In May I Visited Helsinki, Where I Lived For 2 Years. Awesome New Museum AmosRex And Amazing New Library

Don’t have time to publish all my Portugal photos before going to the next tour! 

I’m still in summer... 

J'arrive Québec!! in a few days :)

I'll let the time tell me..

Hey all..

Still unemployed, I’m afraid. Never been this eager (read: desperate) to find a job. Totally new experience, this one.  For me having a job is so much more than just a source of income. Going to work has always been a very social thing as well. It gives some sort of meaning and structure in your life.

I guess it’s hard for the local employers to understand that I can really work for free during my practical training thanks to the Finnish social insurance and despite the fact that I study management at the university level, the ordinary customer service work is really what I wanna do at the moment. If it’s -my far from perfect- French – no one has said it out loud yet. Not sure if I’ve been looking for the right places though. Have widened my search and looked for jobs outside of MTL as well though leaving this city is the last thing I wanna do. Though in a way it’s interesting and exciting to see where I’ll end up.

(from this exhibition: http://www.mosaiculturesinternationales.ca/en/ )

Summer has ended and besides the weather you can see the season’s change in the streets of Montreal. Don’t mind really. Fall has always been one of my favourite times of the year. In here it’s especially beautiful with all the maple trees.. I do love to live in this city and even though it didn't work out in the end and I’d have to leave I try to celebrate every moment I get to spend here. I’m so lucky.

Also I’ve lived in my new room for a week now. I’m so loving it! I mean how happy can you be for having one simple window! The window itself looks quite dirty and the scenery ain’t impressive but having that fresh breeze.. :D

(my new room, messy I know but otherwise it wouldn't be mine)

Otherwise not much new with me. My days are filled with the job hunt, going to the gym, some school stuff and new friends. Met my first Finnish person here btw! Worth mentioning for! Though I’m perfectly comfortable speaking in English and it’s not like I miss home or anything but I gotta admit that speaking in your own language is quite a luxury when you’re being this far away from home. 

(my new room - look at all that space!)

Took my camera out for a long time and this is what I captured: Helsinki streetview during the May Day’s celebrations. 

++++ Finland!

A few things I enjoy coming home to. For a change at least.

In general it's kind of nice to return to a country where I'm a citizen.. entitled to many things I've learnt to appreciate like health care for example. Friends and family come also handy as a safety net when everything just sucks big time. #imissyoutoo

Ice cream: better, cheaper and the selection of flavours waaay much wider.

Sauna

If you find a lake, river or whatever water system you can actually swim in it. 

Food: Carelian pies, devil's jam, salmiakki... yum, yum, yum! 

White nights in the summer time.

Life is so boring that I'll actually get some school stuff done #whatwasmyexcusebefore?

(Not my pic)

Being €uropean - the union and currency makes travelling so much easier.

I can get naked in women's locker room at the gym (at least at the gym I go here there are lockers insides of the lockers and if you don't use them people look at you like a crazy woman!)

Prices include the taxes.

Distances are shorter. 

No stranger, cashier or a salesman cares how I am - I can be as quiet and shy as I want!

On tv, commercials don't come in the middle of the scene, in the most inappropriate moment of all.

(Not my pic)

Online banking - seriously never had a need to go to bank this frequently. You can also draw cash from any ATM nevermind the bank you're actually using.

You can do all your shoppings in ONE store (food, cosmetics etc).

The products don't change places every week and if there's something really run out of stock it's something truly seasonal or something I can yell about to a poor staff as a customer :)

If you work on Sundays or on a holiday you'll get 2x hourly wage. 

Temperatures actually feel like what the thermometer shows... most of the times anyway. 

Houses are mice/rat free.

Tax system is easier.

Masterlist

Contains my photos and blogs from 2017 on. Updating as we go along and digging some older posts from MTL times. 

BLOG 

Eurovision

UMK 22 

Host City 22 : Turin

ESC 20 : Best Non-English Entry

UMK 20

Eurovision 2018, Lisbon. 

ESC 19: Songs that I love but others don’t / Artists coming back to ESC / Songs that I don’t love but others do / Different genres / UMK artist guess / 

ESC 18: Positive review / Negative review / Songs that I loved but other’s didn’t / Non-English songs / Biggest growers / Different genres / The BIG 6 / Saara Aalto Songs / Mid tempo tracks / 

ESC 2023: 10 things I don’t want to see / Voting system to be changed / Who will qualify SF2 / Who will qualify in SF1 / Top 5 Non-English Songs / 

UMK23: Keira / Benjamin / Robin / Lxndra / Käärijä / Kuumaa / Portion Boys / The worst UMK stagings / UMK23 review / 

UMK24: Cyan Kicks / Sexmane / Sara Siipola / Jesse Markin / Windows95Man / Sini Sabotage / Mikael Gabriel x Nublu 

Lisbon Life : 

LX Blogs / LX tips Part 1 / LX tips part 2 / 1 year in LX / Sintra first impressions / Quilty 6 months in LX /  Fall 2017 / One month in LX / 2w / PT expectations / Going to LX / 

Something else 

100 years of Finland / 3 x / Home / Geography of my way / 

PHOTOGRAPHY: 

Lisbon

Sintra / Lisbon before Covid-19 

Lisbon Before Covid-19

Lisbon Before Covid-19 Part 2

Mixed: Olaias Metro, the most beautiful / Xmas / Less known LX / Random Part 1 / Pantheon + random / Rua August sunrise / 

Waterfronts : Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / 

Parque das Nacoes: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / 

Belem: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / 

Palaces: Queluz part 1 / Queluz part 2 / Belem Part 1 / Quinta da Regaleira Part 1 / Pena and the Moors Part 1 / Pena and Moors Part 2 / Pena and Moors part 3 / Pena and the Moors part 4 / Pena and the Moors part 5 / Royal Palace of Ajuda / 

Lisbon Streets: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 /  Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / 

Beach: Part 1 / Cascais / Praia da Ursa

Sétubal: Part 1 / Part 2 / 

Arrabida : Part 1 / Part 2 / 

Portugal

Berlengas: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / 

Azenhas Do Mar: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / 

Porto: Part 1 / 

Nazaré: Part 1 / Part 2 / 

Évora: Part 1 / Part 2 / 

Braga: Part 1 / Part 2 / 

Coimbra: Part 1 / Part 2 / 

Costa Nova

Helsinki

 Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / 

Lahti

 Lake: Summer Part 1 / Winter Part 1 / Winter Part 2 / 

Travels

Bologna: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / 

Amsterdam : Part 1 / 

Galicia:  part 1 /  part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5 / 

The last of Tallin. I promise. For a while anyhow. 

Treasures of Lisbon streets!