Tag Archives: united states

in english

National values and adaptation of an immigrant in Europe

One of the topics I was discussing with friends is how while in the New World being American, Canadian or even Mexican is more than anything else an ideal that can be aspired to and achieved, being Finnish, German or Italian requires you to be born into it.

If this is true, then for the sake of argument we could assume that the current debate about the need for immigrants to adapt and blend into society (what I sometimes jokingly call soppauttaminen, a play on the Finnish words for soup and adapt) is asking for the impossible, simply because the only way for them to be regarded as to be fully part of society is to be born there, which at least their first generation cannot do.  Further down the road it might happen, but is not automatic.

One could argue that this is exactly what happened to Turks in Germany, where until the change of the citizenship laws this decade, the children and grandchildren of immigrants were not allowed to become citizens of the country where they were born.  It is documented that even today they live in very tightly knit communities with little contact with the outside world.

In France, on the other hand  you have the values of liberty, equality and fraternity that are cherished by all and ensure that everybody who adapts the French language and values will be deemed as French at least in theory, but in practice it might be a little bit more complicated, as the situation in the banlieues shows.

Trying to apply this to my experiences, I have been trying to understand if there is an idea of Finnishness that I can make my own, that would also be accepted by society and followed through. If the perunasuomalaiset and other Finnish politicians really want to take the situation of immigration head on, they should ask that question. A person who has no investment in and no part in society will not be interested in his development within it.

in english

Hudson hotel review

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Hudson Hotel lobby bar

In my recent trip to New York City I stayed at the Hudson in 58th street, as the location fit my needs to the T. The experience, however, was not that pleasant even if the staff were really attentive: basically, that architect (renowned Philippe Starck) should have been fired as the place is absolutely not user-friendly even if it is designed to be chic.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not against good design (after all, I live in Finland, cradle of Alvar Aalto where the touch of the Nordic movement can be seen almost everywhere) but in my book good design has to be both aesthetically pleasing and functional.

On arrival (at midnight and completely jetlagged) I couldn’t find the hotel as there is no sign with its name at the entrance, only a “hole” with two lamps made to look like torches on its side.  Going inside there are no signs, so I had to guess that the check-in was to be performed in the big desk that looked more like a bar.  On reaching my room, I realised it was not small by NY standards but positively tiny as there was only space for the bed and my luggage didn’t even fit, and noisy to boot.  I asked for a change due to the airplane-grade noise coming from one of the machines outside and got to a less noisy location, where I realised that the sound insulation was terrible anyway and I could hear pretty much everything (and I mean everything) coming from my neighbouring rooms and walkways.

With that I fell asleep, but my surprises continued in the morning when I realised that my legs were too long to be able to sit in the loo (and I’m only 183 cm./6 ft. tall!). That was too much for me and I asked for an upgrade or a change of hotel.  Later that week I found out that the lobby bar is a favourite location with the hipsters of the city, which means there is a lot of noise every weekend before you escape to your room.  The hotel does have a couple of very nice bars, even if beers are 9 bucks a pop.

  • + Location, staff, chic factor (for those who care)
  • – Design user-friendliness, noise, room sizes
  • Recommended for: teenagers and young adults.
  • Not recommended for: business travellers, families
  • Would I stay there again? Only for the right price as now I know what is the catch.
en español

Comercial en inglés, comercial en español

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Lo interesante de este comercial, estarán de acuerdo conmigo, es que en lugar de utilizar servicios de doblaje simplemente tomaron a la misma persona de su versión en inglés y lo pusieron a hablar español, con resultados aún más cómicos que el comercial original (abajo).  Además, estoy seguro que el mismo comercial en español no funcionaría fuera de Estados Unidos porque sonaría demasiado raro a todos aquellos que no están acostumbrados al acento de un angloparlante.  Creo que  es obvio que para los vendedores de este producto el mercado latino era lo suficientemente importante.

in english

Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day

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That’s September 16th.  I assume it’s celebrated in the United States for two reasons:

  1. It was a victory over the French and we all know how some sectors of the American public love to hate the French
  2. General Ignacio Zaragoza, who led the Mexican troops at that battle, was born in what is now Texas when it was still part of Mexico, so its background resounds with Mexican-Americans.

Although it is certainly celebrated in some parts of Mexico, the whole brouhaha they make north of the border as “Mexican heritage day” is as alien to most Mexicans as hard-shelled tacos.

in english

The reactions to swine flu in Mexico (part II)

Roman Catholic masses were cancelled throughout the city, museums were closed and football matches were played behind close doors (my team, Chivas, tied) to avoid the creation of crowds.  People have been generally very calm from what I understand, stayed home and there is no panic shopping, but the streets are rather empty for a city of over 20 million people (some pictures here).  If you understand Spanish, a great chronicle of the past two days can be found here and here.  The city is not afraid, and people still make fun of the situation from time to time.

Video rentals and video stores were doing brisk business yesterday, and schools are closed until May 6th (May 1st and 5th are holidays anyway).  Military personnel have been handling masks around the city and now everybody is bracing themselves for tomorrow: will people go to work or will they home office (those who can)?

The Finnish media have complained about the slow Mexican response to the outbreak, but they seem to ignore that even the National University (UNAM) doesn’t have the equipment needed to distinguish this new virus from its old, previously known cousins and with the normal flu season just ending, there was no cause for concern.  On the other hand the World Health Organisation has praised the Mexican response.

There are confirmed cases in Mexico, the US, Canada and New Zealand, and suspected cases in France, Spain, UK & Israel (map here).  Deaths have only happened in Mexico, and even there two thirds of the 1200 cases have already been released from hospital.  According to some information in the Mexican media, vaccines don’t work, but antivirals such as Tamiflu do.  Airports haven’t been closed, but there is more stringent screening in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan from passengers coming over from North America.

There are two different hypothesis of the origin of the virus: one points to it having started in a farm in Texas and then crossed over to the border, the other one points to farms in Perote, Veracruz, Mexico.  None has been confirmed.

If you want to know more in real time, you can follow @Veratect and @zolliker (in Spanish) on Twitter.

in english

Globalisation & my high school class

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This week I learned that two of my classmates from high school in northern Greater Mexico City are also in a relationship with Finnish girls and both are also living abroad.  That got me thinking about how many of the guys and gals I used to go to school with back then are also overseas, and the sample is quite broad.

I’m not particularly surprised of this development given that we were educated as the so-called NAFTA generation learning English (and sometimes other languages) from childhood, and given a broader view of the world than people before us (I remember attending lessons on economics, global affairs, the stock market and compared history of North America at that time).

What sets us apart from those before us I think, is not that some of us would go abroad, but that we would not concentrate in the United States as before.  In my sister’s high school class (she is only a few years older than me) most of those who are working abroad are doing so in the US (a couple here and there in Europe, but it’s a minority), whereas with us the geographic dispersion is much broader: I have classmates in Mexico, and all over the US, true, but also in Canada, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Australia, France, Brazil, UK and I believe even a couple in China.  Moreover, many of them who are back in Mexico also have international experience, either as students or during their careers.

I’m sure that this is partly due to American immigration regulations after 9/11, but I believe it also has something to do with many of us wanting to see what else was out there.  I wonder if the Institute for Mexicans Abroad will start tapping this kind of talent network too, as many of us are working for institutions like e.g.  Shell, Nokia, Microsoft, ESA or Volvo or studying at recognised institutions all over the place.  Maybe we should learn something from what the Indians and the Chinese are doing by taking advantage of their expatriates, instead of complaining about the brain drain?

Regardless, it’s good to see that most of them in Mexico or wherever they may be are doing well.

in english

The great economic shift

What does this mean? What we are seeing is the shift of economic power from the United States & Europe to markets elsewhere, and especially China, India and parts of the Middle East are in good shape to reap the rewards.  However, since the system is built around the countries of the G7 with the US as the main motor of worldwide consumption, co-operation between all countries is needed, or else the rise of protectionism will amplify the current situation.

I wouldn’t be surprised if in case the crisis lasts long (hopefully not) China ends up bailing the US so that its own economy can keep on growing…