I Don't Take Anything For Granted What I Have

Coruña was so amazing and of course there is this “my last foreign trip” vibe as you can’t travel now.. 

I don't ask for anything more than what I already have

Great news!! I've nailed a trainee job! Two actually!

The first is Gallery Gora, an art gallery in downtown of Mtl which does all kind of event planning from wedding to corporative events. http://www.gallerygora.com/

Already done a couple of shifts there and I’m really loving it! It’s just what I’ve always wanted and been studing for all these years. Reminded me of the work I used to do at Sibeliushall, the local congress center of my hometown, a few years ago when I was an intern there. Preparing the spaces, detailing and customer service and that sort of thing. Unfortunately they cannot offer me full time position.

(Gallery Gora)

But luckily I found a hostel in Plateau, which is this super-cool French area nearby, where I’ll be starting on Sunday. My main working area will be at the reception but the manager was willing to show me some management stuff as well. I’m super-excited about that too!

http://www.hostelmontreal.com/plateau/index.php/en/

In both places I'll be working for free but I don't really mind. In my experience you can get better job opportunities when you're flexible with the salary. And I do get a free meal in both places which is cool. And thanks to my savings and Finnish Social Insurance institution I'll be financially fine. 

So far my future here in Montreal is safe until Christmas and after that I have to get a real job in which I’d get actually paid for.. but with this networking I’m not worried about finding a job in January.

(Gallery Gora, office)

I'm so happy and relieved after all the weeks of looking for a suitable trainee job and the fear of not finding it here. Also I didn’t expect to find an event related job. How lucky am I! I’m gaining so much many-sided working experience with these next few months! And it’s not like I’ll be working like crazy. It’s only like 30h/week or so. Having two jobs needs just a bit of organization with the shifts, that’s all.

I know that millions of things can still go wrong but at this very moment I don’t ask for anything more than what I have cause all of this, living up here and these professional opportunities are everything that I've always dreamed of. 

This is what I love the most about Helsinki, the sea. 

Still got so much of Bologna memories! 

100 years of Finland

Even though I left my country in hope to make a home for myself in somewhere else I am still inspired and fascinated by Finland’s character, history and beauty. Finland has been discussed widely this year because of our 100th anniversary of independence. Lonely Planet recently ranked Finland as the third best travel destination and the country gets credits for safety and education among others.

Below I’ve listed some destinations which I haven’t yet seen but would love to someday. Leaving out most of the capital Helsinki, charismatic and growing Tampere and snowy landscapes of Lapland (you’ll find your way there anyway), doesn’t mean I wouldn’t appreciate them but I just wanted to add here some less known attractions. They don’t come in any particular order.

YYTERI BEACH

When you think about the beach destinations or even warm travel destinations, Finland might not pop in your mind. However in the city of Pori, west coast of the country, there lays the longest beach (6km) of Finland and Nordic countries. The dune area stands out with its size in the whole of Europe.

KOLI NATIONAL PARK

There are 40 national parks in Finland situated in different parts of the country. Many of them which I’d like to visit. But to choose one I reperesent the one in North Carelia, near the city of Joensuu. Koli has a heavy cultural heritage background and despite of its beautiful landscapes its purpose is to protect the traditional agricultural heritage. This area in particular has been inspiration to famous Finnish artists such as Jean Sibelius and Eero Järnefelt.

OLD RAUMA

One of the Finnish Unesco World Heritage Sites (7 in total) Old Rauma is located in west coast of Finland. The wooden city center represents a typical nordic city with its buildings going back for 200 years. For the same atmosphere or a city scene, there’s also Old Porvoo which is somewhat smaller but still a worth a visit and probably easier to reach within one hour drive away from Helsinki.

ÅLAND

Åland islands are almost 7000 islands conisting archipelago at the Gulf of Bothnia. It’s an autonomous and the only monolingually Swedish-speaking region in the country. It has only one town, Mariehamn. This is a popular destination for cycling and boating but having been situated between Finland and Sweden it has also interesting historical sights regarding the two nations. We did a school trip here when I was twelwe years old but clearly I was too young to appreciate the oppurtunity.

OLAVINLINNA

Olaf’s Castle, built on an island, is one the several castles from Middle Ages in Finland. It’s located in the city of Savonlinna in the eastern part of the country. Today it’s the northernmost medieval stone standing being founded in the 15th century. The site is famous for hosting annually Opera Festival since 1912. The location is handy because you can add to your trip a visit in the lake Saimaa (the biggest lake in the country) and in the national parks near by. Similar destinations would be the Castle of Turku and Häme.

 PETÄJÄVESI CHURCH

Also one of the Finnish Unesco World Heritage Sites, is the old wooden church situated in Petäjävesi in the central part of the country. It’s a masterpiece of what comes to buildings made out of wood being built in the 18th century. It was forgotten for decades since the new church being built in the area but today the church is a popular site among tourists and weddings. Represents typical eastern Scandinavian but it has details containing gothic style also. We visited once here with my folks when I was a kid but the church was closed so couldn’t get inside. So still on my bucket list!

TURKU

Turku, the oldest city of Finland, founded on the 13th century on the southwest coast of the country. Once a capital during the Swedish era is a still significant center of growth in Finland. Praised as the official Christmas city and summer city with a great atmosphere and ferry connections to Stockholm and Åland islands. The former European Capital of Culture (2011) is a venue for several events for all sizes and tastes. Famous for its riverside, mediaval sites the church and the castle, also the achipelago is worth of a visit! Despite of all these merits I just haven’t got in to the Turku mode and haven’t seen its uniqueness besides the medieval attractions so Turku is definitely on my bucket list!

ISLANDS OF HELSINKI

Many tourists only see the most famous attractions such as the city center and Suomenlinna but the city has these great island destinations which I just adore! Some of them being opened pretty recently and offer get aways from the busy city life with their beaches, restaurants, charming cafes, sport facilities, nature and sea landscapes.

Some Braga stuff last week. The city didn’t impress me the way as Porto but it was worth of a day trip.

It’s summer now somewhere...

UMK 2023 Song review - Portion Boys

The hype is very real around Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), the Finnish national selection for Eurovision and the race to Liverpool continues with glam rock anthem!

Portion Boys - Samaa taivasta katsotaan

Portion Boys have been around for a while. They originally started from Youtube back in 2010 and by releasing regurarly singles slowly but surely made theirselves a name in Finland. Especially the few last years have been succesful for them. They’ve become known as a positive dance-pop group with a lots of personality. 

Samaa taivasta katsotaan represents quite well the band’s musical repertoire and style. It offers a great ending to UMK23 series (as it was released as the seventh and the last track) and also to UMK23 show on February 25th. This is a very rich song, we have several elements and genres mixed in this one and it is the thing that might keep the viewer hooked for the entire 3 minutes but it might also be the thing that breaks charm.

I get the feeling of the song trying too hard. It’s trying to please everyone - we have the rock rap, anthem like instrumental parts, heavy metalish screaming going on. Even the lyrics mention several countries and make references in foreign languages. It’s a mess and it’s up to one’s personal taste whether it’s a mess for your taste. 

The song reminds a bit of Eurovision Movie: Fire Saga by its vibes and with its to be honest Eurovision clichés. Even reference to Latvian Pirates in 2008 has been made in social media. There’s a certain sillyness in here but also the spirit of becoming one despite all our differences. Usually these kind of entries haven’t done very well in ESC.

However,  this might be one of the rare UMK23 entries that I do not wish to advance to ESC. On another year yes but not in 2023 when we have better options. However, I have to admit it does hold the strongest hook in UMK23. This might go against the lovers of Cha Cha Cha as it musically and spiritually stands completely on the other side of the edge. However, I can see this becoming a true Finnhit classic and bringing people together on the dancefloor.

What do you think of the seventh UMK23 track and would you vote for Portion Boys’ Samaa taivasta katsotaan to go all the way to Liverpool? UMK final takes place on February 25th!

ESC2018: The big 6

Time to talk about some Eurovision! I’m bursting to talk all my favorites! And there are so many since I’m in love with almost all the entries this year! Sayonara to the years when the paying countries sent their crappiest songs ever existing because this year many of the fans favorites come indeed from:

FRANCE

One of the earliest entries this year. Even when I was watching through the national selection Madame & Monsieur stood out for me. Was super happy that the French audience saved them and brought them to victory and Mercy has been non-stop play ever since. Some say it’s too political but for me it’s simply touching…the subject, the words, her singing. Just absolutely adore her voice. There’s so much emotion in this performance. I like their sound. It’s organic. The lightness and softness. It’s French but not too much. If you’re into this take a listen their debut album which came out in 2016. Their live performance though wasn’t as good as I had hoped for which I’m eager to see if they’ll do honour for the studio cut. So here’s the official video untill..

The magnificent Madame Monsieur with “Mercy” from France.

GERMANY

I was so sad last year for Germany. There was a happy girl singing last song of the final. And she sang her heart out. I wanted to like her but the song was just bad. I admired her positivity. This is not the case clearly in Lisbon. This is not the best song of the competition but it’s a big leap from previous German entries. It is definitely speaking to me. Like France it has a touching theme which also makes it to stand out from the rest of the ballads. Some say it’s cheesy, generetic but the emotion is raw, fragile and real. I see so much potential in this!

Michael Schulte with “You won’t let me walk alone” from Germany.

ITALY

For me Italy is a treasure chest what comes to the music. They have so much talent what comes to singing, performing, songwriting… And the world doesn’t know about them cause italian artists are quite happy staying in their own country. I was spectical when I hear their victory and did not like it at first listen. But this song has grown so much. Again a bit political theme, similar to France but I don’t care! It’s amazing! Their singing is brilliant and their voices sound so good together. There’s an organic sound which makes it to stand out from the rest pop songs in the contest. The intensity makes my world stop for 3:30 minutes.

Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro with “Non mi avete fatto niente” from Italy.

PORTUGAL

I wasn’t familiar with Portugal’s Festival de Cancao before this year. But since living here what the hell. Also I was interested by the fact that Diogo Picarra was one of the songwriters and performers. He’s the only portuguese artist singing in portuguese I actually like (language learning). His song was not the best of him I think but I was sad to hear the rumors that he had copied his song from something that was released 30 years ago. I do believe in his honesty and was even more saddened to hear him dropping out from the competition. Anyhow the one act that got selected to represent Portugal. I did like her song the best. It’s not the winner song of the competition but I like the mystical sound in it which portuguese language adds to it. Nice beat. Claudia is cute and fragile while Isaura got her back. Looking forward how it’s gonna look like on big stage in Lisbon!

Cláudia Pascoal from Portugal with “O Jardim”.

SPAIN

One of the earliest entries. I loved it from the first time I saw it. The song itself isn’t that special on its own but when you see them performing it together – it’s just magic. It somewhat stands out being one of the rare simple ballads without big arrangements. I’m so happy to be back loving the Spanish entry! 

I guess they’re gonna ditch the pianos but I just prefer this original live version from Spain..

UK

It has all the qualities that a good pop song needs. It has the pretty girl, great voice and charisma. There’s the beat and catchy tune. But no. Still not reaching high enough. I’ve really tried to like this one but no. However very classic pop song, British pop and eurovision pop also. I’m still hoping that this song will do the same as the last year’s UK entry did. They developed the song and the final version Ukraine hit me.

And because there’s a limit of only 5 videos in each post cannot add UK entry here but you can check it out here: