Summer Travels - 2017: Finland

While teaching in Jyväskylä, I posted a few Facebook notes that I’d like to keep [slightly revised] here…

Just got back from Finnish Summer Eve at Varjola, a lovely forested place by a lake where we enjoyed sausages, chatted for hours, and savored the Finnish tradition of broiling in a smoke-scented sauna before leaping into the ice-cold lake - repeating back and forth, back and forth.

Many thanks to Risto Korkia-Aho for bringing me a huge sprig of birch branches for exfoliation and adding a charming scent to the moist furnace of the sauna. Special thanks also to Chuck Stevens for sharing a memorable cigar and conversation with me! Coming back, an extra treat: being serenaded by our Argentine students’ seemingly endless (but undoubtedly charming) repertoire of chants and songs.

First Weekend

After reviewing the great recommendations offered by my pals here in Finland, I decided to rent a car and head east toward Punkaharju and Savonlinna: lots of winding birch tree-lined roads, red farmhouses, and tranquil lakes.

At night I stayed at a former primary school turned into an apartment complex. It seems that the village didn't have enough kids to support the school. But the apartments are quite lovely. It's especially nice that I had an entire wing to myself - and a sauna they let me use for free. How nice to feel the cool evening air coming through an open window.

The next day was easily one of the nicest driving days I can recall. I savored lovely roads bisecting clean blue lakes, fields of yellow flowers, and plenty of time to reflect on how lucky I feel to enjoy this beautiful country. A special treat was the chance to rediscover my love of stick-shift driving, particularly around those winding roads.

Later on, I visited Kuopio market square and enjoyed cruising the curvy roads past red cabins and butter flowers and sparkling lakes. 

Second Weekend

There was something about the light last night, a sharpness and clarity that lasted just a few minutes, a brevity that summoned rare contemplation. The shadows stretched long and the sky seemed to pulsate. The lakes dappled with silver when clouds passed overhead. Pink streaks glowed across the horizon. As I drove toward the midnight sunset, a truck filled with cow manure raced by, dripping hot splotches onto the road; a kid hopped with delight in the passenger seat. Constellations of mosquitos danced in patches while fellows worked their combines in the fields. I went to bed in the gloaming that lasted another hour. Today I am drawn southwest and the tiny towns that dot the coast. I have no idea where I’ll sleep tonight.

One Last Trip

Woke up to the happy sound of Finnish kids playing in the rain. Proctored final exams, said goodbye to my classes, and celebrated JAMK summer school graduation. Then hit the road for a few hours of solo driving, After racing north with Midnight Oil as my copilot, I'm home for the night! The rain broke hours ago, and the sun is slowly setting amid a wash of silver and purple clouds. I'm sleepy but delighted. Tomorrow I'm heading for Tornio to photograph an orthodox church that's remarkable for its tiny size. Then it's further north to Rovaniemi, a city that - for the life of me - I still can't seem to pronounce properly. On the lookout for moose, reindeer, and Santa.

After visiting Rovaniemi: So, I've got the whole house to myself, but not the whole country. Turns out the nearest sauna is part of the house but accessible only through an external door. So I tossed on my "action pants" (don't ask) and a t-shirt and made my way to wood-paneled steamy oblivion, pouring water onto rocks to send paroxysms of steam into my lungs. About a half-hour later, wrapping up with a chilly shower, I said to myself, "Hey, I'm alone in Finland, surrounded by dandelion-covered fields and verdant forests. I don't need clothes to walk back!" So I started to open the door when my better judgment reminded me, "Wear a towel. Just in case." I'm glad I did because no more than ten steps later, I heard Pekka's cheery voice: "Was sauna good?" Well, let's put it this way. The sauna was almost a little too good, actually! Tomorrow begins the next leg of the journey, joining Jenny in Tel Aviv. I'll reflect more on this experience later but, suffice to say, I love this Finland and will be thrilled to return one day!

Finland: Two nice things

While I didn’t write a formal blog post for my Summer 2016 European adventures, I thought it’d be fun to share some memories I initially stored on Facebook.

Two nice things: Yesterday I joined a pal to visit Jyväskylä's Alvar Aalto Museum, exploring exemplars of Finnish architecture and design. During our visit we got caught up in a pitched battle between an architectural historian who said that Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater was "crap" and that the architect was a "charlatan" and a "criminal" - and his friends who loudly disagreed: "Wright is brilliant," they said, "His designs are so innovative!" We then entered a fascinating conversation about Wright's alleged anti-semitism, thievery, and abuse of his clients. I need to learn more about these topics, I'm not sure about them just yet. But I loved the opportunity to hear such passionate and informative discussion. Then today I noticed how cool it is that the JAMK campus has pianos in some rooms and common areas. Every once in awhile I'll hear a student playing a gorgeous tune, and I appreciate how they can add such beauty to our shared educational experience.

Finland: Tango Finlandia

While I didn’t write a formal blog post for my Summer 2016 European adventures, I thought it’d be fun to share some memories I initially stored on Facebook.

Back in '93, 60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer did a story called "Tango Finlandia," which purported to explain why Finns are so shy and morose. "To be noticed is an embarrassment," he intoned. "To take notice an affront." Pretty much anyone who visits Finland today will find a much more vibrant country than the one Safer experienced. While its capital Helsinki can hardly reflect the complexity of the whole country, you'll find countless people chatting, drinking, and laughing in cafes that line the major streets (in summer, of course). They are celebrating the hours of light that have come to banish the seemingly endless darkness of winter. They are also celebrating friendship, love, and all the other things that make life worth living. Yes, I have met many, many happy, friendly, welcoming Finns. Still, during these weeks in Jyväskylä, I have to remind myself to stop nodding and smiling when I pass strangers on the sidewalk. They look at me (if they look at all) like I'm crazy. Perhaps they're wondering, "Why would you pretend to be friendly with a stranger?" I imagine that Finns also tire of the U.S. American tendency to over-celebrate the most banal things. "How's the coffee?" one might ask. "Great! Awesome! Perfect!" many Americans will reply. I think that Finns are measurably more happy than U.S. Americans because they maintain more reasonable standards.

Finland: Geisha chocolate

While I didn’t write a formal blog post for my Summer 2016 European adventures, I thought it’d be fun to share some memories I initially stored on Facebook.

So I return from Leonardo, my go-to restaurant in Helsinki, and find a big bar of Geisha chocolate in my hotel room - and a card: "With love from Merlin and Esteri." And I am reminded once more of how lucky I am to be here. You see, while I was scarfing down a pizza and some cocktails during dinner, a young woman sitting next to me announced that I needed to help her and her friend finish their bottle of wine. Never one to turn down a tasty beverage, I joined in - and we commenced to chatting about essential tourist spots in Florida, recommendations for where I can catch old school cinema in Helsinki and, of all things, our mutual fascination and frustration with Andy Kaufman. One of my new friends is a nurse; the other works at a local hotel, and she was thrilled to hear that I'm staying at the Indigo, because she has friends here. So much so that she arranged for this lovely present to be sent to my room while I was walking home. Yeah, I've heard the old cliches about Finns being taciturn and withdrawn. But I've met so many warm, friendly, welcoming folks here to realize just how limited (and limiting) those sorts of generalizations can be. Can't wait to get some sleep and continue the adventure tomorrow!

Kamppi Center

Mexican Journey

Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
Campus San Luis Potosi

Last week Jenny and I traveled to Mexico (our first time!), having accepted an invitation to participate in the Global Faculty Program at Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. The gig emerged from a dinner conversation with Claudia Ugalde in St. Petersburg, Russia of all places. We’d both completed three weeks of a study abroad program in Finland and were enjoying a meal with other friends and colleagues when Claudia recommended the Mexico program. Since I’d enjoyed working with her students so much, she figured I’d have a swell time on one of their home campuses. So after submitting an application I received to word: I’d be heading to San Luis Potosí.

Pozole in SLP Old Town

I had no idea of what to expect. Her colleagues and I discussed plenty of logistics: flights, lodging, that sort of thing. But my actual duties remained flexible until a few days before departure. That’s when I received word of their request that I’d teach ten lectures on a broad range of topics. They’d read my vita and found topics that fit with my skills and interests, and in fact I really only needed to prep a handful of presentations. They were happy for me to repeat lectures for several class sections.

Searching for Street Art

Still, there are few things that are both as exhilarating and terrifying for an educator as flying into another country, arriving late at night, waking up super early to prep, catching a ride to campus, being shown around various spaces, finding my assigned classroom, figuring out the tech, getting to know the professor hosting this lecture, sizing up the students as they walk in, and then hearing a silent voice in my head that goes, ".... and nowwwwww... teach!" 

Campus San Luis Potosí 

Thus I especially appreciated the pleasure (and relief) in knowing that the old tricks and half-forgotten techniques, the familiar dance and untrodden path, managed to connect. On my first day I presented two versions of "Gamification: Disrupting Business and Higher Education,” smiling to find that this topic is just as relevant in Mexico as it is in Belarus, in Finland, and in California. Pretty soon I got into a pleasant groove, presenting lectures on "Silicon Valley Startup Culture," "Intercultural Communication: Crossing Borders and Dismantling Walls" (with some snippy Trump references, of course), and "China: The Once and Future Superpower.”

Nighttime in Jardín Guerrero, Querétaro

Somewhat embarrassingly, I also prepped a lecture called "Mediated Communication: Rethinking Engagement in the Age of Ubiquity” but accidentally fired up the wrong Prezi one day and ran the “Intercultural Presentation” talk instead. Neither the professor nor the students seemed to mind, though, and we ended up having a rollicking visit. The conversations that ensued gave me much to contemplate about life in Mexico, and about local perceptions of U.S. culture. That evening Jenny and I joined other visiting faculty and a wonderful campus host for late-night dinner in a restaurant themed after Frida Kahlo. The food and chat were delightful.

El México de Frida

After finishing my tenth lecture and saying goodbye to our new friends in San Luis Potosí, we joined a Monterrey Tech tour of Teotihuacán, which included an opportunity to learn about indigenous astronomy, agriculture, and spirituality - and to climb the Pyramid of the Sun. I can still hear the whistling wind and see the clouds roll over the valley, and I can still smell the burning sage we used for a ceremony that gave us permission to ascend those sacred steps.

Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacán

Afterward our group sampled some local tequilas (Jenny passed on that part, of course) and then cruised back to SLP. With all the driving back and forth, we ended up getting three hours of sleep before our return flights. But we’re wide awake in our love and affection for Mexico. My new pals there have encouraged me to return one day, and I hope I can. Indeed, I can't believe it's taken me this long to begin exploring this amazing place!

Atop the Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacán

Check out my Facebook album for more pix.

Tampere, Finland Street Art

During my 2015 return to Finland, I took a weekend trip to Tampere - where I found an awesome collection of street art in an abandoned match factory.

Europe 2014

This page is a growing collection of digital souvenirs of our 2014 European adventures, which included stops in Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Russia, and Italy over a one-month period. I plan to populate these links (and add new ones) over the summer.

Helsinki, Finland

• Suvilahti district street art: Tour artistic creations in a converted power plant

Jyväskylä, Finland

• Teaching at JAMK University of Applied Sciences: Photos by Phillip Szeto

Tallinn, Estonia

• Old Town and Kalamaja district street art: Highlights include a visit to the V. I. Lenin Palace of Culture and Sport (now abandoned)

Stockholm, Sweden

• Underground tour: Visit the world's longest art exhibit

St. Petersburg, Russia

• The Hermitage: One of the world's most impressive assemblages of artwork

• Soviet relics: Narvskaya metro station, Sergey Kirov monument, "Workers of the world" mural, and more!

Cinque Terre, Italy

• Hiking the Sentiero Azzurro: Three days of dining, napping, and hiking

Rome, Italy

• Vatican Museum tour: Including School of Athens, Laocoön and His Sons, and the Gallery of Maps

• Ostiense neighborhood street art 1 of 2: Features Blu's transformation of Via del Porto Fluviale

• Ostiense neighborhood street art 2 of 2: Features work by Gaia, Gaucholadri, and Guy Denning

• Popped Collar Cool: You may be cool... but are you Italian Popped Collar cool?

Book Project

• Picaboo: These are draft-pages from our hardcover trip keepsake [warning: link may be temporary]

Teaching at JAMK

During the 2014 Europe trip, I was fortunate enough to teach an international business speaking course at JAMK University of Applied Sciences in Jyväskylä, Finland.

JAMK's Creativity and Communication in Business program gathered students from Finland, Russia, Argentina, Singapore, Canada, and the U.S. Adapting to such a wide range of learning styles was a highlight of the professional experience.

Of course despite months of thinking and planning, I needed to develop new lectures and activities on a near-daily basis while in Finland. Our classroom conversations illuminated challenges and opportunities I'd never considered prior to my arrival. Every day was therefore a race to prepare, never quite knowing what would land. The work was exhilarating but also exhausting.

Before my morning class I'd spend a couple hours honing activities and revising my Prezi. I'd typically stay afterward to chat with students before grabbing a quick lunch break. The afternoon section gave me a chance to revise my lessons while working with a different group of students. Again, I'd stay awhile to chat before returning to my apartment. Evenings were mostly dedicated to grading, sometimes while enjoying a meal at Hotelli Yöpuu.

The three-week JAMK program included classes, evening activities, and optional side-trips to Estonia, Sweden, and Russia. As a result, the students formed a close community whose friendships are likely to endure. Indeed, in a world of more than seven billion people, I won't be surprised if I see some of these folks again one day.

Thanks to Phillip Szeto for taking these pix!

Helsinki Street Art: Suvilahti District

During my 2014 European travels I enjoyed an opportunity to explore plenty of street art. Today's installment comes from Suvilahti district [wiki]: once a power plant, now a place for artists and cultural events. I found this place in the best possible way, by getting lost.