My flats deck with a pile of snow
My beautifully clean room
The view of our kitchen/dining room/french balcony from upstairs
Our living room upstairs with the Finnish flag on the back wall
Tallinn Mid-evil style buildingsTuesday, February 22, 2011
Some New Exciting STUFF
My flats deck with a pile of snowMy beautifully clean roomOur living room upstairs with the Finnish flag on the back wallTallinn Mid-evil style buildings
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Joys of Living in Helsinki
My goal is to blog at least once a week, most likely on the weekends. This one is kind of late since I have been sick for the past few days and haven't really wanted to concentrate on a computer screen.
Last week was the orientation coarse for all exchange students at the U of Helsinki. Monday we sat in a lecture hall and just listened to speakers read off of their power-point slides to us. Right before lunch we split up into our Tutor groups. These groups are made up of the students that are in the same faculty and are led by two long time exchange students. The rest of the afternoon consisted of filling out forms for school and getting our I.T. stuff taken care of.
On Friday i went out to the clubs and left when the bars closed which was about 3am. There were three of us left by that time and had missed our last bus home. And the next wasn't until 6am. So we went to a local fast food joint and sat there eating our food until 5am which is when they close down. And walked back to the bus station and slept inside on a bench for the last hour and then we caught the first bus of the day back to our flat. It was a long night but still fun.
All of my roommates are here how. The last one arrived Monday evening. There is Adam from Hong Kong, Alexandre from Belgium, Rocky from Singapore, and the other guy is from Madrid. I can't pronounce his name yet and it is spelled in a way that i can't remember it. There ages are 21, 21,20, and 25 respectively.
I took my first sauna in Finland last Thursday and it felt good. There was a Finnish guy, Maarko, that was there and showed us how to do it properly. You first sit in there for 30-45 min. with it relatively hot. You make it hotter by pouring water on the hot rocks. After that first round is finished you go out and take a cool shower and wash off. Then you go back in for round two for about 10 min.
During the first round the temperature is around 60*C. During round two Maarko threw four scoops of water on the rocks four times. Usually he would throw the next round on as soon as you don't feel the pain from the last round anymore. The temperature stays just over 100*C. It hurts soooo much. Your eyes, scalp, back, feet,face... they all burn. But then after the rounds are done you go out and take a nice cold shower and then feel completely awesome afterward.
I had my first class on Monday. My cold was at its peak and i really shouldn't have gone but i didn't want to miss my first class. It was the Finnish for beginners and the teacher wanted us to say lots of words out loud and i could barely talk. I should have just stayed home. This week i only have the Finnish course and it is on Monday and Thursday from 6pm-8pm. Next week i have another course starting up.
I am going to Dublin for St. Patties day. We will be there from March 15th-March 19th. I wasn't planning on going that far south on my trip over but the round trip ticket was only 61 euros so i decided to go. I am going with four others that are in the Social Science faculty, also exchange students.
City crews chipping ice from the Train Station
The cities Lutheran cathedral in the City Center
The water we went through to get to an island looked frozen
Last week was the orientation coarse for all exchange students at the U of Helsinki. Monday we sat in a lecture hall and just listened to speakers read off of their power-point slides to us. Right before lunch we split up into our Tutor groups. These groups are made up of the students that are in the same faculty and are led by two long time exchange students. The rest of the afternoon consisted of filling out forms for school and getting our I.T. stuff taken care of.
On Friday i went out to the clubs and left when the bars closed which was about 3am. There were three of us left by that time and had missed our last bus home. And the next wasn't until 6am. So we went to a local fast food joint and sat there eating our food until 5am which is when they close down. And walked back to the bus station and slept inside on a bench for the last hour and then we caught the first bus of the day back to our flat. It was a long night but still fun.
All of my roommates are here how. The last one arrived Monday evening. There is Adam from Hong Kong, Alexandre from Belgium, Rocky from Singapore, and the other guy is from Madrid. I can't pronounce his name yet and it is spelled in a way that i can't remember it. There ages are 21, 21,20, and 25 respectively.
I took my first sauna in Finland last Thursday and it felt good. There was a Finnish guy, Maarko, that was there and showed us how to do it properly. You first sit in there for 30-45 min. with it relatively hot. You make it hotter by pouring water on the hot rocks. After that first round is finished you go out and take a cool shower and wash off. Then you go back in for round two for about 10 min.
During the first round the temperature is around 60*C. During round two Maarko threw four scoops of water on the rocks four times. Usually he would throw the next round on as soon as you don't feel the pain from the last round anymore. The temperature stays just over 100*C. It hurts soooo much. Your eyes, scalp, back, feet,face... they all burn. But then after the rounds are done you go out and take a nice cold shower and then feel completely awesome afterward.
I had my first class on Monday. My cold was at its peak and i really shouldn't have gone but i didn't want to miss my first class. It was the Finnish for beginners and the teacher wanted us to say lots of words out loud and i could barely talk. I should have just stayed home. This week i only have the Finnish course and it is on Monday and Thursday from 6pm-8pm. Next week i have another course starting up.
I am going to Dublin for St. Patties day. We will be there from March 15th-March 19th. I wasn't planning on going that far south on my trip over but the round trip ticket was only 61 euros so i decided to go. I am going with four others that are in the Social Science faculty, also exchange students.
City crews chipping ice from the Train Station
The cities Lutheran cathedral in the City Center
The water we went through to get to an island looked frozenSunday, January 9, 2011
Helsinki, Finland
I am in Helsinki, Finland going to school for the semester at the University of Helsinki. I arrived on January 5th and will be staying until Mid June (I haven't bought my return ticket yet).
I am mostly unpacked in my apartment. I still haven't gotten my checked bag from the airlines. They now get to give me money everyday i don't have it, I am not sure how much yet, i have to call them on Monday and figure that out. Two days ago I set up a bank account, bought a cell phone, met a guy (he was working at the money exchange booth) that is from WA and married a Finnish girl, tomorrow is his 11 year anniversary. He said he will sell me his X-Country skis/boots/fittings for 20-30 euros.
The guy that lived in my room last semester left a plug in converter for me which is very nice. Though it only has one so i will have to switch up which electronics get plugged in at a time. The apartment is two stories, three baths, 5 bedrooms, a dining room/kitchen, living room, and a large balcony. The building has 4 saunas that have specific times men and woman can use it separately.
I don't have much with me, other than clothes, since everything that makes life a little easier is in my checked bag. So i may end up just washing the sheets the old room mate left here and use those. I ended up buying a new pair of socks and a razor and shaving cream so i could look decent. I may buy a head covering with fur because it seems like everyone has one and they look extremely warm and wind proof.
The country is completely covered in snow and the city crews are working 24/7 shoveling, laying gravel, salting, chipping ice from buildings, and removing snow from roofs. They close off the sidewalks where they are working above and just push the snow on to the street. After they finish the roof the heavy equipment comes to the street and they truck away all the snow.
People have been very helpful so far and almost everyone knows English. Though i have found that bus drivers know the very least. Which is a pain in the ass since they would be the most helpful in knowing English. I feel bad not knowing their language and am looking forward to attempting to learn it. I can say thank you (kiitos) and Hi (hay).
I have heard only one emergency vehicle siren, and have seen less than 5 police vehicles. I have learned that they have a very low showing of cops since the crime rate isn't very high.
Pinus sylvestris (scotts pine) is everywhere along with Betula (birch) and Picea (spruce)
The walk to my bus stop to head down town
I am mostly unpacked in my apartment. I still haven't gotten my checked bag from the airlines. They now get to give me money everyday i don't have it, I am not sure how much yet, i have to call them on Monday and figure that out. Two days ago I set up a bank account, bought a cell phone, met a guy (he was working at the money exchange booth) that is from WA and married a Finnish girl, tomorrow is his 11 year anniversary. He said he will sell me his X-Country skis/boots/fittings for 20-30 euros.
The guy that lived in my room last semester left a plug in converter for me which is very nice. Though it only has one so i will have to switch up which electronics get plugged in at a time. The apartment is two stories, three baths, 5 bedrooms, a dining room/kitchen, living room, and a large balcony. The building has 4 saunas that have specific times men and woman can use it separately.
I don't have much with me, other than clothes, since everything that makes life a little easier is in my checked bag. So i may end up just washing the sheets the old room mate left here and use those. I ended up buying a new pair of socks and a razor and shaving cream so i could look decent. I may buy a head covering with fur because it seems like everyone has one and they look extremely warm and wind proof.
The country is completely covered in snow and the city crews are working 24/7 shoveling, laying gravel, salting, chipping ice from buildings, and removing snow from roofs. They close off the sidewalks where they are working above and just push the snow on to the street. After they finish the roof the heavy equipment comes to the street and they truck away all the snow.
People have been very helpful so far and almost everyone knows English. Though i have found that bus drivers know the very least. Which is a pain in the ass since they would be the most helpful in knowing English. I feel bad not knowing their language and am looking forward to attempting to learn it. I can say thank you (kiitos) and Hi (hay).
I have heard only one emergency vehicle siren, and have seen less than 5 police vehicles. I have learned that they have a very low showing of cops since the crime rate isn't very high.
Pinus sylvestris (scotts pine) is everywhere along with Betula (birch) and Picea (spruce)
The walk to my bus stop to head down town
My apartment building
I have forgotten to take my camera with me almost everywhere so these are the only pictures i have so far. I am sure i will take many more through out my months abroad.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Just Saving The World
I have been detailed to Cocodria, LA for the US Fish and Wildlife responsibilities of the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill. Our main job is to rescue oiled birds in the bayous, bays, and a part of the Gulf. I am presently the Radio-Dispatcher on the dock, I also do all of the paperwork involved with each dead/alive bird that comes in. Everything we do is recorded and every bird gets evidence tags because this is an ongoing criminal investigation. I arrived on July 26th and was told today that i will be extended till the 26th of August.
You may be wondering why I am not being a cool wildland firefighter. Well its because this summer has sucked for dry lighting storms which means no fires. There is still a slight possibility the refuge will have fires but i will be down here making a lot more money. HECK YES.
Oil that has had dispersant put on it
Hard booms that have washed up on shore, that is an oiled pelican trying to fly
A rock island where pelicans live.
You may be wondering why I am not being a cool wildland firefighter. Well its because this summer has sucked for dry lighting storms which means no fires. There is still a slight possibility the refuge will have fires but i will be down here making a lot more money. HECK YES.
Oil that has had dispersant put on it
Hard booms that have washed up on shore, that is an oiled pelican trying to fly
A rock island where pelicans live.Saturday, October 31, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Rafting in Jackson Hole, WY
I had a 3-day weekend and Anthony was getting antsy sitting around Salt Lake, so we decided to float the Snake River in Wyoming this weekend. Anthony rented a raft from his school and I headed down Friday morning. We camped out a few miles south of the town of Jackson. It rained all night.
Saturday morning, we got up and headed to the river. We looked like this at the put-in spot:
The high temperature was 53 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sun never came out. The water of course came from melting snow. The river was flooded and fast. We had an average speed 6.5 mph, and a max speed of 12.4 mph in some rapids. It rained all day.
After dinner, we went to bed around 9 because it was still raining and we didn't want to sit around outside. It rained all night.
Saturday morning, we got up and headed to the river. We looked like this at the put-in spot:
The high temperature was 53 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sun never came out. The water of course came from melting snow. The river was flooded and fast. We had an average speed 6.5 mph, and a max speed of 12.4 mph in some rapids. It rained all day.After dinner, we went to bed around 9 because it was still raining and we didn't want to sit around outside. It rained all night.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Just an Update
Since North Dakota we have done several prescribed burns around Eastern MT. The weekend we got back we got sent to the very north eastern part of the state on the Canada border to burn some fields. We were supposed to be there only through Monday but monday morning came and we were waiting in the trucks waiting for the ok to head out. All of a sudden the burn boss came out and told us we were staying for another night and heading out for another full day of burning. We had to head out at 4:30am the next morning to be back at our refuge to burn all day there. So it was definitely some very long late days but i love being so mobile and not knowing exactly what is going to happen that day. We were originally supposed to be burning all week through sunday but thursday we dound out the weekends weather was going to horrible for burning and i decided to call Katie from my AmeriCorps team and decided to visit her in Denver for my three day weekend. Its been a nice break from MT and the crew. Ive just been drinking lots of tea and coffee while just enjoying the "big city" life. Well thats all for now. I hope everyone is doing well, later.
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