Green Pigs and Reindeer Burgers: A Finnish Bucket List

If you have ever played the game Angry Birds there's a good chance that you've reached a point where you're angrier than those birds will ever be. Now, I'm no expert on the game, but I'm willing to bet that the root of your frustration was probably those pesky green pigs. Somehow, a lack of limbs and the fact that their teeth grow out of their noses never seems to the stop the green swine from constructing elaborate fortresses and robbing the birds of their precious eggs. Well, I'm afraid they've struck again, and this time in a very real way.

You can keep your news and exclusive content, pigs

As soon as I was accepted to the University of Turku I spent (too much of) my free time researching Finland. The more I learned, the more excited I became about experiencing all things Finnish and at the top of my list was Särkänniemi Adventure Park aka The Angry Birds Theme Park. If you love Angry Birds, why wouldn't you want to launch life-sized birds from larger-than-life slingshots? Before I could finish my daydream of hopping into a giant red bird and riding off into the sunset, though, I was foiled again by those meddling pigs...and their dog? Ruh-roh.

In an attempt to compile the most comprehensive (or first) Finnish bucket list ever I enlisted the help of the folks at the giant internet forum called Reddit. In short, reddit.com is a site fueled by user-submitted content that is voted on and commented on by other "redditors." There are innumerable sub-reddits that cover everything from the mildly interesting to rocket science. The nice people over at r/Finland were very helpful when I submitted this post asking what was missing from my study abroad to-do list. However, one theme that emerged and upset me more than it should have was what they had to say about Angry Birds Land:

• "Angry Birds Theme Park If this is the Särkänniemi AB theme park, I've heard it's quite...modest." - wianmaterial
• "The Angry Birds park is for small children only." - nawitus
• "Huh, there's an Angry Birds theme park?" -Elx-
• "The Angry Birds Theme Park on the other hand is overrated and closed in winter." - ramilheti

I was crushed. What I had heard/seen about Angry Birds Land, and what these people were telling me didn't add up. In fact, I don't think those comments came from people at all. I have a sneaking suspicion that the green pigs are behind this, too. If a lack of limbs couldn't keep them from building castles - what's to stop them from trolling internet forums? I see you pigs. And I'm still coming.

I have to eat one before I see one or I might not be able to do it

Here's the final draft of my bucket list - I will be satisfied if I get to do at least half of these, but it would be cool to do all:

1. Visit at least one national park

2. Go cross country skiing

3. Ice skate over a lake or seashore

4. See a dog sled race

5. See reindeer (preferably in nature)

6. Eat a reindeer burger or some other reindeer dish

7. Visit Santa's Village

8. Go to a Finnish Metal Concert

9. Try open ice swimming

10. Explore Helsinki, Tampere, Åland, Lapland, and Oulu

11. See the Northern lights

12. Try mustamakkara, fresh sahti, bilberries, Karelian pies, and Kalakukko

14. Enjoy a Finnish Sauna then run out into the snow or ice water

15. Learn some Finnish

16. Travel to the other Nordic countries, Russia, and possibly western Europe

Thanks for reading!

Choosing Finland

"Hey mom! So I've been thinking..."

"Where is it now, Nathan?"
"Uhhh, Botswana..."

From January to early March of this year I tortured my parents with phone calls like the one above as I tried to narrow down where I wanted to study abroad for the fall semester of my junior year. At one point, Botswana was actually an option. As was Estonia, Ghana, Morocco, Denmark, Finland, Puerto Rico, Norway, Ecuador, Iceland, and Costa Rica. As long as this list seems, though, I actually considered it an accomplishment to have narrowed down ISEP's list of about 54 participating countries to only 11 (and a U.S. territory).

ISEP (International Student Exchange Program) is one of several approved study abroad program providers that my school, Southwestern University, partners with for students who are interested in studying outside of the SU-sponsored programs. The SU-sponsored programs are great: a semester in London with SU professors and students as well as summer studies in Spain, Jamaica, and Costa Rica are all very popular. However, I knew I wanted to study abroad for more than a summer, and to step out of my own comfort zone by studying in a place where I wouldn't know anybody. I eventually chose ISEP as the program provider for me because my particular financial aid package would cover any ISEP Exchange program that I was accepted to.

In order to keep whittling down my list of potential destinations I made multiple appointments with SU's Study Abroad Office to help me figure out how to choose. SU's Study Abroad Director, Tisha, and Study Abroad Specialist, Matthew, were both incredibly helpful, accessible, patient, attentive, and kind. We discussed languages, preferred climates, school sizes, course offerings, and more until I was left with the University of Ghana and the University of Turku in Turku, Finland. Both locations offered great courses that would count towards my sociology major, programs that had received stellar reviews, and generally fit the rest of my criteria for an ideal study abroad experience. Tisha and Matthew then helped me complete the application process which was full of essays, credit transfer forms, course selection forms, recommendation letters, transcript requests, and more paperwork that I navigated easily with the Office's help. ISEP allows applicants to include up to ten schools they would like to have their application mailed to so I added some back-up schools in Finland and sent my application off.

By the end of March I was notified that I had been accepted to the University of Turku, and I was thrilled! For the first time in my life I would travel outside of the United States. The next step was pre-departure preparation which I will explain in very thorough detail in a future post for anybody who plans on studying abroad (especially in Finland). Thanks for reading!

Introduction To Me, Finland, And This Blog

A Brief Introduction

My name is Nathan and I am...about to be very cold. More importantly, though, I am a junior sociology major at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. On August 21, 2012 I will leave my native San Antonio, Texas to spend about five months studying abroad in Turku, Finland. At the University of Turku, I will take courses in the Finnish-Nordic Society and Culture program (in English) which include:

• Finland in Northern European Contemporary History
• Nordic Welfare State from a Comparative View
• Education and Equality
• And possibly: a Finnish language course or Nordic Gender System and Cultural Representations of Gender in Finland

I am taking these courses mainly because my curiosity was piqued by all things Finland, and I want to learn as much about it as I can while I am there. I will be living in an apartment about 2.5 km (1.5 miles) from campus at a complex called Haliskylä. I will probably do some combination of walking and riding the bus at first, but there may be a bike in my future, too. 

Finland Quick Facts

• Finland (Suomi in Finnish) is located in Northeastern Europe, and is home to about 5.4 million people.
• Finnish is one of two official languages but it is spoken by most people (90%); there is a Swedish-speaking minority (5.4%) present, too. 
• Finnish is regarded as one of the most difficult languages to speak in the world, and I swear each word is 40 letters long (kahdeksankymmentä, anyone? It's Finnish for "80"). Luckily, most Finns speak English, too.
• Finland is one of the five Nordic countries; the others being Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Denmark.
• Finland is a member of the European Union so their currency is the Euro. 
• Finland is 8 hours ahead of Central Time in the US. When it is 4:00 PM in Texas it is midnight in Finland.
• Finland is roughly the size of Montana. The state. Not the Hannah. 
• Some notable Finnish productions: Nokia phones, Angry Birds, Finnish folk metal and Finnish saunas.
• Weather in Finland while I am there will range from as high as 70 degrees Farenheit in August to as low as below 0 degrees Farenheit when I leave in December.
• It snows frequently in Finland and then kind of looks like Narnia. 
• In December there will be only 5 hours of sunlight each day. I might come back SAD.
• Finland is the world's leader in education. 

About This Blog

I'm not keeping this blog for any kind of credit (to my knowledge). Instead I will be keeping it for a number of personal reasons:

1. As my mother-turned-travel agent can attest, there is not a whole lot on the internet in terms of pre-departure instruction for an American student going to Finland. I plan on beginning this blog with a number of posts detailing everything from getting a passport, applying for a residence permit, visiting a Finnish embassy, buying clothes, applying for housing, packing effectively, handling prescription medication abroad, managing a cell phone, opening a bank account, and more. Hopefully, between my posts and outside resources I link to, future American students headed to Finland will have a thorough guide.
2. I want my friends and family to be able to follow my adventure in Finland and (hopefully) communicate to me through comments. 
3. I think blogging is a great way to compile photos, videos, stories, information, set goals, and then look back at it all when it is over. 

Aside from the early pre-departure posts, I hope to keep this blog funny and light. Also, this is my first blog ever so any feedback would be much appreciated!

At Highline Park in NYC I tried to catch all the sun I could before Finland