Month: June 2021

We are wrapping up the time in Kuopio and will depart in a week.  And so it is appropriate to say kiitos:

Kiitos to the Fulbright Finland Foundation, and the Saastamoinen Foundation for supporting my Fulbright project. I am especially grateful and humbled for this opportunity in the time of COVID. There were so many unknowns for the past 18 months, but to paraphrase the Foundation’s motto: together we shaped the future.

Kiitos to colleagues. Here is a picture of my host Jukka (right) with Frank (another colleague I closely worked with) on the left during a recent excursion to Koli National Park. Kiitos to answering my endless questions and for helping shepherd the project to a submitted paper. 

The Biogeomchemistry Group at the University of Eastern Finland has all been so welcoming, kind, and gracious.  I can see how you value the whole person – each lab meeting begins with everyone going around and sharing their past week – the good and the bad, the achievements and the struggles, the personal and the academic.  These practices support a humane working environment.

My goal for this blog was to document ways that life in Finland are similar and also different from my life in Minnesota.  Thank you for reading along, and if I may dispense one last piece of advice: if you are looking for a place to re-invent yourself come to Finland. 

Let me state the obvious: winters are cold and dark (and perhaps a tad too long).  There are times when I was frustrated by how some aspects of society are unnecessarily complex (don’t ask me how to open up a bank account for example).  However there is a very different counterpoint to those two aspects. 

Everyone we met was gracious, kind, and welcoming.  These contrasts force you lean in to the moment and to and embrace it – they can be ephemeral but they also demand that you lay attention to the moment, as it may soon pass.

We experienced a sense of safety and security (personal, societal, financial) that frankly I have been missing for a long time.  There is an innate trust people have in each other. 

We are amazed how nature (and access to it) is valued and incorporated into the city design.  We didn’t own a car and felt that we could navigate around well for the day to day and the long haul: we traveled the length and width of the country: from Rovaniemi to Espoo; Turku to Joensuu)

These are precious gifts.

And so my final kiitos is to Finland and Finns. 

Onward!

If you have ever spent time on a lake, there are moments on blue sky sunny days when nature comes into alignment.  The birch leaves with the sun shining through are sparkling emeralds.  The water, reflecting the sun, can be mistaken as a sea of shimmering sapphires.  This is a special time of day – and I had the privilege of experiencing such a moment on these last few weeks of our time in Finland.  Everything felt in alignment, but I know this comes on borrowed time.

This moment was courtesy of my Fulbright buddy Hanna – who invited us to spend the day with her and visit her friend’s family who has a summer cottage.   It was a beautiful day – the sun had finally come out after a week of rain.  Spring was in full bloom.

The summer cottage is situated on a lake where they are the only human inhabitants.  Slowly, lovingly, they are built a haven to unwind from the day to day life (with plenty of projects).  Beyond the vistas of the lake they also have an authentic Finnish smoke sauna where we went in and out several times (the kids loved it).  I was able to jump into the cool lake after the sauna several times.  This experience was uniquely Finnish, and it was a gift.

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Hanna remarked to me recently that they move in two seasonal rhythms – “winter time” – a more inward focused time where they tend to stay home more, cook, catch up on reading and “summer time” – as you can imagine is the opposite: the social calendar is filled, with visits with friends, enjoying the outdoors, swimming, gardening, hobbies, etc.  Naturally the contrast between these two times align with seasonal rhythms (which I can appreciate living in Minnesota).  Right now in this moment there is so much light that you can’t help but be energized by it.

This “summer time” during this year does seem extra special because there is hope – vaccinations are progressing in Finland (currently 40+ can book a vaccine), COVID-19 infections are receding (which almost seems at parity with Minnesota).  I’ve heard a lot of comments that things are getting “back to normal”.  In many ways, winter time has lasted for 15 continuous months and people are ready and eager to shake off the vestiges.

I’ve received several gifts from Finland during this Fulbright experience: networking in an outdoor fireplace during a blizzard, crossing the Arctic Circle to visit Santa Claus, visiting a castle from the 1400s.  These experiences help me reflect on what it means to live a life with some measure of balance (or harmony).  I’ve been at my career for fourteen years, and this feels very much like a midpoint (or some inflection point) – and for the long haul some degree of sustainability intersection of my career, personal life, family, and my own anxieties needs to be achieved.  The Finnish work ethic does help support the intersection.  Boundaries for working hours are respected, July is a month where people are on holiday (at the lake!).  Mental health is taken seriously. Access to nature (for everyone) is a right.  Like this video urges, it helps to see the forest for the trees.

These things (in addition to all the other uniquely Finnish things we’ve accumulated) return with me.  Now excuse me as I go soak up some more experiences before we return.