All posts by chivacongelado

in english

Istanbul

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Visited the city on a business trip. I have to say that the most interesting things about Istanbul for me were the long historical view you get in the city, and the uncanny resemblance Turks have with Mexicans.

As usual with these kind of posts, pictures say it better.

 

Istanbul panorama
A city between cultural zones and continents, it has more than 10 million people and number of different names throughout history (maybe Byzantium or Constantinople ring a bell). So many different peoples have lived in it, that excavations for the metro and the Marmara project have found ancient ruins (just like Templo Mayor in Mexico City).

 

Grand Bazaar
Traders by nature, the culture of haggling in its bazaars is very well developed.

 

Aya Sofya interior
The Aya Sofya, one of the most imposing religious buildings I have ever been to, started its life as a church, became a mosque and is now a national museum.

 

Técnica de panadero
Mexican similarities exhibit A: look at this baker's bread-carrying tecnique.

 

Técnica de taquero
Mexican similarities exhibit B: Kebabs are way too similar to tacos al pastor.

 

in english

And the World Cup draw is here

Mexico was drawn together with South Africa, France, and Uruguay, in group A, and will play the opening match of the tournament in Johannesburg against the hosts.

While the reaction in both France and South African media seems to have been mostly relieved, I wouldn’t be too optimistic.  Uruguay can be a very tough opponent, and Mexico ended its qualification campaign much better than it started.

The opening match will be crucial and for that there is a couple of things I wanted to bring up:

  • Altitude: South Africa and Mexico are used to playing at altitude, so that should not be a factor.
  • Home advantage: Certain reports were making a lot of noise about vuvuzelas, the trumpets South African supporters use, and how they would inspire fear in their opponents.  Sorry, bafana bafana, but the Mexicans will just feel right at home if they hear loud blowing horns as that matches the conditions at Azteca Stadium.
  • Rankings, team quality, World Cup experience…: I like the South Africans, but the team hasn’t really shown that much lately.  Mexico started qualification in the doldrums and ended on a high.
  • Opening match: No host team has lost the opening match in the history of the World Cup.

Now we just have to wait for July to come over, right?

in english

Posada

5a posada mexicana en Helsinki

The Mexican community in Helsinki organises a posada every December, and this year was not the exception.  The menu included chilaquiles and crema de chile poblano, we had a piñata “beauty” contest before breaking them, and of course we sang the traditional songs.

It was definitely interesting to have such a Mexican feeling so far away, and really good to see the kids getting involved, since it was their party after all.

in english

Darwin Awards, Finnish Edition

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I have been thinking lately about the Darwin Awards, which you might know are all about:

Honoring those who improve the species… by
accidentally removing themselves from it!

Given the general conditions of life here in the far north, there are a few ways in which you could very easily make yourself due to receive such an “honour”.  Some of my favourites below:

  • Riding a bike dressed in black in November-January.  Invisibility might be a good thing for ninjas, but you want to be as visible as possible so that you don’t get run over by a car.
  • Not enough clothing in winter, especially if alcohol is involved. Obvious really.
  • Not taking care of the sauna stove while drinking. How many times have we seen houses burn down, with people inside?
  • In summer, going fishing with a couple of beers on.  A few deaths every year involve people who drown in lakes with their zippers down.

Any sure ways of winning the Darwin Awards that are common hereabouts you might want to add, that don’t include alcohol? 😉

I don’t know about you, but that’s probably the one award I could live my life without.

in english

Winter War: 70 years

Recommended Book: The Winter War

Today marks 70 years of the beginning of the Winter War, that historical event that is still at the forefront of the Finnish psyche.  The good news is that Finland kept its unity and its independence (no mean feat when your adversary is the Soviet Union), the bad news is that it created a siege mentality that survives to this day in certain sectors of society.

For more background information, you can hardly do better than have a look in Helsingin Sanomat’s archive (1, 2, 3).

in english

The three things I’d change in the Finnish education system

I am a proud product of the Finnish educational system (as well as the Mexican and Belgian ones), but as much as I think it gives you a great preparation, there is a few things that I’d like to see changed:

  • Knowledge of the world: While they focus a lot on the technical foundations of your chosen subject, cross-cultural, geographical and historical awareness outside of Europe seems to be lacking.  Funny given their strong focus on foreign language education.
  • Presentation skills: I’ve mentioned it before, but I think it’s crucial to know how to communicate and sell your ideas.  You only learn through practice, so it is very important to get started early. I remember I was doing English-language presentations already in 3rd grade.
  • Financial skills: This is something that would be necessary not only here in Finland, especially with the proliferation of express loans.  Knowing how to handle your money is a basic skill for life.