tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22128985847552578922024-03-05T07:55:07.409+02:00anything goesadventures of FinlandSarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-26106458863331236982009-12-09T12:50:00.001+02:002013-09-12T04:08:20.201+03:00Miss List<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">December 9, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><i>A Few Things I'll Miss About Finland...</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Cobblestone streets<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Spiral staircases<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Snow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Salmiakki<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">The Chinese Burger man<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Drizzle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Bike roads<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">BMWs doing donuts in the snow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Beautiful dogs everywhere<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">My Bible study<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Finnish pizza<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Red squirrels<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Amazing water<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Sliding down the street on ice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Finnish worship<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Perfect heating<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Tiny cars<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">The woods<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Produce section of grocery store<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Saunas everywhere<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Euros<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">The language</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Giant hares</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Still air<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Shy people<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">The best milk in the world<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">The man who smokes salmon outside of Tokmanni<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">No bugs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Accents<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Quiet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Small trees<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Kombucha<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-70108415873200735122009-12-06T18:52:00.000+02:002013-09-12T04:06:35.898+03:00Slowly Breaking<!--StartFragment--> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">December 6, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today was the day I was supposed to go on my ski trip. Yes, I said <i>supposed</i> to go. I woke up around 6am feeling quite sick. If you know me at all, you know I will do anything to keep myself from tossing my cookies. I went to our kitchen and opened the door to outside. I stood in the -7ºC and snow until my nausea would pass. Then when I would come inside, it would return. So I would go back out. Finally after about ten minutes of this, I inched my way inside and took a sip of some Coke. I stood in the doorway a bit longer before I began to shiver a bit. I walked back to my room unsure of what to do. If I wanted to go skiing I had about 20 minutes to make it to the where the vans were picking us up and the walk alone takes 10 minutes. I had most of my stuff packed already, but it would be a challenge to carry my skis and everything. As I sat, shaking in my bed, I decided I shouldn’t push my body. I was deeply saddened about this decision. I was really looking forward to hanging out with all of my Architecture friends who I’ve felt I have neglected way too much. I texted Brittany and Carmen letting them know how I was feeling and that I wasn’t coming. Apparently they resented the fact I haven’t hung out with them much also because I only got a reply a few hours later from Carmen asking me why I choose to never join them in anything. I felt, today, like I have failed my relationships in Finland. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have been pushing my body to its limits lately. With sleep, food, weather… etc. Still, some days I will stay awake all night. Sleep a few hours here, a few there. I haven’t had much of an appetite at all lately, and forcing myself to eat is a most frustrating and uncomfortable regimen. Seeing time flying by, I’ve been out in the snow for hours and hours. I guess my body has had enough. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Today, I rested. While my body is beginning to feel better, my heart is becoming worse. The closer I get to coming home, the more I fear it. Now it’s the little things that are affecting me, like this ski trip, for instance. It’s not a huge deal, but a bigger deal because I am trying to squeeze everything in that I can and have wanted to do here. I guess these are always the times when you look back and see what you would have done different or would have liked to have done. I think I just have a hard time accepting those things. I feel pressure to fix them. Pressure from myself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-6362320019237492312009-12-03T00:17:00.000+02:002013-09-12T04:04:32.567+03:00These Are the Last Days<!--StartFragment--> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">December 2, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Well, I did it. I somehow cranked out a ton of work in record timing and had my final critique today. I sliced my hand open while washing a glass the other day… right in the middle of crunch time with no BandAid. It didn’t really hurt too badly, I just didn’t want to get blood on my drawings or computer… haha! Clumsy disease strikes again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">I don’t feel quite as relaxed as I thought I would. Now I am thinking of all the things I need and want to do before I leave. I’m a pretty lucky girl. We have a ski trip coming up this weekend that I need to be getting some stuff ready for and I remembered seeing a pair of skis in our “junk room”. I went and tried the boots on. Just my size! Then I came and Googled ski sizing charts and measured the skis (should stand in between your chin and the top of your head) and they come right to my nose! Perfect! One of the ski poles is a little broken on the top of the handle, but nothing major. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">With free skis, I should save a ton of money. Now I need to be working on getting food, gear, and packing all the things that Leena said we need to bring.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It’s hard to believe I am returning to America so soon. I felt like time was creeping by for such a long time and now it’s slipping out from my hands. There’s so much that I want to do and so little time. It’s a strange feeling that’s come over me lately… I don’t really want to leave. I am excited about all the faces I will get to see when I come back. But also, a bit worried at the same time. But for now, I’m just going to enjoy the air, the bright full moon, and the culture. See you soon enough, America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-76855738478946942082009-11-27T13:01:00.003+02:002013-09-12T04:03:41.062+03:00Sweet Serenity<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">November 27, 2009</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> I watched my mom board the bus to the airport about three hours ago. It was such a nice visit. I was really glad that she got to come to Finland and have an experience of her own. It made me feel good to be able to be a part of that. We did some traveling. We stayed within Finland and went to Rovaniemi in Lapland and Ranua to the zoo. It was so beautiful up north. There was so much snow… I’ve never seen that much snow in my life. I always use so many words. I feel less like talking today. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> On the way to the bus stop this morning, I looked over at my building from afar and I couldn’t see my bike parked in front. I kept walking and starting thinking in my head of where I may have misplaced my bike or parked it somewhere else and forgotten. I hoped this was the case. On my way back, I went and looked and my bike wasn’t where I had parked it the day before. I explicitly remember parking it there in the snow and going inside to wake my mom up the day before. Just to be sure, I walked around the other two sides of the building and checked the other places I sometimes park it. I found nothing. I was put out and felt pretty helpless. It made me more sad than anything. I wanted to be able to ride my bike around these last weeks in Finland. I wanted to be able to explore more and take long, peaceful rides. My bike gave me the independence I crave so much. And now, she’s gone. I was pretty angry at Finland at first. I didn’t know what else to be angry at. But, I realized that being angry isn’t going to bring my bike back or really make me feel any better. I pray that it shows back up. I wouldn’t be mad at all if I walked out one day and she was sitting there. The bike kind of meant more to me than just a ride. It was much more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">I’ve begun thinking about how I’m leaving soon and I’m afraid I’m really going to miss things about this place. This has become home to me. It may be dysfunctional, hard to understand, and inconvenient at times… but it’s home. I think what I’ll miss the most is the quiet. I don’t just mean the lack of city “hustle and bustle” or the fact that I never hear sirens or that the woods are so still and tranquil. The people are quiet and I love that. I never feel like people are invading my space (unless you happen upon an intoxicated Finn) and when I want to be left alone, I am. I’m going to miss the quiet mumbling of Finnish words with extreme pronunciations that are unmistakable even at their barely audible volumes. It’s so easy to drown out the world here. It’s easy to be… quiet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-28720653547598747412009-11-20T19:44:00.003+02:002013-09-12T04:03:34.913+03:00Depth in Disguise<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">November 20, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> I just got back from seeing the movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New Moon</i>. I really hate to add to the frenzy or to be viewed as whimsical and stupid for liking the things I do. I first watched <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twilight</i> with a reluctant attitude some weeks ago online when I was bored. All the hype and obsession had me going into it with a pretty closed mind (as I also did with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Notebook</i> and other hyped up, sensitive “chick flicks”). Well, after watching<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Twilight</i> and thinking that it wasn’t half bad and was actually good, I decided I would go see <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">New Moon</i> and that it would be worth a fun movie experience in Finland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> I fell in love with Finnish movie theaters. We walked in and went to the counter to buy our tickets. You get to choose your seats right there on a computer screen. This is quite comforting knowing we would have two seats in a specific area waiting for us when we walked in (also good so you don’t have to peek for open spots in the dark). We got some candy, popcorn, and drinks and got in the elevator to go up to our theater. We walked in just as the previews had ended. Found row 10, and there our seats waited for us with an empty seat beside me. PERFECT. The theater was humongous… like nothing I’d seen before. We guessed a thousand people were in there! Perhaps an over-exaggeration on our part </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">. The seats don’t fold up like they do in theaters at home. There was plenty of space and comfy legroom and everything. Don’t get me started on the gargantuan screen. For a moment I thought I was in IMAX (another exaggeration). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> Now to what I was really talking about… I LOVED the movie. I thought it was way better than<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Twilight</i>. And it annoys me that I feel like I can’t love it vocally because I’ll be put in a category with these crazy quixotic girls. Frankly, I’m not afraid to like movies with talking lions, wizards and magic, or vampires. I don’t think my maturity level is so advanced that these things are “silly” or “satanic” even. Maybe if the message was geared that way, I would have those opinions. But I know I spoke earlier about the message I feel is conveyed in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Harry Potter</i>. Quite a fabulous message if you ask me! Loyalty, love, friendship. Just because the author used a more fictional approach doesn’t mean I’m going to discard it for rubbish. And C.S. Lewis… I know you’ve heard my opinions on him! So why would I stick my nose up at his more fictional writing which still rings of the truth he speaks about in his more “realistic” works? Brilliance is brilliance. And a message is a message. Maybe some people have the unfortunate disability of only being able to see such substances as nonsense. I feel sorry that they miss out on what wonderful things “nonsense” can bring. I honestly feel that I relate my own life and feelings better to these stories of “nonsense” far better than the ones trying to be compliant with reality. But, we all know that as long as movies are made which break the limited imaginations of black-and-white humans (what I like to call them), there will be opposition and negative feedback. Don’t think I’m saying you must love <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Harry Potter</i> or the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twilight</i> series to have any sense at all. I do think matters of taste and personal situations and emotions still guide our acceptance and love of entertainment like this. So if it doesn’t stir up anything for you or tastes bad in your mouth, by all means spit it out. But don’t make your neighbor feel ashamed when they take a bite and can’t get enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Metaphors. I love them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">…perhaps that’s why I’m so darn "fanciful"…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-24087730781507649802009-11-15T01:12:00.000+02:002013-09-12T04:03:23.893+03:00"Literal" Genius<!--StartFragment--> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">November 14, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I just spent a few hours with my nose deep in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mere Christianity </i>by C.S. Lewis again. I always get a whirlwind of strong emotions when I read his work. One part of me becomes so excited and desperately wants other people to read it too and see what I see. Then another part of me is sort of discouraged, wishing I was able to sort my thoughts just the way he does and communicate things clearly and in just the right order. Still, another part of me is challenged and inspired with a desire to search deeper, learn more, and understand more. The simple lies people say to diminish Christianity and its worth have holes all the way through them and I’m tired of not challenging them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sometimes it takes a book to get me out of the world I think I’m in and into the world I actually am in. They often help with the reverse effect as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Words remind me of architecture. It takes a specific design, a sort of “city planning”, to put them in just the right order for the right effect of power and meaning. You can say all the right things, but in the wrong places, they are maddeningly unhelpful. A city with all the greatest places you could ever want to go, but no direction of how you get from one place to the next also becomes quite useless. Unfortunately, I personally think I focus so much on one particular space at a time that I forget about the connections and in afterthought, they become difficult to link. Less purposeful anyhow. That little gift has also been transferred to my language skills. I really have to work at thinking about how to plan out what I say, so I tend to just not do it. I jump in and rely on my spontaneity and hope that things make sense and come out clearly. And if I am confusing, I hope that people just see it as a quirky sort of circumstance of a vivacious personality spinning out of control. That would only be the optimist’s perception of me. We all find more pleasure in well-designed spaces that are so easy to navigate, you don’t even have to think. And I think words can truly ring beautiful when the context has been so carefully chosen, it is unmistakable. But for me, I want so badly to be able to say things that cause constant epiphanies in peoples’ heads and I have such a sense of personal inadequacy about being able to actually do that, that I just keep quiet instead. How quickly I forget that the message I so desire to communicate is not dependant on my literary or verbal abilities at all. Still, I can’t help but want to improve them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And so, today, I took a break from arranging and designing spaces and decided to focus a bit on an overlooked art that I appreciate. Writing. It’s just a shame that I’ll end up being critiqued and graded on the first more than the second.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">…a sneak peak at my latest, very “still in progress” project…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-77925661828823286762009-11-12T00:10:00.003+02:002013-09-12T03:50:03.589+03:00Time's Running Out<!--StartFragment--> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">November 11, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I’ve really been slacking on this whole blogging thing lately. It’s time I came out of my rut. Honestly, there hasn’t been much to say about the last… 2 weeks. Wow, time flies when you’re living in the Tundra. Every day I tell myself I am going to go to bed at a decent hour and wake up early and be productive. I’m sorry to say I’ve been failing myself all too consistently. I hope to really reverse these habits in the next couple days. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I just got back from Bible study. It was gorgeous outside. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground; just enough to create a nice white cover over everything. The air was very dry and chilly. Chilly really isn’t the appropriate word… it’s 19ºF out there. You can tell it was cold because the snow was sparkling like glitter. It was a frosty frozen powdery stuff that felt similar to crunching on glass when I walked over it. It was a truly beautiful bike ride tonight. It was like being inside one of those sparkly snow globes. It’s supposed to snow again tonight and tomorrow and then every day next week. I’m ready for a foot of snow. I need to get some vanilla so that I can make snow cream also. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I go on a field trip this Friday the 13<sup>th</sup> to Vaasa and Seinäjoki. I will leave early in the morning and not get back until late at night. I hope it is a fun excursion and not too cold! I will be honest, I am a bit nervous because I know that two of the vans will be driven by Kerstin and Gorka. Kerstin is from Germany and Gorka is from Spain… I don’t think they have much experience with driving in snow, or driving in Finland, or really driving in general. I hope it all goes smoothly though. We best have our winter tires for this excursion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>More importantly, my mom is coming to visit around the 21<sup>st</sup> or 22<sup>nd</sup> of November and I am so excited to show her around and travel with her. I just hope we get to do a lot of fun things and that she really enjoys herself. After her visit, I will only have about two weeks left here. YIKES! Where has the time gone? I sure hope I get my project done in time since my final critique is December 3<sup>rd</sup>. Then I have a ski trip with the architecture students before I come home on December 10<sup>th</sup>. Putting it into perspective like that kind of stresses me out. No more lazy days and movies for me. Time for business.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-19562485840436412462009-10-29T03:04:00.000+02:002013-09-12T03:48:08.989+03:00Back on Track<!--StartFragment--> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">October 28, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Wow. It feels like it’s been a while. Perhaps I’m becoming a habitual blogger cause I think I was going through withdrawals. I hope it’s not contagious. Though, from the looks of my friends who’ve all started blogging, I’d say it is!!! I’m actually quite glad. Because now I have stuff to read as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today was very productive. I think I breathe easier when my abilities are put to the test (and I pass of course). I finally woke up before 1 or 2pm. This was a nasty habit I caught last week on my break. I would fall asleep around 7am and wake up at 1 or 2pm everyday… sometimes even later. Shameful. I know. I didn’t realize how much of a hermit I was last week until I came back to the studio and everybody greeted me with big smiles asking where I had been and how they’d missed me. It feels good to be missed sometimes. Especially when you feel like nobody notices or should notice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Well, this morning I woke up and went to the studio and got my competition design printed out and mounted and filled out my entry form before class. After class, I went with Aulikki (my professor for just about every subject) to the post office to mail it to Sweden. We rode in her car. I think it was a Skuoma. I can’t really remember. It was green. That made me happy. She was kind of an intense driver and the fact that I didn’t really know how the roads and traffic worked kept me feeling like a baby in a car seat… pretty helpless. We arrived with no scratches. It was a good time for me because I got to talk to her about a few ideas I had been thinking about for some of the courses and she put my mind at ease about some of the things I had been worrying about. I’m used to worrying at UNCG, but it doesn’t seem like anybody worries here. And even when I worry, things turn out to not be such a big deal here. We had to drive around Oulu for a few minutes until I got wireless connection because neither of us remembered to get the address for the place in Sweden that I had to send my competition to. She was very giggly and reminded me of an old friend who does silly stuff in situations that could be turned stressful easily. I liked it a lot. We meshed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After my posti experience, I went back into the computer lab and sat next to Brittany while I whipped out two presentations for tomorrow. I hate presenting. I find that I try to act like I don’t know English well. For one, nobody else in the room knows English well except for Brittany. And second, it buys everybody else time when they speak slowly and search for the right words in English to say. It makes my presentations fly by… so I turn into a Latina woman or something when I get in the front of the room. That’s slightly embarrassing. Most people here have thought that I was either from Spain or Brazil though… so I guess it works for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I went to Stockman after I finished my presentations and bought some baking soda and baking powder. These were the last two ingredients that I needed to make my homemade buttermilk pancakes… so I thought. I forgot that I’d run out of eggs so I ran to the store in the last few minutes before Bible Study and got some maple syrup and eggs. I then biked over to Bastian’s house for Bible study. It was really intense today. We’ve been studying Revelation. We read through the scriptures, watch a DVD on the scriptures we read in Revelation by David Pawson and then discuss everything. You can imagine there’s a lot to discuss. Luckily, I’m in a room full of people who know the Bible intimately and we find ourselves in all kinds of scriptures searching for the real truth. I know a few of the people in the room have studied Revelation several times before also. I think today we got hung up on a topic that has been debated a lot and it had my head spinning for a while before everybody started backing down and realizing that maybe some of the details will never be explained to us and sort of sitting back and taking comfort in that. Leave it to Bastian, our German comedian to really lighten the mood. He reminds me a lot of my dad. He has this funny way of laughing and joking at things. We talked about persecution and tribulation a lot tonight and after 3 hours of sitting relatively quietly, he laughs out loud and says, “I’m still trying to figure out what these words mean in German.” I love my Bible study and the many personalities in it. Oh, and also, I'm almost always guaranteed to get a fresh jug of Kombucha from David. YUM!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I got home from Bible study around 10:30pm. I hadn’t eaten yet and I went into the kitchen and whipped up those homemade buttermilk pancakes. I made so many! I only could eat like three before I was full. That’s what happens when you don’t eat all day. It’s okay though. I saran-wrapped them and put them in the fridge for tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Coming to the end of a day like this leaves me smiling. I feel accomplished and I had fun the whole time. There were a lot of little things today that made me happy:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•my classmates expressing their affection for me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•my car ride with Aulikki<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•a kid almost hit me with his bike while doing a donut on the ice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Judy asking me to sit next to her on the couch at Bible study<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•I got in the zone while listening to my iPod and closed my eyes on the way down a hill<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•making homemade pancakes that rocked with Canadian maple syrup<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In other news, the sun now sets at 4pm. Well, if you can even call it the sun. It’s more of a distant glare that fades pretty quickly. The bodies of water are beginning to freeze over. I’ve been practicing riding my bike with no handlebars (I wish that song didn’t come to mind when I say that). I enjoy using my bike light and human reflector device. I plan to seriously go shopping sometime soon for gifts. I’m getting into my schoolwork more and more. My room still smells like Christmas and Gingerbread. I’ve watched so many movies online lately; my favorite was<i> Law Abiding Citizen</i>. I found out that the shampoo and conditioner over here is actually better than the Paul Mitchell stuff I had shipped from home (sorry mom and dad). And last, but not least… I really love singing Finnish worship songs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-91416071249563495162009-10-21T23:55:00.009+03:002013-09-12T03:45:32.052+03:00Healer<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="color: #660000;">October 21, 2009</span><span style="color: #660000;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #660000;"> <span style="font-family: 'Edwardian Script ITC';"> </span>Today, I was reminded about my personality type. I took The Sixteen Types personality test this summer with my room and Candice’s room at Beach Project. I remember getting my results and being baffled by how accurate the description of my personality type sounded. I was an INFP (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving) and more specifically, fell under the category of Healer. I think what amazed me the most was that I felt like a piece of paper out of a book was telling me more about myself than I was able to realize after 21 years of living it. Unfortunately, the whole analysis can’t be found online, but part of it can. I kind of wanted to walk around with this information in my pocket like a User’s Manual: A Guide to Working Your Brand New Sarah Kirsten Rose Bateman.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">INFP: (Healer)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">This personality type has a high capacity for caring and a high sense of honor derived from internal values. Healer Idealists are abstract in thought and speech, cooperative in striving for their ends, and informative and introverted in their interpersonal relations. Healers present a seemingly tranquil, and noticeably pleasant face to the world, and though to all appearances they might seem reserved, and even shy, on the inside they are anything but reserved, having a capacity for caring not always found in other types. They care deeply-indeed, passionately-about a few special persons or a favorite cause, and their fervent aim is to bring peace and integrity to their loved ones and the world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">INFPs generally have the following traits:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•strong value systems<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•warmly interested in people<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•service-oriented, usually putting the needs of others above their own<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Loyal and devoted to people and causes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Future-oriented<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Growth-oriented; always want to be growing in a positive direction<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Creative and inspirational<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Flexible and laid-back, unless a ruling principle is violated<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Sensitive and complex<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Dislike dealing with details and routine work<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Original and individualistic—“out of the mainstream”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Excellent written communication skills<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Prefer to work alone and may have problems working on teams<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Value deep and authentic relationships<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">•Want to be seen and appreciated for who they are<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Healers have a profound sense of idealism derived from a strong personal morality, and they conceive of the world as an ethical, honorable place. Indeed, to understand Healers, we must understand their idealism as almost boundless and selfless, inspiring them to make extraordinary sacrifices for someone or something they believe in. The Healer is the Princess of the fairytale, the King’s Champion or Defender of the Faith, like Joan of Arc.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Healers are found in only one percent of the general population, although, at times, their idealism leaves them feeling even more isolated from the rest of humanity. Healers seek unity in their lives, unity of body and mind, emotions and intellect, perhaps because they are likely to have a sense of inner division threaded through their lives, which comes from their often unhappy childhood. Healers live a fantasy-filled childhood, which, unfortunately, is discouraged or even punished by many parents. In a practical-minded family, required by their parents to be sociable and industrious in concrete ways, and also given down-to-earth siblings who conform to these parental expectations, Healers come to see themselves as ugly ducklings. Other types usually shrug off parental expectations that do not fit them, but not the Healers. Wishing to please their parents and siblings, but not knowing quite how to do it, they try to hide their differences, believing they are bad to be so fanciful, so unlike their more solid brothers and sisters. They wonder, some of them the rest of their lives, whether they are OK. They are quite OK, just different from the rest of their family-swans reared in a family of ducks. Even so, to realize and really believe this is not easy for them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Deeply committed to the positive and the good, yet taught to believe there is evil in them, Healers can come to develop a certain fascination with the problem of good and evil, sacred and profane. Healers are drawn toward purity, but can become engrossed with the profane, continuously on the lookout for the wickedness that lurks within them. Then, when Healers believe that they have yielded to an impure temptation, they may be given to acts of self-sacrifice in atonement. Others seldom detect this inner turmoil, however, for the struggle between good and evil is within the Healer, who does not usually feel compelled to make the issue public.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Healers are keenly aware of people and their feelings, and relate well with most others. Because of their deep-seated reserve, however, they can work quite happily alone. When making decisions, Healers follow their heart, not their head, which means they can make errors of fact, but seldom of feeling. They have a natural interest in scholarly activities and demonstrate, like other Idealists, a remarkable facility with language. They have a gift for interpreting stories, as well as for creating them, and thus often write in lyric, poetic fashion. Frequently, they hear a call to go forth into the world and help others, a call they seem ready to answer, even if they must sacrifice their own comfort.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">In their mating role, Healers have a deep commitment to their vows. They are loyal to their mates. They like to live in harmony and go to great lengths to avoid interpersonal conflict. They are sensitive to the feelings of their mates and enjoy pleasing them, although they may have difficulty in expressing interest and affection openly or directly. They are likely to want a mate who won’t shrink from their expansive imagination. They are often attracted to those whom others have over-looked, given the Healer’s rare ability to see the positive qualities that lie beneath the surface. They cling to their dreams, and often find it difficult to reconcile a romantic, idealized concept of conjugal life with the realities of everyday living with another person. Even at the best of times, they seem fearful of too much marital bliss, afraid that the current happiness may have to be paid for with later sacrifices. They devil is sure to get his due if one experiences too freely of happiness, or, for that matter, of success, or beauty, or wealth, or knowledge. This almost preconscious conviction that pleasure must be paid for with pain can cause a sense of uneasiness in INFPs when they marry; they may feel they must be ever-vigilant against invasion, and can therefore have trouble relaxing in the happiness of mating. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">These reserved and soft-spoken Advocates are fierce protectors of home and family—their home is indeed their castle. As parents, they are devoted to the welfare of their children, treating them with great sympathy, and adaptability. In the routines of daily living, they tend to be flexible, even compliant with their mate’s ideas of discipline, and thus are easy to live with. They will often give their children a voice in family decisions—until their vale system is violated. Then they dig in their heels and will not budge from their ideals. Life with a Healer parent will go harmoniously along for long periods until an ideal is stepped on. Then they will resist and insist.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">INFPs live their lives focusing on their values. They know what is important to them and protect this at all costs. Their values focus on the optimistic versus the pessimistic, although they are often conscious of the negative. To understand the INFP is to understand their cause. They can work tirelessly toward a cause that deems worthy. They will quietly let others know what is important to them, and rarely will they give up on their purpose. They will go along with the crowd, sometimes even letting decisions be made for them, until someone violates their value system. Then they will dif their heels into the ground and will speak up for their feelings, insisting their values be followed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">INFPs are withdrawn and are sometimes hard to get to know. Some may view them as shy. But those who take the time to get to know them will find them warm and gentle, with a surprising sense of humor. They care deeply for those they consider special friends. Putting forth unusual sacrifices to help such individuals. They often have a subtle, tragic motif running through their lives—inner pain and unease which others seldom detect.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">INFPs are creative and constantly seeking out new possibilities. They have a gift with language and usually will express this by means of writing. Their intuitive preference supplies the imagination and their feeling preference giving them the need to communicate. They are gifted at interpreting symbols—being drawn to metaphors and similes. Because of these gifts, they often write in lyric fashion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">INFPs work must be more than just a paycheck; it must be fun and must contribute to something that is important to their values. To be the most productive, they need a sense of purpose behind their job. They often have to look at the large picture in order to see how specific programs fit in. They are adaptable to changes and to new ideas. They work well with other being conscious of others’ feelings and relating with most, though not always vocally. They like to work with others who are cooperative and who share their same set of values. They strive for harmony and dislike conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>INFPs treasure their privacy and may keep a lot to themselves. They need time and space for reflection. Others usually get along well with them, although they may not know them intimately. INFPs may not always be organized. They may tend to lose things or forget appointments. Only when they see the importance of organization in a task, will they strive to work at it in an organized way to get it done. They can be extremely patient with complicated issues, but may become impatient with routine and details.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>INFPs strive for perfection, and this is especially the case when using their feeling preference. They may have trouble finishing a project, because they never find it is good enough. Even when the project must be finished, they may feel the need to go back and improve on it later. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Reluctantly, INFPs may accept leadership roles. They lead with their values being their guide. They do not aggressively lead people, but rather work with people to develop their talents and to independently achieve their goals. They have a hard time criticizing others, but will try to motivate them by their appreciation and praise. When conflicts arise, they avoid directly approaching the situation, but would rather wait for the others to work out the situation themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">INFPs view leisure activity as very important. However, they may have difficulty separating it from work. If they have a special skill they use at work, they may use this skill in their leisure time to help friends, family, or those in need. When they are interested in pursuing a new leisure activity, they may spend a great deal of time researching this activity. Many INFPs enjoy activities that are done alone such as reading, listening to music, or gardening. This gives them the opportunity for reflection and meditation. They may also enjoy social activities with those they feel close to. When they want to be social, they can be outgoing, charming and quite funny, making them a pleasure to have around.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Because they are reserved, they may be over-looked. But to those that know them, they have a view into their warmth and concern and their deep commitments to their values. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Century Gothic';">You can take the test <a href="http://kisa.ca/personality/">here</a>.</span></div>
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Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-38823438752116917802009-10-20T21:31:00.005+03:002013-09-12T03:43:20.610+03:00Adventures of Biz Monkey<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">October 20, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> I’ve found a new obsession. A new hobby. Something that probably sounds nothing like me, and until now, has been nothing like me. It’s food. Well, more-so, the making of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> I can’t pinpoint exactly what triggered this movement. There have been many times that the thought of cooking something delicious sounded very fun, but the thrill left me pretty rapidly and all too consistently. I will say that recently I’ve been sort of stalking my friend Tim’s blog. Tim is notorious for making creative snacks and lunches that aren’t necessarily Top Chef challenging, but simple and delicious. I even remember a few times I went over to his house for lunch or dinner and was jealous of his food selection, which is usually pretty healthy and fresh. It seems he has his snacks down to a “T” at this point. To top it all off, the guy sketches and renders his lunches all the time. With a new interest in photography, he now has mouth-watering photographs of his food creations. BUT, this post isn’t really about Tim. And I certainly wouldn’t want his head getting any bigger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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some photos from <a href="http://thatsjustitphoto.wordpress.com/">Tim's photo blog</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIx1hyphenhyphen9d3GH1zwKmd1HEy_3rA4oD4VfflxKKA7jPOzcyx1oQg87LEjY7vK7RZpXyiSaruBd0BjSHGdT__p54ippSZOYYFsbMAl7FEBy361zMb_e7UX9YQBcwqwFiNf_Ixc9VFFuVyDMJj/s1600-h/SUNDAY+FRY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIx1hyphenhyphen9d3GH1zwKmd1HEy_3rA4oD4VfflxKKA7jPOzcyx1oQg87LEjY7vK7RZpXyiSaruBd0BjSHGdT__p54ippSZOYYFsbMAl7FEBy361zMb_e7UX9YQBcwqwFiNf_Ixc9VFFuVyDMJj/s400/SUNDAY+FRY.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyf_qCmACDhbwugwWqZLhF2KJ2UZmxaoqzEUHsgPOSCSs7MXtRNw9XYae5RoDQ2fV6qVpvb2qTFQoOq2-CBnN86rzyy5h0OOvM36kL24oMFS61-rbNXKMthFmfTEOLdgMjF41W6nulHIXL/s1600-h/Lunch.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyf_qCmACDhbwugwWqZLhF2KJ2UZmxaoqzEUHsgPOSCSs7MXtRNw9XYae5RoDQ2fV6qVpvb2qTFQoOq2-CBnN86rzyy5h0OOvM36kL24oMFS61-rbNXKMthFmfTEOLdgMjF41W6nulHIXL/s400/Lunch.2.jpg" /></a></div>
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a few sketches from <a href="http://www.timrobisonjr.com/">Tim's normal blog</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> The reason I mentioned Tim is that the other day, I was peeking at his blog and found a stunning image of a sandwich made out of rotisserie chicken. The caption spoke about how he buys one about every week and can use it in a variety of meals including this lightly toasted sandwich. I sat back and wondered why I never do things like that. It’s absurdly inexpensive and much healthier than frozen pizzas and grilled cheese sandwiches. I suppose you could say it was the beginning of my epiphany.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> I’ve got this terrible habit of finding a food that seems easy to make and loading up on it. I could eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner. Of course, that would mean that I would actually have to eat breakfast… lunch… and dinner. More often then not, it turns out to be one or two of the three. Since I’ve been in Finland, my main meal obsession has been eggs. Yes, it’s true that I’ve always loved eggs, but as often as I eat them, I considered Googling “egg overdosing”. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj80i9t73-xSlAiVqxuIrmB5-x5JpaannkRbc8LUQ6FCEpqphROgjHdJyhwiIzbeX9jpbKYHvnZh95ov_7sn8r3pWLiAWIClL66cE31dHX91HYH5Dk7ULREeT0ipB3npJACWNK-xeIskRYd/s1600-h/egg5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj80i9t73-xSlAiVqxuIrmB5-x5JpaannkRbc8LUQ6FCEpqphROgjHdJyhwiIzbeX9jpbKYHvnZh95ov_7sn8r3pWLiAWIClL66cE31dHX91HYH5Dk7ULREeT0ipB3npJACWNK-xeIskRYd/s400/egg5.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Though I suppose there are worse things, there are most certainly better!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> The older fellow in my Bible study, David, has offered to teach me how to make Kombucha so that I can make it in America. This has me very excited because I absolutely LOVE the drink, and it is very healthy for you. I feel like once I learn to make it, I am going to want to make it all the time. I just hope I can do it well enough so that it tastes like his.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNACnEzipbOyyijBBlij-WTIUUWmSSddyRsDXELEnaUbEXpDGo9f0AkWLOGlwDzvKXYlEMxsZ_trFcS-URVVtacZSoE3Ecm1anB6PpdugB9pUPWsGwyEVWgodNQ4yGbe2jVzrPygfuz9qD/s1600-h/kombucha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNACnEzipbOyyijBBlij-WTIUUWmSSddyRsDXELEnaUbEXpDGo9f0AkWLOGlwDzvKXYlEMxsZ_trFcS-URVVtacZSoE3Ecm1anB6PpdugB9pUPWsGwyEVWgodNQ4yGbe2jVzrPygfuz9qD/s320/kombucha.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">find out what I'm talking about <a href="http://www.anahatabalance.com/teakombucha2.html">here</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> Recently, I have been researching and trying to find some good Finnish delicacies that I could take back with me along with the Kombucha. So far, no food has really stuck out as a MUST-TRY and everything is pretty doughy and fishy. There was a man outside of Tokmanni the other day at a hotdog stand where he was smoking fresh salmon. It smelled at looked absolutely amazing. If I knew anything about preparing salmon, I would have hopped in line and taken one of those bad boys home. There are a few challenges to having this new desire to cook in Finland. The first obstacle is obviously the language. It is very hard to grocery shop here. I don’t know if I’m buying sugar or flower… turkey or ham (or mystery meat)… swiss or provolone. It is all just a guess based on color, images, packaging, and ultimately intuition. You can see how shopping is unsuccessful plenty of the time. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> The second obstacle is that even if you do know what you are buying based on the things I listed, you then have to already know how to prepare the food. Cause Finnish directions will not get you very far. I usually look for key numbers like, “220ºC” which is often used for pizza, “dl” which is deciliters… I think, “10 min” this is naturally my favorite indication on a package. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0BE3RARBQa3lDhr1QrUnnRvKy6aJdU2VCel64HIDQO5fhQU8YVX2dUUSHW0aLS4287ToqFdDaaQBtdFSk6In7tfh5NKY-OWa2qBlIJDG3_L4ATFtvHFITplOSpt-GWx8zRGe9TTii-c4/s1600-h/IMG_4761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0BE3RARBQa3lDhr1QrUnnRvKy6aJdU2VCel64HIDQO5fhQU8YVX2dUUSHW0aLS4287ToqFdDaaQBtdFSk6In7tfh5NKY-OWa2qBlIJDG3_L4ATFtvHFITplOSpt-GWx8zRGe9TTii-c4/s400/IMG_4761.JPG" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Also very helpful are pictures with spoons and arrows pointing out your need to stir. I think being here has improved my improvising skills. I can add a little something here, leave that out, mix it with these, serve it on that… not because I’ve become more bold, but simply because I don’t actually know the proper way to begin with. It’s been a bit freeing. The last issue is that if I would want to explore preparing foods I am familiar with, I am not guaranteed the right ingredients here. Even if they have the right ingredients here, finding them is a whole ‘nother challenge in and of itself. Likewise, if I learn to make Finnish delicacies here, I’m not guaranteed I will have all of the ingredients to make the same thing at home. For instance, I think reindeer is a bit more rare in North Carolina…</span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> Today commences my first try at something not-boxed, -packaged, or -canned in such a final state. I decided to tackle an American favorite that I suppose I love and miss. Pancakes. Not just any pancakes… homemade buttermilk pancakes from scratch. Sounds pretty easy right? WRONG. I now understand just how difficult this may be. I accepted a few failures before even venturing to the store. First of all, I don’t know what Finnish “buttermilk” would look, taste, or act like. Yes, I said act. The food has strange tendencies, ok? So I decided I would be making my own buttermilk with whole milk (cause I know how to find that here) and distilled white vinegar. That was about all I accomplished on my shopping trip besides buying flour. Let me discuss my issues. For one, I don’t know whether or not the flour is all-purpose or self-rising. I will probably have to figure out a way to translate and try to find out. Number two, if it is all-purpose, that means that I still need to find baking powder and baking soda. I think I will have better luck finding these things downtown at Stockman tomorrow. Now here’s one of the biggest issues yet… I’m going to have to convert all of the measurements. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">L</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> A simple cooking project that could take a 5-minute grocery store run and 20-minute cooking process is going to end up taking me days to perform. Luckily, I cultured my own buttermilk and put it in a glass jar and sealed it so that I can use it when the time comes. I’m going to make these pancakes if it’s the last thing I do. And then… on to conquer the world of food! Mwahahahahaha</span>Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-55407700252498838582009-10-18T23:07:00.008+03:002013-09-12T03:42:31.304+03:00Comes From Within<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: medium;">October 18, 2009</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-size: medium;"> If I miss one material thing from America, it would be my car, Lucilla. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-size: medium;">She’s the best 2001 Ford Explorer a girl could ask for! I consider it pure joy to go for a ride and just listen to music. I often make excuses to go places for this sole purpose. I love my sound system and even if my subs don’t rattle houses or take your breath away, they give my music a nice bit of added intensity. The closest thing I have to that here is when I go for a bike ride and listen to my iPod. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><span style="font-size: medium;">There are a few things that really move me. Music and art have a way of grasping my heart and evoking me with powerful emotion. Now, when you explore different combinations of the three, you are sure to get a great result. For instance, a Sunday afternoon full of Andy Davis and painting… that’s time well spent. Though I don’t think many people have as much passion as I do in these areas, I also think many people have more. Now, I’m just going to drift away for a few minutes. Feel free to tag along.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.imeem.com/supergoober/music/Vg1rLEOD/dave-barnes-sticks-and-stones/">Sticks and Stones - Dave Barnes</a></span><br />
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I've got a particular love for human art.</div>
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A few of my own...</div>
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Many know that my favorite color has been green for some time now, but in the last few years, I've been particularly interested in the passion and intensity of red...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9ZlebNIZL_91jhABxLZefvMRB6-6rtmps-0vhTaHCNODeQh431kEY-YkBDGyZ26r_vUezUf-aUe5sKOD4cSmN0n-iBPUz-1YNlFH1M9yIt_Df4BTBqejL_0-VUtlIQe3hvt85Wr3dZa_/s1600-h/The+Passion+of+Dance.JPG.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9ZlebNIZL_91jhABxLZefvMRB6-6rtmps-0vhTaHCNODeQh431kEY-YkBDGyZ26r_vUezUf-aUe5sKOD4cSmN0n-iBPUz-1YNlFH1M9yIt_Df4BTBqejL_0-VUtlIQe3hvt85Wr3dZa_/s400/The+Passion+of+Dance.JPG.jpeg" /></a><br />
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</span>Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-52957412315749207372009-10-16T16:26:00.003+03:002013-09-12T03:40:43.447+03:00Do You Hear What I Hear?<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">October 16, 2009</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> It’s snowing again today. And sticking quite well, I might add. I’ve got a Christmas-scented candle lit and also a Gingerbread-scented candle lit. It makes my room feel cozy and makes me feel like Christmas (though we never have white Christmas’s) is just around the corner. It’s funny to me how weather.com says that we are getting “light snow” and I look out my window and think that it’s nothing short of a blizzard… minus the wind. I sort of wanted to go shopping just so that I would have an excuse to go ride my bike to town, but I know I will get sopping wet since I don’t have the right gear for riding in the snow yet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> I am becoming a bit anxious about my Design Competition project. The competition I chose has to be submitted by October 31<sup>st</sup> and I feel that I still have many things to accomplish by then. I think today, instead of shopping, I will work very hard to finalize my design so I can then get help with the printing and the paperwork and get it ready to send off to Sweden within the next week and a half. Boy wouldn’t it be nice if I won 5000 Euros. I am not so confident in my design yet though…</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> but who knows!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> Yesterday was quite an eventful day for me. Starting out, I was actually on time leaving my room to go to class. As I stepped outside, I realized it was warmer than the day before and I probably wouldn’t even need my beanie on this bike ride (it got up to a whopping 41 degrees). The sun was shining and I approached my bike with a smile. The smile quickly faded though. My bike lock has been giving me trouble for a little while now and though I have thought about replacing it, I hadn’t acted on it yet. I worked on the lock with my two different puny keys until I about broke my keys and my hands in the process. I went from sitting on the rack to the ground to trying to force it open by pedaling. Nothing was working and I was very late for class. An hour passes and I realize that I need to figure something out because this lock is not coming off in a traditional manner. I, of course, turn to Google. I read all these German articles about breaking off your lock and I head to Tokmanni where I bought some wire clippers and a small hacksaw. I probably looked half insane. Since my day had started out so badly, I bought a bike light and some paint and little white candles while I was there. Those things may seem random, but they lift my spirits. I then went back outside and clipped and hacksawed for about half an hour before the lock was finally broken free. I’m pretty sure everybody who passed me thought I was a crazy lady stealing a bike, but I didn’t much care at this point. I got on my bike and rode down to Alppis secondhand store to see if they had bike locks or any neat things or winter gear. I found a little spiral bike lock with more puny keys sort of like the last lock I had. I decided it was better than nothing since I was panicking about having not locked my bike while I was in the store. I ran into Carmen in the shop and she was telling me about her new warm, waterproof boots she got from Prisma. I thought she said they were 15 Euros. Apparently she really said 60 Euros. Spanish accents kill me. But since I didn’t know this, I headed over to Prisma. Seeing that the boots weren’t 15 Euros, I decided to meditate on that decision a bit longer. They were very cute and looked very warm and comfortable. Anyways, I went around the store and found my Christmas and Gingerbread candles as well as a really tough bike lock with big strong keys. I decided I could just put the lock I got from Alppis in my closet until a rainy day when I or somebody else needed a new lock. On my way back to Linnanmaa, I stopped into Sale and got a few groceries. I felt very happy as I parked my bike and attached my brand new lock with my big sturdy key that has a laser on it. I went inside and put away my groceries and set up my candles to burn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Now my room smells like my house did when we used to decorate the Christmas tree and listen to Manheim Steamroller while we drank hot chocolate. I really miss that. The sad thing is that Halloween hasn’t even passed yet… much less Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is Brittany’s favorite Holiday and I think we are going to have a little feast of our own since nobody else here celebrates it. She said that her grandmother gave her a Thanksgiving before she left America. How funny! All this talking about food and Christmas is making me hungry, though so I think I am going to go cook and watch the snow fall. I am excited about bigger snows and I even saw a “snow racer” in Prisma yesterday. It was like the ultimate sled. All the Finns say it is a lot more fun around here when there’s snow. There is a lot more to do.</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> I can only hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-9507938195865151522009-10-14T15:23:00.005+03:002013-09-12T03:31:00.497+03:00Authentication Failed<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">October 10, 2009</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">My internet has been down for the past four days. The first day, I thought it was just a little glitch and I took the time to work on a project for my Architectural Lighting class. I felt relaxed as I took my time to cook and work pretty diligently through the evening before heading to bed around 1:00am. With no internet to worry about, I didn’t feel like I was constantly reporting and waiting on people. I’ve finally been feeling like I live in Finland. Before, it was like I was trying to live in two places at once. Going to bed on American time and waking up in Finnish time leaves me with a couple measly hours of sleep and no motivation to do much the next day. Since I am cycling 12 to 24 kilometers a day in freezing conditions, it’s pretty hard summon up enough energy to get through, much else do any other work. It has been causing me to be pretty unhappy here and that’s just not me. If I didn’t think I would like this experience, I would not have come. But the fact is, I know I can and will enjoy this experience. I’ve just been so blinded by situations that I’m not even acting like myself anymore.</span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">I think I have mentioned before the overalls that I see the Finns wearing often around town, usually in groups. I got an e-mail the other day about overalls for those studying Architecture being sold. The Architecture overalls are white. Each department has a different color. I think white is fun! Some people didn’t think they were worth the purchase but I have been envying these overalls since I first laid eyes on them. Other people say they won’t wear them in their home country. You better believe I will be wearing these bad boys in America! They’re like all weatherproof and frankly, quite practical here. As for America I just think they’re pretty awesome and may even get a few laughs. I can’t wait to decorate mine with patches and things. After I ordered mine, I went to Stockman with Brittany. They were having some ridiculous sale all week and stuff was very cheap. It was like a madhouse inside. I think all of Oulu was in that one store. Nothing really caught my eye though and I was happy to get outside to the chilly air to catch my breath.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Yesterday, Rebekah tried to give me directions to Prisma so that I could go to Nordea (my bank) and pay my internet bill. Yes, THAT’s why I haven’t had internet. The only problem is that when people tell me directions, I am so busy trying to visualize what they are saying that by the time I’m done picturing the first few turns, they’re done with all of the directions. I, of course, then just nod my head confirming that I’ve understood everything when I actually have a very vague idea of where I should be going. It should come as no surprise that I got very lost trying to find the bank. I loved it. I was lost for a good 45 minutes. I even got off track on purpose for a bit. I took a dirt trail off one of the bike roads.</span></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392431405824123778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_xsCZ3ET34cX6L-YEqIrkLCKWMf-yjcDuTEskv7aX2A7YtkLMaEDa4lSoUwKH7ek1qalkof8Kz-PHr9gcY2vGlqeR29dB2wwfW450apqq8HDQsGcIkA7Sca8Lgjw9wYlRnufyYpnOM8D/s400/IMG_4658.JPG" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> It is so beautiful to be in the woods. I had my iPod in and I was smiling and enjoying the country I came to be in. There are little red squirrels here that are absolutely adorable. Squirrels in America look like they are on crack. They have huge beady eyes bulging out of their small stiff grey heads. Their tails are wiry and it looks like someone took a cheese grater to their ears. Squirrels in Finland are a beautiful red-brown color and they have tall, wide “German-Shepherd” ears. They have small noses and sweet eyes. Sometimes I think they could pass for kittens with huge tails. Their fur is fluffy and shiny and they prance around all over the place, hopping into nearby bushes and scurrying up the short trees. I’m thinking of a plan to catch one and keep it in my room. I wonder if squirrels like Margherita pizza. </span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">I did eventually find the bank and got everything settled so that I hope to have internet sometime in the next week. Still, a part of me doesn’t want to have it. It reminds me of Beach Project when we didn’t have television or computers or anything. They aren’t bad things and if I felt that I could use them without hindering what I want to do here, I would not care at all if I had it. The inconvenience has been quite slight with it gone. I like to be free. It makes me happy to go about my day exploring and doing things on my own with nobody to answer to. Nobody has to be checking up on me. Nobody is timing me and wondering where I am. This may sound strange or inconsiderate or lonely to some people, but it is what I love. It’s amazing how much I can do here when I just decide to go and do it. </span>Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-1171434353193876902009-10-06T01:14:00.009+03:002013-09-12T03:26:35.313+03:00I Can Be a Bit Passionate...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">October 5, 2009</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Some people may hate me for what I am about to say and some may love me</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">. I just finished watching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince online and remembered how much I love these movies. I know tons of people who rave about these movies and I also know tons of people who don’t give them a chance because they think they are about silly things like witches and wizards who wave wands around to make food appear and things like this. The truth is, I am deeply moved both by the artistic and the emotional beauty of these films. It is so simple of a plot; a fight against good and evil. Now, don’t get carried away with what I’m about to say, but something in these movies just really reminds me of the Gospel. Granted, there are plenty of parts that do NOT remind me of the Gospel. But I just look at the type of good and the type of evil in them. Voldemort is so deceptive. He is sneaky and he strives to corrupt Harry as a whole person with an ultimate desire to destroy him. Harry is astonishingly obedient and loyal to Dumbledore. He has complete trust in him even when he doesn’t know Dumbledore’s plans. I find it amazing to see this type of relationship portrayed in a “silly movie about magic” when it’s so far beyond what many of our own relationships look like with God. We want control. We want to be in the know. We want to do things our way. We lose faith. We are disobedient. You can even see Harry’s struggle at times within the movies when he wants to act out of emotion or pain or hatred. But he has community around him, whether it is his professors or his friends or just other people who are also loyal to Dumbledore, who are always there to speak truth into his life and let him know that they are there to help. I love all of the pain in the movies. It blows my mind how strong of a character he is after all of the loss he has suffered. And now venturing in another direction, the art in the movies is simply breath-taking to me. There is a scene in the Half-Blood Prince where Dumbledore is swirling fire over his head and it is consuming all of the creatures around him and even going into the water and striking them. It is an extremely powerful scene to me and I can do nothing but stand (or sit) in awe when I see it. The transitions into memories and use of magic (whether it be simple or things like freezing a moment) are nothing short of extraordinary. I feel the artists are true creative geniuses and it really awakens my passion for art. I thought I would leave you with a scene I find beautiful and moving from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. </span><br />
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Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-33914949866804414512009-10-02T16:32:00.000+03:002013-09-12T03:24:37.934+03:00All Shapes and Sizes... and Ages :)<!--StartFragment--> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">October 2, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I went to a Bible study this past Wednesday with Rebekah. I had been looking forward to it ever since we had talked about it last Sunday and I was filled with excitement as we walked to Bastion’s house. I don’t actually know if that’s even how you spell his name. To me, Bastian just sounds like a nickname for Sebastian… so until I see it written, I will spell it this way</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">. He is from Germany but lives in Finland now. I’m not sure why. I didn’t ask. I guess I was a bit timid. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Rebekah and I were the first people to arrive. We talked to Bastian and went through the typical questions with him; where are you from? what are you studying? how long will you be here? Those sorts of things. He must be in his late 30’s or early 40’s. I can’t really tell because I am horrible with estimating age. As more and more people began to come, we had kahvi and tee (coffee and tea) and apple slices. I tried very hard to remember everybody’s names because I am very bad at that. I know there was Mitch from Australia, Patrick from Philadelphia, David from… Germany? and David from India. David’s wife and son were there also. His son’s name was Isaac. I love that name! Most of these people were probably in their 30’s and 40’s. There was one man there who was in his 70’s. He made us all Kombucha. It is a drink that is made from tea and mushrooms. It’s supposed to be very good for your body and it tasted like a mix between white wine and apple juice. Needless to say, I loved it!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When we all started talking, it was simply amazing. These men [and woman] were so wise and so educated about spiritual things. Rebekah told me that David from India is able to quote like the entire Bible. I felt like I was sitting in a room full of Pastor Riddle’s and C. S. Lewis’s. Ok… that may be pushing the envelope, but you get the gist. Everything I’m hearing is like something I hadn’t taken the time to really think about as deep as these people were talking. I grabbed my notebook only to realize that I forgot a pen. I FORGOT MY PEN!?!? I was a little put out with myself but didn’t feel like asking for a pen at the time, I was too busy listening to everything. I felt so comfortable here. They looked at Rebekah and me no different than anybody else, though there is an obvious age difference. They valued our words and opinions and everyone spoke in turn. There were usually moments of silence after one person would speak where you could tell everybody was thinking on what they said. I will admit that I didn’t say much because I was quite intimidated by their spiritual maturity and knowledge of the Bible. I was glowing inside though thinking about how much I can learn and grow from these people who already seem to have a genuine interest and care for me. After Bible Study, we said our goodbyes and they were all excited to see us at church this Sunday for the international service (it’s in English) at St. Luke’s Chapel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">One of the men graciously drove us home so we wouldn’t have to walk in the sleet and dark. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am so excited that the Lord provided me with this community. Though it looks a bit different on the outside from what I expected, I can really see what awesome relationships I can build here in Finland. Tonight, Rebekah and I are going to Lift downtown at the Pentacostal Church. It is a youth group and is actually held in Finnish, but we were told that the Finns there love to speak English. I hope that we can go tonight and meet some awesome Finns our own age and be able to have some fun and maybe learn a bit of Finnish too! The Lord has really been proving to me just how big He really is!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-1092130588970958442009-10-01T01:22:00.002+03:002013-09-12T03:21:31.416+03:00Rovaniemi<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">September 30, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Yesterday, I went to Rovaniemi with the Architecture kids. It was an extremely fun trip! We met outside at 7am and it was quite frigid. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">The minibuses began pulling in and we piled into them. I love early morning field trips. They remind me of things like going to Barrier Island in fifth grade or going to Conference last year with Campus Outreach. It was a bit over 3 hours in the car. The closer we got to our final destination, the more snow I was seeing. I had my camera pressed against the glass and I was listening to my iPod just watching all the white objects fly by. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">It was something beautiful. There was so much land and so many lakes with small cottages here and there. Perhaps there would be a lifted truck and a few hybrid cars in a driveway. I even saw one trampoline, which reminded me of the best snow cream I used to make off of the trampoline I had as a kid. This is one of my favorite parts of traveling. When your eyes can’t move fast enough to see everything they want and you’re in your own world, remembering old experiences and anxious for the new ones to come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">We arrived at the University of Lapland in time to look around and go to a lecture. We then ate lunch at the University before going to see some buildings by Alvar Aalto. He did a city plan that shaped out a reindeer antler. We couldn’t exactly see that from the ground and Leena the Great fell through on arranging our personal helicopter rides. We toured through a Library he designed and also a Theatre.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> They were both amazing and I saw a few chairs that I had to draw in my second year History of Design class (the very class that got me interested in Scandinavian design in the first place). We then went to the Rovaniemi airport and saw signs of Santa and some cute little woodland animal scenes. After touring these buildings, we went to Santa Village. I was probably the most excited about this. If you can imagine a little biracial girl running around saying “Where’s Santa!?” and leaping over the Arctic Circle line, well, you can probably paint a pretty clear picture of what happened. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">We went through a sort of Haunted House entrance to an upstairs where we saw Santa sitting in a large chair (for he was a large guy). He spoke so many languages, I was impressed. We took a picture with him and then had to rush back to the vans so that we could go to the museum. We spent a few hours touring the museum. It was pretty interesting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> I liked petting all of the stuffed polar bears and things… of course. We had to leave by 5:00pm because our minibuses still had their “summer tires” on and it was supposed to be freeeezing and icy that night. It was a very fun trip!!! </span></div>
Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-32295965869785696132009-09-30T16:05:00.001+03:002013-09-12T03:19:01.342+03:00Snow In The Forecast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Ladies and Gentlemen, MOVE THOSE CHAINS!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Now introduciiiiiiing, the SHUGGA suit:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">...I am beginning to believe that this is actually a feasible idea…</span></div>
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Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-54620940960794507072009-09-27T16:39:00.002+03:002013-09-12T03:18:41.198+03:00Honesty... the best policy?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">September 26, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> Today, Carmen invited me to go to her Spanish friend’s birthday party and then go to the lake tonight and see if we can see Northern Lights, but I’m just feeling a bit like being alone. I’ve had a nice, quiet day and have worked on a few things that I’ve been meaning to do. I also had a lot of good thinking and writing time and I hope to continue that. I guess I will have to see God’s wonderful Northern Lights another night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> Lately I’ve just been thinking a lot about why God has placed me here. After Beach Project and all I learned this past summer, I feel like there is such a potential here for me to make a difference and I don’t feel like I’ve really known how to approach that. Because I do not make friends easily, I can be a bit more distant than the other kids may be with one another. I want to form closer relationships but I am not usually the one who has to pursue those. I usually wait for others to pursue deep relationships with me; so being out of my element is throwing me for a loop. I would love to leave this country in December feeling like I’ve made new best friends all over the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> I found my pastor’s sermons online today and I was very excited. I haven’t been to church here yet and I just don’t really know how to even figure out when it is and how I can get to an English preacher. I know this may be due to a lack of initiative on my part, but I hope that I will find the courage to find out and start going and maybe meet some people. I brought a couple of books with me, C.S. Lewis’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mere Christianity</i> and Don Miller’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Through Painted Deserts</i>. I’ve already read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mere Christianity</i>, but it is such a good book, I wanted to bring it. It’s kind of a tough read and I really love his intelligence and he is just a brilliant man. I opened it today and flipped through all of the parts I had underlined. It’s fun for me to do that and read what I underlined and remember the first time I read it. I hope to read Don Miller while I travel. My friend Jessica told me it’s a great traveling book. It is a sequel to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blue Like Jazz</i> and I absolutely loved that book. I think I will take it with me on the trip to Rovaniemi on Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> From what I’ve heard about this place, the people are not too concerned with God. The Finns that I have talked to were very open and honest and not afraid to talk about God. They didn’t try to convince me that they love God and are good people the way many Americans do. They didn’t argue that their actions don’t necessarily mean that they do not care about their Creator, they simply know whether or not God is a part of their life or not. In some ways, I find it more refreshing. I am not afraid to talk to people about God because they are not afraid to talk about it either. They don’t become awkward and anxious or reluctant to go down that road, because they have MADE a decision. Unfortunately, many Americans have MADE their decision as well. They are just unaware of it or in denial about it. If you haven’t made the decision to accept Christ and <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">follow</span></b> Him, then you’ve made the decision to reject Him. Every time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> When I talked to Timo about church, he told me that most Finns do not go to church and that the ones who do don’t act like it. He offered to go with me and Rebekah to a church one day that was in Finnish… he obviously thought we just enjoy sitting inside a chapel on a pew or something, because listening to someone preach in Finnish wasn’t exactly the Sunday-morning I had pictured in my mind. I did appreciate the offer though. I guess the good thing is that they do not have ill feelings towards you if you are a Christian. They are in touch with themselves enough to admit their own positions on the subject and without shame. It reminds me of my favorite verse:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11pt;">Revelation 3:15-16 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11pt;">I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Of course, I would love for them to be on fire for Christ instead of on the other side. But there are few things more frustrating than arguing with someone who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thinks</i> they are on fire for Christ when their lives paint a completely different picture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11pt;">Matthew 7:16-18<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11pt;">By their <b><span style="text-decoration: underline;">fruit</span></b> you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">And since I don’t think my own words can sum up this post better…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11pt;">Matthew 7:21-23<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11pt;">“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-48570733434383443132009-09-26T23:35:00.000+03:002013-09-12T03:15:09.964+03:00A Look Through My Sketchbook...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyhJzqqLBlI1A7t6OzbFlDjIRhm21ou37VUIVtgYNJb9GykEszs0fYxK9nbXK0vmE-B4g9fMR40OODIrWqtmAxpxjhKI16yamQodWvh2zq34iSxLKBEMq9nKKsJrKelPLV17o6_acc5TZL/s1600-h/6160_1084484878074_1404930053_199770_4381236_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyhJzqqLBlI1A7t6OzbFlDjIRhm21ou37VUIVtgYNJb9GykEszs0fYxK9nbXK0vmE-B4g9fMR40OODIrWqtmAxpxjhKI16yamQodWvh2zq34iSxLKBEMq9nKKsJrKelPLV17o6_acc5TZL/s400/6160_1084484878074_1404930053_199770_4381236_n.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiFB53Th7PpwVGIL_YJMrJoYjKwsd0Ae8Sf5wbhVMO075MsI5EEZ1wwACx6It9ebz4QCyvhhninQ0nMbnQR_VXTF7BrNdd71Z59ErX8sZeBjsgPgy-anWJ2i-eLu2Blb9iDZ5N_RsPch-R/s1600-h/IMG_4438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiFB53Th7PpwVGIL_YJMrJoYjKwsd0Ae8Sf5wbhVMO075MsI5EEZ1wwACx6It9ebz4QCyvhhninQ0nMbnQR_VXTF7BrNdd71Z59ErX8sZeBjsgPgy-anWJ2i-eLu2Blb9iDZ5N_RsPch-R/s400/IMG_4438.JPG" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Some sloppy sketch I did from this picture from Summer Beach project where I was dressed up as an artist. Looking about as foreign as I feel here… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-39757342673850807242009-09-26T21:42:00.000+03:002013-09-12T03:14:44.252+03:00Birthdays and Un-Familiar Faces<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">September 26, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today has been very easy-going. Yesterday was Kerstin’s birthday and we had a little surprise party for her in the upstairs of the Kasino where the Monarch students have their studio. We had food and music and it was a fun time to sit with some of my friends and acquaintances. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">My professor Leena joined us and was telling us about our trip to Rovaniemi and about our ski trip and talked to us about Northern Lights and things of this nature that I think we all sort of have questions about. The professors here are so great! They genuinely love to be around us and I feel like they think we are just so much fun and they always are in such good moods and very helpful. It will be strange to return to UNCG and notice that none of my professors ask you to join them for coffee after a lecture</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">Last night we went to Kerstin’s apartment and had sushi and some drinks and played games and talked for a few hours before heading to the city. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";">It was very fun to go out with these people and feel like I am forming friendships and learning how to communicate better with people who mostly do not use English as their first language. It seems like a silly thing, but often this is what makes jokes and humor kind of impossible and can create a sort of uncomfortable environment. I am trying to get past all of that so that I can learn to socialize with all types of people. It rained all last night so I looked like a wet poodle by the time I arrived home. Bike rides have been great for meeting new Finnish friends lately, as one came up and talked to Brittany and myself on our ride home again last night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I finally met Teemu the other day. Teemu is a Finnish boy who knew Melanie when she studied abroad here last year. She told him that I was coming this semester and she told me about him before I left. There’s a really ironic story here. A few weeks back, I went salsa dancing with some of my architecture girls. Teemu saw me and asked me if I had gone salsa dancing the week before. I recognized him and I said, “Yes. You were there, weren’t you?” Apparently he is always there and he was telling me that we should all come again. Then followed the usual international conversation… where are you from, what are you studying, how long… etc. When I said Greensboro, he said he had some friends from there. I asked about Melanie and he said he knew her and began telling me stories about last year. I had an epiphany. I said, “What was your name again?” and he said Teemu again. Then I realized this was the guy that Melanie had told me about before I left. He seemed like a very nice person and was very friendly and I could see him being helpful if I ever needed it. We talked about Melanie and Finns for a bit longer before I left. It’s good to meet nice Finns around here. I feel if I’m ever in a jam, it would be nice to have a good Finnish friend to help me out haha.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-86346946378448090232009-09-19T22:42:00.001+03:002013-09-12T03:12:09.869+03:00Just Some Shots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiXAy3tsRCHHCosbYKOlzXKdSmnB7rQzGx99OhbiAgaqcx_VGJgijRTaZGHxlEYx121TiIjIC3ZD1ToFUXiTpb2ihALBoQW8Apicw7-moXmjp8znU5Yzo8HN2FnYOh4E8ThLQSmGcMn8m/s400/IMG_4370.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvcKNvlikSARGO8G27C-cheq-vXhU4CbFcC0nspevyvI9wOnmdTJGsqqMduxw1NTsJlE1e-7K8QhD8Kf7EswjMbcElfWrw1ykHvUbZbZOUaZmhiB4zFrB7bqAPnIvWxcA1_0Q9sKgLh4c/s1600-h/IMG_4372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvcKNvlikSARGO8G27C-cheq-vXhU4CbFcC0nspevyvI9wOnmdTJGsqqMduxw1NTsJlE1e-7K8QhD8Kf7EswjMbcElfWrw1ykHvUbZbZOUaZmhiB4zFrB7bqAPnIvWxcA1_0Q9sKgLh4c/s400/IMG_4372.JPG" /></a>Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-28396159671076506802009-09-19T22:16:00.001+03:002013-09-12T03:11:49.358+03:00Dodged A Puck...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: ";">September 19, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I went to my first Finnish hockey game today! It was Oulu vs. Helsinki and it was a whole lot of fun. We ended up beating Helsinki in a shootout. Yay Kärpät!!! I arrived to the game a little late because I locked myself out of my room. I spent a while on the phone with the 24-hour service guy… Communicating via phone is pretty hard when there’s bad English everywhere. We finally got it figured out and then had a little trouble understanding the maintenance guy when he called. But I eventually got everything worked out and 30 Euros later, I was back in my room. Luckily, I have good friends like Brittany who are willing to wait on me</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Wingdings;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After the game, we went to McDonalds in the Centre and I had some good ole nugs. They weren’t exactly the same and the sauces were really strange, but they were still good. It’s starting to get cold out on these bikes and my extremities are beginning to freeze. I can’t bundle up too much though, because I get overheated when I ride for a long time. You know… burning all those calories, haha.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I think I’m going to the Irish Festival tomorrow because my Irish friend, Maria really wants to go. I am still a bit confused about what all I should be doing for my classes right now though… I’ll have to take a look at all of that tomorrow. Still getting settled </span></div>
Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-74790424742574432462009-09-17T01:51:00.001+03:002013-09-12T03:10:16.716+03:00Lance Armstrong Ain't Got Nothin' On Me!!!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: ";">September 16, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Moi! Mita kuuluu?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Hey! How are you?)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ";">Today was my first day of real classes, I suppose. At least, courses I’ll actually be taking. It was an introduction day where they told us all about the course. Naturally, I had the same overwhelmed/panic-stricken reaction when I started thinking about the projects and what I was going to do and use and good ideas that will take me a lifetime to create, but that’s nothing I haven’t been doing for the past three years. The more important thing was that I woke up this morning feeling like, and intending to, take over the world. I rode my bike 30 minutes to school and didn’t get lost. It helped that I passed… Ellen, I think her name is… on the way when I went through the park which is where I got lost yesterday. I made some good judgments on paths to take; “this road is a little wider”… “this road has a few less rocks in it” and I wound up downtown easily. Once I was there, I turned down one street and saw “Aleksanterinkuta” written on a building. Street names here are just written on the corners of buildings. I knew that meant I was on the road that the Architecture department was off of. I looked one way and thought, NOPE, been there yesterday, and the other way was a sure bet. I was in the gates in no time. After class, I quickly rode my bike 30 minutes back to Linnanmaa (Campus area) so that I could make it to the Cashier’s Office to get my allowance. I miraculously navigated my way around campus and found a particular place to park my bike that I had taken a mental picture of days before when Timo showed me the way. I locked up the little pink speed demon and went inside. All my mental images were coming in so handy. I saw the elevator and smiled!!! Once I rode the elevator and got into the Cashier’s Office, the lady looked at my passport and handed me all these glorious Euros. I’m no longer broke! </span><span style="font-family: ";">Smiling from ear to ear, I left the office and remembered which way to exit the elevator (you can go from both sides). I got outside and realized I had about 40 minutes before I had to be back downtown for the Materials class. [Interjection: By the way, I don’t think I’m taking the Materials class, it’s a long story and I don’t think I need it. I want to learn more about Materials so I am going to ask the professors if I can come and sit and listen to the lectures and presentations, but not participate. I guess sort of over-achieving, but I just want to become more knowledgeable in that area] I went home and made a turkey (I think it’s turkey but I don’t know cause I can’t read Finnish) and cheese sandwich and jetted off for another 30 minute bike ride. After Materials class, Brittany and I went to PSOAS and I told them my mailbox key wasn’t working. They traded me for the spare… that one doesn’t work either. I found out that I can’t pay my rent until I get a bill and I can’t get a bill if I can’t get into the mailbox to get it. Also, I have to get my registration sheet from International Relations but they’re open from such annoying hours that I have to go tomorrow morning and be late to my first day of… Design Competitions, I think. Then I can open my bank account, transfer money, hopefully get a working key, get my bill, pay my rent, and have my allowance automatically drafted to my account. Geez, if it isn’t one thing, it’s another. Tonight, I also made a fake Passport photo on my camera so I can turn it in and get my student card. I probably won’t end up getting it ‘til it’s time for me to leave. Haha. I was going to fix up a project from last year, but when I got home from this day, I was pooped. I took a nap and went grocery shopping and now I am working on a few other things for tomorrow. I will get to over-achieving on my project later, I suppose. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ";">I finally learned how to ride a bike. Well… I’m learning. I never realized that I didn’t really know how to until I saw how you ride when it’s your primary means of transportation. It's kind of sad when little old ladies are flying by me on the bike roads. First of all, I didn’t realize there was a specific height for your seat that will give you the best pedal power with the least amount of strain. I also am now very conscious of my gears. They say Oulu is flat and in comparison to many places, it is. But there are definitely some hills I struggle on. And when it is raining… it is slightly miserable. I have learned not to stand on the pedals to get my power like I always did when I was a child… this is actually quite tiring. I only do it if I need a sudden burst of energy to get up a hill. I also have mastered the art of picking up my weight ever so slightly when I go over bumps: A. so that there is not so much pressure on my tires and B. so that I do not permanently damage my bum. So you see, you go to a foreign country and you learn things you never intended to learn. Things maybe you didn’t know you needed to learn. And now I’m convinced parking passes are extremely over-priced and unnecessary (we’ll see how I feel when I get back to the States on that one). And if you already knew how to ride a bike effectively, there’s always cross-country roller-blading with ski sticks. That’s one I always see the locals taking part in!</span></div>
Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-31580866553991159832009-09-15T21:54:00.001+03:002013-09-12T03:06:08.786+03:00GPS anyone?<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: ";">September 15, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have this thing about me where I just can’t seem to ever get where I’m trying to go. Some call it a bad sense of direction; some say I’m just to prideful to get directions. I’d say it’s a terrible combination of the two. Today I was riding my bike to class by myself for the first time. I was following the signs to Keskusta or whatever it’s called to try and make my way to the city. Everything went fine for about 20 minutes, and then I found myself in a park with no directions. There were little dirt roads going in every direction. I just took one and found my way to a street. It was a street that I had never been on before but I was hoping I would soon see something familiar. I spent the next hour doing circles and figure 8’s around Oulu… I was less than amused with my inability to find my way around. I have a hard enough time in America and the fact that I don’t speak the language and can’t read the signs was only making things worse. I did find the bank… which was good cause I actually need to go there and set up an account sometime. Sad thing is, I don’t remember how to get to the bank because I was lost when I found it. Luckily for me, the sun was shining bright all afternoon and it was rather warm to where I took my jacket off. I wasn’t trying to sweat. So I rode around Oulu staring at street names, trying desperately to take mental pictures of the places I had been and the names of the streets. Unfortunately, when everything looks a lot like Ylidiosäkkupanömiirten, it becomes difficult to remember what I’ve seen and what the name was. In an exhausted and frustrated state, I remember almost crossing a road and looking down another direction. I saw a fence that looked a lot like the gate entrance to the Architecture block and turned my bike to go in that direction. To my relief, I had amazingly found it. Now class had started at 3.15 and it was already about 4.15. I began texting Carmen and she told me to go ahead and come in but that the class was for the Urban Design course, which I’m not even taking. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or more annoyed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I then ran into my next small adventure: getting inside the building. I tried what any normal person would do and pulled the handle. It felt like it was cemented shut. It didn’t move at all. I looked around and saw a little keypad with numbers. Ah, yes! My student code to enter the building! I pressed my code and happily tugged on the door again. It didn’t move. In my experience here, I find it difficult to know whether a door opens in or out. I guess I take for granted the little “PUSH” and “PULL” signs on just about every door in the U.S. I then tried pushing the door. No success. I sat for a moment and remembered some weird key sensor that had been given to us. I didn’t see anything that looked like it would scan, so I just held my whole set of keys up to the keypad. I heard a little beep and a green light came on! Yay! How dumb could I be? I pulled on the door again… it didn’t budge. I look back at the keypad and the green light turns red again. Feeling a little incompetent I just tried it all at once. I scanned my key, punched in my code while the light was green and heard the door make a noise. Thank goodness I’m not a complete moron. I went inside and sat in a display room until they got out of class. Then I was happy to chat and go with Brittany to put more prepaid minutes on her phone. At least today was gorgeous!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>While we were riding our bikes around downtown, there were these people taking off their clothes and laying them down in a long line. Boys and girls in undies, pulling off belts and shirts and leggings and tank tops. It was attracting quite a crowd and there was a woman yelling in Finnish and holding a little sign. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ";">I had no idea what was going on, but it was worth viewing for a few minutes. Hopefully they were getting some kind of money for stripping down and then actually laying in the middle of the road. On the rest of our trip home we kept seeing groups of people walking and on bikes all dressed in certain outfits. We saw some pirates, a group of Supermen, a group dressed as pigs, and another group with red t-shirts and their phone numbers on the front. There were about 8 people in each group and I’m not sure what was going on, but they all had an open alcoholic beverage with them. Some had whiskey bottles, wine bottles, vodka, some had beers and ciders. All of it actually sparked my interest. It’s not every Tuesday you see a bunch of kids dressed like Superman and sipping on vodka while they ride their bikes downtown. Seemed a little dangerous… haha. </span><span style="font-family: ";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2212898584755257892.post-58670741700015294152009-09-07T22:10:00.003+03:002013-09-12T03:02:25.508+03:00Great Accomplishments<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">September 7, 2009<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">Today was so good! I cannot wait to write about it. I woke up to see the sun shining on the building behind mine. SUNSHINE! For the first time in Oulu! At orientation, we were served tea and coffee. They called out a bunch of countries and we were supposed to stand and say “hello” in our native tongue when our country was called. We thought about saying “HOWDY!” or something ridiculous like that but when our turn came, we were so busy looking to see if there were other Americans besides us four from UNCG that we forgot to say hello at all. Turns out there were about three other Americans. One of which is in Nordic Design with me (Brittany). There were a lot from Spain and Germany and Japan… things like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">I haven’t eaten yet today because during lunch, I was so stressed about the things I need to do and buy that I couldn’t waste time and money eating and I chose to get on my computer instead. After they finished telling us about our shy Finnish professors who think that “an Italian conversation looks like a Finnish argument”, we went downtown to the Centre. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">This was the first time that many of the other architecture students had seen me since I had been hanging out mostly with Finns until today. I met Carmen and Gorka from Spain, some French girls, Maria from Ireland and some German guys as well. They were a whole lot of fun. The only problem is that I am getting better and better at other languages (Finnish and Spanish mostly) and worse and worse at English. I find myself speaking sometimes with an accent. Especially when I say the word “good”. I say it like a German would… that’s the way Finns say it too. And it’s all I hear. Plus, most of the people I talk to do not know English as a first language so I speak in ways that they can easily understand. Not grammatically correct and I do use a lot of accents when I am saying peoples’ names. It’s kind of funny. I am forgetting my American accent and it’s a little scary. I have to step aside and talk to Brittany every so often so we can regain our American-ness. Haha<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';"> After taking a bus to the Centre, we walked around and found a secondhand shop, but no bikes. Alli (my kummi) took me to the bank where I exchanged the rest of my dollars for Euros so that I have enough money to buy a bike. We then went to the PSOAS center to see if we could get my internet set up and all of the rent details and things like that for my residence. Unfortunately, we were number 89 or so and they were only on customer 68 when we went back 30 minutes before they closed, so we decided they would not have time to see us today. We then decided to go tour the architecture department. It was very cool! Nordic Design students (Me, Brittany and Maria) were down in the basement” basically on the street. The buildings were adorable and there was lots of light down there. The Monarch Architecture students were up on the top floor. I liked our studio space better</span><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">We will probably be up there a lot to visit though. Previous exchange students had left them many bags of gifts… pillows, towels, blankets, cords, speakers, flashlights… all kinds of fun things! We, unfortunately, didn’t enter to presents. But oh well! Then Carmen, Gorka and I got on another bus and were trying to make it to Alppis secondhand store before 6pm when they closed. We got there around 5:20 and looked at a lot of bikes. Some had problems like no brakes, gears don’t work, etc. and the cheapest ones were about 60-75 Euros. I walked around for a while and looked up to see one of the workers waving at me to come over. He said, “You want to try!? I Just got it!” And I was like, “Oh, ok.” And I hopped on the bright pink bike. It rode so smooth. The gears worked. And brakes worked pretty well too. I asked him how much and he said, “65 Euros, the man just brought it”. I looked over and saw a man watching me ride the bike around. I realized that this was his bike (hopefully a daughter’s). He was smiling from ear to ear (something Finns don’t normally do haha). I told them I would take the bike and the man was so happy he went to his car and pulled out a lock and gave it to me with a set of two keys. I think he was excited that a foreigner was buying his bike… I guess I stand out that much. That took care of the next purchase I was going to make towards a bike lock. The other girls were, jealous of my bike because it was in very good condition, bright paint and worked well, and I got it for very cheap with a free lock. They all ended up getting good bikes too though, so it all worked out well. The German guys decided to introduce themselves when I was riding my little hot pink speed demon around. They thought my name was funny like Batman and rambled on and on about some famous guy with a last name of Bateman. I had no idea what they were talking about. But once they saw that, they offered to take a picture of me and my new bike (I guess my excitement showed) and I gladly agreed to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">The ride back was gorgeous. Oulu is amazing. I had never been down the bike roads before and they were simply breath-taking. It’s nothing like riding your bike in America. It feels like you are in the most gorgeous mountains (minus the hills) and there’s a light breeze blowing around the skinny green and yellow trees. I kept wanting to take pictures, but I limited myself so that I wouldn’t crash. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic';">We rode our bikes to Prisma, which is like Wal-Mart. There, I got a few things I needed and sat outside and observed people while I waited on the others. They have these strange cages in the front next to where you park your bikes. You are supposed to put your dog in there while you shop, lock it, then come out and get your dog when you’re leaving. I guess some people carry their dogs in baskets on their bikes. It was interesting. I also just watched families. I wondered where they came from. If their dad had just gotten off of work. What it must be like to grow up as a Finn. It really has been hard for me to understand that people live here and this is the life they’ve always known. When I look at them, I think of them the way I think of Americans and I forget that they are Finns. They very well may know nothing about American life. It’s something that I found easy to understand when I was home. When all I saw of foreigners was what was on tv or in movies. But now, I’m seeing everything. And it truly is a strange feeling to feel like you are the outsider, the one who doesn’t belong in this world, in this setting. Not in a bad way. I’m just not used to being… foreign. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sarah Batemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01645031957471606793noreply@blogger.com0