September

Last month here. Completely different month. Everyday has been different. I started September with car crash and concussion, continued by saying bye to all the other interns.

Then my dear friend visited me and we did most of the mandatory tourist stuffs in one week. We visited Stutthof, Old Town and Westerplatte. Tried different foods, mainly sushi though. Partied with my co-workers, talked for hours. 

After she went back to Finland, I started to spend more time with my co-workers. We went to beach, watched movies, partied, went to Oliwa park.. I did almost everything I wanted to do before going back to Finland. 

During this last month my position at work slightly changed. Other interns left in the beginning of September which meant I was only Finnish speaker in the mornings. Oh, the quiet mornings alone, it was beautiful. I am still an intern, but I am not the newest agent in IT Service Desk anymore. Our team got two new Finnish members and one new Swedish speaker.

This month has been full of explaining things and realizing how little I actually know. If I ever thought I have gotten any good at my work, this has taught me to be more humble. There is still lot to learn.

Lapalice Castle

Half built castle middle of nowhere, built without real permissions. 

That sounds like my kind of crazy. 

Little bit more about the background here. 

Kartuzy is about one hour way from Gdansk which isn't bad for after work road trip. The architecture of the castle is brilliant. You can easily move between different parts of the castle, it feels like a labyrinth. There is a huge dancing hall, dozens of different rooms, towers, way too many stairs and surprisingly many floors. 

If you are around Tri-city, I recommend you to rent a car and drive there. It will be worth of it.

Two weeks left.

In two weeks I will be back in Finland. My internship in Kemira Gdansk will be over and I will go back to my Finnish life. I have so mixed feelings about it. It is lovely to see Kalle ja Marsa and all my other friends. It is awesome to be able to touch my love ones, go to the movies or have basic dinner. All that normal stuff you miss when you are abroad.

But it also means going back to Hämeenmaa and school. I always loved working for Hämeenmaa, I was really good at my job and it was kind of second home for me. Now I have been away almost 5 months and I'm not even sure who is working there. Also my professional ambition has started to grow and I want more, I want different.

Besides working in Hämeenmaa, I will need to finish my studies. I don't have that many courses for autumn semester, but I will have some projects in Neloskerros. 26 ECTS plus thesis left, it's not that much. I have always been bad at studying and motivating myself to study, but I really want to graduate.

Going back to situation where you have to study and work at the same won't be nice. It means I won't have energy nor time to exercise, see my friends or have quiet time for myself. It also means I have to face the reverse culture shock again. At least this time I know what am I going to face so it won't be complete surprise.

Two weeks left. I have to make the most of it. 

Different things in Poland. Part 4

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
13. Melody in the traffic light of Gdansk.
It is natural to have sound in the traffic lights so blind people can also cross the street savely. We have it in Finland also, but Gdansk has their own tune. It is not the basic PEEP - PEEP - sound, it is something different. It is hard to explain, so listen to yourself.

14. Public toilets have separate toilet section.
First I though it is just some of the toilets, but everyone I have visited so far has it. When you go in, you enter the hand washing section. Then after another door there is toilets. There is always the door between.

15. Cleanliness
This is actually something my mom pointed out. Even though some buildings are old, the streets are really clean. There isn't cigarette butts or trash all over the place. In the festival people were picking up their own trash. It seems that Polish kids are taught to keep streets clean and if not, there is cleaner who sweeps the streets in the morning.

16. Going to the doctor
This is the thing that gets me every time I have to see a doctor abroad. I can just walk in and get a appointment. No long waiting lines, no huge bill after it, no expensive tests. They see me and they write me description for antibiotics. Just like that. It is awesome and scary at the same time.

The safest thing is to do dangerous stuff.

Everything is possible in Poland. What I have learnt now is that when you try to be smart and safe - it never ends well. Last Wednesday evening I got in the car crash while we were parked next to the road, lights still on. We decided to stop for putting music on, since you know, it is dangerous to concentrate on something else than driving.

I remember the lights coming towards us way too fast. Sudden impact and sand dust everywhere. My friend opening the door for me and my phone dropping to the ground. 

"Call the police!"

"Call the ambulance!"

Me standing next to road holding Poro and watching people talk. Many cars passing our car, too many random faces. Nice people taking care of everything. Random moments here and there, head full of fuzziness.

I'm alive and that is all that matters.

More pictures here.