It was surprising for everybody here in Finland to experience last summer.  Winter was very cold and snowy for Finnish standards and summer came in strong and lasted the mandatory 3 months.  We reached temperatures of 35°C in parts of the country and even in Helsinki it was above 30°C for most of July.  Now the rains have started and the summer seems but a memory, so this post is a homage to the warmest, most tropical season in recorded Finnish history.

If you don’t know how May Day is celebrated in Finland and why it’s important, this old Helsingin Sanomat article will give you the lowdown.  This year it was a little bit chilly but not unseasonably cold.  I noticed there was less people wearing high school graduation caps and more “carnival” style headwear.  I guess some sort of ethnographic inventory is in order, as still people don’t know what my cap is all about.

Havis Amanda after being crowned

Havis Amanda Panorama on May Day Eve (Vappuaatto)

Kaivopuisto full of revelers on May Day (Vappu)

My ride

Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

The snow and ice are fully gone and cycling season is on. Already close to 100km done in the past couple of weeks and I’m one happy camper (I mean, happy biker).
I could almost swear my body is adjusting to the exercise .

Every once in a while I get asked by friends (or friends of friends) if I have any advice to give to young people about to start university. Some points below:

• Be honest with yourself in deciding what you want to study.  If you don’t like it, don’t sacrifice 4-5 years on it.
• Even then, understand what is the labour market like for your chosen field.
• A diploma might be a requirement, but extra-curricular activities, other skills or even social connections migth very well be what opens the door for when you get a job.
• Keep a good relationship with your teachers if you can.  If you earn their trust, they might help you later on in your career.
• Be aware that as corny as it might sound we do live in a globalised economy.  Your competitors (and your partners ) might not be in/from the same city, country or continent as you.
• With that in mind, evaluate whether you need to have a good understanding of languages, cultures and physical challenges (such as timezones).  Studying abroad (as an exchange or full degree student) will give you first-hand experience in all those things, but if you do not have the chance, try to engage with the exchange students at your university and sign in to foreign-language courses.
• Understand that globalisation doesn’t mean Americanization.  While the US is still very important, so are Europe, China, India, Latin America, Africa…
• Regarding your career choice, be assured that in many cases it won’t last forever.  Market and workplace conditions change really fast.  According to some studies, the average graduate will have 5 different careers before he retires.  I can tell you I have already had 3 very distinct phases in my working life (from engineering to sales to marketing) and I’m not yet 30.  Furthermore, my current professional field didn’t even exist 7 years ago when I finished my bachelors degree.
• As such, the most important ability you will graduate with is that to unlearn and relearn.  Never lose that flexibility.
• Be open, be brave, try new things (even if they’re not related to each other or your current field).  You never know when that knowledge of space exploration, basketball or Latin American rock might help you (those are real examples from my career).

Any thoughts or additions?

One advantage of the huge amount of snow in Finland is that you can ski everywhere.  Just avoid gritted streets and you’ll be fine.

I recently met a student of cultural anthropology and had a very stimulating conversation like I haven’t had in a long time outside of work.  Her main area of interest are cultural areas in cities, and when I mentioned that the part of Mexico City where I grew up is somehow similar to the part of the Helsinki metro area where I live now as they’re both suburbs we got off to a good start.

During the course of this conversation she mentioned the phrase that gives its title to this post, and it got stuck with me.  The first example that came to my mind was that of the different manifestations of the Virgin Mary: in Europe she’s Caucasian, in Mexico she’s mestiza and in China she’s Asian.  However, I have been reflecting more on that given the current chapter in the Finnish immigration debate, where a university professor has pretty much reached the same conclusions as Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations (conclusions with which I couldn’t agree less).

The other reason why this phrase is stuck in my head is because in the past few days through analysing my behaviour (and a couple of faux pas) I have found a couple of things I’m not sure I like too much about myself.  Then again, the first step in enacting change is discovering what the desired state is.

My friends can visit their families for the weekend.  In my case, it takes me the weekend to get to see my family.  That’s why the few times I get to see some of my closest ones I enjoy the occasion immensely.

Only wear this once a year, but it's worth it

This year we celebrated Mexican independence day in Helsinki.  The reception, organised by the Mexican embassy, had very high attendance with over 300 people.  You can check mine or Ricardo’s great photos of the event or a couple of videos below.

Parikkala church

Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

We have been visiting this small corner of Finnish Karelia a few time sin the past year because a good friend lives there. While it is far too small for me to even remotely think about establishing myself there, I was really glad to meet good friends and have Carelian pies (Carelian stew was not available this time, but it’s awesome over there).

Good people, interesting conversations, beer and live videoblogging of the event.  All for a good cause: saving the Baltic sea.