First week in Helsinki

I’ve spent my first week in Helsinki.

Most of the time I’ve spent trying to cope with my new professional life – trying to get a grasp of various internal procedures, doing a lot of small-talk (which I really don’t like) and also exploring the neighborhood (mostly Punavuori and Kamppi) I’m living in. At this point there are no real surprises, however, there are some things which I wasn’t kind of expecting:

* An induction stove-top in my kitchen. :) In the result the pan which I bought specially for my move to Helsinki will have to travel back to Riga;

* I was surprised by the prices in the local groceries. You expect me to tell you they’re high. Yes, they’re. But…I was more surprised by the fact that some prices are considerably lower than in Riga. Mostly for imported goods (all Italian and Asian food, coffee, imported exotic fruits) and some dairy products. Local fruits and vegetables are similarly priced to Riga, maybe a bit more expensive. Meats and of course alcohol are the things that are seriously  more expensive. In the result of my move to Helsinki most likely I’ll be a healthier person :)

* The large number of shopping centers. Riga is a similarly sized city, but doesn’t have even a close number of shopping centers. Went to Kamppi Shopping center to buy some shoes. Bought three pairs at the prices that are similar to the ones back in Riga.

* Why does Helsinki have so many carpet shops? I don’t know more than 1 or 2 carpet shops in Riga, but here I have stumbled upon at least a dozen.

* I definitely cannot agree to the statement that Finns are “cold”. Every Finn that I have encountered until now has been very helpful, polite and even proactive.

* My first week at work has been really a struggle. In addition to all the normal things, which are normal in case of a work change, I managed to come ill to Helsinki. In the result, I’ve spent the first week at work in a really bad condition. I hope that the next weeks will be better in this respect.

* I have managed to explore the Hietalahden Kauppahalli. I must say it surprised me somewhat on the downside. I mean, I like all those streetfood stands, and I am especially excited by the chance of buying Sao Jorge cheese from Azores there. Nevertheless, I was hoping there would be a possibility to buy some fresh vegetables, fruits and preferably fish/meat at the market. However, it is not the case. Will have to go and explore the Hakaniemi Market Hall instead.

* This is my first experience working as an expat. In the result, everything is new to me. I still kind of struggle to cope with all the emotions and thoughts running thru my head. During the first week, I felt that it has been very difficult to me to concentrate my thoughts on something. My thoughts are scattered across a whole range of things. In addition, I am struggling with my English. In conversations with my new colleagues, my response times are really slow - I have to think hard how to express my point. It is a surprise to myself - my English skills apparently have worsened notably during the recent years. This will be one of my priorities in the following weeks - to regain some fluency in my speech.

* I encountered a bit funny problem in a grocery store. In the section of fruits and vegetables, the price tags are only in Finnish. In the result, I am not sure if the product code corresponds to the product which is under the price tag. For instance, when buying potatoes I could not really understand which of the codes I should use for weighing purpose as there were three price tags located over potatoes. :) Now however I learned already the main words in Finnish.

* I must say the Finnish language is coming into my head at quite a fast pace. At least the nouns. I do some learning on Memrise, but even more, I learn from the grocery store, movies and the news I try to watch in the mornings on TV. I already start to grasp the context of Finnish speech. However, there are of course those long words consisting of 20 letters which I even struggle to pronounce. :)

Me at Kaivopuisto