It’s 7 a.m. in Kraków, I turn on the TV and what do I see? A Mexican telenovela called Rebelde, which has spawned its own plastic pop group and of which I’ve written (and bumped into) before.
Scary way to wake up.
Category Archives: in english
Kraków & Katowice, Poland
Last week I visited Kraków and Katowice in Poland on a business trip (photos here). I had a little bit of time to walk through the old city of John Paul II’s hometown and was very impressed. Kraków was the old capital of Poland, and as such has plenty of ancient architecture, majestic churces and even a castle, making it a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Given that another place I seriously want to visit is also nearby, it warrants another visit for leisure.
I was not that impressed with Katowice on first sight, but noticed that buildings that look drab on the outside may have completely renovated and rather pleasant interiors. On a few ocassions I remembered and missed some of my Polish friends and wondered what they’re up to.
Mexican Independence Day, 199th edition
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.
Challenging stereotypes and learning the local culture
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: given that the amount of foreigners in Finland is the lowest in western Europe, and that I have little if anything to do with the stereotype of immigrants here besides the fact that I’m a little bit darker than the average I continuously feel I’m some sort of pioneer on a mission to challenge those beliefs.
The latest episode was funnily enough with a teacher of Finnish as a foreign language. When I explained I’m very interested in knowing what kind of Finnish literature are teenagers exposed to in high school, she was more than a little surprised (I’m not sure in a positive way) especially since I continued by saying that it is so that I understand Finnish cultural references better as I haven’t been exposed to them in my professional studies (“Oh, so you have a profession?”) even though I have taken the Yleiskielentutkinto, the official exam of Finnish proficency.
I wonder what kind of reaction would I get if I told her I’m thinking of starting Swedish lessons, which would be my 9th language…
Parikkala
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).
Waking up early in the morning has its advantages
Helsinki Twestival
Good people, interesting conversations, beer and live videoblogging of the event. All for a good cause: saving the Baltic sea.
Helsinki at dusk
You’ve probably seen this before
But it just gets better after repeated viewing. And I don’t even like hip hop that much.
Times change
When I was growing up and my parents’ friends would come over to our place, there would usually be dinner and/or coffee and they would just keep on doing the “adults’ conversation”.
Now that I’m an adult and some of my friends already have kids of their own, when we meet we sometimes have dinner and/or coffee, but there’s almost always a playing session on the Wii going on, while we take turns to take care of and play with the kids. Videogames (of a certain kind) have become part of the social experience.
I’m not sure I can picture my mom shredding to Guitar Hero: Metallica while I was growing up. Makes me wonder what kind of things will our children take up to show their rebellious spirit when the time comes if they are so inclined.