October 7 Round 2: Feelings After a Month

I feel that after a month, the honeymoon stage definitely wears off. You become emotional and annoyed with your host country. Obviously, not all things are bad.

Things I dislike about Finland:
1. Service is so slow. From a server's standpoint (or any customer service job) it is a business to be efficient and quick. Finns do not think like that. For example, an event is planned where 4,000 students are planning to attend. Bars do not staff more than two bartenders. The City Centre (downtown area, in Europe they always say city centre) was booming with people but it took at least a half hour to get a drink.

2. The coffee is gross. For how much coffee they drink, it tastes really bad. And it makes me miss CoffeeMate creamer, I know it's fake but it tastes so good! However, I am growing fonder of tea.

3. This is more of something I miss: peanut butter and Kraft macaroni. I know this is 150% American of me. One night I tried to make homemade macaroni and I failed miserably.

4. Schooling. I wish there were some middle ground between American and Finnish schooling! School here is not taken as seriously. Probably because its completely free. But American schools are way too expensive and a student cannot wait to graduage and be done. Here they take their time and study what they enjoy, which is something I do like. People should be free to study what they enjoy, not study for what makes the most money (which is what many Americans do, understandably so). I don't feel any motivation to try or do well in school, which is why I don't like it as much.

5. I miss the 406 so bad! Sometimes SO bad.

What I love about Finland:
1. The recycling! It's amazing here. Keep all the bottles and cans and you get $.15 to $.40 per can! That adds up to a lot! Also, you have to pay $.20 per grocery bag so there aren't any bags being wasted and polluted into the Earth. I bought a reusable one; I'm so green! ;)

2. How laid back the Finns are. It's very much like Montana, it is nice to be reminded of home on a regular basis.

3. You would be surprised how many exchange students they get here! I've met someone from probably every country in Europe, people from Australia, South America, North America, China, Japan, Africa, you name it! And everyone's here to have fun and get to know one another. And go to the sauna of coarse.

4. I bike everywhere! My legs are going to look so good when I come back to the U.S.

5. Traveling to Lapland (Arctic Circle Finland), Santa Claus, and reindeer.

I haven't decided about the rain yet.