OUR TRIP TO FINLAND

OUR TRIP TO FINLAND. As I have mentioned before one of the laws of Russia is that most visas require us non-citizens to leave the country every six months. You don’t have to go far at all. Just cross the border. You don’t have to stay gone long—just get your passport stamped and you can re-enter, and you’re good for another six months. Somehow, in a way I do not understand, this helps Russia to keep check on us “foreigners.” I am here on a “private visa,” which is good for three years, but I still have to leave every six months. After that I can get temporary residency permit, which means I will not have to leave for three years.

Marina Grace and Gabriel also have to leave every six months. Our paperwork has been acccepted for processing in order for them to become Russian citizens. We won’t get the approved paperwork back until next April, but we’re optimistic that we can get them citizenship after that. There are two advantages to them getting citizenship. One advantage is that they don’t have to go out of the country with us every six months. The second advantage is huge: Russia has a program which issues “Maternal Capital.” When you have more than one child, born between 2007-2018 to a mother who is a Russian citizen, you qualify for financial rewards from the government. Russia has a demographic problem: There are not enough people here. The primary factor was the huge number of people killed in “The Great Patriotic War” (WWII). Over 19 million Russians were killed in that war. Further, after the Revolution, abortion became a standard form of birth control. The population has never recovered. Russia is almost twice the size of the United States, but it has less than half the population. You can only apply one time for the Maternal Capital, but the more children you have the more money you receive. Since we have three children we are eligible for 1.5 million rubles. There are some restrictions on how you have to spend the money, since it is intended to pump money back into the economy, but they are rather “fluid” restrictions. It was very difficult getting the paperwork approved, but obviously it is worth it in the long run.

Six months ago we went to Finland for our out of country journey. We all enjoyed the trip so we decided to return there. I realize that making two trips to Finland does not make me an expert, but I thought some people may be interested in what Finland is like. I’ll break it down in terms of disadvantages and advantages.

The only real disadvantage we found was the reality that international travel these days is a pain. International travel with small children is beyond a pain. The flight itself took less than an hour, and our children did fine. Marina Grace sang the whole trip. It is getting through the terminals that is problematic. We decided to make it as simple as possible. Since we were leaving on Thursday and returning Saturday, we decided we could just stuff our backpacks full and have enough clothing. The only “luggage” we took was Marina’s stroller, which is kind of large. We didn’t know if we had to check it in as luggage or we could take it to the plane—or maybe someone from the airlines (FinnAir) could take it on board. We were given three different answers from airline personell. Oksana had to go back and forth before learning that they would just take it on board for us. Getting through security and then passport controls in a timely manner proved frustrating. No one treated us poorly, but just the process—especially with a three year old—is difficult. It was the same way coming back. We were exhausted even though, as I said, the flight was short. During all that screening, we did have one humorous incident. When I was unloading the containers with our computers, phones, etc., the lady asked me something in Russian, and I answered her. But then she kept talking as I was turning away, and I didn’t understand. I asked her to repeat it, and she said it again in Russian. Oksana only heard the last part and turned to me and said, “I guess they can’t speak English here!” The young lady said, “Oh, I thought he was Italian.” Not sure if an Italian could’ve understood her any better, but I’ll take the fact she thought I looked Italian as a compliment!

Now to the good information. We found Finland to be a very nice clean place to visit. You can even drink tap water there! Oksana went down to buy bottled water at the hotel, and the lady said, “You know, you can drink tap water here.” Oksana said she was sorry, but she just couldn’t bring herself to drink tap water. The lady replied that when they go elsewhere in Europe the Finnish people hate not being able to drink from the tap. We flew to Helsinki, although we never actually went into the city itself. We got a nice hotel at a reasonable cost fairly close to the airport in the town of Vantaa. The hotel we stayed in the first time we came was full, so we had to choose another close by. We actually liked it better. On both trips the hotels provided a free shuttle to and from the airport for the 15 minute drive. Our room was not fancy, but it was nice, clean and very spacious. The four of us had plenty of room. The hotel had a sauna, restaurant, and provided a nice breakfast for free in the cafeteria.

There was a huge mall about a one mile walk from our hotel. We enjoyed walking through a large park to get there. Our children loved the mall, and there were plenty of things for children. We had our first Mexican meal since leaving the States at a restaurant in the mall. It was very good, but when I asked for chimichangas they had no idea what I was talking about. So it wasn’t exactly like eating Mexican back home. Oksana also found a nice shop for buying Christmas presents for her friends. The kids loved the huge toy store.

After returning to our room and resting a bit after our trip to the mall, we decided to walk in the opposite direction that evening to see what we could find. We felt very safe walking. There were many other folks out walking on the large paved trails. The streets were well lit so we had no trouble getting around. We did get surprised when we got to the strip mall. There were many nice stores, but only one restaurant, which was a Japanese buffet. In America, a place with that many stores would have had five restaurants I’m sure! The food was adequate, but it wasn’t great. Even though it was the only restaurant in the whole complex it was only half full of customers on a Friday night! I guess Finnish people don’t eat out much.

The thing that makes Finland an easy place for Americans to visit is that everyone we met spoke fluent English. In the airport, and of course at the hotel and restaurants, we had no trouble communicating. But several times we stopped folks on the park trail or in the mall and asked for directions or for other information, and every person we asked spoke English with no problem. Speaking English really helped at the airport. When you enter Finland you must check in of course. You don’t just present your documents and walk on through, however. They ask you very specific questions about why you are there, where are you staying and how long will you be there. Obviously we flew in with many Russians, and they were required to answer in English (or Finnish). On our first trip there the Russian lady in the line next to us did not speak English well. They started asking her very pointed questions about the purpose of her trip. As all of us who try to communicate in a language other than our native tongue know, the more nervous you get, the harder it gets to communicate. The gentlemen working in this area do not smile and do not seem very patient. Fortunately, they recognized that my English was that of a “native speaker,” and I had our passports, as well as our papers showing our hotel registration and return flights. So we had no problem, but I did feel for the Russians who were left to struggle.

I cannot speak or understand the Finnish language AT ALL. Both Oksana and I thought it sounded, well, very different from Russian or English! It sounds very “tonal” and has numerous double vowels. When we got on the bus that took us out to the plane, I actually felt comfortable that everyone was speaking Russian. I can’t understand it when everyone is speaking at once like that, but at least it was Russian. I thought about how my life is so different living in another country and visiting places that I would have never thought of in earlier stages of my life. There are difficult aspects of “life abroad” to be sure. I admit to keeping an “open ear” hoping perhaps I’ll hear an American voice. (I never did.) On the other hand, I cannot imagine not having had the experiences I now am having. I live in a world that is so very different from the one in which I was raised. Not understanding clearly what someone says to me or looking closely for little “cultural cues” to see how I should react to different situations has become “second nature” to me now.

So overall I can recommend Finland as a nice and interesting place to visit. The prices for food and lodging are reasonable, and, given how many folks know English, it is quite easy to get around. I think we’ll be going back again in the future and hopefully see more.

The positive feelings about our trip over the long weekend were shattered, however, when we woke up Monday morning to the news of the shooting in Texas. As I recounted in my blog after the Las Vegas shootings, being able to get only partial news and being away from other Americans seems to intensify the feelings. This one hit me even harder. All such shootings, bombings, etc., are horrible. I cannot deny, however, the fact that this one happened in a small Baptist church in a small Southern town impacted me more because, well, small Southern towns and small Baptist churches was my world growing up. Seeing the pictures of those individuals, of all ages, who had been brutally murdered brought me to tears. Then the larger questions of how will American culture change as a result of these continued senseless mass murders will no doubt have to be addressed. Right now, I, like many others, have to wait with a heavy heart. The one positive and encouraging video I saw was of the pastor and his wife, who lost a daughter as well as many members of their church “family,” when they spoke to the press. They spoke with wisdom and faith even though their hearts were broken. I reminded myself of St. Paul’s words, “if it is only in this life that we have hoped in Christ, then we are, of all men, most to be pitied.”