Big changes, vol. 251

New post, new city, new job. Changes, people, kitchen ware, gym, a general sensation of being lost. This is a good time to do a re-introduction.

Hello, my name is Hanna. I am 25 years and 363 days old. I live in Helsinki, Finland. Currently I am working at the Office of the Ombudsman for Minorities that tackles issues of ethnic discrimination. My hobbies are dancing, travelling, learning and participation in virtually anything I have time for. It wasn't always like this. This fall has been a time of changes.

Big change #1 - I'm back in Finland, temporarily permanently. A necessity, no bigger ideology behind it. I've experienced great and unforgettable things but it's also necessary to live a normal life for a while. Since last fall basically I've been getting tired. Not physically, my endurance is still high there. It's rather the psychological part. A constant flood of incredible places, fun people and exciting opportunities becomes more neutral with time. I trekked to a waterfall but wasn't really amazed by it because I've seen the Iguassu falls. A juggler or a singer is usually very mediocre because I have seen approx.. 500 of each performing. When there is very much of everything, making something special becomes trickier. That's where I am, that is my challenge.

Big change #2 - I live in Helsinki. I'm against urbanization. Wait? "Practice what you preach"? *zip* For about as long as I didn't have a job in Helsinki, I didn't want to move here. It's so predictable. Everybody's here. It's the easy solution because the jobs, the ambitious youth and the excitement is here. Of course it's fun to live here because I do feel my opportunities sky rocket when I open my eyes to the job market in Helsinki. Nevertheless, the trend of people abandoning the countryside to live in the cities is simply not the way that this country thrives, which is why I feel I should set an example. On the other hand, my experience and education will serve me best here. Oh what a dilemma.

Big change #3 - I have a job. A good job with soft values. Sometimes I feel like I'm portrayed as the "save the world" person that I'm not.  I'm no corporate lawyer either. The goal is to have a job that satisfies my ambition, pays my living and reflects my values. With dirty politics, networking and money involved in almost (some would say absolutely) everything, it seems my values are the first ones under the microscope. Anyway. I sometimes explain to people that in this office we are a bunch of lawyers that only deal with ethnic discrimination cases. Our clients are immigrants and ethnic Finnish minorities. Our aim is to improve their situation in Finland.

Big change #4  - I have a somewhat steady future. For the first time since 2008, I am actually able (at least in theory) to agree on something for next year. I will be here. Before everything has been temporary so there has been no need to analyze things any deeper. People, places, situations -  they're all manageable for a while. Usually I've been gone before that while has been over. Now I'll stay here. I can create more long-lasting relationships with people again. Maybe the salesperson at the corner shop gets to know me. I will know where I can buy bikes inner tyres. Things can become easy. I can start putting my energy on something else than moving around or creating a new life from scratch.

The conclusion might be that I will change as a person. That remains to be seen.

Hi folks!

Like Bugs Bunny, I salute you. I'm in Finland, on holiday, enjoying the rainy, cold and oh so wonderful summer. My Latin American adventure is behind me. Beautiful memories fill my head and thousands of photos my computer. A little distance from the blog, Facebook and computers in general has been good and it will still hold for a while, just letting you know that the blog is and will be alive and updated as before. This is no "That's all, folk!" in Warner Brothers' style, this is a new episode. There will be more about my past and coming adventures, although most likely my pondering side will get a hold of my writing. For some it's a sign that I'm alive, for some an inspiration for self study. Whatever the reason you're reading this, I'm happy you do - and probably you also have a special place in my world.

Let's see what the future holds in store.

Bolivia growing on me

For several years, Bolivia has been a country I have longed to visit. The other place was Amsterdam but when I finally got there in December last year it was wet and cold and I got very sick. I guess I have to give the city another chance. Anyway. I made it. Greetings from Bolivia.

Bolivia is a country of many extremes. It’s the highest, the poorest and the most indigenous country of the America’s. There are a few big cities with modern amenities but the majority of the people live in very rustic and simple conditions, herding llamas and cultivating potatoes and quinoa. Most roads are unpaved and without signalization; venturing out to the countryside can lead to getting lost for several days.

Quechua and Aymara are the majority's ethnicity and first language. Spanish is learned in school. Most people here have very bad Spanish but also in general the Bolivian Spanish is weird, resembling Master Yoda’s speaking by putting the verb last.

The people give very much importance to their roots. Traditional hats, fabrics and skirts are widely used to identify the origins of people. Having a full set of teeth is a luxury, wearing proper shoes instead of sandals in this freezing climate isn’t really a necessity. A photographers dream this place is.

I have a few more weeks left here. Bolivia is a bizarre country, very different from all other Latin countries. There are several very touristy places but once you ditch the Lonely Planet, there are secrets to be discovered. An amazing country it is.

Goodbye Ribera

Hanna has left Cordoba. My 3-month internship ended this Thursday. It was a very nice day, a bit emotional but it just added to the flavor. I made a Finnish breakfast (porridge, of course) and we had a session where I told them about Finland, the culture, the people, beliefs and habits. They were very enthusiastic in learning about how we (I) saw things and make a lot of question.

In the end came the best part. When thanking me for the time spent at La Ribera, my colleagues said that I had integrated very well into the group. The group my colleagues formed was neither homogenous nor united but I got connected with them. I was one of them. That was the greatest compliment they gave me.

Why was it so wonderful? Because most of my colleagues hadn’t spent time with a foreigner before. When they had heard that a Finnish girl would come to work with them, they had been a bit preoccupied. “Will she be cold and distant? Will we find anything to talk about? Will she be able to do anything here?”. It resulted that all these worries were unnecessary and that we really got along great.

Beside the personal satisfaction, I know that these people will see the world a bit differently now. When they hear somebody talking about Europe, culture shocks, different languages or even sausages, a tiny unconscious part of them will remember me. What an exciting thought that is. My simple existence has permanently changed a fraction of a person’s mindset.

This sounds very grandiose but think about it for a while. You do it every day too. By a simple thing you do or say you influence the other person’s thoughts and create memories that will guide that person’s actions in the future. As people we are fairly insignificant but as individuals we can change the world surrounding us.

TV - the changing face of culture

TV tells a lot about the culture of a country. Especially the advertisements are very entertaining at best, promoting something in a way unthinkable to what we are used to. Today I watched a cooking program. Fairly interesting it was. The people were cooking a type of pastry cream but they had 3 different versions of the cream, “do this”, “this is okay” and “don’t do this”. So now I know that when making crema pastelera the mixture should stay moist at all time.

Comedy here resembles very much the Mexican one. It’s a bit unfair to say but I think comedy here is fairly simple. Big gestures, dramatic reactions, people falling over or bumping into a tree. When you mix that with the fake breasts, bare skin, old men and young women, anything can come out. Oh I do laugh and get amused too but for other reasons than the majority.

News have a yellowish stamp on them. A car crash attracts loads of people watching but also press, taking photos of torn body parts and crying family members, and interviewing eye-witnesses who explain everything to the smallest detail. News are designed to attract attention, be it with blood, drama or young sexy girls (this is the perfect example when it comes to weather forecasts: http://imgur.com/gallery/1JbOn ).

In general there is more passion, more drama and more excitement here. It is possible to feel strongly about anything on TV or in the newspapers, whether it’s about politics or an art exhibition. Living is passionate here and there isn’t a dull day in sight.

Solidarity

One of the biggest differences between the Northern European and Latin cultures is the social aspect of life.  Here people kiss, hug, touch, share things and comfort one another. The affection is noticeable. Even between two people who don’t know each other, a certain level of caring is shown.

Meeting a person a simple question  “How are you?” is asked without a necessity to have a truthful answer. Not in Finland. If you ask someone there how he is doing, you will hear the entire story of the latest visit to the doctor or the problems finding a good sofa for the living room. If you ask something, you really want to get the truthful answer too. For me the casual “How are you?” abroad at first was almost offensive. The thoughts that passed my mind were “You don’t really care, do you?  Hypocrite…”. Haha I’m more relaxed these days.

At work solidarity is very present. The one’s who have cars take the others to and back from work every day. Everybody leaves at the same time, nobody goes early or is left behind. I’ve taken the bus only a handful of times. When it comes to eating I belong to a group of 7 people. Every 7 days it’s my turn to cook for 7 people. The other days I eat the food of others. I simply love that system, it should definitely be incorporated into the international working culture. Also, I've gotten to introduce them some Finnish evryday dishes and I've eaten a variety of feasible main courses.

People share dinners and the mate-drink. They get together for the fun of it.  People invite half strangers into their homes or to spend the weekend in the countryside. If someone has problems, that person will not be left alone. Maybe the government doesn’t provide them with everything, maybe care and guidance isn’t given free of charge. Nevertheless, a person in need has the support, the company, the aid and the affection of other people, be it family, friends, neighbors or colleagues. That is simply priceless.  

Something to lose, something to gain

I'll leave Cordoba this Friday. The four days of next week I can take off so I'm heading to northern Argentina very soon. I'll be there for maybe a week. Then I'll cross the border to Bolivia, do a tour on the Uyuni salt flat (where I'll most likely freeze to death) and slowly head north towards La Paz. After that I'll somehow try to get to eastern Bolivia (where it's supposedly warm and I'm happy). There's a train from Santa Cruz to the Brazilian border and in that area is Pantanal, a huge natural reserve with abundant wildlife. The 27th of June my flight leaves from São Paulo via London to Helsinki.

This is the plan.

The last few days have, as expected, been very active. We've danced a lot. I went to an advanced tango class with a friend, ready to be eaten alive, but noticed that with good dancers I'm good too. In the milonga (the place to dance tango freely) people actually asked me to dance and I started liking Argentinian tango. Now there are a few more things to do and a few more people to meet and then the time is up. Hope this will be a fun week!

Gotta love the modern world

There are people on five continents who read this blog.

Sometimes this is almost incomprehensible. Modern technology enables so much. Sometimes I wonder why I don't put more effort into writing articles in stead of writing this blog, my diary or random thoughts and aforisms on Facebook. It would be nice to write more although it does get its downsides once it becomes a job.

It's great to know that I have a wide audience and that what I write sometimes really has an impact on people. Thank you for being there!

Spanish a.k.a. castellano

Spanish is the main language here in Argentina. Here it's called castellano instead of español after the Spanish region of Castile where it originated. The language is the same in Spain, Mexico etc - except that it's not. The Argentinian and the Uruguayan accent are famous for the "ssh" sound for ll and y. So my name is - yo me llamo is pronounced in Mexico jo me jamo but in Argentina ssho me sshamo. It's charasteristic especially for the Buenos Aires accent. Here in Cordoba the tone is more singing and the "ssh" isn't as common.

Apart from general oddities in verb conjugation, one speciality is the second person singular pronoun (you) that is vos in stead of tú, so you say - tú dices - vos decís. Like in most Latin American countries, the second person plural pronoun (you, pl.) is not vosotros like in Spain. Instead it's the third person plural pronoun (they) that is ustedes, so you speak - vosotros habláis - ustedes hablan. The conjugation of verbs follows this rule as well and I love it!

There's an excellent song on Youtube about the differences of Spanish in different countries called Qué difícil es hablar el español (How difficult it is to speak Spanish). It makes fun of the different meanings of words in Spain and different parts of Latin America. After two weeks in Argentina, I was completely ready to sign that statement. I've had to change my vocabulary a great great deal here because the people simply didn't understand me when I was talking about shoes, fruits, clothes, kitchen items etc etc etc. So speaking Spanish in one country doesn't mean you are understood everywhere. It's like the Swedish in Finland or the French in Canada sometimes. The language needs to be adapted.

My accent has been doing cartwheels here. The language I speak has been developed through studies in Finland, living in Mexico, speaking with Spanish people in Finland and now living here. When I arrived, I was told I have a Mexican accent. One month later my accent was supposedly Spanish. Now quite a few people unknowing of eachother have said a have a Guatemalan accent. Say what?!?! Well that was unexpected. I knew my accent would change and become a weird mixture of Mexican and Argentinian but this?

Spanish is easy to get started with but difficult to master completely. My Spanish is quite good already, I don't have to make an effort to understand or to speak but I do still fail a great deal on articles, choises of words and in general ways of saying things. Improving by the day. So even if you only know how to say Una cerveza, por favor you're doing good. Speaking Spanish is fun! You should try it!

This is my home

I live in Córdoba about 10 blocks from the main square. I live in a house that is in the middle of the block with a small garden and a barbecue, so it is very peaceful and quiet here, which is very rare in a big city like Cordoba. That's why people usually comment that the house is simply wonderful.

We are four people in the house. Silvia is a Spanish girl. She was here last year working as a volunteer. She found a boyfriend, went home in December as planned but then returned in March to Córdoba. After one month of intense job search, she found a good place that matched her curriculum. Now the major employment problems of Spain don't affect her and she can basically stay here as long as she pleases.

Nawal is from France. She's doing a 6-month internship at a company working with intercultural exchange (internships, volunteering, language courses...). Her Spanish has gotten a lot better during these two months. It was with her that we went hiking in the Alpes. She has a really good camera and an infinite reserve of cookies.

Matt is the newest member of the household. He's an Australian who initially found an Argentinian girlfriend that he followed to Buenos Aires. That relationship didn't work out but the love affair with Argentina continued. Now Matt has been living in Argentina on/off for almost 2 years and he's planning to stay for as long as it's nice. He teaches English in different companies like in the Fiat factory.

The house is rented by a foundation called Plurales. Apparently it is active in rural areas in northern Argentina but that's about everything I know. They have meetings here during the weekdays so there's usually people here. It's fine though, I can escape to my big room with a heater that works well although the gas leak forces me to keep the window open even if it's cold. The problem with local gas heaters is that the toilet and the kitchen get very cold. Good thing we have very hot water (also heated with gas).

The rent for my room (in a house shared with three other people) is a bit over 200 euros per month. Considering the low salaries, the general price level and the high inflation, living here is very expensive

This is a good house, excellent location and very nice flatmates. Very happy here :)

No fear

Happy to be back. Last couple of weeks.. Wonderful, busy, lifechanging, exciting. Old and new people, new sides of them, new places, old things with new people, new sides of myself.

I have exactly one months left. Kind of I'm excited to stabilize my life and to be able to enjoy of these things I'm living now with more stability and for longer periods of time. Then again I am not looking at all forward to returning to Finland because I fear my opportunities will partly seize existing, that I wont find this thrill or passion in people over there. I fear things will be more bland. I know it's mainly up to myself but here it is easy to jump on the stream of neverending adventures and enjoy the ride. In Finland I am the wagon, I am the motor that brings me forward.

Probably the Finns understand me when I say that despite the cold, the darkness, the drunks etc what I most fear returning is the grayness. Day in and day out we work, fill our duties as taxpayers, follow the rules, comply with our duties, do what we are supposed to do on our free time and complain about how life is boring. How easy it is to fall in that trap. How will I notice if I do fall in that trap? Is it actually a trap? Am I maybe better off there, secure, controlled, with little surprises but little drama as well. Or do I want more?

Well, thoughts. This does cross my mind every now and then though. Am I living the most exciting years of my life and the ones that follow will be completely horrible? I surely hope it's not like that. At least for now home is wherever I lay my head. Lets just hope it brings happiness too.

Flashback

Last night I was watching the new episodes of Game of Thrones. A flashback hit me when I heard the opening song. You see, I watched the entire season one of Game of Thrones during my second week in Brussels last september. That was my first week with Mhamed (for my new readers who don't know about the adventures I had with my flatmate Mhamed, check out the posts in September - November 2011).

I don't think too often about Mhamed these days. I got out safe, no harm done except for the money lost but in the end that's just money. So all good. Nevertheless, every now and then I get reminded and I get the chills, even though I consciously never thought that it had a negative impact on me. Some people have similar ways of talking, similar eyes, same pitch of the voice, similar body structure.. Especially similar gestures make me slightly uneasy. Not much but just enough that I get reminded.

How do I feel about it now? It was a very funny time. The one month I spent in Mhamed's home taught me a lot about the human mind and about the conflicts of the modern world and Islam. The fact that I didn't have a key to my home made my settling down in Brussels much slower. Mhamed despite being nice to me was a ticking bomb. Two more months and I would have seen another, an even darker side of him. Then it would probably have been dangerous to stay there.

All in all, it was an interesting experience. I got to live with a homosexual drunk middle-age muslim who had severe psychological problems added to the problems with law and the regular prostitution he was practising. It's not every day that one gets to live in a soap opera.

Photos!

It's photo time! No, I'm not uploading photos here, the ones I want to share reach the random public better on Facebook. If you're not registered, click this LINK so you get access to the photos. Sofar I've uploaded photos from a trek and the photos from my recent trip to central Chile and Mendoza in eastern Argentina.

Overall it was a wonderful trip. I spent 18 hours in bus getting to Valparaiso in Chile, stayed there 3 nights, then back to Mendoza in Argentina. Chile was notably different to Argentina (that's what also the Argentinians say). It's more organized, people respect the rules more. It's "colder" litterally but also in the sense that there isn't as much of the warm lifestyle that is almost adorable in latinos. The man I sat next to in the bus said that Chileans want to work whereas Argentinians try every trick to avoid working. Well, Chile is going strong and together with Brazil it's said to be the leading star of South American economy. Maybe it's culture, maybe it's politics.

I did also traditional couchsurfing for the first time in a long time. Usually I just meet people through CS but in Valparaiso I stayed with a guy named Francisco. He had a huge house all to himself so we were 3 surfers staying at his place. The great thing was that we all hit it off really well and I was reminded of the grandeur of peoples hospitality. Couchsurfing really represents a great ideology and brings together likeminded people. If you don't know it yet, check out this link.

Now I'm off to dance a little, tomorrow it's my turn to cook at work. Also our workshops will finally start so he have people representing the press and the cultural scene visiting La Ribera. Plus my flatmate will get a tattoo :P

We see the same moon

A couple of nights ago the moon was full and bright. I was trekking with my flatmate and our guide in the Andes. The days had been warm so the night wasn't too cold up in the mountain. There is very little vegetation so the light reflected from the moon was bright. In the middle of the night it would have been possible to read a book outside. I had a visible shadow behind me and a fascinating view in front of me.

Standing there, outside and alone, I thought about an album by Mr. Presidents called "We see the same sun". We see the same moon, too. You saw that same moon even though you were probably several thousand kilometers away. The moon, the mountains, the sky, everything exists and keeps on existing with or without us. We are ants. We work, fill our purpose in life and then die. All our joys and sorrows, albeit significant for us, are only drops in the ocean, insignificant parts of the big picture.

When did we stop being humble and instead started acting as lords of the universe?

Action pack

Very busy days at work. March 24th was the anniversary of the latest coup d'etat in 1976. The dictatorship that was established is the reason why today hidden detention centers are open as museums and why hundreds of thousands of people live in poverty with friends and family disappeared. The dictatorship made the blooming industry of Argentina hit rock bottom. The dictatorship of the 70's is actually partly the reason why my life is the way it is here in Argentina. What a curious thought...

On Saturday the 24th the memory centers in Cordoba (meaning former detention centers, Campo de La Ribera being one of three) organized a concert of Leon Gieco, a long time superstar in Argentina. We had 15 000 people present that day. Later in the evening a peaceful march was organized in the center. Without any official number to present, the people participating in the march filled the lenght of 8 blocks of the avenue. Thousands.

On Monday in the tribunal of Cordoba 3 ex police officers got condemned for crimes committed during the dictatorship. More specifically what happened was that 3 politically active students were kidnapped in 1976. They were forced into a car (one was shot in the back already then). They were driven to a remote location where the police killed these people with 172 bullets in total. The defence alleged that these students had driven to a check post where they had started shooting at the police, which means that the 172 bullets were shot in self defence. The court sentenced these police officers for life in prison, in Argentina equaling apparently around 20 years. It was beautiful. People were hugging eachother, laghing, crying, jumping together. It was a day of justice.

For the ones interested, what they're doing here with accusing people over 30 years later is actually quite clever, look it up. Plus there's no international tribunal, it's all Argentinian work.

On Thursday a group of students came to Campo de La Ribera for a volunteer day. Wall painting, cleaning, planting flowers, stamping books... We had choripanes for lunch and in the afternoon a discussion and a tour. In the evening I was given a very appreciated class on how to barbecue the Argentinian way. Five kinds of meat, salads, potatoes, bread, eggplants, drinks and later on coctails with condensed milk, fruits... All this for 7 euros per person! And now I have some tricks up my sleeve.

So this was my week. The next days I'll be in Chile and Mendoza in western Argentina. I have to renew my visa which makes a perfect excuse. Hectic but fun days.

Fall is here

Now it is officially fall. How do I know? Because this is the first night I keep my windows closed? Because there is rainfall? Because it's chillier? Nope. I know we're experiencing fall because we passed March 21st.

Apparently in several countries seasons of the year are defined by exact dates, dictated by the equinox. So, fall starts on March 21st, winter on June 21st, spring on September 21st and winter on December 21st. The 21st of this month Facebook-updates were mainly about the fall. On the radio the hosts talked about how warm the climate will be during the first weeks of the fall. It was a given fact. Summer was gone.

In Finland they're experiencing now a wonderful weather. +5 - +7'C, sunshine, melting snow... How do we know that it's spring? Because the sun is shining. The climate is getting warmer. It's unlikely that it will snow anymore. Spring comes when it chooses to, usually in February, March or April. (As a sidenote here - Usually temperature in most places in the world stays above zero. Therefore there is no need to stress the fact that the temperature is above freezing point. On the contrary we Finns do stress that difference. Usually we say that it's "plus 10 degrees", "plus 3 degrees" and so on.)

So now the upper and the lower hemisphere have stepped into the next season. A wonderful and beautiful season with soft sunlight, colors and more agreeable weather, whichever season it may be.

Oh no..

... I'm trying to fight it but sometimes it escapes me. I'm involuntarily starting to do the countdown. "Only XX days left in Córdoba", "only XX weekends left to spend with nice people and explore beautiful places", "only XX tango classes left"... For god's sake, I'm staying here for 3 months, not 3 days. Let go, relax, enjoy the ride.

There's one thing that is making this worse. I'm starting to like it here.

Alive and much more

This weekend I went to San Marcos Sierras, a hippie village in nothern Cordoba (the province). Supposedly it's located on one of the spiritual epicenters of South America. The others are Macchu Picchu in Peru and a farm called Aurorita in Uruguay.

Although I made a very slight effort to get company for this trip, in the end I sat in the bus alone. On my way back I understood that it was for the best. San Marcos is my little secret and the place where many interesting things happened. One especially noteworthy event was the following.

I wanted to take advantage of my last day in San Marcos so I woke up at sunrise and started walking to a river some 5 km away. I thought about hitchhiking. It's something that I've never done, although I've given rides to complete strangers and also stepped into a car where I was the only white/female person. Potentially dangerous but sofar so good. So, when walking on that dirt road a car stopped offering a ride, I went for it.

Matias and Juan were returning from a party. Juan was faily drunk but Matias had wanted to go to "his" place by the river, to be with nature for a while. A bit foolishly (I trust people way more than I should) I didn't get off at the main entrance to the river but continued a few kilometers further. With the car and the sleeping Juan left behind, Matias led me to the river, to some exquisite land and rock formations, through the forest and to higher grounds.

Many times I wondered if this was a good idea. There were no people anywhere nearby, so my cries for help would have been useless. My main reassurance was that if Matias was unarmed, I could probably beat him in a struggle. But none of that was necessary. We talked about his family, nature, drugs and Mother Earth. We challenged eachother and climbed higher to places making our own path through the vegetation (the current status of my shoes and my legs is evidence of that). We sat in silence and had geckoes and hummingbirds approach us. Mother Nature was present indeed.

I thought about Leakhena, a girl I met in Cambodia (there's an entire text about her in May 2010). There are people out there who make everything worth while. All our doubts, our questions, our hesitations are washed away when that right person crosses our path. I will probably never see Matias or Leakhena again, but I will remember them as people who showed me why I chose to live this way.

Cool

Today we got a refrigerator at work. A brand new one. Some funds had finally been given to us and improvement of the kitchen was a priority. Seriously, you should have heard the applause, laughter and happy shouts that the arrival of the refrigerator caused. Because there is no shop anywhere nearby the Campo de La Ribera, all food we have eaten sofar has been anything that doesn't get bad easily. Modern technology came to the rescue.

The refrigerator not only caused happiness but also yet another reason to admire the locals. The refrigerator cost 2800 Argentinian pesos, equivalent to around 500 euros. For many people, that is one months salary. In Finland a machine like that costs about 350-400 euros and it would take on an average about one week to earn that money.

For us a refrigerator is a necessity, something everybody is entitled to. Like a freezer, a wash machine, a television, the Internet... In different countries the different "qualities of life" dictate what is expected. Yet I wonder, if it is so much easier to buy these machines in Finland, would an Argentinian voluntarily move to that cold country given the possibility?

The ways of getting attention

Scandinavian attention addicts should come to Latin America. Although the attention is attracted by mere femininity and fair skin and expressed with shouts like "gringa", "güera" or "rubia", it's sometimes nice to be noticed.

The men here in Argentina are much more subtle than in other Latin countries I've been to so walking around here is calmer. Yet people tend to know that I'm a foreigner and occasionally shout "hello" or "Alemania". It's a bit of a mystery how they know that but sofar I'm guessing it's my haircut that reveals me. [Edit. note: Sarcasm. I do look very typically Scandinavian.]

Here I have two objects that seem to attract attention for sure. One is a necklace that a good friend gave to me once. It has a green Lego building block. People here tend to notice it very quickly and comment it in various ways. "Is that really a Lego block?", "So cool!", "I want that too!", "Why on earth do you have a Lego block as a necklace?". Nice attention that usually leads to a conversation.

The other object is a dress I bought in Rio. Simply put it's a dress made of the Brazilian flag. It's colorful, bright and really nice. In Brazil I wore it twice and many people complimented it. Here I wore it once and will not wear it again.

It was a Friday afternoon. About 3 seconds after entering the street the construction workers next door started shouting "Brazil, Brazil!". Making my way to a meeting, taxi drivers whistled, male drivers stopped next to me, bypassers started singing something and some young men followed me. In the meeting everybody thought I was Brazilian. Later in the evening we went to a carnival event (that's why I had put the dress on in the first place) and the same show around me continued.

In the end I couldn't take it anymore and tucked the dress so that it became a miniskirt/dress and put my scarf on the blue globe that's in the Brazilian flag. Somehow it felt funny that the evening was suddenly much more peaceful when I was showing half of my thighs, rather than wearing anything that reminds people of Brazil.

Nowdays I wear the dress at home. People who come here like the dress very much and start talking about football (the house is the meeting place of a foundation so during weekdays there's about 10 people around). Being a European who doesn't watch football, this association didn't cross my mind. Now I see the dress as a symbol of my ignorance and think of non-catholic people who wear the Holy Rosary because it looks cool. How differently we see the world and interpret the symbols in it.

Life is about learning. Lesson of the day: more Lego blocks, less Brazilian flags. Oh yes, and more nice Argentinians with good manners and smooth compliments.

One woman's life

For the International Women's Day let me tell you the story of a girl named "Liliana".

Liliana was born to a very poor family that lived in a simple house next to the Campo de La Ribera. Liliana and her older brother went to a local school and lived their lives in poverty but peace. Liliana participated in the workshops at Campo de La Ribera and her father worked there occasionally cutting grass and cleaning the yard.

When Liliana was 15, she found out she was 3 months pregnant. She was living with her boyfriend at the time. They had only been together for 2 months sofar so the boyfriend knew that the child wasn't his. He made it clear that he would not participate in any way in raising this child. That night, on the eve of her fathers 58th birthday, Liliana went home and shot herself.

This happened on Wednesday. Because the family didn't have a phone, we at La Ribera helped the family to get a free coffin and assisted them in finding a free burial ground. The burial took place this afternoon.

Abortion is illegal in Argentina. In January an 11-year-old girl who had been raped was denied abortion. The provincial health minister stated that if the girl was able to get pregnant, she was also able to become a mother. Abortion is only allowed if the life of the mother is in danger or if the pregnancy is the result of rape of a mentally disabled woman. Even in these cases doctors usually deny abortion because of moral or uncertainty of how to interpret the law. Needless to say, therea are about 500.000-700.000 illegal abortions per year. Although wealthier women can afford safe abortion, the steadily growing poorer classes have to settle with knitting needles and coathangers.

This year  the governement most likely will vote on legalizing abortion in some cases. Yet the result is unpredictable. The lobbying against abortion is strong and e.g. the family of the 11-year-old girl mentioned above has been harrassed by Catholic groups for supporting abotion. In a country with probably the best health care system in Latin America, who would have thought?

This text is dedicated to all the women who have died or committed suicide because of a ban on abortion. Pro-life!

The "latinos"

There are certain things that Finns know about Argentina. They know tango is a popular dance, that the country produces a lot of meat and that especially due to the World Wars many Germans and Italians fled to Argentina. The extensive immigration of Europeans started with Spaniards and Portuguese during the colonial era and continued strong until the early 20th century. This means that Argentinians don't have the average Pancho Villa look. People from many ethnic backgrounds inhabit this country.

All of this I knew before coming here. Nevertheless, I had no conception of the versality of people's appearance here. Even I could go for an Argentinian. Here I meet people who are more blond than me and have the brightest blue eyes, and I'm ready to bet my money on them being German. No no, their parents, their grandparents, all are Argentinians. Sigh.

After less than a week here, I stopped guessing where people come from by their appearance. These "latinos" are tall and short, dark and fair, thin and chubby. One thing they do have in common though. They're quite knowledgeable about their roots. One is 1/4 Peruvian and 3/4 Spanish, the other is 1/2 Italian and 1/2 German

This ethnic versatility also has an impact on nationality. Shortly put, some people can have e.g. Italian nationality because one of the parents has Italian nationality too, even if the child is born in Argentinian territory.

So, as you can see, Argentina is a melting pot just like the US. So what is truly Argentinian? The peoples love for meat.

Work and work

Work started on Thursday at Campo de la Ribera. I'll tell you the longer history of the place once it's explained to me too but for now I'll tell you that it used to be a military prison. Then during the dictatorship it was a political prison and a "concentration camp". Many people who entered never got out alive. About 200m away is a cemetery where a mass grave was found last year.

Today Ribera is a Center for the Memory, a place organizing activities that are somehow vinculated with reminding people of the country's terrible past. There are games, toys, after-school activities, handicrafts classes, sewing classes etc etc. The only problem is that Ribera is closed at the moment. Two reasons. 1. The building is dangerous. The main issues are the electricity cables and a roof that leaks a lot. 2. There is no water at the moment. The school next door is also out of water but nobody seems to know why. Being in Argentina, the workers aren't too confident that it will be fixed anytime soon.

So, why don't we fix the cables and the roof? The project gets its funding from the government, except for last year there was some hassle and no money was received at all. The director sighed when explaining this to me. Maybe we'll have money, maybe not.

What increases the hassle is that local elections were held a few months ago. The ruling political party changed, so what is happening now is that most public officials are being fired and replaced by new people belonging to the "right" party. This of course pauses basically everything, including the flow of funds. Even 15 of the neighborhood's 19 grass cutters were fired and now they will be replaced too.

I was told this is probably the worst time for me to arrive but with 15 employees and an important mission I hope Ribera will prosper some day. My role is still a complete mystery. Let's see where we are in 3 months.

Hola Córdoba!

Today I saw Córdoba, my new home town for the first time. I arrived with the night bus from Buenos Aires. Two weeks have passed in South America. With my mum we saw Rio and the carnival; Iguazu (Argentina) and Iguacu (Brazil); and Buenos Aires and tango. Mum went home on Monday, I went to Uruguay on Tuesday and now I'm here. Tomorrow is my first day at work. I will be the first foreign worker/volunteer at Campo de la Ribera. Apparently the organization is suffering from some financial difficulties so it will be interesting to see if I can actually be of any help. My address is Dean Funes 1046 and my telephone number is 351 39 31 855 (I still have to figure out how it should be dialed from abroad).

This is the beginning of a life changing experience, one of many.

A lot to talk about, a lot to be grateful for (like this minilaptop that is worth way more than the 100€ I paid for it). I watched a short video tonight and it presented the idea of 3 gratitudes. Every day be grateful for 3 new things and your brain will learn to see the positive in stead of the negative. Today I am grateful for my minilaptop, for arriving safe and sound to Córdoba and for hearing that mum returned home safely. What are you grateful for today?

Information increases pain

Information increases pain. Oh yes. Two exhilarating news.

About half of the flights from Heathrow are cancelled due to snow. How can it be that in the same circumstances the Gatwick and Stantead airports manage to dispatch all flights? It's proof of Heathrows inability or unwillingness to fix the problems they faced in Christmas 2010. So, if you want to be on the safe side, avoid flying from Heathrow from October to March.

This is only a discomfort. We'll get to South America sooner or later. The other piece of information is more unnerving. Rio de Janeiro's police is on strike. A similar strike in Salvador caused an extreme increase in murders and violent assaults. Yes, you guessed it, they want more money and this is the perfect way to pressure the government, one week before the carnival. Their wages are very low and their demands are absolutely justified. Still, I'd prefer not to get shot.

Almost, almost..

With the excitement of soon heading for new adventures comes the urge to write here every two hours.

The main thought at this moment is that the conception of time is funny. When we were children waiting for something to happen in one week's time was torturous. Now I meet friends I haven't seen in 5 months and everything is like it has always been. When we part, I say "See you in July!" and that's fine. No big tears shred or promises of never forgetting the other person.

There are three reasons why it's easy to leave.

1. I've done it before a few time so people and I are more used to it.

2. Even though there are issues and problems I could tackle, I know people here will be more or less fine without me for now.

3. I don't have a mortgage, a husband or a dog waiting for me here.

So off I go while I still can.

Energy boost

You know the feeling when your vacation is about to end and you feel like you still have loads of things to do? Well, that's what I'm experiencing now. Apparently time is never enough. During this past week I've cooked and cleaned more than I have done during my entire "holiday". Mum has been very happy and my brother has done his homework on his own initiative several times. It's been a good time.

Now there are still some things to be done. Tomorrow I'll go once more to Turku to take the judicial oath. It's a technical remnant. The oath enables me to apply to a year-long traineeship at a court, which gives the title of "vice judge". An official occasion, I'll have to wear a black suit, swear the oath and then walk backwards out of the room! Out of respect, they say..

Most likely I wont become a judge nor will I have any actual benefit of this but then there are a couple more "important" people who have seen me. Who knows, maybe I'll be accepted for the traineeship (I could ramble about the selection procedure of the the traineeship but I better not). Dad comes along and we'll visit two friend's of his. A nice way of spending the last days here.

One week.

Countdown

Two weeks. In two weeks I'll be sitting in an airplane for 12 hours flying from London to Rio de Janeiro. Then it is time to be soaked up by the carnival atmosphere of Rio and to avoid thieves in the best possible way.

The facts are the following:

- Departure: February 14th, route Pori - Helsinki - London - Rio.
- Return: June 28th, route São Paulo - London - Helsinki - Pori.
- City: Córdoba, Argentina
- Home: No idea. My official contact in Córdoba is supposed to arrange me a place to stay but probably I'll get a place the same day I arrive. Mañana..
- Employer: Campo de la Ribera. More on this later when I actually know what it is all about.
- Post-travelling: Bolivia
- Finance: Hoping that the subsidy from the government will suffice. If not, it's a good thing I'm not a big spender.

The battle with my backbag has also begun. How to pack for a hot (Rio), temperate (Córdoba) and cold (Bolivia) climate and still have the bag weigh less than 15 kg? Beats me... Jumping from a Finnish beautiful winter to a hot steamy Rio summer is nice of course but it's wonderful to be here too. Time flies and soon I will too.

Two weeks.

Snow and sunshine

Finland.

Christmas and New Year, return from Brussels and exciting news from South America are now beautiful memories. As expected and as usual, my last month in Brussels was intense, crazy and fun. No time for updating, too busy living. Even my diary is shining with empty pages.

The year of 2011 was good to me. Very good. I graduated, had many parties, was employed by two really good places, did some mystery shopping along with it, went to Russia and to many other places, returned to Mexico to find out what I have become, met great great people, got mentally challenged and laughed in tears several times. I grew.

This is supposedly it. I'm a Master of Laws, I'm an adult. Though, my financial independence will be threatened again if I don't start making a decent living within a year. It remains to be seen what will come. It remains to be seen what will become of me. A lawyer? Probably not. Successful? Maybe. A mother? I hope so. A retired person with good health? Will do everything to ensure that. Happy? Yes.