conan hearts finland

i've been Rovaniemi for a week, and will be here for a few more days until the May Day celebrations (which begun yesterday and will last until next Tuesday) are over. i haven't really been able to use my own computer for internetting due to network issues at the university housing, where i've been mostly staying, so i won't be able to post photos for the next few days at least. so, last night i celebrated a little too much with the art students at a party at the railway station, this entry is going to be a little disorganized...

i've been staying most recently with a student studying to be an art teacher, Pia, a Sami-Finnish woman with a Scottish accent and a giant vintage Marimekko collection. she's a great cook and super-chatty. i've been learning a lot about the little details of "Finnish life" and attitudes and so forth. among other things:

-the Finns love Conan O'Brien. he mentions Finland all the time on his show, visited Finland and they even gave him some land on an island near Turku for his very own. this usa today article explains it well:

"Finns are very aware of their image abroad, and when O'Brien poked fun at the small country, he was overwhelmed by cards and mail. Finns started appearing in the New York audience of his NBC show.

The program airs on a Finnish cable channel, with a few days delay, and every time he mentions Finland or Halonen, local media report it prominently.

The president's spokeswoman said Halonen* had wanted to thank O'Brien for making Finland better known, and the two had agreed they "might, indeed, resemble each other*."

*Tarja Hanolen, Finland's female president

-they also have a bit of a reputation for being a somber country, moreso than Sweden on Norway. the other day as i sat in a restaurant, on the regular ol' radio they were playing a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song, "Where the Wild Roses Grow" from the album "Murder Ballads", followed shortly thereafter with Lou Reed's "Perfect Day". great songs, but not exactly light jazz or soft rock

-in every supermarket, kiosk market and mall, one can find slot machines. more specifically, electronic gambling machines. if you've ever been to Las Vegas and observed the machines at the supermarket and 7-11, it's exactly like that, except the money all goes to a government-run charity that funds sports and cultural programs

i'll have to write more later, as i'm off to watch "A Fish Called Wanda" with Pia. moi moi...