All I have to say is this. I have finished my school assignment. And I have watched the two following videos which have made my day, here you you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=316AzLYfAzw
and
http://www.riemurasia.net/jylppy/media.php?id=95329#amedia
Enjoy.
Finito.
-Mikko
keskiviikko 11. huhtikuuta 2012
maanantai 2. huhtikuuta 2012
(Whats the Story?) Morning Glory
Things are finally becoming reality. 4 Days to Dublin. In 14 days I am in Amsterdam. In around 32 days I am in Finland. I actually managed to skip half of the Finnish winter. Feels good man! I managed to do some of my schoolwork as well. We have this ridiculous assignment from Uni of Glamorgan that we weren't aware of when we applied to the exchange. 2500 word report on what ever. Here is some of the text I've written so far:
"The lesion in the back of the infant should be closed within the first
72 hours after birth as this reduces the risk of a CNS infection (central
nervous system infection). Prior to the closure, the infant should be put on
broad spectrum antibiotics in order to avoid a CNS infection. CNS infections are
rare if antibiotics and prescribed and proper wound care is applied. The
closure of the lesion can cause a CSF leak (cerebrospinal fluid leak),
infection and dermoid inclusion tumors. After fixing the spina bifida, 80-90%
of the infants develop some level of hydrocephalus."
I have about 1200 words to go and it shouldn't be too hard. I just don't have a whole lot of interest in completing the assignment because it gives us credits in the UK, which don't really do anything for us in Finland. Most we could get is some note from the person who gave us this assignment saying that "they did this" whooptiefreakindoo. In addition to that I have some schoolwork from Finland I'm gonna be doing this week. But its not all bad even work wise, I am absolutely loving my placement in community. I have only been working in hospitals and care homes before. But this is completely different. In community you actually go to peoples homes and you get to see how they live and a more "natural" living environment if ya'll know what I mean. So far almost everyone has been really nice and there have been some visits that I will probably never forget. I have also gotten to do a lot of wound care, which is an area of healthcare that I am quite interested in. I would say that the Finnish standard of hygiene is quite a bit higher than the one here in Wales. But its not that bad though, the girls from my class who are currently in Vietnam on exchange told me that there's cockroaches in the hospitals and due to overcrowding people are actually sleeping on the hospital floors.. not cool man, not cool at all.
I am starting to miss Finland a bit though. I miss the people, I miss my friends, I miss my family. I miss the country even a bit. But hey, I'll have plenty of time to enjoy Finland when I get back. At the moment I am a bit frustrated that I will have to come back to Wales to pick up my stuff, then go to London again to stay with Simo for a couple days. Rather unnecessary back and forth traveling. I am also a bit cranky about moving in with my mom for a couple months again.. I do get free food, free accommodation.. and I guess its nice to see my brother and mother a lot more for a while. But since I am used to living alone it seems that 1-2 weeks is about as much as I can take. 2½ months might be preeeeetty interesting. On top of that my mental health placement in Winland called and said that my MRSA tests aren't going to be ok for them as I have been abroad afterwards and they won't swab me here so I need to get it done in Finland, which means that I my placement will be moved forward by a week.. which means that I will either have to work like hell for about two weeks 24/7 or then move my summer job forward. I don't know. No use stressing that anyway! Anyhoo, despite this angsting everything is pretty good around here. Just looking forward to my trip and meeting my friends in Europe.. the trip is going to be LEGEN...wait for it....DARY! Yes, I have been watching How I met your Mother lately.
Good night everyone.
perjantai 23. maaliskuuta 2012
The good, the Bad and the Simo Loikkanen
I'm sure that everyone has those days when it feels like the whole world is just flat out shitting on your parade. Well, yesterday started off as just one of those days. I had just finished my three day work streak of 12 hrs each(1 day 2 nights). I woke up excited to have the rest of the week off and looking forward to the gig I was going to, Nero over at Cardiff Uni Student Union. Then my friends canceled on me cause they weren't feeling well. So looked like I was going to have to go to the big city all alone. Great. Then our train tickets ended up costing a total 16 quid more than they were supposed to. Then we lost the hotel reservation we were supposed to have in Dublin. Next thing I know, my friend tells me on Facebook that he will not able to accommodate in Germany during my inter railing, not at least during the time that I was intending on being in Germany. Which means that I have to re-plan my travels.. sigh.
Luckily my day did get a bit better from there. Camilla decided to come to the gig with me and take one of the tickets from my friends who decided not to go. So we went to Cardiff by train and found the venue quite easily. Nero had some random DJ warming him up, pretty decent dubstep but every song sounded pretty much the same and there wasn't much in the way of visuals, so the warm up was mediocre at best. Then Nero goes on.. and the whole venue just explodes. I had previously thought that Nero is just one dude, but its actually two. They did an amazing job and had a nice visual show as well in the background. The bass blastin' was sending shockwaves through my body. People kept throwing plastic cups filled with what ever all over the crowd. The whole gig did seem a bit like a Daft Punk copy. But it was good though, I did really enjoy myself. Me and Camilla were amongst the oldest people at the venue though, people were quite young. Bridgend is known for its violence: the nights round here can be pretty bad if you're not careful. So it was quite funny when I was talking with some dudes and I just said that Bridgend is crap compared to cardiff and then some dude comes along saying like "Hey, I'm from Bridgend".. and it was pretty obvious since he was bleeding from the corner of his left eye. I have some pictures of the gig on my phone but I cant get them out of the phone since I don't have the proper cables for it. The pictures aren't very good as the camera on my temporary phone is only like two megapixels or something.
The highlight of the night happened in the mens room. I was just minding my own business when all of the sudden two guys come along, one on each side of me. They start speaking Swedish or something. So of course me being me, I start talking Svenska to them for the hell of it. Something like "Javisst mycket sverige bögaren" and both of the dudes just look at me like.. wtf? Turns out that they're actually Norwegian and both of them are really nice.. But their names. My face melted. One of them is called THOR. As the viking god who swings the hammer around. And the other is called MAGNERS... like the cider. I laughed my ass off, I hope they weren't offended! So anyway after the gig we went and had some food and talked, they were really nice guys. It was really late so they actually let me stay on their couch for the night and in the morning I made my way back to Bridgend. Good trip overall!
Luckily my day did get a bit better from there. Camilla decided to come to the gig with me and take one of the tickets from my friends who decided not to go. So we went to Cardiff by train and found the venue quite easily. Nero had some random DJ warming him up, pretty decent dubstep but every song sounded pretty much the same and there wasn't much in the way of visuals, so the warm up was mediocre at best. Then Nero goes on.. and the whole venue just explodes. I had previously thought that Nero is just one dude, but its actually two. They did an amazing job and had a nice visual show as well in the background. The bass blastin' was sending shockwaves through my body. People kept throwing plastic cups filled with what ever all over the crowd. The whole gig did seem a bit like a Daft Punk copy. But it was good though, I did really enjoy myself. Me and Camilla were amongst the oldest people at the venue though, people were quite young. Bridgend is known for its violence: the nights round here can be pretty bad if you're not careful. So it was quite funny when I was talking with some dudes and I just said that Bridgend is crap compared to cardiff and then some dude comes along saying like "Hey, I'm from Bridgend".. and it was pretty obvious since he was bleeding from the corner of his left eye. I have some pictures of the gig on my phone but I cant get them out of the phone since I don't have the proper cables for it. The pictures aren't very good as the camera on my temporary phone is only like two megapixels or something.
The highlight of the night happened in the mens room. I was just minding my own business when all of the sudden two guys come along, one on each side of me. They start speaking Swedish or something. So of course me being me, I start talking Svenska to them for the hell of it. Something like "Javisst mycket sverige bögaren" and both of the dudes just look at me like.. wtf? Turns out that they're actually Norwegian and both of them are really nice.. But their names. My face melted. One of them is called THOR. As the viking god who swings the hammer around. And the other is called MAGNERS... like the cider. I laughed my ass off, I hope they weren't offended! So anyway after the gig we went and had some food and talked, they were really nice guys. It was really late so they actually let me stay on their couch for the night and in the morning I made my way back to Bridgend. Good trip overall!
tiistai 20. maaliskuuta 2012
Midnight in Bridgend
Some of you may recognize that the headline of this post is a ripoff from the name of the movie starring Owen Wilson, "Midnight in Paris". Kind of a girly movie, but not too bad. It was alright, not anything to write home about necessarily though.
I just got home from my night shift, they let me go early as there was nothing to do anymore. I did all the Obs(Vitals basically; oxygen levels, pulse, temp and resps) for the whole ward on all the rounds, took up quite a bit of time considering its not just one or two patients. A students role in Wales is quite limited in comparison to what it is back in Finland. We aren't even allowed to measure blood sugar here. In that way its similar to the rules students have in America. In Wales, nurses have to undergo extra training after graduation to get rights to do I.V:s, cannulas etc. So far my experience from my placements in Finland is that the relationship between a mentor and the student is a bit more close and the mentor observes a bit more than here. Maybe that is why we get to do things in Finland that nursing students don't get to do in Wales. I'm workin tomorrow night as well, but after that I have the rest of the week off. On Thursday I'm going to go see Nero in Cardiff with a couple of mates, should be a nice trip! We are also going to Dublin on the 6th for a weekend trip since its a longer vacation then. Can't wait! I will come back looking (and sounding) like Colin Farrell.
As far as exercising goes, I'm feeling awesome about moving more now and eating healthier. I feel like I'm playing hide&seek with my 6-pack. Unfortunately my nemesis is winning at the moment, but I'm gonna kick his ass some day now!
" Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness "
sunnuntai 18. maaliskuuta 2012
Dear Diary
So I finished my placement. So I thought I was going to have a nice relaxing week of vacation. Turns out I was wrong. I had an insanely sore throat on Sunday, thinking it might just blow over I didn't think much of it. It was sore enough on Monday for me to seek medical attention. Luckily I know the guy who manages the local GP so he did me a solid getting me to see a doctor. Turns out I had a throat infection and since it was "2 for 1 Special"- at the Bridgend GP, I got an ear infection as well. Quite a nice parting gift! All this fun didn't cost me a penny though. NHS I love you. Back in Finland I would have paid at least 50 euro's for the same thing. So I got some antibiotics and I am Faaaaaabuuuuloooous! *waves pinkies in the air*.
My trip into Europe is finally shapin' up a bit. I bought tickets to Amsterdam for the 16 of April. After a couple nights there, I'm gonna take the train(I got an inter rail pass as well) down to Germany to hopefully spend some time with my Sub-Sergeant(or Corporal) back from my army days as he is on exchange in Germany at the moment. From there on out my plans are yet a bit cloudy as I have many choices on where to go. I might go to Prague to see my brothers girlfriend and spend a couple days there. I was supposed to go to Poland and see Auschwitz originally but as I only have around two weeks to travel, I might not have the time to make the trip there. Another thing I also want to do is go to the beaches of Croatia for a little trip with my mate from Lahti. We already have matching G-Strings for our hand-in-hand strolls on the beach. And baby oil of course.... I'm kidding. Or am I? I don't want to make too many plans for my trip though. Kind of ruins the whole adventure aspect of it all. I bought myself a new backpack for my travels, its made of rain resisting material, durable, lightweight, padding etc.. Had to get something decent since I'm going to be carrying my earthly belongings in it for two weeks.. I'm a dude who likes comfort. I just really, really do hope that I don't get robbed or stabbed in the face during my trip. Firstly, a stab in the face would ruin the picturesque, roman god-like face of mine. Secondly, getting stabbed in the face isn't exactly on my bucket list anyway. And getting robbed just sucks. I'll have to hide my money in places where people won't look. Like bills in my shoes and coins in my mouth or something. Coins don't taste good though. I guess I'll just have to figure that one out for myself as I go along.
I haven't been exercising as much as I should. That's going to change! Today after watching Powerthirst 3 like four times in a row, I went out for a pumped up run. I ran around into this park and I stopped at this overpass bridge. It had a really nice, modern look to it. There was no people anywhere so I just decided to do some sit ups and push ups. For some reason it was really nice on the bridge, watching the cars drive around in the round about and go on the freeway. After I came back I had one of those American Beauty moments. Anyone familiar with the movie will know what I'm talking about. The sun was going down, but it was still shedding light on the town in a sort of slanted angle. And it was raining. But the rain wasn't like any normal kind of rain. It was so light that it almost looked that it evaporated before it hits the ground, as if nothing was getting wet but it just looked like it was raining. And the drops were spread out, falling slowly. Truly a Kodak moment, I need a proper camera some day. Here's the quote to those of you unfamiliar with the movie. If you haven't seen it, you really should. I hope I have more American Beauty moments in my life, they're pretty spectacular.
"It was one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing and there's this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. Right? And this bag was just dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. That's the day I realized that there was this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember... I need to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in."
My trip into Europe is finally shapin' up a bit. I bought tickets to Amsterdam for the 16 of April. After a couple nights there, I'm gonna take the train(I got an inter rail pass as well) down to Germany to hopefully spend some time with my Sub-Sergeant(or Corporal) back from my army days as he is on exchange in Germany at the moment. From there on out my plans are yet a bit cloudy as I have many choices on where to go. I might go to Prague to see my brothers girlfriend and spend a couple days there. I was supposed to go to Poland and see Auschwitz originally but as I only have around two weeks to travel, I might not have the time to make the trip there. Another thing I also want to do is go to the beaches of Croatia for a little trip with my mate from Lahti. We already have matching G-Strings for our hand-in-hand strolls on the beach. And baby oil of course.... I'm kidding. Or am I? I don't want to make too many plans for my trip though. Kind of ruins the whole adventure aspect of it all. I bought myself a new backpack for my travels, its made of rain resisting material, durable, lightweight, padding etc.. Had to get something decent since I'm going to be carrying my earthly belongings in it for two weeks.. I'm a dude who likes comfort. I just really, really do hope that I don't get robbed or stabbed in the face during my trip. Firstly, a stab in the face would ruin the picturesque, roman god-like face of mine. Secondly, getting stabbed in the face isn't exactly on my bucket list anyway. And getting robbed just sucks. I'll have to hide my money in places where people won't look. Like bills in my shoes and coins in my mouth or something. Coins don't taste good though. I guess I'll just have to figure that one out for myself as I go along.
I haven't been exercising as much as I should. That's going to change! Today after watching Powerthirst 3 like four times in a row, I went out for a pumped up run. I ran around into this park and I stopped at this overpass bridge. It had a really nice, modern look to it. There was no people anywhere so I just decided to do some sit ups and push ups. For some reason it was really nice on the bridge, watching the cars drive around in the round about and go on the freeway. After I came back I had one of those American Beauty moments. Anyone familiar with the movie will know what I'm talking about. The sun was going down, but it was still shedding light on the town in a sort of slanted angle. And it was raining. But the rain wasn't like any normal kind of rain. It was so light that it almost looked that it evaporated before it hits the ground, as if nothing was getting wet but it just looked like it was raining. And the drops were spread out, falling slowly. Truly a Kodak moment, I need a proper camera some day. Here's the quote to those of you unfamiliar with the movie. If you haven't seen it, you really should. I hope I have more American Beauty moments in my life, they're pretty spectacular.
"It was one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing and there's this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. Right? And this bag was just dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. That's the day I realized that there was this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember... I need to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in."
torstai 8. maaliskuuta 2012
Still Alive!
Haven't been posting for a while. I guess I can't blame my schedule too much, I have just been lazy / now knowing what to say. I can't believe that its already been a bloody month on this island. We are surrounded but I am yet to see an ocean or a lake. Pretty weird isn't it! A pretty big difference between Finland and the UK is the fact that over here, like clockwork, a gnome breaks into my apartment and throws out my trash and gives me fresh sheets and towels. Or it might be the cleaning lady. I really can't know for sure!
I got my review for my placement today and I passed with flying colors. In the beginning of my placement I felt like it was just going to be four weeks of never ending observation and not getting to do much. But towards the end I have become increasingly independent in my actions, within my skill set of course. I still have to work tomorrow and Thursday, then I'll be done with this placement. I have enjoyed it though. Next week I have off so I should probably start making plans for what I will do with my week off. I was supposed to go to London with a mate of mine studying music there but he has a bunch of tests that week and needs to focus so he is unable to spend time with me. Alternatively we might be going to do some paintball or stuff like that.
I actually got sidetracked while doing this entry, its actually Thursday today instead of Tuesday when I started this. My placement is done and I feel awesome! We are making some chicken salad at the moment with Levi's sticky BBQ chicken cookin' in the oven. Smells delish! I desperately want to get some photos up in this blog, although I have some on my Facebook page that aren't here. Tomorrow I'm gonna go buy myself a welsh rugby jersey for the game I'm gonna go watch on Saturday in Cardiff. Unfortunately I don't have tickets for the live game at the Millenium Stadium but I will be next to it at a pub watching the game from a widescreen. Should be fun.
sunnuntai 26. helmikuuta 2012
Gangstaboogie!
So yeah, my being sick continued again for a while. Apparently I got the stomach flu somewhere in the ward. Was absolutely horrible for a couple days with a fever. We were supposed to go out on Friday proper but that didn't amount to much. Wasn't feeling too hot so I just kind of sat around when people partied. But hey, that's okay. Today I am finally feeling good enough to write something on this blog of mine. Went out with for a jog with Pasi again today, feels good to be doing some sports again. Then we went out to Wyndham Arms for dinner, double cheeseburger was absolutely delish!
Tomorrow going to reconsider shaving my mustache and probably gonna go get a haircut in town, time to trim this badboy down. Not sure what kind of a cut I'm gonna get, something awesome I'm sure. We've been exploring the opportunities of going out for some bowling in Cardiff some day and doing paintball while we are out here. Never done paintball my self to it should be a freakin' blast. Gave my mum a phone call to Finland. My detoxing of Salmiakki was getting way too bad so I just had to ask her to send me a couple bags of it. For those of you who don't know what this awesome delicacy is, its like a Finnish salty licorice that pretty much nobody non-Finnish likes. But it is awesome in all ways possible. I'm kind of starting to miss proper coffee. The coffee here is okay but its always crystal coffee so its not the real thing. But it does the trick! I was also proud to hear that my brother is following my footsteps in becoming a Explosives&Ammunitions unit storage guy and getting out of the Finnish army in 6 months. So he is pretty happy with that I suppose. (Army is mandatory in Finland!). Was tired of not having a proper music supply so I put myself back on Spotify so I have music at my disposal 24/7 with a small data usage.
Kinda feeling homesick for the first time since I've been here. But nothing too serious. Just sent off an email to the student coordinator asking for the exact dates of when my last practice ends so I can start buying tickets for my epic trip around Europe in April. Cant wait. I also met this awesome dude over here in Wales and we are going to go check out the music scene a bit in Cardiff and possibly Wales. There's gonna be some good DJ's around, can't wait!
Tomorrow going to reconsider shaving my mustache and probably gonna go get a haircut in town, time to trim this badboy down. Not sure what kind of a cut I'm gonna get, something awesome I'm sure. We've been exploring the opportunities of going out for some bowling in Cardiff some day and doing paintball while we are out here. Never done paintball my self to it should be a freakin' blast. Gave my mum a phone call to Finland. My detoxing of Salmiakki was getting way too bad so I just had to ask her to send me a couple bags of it. For those of you who don't know what this awesome delicacy is, its like a Finnish salty licorice that pretty much nobody non-Finnish likes. But it is awesome in all ways possible. I'm kind of starting to miss proper coffee. The coffee here is okay but its always crystal coffee so its not the real thing. But it does the trick! I was also proud to hear that my brother is following my footsteps in becoming a Explosives&Ammunitions unit storage guy and getting out of the Finnish army in 6 months. So he is pretty happy with that I suppose. (Army is mandatory in Finland!). Was tired of not having a proper music supply so I put myself back on Spotify so I have music at my disposal 24/7 with a small data usage.
Kinda feeling homesick for the first time since I've been here. But nothing too serious. Just sent off an email to the student coordinator asking for the exact dates of when my last practice ends so I can start buying tickets for my epic trip around Europe in April. Cant wait. I also met this awesome dude over here in Wales and we are going to go check out the music scene a bit in Cardiff and possibly Wales. There's gonna be some good DJ's around, can't wait!
keskiviikko 22. helmikuuta 2012
Random thoughts
So as it turns out.. Forrest Gump was never in Vietnam. He was actually in Wales. Saturday morning we had a bit of welsh rain storm over here. It seriously felt like being in a blender. Water was flying upwards, side to side and sometimes it just looked like it was going around in a circle midair.. kind of like a baby tornado or something.
Today I got to go to see three surgeries, which were very interesting to see. The only bad thing was that my clothing I borrowed from the surgical wards dressing room wasn't very good. I got some ghetto shoes that had surgical cleaning liquid and blood stains on it and something like KABOOM written on it. Also my pants were torn and had dried blood stains on them. My shirt was fine except for the fact that it had a very deep V neck opening.. so I got to show off my manly chest hair. So I guess it was pretty awesome actually. Better than my first visit to the operating theatre anyway, then I had a bellybutton shirt and pants so tight they made me feel like I was Freddy freakin' Mercury. Anyways, we have these I.D tags at the hospital, you gotta wear them visible at all times. I got back to my ward after the surgeries only to notice that I had forgot the damn tag in the dressing room at the operating theatres. So I ran back, asked the desk if any tags had been returned and none were. So it wasn't in the dressing room or anywhere. So I was like damn, didn't know what to do. Then I just touched my chest.. and felt the damn chain through the shirt. I had it on the whole time under my shirt. Made me feel like a damn moron. I guess the 12 hour days are doing my head in after all. Had a good laugh about it later!
Oh well, gotta power through tomorrow and then I'm off for four ( 4 ) days.
AWESOME!
Today I got to go to see three surgeries, which were very interesting to see. The only bad thing was that my clothing I borrowed from the surgical wards dressing room wasn't very good. I got some ghetto shoes that had surgical cleaning liquid and blood stains on it and something like KABOOM written on it. Also my pants were torn and had dried blood stains on them. My shirt was fine except for the fact that it had a very deep V neck opening.. so I got to show off my manly chest hair. So I guess it was pretty awesome actually. Better than my first visit to the operating theatre anyway, then I had a bellybutton shirt and pants so tight they made me feel like I was Freddy freakin' Mercury. Anyways, we have these I.D tags at the hospital, you gotta wear them visible at all times. I got back to my ward after the surgeries only to notice that I had forgot the damn tag in the dressing room at the operating theatres. So I ran back, asked the desk if any tags had been returned and none were. So it wasn't in the dressing room or anywhere. So I was like damn, didn't know what to do. Then I just touched my chest.. and felt the damn chain through the shirt. I had it on the whole time under my shirt. Made me feel like a damn moron. I guess the 12 hour days are doing my head in after all. Had a good laugh about it later!
Oh well, gotta power through tomorrow and then I'm off for four ( 4 ) days.
AWESOME!
sunnuntai 19. helmikuuta 2012
Day N' Night
People have been pulling my virtual sleeve asking me to write some more stuff so here I go.
Working two nights was pretty interesting. Was weird to go in at 7 instead of the usual 9.15 that most wards in Finland start their night shift. Obviously I wont be going into details but overall the shifts were interesting. I was mostly just assisting in what ever I could, doing small stuff. Gotta love the way people talk in Wales, even though I'm half american I have a hard time understanding everything sometimes. The "report" at the change of shifts was a bit hard to follow. Never having worked at a pediatric ward and never having done healthcare in English.. good luck trying to understand whats going on. I can only imagine how hard it is for my companions who don't speak English as well. Its useful to know that I can always ask if I'm unsure about something. Also the staff is very nice and I'm getting along well with everyone. It gets really hectic and busy on occasion, but then there is times when its easier. I'm going to be working 12 hour shifts for the whole 4 weeks, but the good thing again is that its only 3 days of work a week. Which frees me up for more exploring around!
Anyways, that's enough about work. I have been battling with a far more serious personal issue lately. It is a true crisis that many men, old and young, face during their lifetime. It is a problem so serious that over thinking it can actually cause earthquakes and black holes into space. It is the matter of whether or not shave my mustache. I have several options on the matter. I can either shave it off, and look like a 5 year old boy left alone in the park or then I can keep growing it and suffer from the damn mustache going to into my mouth all the time. Then that got me wondering. Is there a certain place where I can get it finely tuned to it wont be either of the before mentioned outcomes? Do they solve problems like this at barbershops? I don't think so.. I think what I need is some kind of "Mustacheer's Shop".. problem is that I have never seen one of those in my life. Input and comments of others in similar situations much appreciated.
So anyhoo, today we went out for a jog with Pasi. Was quite a rough experience since I haven't really exercised since I got to UK. We went around, trying to find a good place to run, some track sort of forming a track around the hospital/town area but we were unable to find anything.. was fun to explore anyways. Got to ask some of the local people we know to show us around! Had a chance to drive in the new running shoes and "Rocky style" college pants and hoodie I got from the outlet mall. Also got a bloody hilarious pink tie for going out, I'll be putting some photos of me up hopefully by the end of next week so ya'll can see what I look like. Be careful though, you might turn into stone!
Till the next episode of pointless babbling,
Mikko
Working two nights was pretty interesting. Was weird to go in at 7 instead of the usual 9.15 that most wards in Finland start their night shift. Obviously I wont be going into details but overall the shifts were interesting. I was mostly just assisting in what ever I could, doing small stuff. Gotta love the way people talk in Wales, even though I'm half american I have a hard time understanding everything sometimes. The "report" at the change of shifts was a bit hard to follow. Never having worked at a pediatric ward and never having done healthcare in English.. good luck trying to understand whats going on. I can only imagine how hard it is for my companions who don't speak English as well. Its useful to know that I can always ask if I'm unsure about something. Also the staff is very nice and I'm getting along well with everyone. It gets really hectic and busy on occasion, but then there is times when its easier. I'm going to be working 12 hour shifts for the whole 4 weeks, but the good thing again is that its only 3 days of work a week. Which frees me up for more exploring around!
Anyways, that's enough about work. I have been battling with a far more serious personal issue lately. It is a true crisis that many men, old and young, face during their lifetime. It is a problem so serious that over thinking it can actually cause earthquakes and black holes into space. It is the matter of whether or not shave my mustache. I have several options on the matter. I can either shave it off, and look like a 5 year old boy left alone in the park or then I can keep growing it and suffer from the damn mustache going to into my mouth all the time. Then that got me wondering. Is there a certain place where I can get it finely tuned to it wont be either of the before mentioned outcomes? Do they solve problems like this at barbershops? I don't think so.. I think what I need is some kind of "Mustacheer's Shop".. problem is that I have never seen one of those in my life. Input and comments of others in similar situations much appreciated.
So anyhoo, today we went out for a jog with Pasi. Was quite a rough experience since I haven't really exercised since I got to UK. We went around, trying to find a good place to run, some track sort of forming a track around the hospital/town area but we were unable to find anything.. was fun to explore anyways. Got to ask some of the local people we know to show us around! Had a chance to drive in the new running shoes and "Rocky style" college pants and hoodie I got from the outlet mall. Also got a bloody hilarious pink tie for going out, I'll be putting some photos of me up hopefully by the end of next week so ya'll can see what I look like. Be careful though, you might turn into stone!
Till the next episode of pointless babbling,
Mikko
torstai 16. helmikuuta 2012
UK Vs. Finland
So now that I am feeling better, I had an idea to write a little post about the differences I have noticed between these two countries during my two week stay here.
- Taking a shower or washing your hands is quite different between these two countries. In Finland you have one lever that controls how warm or cold the water is. Usually the same one controls how strong the flow of water is too. In the UK, usually you have two taps. One tap produces water similar to a polar bears breath, or a glacier being slammed onto your hand. The other taps water is warm enough to sear off the fingerprints off ones hands, which is something I would think that the Pink Panther or other jewel thieves would find to be very handy. So basically your options are a bucket of ice water or a deep fryer on your hands. Only the wisest of individuals can find the perfect balance between the two. And oh yeah, another thing to note is the fact that the taps are far away from each other so you can either splash boiling water from your hot hand to the frosted glacier that is the other hand, or then you can fill up the sink with water so you can wash your hands like that.. which takes time.
- The people are different. The Finnish stereotype is that everyone is quiet, loves awkward silences and keeps to themselves mostly. Although I don't think this stereotype holds true with the younger generation anymore. But in the UK people are way more social and it's rather easy spark up a conversation with a complete stranger. Also people don't really use "Hi" or "Hello" over here, its more like saying "Alright", to which you respond by saying Alright. Its kind of like saying "Whats up" in America. People say the same thing to each other but they don't really want to know whats going on, its just saying hello. First I thought it was a bit silly but now I'm getting used to it. Also, people don't drink as much tea in the UK as the stereotypes might perceive. Hey.. what do ya know!
I'll continue the list another time, Ciao!
To finish this post off, here's a quote from one of arguably the greatest comedians of all time: George Carlin. May he rest in peace. By the way, don't get offended if you're religious. It's just a joke ;)
"Religion easily has the best bullshit story of all time. Think about it. Religion has convinced people that there's an invisible man . . . living in the sky. Who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of 10 specific things he doesn't want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer, and burn, and scream, until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you. He loves you and he needs money."
- Taking a shower or washing your hands is quite different between these two countries. In Finland you have one lever that controls how warm or cold the water is. Usually the same one controls how strong the flow of water is too. In the UK, usually you have two taps. One tap produces water similar to a polar bears breath, or a glacier being slammed onto your hand. The other taps water is warm enough to sear off the fingerprints off ones hands, which is something I would think that the Pink Panther or other jewel thieves would find to be very handy. So basically your options are a bucket of ice water or a deep fryer on your hands. Only the wisest of individuals can find the perfect balance between the two. And oh yeah, another thing to note is the fact that the taps are far away from each other so you can either splash boiling water from your hot hand to the frosted glacier that is the other hand, or then you can fill up the sink with water so you can wash your hands like that.. which takes time.
- The people are different. The Finnish stereotype is that everyone is quiet, loves awkward silences and keeps to themselves mostly. Although I don't think this stereotype holds true with the younger generation anymore. But in the UK people are way more social and it's rather easy spark up a conversation with a complete stranger. Also people don't really use "Hi" or "Hello" over here, its more like saying "Alright", to which you respond by saying Alright. Its kind of like saying "Whats up" in America. People say the same thing to each other but they don't really want to know whats going on, its just saying hello. First I thought it was a bit silly but now I'm getting used to it. Also, people don't drink as much tea in the UK as the stereotypes might perceive. Hey.. what do ya know!
I'll continue the list another time, Ciao!
To finish this post off, here's a quote from one of arguably the greatest comedians of all time: George Carlin. May he rest in peace. By the way, don't get offended if you're religious. It's just a joke ;)
"Religion easily has the best bullshit story of all time. Think about it. Religion has convinced people that there's an invisible man . . . living in the sky. Who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of 10 specific things he doesn't want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer, and burn, and scream, until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you. He loves you and he needs money."
keskiviikko 15. helmikuuta 2012
So my practical training didn't start exactly as I wanted it to. First day went fine, obviously the whole experience was entirely new to me as I hadn't worked with kids before. Kids sure do bring their own challenges to healthcare. I learned a lot during my first day and I am surely going to learn more and more every day I'm there. I was supposed to work yesterday on Valentine's Day but I wasn't able to as I woke up with a fever and crazy flu. I went to the store and got myself some medicine, feel a little better today. My next shift is on Friday night so hopefully I will be okay to work by then. That's the thing about healthcare though, there's no going to work if you are sick so that you wont get others ill. Not a whole lot to talk about this time I'm afraid. I have been keeping to my bed sleeping and watching movies like 18 hrs a day. My nose is red and irritated from all the sneezing. Feels bad.
Hope I will have some better news and more stories for you all next time!
Mikko Chwydu
Hope I will have some better news and more stories for you all next time!
Mikko Chwydu
maanantai 13. helmikuuta 2012
Vol. 3
Saturday and Sunday were mostly just days of chillaxment, taking it easy before I start my training. Went out for a walk on myself on Saturday and took some pictures of the city. Not a whole lot of pics and they're not great quality as I would like since the cam isn't great but I'll share some none the less. On Sunday we went out to the local outlet mall to do some shopping. I had wanted to buy a vest forever so now I finally got to fulfill my dream of becoming a proper british/welsh gentleman. Now I just need the monocle and top hat, Ayee! The vest was only like 14 quid, not bad at all. I will put a photo up of it later on when we go out and I wear it. Sometime.. within the next century or so. Anyhoo, I was buying myself a pair of Adidas trainers on sale when the card got denied at the counter.. this was not only embarrassing but also puzzling as I have more than enough on there for a pair of shoes.. Ended up buying the shoes with cash and heading over to the cash-o-mat to see whats up. Entered the pin and it seemed to be working just fine. Then I tried to check balance, the machine stopped me by saying that my bank had blocked usage of my card.. so I was like what the fudge. Basically what could have happened was that someone had gotten my info abroad and emptied my account, or my bank had blocked usage of my card due to it being used out of country even though I let them know before I left. Needless to say, I was supremely agitated. So I rushed home only to rush this mystery worthy of "Sherlock Holmes"-type status. Of course the bank wasn't open so I sent them an "In-bank" mail. Situation kinda sucks since I only got like 15 pounds in cash. Luckily a flatmate of mine is willing to borrow me money if need be. Anyways, today I called the bank since they hadn't answered me only to find that they had no markings that there was anything wrong with my account. No markings had been made and there was no problems. The bank lady suggested to me that I try the card as soon as possible and call back if there is any problems. She was about to check something for me when suddenly the line went dead and I get a message from Orange(my service provider for payasyougo) saying that my balance is 0.92£. I hadn't been making very many phone calls at all. I guess my "120 free international minutes monthly" weren't quite as free as they seemed. FML.
- Random dude I saw who looked funny
- Street on the way to town
Hey hey hey its time for another adventure in the mind of Mikko. I have been here for seven days and I just started my practical training today at a pediatric ward. But before we go into that, lets all hop into a magical timemachine and go to last Friday. I had promised the other exchange students that I was going to cook them an awesome Texmex dinner. So I went to the store and bought all things necessary needed to create such a magnificent feast. Then I got to work. We had a ton of different veggies: Lettuce, tomatoes, red onion (3 huge ones), red peppers, jalapeno, cucumber and something else. Then we had minced meat and chicken(which I had to chop up with own two beautiful hands). Then we had some Peri-Peri chilisauce and spices for the meats and stuff. So I chopped and prepared everything. Everything was ready and all I had to do was to cook the meat. So I put the cooker on. So I put oil in the pan. So the goddamn oil lit on fire and set all the fire alarms in every single apartment and hallway of this building on. So I made a whole bunch of friends by providing the neighborhood with some much needed Friday night entertainment. Luckily nothing happened and we were able to cook the meats after the smoke cleared. The meal was awesome. And oh yeah, did I mention the alarms were on for forty five minutes? After the meal I went out with some new friends I met from next door through my firealarm. Good night all in all!
Saturday and Sunday were mostly just days of chillaxment, taking it easy before I start my training. Went out for a walk on myself on Saturday and took some pictures of the city. Not a whole lot of pics and they're not great quality as I would like since the cam isn't great but I'll share some none the less. On Sunday we went out to the local outlet mall to do some shopping. I had wanted to buy a vest forever so now I finally got to fulfill my dream of becoming a proper british/welsh gentleman. Now I just need the monocle and top hat, Ayee! The vest was only like 14 quid, not bad at all. I will put a photo up of it later on when we go out and I wear it. Sometime.. within the next century or so. Anyhoo, I was buying myself a pair of Adidas trainers on sale when the card got denied at the counter.. this was not only embarrassing but also puzzling as I have more than enough on there for a pair of shoes.. Ended up buying the shoes with cash and heading over to the cash-o-mat to see whats up. Entered the pin and it seemed to be working just fine. Then I tried to check balance, the machine stopped me by saying that my bank had blocked usage of my card.. so I was like what the fudge. Basically what could have happened was that someone had gotten my info abroad and emptied my account, or my bank had blocked usage of my card due to it being used out of country even though I let them know before I left. Needless to say, I was supremely agitated. So I rushed home only to rush this mystery worthy of "Sherlock Holmes"-type status. Of course the bank wasn't open so I sent them an "In-bank" mail. Situation kinda sucks since I only got like 15 pounds in cash. Luckily a flatmate of mine is willing to borrow me money if need be. Anyways, today I called the bank since they hadn't answered me only to find that they had no markings that there was anything wrong with my account. No markings had been made and there was no problems. The bank lady suggested to me that I try the card as soon as possible and call back if there is any problems. She was about to check something for me when suddenly the line went dead and I get a message from Orange(my service provider for payasyougo) saying that my balance is 0.92£. I hadn't been making very many phone calls at all. I guess my "120 free international minutes monthly" weren't quite as free as they seemed. FML.
Anyway, here is some pictures of Bridgend.
More to come on the Adventures of Mikko..
- Home sweet home
- Bridgend City
torstai 9. helmikuuta 2012
Chapter dos
So after spending a day relaxing yesterday, today it was time to get back into the groove of things by doing some stuff at the hospital. We filled forms out in the library to get our library cards so we can rent books, then we got some papers to fill out from occupational health. Typical starting out stuff. Paid a visit to the pediatric ward I will be doing my practice at next week. Seemed very busy and interesting. I will have the opportunity to work three 12 hour shifts from 7 to 7 every week and then have the rest of the week off. Which means 3 days working 4 days off every week, doesn't sound bad at all! I am sure that the long days will take some getting used to but I will worry about that next week. Tomorrow we are going to get registered at the hospital and meet up with the person handling our exchange at this end concerning our practical training and a massive 2500 word assignment that we are going to have to do regarding the differences in Finnish and Welsh healthcare.. Whhaaah! But after that we will have the weekend to relax before work begins. Gonna go see Bridgend at night on Saturday and on Sunday we will be going to a pub to watch the Rugby game between Wales and.. Ireland or something? Should be fun!
Amaethu nefas tro
-Cofion Mikko
Or Till next time
-Regards Mikko
keskiviikko 8. helmikuuta 2012
First entry
Hello everyone.
This is going to be a post about me and the situation in my life explaining what I am doing in Wales.
My name is Mikko and I am a Finnish/American 21-year-old nursing student currently on exchange in the fantastic country that is Wales. My mother is Finnish and my dad is American, so I guess you could call me multicultural. As far as siblings go, I have a little brother in Finland, called Niklas. I was born in Finland and I have lived there for most of my life. I've also lived in St. Petersburg for a couple years when I was younger and then I spoke Russian fluently but I have since forgotten nearly everything about the Russian language, except a couple words, such as idiot and carrot (Yes I do know that those words wont carry me very far in Russia). Im studying to be a nurse in HAMK University of Applied Sciences, in Hämeenlinna, Finland. I am now living in Bridgend, Wales. I am here on exchange from my school to learn how healthcare is done here. I am here with four other exchange students from HAMK. Two of them are my age and two are older. But all of them are a great bunch and I'm sure that we will have a blast. The first week of being here is just initiation, getting used to things and getting registered at UNI and the hospital. I start my practical training at a pediatric ward next Monday. I am greatly awaiting the challenges that the work in a welsh hospital will bring.
My trip over here was quite smooth. There were delays on some parts of the trip but I was able to make my connections every time so its all good. I spent a couple days in West London at my mate Simo's place prior to coming here so I got sort of a soft landing to the UK way of life. The person over at this end handling the student exchange is just an awesome guy so I think things will be just fine as far as that is concerned. I have also found that the local people here are very eager to help out if trouble occurs. Its nice to know that you're not 100% screwed if you cant figure something out on your own. This blog will mostly be me talking about my boogie concerning the exchange and the differences between Welsh and Finnish healthcare, spiced up by my own colorful personality OFC.
Till the next episode, Mikko --- Out
This is going to be a post about me and the situation in my life explaining what I am doing in Wales.
My name is Mikko and I am a Finnish/American 21-year-old nursing student currently on exchange in the fantastic country that is Wales. My mother is Finnish and my dad is American, so I guess you could call me multicultural. As far as siblings go, I have a little brother in Finland, called Niklas. I was born in Finland and I have lived there for most of my life. I've also lived in St. Petersburg for a couple years when I was younger and then I spoke Russian fluently but I have since forgotten nearly everything about the Russian language, except a couple words, such as idiot and carrot (Yes I do know that those words wont carry me very far in Russia). Im studying to be a nurse in HAMK University of Applied Sciences, in Hämeenlinna, Finland. I am now living in Bridgend, Wales. I am here on exchange from my school to learn how healthcare is done here. I am here with four other exchange students from HAMK. Two of them are my age and two are older. But all of them are a great bunch and I'm sure that we will have a blast. The first week of being here is just initiation, getting used to things and getting registered at UNI and the hospital. I start my practical training at a pediatric ward next Monday. I am greatly awaiting the challenges that the work in a welsh hospital will bring.
My trip over here was quite smooth. There were delays on some parts of the trip but I was able to make my connections every time so its all good. I spent a couple days in West London at my mate Simo's place prior to coming here so I got sort of a soft landing to the UK way of life. The person over at this end handling the student exchange is just an awesome guy so I think things will be just fine as far as that is concerned. I have also found that the local people here are very eager to help out if trouble occurs. Its nice to know that you're not 100% screwed if you cant figure something out on your own. This blog will mostly be me talking about my boogie concerning the exchange and the differences between Welsh and Finnish healthcare, spiced up by my own colorful personality OFC.
Till the next episode, Mikko --- Out
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