Sunshine!

It is HOT! The weather has been amazing for the past week and according to all the forecasts it’s not going to change for a week or two. So if there are no new posts, then I’m too busy sunbathing and swimming…:D

Speaking multiple languages might cause funny situations every now and then. I am often so absent-minded that when a person speaks to me and I understand what’s been said, I kinda forget to register the language he used…and end up using a totally different language as I answer. Like for example once in Lake Garda, Italy, my English response “nine” to weather I would like any stamps was not probably the best solution…as the question had been posed in German and thus “nein” means no. I got none, obviously.

I’ve had a few situations here too…I opened a Belgian account when I got here, and when I visited the bank for that, the official naturally asked some personal information about me, in French. After name, address, social security numer and so on he suddenly asks “Est ce-que tu est célibataire?”. My first tought was that what the f*uck my sex life has to do with opening a bank account…as I translated the sentence to something like “are you living in celibacy”. But in fact, the guy was just asking my marital status, as in French a single person is called “célibataire”. Luckily I didn’t open my big mouth to ask anything stupid.

One day we were all sitting around the table and suddenly there was a huge bang when the wind closed a window that had been open upstairs. As Laura asked about what had caused the voice, Kaiser answered in Arabic, but as the word they use for wind is pronounced similarily as Finnish “hauva”, which is a dog, there was quite a scene when a terrified four year old wanted to know what a dog is doing inside their house

I’ve been in two French classes now, I take them at Alliance Francaise in Brussels. It’s been nice, but I have the feeling that the level’s not quite right for me…I have this been there done that, can we move on? -feeling. But we’ll see. There’s nine of us now I think, so we get to speak a lot and the teacher has no mercy if you don’t pronounciate correctly (Jaakko, this might be the place for you too! ).

My feet are itchy once again, I feel like travelling My list of upcoming trips looks like this right now:

Antwerpen, 10.-11.5

Paris, 30.5-1.6

Rimini, San Marino, Venice 12.-16.6

An interrail in August, I’ll pick from the following: Greece, Turkey, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia

I also wanna go to Luxembourg and Amsterdam asap. And yea, Erja has managed to convince me to try scuba diving, she’s recommended the Red Sea, so I guess it’s Egypt then too, any time soon…

I accept donations from everyone who’d like to help me with curing this fever, it just keeps getting worse.

“So at night I put my French heels on…”

It’s about 5pm on Sunday and I just woke up to notice that Keasar’s brother has arrived for a visit with his family. This is the second time they’re here since I arrived – and the second time I’ve been sleeping while, as I have been partying for the whole previous night. Gosh they must think that I am reliable and trustworthy.

I’m not that bad as it might seem, really. It’s not even a hangover that I am suffering from, just that I have not slept at all last night.

There are these high velocity Thalys trains running between Brussels and Paris, and as a permanent offer you can buy return tickets to Paris with 30e if you travel between 7pm on Saturday night and 8am on Sunday morning (these are the departure times). I just couldn’t resist!

At some point another au pair girl who lives here nearby was about to come with me but she cancelled, so it was just me, myself and I then, and we totally had fun. This time I did bring both a regular map and a metro map with me, I usually forget the previous one, but I was not tempted bu the idea of getting lost in Paris in the middle of the night, so I kept it in mind that I have to remember the map.

I had just arrived to Gare du Nord and was about to buy a carnet of metro tickets when two british girls, a few years younger than me probably, came to ask for an advice with the metro. They were totally lost, I can tell you, I almost had to accompany them to the right train hand in hand and I even marked to their map where they have to change…but I truly doubt that they have found their hotel without problems. I mean come on, the signs with the line numbers and direction names are HUGE, you cannot avoid noticing them, but they just didn’t. They said that they’d love to see the nightlife but they don’t feel comfortable leaving the hotel bu night because they might get lost. Yea, I admit it was a wise solution for them to stay there…but with such a bad navigation skills and lacking an adventurous nature, how much do you really see while travelling? At least they can give detailed hotel reviews, spending so much time in there.

I hopped in to a metro and soon enough found myself wandering around the area nearby Louvre and Les Tuileries garden, a skinny latte from Starbucks in my hand (I had to, yes I admit I am addicted). There’s one popular nightclub in Rue Rivoli right next to Louvre, but soon enought I headed to Montmartre which is known of it’s lively nightlife. True, at least the streets were packed with people, and there are hundreds of pubs, restaurants and cafes in the area. A great place to head in the early evening, in addition to a dinner and a few drinks, climbing to see the Sacré-Coeur is not a bad idea either.

I sat down in a restaurant with some live music, ordered a Piña Colada and started throwing questions at the bartender to get some tips from someone who’s local. I wish I would remember the name of that place, because you should NEVER EVER try Piña Colada there. There was so much booze that I simply could’t drink it.

Near the Moulin Rouge, in the Pigalle area things get a bit X-rated. It is quite equivalent to the Red Light District in Amsterdam…peep shows, strip clubs, prostitution, sex shops. Formerly also known with the nickname “Pig Alley”, it might shock a conservative tourist but is definately worth visiting. There are a few popular night clubs right next to Moulin Rouge, and I visited two of thems. And despite what is written above, they truly were regular night clubs

At first I went to O’Sullivans, an Irish bar which has both a restaurant and a dance floor there. The entrance would have been rather pricy I think, as it is everywhere in Paris, but I managed to end up chatting with a guy who works there so I got in for free and got a free drink too (diet coke, that Piña Colada made the even a tought of drinking anything with alcohol repulsive). I spent a bit less than two hours there, got to know some Parisians and had fun. But the place was not quite what I had been searching for.

Based on what the locals recommended for someone who loves to dance, I headed to La Loco right next door, and WOW! Amazing atmosphere and great dancers, tecktronic seems to really popular in Paris and it was like wathing a choreographed show! I danced quite a while with some french girls who wanted to teach me some reggae and tecktronic, omg how much I laughed! For the rest of the night then, I was accompanied by some italians and we had a blast, all the way till 6am when the place got closed and I headed to catch my train from Gare du Nord.

I’ll be back in Paris for a few days in the end of this month, maybe I’ll manage even to get some pics then. But yea, I need some more sleep now.

Brussels once again

Because Thursday was a bank holiday, Laura’s school was closed on Friday and Erja didn’t have to go to work, so I had a day off. My cam’s rather bad, but I love to take pictures, and I decided to head to Brussels and follow the japanese way of getting to know a city – go through all the essential places taking pics. I added a few to the picture page already.

I’m not even a bit religious (quite an atheist in fact, wouldn’t probably even belong to a church anymore if I didn’t have a goddaughter), but I love churches and cathedrals because of their architecture, history and atmosphere. The older the better. And yes, once again I noticed that I drifted in to several churches without even thinking about it really.

The cathedral in Brussels is beautiful. There was an exciting exhibition going on, “Icons in Transformation” by Ludmila Pawlowska.

“The icon has a spiritual power which comes fromt the icon itself, a kind of light. To create and capture a light has always been the most difficult and greatest challenge to artist throug the centuries. This exhibition is my attemt to capture in in my own way.”

Her own way means pushing the boundaries when it comes to the motive, form and composition of an icon. But the result is great, I must say, I could imagine having one of those pieces hanging on my wall, that’s how much I liked them. Here, as an example, is a bad picture that doesn’t really bring justice to the artist:

Belgian chocolate is known worldwide and claimed to be the most delicious you can find on the face of earth. This far I haven’t been even tempted to try it, but as my day was very touristic anyways I decided to give it a shot. I entered one of the lovely little chocolate shops you can find from every corner (and even between them) in Brussels, and bought a few expensive pieces based on the salespersons recommendations for a girl who loves white chocolate and all kinds of nuts.

It was so delicious that it is incomprehensible. My gosh, I’ve never tasted anything like that! Those pieces had all kinds of different fillings and they literalily melted in my mouth. If you ever visit Belgium, this is something you should put in your To Do – list.

I did some shopping too, I gotta admit. I bought a really cool white “leather” jacket and some stuff from the Body Shop. Products that taste like coconut…mmm, I love that scent! If you bought stuff with more than 30 euros you got a little gift set with mascara, eau de toilette, day cream and body butter for free. Mine made 29e, so I ended up buying a set of stickers to support MTV’s and the Body Shops AIDS campaign.

It is sunny and warm outside and I’m all charged up so I’m gonna head outside now, in terms of a little nordic walking perhaps. And it is PARIS tonight btw! Can’t wait!

Fear and loathing in La Hulpe

I’ve been following the news about this incest thing in Austria (if you do not know what I am talking about it is time to crab the newspaper or just to open your eyes, it’s everywhere).

How SICK can a human being be? Josef Fritzl maltreated his own daughter for 24 years. The descriptions of his acts in newspapers disgust me, but the worst line I have read this far was that he can only be convicted for 15 years…fifteen years for those 24!!! In my opinion, this is what death penalties are for. The more it hurts, the better. Natascha Kampusches kidnapper killed himself, and I am certainly not grieving.

The huge amount of publicity these repulsive cases get is a really positive thing for it causes fear. Fear makes people alert and it makes them act to prevent similar things from happening. Have you ever tought how cruel and scary the movies that are made for kids may be? Well, they have to learn to be afraid and recognize the things they should be afraid of. Right?

One of the most shocking pedophilia scandals happened here in Belgium – Marc Dutroux kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered young girls in the mid 90’s. I remember my mum and dad mentioning about that when I was a kid – the shock of that story was more than enough to generate a healthy fear. Around the same time with the Dutroux case, a convicted pedofile Abdallah Aït Oud was released in Belgium. He renewed his crime shortly after that, was not convicted but sent to a mental hospital which he left soon and has been suspected for one or more pedophilia cases since.

It’s been more that ten years since the horrors, but even here in the peaceful La Hulpe people are very strict about the safety issues, I have heard the word pedophilia several times during my short stay in here. At Lauras school, kids play in a fenced area with locked gates, and there’s not a single road right next to the fences.

Yet, I doubt that enough could be done. The sickest minds seem to find their ways to deprive the most basic human rights from the others. No matter how rough it might seem, thanks mum and dad for teaching your naive little girl a lesson. Thanks for making me alert.

A good deed indeed.

No one can carry all the problems of the world on his shoulders, as there is too much to take even for the countless number of huge organizations, fighting against poverty and its correlatives.

We might not be able to remove these problems but we can offer a helping hand without giving up on hardly anything. Yes, even as a poor student living on macaroni and tuna you can afford it if you really want to.

Speaking of food, visit World Foor Programme and find out how to help. Their Free Rice game for example is an entertaining way to grow your vocabulary in English and feed people at the same time. If you need some motivation before getting into action, Poverty.com makes you realize why to do so.

Kids are close to my heart and I am a World Vision sponsor with my family. The life quality of a Peruvian schoolgirl Liset and the whole surrounding community is improving thanks to our modest monthly donation. Finnish page here. Plan International is another good and reliable organization for sponsorships and more.

You don’t have to cry yourself to sleep every night thinking of the poor kids of the world, or to stop enjoying the fact that you are privileged when it comes to quality of life. I did not write this to preach and lecture, but every now and then it is good to face certain facts.

I’m off to some Free Rice game now

Rainy day rescuers

On a sunny day I love the fact that I have huge windows. But on a day like this, when everything is grey and you can see the rain running down the glass…well, I just drew the curtains.

Despite the rain the game isn’t up, I’ve got one of the loveliest books ever here, Le petit prince (Antoine de Saint Exupéry). Melancholic but makes me smile every time I read it, and for some reason it’s always a day like this when start leafing it through.

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

“That is the hardest thing of all. It is much harder to judge yourself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself, it’s because you’re truly a wise man.”

“You risk tears if you let yourself be taimed.”

After philosophizing with the little prince, it’ll be a Disney movie with Laura, who comes home early from school as Erja works here at home every Wednesday. There’s that magic word Disney. Love them.

One of the best things in here is definately the food Keasar does excellent Libanese and Syrian food and Erjas specialities are Mediterranean and Moroccan…so what would be a better cheer up than a delicious dinner, after which I’ll head to Ottignies to watch a spectacle called “Evolution”. There will be several girls from the classes I take at Artendance performing there.

A bit of finnish salmiakki Erja bought me yesterday from the Finnish Church in Brussels is gonna crown the day. Those I can nibble at while packing. I have four days off and hardly anything planned yet, I am just gonna take of on tomorrow morning and see where I’ll end up! Can’t wait, I love surprises

It is raining, indeed, but I’m determined to not to feel depressed by that! And yea, I know that in Finland there’s a lovely spring weather right now.

Proudly from Finland!

For the whole past week the weather here has been great, days are sunny and warm and hardly windy at all. Inspired by the beautiful weather, I decided do get familiar with the grounds of Château de La Hulpe. The magnificent castle itself is closed to the public, but the grounds are accessible and very popular among the locals as a place to jogg, go horseback riding, make romantic walks or perhaps even have a picnic.

Nordic walking is getting more and more popular in here, so I decided to be proud of my origins, lended a pair of sticks from Erja and headed towards the castle. The area was full of endless paths across fields and through the woods and obviously well taken care of. During my extremely sweaty nearly two hour walk (which included about three hundred climbed stairs), in addition to the castle I found two ponds packed with ducks, gooses, mallards, black coots and SWANS, stables, several pastures with plenty of horses, some sort of a small cathedral, a belvedere…the area just kept continuing and I kept finding new crossroads in front of me.

I’ve visited the grounds with my sticks several times now and I keep finding new routes, which is great. My buttocks certainly have noticed the amount of stairs and steep rises up the hills On Friday I visited Les Rênes de la Vie, a small riding school next to the castle. I still have to negotiate a bit, but I think that I’ll manage to go horseback riding around the grounds any time soon on my own. Can’t wait.

In addition to eagerly promoting nordic walking I managed to reveal my Scandinavian origins by taking a nap in the backyard under the afternoons boiling sun with no sun protection at all – I was flaming red when I woke up, whereas all the locals have either been wiser than me with the sun protection or just used to the effects of the springs sun. They are just slightly (in a really good looking way) bronzed. I would have r that too.

I’ve visited Brussels a couple of times and I really the city, it’s beautiful and vivid and I really like the result of all the cultures that have melted into one in here. People are friendly but not too pushy. For someone who just wants some shopping to be done, with a similar taste with mine at least, Brussels is rather effortless. Rue Neuve offers absolutely anything and is easily accessible from several train stations, by foot, trams or metro. The only thing I’d love to add would be a Starbucks cafe!

My language courses start on 5th of May, so then it’ll be Brussels on every Tuesday and Thursday. Next weeks gonna be busy as I have loads planned, but I’ll get back to that later.

Imagine – Armin Only 2008 in Utrecht

What a weekend! I definately had one of the most intense experiences in my life!

Armin van Buuren is dutch dj and a producer, often mentioned as the heart and soul of trance music in Holland. I’ve never been much into that kind of music, but as Juha – a friend of mine who I met while working as a tourist guide in Lapland – suggested this event to me I thought that why not, let’s be open minded. And I must say that I do not regret that I agreed.

After catching up and some delicious italian food in a full-packed restaurant we headed towards Jaarbeurs. We queued to get in for about an hour and 15 mins, not bad at all concidering the amount of people there. After the security check, we both attached green bracelets around our wrists, these were given by some girl who stood right next to the security check area.

Soon enough we noticed that hardly anyone had one of those bracelets we did. Well, we found out that there was only a very limited amount of us “Special guests”, and there was a fenced area right next to the stage where you only us were allowed! Me and Juha both managet to find space right next to the fence, standing a bit higher than the rest of the crowd, so basically we had a better view that nearly 20 000 other people there. Beginners luck!

We danced the night away, literally. I only stopped while going to the toilet, otherwise I kept dancing for THE WHOLE NINE HOURS. I didn’t feel tired while dancing, but once I stood still right in the end of the show, I realized how exhausted I was and no matter how much I wanted to JUMP when Armin asked all the people to do so, I just couldn’t anymore. I had totally given my everything!

The whole event was so impressive, and amazingly well organized, everything went really smoothly and we hardly had to queue at all once we got inside (you even got the drinks in like 2 mins, quicklier than in any bar or night club I’ve been to).

Sunday then. I was so tired, so hungry and so thirsty for the whole freakin’ day that you can’t even imagine. But the night was definately worth of sore feet and a day spent just recovering. Loads of thx to Juha, without him I had missed an amazing experience.

Check out a Youtube video to get a hint of what this was all about.

Sneeze!

I’ve been a bit sick here, took a nap today and everything to get rid of this flue, as I’ve got plans for the weekend and I do not want to miss what’s to come.

On Saturday morning I’ll hop into a train towards Utrecht in Holland, to meet a friend and attend a huge party, Armin Only 2008 with approximately 20 000 people there! Can’t wait! Both the ticket to get in and all the train tickets have been bought already, so I refuse to get too sick to go! Tell u more about that event once I’ve been there, as I don’t even know what to expect really

Someone’s been useful already, Laura’s Finnish has improved quite a bit!

Dance classes

I have been determined to keep on taking dance lessons while I’m here, and on Monday I had my first ever dance lesson in French! The dance school where I went to is called Artendance and it is in a place called Limal, about 15 minutes from here by car. Their website was quite promising, so I went there with huge expectations and I gotta admit, I was a bit nervous.

It went quite smoothly, thank god. I didn’t realize that the names of different movements are already familiar to me in French, because of ballet! So there was no problems with the language.

The class I attended on Monday was way too simple for me. After about fifteen minutes the teacher mentioned that I should propably take one of their more challenging classes. They have five different levels there, 1 being the easiest one, and after Mondays class I was adviced to attend classes of levels 5 and 5+.

So, I took a level five class yesterday and I enjoyed it so much! It was really techical, which is good as I want to improve that side A LOT. The routines were really really different from the ones we do et Citydance, more like what they call lyrical dance in the States. Great, absolutely great. They had been doing the same routines for a while already, but I managet to get most of what I was supposed to and after the class I signed in, to take classes every Tuesday (jazz 5), Wednesday (jazz 5+) and Thursday (Contemporary).

I have also found an equitation school where I could ride on weekends, they speak both French and English there. I’m going to test my level in French next week and start with the language course in the beginning of May…and I opened a belgian bank account today, so I have managed to organize things quite a bit.

Oh, and I also FINALLY have a (functioning) mic and a cam now, to make calls with my computer! Luckily for me there’s someone back in Finland who seems to be very eager to hear my voice as he spent a few nights on a computer helping me to make that thing work (yes, I admit, I would have never succeeded without help ). Thx <3

By the way, I already got lost with my car once As Kaesar said, if you put a blond finnish woman behind the wheel, problems are to come! But I get more familiar with the region every single day so hopefully this is not going to be a habit

It’s warm and sunny and beautiful in here, things just couldn’t be much better I’m happy.