最後に (last words about my exchange year and some hints)

En voi vieläkään uskoa, että vuoteni Japanissa on ohi. On ollut hienoa olla nämä melkein kaksi viikkoa Suomessa: tavata ystäviä ja perhettä, on uuni jolla leipoa ja laittaa ruokaa, voin ilmaista kaiken mitä haluan (joskin nyt täytyy keskittyä, että käytän vain suomenkielisiä sanoja), voin syödä hedelmiä ja marjoja, ja ennen kaikkea sää tuntuu ihanalta! Löisin vetoa, että monet suomalaiset valittavat +20 asteen säästä, joka on jatkunut koko kesän (tai sitten on ollut vielä kylmempää) ja he toivovat lähemmäs +30 asteen kelejä voidakseen nauttia kesän lämmöstä. Mutta minä en voisi olla iloisempi, että tuuli oikeasti tuntuu virkistävältä.

[I still cannot believe my year in Japan is over. It has been great to be in Finland for these almost two weeks: meeting friends and family, having an oven to make and cook, being able to express everything you want to say (though now I have to concentrate to use only the Finnish words), eating fruits and berries, and above all, the weather feels amazing! I bet many Finnish people complain about the +20 weather that has continued for the whole summer (okay, it has been also colder) and they wish to have closer to +30 degrees days to enjoy the warmth of the summer. But I couldn't be happier to feel a wind that actually feels refreshing.]

Mutta. Jotenkin tämä kaikki tuntuu epätodelliselta. Vihdoin olen takaisin Suomessa. Odotin tätä ja nyt kun olen täällä, niin koko vuosi tuntuu hujahtaneen kuin viikoissa tai kuukausissa. Ja tuntuu epätodelliselta, että en ole palaamassa Japaniin ja Fukuokan yliopistoon opiskelemaan japania ja tapaamaan niitä ihmisiä joka päivä. Se on oikeasti nyt ohi. Ja se kaikki tuntuu lähes yhdeltä isolta unelta.

[But. Somehow this all feels unreal. I finally am back in Finland. I was looking forward to this and now that I am here, the whole year feels like a few weeks or months. And it feels so unreal to me to know I am not returning to Japan and Fukuoka University to study Japanese and meet those people every day. It actually is over now. And it almost feels like one big dream.]

Toistaiseksi kaipaan vain rakkaita ystäviäni Japanissa ja kaikkialla maailmalla. Mutta tiedän, että ajan saatossa kun totun jälleen elämääni täällä (missä etenen yllättävän hyvin), tulen kaipaamaan ruokia, tapoja, maisemia (vaikka rakastankin Suomen luontoa!) ja puhumista japaniksi, sillä täällä Suomessa se ei ole niin helppoa löytää juttukaveria.

[For now I only miss my dear friends in Japan and all over the world. But I know that within time when I get used to my life here again (which I am doing surprisingly fine), I will miss the food, the habits, the landscape (though I love the Finnish nature!) and speaking Japanese which is somewhat difficult here in Finland where there are not too many people who can speak it.]

Haluaisin vieläkin jakaa paljoa ja kirjoittaa ylös itselleni muistaakseni pienimmätkin yksityiskohdat, mutta se on mahdotonta. Haluan silti tehdä vielä lyhyen listan, joka toivottavasti auttaa jos joku haluaa matkustaa/muuttaa Japaniin. Ja myös muistuttaakseni itseäni, mihin minun tulee varautua jos/kun matkustan Japaniin seuraavan kerran:

[I would still like to share so much and write down so much to remember even the smallest details but that is impossible. I still want to make a short list that hopefully will help someone who wants to travel to Japan and/or live there. And also to remind myself what I should be prepared for if/when I travel there next time:]

-Talvi on kylmempi ja kesä kuumempi ja kosteampi kuin Suomessa. (Kyllä, talven lämpötila laskee selvästi alle nollan Suomessa ja pysyy nollan yläpuolella Etelä-Japanissa, mutta ainakin Suomessa tuntuu lämpimältä talojen sisällä.)
-Tuoreista hedelmistä ja marjoista ei ehkä voi nauttia niin usein kun on tottunut tai haluaa, ellei ole valmis maksamaan itseään kipeäksi. Mutta toisaalta, on varaa syödä useammin ulkona ja tarjonta on monipuolisempaa ja mielenkiintoisempaa.
-Asioita, joita kannattaa ottaa Suomesta mukaan kun muuttaa Japaniin: tiskiharja (sillä siellä myydään vain pehmeitä sieniä), tarpeeksi lämpimiä ja kevyitä vaatteita (mutta ei liikaa, sillä jotenkin Japanissa tulee helposti osteltua kaikenlaista), ruisleipää ja muita hyviä leipiä jos on pakastin, jonne ne voi laittaa (食パン tulee korvista ulos muutaman kuukauden jälkeen), adaptereja joissa on vain kaksi piikkiä (koska kolmipiikkiset eivät sovi moniin pistorasioihin). Mutta älä ota hiustenkuivaajaa, koska se toimii heikosti Japanin sähköllä. Osta uusi Japanissa.
-Opettele japania, jos haluat puhua ihmisten kanssa. Englanti vain ei riitä monissa tapauksissa. Ja opiskele kanjeja sekä katakanoja.

[-The winter is colder and the summer is hotter and more humid than in Finland. (Yes, the winter temperature lowers way below zero in Finland and stays above zero in the Southern Japan, but at least one feels warm inside the Finnish houses.)
-You might not be able to enjoy fresh fruits as often as you are used to and want to, unless you are ready to pay a lot. But in the contrary, you can afford to eat outside more often and the diversity is a lot bigger and more interesting.
-Things you should take from Finland when you move to Japan: a brush for the dishes (because they only sell those soft sponges), enough warm and cool clothes (but not too much because somehow it is easy to end up buying a lot in Japan), rye bread and other good bread if you have a freezer to put them into (食パン comes out of the ears after some months), adapters with only two "spikes" (because three spikes adapters don't fit into many of the wall plugs). But don't take your hair dryer because it is going to be too weak to dry your hair with the Japanese electricity. Buy a new one in Japan.
-Learn some Japanese if you want to speak with people in Japan. English just isn't enough in many cases. And study some kanjis.]

Vuosi oli enemmän kuin upea! Olen yhä ymmälläni, kuinka hyvin kaikki sujui, vaikken edes osannut puhua paljoakaan japania vuosi sitten sinne mennessäni. Toivon totisesti pääseväni sinne vielä uudelleen!

The year was more than amazing! I am still surprised how well everything went even though I could even hardly speak Japanese a year ago when I went there. I surely wish to go there again!

ありがとう、福岡！この一年間は思ったよりもすごかった！いつかまた行きたい。さようなら！

結婚式や海の中道 (Wedding party and Uminonakamichi)

My time in Fukuoka is almost over. Wow, it was hard to try to fit all my stuff in my luggages and even harder to pull them to Nanakuma! My contract in the dormitory ended yesterday and my flight is tomorrow so I had to move to my friend's place for a couple of nights. In between packing and cleaning I still have had new interesting experiences even during these last days.


Last Friday was a long day when I woke up at 5 am to see off the other Finnish exchange student who returned to Finland. At noon we had a farewell party for all the exchange students at the dormitory. Free food, last words, little presents, lots of photos... Soon after the party I needed to get ready for the next party since I had been invited to a wedding here. People I had met at the bilingual church here invited also me even though I have seen them only a few times. Neither the groom nor the bride was Japanese but the whole ceremony was translated in both English and Japanese and the dishes were mostly Japanese style. The place was beautiful, people happy and funny, the atmosphere great and food interesting, and it was great to see everyone still one time before I go back. The only thing thing that almost ruined my evening were my new shoes that hurt my feet so much I had to walk the last kilometer bare feet. Luckily it was dark and I had a long skirt so I don't think anyone even realized that...

In Japanese wedding the gift is usually money
that is given in a special wedding envelope.

Which tableware should I use? Having the chopsticks really confuses...

For the last weekend I had had a plan to go and visit one of my Japanese friends' home near Kumamoto. Nevertheless we cancelled it because of the risk getting stuck there. There was a big typhoon in Kyushu that might have affected on the transportation on Sunday. But I didn't let the typhoon to ruin my weekend. On Saturday afternoon I went to swim for the first time in Japan. I was so surprised after arriving to the beach because even though the weather pretty much perfect to lie on the beach and swim in the sea, there were maybe 10 people on the whole beach. Well, better for us I would say. Also the sun setting behind the islands was absolutely great to see! I had never seen such shadows on the colorful sky.

On Sunday I headed to Uminonakamichi, and island in the Northern Fukuoka, with the friends I had planned to go to Kumamoto with. We wanted to do something fun together before two of us leave Japan. The typhoon never came to Fukuoka but the wind was still quite strong at times. But the island was beautiful and so much fun! There were lots of playgrounds for kids (we did try some), a zoo, flowers, fountains, and a place to watch the sea. One thing it really would have needed more is a restaurants. Having icecream for lunch is not enough when you return back home around 18 o'clock. And one thing I would have needed, was sun lotion. It was quite cloudy but as a white Finn I got sunburnt (for the first time here).

Yesterday evening after dragging all my stuff to my friend's appartement it was time to enjoy karaoke and eat-icecream-as-much-as-you-can for the last time. My Taiwanese friend and her mother (who came to visit Japan) joined me in Futaba and three hours went quickly. It is cool to notice the improvement from the first karaoke time here. I can read the lyrics fast enough to sing even Japanese songs.

I was surprised when they actually had the original Swedish version of "Caramelldansen" in karaoke.
And of course katakanas to help with the correct pronounciation.

Today morning I went to the airport to see off my dear Taiwanese friend. Until today I was able to say goodbye with a big smile to everyone and almost managed to do the same today but couldn't help the tears falling out when watching her to go to the security gate behind the corner. Yes, coming to Asia for exchange surely means I will have a long distance to my friends after the year is over...

花火大会 (Fireworks convention)

All the exams and other school works are over and what would have been a better way to celebrate it than a fireworks event on the first free day! The organize a big fireworks show in the biggest park in Fukuoka on the first of August every year. For a Finn, it is something very extraordinary to sit among thousands and thousands of people watching fireworks for 1,5 hours in a row. We were told to go early to the park to get a good place but after all we only got there 45 minutes before the show. I had not seen that many people in one place (except during the Yamakasa festival) and walking speed was somewhat slow when we headed to the area that was recommended for us by our teacher. But we got lucky before reaching our destination when one of our Japanese teachers from the university noticed us in the crowd and invited us to join her and her friends. They had reserved a great viewing spot already on the previous day. Me and one of my friends dressed up to our yukatas too because it is very common to wear a yukata for summer festivals and especially for fireworks.

These days I am not really cooking myself because I have agreed to so many appointments before returning to Finland. Yesterday's lunch I enjoyed with the nursery school teacher thanks to whom I got to visit a Japanese nursery school and for the dinner I went for the last time to Sushiro (to eat two pieces of the cheap but super delicious chocolate cake that I will miss). Today I went with a friend of mine to a restaurant nearby the university where we were invited by one of our "students" from TA class. And in the evening I am going to meet a teacher of the University whom I have ever met before but who will travel to Finland and wants to meet me before it. I have different plans for the rest of the week too so seems like I don't really need to fill my empty fridge.

What it comes to my life here during the last days otherwise, I let the following photos to tell it.

During the exam week Japanese students become really diligent
and study in the library and at the dining rooms of the dormitory.

Our studying table at the dorm.

The most delicious ramen I have ever had. A self-made candy version.

I said goodbye to some of my friends in an interesting restaurant
that looked like a zoo with lots of animal toys.

Farewell gifts I got from my lovely friends

One can collect Minion stamps at the subway stations and get free Minion stickers.
Maybe this is meant for children but it didn't stop us.

After our last volunteer Japanese class
we stayed downstairs to have a curry lunch with the teachers.

The spiders at the university are back to say goodbye too.

Ice cream that is easy to eat even when it melts a bit.

After all I ended to go to a McDonald's in Japan even though tried to avoid it.
But since I was offered a free meal... Pretty much the same as in Finland.

Shopping...