concert Wednesday night after Finland lost to Italy 2-0 in football (soccer). The band was kind of like a Finnish Tragically Hip and everyone loved them, but outside of their own country they are relatively unknown. The Finnish language does that to things, though. It was kind of weird when everyone was singing because they know every lyric and I really don't feel like pushing to the front or waving my hands in the crowd. Case in point, the leader singer of another 'huge' Finnish band was there and Markku's cousin told me to get his autograph to take home because this guy was cool. I told the cousin that I'd have to hear his stuff before I'd consider an autograph. Markku laughed and then they sorted out what was mildly humorous about that. They were okay but mostly I was just at a good party. Markku's friend, pronounced A-E (I'm not going to wager that I can't spell it right but from what I've picked up from Finnish it's most likely Eiee) spilled my beer all over me because she thought it was a good party too and was waving her arms everywhere. This was before the band even went on stage.

Back to crazy Finnish things; happy hour started an hour before the band played and continued until they were done performing. Then drinks were more expensive. By that time I was wondering about the logistics of the 3km bike ride home for I had introduced Markku to Jagermeister. Luckily it was 3 in the morning and the sun was starting to come up again.

While watching TV at the bar I was also reminded of something I should tell you guys; the president of Finland, who's duties are mostly ceremonial and includes signing bills like our governor-general, is a woman and the prime minister, who really runs the show, is also a woman.

Anyway, I'm headed to Helsinki for the weekend and I'll be headed up to Mikkeli for the next three weeks of work. The huge bonus is that Markku's cousin is from Mikkeli and he was quite excited that I'll be working there.

All the best,
Cole

2003-06-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

Flat bike tires, plants, and influence

Hei,
I wasn't going to tell you this because it seemed like complaining, but I had a tire go flat on my bike. I didn't want to wreck the Finland / happy happy joy joy image that I've built up in your minds. Everything seems so far apart now. It was on the way to work yesterday so I've doing some walking including a seven kilometer bike drag into town from campus. The crazy thing is the bike shop closed at five so I had to run while carrying my bike for part of the trip. It was raining a bit so I did get a little wet.

That was the really neat part, though, because I noticed a snail on the ground. It turns out that when it rains here, instead of a bunch of soggy earthworms all strung about, they have snails all over the sidewalks. They are probably just as gross, if not worse, than earthworms, but the novelty blew my mind. Of course the way I notice them was because their little shells make such a satisfying crunching noise when you run a bike tire over them. I mean I noticed a snail or two, but I was still wrapped up in getting to the store before closing until I stepped on about four or five snails at once (they seem to be mating or something because there were a lot of groups like this one) and heard a loud crunch (well, one fewer than a lot of groups). It reminded me of the days when I used to own a snail. Before Jimmy committed suicide by crawling out of his stein of course.
The other happenings the tire has brought about is I didn't really want to walk home after the 7km bike drag so I went clothes shopping. I bought a cool shirt that said Suomi (Finland) on it and tried on all of these hippy clothes. They were pretty cool although I can't be hauling too much back.

This morning I had to wake up half an hour earlier and walk to work. I woke up before the alarm, even did some laundry, and went on my way. I took a short cut through the bush and soon I heard a rustling noise. It sounded small and I knew I had the time for a chase. One step into the brush and I stopped, looked down and learned. They have stinging nettles here. I knew they had canola, birch trees, dandelions, and tons of other broadleaf weeds that haunted me in one of my past spheres of influence, but I surely didn't notice the stinging nettle. On a sidenote they have some other plants growing wild that I recognize from my family's (read: my mom's) garden of influence like mountain ash bushes and lily of the valley, which grows every where here and I really like.
Anyway, time for work.

With influence,
Cole

2003-06-09T05:01:00.000-07:00

Cole's Life in a Can - Now With Poisonous Snakes

Cole goes on a sailboat with crazy boyscouts. Pandemonium and fishing ensue.

Hyvä ystävät, (Dear friends - said huva ustavat)
Finland provided me a very good weekend. I, in order to create suspense, will point out the subject line is true and then leave you hanging until later. Anyway, I ended up on the boy scout's sailboat this weekend. That might not sound that great but the boy scouts that I went with were all early twenties, they own a 30 meter long sailboat, and a couple drank until it wasn't safe for them in the sauna anymore. We went pretty much to the northern end of Europe's fourth largest lake (as it turns out it I had received incorrect information when I said it was the 2nd largest). We sailed a bit, stayed at a couple of really nice coves, and I fished a bit.
About the nice coves, every island where a boat can suitably spend a night has a dock, some outhouses, and a sauna. Both nights we pulled in about eight o'clock, explored, had some beers and supper, and then went for a sauna.
The sauna in Finland was an adventure because everyone was sitting there being socialable and then whoever else from the island had the sauna was done and we all ran to the sauna. I grabbed my towel and noticed that all people were bringing were towels. Markku, my ever near pal, had forgotten to tell me that saunas in Finland were typically taken naked and coed. I was in no state to argue so I said something about him picking the right guy from Canada for this and we went in the sauna. The funny part is every fifteen minutes in a sauna you get a little too hot and go for a jump in the lake. Given that there were about ten boats at the island and everyone uses the sauna, all day and night naked people of both sexes and all ages might be socially jumping off the dock into the lake. Good times.
Then there was the fishing incident. I bought a cheap rod/reel setup and went about my merry way. After fishing for a while (with my two hooks) I would generally wander about because it was so nice on the islands and fishing would become very boring. Once I actually started to make rope from the 6 - 8 foot reeds that were growing on the shore. Another time I wandered across an exposed isthmus (the water is really low this year) and tried to fish a nearby island. In the end I fished hard about four hours all weekend and near the end of this time I caught a perch. Yeah for me since I did it on a jackfish hook and the perch was a good size. I was pretty excited since I had laid out a fair bit of foreign currency for this pleasure but I still didn't keep the fish. What I did do was place my fishing rod on top of a poisonous snake, proceed to take the hook out, release the fish, and then turn around surprised to hear a peculiar hissing noise. I picked up my rod because it looked like a Finnish garter snake to me and poked it a bit, took it's picture, and basically acted like a stupid tourist. It was only a foot and a half long, black with grey and white, diamond-shaped markings and very scared of me. Poor thing looked a little cold all curled up against the rocks that morning. When I tried to move the rocks for a picture I poked one on top of his head. Yes I, the fearless hunter/moron, completely and accidently subdued the only species of poisonous snake in Finland. He stopped hissing, I took the rock off his head, he decided this was a good time to leave without further hissing, I took another picture and then fished some more. I casted, the hook flew, the line stayed, I wondered why my line broke and decided a fish and snake story were all I needed to safely retire. After I related the story back at the boat, Markku asked me what kind of snake I had seen. I described the frail little thing and he said, "I've seen one viper in my life and I believe you have, too." I was pretty excited to hear it was poisonous. Unfortunately I looked up some stuff today and vipers haven't killed anybody in Finland since 1984 and they can only really take down small children. Thankfully, anyone who is bitten by one is supposed to see a doctor immediately so I still have something of a cool story.
After that, I really have little to say. I mean, how can I top that? "I'm well" doesn't sound like a good way and mentioning the British movie I watched last night (called 28 Days Later - about a plague that turns people into zombies), no, that won't work either. Both true, but it's like going to the Shrine Circus after Cirque de Soleil.

Näkamiin,
Cole

2003-06-06T00:49:00.000-07:00

The Epic Buying Stamps in Finland from the Series Tales of Nokialand

Hello,
Today I'm going to take some liberties and introduce to you a true-story inspired play entitled "Buying Stamps in Finland" which is from the Tales from Nokialand series (kind of sounds like Monty Python to me but it is nevertheless rather serious). You will have to determine what is an action and what is talking because of the lack of italics.

Characters:
Narrator – performed by Cole Nychka
Cole, Brilliant Genius – never appears in play, performed by Cole Nychka
Cole, the Ass - the main character, performed by Cole Nychka
Markku, the person in charge of showing Cole around – not in play, but importantly played by Markku
Girl, a teenage Finnish postal worker - performed by Finnish girl, probably teenaged, working in a post office
Other Postal Workers - played by old Finnish ladies or Jason and Mark wearing wigs

Act I, Scene I

Setting: The main postal office in Finland, two main employees but at a counter to the side is a girl, completely befuddled looking despite the fact she's not doing anything.

Cole walks in asks first 1st postal worker for help. He hands the lady a form listing his change of address because Markku had previously told him he needed to do this.
Cole: Excuse me, I was told to drop this off here.
1st Postal Worker: Is it filled out?
Phone rings, 1st postal worker picks it up and points Cole in direction of 2nd postal worker who is obviously busy sorting stamps. Cole knows that sorting stamps is not something to do while a customer is waiting so he walks up to Jason. Jason looks back at Mark who is still on the phone, shakes his head, proceeds with the stamp sorting. Cole looks around thinking Finnish postal workers are great folks indeed, sees girl not doing anything at side counter and walks up.
Cole: Hei (pronounced hey and is Finnish for hello, what a stretch for Cole)
Girl: Hei
Cole: I’d like to buys some stamps to send things to Canada.
Girl says meekly: How many?
Cole, since he knows they sell books of six: Twelve.
Girl moves books of stamps out of the way to get to folder (Cole wonders why since he recognizes them as stamps that would allow him to send things to Canada), gets stamps from folder, carefully tears out twelve stamps from a page and, in a manner that shows she’s proud of this accomplishment, hands them to Cole. Cole hands over credit card in exchange for stamps. Girl swipes card. Girl swipes card again. Girl furiously and repeatedly swipes card. Girl phones Visa. Commotion. Cole waits patiently. Girl puts down phone. Tries card again this time punching in some numbers. This happens three times. Another phone call to Visa. Cole takes interest in what is going on. Notices this girl can’t do anything and is young. They wait. Girl turns less than albino white, probably trying to blush in a Finnish way, and card continues causing problems. Talks to supervisor in foreign language that is beyond Cole. Supervisor voids everything previous, swipes card, machine prints. Girl is relieved but mildly frustrated. Cole signs slip and receives credit card. Cole catches on that high school finished last week.
Cole: Are you new here?
Girl, oblivious to the previous comment: Sorry, I’m trainee.
Cole: Right. Actually, that’s why I’m in Finland. I’m working at the university for the summer.
Girl, thinking I’m in Finland because she’s a trainee, screws up face.
Cole: I mean,… I’m a trainee at the university.
Girl, looking relieved, continues to stare.
Cole, back to business: Oh yeah, I’d like to drop off this change of address form.
Girl, breaking out of the meekness: That will be eleven euro.
Cole: I thought it was free.
Girl: No.
Cole: But that lady over there (motioning toward 1st postal worker) was going to take it without any eleven euros.
This causes Girl to disrupt Mark in a foreign language. Much nodding between the two, some more language, Girl returns to tell Cole something.
Girl: Mark knows a foreign language.
Cole: What?
Girl: And that will be eleven euro.
Cole: Mark what? (then recovering but wondering since Markku, specifically said this service would be free) Do I need to pay?
Girl: If you want to receive mail.
Cole: But don’t people pay when they send me mail? Didn’t you just start working here?
Girl, showing confidence: This I’m sure of, I’ve already had to do it.
Cole: I was just at the library and they gave me a free card.
Girl not impressed.
Cole: So much for Finland being a socialist country.
Girl really not impressed. Cole hands over credit card, transaction is made after only a few dozen swipes and without phoning Visa. Girl is on top of world. Cole leaves without a word because he keeps forgetting how to say goodbye in Finnish. Cole stops by door, looks back, he has remembered one word.
Cole: Kiitos (thank you)

Act I, Scene II

Setting: Cole’s apartment where suite A 14 refers to building A, floor number three, second door from the right since they don’t have effective numbering systems in Finland.

Narrator: The next day.

Cole: after narrating, comes home from work to find a parcel card has been shoved through the door. He studies it and leaves apartment to get mail, thinking…(actions just stopped and I'll speak out loud now for the benefit of a real audience) Well that was fast, maybe it was worth eleven euros after all.

Act I, Scene III

Setting: A smaller, local post office around the corner from Cole’s apartment.

Cole walks in to post office, hands over parcel card, signs something, receives a letter whose return address is Postia Finland. He opens letter. It contains eleven euros and an apologetic note from a teenage Finnish postal employee.

The end.

I love happy endings,
Cole

2003-06-06T00:09:00.000-07:00

No Really, This One is From Today June 5, 2003

Guess what?
Two nights ago I saw my Russian roommate for the second time. Well in theory, because he came home at two in morning and I was so groggy and couldn't distinguish who shut my bedroom door for me. This is the good part, though, when I went to work there were two pairs of shoes that weren't there before and one pair was definitely a female's. So the only night I haven't been alone in the apartment I really wasn't alone in the apartment. I guess that's what Russians do when they are done their research.

Cole

2003-06-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

Finally in Finland June 2, 2003

Hei (Really that's informal Finnish for Hello),

All is well. I finally arrived in Finnish and today was my first day of work. I was picked up at my apartment at noon, shown around, and then read a manual on wood processing which actually had some interesting parts. Interestingly enough, my work will probably entail going to a couple of different laboratories, one of which is even in western Finland so can you say free travel? It sounds like I'll be in the one town for three weeks, which is a third of how long I'll be working here. The drawback is that I am meeting people here and then I will live somewhere else. I am the first international trainee here so the only person I've met is the person that picked me up at the train. He, Markku, is really nice and I watched a movie at his place last night with his friend Anna. Honestly, he may be paid to show me around the town but we're really well suited to getting along. The other funny thing is that I was given a list of international trainees so I can visit them on their arrival and the list included a couple of local Finnish girls. One of the Finnish girls was apparently a tour guide around here and was really excited about meeting foreign students. I'll have to confirm this with Markku, but my impression is that the foreign students have gained a reputation as people who know how to have a good time and this girl seems to have been there in the past. Either way, if she can show me the sights I should give her a call. I also have another list of 4 girls that were exchange students to Beaverlodge and area. So I'll probably be getting a mobile phone because my apartment doesn't have a phone jack. Apparently getting a mobile phone a social life for two months shouldn't be a problem and is affordable.

Right, and the climate. Basically the same as back home. They are much further north, about 10 degrees of latitude, but the Gulf Stream takes care of moderating the climate. It has rained quite a bit and it has been cold (about 8 degrees) so shorts have been a no go. Riding my bike is especially cold. Oh and I bought a second hand bike with no gears for €15.

As for the city, Lappeenranta was established in 1649 on the site of an ancient market place. The Swedes started building fortifications here but they were defeated by Peter the Great in the Great Northern War and the Russians finished off the fortification. All that remains are ruins and a few newer, but still very old, buildings. Lappeenranta is also the largest inland port in Finland because a canal links it to the Gulf of Finland and it sits on the southern end of Europe's 4th largest lake, Lake Saimaa. St. Petersburg is 221 kmaway and Lappeenranta (the district I think) officially ends at the Russian border. The University is a specialist in East-West trade since Finland is part of the European Union and Russia's border is something like 40km away.
The good news of the day is a credited Finnish for beginners course is starting Wednesday and even though it is during work (four hours per day) my boss thought it was a good idea. The bad news is I found out after handing in the application form that it has been postphoned until August. That really chaps me because I probably won't learn Finnish now that it is left up to my own perogative and Markku's patience. He's really helpful and I have almost gained use of the alphabet, but his job is not to teach me grammar in his spare time so I can't expect him to.

Anyway, it's supper time so I'm going to go back to the filthy place I've inherited from my Russian roommate Denis and have some supper. The place being poorly kept did have one small benefit; I had little to do this weekend except scrub layers of grease off the walls and defrost the fridge. Plus there's still work to do so I never feel bored.

All the best,
Cole

2003-06-05T23:56:00.000-07:00

Stockholm, Sweden May 28, 2003

Hey,
This will be my last mass email as I don't have any money and they require cash to use email here. You see, I lost my bankcard so I'm a strictly visa man now.
Anyway, I'm in Stockholm now and it is the nicest city I have been in so far. Well, the others had there charms but there are a lot more things to do here whereas I felt like I had seen most of what was in the Baltic cities quite quickly. Stockholm could use a couple more days although I only have one more night.
Yesterday I went to the Vasa Museum where they have a 17th century Swedish warship that was recovered from the harbour in the 1960s. It was very large and basically they had never built a ship with two floors of canons and the first one never worked out. Then I went to Skansen, the world's first outdoor museum. It is basically a pioneer museum except in Sweden they don't call them pioneers, they call them people who lived here long ago. Anyway, they also have an aquarium there and pygmy monkies. Interesting mix I know but I do like zoos and it was great to see something about the country I'm in.
So thatäs the big story and I hope to see you soon. As for keyboards this one has a lot of äö and å so typing has become more difficult now I'm in Scandanavia.

All the best,
Cole

2003-06-05T23:55:00.000-07:00

Riga, Latvia May 25, 2003

Hey,
First and foremost I'm tired. I have been trying to fly through the Baltics and it certainly hasn't been as relaxing as Poland although I've had a good time.
Yesterday I was supposed to meet my Latvian friend, Jeugenij (Eugene), in his home town of Daugavpils which I kept pronouncing Dogopolis like it was a Greek island for Doberman Pinchers. Anyway, when I arrived I called him and he said, "Okay I will come. Goodbye." So I waited an hour and then phoned again - no answer. I tried a few more times and after two and a half hours total he picked up and said he had troubles and was sorry. I was very happy to a least find out I could leave the train station. So I walked around the second largest city in Latvia (150 000), which had a very pretty central street, and a lot going on. There was a 3 on 3 basketball tournament, lots of cafes (I had time for two lunches), and there was a band performing. Of course they were performing waltzes and women were dancing with each other. I had to put an end to that but I have only classic waltzed and they were Viennese waltzing so I was a little off. Like when we started immediately began with the wrong foot. It was a fun five minutes though and the lady gave me a sticker from their dance festival that they are having. Then I left because, although the town was a lovely change of pace... for four hours, I was soon bored when the fifth one came along.
Today I'm in Riga, the capital. It is very nice, has the most art-nouveau buildings of any city in Europe and a good history museum that revolves around Latvian being repressed by Russia, then Germany, then Russia. It was quite good and the people doing their maiden dance outside the museum were interesting too. So I walked around the city all day until it was lunch when I decided to buy a smoked fish and eat it. Of course I picked the weirdest and cheapest, the flounder. Never pick a very flat fish to eat with your hands with nothing to wipe them with except your towel which you have just washed and will need to clean yourself with for the next five days. The fish was a struggle, kind of slimy but tasty, and my towel is now nasty after the mess was cleaned off me. After I was done walking and eating, I did have an interesting evening. I hopped on a train for an hour and went to Jurmala. Jurmala is the Latvian work for 'seashore' and is really a string of beach towns. So yeah, I just spent three hours baking on a beach, drinking some cider which is quite good, and eating Selga biscuits which I absolutely love but will probably never have again. I built a small sand something; it was supposed to look like the Tower of Samarra, which is a big tower with a spiralling staircase around the outside meaning it decreases in size as you go up the tower. Instead it was kind of squashed and resembled the droppings of a cow. But it was the perfectly smooth droppings of a cow so at least I have my pride. There were no pictures though. Then I went to wash the sand off me but I didn't and I realized why no one was going in - this section of the Baltic is a little nasty as far as green scum goes. And I don't understand it but there weren't any waves. I guess it's a protected beach. The strange thing was that it was like I was in northern Alberta as far as vegetation was concerned, but you stepped out of the pine trees and poof, there were tons of people in speedos on a beach by the ocean... aka not Alberta.
So tomorrow I hope to go to Sigulda, a town half an hour east of here where there is a castle and a river in which I have read I can rent a canoe and paddle around for a bit. If not paddling, the castle is one of a few and the others you need to hike to so that should fill my day. Then I will take the ferry overnight to Stockholm and spend two nights there. I'm really looking forward to going there because although I have been trying out local BEvERages, I haven't gone to a club or something and I know two people in Stockholm. Hopefully I'll see at least one and then you never what will happen. Especially if I catch my bud Matthias since his school is done and he has no summer job. He should be a good candidate for a night out.
Anyway, I should be going. I'm a little tired and I want to get to Sigulda early since I think there should be lots I want to do there and I want to buy my ferry ticket as soon as the travel agents open.

Goodbye for now,
Cole

2003-06-05T23:53:00.000-07:00

Vilnius, Lithuania May 22, 2003

Hey All,

Vilnius is pretty neat. The old town goes on forever (it's the largest one in the world) and I talked with a lady who spoke only Russian. She was a true babushka, about 60, and thanks to my guidebook I said hello, my name is Cole, what's your name, and then goodbye. She was drinking and found me quite entertaining although I do not know a single thing she said.

Well that's life,
Cole

P.S. Her name was Nina and I immediately had Nina, Pretty Ballerina by ABBA in my head. She was more like a linebacker, though.