Moving is never easy: Cross cultural theory Hello everybody, I will share some truth about travelling to a different country and adapting to a different way of living. Infact, does not really metter who you are or from where do you come from, everytime you travel or move away from the place you were born and grown up, you will go trought some inevitable and necessary steps before you get to fully accept a different culture. Today I will go throught this points using the cross culture theory main points. Denial : Is usually the very first stage. That is the phase during which you will litterarly refuse the interaction with the other culture and show no interest towards it. During this stage it is easy to feel unconfortable with the situation and the people around you. Defense : In this stage, you will consider your culture as superior to the others and you may have the tendency to criticise behaviour or thoughts by someone from another culture. Minimisation : Here is
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Food:Finnish Blueberry Pie Good day everyone! Today I want to introduce you my favourite Finnish dessert so far... The Blueberry pie. Yesterday it was a grey and rainy day in Turku, for this reason, a friend and I decided to bake something. After going trought Finnish dessert recepies, we decided to go for the Blueberry pie (good choice). This Blueberry Pie or "Mustikkapiirakka" ( as they say here) is actually an iconic Finnish dessert and most bakeries around the country sell it. The pie is very easy to make it and the ingredients are cheap and easy to find. Have fun and BUON APPETITO!! Here the recipe we followed to cook this amazing dessert: Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Ingredients Finlandia Unsalted Butter, softened, for greasing pan 1/2 cup (8 Tablespoons) Finlandia Unsalted Butter, softened 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon bakin
Food:Fazer I write this post for those like me who love chocolate and sweets. I would say that, If you ever come to Finland it is compulsory to try the local brend of sweets, Fazer. Fazer has been one of the largest corporations in the Finnish food industry since 1891. the brand is very famous within the nordic countries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Baltic countries , the United Kingdom and Russia. I have never seen their products before (since Italy does not import them), but I honestly find them to be delicous. So much variety! Products are ade with the best ingredients and there are options for people having food intollerance. It is possible to find many kind of products like chocolate bars, chocolates and candies. Every supermarket or "kioski" sales the products and it is even possible to buy them going to the Fazer Cafes that are in every city. Before I leave to go back to Italy I will surely buy some items so that my friends and family can try
Cultural experience:Christmas market in Turku Finland is the country of Santa Claus and , for this reason, I am really excited to see how people and towns get ready for the best time of the year. Yesterday (25.11.2017), the city of Turku officially started the countdown for Christmas. A huge Christmas tree that is made every year in front of the old Cathedral, lights, dances ,music, people impersonating santa's elfs and bazars at the Market square and at the Old square animated the afternoon and changed the atmosphere of the city. In Sicily we do not have Christmas Market and the cities in the South of the country do not have as many decorations. For this reason I am Always very attracted by this kind of events when I am abrouad. I think that the Christmas Market is a very nice place for people of all ages. Adults can spend a nice evening drinking glughi , buying pecial gifts or eating traditional snaks, while kids have the chance to meet the family of Santa Claus! It
Something that schoked me: Finnish Baptism Honestly, it took some time for make up our minds and get into the iced water after coming out from the super hot sauna but we all made it in the end. As I already anticipated in the previous post, It was such a weird sensation. It is very hard to describe the feeling while doing it, somehow freezing but energizing. As I sais, I was very proud of myself after doing it. In the past I have avoided situations I recognized as dangerous or unconfortable for me. I am happy that, this time, I went over my thoughts and my worries and I managed to do something new. I think that the whole experience of living so far from home and being out of my confort zone has helped me a lot in order to grow up and (sometime) take risks. This is actually the main reason why I would encurage anyone to go to Erasmus (if they get the chance) or at least travel and experience new things. About the Finnish Baptism,I would say t hat it is definitely so
Last night:The house at the lake After our tour in the city Centre of Kuopio we headed to our home for the day, an amazing cottage next to a lake, one hour away from the city. The typical wooden Finnish house was literally in the middle of nothing. Situated in the middle of the forest, away from the light of the city. We really hoped that could be the right spot for the northern lights but unfortunately we did not see them at the end. The sky was clouded and so we had no chances. That was one of the best nights for me and my friends. We had the whole place for our self and we even had a sauna. I loved it. There, we did our Finnish Baptism (that term is used by locals for the action of going into iced lake water right after having a sauna). Honestly, I am proud of myself for doing it, I am glad I went over my worries and I gave it a try. Now I can definetely say that it is something everybody should try at least once. Such a great feeling of freedom together with ex
Travels:Kuopio In Kuopio we first stopped just outside the town Centre to visit the "Puijo Tower". 75mt tall and with a nice restourant at the top. There, It is possible to get to the roof top and have an amazing view on the city ,on the forests and see around. If you are aturist and you are interested in that, is good to know that, If you are a student you get a discount and the ticket is 4 euros, 6 euros for adults. From the top up there I took some good pictures. I really liked that. The city of Kuopio reminded me of Turku. The buildings, the streets and the shops are really alike. The locals suggested we should try the "Kalakukko", a typical food from the town. Kalakukko is basically a pocket filled with both meat and fish inside. The taste is anusual, I guess is a persona opinion but i did not like it. soup and pulla instead.
Naturalistic experiences in Italy and Lapland One of my favourite activities here in Finland is going for hikes. The landscape are very different from the ones I am used to in Italy. Especially now that the snowing season has began, everything is White and looks Amazing. The good thing about national parks here is that they are for free. In italy you have to pay an entry ticket for most of them. Even though you have to pay to get in , the facilities are not Always the best. Another difference between national parks in the South of Italy and Finland is the kind of animals you can meet walking on the path. In Italy is common to see different kinds of birds in the Woods, in Finland reindeers and mouse are everywhere. The park we visited in Southern Lapland is excellent for families with children and for those who wish to go on an active Holiday, there, it is possible to do sooo many activities! From skiing to canoying, trekking, biking..... It is also good to know that, som
My experience at The Ranua zoo:info for turists I have been in otther zoos before but I was curious about the Ranua one. which is pretty famous in Finland. In my opinion is totally worth t go and visit it. There , you can see and observe the typical northern animals: beers, lynx, wolfs, foxes, mousses, birds, etc. For the turists who are interested,the price to get in is good, especially if you are a student ,you get a discount (the student ticket is around 13 euros, adults pay 15euros). If you would like, at the beginning of the visit, you could get headphones with the guide and explanation for the different cages. We did not get them. If you can read English, it is still possible to read about the animals at the entry of their cage anyway. Usually I am not a big fun of the zoos, or animals in the cages in general. But, I appreciated that, some of the animals are at the Ranua zoo because they are injured and so they would not be able to survive in the nature.
My shock in Ranua IMPORTANT: For turists who are interested in some tips when coming to Finland... DO NOT PLAN TO STAY IN RANUA FOR LONG TIME Ranua is a little town in the south of Rovaniemi, we spent there one night at the local guesthouse. I can honestly say that there is nothing in that place. Apart from the nice Zoo (where we went the day after our arrival) there is nothing going on in the town. I am very sorry to say that, walking down the street in the city Centre at 8pm it felt like walking in a ghost’s town at midnight. I was so schoked. For who comes from a big city like me it is hard to imagine how people can live in such a place for a long time. I know that Finnish people love to have their space, their silence and peace but it was almost terrifing how desert this place was. The few people that we met looked very reserved and distant. Overall, this was probably the most different place from Italy I have visited in Finland.
Disappointing experience at Santa's Village Santa’s Village in Rovaniemi is famous all over the world. To be honest, I was a little bit disappointed about it. I actually expected something more, but I guess that we are not in the right period/season yet. There were no special shows or events organized for that day. For this reason, we were just walking around the village for couple of hours. In general, I think it is still worth to go there if you are near Rovaniemi or if you drive by it. Especially if you have kids, it can be a really nice way to spend a day. The buildings of the village and the atmosphere is very nice, there are animals and we even got to meet Santa!! I think it is very sweet that kids coming from all over the word can write their letter for Santa and some of them are visible next to Santa's office. I read many letters from kids from Italy :) At the village, there are maaaaaany shops for souvenirs and cafes where to seat and have a coffee
Turists in Levi From Kittila it takes around 40 minutes to get to Levi. At that time we went to Levi there was an international competition organized bythe ski resort and, for this reason, the village of was very lively and crowded with the athletes and the audience. Infact the sky resort is very famous for this type of events. In case you are a turist but you are not into sky,It is possible to do other activities like going for a walk in the forest instead. It is very beautiful. Starting from the INFO point there are many tracks you can follow. It is always good to ask to the locals or (even better) at the info point for the best path to follow in order to not ever be in danger (they know better about the weather conditions and the nature around). Honestly, I am not used to walk for long in the snow but the path we went through was easy enough and , most importantly, it was spectacular. We even meet some reindeers on our way. Remember that, already
Cultural shock: The family in Sirkka/Kittila Sirkka is a region located in the north of Lapland just, 40 minutes away from the more famous Levi. That was one of the best parts of our trip. Our b&b it was actually in Kittila and we found it thanks to Booking.com. When we got there already very dark so we could not see yet how amazing the area and the nature around us was. The b&b was just magic. If you go to this region of Finland and you are looking for a place to sleep and, at the same time, experience the unique and magic Lapland lifestyle, you should go there. I absolutely suggest it, the price is not exaggerated and a nice and filling breakfast is included. The b&b is in a traditional finnish house building and it is run by a family that lives there during the whole year. They have horses and aski dogs and they live taking care of them, working in their farm and organizing night stay, activities and excursions for tourists. It was extre
Turists in Rovaniemi Driving from Oulu to Rovaniemi takes about three hours by car. I know it is quite a long time to spend on the car but, In my opinion, the best thing about doing a cartrip is that you get to see the nature and the landscape from your window. It was impressive to see how the landscape changed while we were getting closer to the town of Santa, Rovaniemi. Less and less villages/towns on our way, the temperature went a little more down ( around 0 degree Celsius) and some snowflakes were coming down from the sky. I love when it is snowing. I come from the south of Europe and there does not really snow in winter (at least not in the city). For this reason I am always happy and excited when I see some. We stopped in Roaniemi for few hours but, since in this period it is already deep dark at 4pm we could not really explore the sorroundings. From what I could see, even if Rovaniemi is the main city of Lapland, it is a very small town (way
1 st stop : Oulu Our first stop, after leaving from Turku and driving up for about 600km, has been in the city of Oulu. We spent one night in a nice and quite cheap accommodation cottage in a camping place (Nallikkari), next to a big and quiet beach and pretty close to the town centre. We arrived at the place in the evening and it was already very dark so we could not explore at that time. You could actually notice getting out of the car at that time was already the difference in the temperature. Already colder than the one we left in Turku. Another thing you can immediately notice is a weird smell in the air. Making some research later I found out that the smell is coming from the smoke of the numerous industries that are located just outside the town. Oulu is actually famous for the industries for the manifacture of paper. In the next morning, we headed to the town centre in order to have breakfast and visit Oulu centre. The city of Oulu is quite small but
Lapland Adventure I just got back from one of the best trip I have ever done. Four friends of mine that I met during the Erasmus in Turku and I went for an adventure to Lapland for 6 days. We rented a car in Turku and drove all the way up till Levi and back. The time we had, the adventures and the landscapes we meet will always stay in my mind and in my heart. I am glad I can now share my experiences, stories and pictures with you. I will tell you about our trip going from place to place,changing town and location almost everyday. It was very interesting to see how people and culture can vary from place to place in Finland. I loved the nature, expecially when the white of the snow was covering lakes,trees and houses. Such a magic atmosphere everywhere. While we were driving I was taking notes and pictures that I will share with you. I will also give some info and details about accomodations in order to help you in case you are planning a trip there. So, the next pos
Schoking food:Mämmi The other day I was talking to one of my patient at the hospital and talking About traditional food she asked me if I have already tried the Mämmi. To be honest I have never heard about it before and it was a lot of fun when she tried to describe it to me saying that this typical finnish dessert actually looks like poop. She told me that Mämmi is made of water, rye flour, and powdered malted rye, seasoned salt, and dried powdered Seville orange zest , the preparation takes many hours, and after baking the mämmi is stored chilled for three to four days before being ready to eat. this dessert is Generally eaten cold with either milk (thet is how she preferes it) or cream and sugar, and less commonly with vanilla sauce. On old times it was also eaten by some spread on top of a slice of bread. She said that it is very sweet and after one spoon you may already fell like it is enough. Apparently It is possible to buy it in the normal stores here in
Föli Bus Hello everybody! This is a post to inform turists who are comung to Turku for the first time. I think is good to have this kind of info sice in other countries like Italy the system is completely different. Today I want to give you some tips about how to use pubblic transposrts in the city of Turku (and surrrounding areas like Raisio, Kaarina, Naantali, Lieto, Rusko). Pubblic transports work pretty well in Finland, bus stops are close to eachother and the busses are always in time. For this reason it is not necessary to have a car in order to move around the city. So, if you do not have a bike or if it is too cold to use it I suggest you should try the pubblic buss (Foli Bus). The only problem is that the bus ticket is a little expensive (3 euros per run). But, here I come with my tips for you... If you are just a daily visitor it is possible to buy a daily ticket which lasts 24h and has a convenient cost (7 euros). In this way you will be free to move easil
Cultural course for Exchange:Turku Cathedral If you come to Turku you will surely pass by the Cathedral ( the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ). It is possible to visit the Church for free and I absolutely suggest it since it is a very important building rappresenting the history of the city and the history of finland. The Church was built in 1300 but it was then expanded in the 14th century and then built again after the big fire of 1827 due to the big damages. The Cathedral is situated close to the city centre in a nice square, sorrounded by typical building that are part of the old town area. I was surprised knowing that the Church is regarded as one of the major records of Finnish architectural history and is considered as the most important religious building in Finland .
Schok:First snow!! the end of october brought the first snow of the autumn season. For me it was just magic to wake up, look put of the window and see the streets and the roofs covered in white. The snow lasted just for a couple of days and then it left the place to a layer of ice. After snow comes ice.... now i know, I have learned in the worst way (falling twice walikng to the buss stop). Apart from the small accident with the ice I would say that I really enjoy the "winter atmosphere" that snow brings. It already feels like Christmas!! On the streets everything looks more bright and nicer.