2007 started with us climbing the top of a hill with some friends to see the fireworks over the Helsinki metropolitan area. From that point onwards, we knew it was going to be uphill the whole year. I finished my masters, got married, continued working and kept on the move during this year. It has been tough, but definitely worth it.
What will 2008 bring?
Of course I missed my family, but the food is a definite plus.
Euro-denominated banknotes share a common theme around different eras of artistic expression. Therefore, the 5 Euro note is classical, the 10 Euro romanesque and so on. I've always argued that the 100 Euro banknote, which depicts the baroque style, could just as well be Mexican, since Mexican art is baroque and exhuberant, and they like to decorate everything, so for example in Christmas you will see plenty of special ornamentation in houses, until in some cases it becomes too much.
Mexicans as well have a certain sense of humour. Take the picture below:
The current craze in Mexico City is to buy a specific kit so that your car would look like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. So you take a (from the Mexican perspective) American influence, twist it a little, add a little of humour and of course put it in your car, without which you cannot survive in this city (actually you very well can, but everything will take you much, much longer).
On my way to Mexico I read the year end issue of Newsweek, which was dedicated to the standing of the United States in the world. Finally it seems that some policymakers have realised that not even the only remaining global superpower can go it alone. Let's hope that the next President agrees.
Porque hay cosas que cambian, y hay cosas que no.
I hadn't been in the United States for over 6 years, so I hadn't experienced the tightening of regulations since the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. I had heard certain horror stories (for example J. Karjalainen, Finland's Bob Dylan, had been detained without reason in Missouri) so I was certainly sceptic about going through there.
Even though I did have to travel for more than 24 hours, I faced no difficulties. The American Airlines staff on board and on the ground was generally very corteous (however, their fleet is really old) and the border and customs officers were very professional, so there was no problem at all. It takes much, much longer than transiting in Europe (that's how afraid they are) but it did go smoothly.
Charles De Gaulle airport is worse than many in developing countries. It's ugly, non-functional and also lacks service. Surely the French capital deserves better.
Do you agree with me or is it as my wife says that I get more stressed when I travel for pleasure than for business?
What was your major or field of study in college? Did you wind up working in that field or using that degree? If not, what field have you wound up in?
Submitted by sneuf.
I studied Computer Engineering in Finland, and did work in that field for a while. However, almost 5 years after graduation from college I took the option of studying a masters in International Business, so now I've ended up in e-marketing, and of course have no idea what will come next in my career progression.
That's the whole point, isn't it? A degree (especially at the bachelor level) doesn't guarantee employment, as it only shows that the holder has proven his/her ability to learn.
Following a story doing the rounds in Slashdot, I found this article that details the American propaganda machine in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wheareas I definitely understand the rationale for the Americans to give their version of events, it makes me rather uneasy that they do so posing as a neutral party, thereby undermining their own credibility.
If you're a brand, that's something you should never do as audiences hate discovering they are being cheated, even if your brand is called USA.
When I left Belgium in July, they were undergoing coalition talks to create a government after the election results. Well, 6 months later the situation is still the same, with certain sectors of society calling for the partition of the country. I met some Belgian Flemish friends I have some time ago and they mentioned that, as Flemish as they are, they don't want Belgium to be divided. I don't think it will, just yet, but they do need a solution.