Täällä on ollut aivan mahtavat säät, ja jatkuu vaan! Kävin äsken meressä uimassa (kylmää oli, mutta jälkeenpäin ihan mahtava fiilis). Sen jälkeen maistui kaakao + kermavaahto + strösselit! Toissapäivänä kävin myös uimassa, sillä kertaa aamulenkin jälkeen. Aivan ihanaa kun on auringonpaistetta nyt kun ei tarvitse vielä kuluttaa päivän valoisia tunteja kirjaston pimeydessä. Tänään tosin pistäydyin jo kansalliskirjastoon aloittelemaan lukemisia. Kolmannen vuoden opiskelijoilta odotetaan paljon - valmistautumista luennoille, seminaareihin sekä jälkityö näiden jälkeen. Nyt ehtii kuitenkin nauttia vapaa-ajasta. Kävimme piknikillä lounaan merkeissä ja tänään myöhemmin on tarkoitus syödä tossa viereisessä pubissa. Eilen kävin myös elokuvissa, uusi versio Jane Eyrestä (kotiopettajanromaani). Oli kyllä kauniisti kuvattu ja mielenkiintoisella tavalla rakennettu aikajärjetys (ei aivan kronologinen, enemmän palautumisia etc.). Elokuva oli kuitenkin turhan synkkä ja "pelottava" kirjaan verrattuna. Tänään on myöhemmin vielä luvassa ensimmäinen basketball social, mukava päästä tapaamaan uusia pelaajia! Meillä oli tiistaina "recruitment" tapahtuma, jossa puhuin kuin hepokatti ja saimme yli 70 naispuolista opiskelijaa kiinnostumaan pelistä. Toivottavasti innokkaita pelaajia löytyy myös treeneissä syksyn edetessä :) Sunnuntaina pidetään ekat treenit, jännittävä nähdä ketä silloin tulee paikalle, ja minkä tasoisia pelaajia tulee joukkueseen. 

Wales, vuosi nr 3.

Vika vuosi Walesissa on alkanut. Kandin lopputyön lisäksi minulla on edessä kaksi kurssia: "Global justice" ja "International Conflict Resolution". Sen lisäksi ajattelin käydä Arab Israeli wars -kurssin luennoilla muuten vaan. Luentojen alkuun on vielä viikko aikaa. Nyt ehtii rauhassa järjestellä tavarat ja elämä kuntoon ennen kuin kovin kiire yllättää.

Matka Walesiin taittui laukkuja raahatessa. Kolmen tunnin lentomatkan ja kolmen junamatkan jälkeen saavuin Birminghamiin, jossa yövyin kaverin luona ja jatkoin matkaa vasta seuraavana iltana Aberiin. Oli mukava nähdä kiinalaisen perheen arkea ja syödä niiden herkkuruokia mmmm. Jamitettii kaverin kanssa päivällä (kitara, laulu, saksofoni) ja mä soitin saksofonilla tuikituikitähtösen. Mun pitää kans saada tää kyseinen instrumentti <3. Käytii Birminghamin Chinatownissa myös, oli ehkä aika ruppana verrattuna New Yorkin C-towniin.

Bham - Aber välillä kirjoitin yhden raportin ja tein "on the way to Wales" biisin garagebandilla. Ehkä hienoin kappale ikinä. Yksi ystävä oli vastassa juna-asemalla saapuessani sinne puolen yön maissa. Myöhäisestä ajankohdasta huolimatta jäimme hänen keittiöönsä juttelemaan ja syömään englantilaista kakkua mmm!! Seuraavana aamuna menimme hakemaan avaimet uudelle asunnolle ja voilà! Hieno asunto kertakaikkiaan. Merinäköala, ei mattoja vessassa tai keittiössä, itsesäädettävä patteri, Ikean lamppuja ja hyllyjä, iso olohuone, tuplalasit ikkunoissa :) Paljon plussaa. Jep, ja tää on joku vanhusten suosima kerrostalo ihan keskustassa: jokasesta kerroksesta löytyy tuoli, hississä on tuoli ja suihkussakin on tuoli jos väsähtää kesken matkan.

Osa mun parhaista kavereista onkin jo saapunut tänne, samoihin aikoihin mun kanssa, ja olen viettänyt monia hyviä hetkiä heidän kanssaan. Pidin yksityis koristreenit ugandalaiselle kaverille tänään, jotta sen olis helpompi tulla tiimiin pelaamaan. Ensi viikolla alkaa kausi ihan tosissaan. Kohta onkin aika lähteä kirkkoon! Zau!

essay time

Here it is again, the most intensive and stressful time of the year: essays! So far, one down - three to go. In a way I really enjoy the fact that during essay research and writing you go really deep into the topic and learn so much.. and at the same time you learn about essay writing, building the arguments, analysing, referencing, structuring paragraphs, ... all sorts of academic and useful stuff. Hey and I had my first presentation ever given at university. It was not too bad, of course I was scared hehe, but all in all it went really well and my seminar group had a good laugh as well (at me or my joke, i cannot tell) ... So goood times! I am really trying to overcome my shyness in the seminars.

It is still pretty warm in here and rainy (suprisingly)! A polish miracle man came to save my room from mold fungus stuff earlier this week (that was spreading in my room) and he washed the blinds as well when he grew tired of listening me complain about the dirt on it :D And he fixed the fan in the kitchen and promised to come again to clean the microwave and some other stuff as well - for free! yey. I guess moaning sometimes brings positive outcomes. I have to figure what to complain about next time hehehe. No just kidding, I wouldn't do that.

Three weeks and I will be finished with lectures. This semester has gone so so so fast. F A S T !
goodnight now

Oh happy days!

How do you know that two Scandinavians (more correctly: from Nordic countries) are living in the same household? There are three cheese slicers in the drawer. (osthyveln/juustohöylä)

I was really tired and a little bit sad today when I went to my Global Environmental Politics lecture today. I sat down and took my notebook out of my bag, placed it on the desk and suddenly saw that someone had carved out some text on the desk. I read it and had a big smile on my face for the rest of the day. This is what it said:

"...Imagine an elephant.
Now imagine another elephant.
You thought of the same elephant twice didn't you...
You Prick."

kipeenä :(

I take one day off, which was yesterday, and afterwards it is so HARD to get back to the study mood. I'd so much rather wach a dvd, sing a song, eat B&J Caramel Chew Chew, stand on my head, ... anything but concentrate on studying. One day, just one day I had off 'cause I was feeling awefully sick and had to stay in bed or lay on the couch the whole day and now it is the hardest thing ever. I should be writing a little essay on the Kurdish question in Iraqi politics... and my motivation is a very big and round ZERO. lekker man! Haha, I hope tomorrow will bring some better resaults.
We had a plumber guy here today and hopefully he got the washing machine fixed for last time I tried getting some laundry done the machine cycled for 16 hours.. lol.
I think I need to get back on the game as well: basketball! my body feels awefully lazy because of just laying in bed...

W A L E S

It is grrreat to be back! I love it here. This year I have even better courses than last year, especially second semester it will be just amazing! Right now I have three modules: 1) Global environmental politics, sustainability and security, 2) Contemporary Latin America, 3) Islam, Foreign Policy and the Developing World. No complains!!!
I have two weeks of lectures behind me and I am already swamped with assignments and reading-to-do. Feels like I am two years behind... though I have learned here that there is and always will be something you could do more and better so no reason to get upset about the "falling behind" -feeling. Of course I did spend last week in Denmark instead of attending the first week of lectures... so here we are! What would life be if we did not have to bear the consequences of our actions.
Ålborg, Denmark was grrreat! I loved it. Friendly people, interesting discussions, great food, good wine, nice entertainment, ... Why not!
I went back to basketball this year and well.. I love it! I am playing for the first team but feel like I am the worst (least experienced) player which means that there is only one way up. I feel that every practice I am developing my game, getting more skills and becoming more fit. I really enjoy the feeling after a successfull practice when the team has worked really hard together.
I kind of had to quit all other extracurriculars, this one hobby of mine is quite demanding so besides I'm only committing for church activities, especially 24/7. Well and maybe salsa classes on Tuesdays.. They are just offering too many good things here! Besides, they are not letting the second year students have it easy which means that I need to continue reading about Conceptual perspectives on gender in Latin America now and continue writing some other time!
Ta-ta!

The northest city in the world

 

 

Okay the layout is really weird here, some reason I cannot write between the pictures or it gets all weird and mixed up. So I will just briefly comment something in the end here. So these pictures are from the first morning in Hammerfest. We were really lucky to have such a beautiful and sunny weather. It felt incredible to wake up that morning and look out of the window. I felt that we were either in Iceland or Moon.. it must be the lack of trees around there. Also as it was the beginning of autumn when the leaves start changing their color to yellow and red, in Hammerfest the GROUND changed color. Of course there are no leaves because there are no trees, so the color of the ground really stands out with its all beautiful colors and shades of different red and brown. The landscape is kind of rough and that is what makes it so pretty. Deep fjords around, colorful tall houses situated in every possible edge of the hill, the  Arctic Ocean with the gasboat with four gas tanks! Also I think Hammerfest has the coolsest clouds ever! And it is SO clean over there. The air is fresh and cool, eg., if a car drives pass you the air suddenly seems so polluted, whereas living in big city one car passing does not make you cough, probably won't even notice.