2022 World Tour – Turku Finland
Hello from Turku, my 40th stop on the trip, but I can’t claim it as a new country as I visited here in July 2006 on an IBM trip to visit Finnair in Helsinki.
Below is the standard summary:
– Cool Ranch Doritos: No.
– Thai ATM Card Works: Yes
– Thai Debit Card Works: Yes, but had one decline for no apparent reason
– Thai Internet Purchase Works: Yes
– USA Credit Card Works: Didn’t try
– Worldwide Telephone/Data/SMS eSIM Works: Yes
– Magic Jack Works: Didn’t try
– Drone Flights: Didn’t check
– Cost of Living: $$$$$
– Currency: Euro ⬠1.00 = USD $1.00
– Language Issues: None
Your Short History Lesson:
Habitation in the region started around 9000 BC. By the 13th century it was closely linked with Sweden but in 1809 became part of the Russian Empire. In 1917 Finland declared independence after the Russian Revolution. The state was separated in 1918 in the Civil War. During World War II it successfully defended itself from an overpowering Russian military. It is now a member of the UN, EU, Euro Zone and NATO. From Wikipedia: Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life and human development. In 2015, Finland ranked first in the World Human Capital, topped the Press Freedom Index, and was the most stable country in the world during 2011â2016, according to the Fragile States Index; it is second in the Global Gender Gap Report, and has ranked first in every annual World Happiness Report since 2018.
This is a special side-trip as I wasn’t intending to go to Finland at all on this trip. I belong to a Facebook group called “Grumpy Expats.” It’s a place where people living overseas can ask questions about housing, visas, schools, government bureaucracy, language, local customs and the like, but it’s also a place to vent about whatever shitfuckery is going on around you in your new home. Everyone is supportive as we’ve all “been there, done that” far, far away from home and the only rule is “Respect The Grump”. We do get the occasional Ungrump when something goes unexpectedly well. One day a woman named Karen posted that she was going to be defending her PhD thesis and none of her friends and family would be there to support her and cheer her on, on one of the biggest days of her life. The group came through with a wave of support as usual. She included the fact that it would be held in Turku, Finland in just a few days’ time and I thought to myself how hard could it be to get there and be the group’s representative in person? So I posted that I would do my best to attend.
On the day of the event, I jumped on the first massive ferry over to Helsinki, got a tram to the train station, bought a train ticket from the guy who also sells chocolate bars and hot dogs, jumped on a fantastic train to Turku, then a taxi to the University. I rolled up to the address about 15 minutes after starting time to find a locked gate and nobody around, uh oh! It’s Saturday and this part of the campus is deserted. Then a woman walked up who was also attending and she tried to call someone to unlock the gate but got no response. She hopped over the gate and opened it to let me in. Then we encountered a locked door into the building! After checking all of the doors and windows, she finally got someone inside to let us in, and we entered quietly into the back row of the auditorium as the proceedings were underway.
After the grilling by the examiner, he declared her thesis “groundbreaking” and approved! I got in line to congratulate her and explained who I was and I’m here to represent the Grumpy Expat group.
In the evening I posted the story and pictures of the event, which got 630 likes and 125 congratulatory messages for Dr. Karen. She posted later thanking everyone in the group saying “As long as I live, I will never forget the kindness of this gesture. ⤔ In this shithole of a world right now, it’s good to see so many people giving support and sharing in the success of another human.
I stayed in Turku for 2 days, wandering the now-expected construction in the town square, city center streets and along the river in the cold and drizzle. It’s a nice little town but not a vacation paradise I would return to.
Next Stop: Riga, Latvia
