Settling in

It’s been almost two months since I moved to Finland. You can tell I’m not quite settled in, because those words “moved to Finland” still give me a little electric shock of – what? Horror? Surprise? Delight? I think it feels mostly naughty. Not ‘oh you horrible person’ naughty; more ‘wow, did you actually do something for yourself for once?’-naughty. Friends tease me about my ‘Lutheran’ sense of duty and how it sometimes goes overboard. I can see now that sticking with a part-time job where I was working full-time hours was, despite all the joys of teaching high-school students (and I mean that with utmost sincerity) and of working with kind, generous and funny colleagues, not the best idea in terms of my financial well-being. And, in the US, that also meant not good for my health. I would have ended up with no pension, no health care and probably nowhere to live. Add to that the fact that I was usually working in the evening as well – sometimes until midnight or 1 a.m. – and getting little exercise – and I suppose I was heading for something I’d rather not consider just now.

So I revel in my naughtiness. It’s a naughtiness that makes me cheerful. And sometimes I even start laughing while riding around on my bike because it feels so good. I suppose a few years from now Joensuuvians (how’s that for a word?) will talk about that crazy English professor who rides around on her bike, cackling. Maybe by then I’ll really be settled.

What does ‘settling in’ look like? It means I have a routine down for loading my bag and bike in the morning, and for packing up to go home around 4 each day. It means I have enough dishes and furniture to make things cozy in my strangely empty apartment – things I have enjoyed seeking out on a Facebook fleamarket site and in local Good-Will type shops. (And today I even found a chair next to the dumpster, which I quickly laid claim to. Now I can have three people over for dinner.) In fact, tomorrow I am getting a red velvet sofa for my bedroom. That room is the emptiest because it’s big and only has a bed and night table in it. A red sofa might be just the place to recline and read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Finnish.

Settling in may mean that my Finnish is getting better. Today I met two separate people and wrote to a third about items I had bought. All these transactions took place in Finnish, and none of these people let on that they thought/knew/suspected I was a foreigner. I don’t shrink from my e-mails anymore, and for the first time today, I left the house without my dictionary. I’m thinking that ‘click’ of feeling comfortable in a foreign language may happen sooner rather than later.

It means I have a pretty good idea of what to buy in the grocery store when I walk in rather than strolling the aisles reading every label. Though today I found the largest grocery store yet – where they actually had kale! – so I spent some time enjoying the large selection. It must have felt this way to East-Bloc citizens coming to the US for the first time and seeing no empty shelves anywhere, and I surprised myself feeling almost giddy at the capitalistic joy of long rows of shiny consumer goods.

Settling in also means that all my classes have started. It’s a full load, but having no more than 18 students in any one class means that the grading is minimal and manageable, and co-teaching three of them means that the classes have basically been prepared for me. My MA-level course called ‘Translation Project 1’ is fun because I managed to get the students a real commission. I get to talk to them about the translator life for an hour each week, and mentor their teams for the second. Teaching something you love has to be one of the greatest privileges on earth.

And finally, settling in means I have some friends. I can count on Stuart the Canadian to want to go to lunch at about the same time I do. Emma the Swede lives in the apartment building next door, so I’ve gone there for tea. Greg the Australian has kindly driven me and various pieces of furniture to my apartment, and Cathy the American (of course she had to be a Cathy) has taken me out for Chinese food. Michael the Liverpudlian/German and I organized a successful student pub night, ostensibly for practicing English, that had a great turnout. And Nina in Helsinki has not only been the biggest fan of this blog (and has even said I should turn it into a book!) – she is one of the most amazing hosts I’ve ever had the privilege of staying with. She makes it look effortless as she whips up delicious meals and desserts, picks me up and drops me off or arranges for someone else to do it, offers a bed and sauna and her fun company – all while being a mom and wife and avid Bruce Springsteen fan and working full-time. It’s great that she’s in Helsinki, because I’ll probably be flying out of there quite a bit – but I wish she lived closer.

No, not finally after all. I have to say something about the weather, because settling in means that the year is progressing. You can feel it very strongly and see harbingers of it everywhere. The outdoor tables and chairs have been removed at most restaurants and pubs. Cars and bikes have their lights on in the morning when I go in to work now at 8 a.m. The wind was stronger today than I’ve noticed before, and yellow leaves were whirling all over the place. The earth is turning. We’re settling towards darkness.