Week in Toruń

 So, I have returned from my mid-term training in Toruń. The city is absolutely beautiful. Inside the old town walls it seems as if completely untouched by the modernisation of the outside world. Full of history, with the cobblestone streets and the ruins of the castle still remaining. The city is lively, full of people, though hardly any tourists. The architecture of the old town of Toruń is very united, so for standing for the feeling of realness, at least more than compared to the fakeness of Warsaw or the contradictory of Kraków, not to even mention Poznań on this. Of course it's just my opinion, but there's no doubt that the city is beautiful in any case.

One of the city symbols is the frog. According to Lonely Planet (click) the legend says that a witch once came to the town, but wasn't welcomed by the locals. In revenge, she invoked a curse, and the town was invaded by frogs. The mayor offered a sackful of gold and his daughter to anyone who would rescue the town. A humble peasant boy then appeared and began to play his rustic fiddle. The frogs, enchanted by the melodies, followed him to the woods and the town was saved. Much like the Pied Piper story. Anyway this supposed to be a symbol of luck, and there's a fountain next to the town hall, surrounded by these statues which we groped a little. One of the other symbols and attractions is the Leaning Tower, which as it's name says, is a leaning tower (which originally it wasn't). According to our trainer-tourist guide, if you're able to hold your balance while leaning on the wall of the tower, you shall have a straight life (I didn't see many of us succeed).

City tour and ridiculously photogenic observing Ivar

The mid-term trainig differenced from the on-arrival training a lot. As the on-arrival training mostly provided us with the tools to mak the most out of our project and how we can improve our competences effeciently, the mid-term training was more about gathering the knowledge we've received and aknowlodging the competences we've improved, and how to benefit from them for the future. The whole future-orientation of the training was a huge positive aspect. In general the atmosphere of the training was more relaxed, less theoretical as we already know about the official parts of EVS and more about us as individuals.

We had a workshop in the museum to share our knowledge with others. There was intercultural learning; italian gestures, history of spain, traditional dances, different alphabets, but also origami, graffiti writing and my workshop, juggling for example. It was really fun and also  a good way to to reflect your self-expression.

We also layed some paper boats to the river, as wishes for the future. The day was really windy and the river was going crazy and I think all of the boats sank within the first minute after touching the surface. However, the idea's what counts, right?
What are your future plans after EVS? Was one of the topics we talked about. I have some plans, but the truth is, I really don't know what's going to happen. But I feel like this experience and all the personal growth I've gained, the new perspective of myself and of the world surrounding me is supporting me in a way that no matter what happens or which path I choose to take, I will be on the right way.

I'm overall satisfied with this week, the group of people was amazing and we worked well together. I was lucky to have so many friends of mine there but also to meet other people, sharing the same experiences. And have a lot of fun with them.
Also I made a succesful, as well as a long journey to the other side of the river to get some photos of the city. From here you can see that it's not very big, but has a lot of character (kind of like myself).

'I only have one month left of work. This all seems so surreal, what has happened, what is going to happen. Kind of like I felt when I first got here and was adapting to the whole new life situation. It's scary to think about the fact that all this I've somehow relied on is going to be over soon. But thanks to also this training, I feel more confident on being able to accept new challenges and continue my journey.

Along the way; Bratislava

We were on our way to Bratislava. Our new addition to the family is an austrian penguin called Rodrigo.The trip only took about one hour or so from Vienna, and it's so hard for me to understand such a big difference between two cities that are so close to each other. We did all kinds of fun things, like ice skating and going to see the Hobbit. Even though the movie was in original language, I didn't take in consideration that it will still have slovak subtitles. At least I have something to be surprised for when I watch it again, when I can finally know what was said in the elvish and orcish parts.

 The city was beautiful, in all its eastern contradictory. In this picture you can see the silhouettes of both of the two bratislava symbols we visited. The Bratislava Castle and the UFO tower. The photo is taken from the clock tower of the Bratislava City Museum.

The Bratislava Castle

These are pictures taken from the UFO tower. The tower is actually a structural part of the bridge over the Danube. It's 95 metres high, with an observation deck on top and a restaurant inside. I loved it, all though the whole thing itself is just weird. The weather was not on our side, it was all the time so foggy, that during the day you could not even have seen the closest skyscraper. I'm still hoping to see snow at some point this winter.

So I'm kind of lazy to write right now. Our mid-term training is coming to an end soon. It has been a lot of fun and also mind-opening somehow. The story filled city of Toruń is by far the most beautiful polish city I have seen. I will enjoy getting back to routines for a while when I get back home on sunday though.

Along the way; New Year's Eve in Vienna

Starting new year's eve in an amusement park wasn't something I expected I would do until now. We visited the giant wheel, Wiener Riesenrad (link) to get another view of the city from above and it was absolutely beautiful. The ride itself was a pleasant experience, and the city decorated with the exploding fireworks here and there over the skyline. We weren't the only tourists enoying this, but the park itself didn't have many people around, which made it at the same time kind of creepy and beautiful when walking around the park, just the way I like it.

At midnight we went to see the fireworks (with the rest of the people in Vienna I guess) at Heldenplatz. It was absolutely beautiful and such a remarkable, special way to start this year. I'm gently covering 2013 into bed and kissing it goodnight. Thanking it for everything it gave me, especially everywhere it brought. All the possiblities I had and all the chances I took to make it a year worth while. This past year will have so much meaning, like a prelude to a book not yet written. Right now as I'm writing this I'm sitting in the train (which is super uncomfortable by the way, and I'm so very hungry and I still have hours to go) on my way to Toruń for my midterm training (and now as I'm actually posting it I'm alreay here). The sky is clearer than I've seen it for weeks and the sun is just flickering through the window and running around everywhere, making everything look a little bit more alive. I'm excited about 2014 and sure it's going to be a great year.

So I started my year super excited with a hockey game on the first of the first. I was not disappointed, although the game itself wasn't as good as I'm used to (I don't think I have to underline here where I'm from, and by the way recently we won the world junior championships, congratulations little Lions!). The atmosphere was still the same, the hall was fully packed and the players had mullets and the referees were blind.

Drinking beer before entering the hockey hall like a proper finn.

Next stop: Bratislava!

Along the way; Vienna part 2

We climbed up the St. Stephen's Cathedral to get a better view of the city. The tower rising up to 136 metres doesn't seem so high when observed from the ground, and 343 steps of narrow circular stairs don't seem so bad after actually getting there. Anyway, it was very rewarding and the church wasn't too bad from the inside either. Sensei was looking into the distance, wondering about life. I was lucky to talk him away from jumping though, so emotional it had made him.

The city of Vienna is absolutely beautiful. Of course as in any other big city there is also a lot of ugly blocks and scyscrapers, not to mention a lot of tourists blocking the view. The magnificiency of the historical buildings is astounishing. One can only wonder through the streets and parks surrounded by these massive stone palaces and feel a bit small in this world.

Along the way; Vienna part 1

The travel from Helsinki was not as bad as expected with a four hour wait in Riga. The connection from the airport to the city was good and comfortable with the airport train. After that I was on my own and what could you expect fromme than to get lost while looking for my hostel. I even had a map for that. I eventually got to the Ruthensteiner (click), which was a pleasant, cosy hostel in a very nice location just a walking distance from the Westbahnhof.

So first things first, when visiting new places; checking out other life forms in the area. The Vienna zoo is a big zoo with big cages and very impressevely decorated yards for the animals. I have never seen most of the animals in their natural habitat but I guess they were happy (at least happier than in a simple concrete box). And a large variety of them; I kind of missed the monkeys, for they had only a few, but they made this up pretty well with pandas and penguins, both which I have never ever seen before. There's a lot of things to see, five hours was not enough to go all around it. I would say this is the best zoo I've ver been to.
One of my absolute favorite animals is the meerkat. If I ever get my own place I will just cover my floor with sand, fill it with these and throw in some heat lamps. I could watch them for hours. At least they actually do something and are quite interactive, as the pandas were just eating with their backs turned to the audience; therefor no pictures, because all of them are just of the back of their heads. Makes me believe even more that they are just some mythical creatures and those were just some guys sitting around in panda bear costumes.

How adorable can a baby elephant be?! Very. I've never seen penguins in my life (or if I have I'm sincerely sorry that I don't remember us meeting) and I was so excited to experience this. We also spotted the Madacasgar Penguins, apparently keeping their base here. Sorry to inform you Skipper, but your disguise is failing.

I really love how they put effort in presentating the animals (or at least some). I.e. there were these tubes going all around as pathways for the ants to run around from one cage to another and do their ant stuff.  For this, this place provides also great surroundings for some amateur photography.

Along the way; Christmas In Finland

What was going through my mind when waiting for my transfer in Warsaw, hungry and tired and trying to stay polite to a very rude, obviously fed-up-with-her-life info desk girl (providing zero info) was; I can not wait to get out of this country. The travel was long, but the thought of beautiful white view under the clear sky and the fresh, gently biting frost in the outskirts of Helsinki was keeping me going. As soon as I landed I realized that I actually came home; the rain and the greyness covering everything, including the clear-of-snow black wet asphlats. However, home is home and I was happy to be there. I didn't take any pictures of the weather but all my friends (and almost all foreign people I met) thinking that Finland is a minus 20 degree winter wonderland all year round -this time i wished they would have been right. And for the record to my dear non-finns; I still didn't see any sign of polar bears or penguins, or not even reindeers (I live in the south coast afterall).

I had a great time seeing my friends and spending time with my family -and especially the dogs. And our old cat, who non-surprisingly, though unnaturally was still alive. I bet the rest of her nine lives are just multiplying everytime she loses one. What was this post about again..

...Christmas is a time of sharing and loving, but I have to admit that as in many other cultures also; food plays a big role. And I ate. I ate like I hadn't seen food for four months. The thing is that Christmas food is so delicious because you only eat it so rarely - I hit two birds with one stone on this one, for I got to eat basic finnish food also which I can not get anywhere (and anyway, I don't cook, so thanks family!). At christmas in my home we eat -as the finnish tradition goes- ham. Delicious 10 kilos of meat with a mustard veil, as we call it, like a greasy fat bride walking down the aisle directly to my stomach. With this we have special christmas bread, some fish and different mashes of carrots and potatoes and so on.

So this is mainly what my christmas
looks like (yes, delicious). I really enjoyed the time with my family - my sister is an excellent baker.
Somehow I miss being there, but I was not sad to leave. I know I can always go back, and I know I will.
Anyway after christmas I flew to Wien (another whole-day of travelling, nerve-wrecking experience; I really love travelling but I hate transporting myself from one place to another.. even though as contradictory as that may sound like).

Thanks to everyone I met during my stay, thanks to my family for reminding me what's home (and for the food). So I guess I might be done with the christmas posts for now.

Here's something else that I did at home with my sister :

 (link to the original song)

Christmas In School

Well, the whole performance was in polish, but I catched on pretty quickly. I'm not really religious and I  don't know the whole story, but from this I do know that Jesus was born on christmas -I still don't know what the witch and the kings got to do with that though. I apologize for my ignorance.The show was great, the kids were presumably adorable. We have some real talent in our school, also not only in the field of acting but in singing also. We got to see some really nice musical eprformances also. I've heard the girls singing a few times in events like this and it's so beautiful it always brings a little tear to my eye.
Also with Penina and Claudia we sang Silent Night, of course in our own languages (which also brought a little tear to my eye, but in a little bit different matter). We didn't practice before this and last minute we decided to throw an english version in the end for all together. Claudia sang in spanish and I forgot the lyrics. I should get video at some point of this event, I'll be happy to share. But overall, an enjoyable experience.

After the performances, the classes had their christmas eve suppers in their classrooms. I'm fortunate to be able to celebrate christmas so many times in different situations, because christmas equals food. Traditional style, we had barszcz soup and pierogi, and the rest of the food were provided by the students. Salad, fish, cakes, cookies, gingerbread... It was also nice to spend this time with a gimnazjum class, as I don't work with them so much. We broke some christmas bread and wished all the best and merry christmas to each other and enjoyed each other's company. And the food.

To be honest pani, you could have predicted this, with all the sugar you're allowing them to consume on this occasion. Just saying.

Anyway, this was a perfect last day, and I'm happy to have a little holiday right now. I'm excited about going to Finland, as well as I'm not so excited about still not having my backpack packed. I do this everytime, I manage everytime and I still stress about it. This is exactly why I need some holiday from time to time. So merry christmas, happy new year Poland, I'll see you in january!