Lisbon / Portugal Blogs

UMK 2023 Song Review - Kuumaa

The hype is very real around Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), the Finnish national selection for Eurovision and the race to Liverpool continues with another nostalgic retro banger! 

Kuumaa - Ylivoimainen

Kuumaa had their breakthrough back in 2016 and their debut album came out three years later. They’ve also released several radio hit singles regurarly over the years and today they’re described as “most interesting pop group in Finland” Quite recently they also won Emma Award (Finnish Grammy) for being the best group so they’re surely becoming hot in the Finnish music scene (their name actually means hot!) Again another entry that has a full package and vision ready even before entering to UMK. 

Ylivoimainen is another retro entry in UMK this year and it’s being seen competing directly with Benjamin’s Hoida Mut. However, this perhaps gives more indie pop vibes and it reminds me a bit of A-ha’s Take on me actually. This sounds very Kuumaa and this kind of contemporary nostalgic tunes are what they do the best. I cannot praise the chorus enough - it’s catchy, it’s warm, irresistable, probably the strongest chorus in UMK23, 

Ylivoimainen is super easy to listen, easy to sing and dance along and it actually invites you to do so. It’s an embrace that will instantly make you feel safe. Ylivoimainen is a crowd pleaser and well produced radio hit (reached number one in Finnish Spotify already!) but it still has authentic sound without being too slick (Robin - Girls like you). BUT as we saw last year’s with Bess’s entry Ram Pam Pam, becoming a hit is not enough to get you a ticket to Liverpool - you need to get the Finns to vote also. However, they do have a solid fan base in Finland who might be showing their loyalty on February 25th. 

As a package - this might be the best UMK23 entry. The song ticks all the right boxes and we have a band that we know can deliver energetic live performance. However, if this did advance to ESC - we already have several more or less nostalgic boy band entries (Slovenia, Latvia, Ireland) which Kuumaa would go against and to be honest I’d worry if we’d stand out enough as we could do perhaps with another artist (let’s say Käärijä?) 

What do you think of the sixth UMK23 track and would you vote for Kuumaa’s Ylivoimainen to go all the way to Liverpool? UMK final takes place on February 25th!

LAURA PAUSINI - TI DICO CIAO (new single 2012 Album INEDITO)

Montaggio by Claudio Ciovati - Te ne vai Salutandomi Da quel luogo che è un luogo senza te Te ne vai da qui Con gli occhi lucidi Che piano si colorano Di bia...

Bye uncle.. grateful for having you in my life

What do you dream of?

Okay, time for some sort of closure I guess. Can’t belive that I made it and that it’s time to head home. I cannot help but to be sad about all of this coming to an end but I’m also so happy and grateful that this year happened to me at all.

For over a year I’ve tried to share not only the best part (and some of the bad ones too) of moving to Canada for a year but also the fabulousness of Montréal and Québec. The reasons why it was my dream to live in province in the first place, why I’ve loved my every #mtlmoment and also why I’d like to come back here someday. Still hundreads of things I would have loved to share with you more.. 

But in this last post I won’t be telling you what I’ve been up to for the last weeks either;  I won’t be praising the summer events of the city or the amazing  things I’ve had the chance to do here. They are awesome and definitely worth telling for but now I wanna talk about the bigger picture.

For the last weeks I’ve been walking around the streets of Montréal and a bit in Québec also, trying to notice everything, learn every building, street and a charming café by heart. It’s been hard to look at the city, my favourite places and neighbourhoods, where I’ve lived so much…without knowing if I’ll ever experience them again. Countless amounts of last looks and things I will miss about this city. Some bigger than others.

My postcard collection, used to be much larger thou..

I’ve felt very much like home here. Nevermind of my crappy French but there is this small québecoise that has been growing in me and I wouldn’t have wanted to live anywhere else in North America or in Canada. I have been able to explore and observe the culture and the country that I used to read about endlessly as a kid and which I’ve always been drawn to in ways that only travellers/wanderers/ or however you would like to call yourselves, like me can understand. And for a year I lived my dream. Which is pretty cool, I must say.

Not everything went as planned like nothing goes in life in general speking.. Not saying that Québec and Montréal are perfect. There are things which I totally don’t agree on or that make absolutely no sense to me. But they say that a foreign country isn’t supposed to make you, an outsider to feel comfortable to be in. Adapting to the strange ways and new environment is as awkward as it is giving. It educates not only about the country you live in but also about yourself and where you’re coming from. And I’m not talking about country borders here.

When I talk about my MTL year I cannot help but to mention Couchsurfing. There are other websites who function with the same idea. It is a personal opinion which one works for you the best if not at all. Google it if you're not familiar with the concept.

But I do wanna say that it is a community where you don’t have to travel or even have someone sleeping at your couch to participate the community in your hometown. Besides of the actual hosting and surfing thing, which I haven’t been able to do yet - there are a lot different kinds of events and activites going on, in some places more than others. And I can say for a personal experience that it is a great way to build your social circle as a newcomer.

A lot has been said, lots of negative stuff about Couchsurfing, and here I’m not talking about the exact website but this new way of travelling and meeting people. And I’ve had my share of some of the minor issues but during my year of discovery of CS I gotta say that there is a lot of good stuff here too.

In Montréal the community is very active and, even thou I haven’t discovered the other CS communities around the world yet. However I dare to say, this one is filled with the craziest and the most awesome activities which tells a lot about the members in the community too. With some of them I’ve been lucky enough to build lifelong friendships with.

(not my pic)

It is a community where I haven’t felt the need to explain myself, my spirit and my reasons to come here because most of the CS members understand the desire and even the need to move away to abroad or do intensive, long travels.  Which is the reason why I wanna keep participating in one way or another in Finland too. Or wherever I’ll be living in. 

In general, during this year I’ve put so much time on so many events and on countless amount of meet ups with perfect strangers which not all of them were good actually but in the end it was all worth it. I’ve met people, sometimes only once or twice..others may have already moved on, but some of them have expanded my horizon by their stories and personalities. I’ve heard people describing me as a courageous person for coming as far I have come and in the way I have but there are people out there who’ve gone much further and have pursued way crazier ideas in more extraordinary ways than I have in mine.

Even though this post is already too long I cannot leave out the industry I discovered and worked for the last six months. Who knew that you could make money by testing videogames or that being a Finnish speaker could be such an advantage in Montréal? I’ve truly enjoyed my time and I’m definitely keeping my options open of becoming a videogame tester again. But not for the job itself or how cool and easy it sounds but for the people who work there.  It’s a great job because of the social environment, how deeply you can feel like being a part of a team and the wonderful friends you make along the way. Even sometimes the people you weren’t the most closest to, are the ones you’ll remember for the rest of your life. 

A MASSIVE thank you btw to everyone who’s been living this experience with me, from all the way back home to Québec and beyond…new and old ones. No names necessary, you know who you are. Thank you for being part of my québecois experience. Never would have been able to do this on my own.

Now when I look at my empty room where I’ve lived for almost the entire year; the white walls that used to be covered by my Mtl and Québec postcards and my luggages (which I had to pack four times to get it right!)…. I cannot believe I’m really leaving. These 12 months feel now much bigger and longer than when looking at them in the calendar. Even thou Canada and Québec are a lot like Finland I have truly lived outside of my comfort zone here.

This is the longest period of time and furthest I’ve ever been from home. Without my support system, from friends and family to EU benefits which all of them I was used to having. I’m continuously searching for the right words to describe the spiritual change and growth in me but I’m starting to think that there isn’t any. I've come a long way from the first post I wrote a year ago. 

I can only encourage everyone to do the same, not the CS thing or Montréal thing or even the travelling thing but to pursue your dreams and step outside of your box for a moment. A lot of bad stuff can happen but so can a lot of good too. Concentrate on the positive side. Life is short and time is precious and limited.

I hope that with the posts here in my blog I’ve managed to open up a little bit what Montréal and Québec are all about and encouraged anyone who’s ever had the thought of travelling here to do so. Or made someone local to be a tourist in his/her city and country. 

It is a remarkable place and I’m proud that I was able to call it my home once.

Je me souviens. I remember. 

Home sweet home.. when it was still summer :) 

I loved my mini break in Bologna! 

Differences

Small talk and friendliness

In general Finns don’t do it, mainly because we suck at it. The small talk québecois isn’t as aggressive as in English speaking Canada but still I find it weird how people, totally strangers to me, ask me how I am…what is it to you? And especially when the automatic answer is always “good” and in the end people don’t give a damn how you’re really doing. It just feels waste of time and energy for me.

Small talk creates the image of people being friendlier but like I said I feel it’s very shallow. It’s not that Finns cannot be friendly or helpful too but people consider one’s “personal space” physically and emotionally bigger I guess.  That’s why we keep it on general level until we’re actually some sort acquaintances at least.

(Pic from montrealinpictures.com)

Drugs

I’m one of those rare people who’ve never used them. Call me boring but that’s my decision and I don’t judge those who do them but I have absolutely no desire to use drugs myself. In Finland the closest I’ve got to them is hearing an old class mate dying for an overdose. No one’s even offered or tried to sell me anything.

In here, on the other hand, they’re everywhere. Especially marijuana. You could even smell it in the air while attending events or just by walking in the streets. Or I could anyway. And people are so open about it. Super weird, I say.

Winter life

Finns seem to be like bears who go to sleep for the winter time and wake up when the spring arrives. Apart from the holidays like Christmas season and New Year's. Here, on the other hand, people don’t let the cold stop them for going out or arranging events. Super cool, I say.

(Igloofest, one of the coolest events in the city)

Restaurant culture

They say that Mtl has more restaurants than any other city in North America. I could even add to that the industry is blooming over here. All the famous cuisines of the world are represented and there are lots of small, cozy, special pubs, cafes and restaurants all over the city. For the staff, tipping seems to make the working in the industry worthwhile.

In Finland, thanks to our laws and regulations even having your own restaurant is quite difficult and expensive. Especially when the majority of Finns don’t wanna pay for a good service or diversity of products. Tipping isn’t mandatory even though you might bump into some rare Finnish customers who actually recognize a good service when they see it and reward the staff for it. Surprisingly self service is quite in common.

(Almost legendary Café Olimpico in Mile End)

Homeless people

Thanks to the Finnish social security system we don’t’ have much homeless people. Not where I come from anyway. In Helsinki there are some. But even still they aren’t as aggressive or visible part of the scenery.

Here they’re natural part of the cityscape. It took some time to get used to them. Haven’t given any money to any of them so far cause I still feel like I’d be supporting their choice not to work and to beg for their living. Even though I understand that things don’t work the same way here as they do back home and that some people probably haven’t ended up there by a choice.  

Garbage system

Found this incredibly weird in the beginning. You just dump all the stuff on the streets which can include anything from furniture to..anything really. In Finland we use those big garbage bins (each house, building has its own) and it’s not okay to leave your old couch or a dishwasher next to it. That’s what landfills have been made for. But being quite expensive in Finland, has made the dumping in the woods –option, very popular. Unfortunately.

I would be willing to pay more taxes if we’d have the similar system in Finland too. At least people wouldn’t feel the need to dump their carbage in the nature.

Alcohol

People can drink and party hard here too. Apart from a few drunks at the subway, the number of people vomiting or passing out in the streets because they’ve had one too many is still zero so far. Unlike in Finland where the consumption of alcohol and the problems caused by it are present everywhere you go.

Sauna

Most of the spas seem to have a sauna and even some gyms but it doesn’t have the status of being part of almost every day life like in Finland. Haven’t dared to try one yet here. 

Cinnamon buns, endless summer nights, and saunas. What more could you want?

I’m still in summer... 

Tampere part 2.

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.