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.

Miten Puola kasvattaa. Part 1

Jokaisen ulkomaan matkan jälkeen palaan eri ihmisenä takaisin. Maailma kehittyy kaiken aikaa, mutta ympäristöllä on tapana kehittyä samaan tahtiin sen ihmisten kanssa. Joka kerta, kun olen muualla, kehityn eri tahtiin kuin kotona. Tämä aiheuttaa sen oudon kuplan aina kun palaa: kaikki on samanlaista kuin ennen lähtöä, mutta silti aivan erilaista. En ole enää synkronoitunut ympäristööni.

Asiasta puhutaan harvoin. Kukaan ei puhu paluun vaikeudesta. Monesti ihmiset puhuvat kulttuurishokista, vaikeuksista jotka kohtaa, kun saapuu uuteen maahan. Sitä on tutkittu todella paljon ja aiheesta on monia oppaita. Lähes huomiotta on kuitenkin jäänyt käänteinen kulttuurishokki, joka ainakin minun tapauksessani on aina ollut pahempi. Se tunne, ettet enää ole yhtä tutun ympäristön kanssa, on hirveimpiä maailmassa.

Olen nyt vieraillut muutaman kerran Suomessa tämän kesän aikana. Tuntuu sekä oudolta että ihanan kotoisalta, kun minulla on kaksi kotia, joiden välillä sahata. Tuntuu äärimmäisen oudolta mennä Suomeen ja joka kerta kokea se kupla - olet irrallinen osa kaikkea. Koti tuntuu silti ihan yhtä kodilta, vaikka tavarat ovatkin jatkuvasti hukassa. Pakastimessa on eri järjestys, unohdat itse katsella kukkasi etkä enää osaa lukita parvekkeen ovea.

Minulla on vielä hiukan alla kaksi kuukautta aikaa. Pyrin nyt ottamaan siitä kaiken irti, enkä miettiä tulevaa kulttuurishokkia, en kuitenkaan mahda sille mitään.
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After every trip to abroad I feel like I'm coming back as a whole different person. World is constantly changing but usually surroundings evolve at the same phase as people in it. Every time I'm somewhere else I naturally change in different phase. It causes this weird bubble when coming back: everything the same, yet completely different. I am no longer synced with my surroundings.

No one usually talks about this. No one talks how hard it is to come back. Usually people talk about culture shock, the difficulties when adapting to a new culture. It has been widely researched and many guides has been written. For some reason there haven't been that much attention on reverse culture shock which is - in my opinion, much worse than the normal one. The feeling not fitting in known environment is one of the worst feelings ever.

I have visited Finland few times during this summer. It feels both weird and super cozy to have two homes. Feels really weird to go Finland and experience that bubble - you aren't part of anything. Home still feels like home even though everything seems to in wrong order, I keep forgetting to water my flowers and I don't know how to lock the balcony's door.

I have little less than two months left. I'm trying to live it at my fullest and not to think about upcoming reverse culture shock, I cannot prevent it anyway.

Different thing in Poland. Part 3

Part 1
Part 2
9. Somersby Beer drink.

Somersby in Finland is well-known for its delicious ciders. When I saw Somersby here I was going HALLELUJA! in my head. Then I realized it's not the same.. It is okay, but the after taste is little bit too much beerish in my opinion.

10. Unisex toilets

Many places have unisex toilets.  I'm not sure if it is gender equality issue here or just practicality, it is much more easier to have unisex toilets. Either way, it is amazing and the way things should be.

11. Paying with cards.

Cards are way more common than cash. You can pay with contactless payments like paypass almost everywhere and it is desirable. Most surprisingly - you cannot pay with cash in the festival, only cards we accepted. At least in the Open'er Festival.

12. The forest.

It is so different when comparing to Finland and at the same time it reminds me about Korea. Tall trees, walking routes, really easy place to get lost. When you go in it feels like entering a fairytale.

Why do I want to leave Finland?

Esimieheni kysyi minulta viime viikon lauantaina miksi vihaat Suomea? Tilanteessa oli vaikea selittää, etten vihaa Suomea, haluan vain asua muuallakin kuin Suomessa. Mutta miksi? En koskaan aikaisemmin ollut kunnolla miettinyt syitä, joten kysymys sai minut pohtimaan asiaa.

Sää. Pidän lämpimästä. Sen takia jokainen paikka, jossa on edes hiukan lämpimämpää kuin Suomessa, houkuttaa. 9 kuukautta talvea on hiukan liikaa minulle ja jos minulla on vain mahdollisuus, lähden sitä pakoon.

Kokemus. Haluan kokea kaiken mahdollisen ja tuntea eläväni. Vain yhdessä paikassa pysyminen asettaa rajoja ja hidastaa kehitystä ihmisenä. Matkustaminen antaa enemmän vaihtoehtoja ja auttaa näkemään asiat eri perspektiivistä.

Kulttuuri. Erilaiset kulttuurit kiehtovat minua. Jokaisessa kulttuurissa on omat piirteensä ja salaisuutensa. Samaan aikaan kuitenkin monet asiat ovat samanlaisia. Se on todella kutkuttavaa. Paras tapa todella tutustua kulttuuriin on asua kyseisessä maassa.

Itsensä haastaminen. Uuteen paikkaan muuttaminen, uusien ihmisten tapaaminen,  uusien tapojen oppiminen. Haluan nähdä, kuinka reagoin eri tilanteisiin, haastaa itseni hyppäämään tuntemattomaan.

Muutos. Ainoa, mikä säilyy, on muutos. Joskus olen taistellut sitä vastaan, mutta nykyään kunnioitan ja arvostan sitä. Kaikella on tarkoituksensa ja jokainen muutos johdattaa minut uuteen, jännittävään paikkaan.

Kaikki tämä sotkeutuu keskenään ja muodostaa sen palon sisälläni, joka ohjaa minua Suomesta pois. Tällä hetkellä tuo palo on johdattanut minut matkailemaan ympäri Eurooppaa, vaihto-opiskelemaan Etelä-Koreaan ja nyt harjoittelemaan Puolaan. En malta odottaa, mitä seuraavaksi keksin.
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My manager asked me last week's Saturday why do you hate Finland. Well, I don't hate Finland, I just want to live outside of it. But why? I had never actually thought the reasons why I want to go abroad so badly. So I started to wonder it.

Weather. I like the warmth. I want to live somewhere where it is warmer than Finland, even a little bit. 9 months of winter is too much for me, so if I get a change I run from it.

Experience. I want to experience more, I want to feel alive and staying in the same place limits you. Travelling gives you options, new perspective and helps you develop yourself.

Culture. I find different cultures interesting and the best way t really get known one is to live in that country. Every culture has their own characteristic and secrets and at the same time many things are same. It tickles me.

Challenging myself. Moving to a new place, meeting new people, learning new habits. I want to see how I react to different situations. I challenge myself to take the leap.

Change. Only change is sure. I used to fight it but nowadays I respect and honor it. Everything happens for a reason and every single change guides me somewhere new and exciting.

All of this makes me desire more. It fires me up and pushs me away from Finland. This point I have been travelling around Europe, studied in South-Korea and now doing my intership in Poland. Let's see what happens next.

Different things in Poland. Part 2.

Part 1
5. Drivers give you a way 
... even better than in Finland. I have spent most of my life in Finland where it's quite save to cross the street. So it shouldn't be a surprise for me if drivers are polite. But geez, here you don't have to think can you cross the street in the crosswalk because everyone stops. Right away. You just need to walk. And it is awesome.

6. Traffic light are extremely fast.
Seriously. It is almost impossible to cross the street with green light. You need to run if you don't want to wait another green.

7. Light switches are wrong way.
At least at our home. No one believes me and I'm the only one who gets annoyed by it, but I'm sure that in all the houses I have lived in Finland the light is off when the switch is down. Here it's on. You can imagine how many times I have forgotten to turn off the lights..

8. Windows open two ways.
This is apparently normal in many European countries but for me it is the first time to actually realize it. All of our windows can be opened both vertically and horizontally. I have never seen it in Finland. But again, this might be only our house.

Different things in Poland. part 1

When I was in Korea, I did these "different things in.." posts and now that I'm here in Poland, I will start posting same kind of posts. So here we go.

1. Architecture
This is obvious one. The architecture in Poland is totally different from Finland. Poland has more colors, many different kinds of houses next to each other.. For me it is just beautiful.

2. People who seem to be from 80's.
Yeah. I have seen so many young people who seem to be right from 80's. One day we saw group of young punk kids and it was amazing. But it might be only me who thinks people wear same clothes as 80's.

3. Women always leave the elevator first.
This has caused little confusion for me. First days I always wondered why no one leaves the lift. Then I learned I have to be the first one leaving if there's only men and me. I heard it's because old elevator etiquette.

4. There is more than one railway company. 
In Finland there is only one railway company, VR, owned by government. So for me it's always surprising to see many railway companies.