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Travels - Week 2 The Conference began on Thursday 12th and I was introduced to Mikko who then showed me around and gave me the duties that I had been assigned, I will mention that he always had a smile for me. My duties were to make sure that there were enough chairs and water for every one, check with the workshop co-ordinators as to their needs, greet the participants and be the last sitting after closing the door. I have had more responsibility at times, but I am on holiday! Luckily for me the workshops that I sat in on were interesting and relevant to me. Even thought the Society of Organizational Learning doesn't really hold much interest for me (more Mum's taste!) the practical demonstrations were fascinating. I saw a conversation "mapped" and was intrigued to see a conversation form rather than listen to it. I also sat in on and participated in a session called "Systemic Change and Employment for People with Developmental Delays." After the work I did with disabled people at Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre as a programme co-ordinator it was both relevant and (thankfully!) interesting. The food at the conference was really good also and the setting at the Helsinki University of Technology of which Dipoli is a part was like most of Finland - beautiful. On Thursday night we (the conference participants) took a couple of ferries to Suomonlina - "The Finland Fort." As most people know I am not the bravest man around water of any sort, and Helsinki Harbour is full of huge ocean going ships and ferries which tossed our tiny boat around. Also it was very, very cold. Suomonlina reminded me of Pinchgut Island in Sydney Harbour from the side we entered, but it is actually a set of three massive islands each of which dwarfs any in my home's harbour. Also it is quite ancient in comparison, and the ruins demonstrate its colourful history. We ate reindeer stew (I made sure it wasn't Rudolph but one of those other pricks that used to laugh and call him names!) and it was good, but again it was so cold that we all bolted our food down and tried to drink as fast as we could so that we couldn't feel the cold. I had to swap hands with my beer so I didn't shiver and spill it out of my cup! After a little while the staff working on the conference started to make their way around and let us know that the return ferries would be arriving sooner due to the wind and cold. Having had a couple of beers by now I quickly offered to make the announcement. Satu, one of the Team Academy Staff said that if I could she would get me Vodka - red flag to a bull! I walked to the top of the battlements and well… let's say they all heard me. I stayed up Thursday night drinking in the Radisson firstly with Lee one of the Australian contingent, then with a couple of educators from Germany and Spain. We discussed Semantic Mapping and thus the humour of the "Kakkhi Pussi" shops. The next day at the conference was hard, I wish I would stop drinking the beer in Finland! Friday night I was taken to DTM the "Legendary Gay Club" that Helsinki has to offer by a friend of Mum's, Thomas. It reminded me of ARQ though smaller, more intimate, gayer and upside-down (with the same lesbian influence in the upstairs "Vortex" style bar). Now, I expected to fade into the crowd as I have decided that I look a little Finnish (from the fact people keep getting half way through a conversation before I can say 'English only… sorry!'). But, luckily for my ego, I seemed to be quite popular - until I started dancing anyhow. Thomas and I got on like a house on fire. It is not like me to make friends quickly, but he slapped me and told me to "fuck off" all within an hour of getting to the club. As all my friends know - the true way into my heart! Crawled (literally) back to the hotel at 7 am and missed my duties at the conference, but as it was winding down I don't think I was missed. I had to pick up the keys to our next hotel today, which was a public transport adventure with a very difficult trip across Helsinki during the Summer Festival, which no one told me would be on. I managed to cross the parade route four times in and hour! The festival looked like Mardi Gras, but the women actually seemed to be women. That night was sauna night… and the Finns finally let their hair down. We got drunk and sang Negro spirituals until we got kicked out! I really had a good time, to the point that I forgot to have a sauna! The next day we moved hotel again to a really nice spot on the Gulf of Finland, east Helsinki, called Voussari and hotel called Vuoranta. It is in a national park and was stunning. Mum got some work done while I went into town to say goodbye to Helsinki. Which meant getting drunk and depressed and sending unreadable emails! On Tuesday however, we travelled over 1000 km north to Ivalo in Lapland to see the midnight sun and some more of the country. Our beautiful log cabin had its own sauna and kitchenette, bunks and a double bed. The area is inside the Arctic Circle but as the sun hadn't set in a month it was reasonably warm. We had a bushwalk and the scrub reminded me oddly of Australia. Perhaps the opposite conditions - to much water not enough sun has given rise to similar survival strategies. That night our guide Sonia, who was the best service professional I have met so far up here, made us dinner in a traditional Lappish hut. It was reindeer again (and this time it was actually Donner, but as he was a chemical weapons expert working with Saddam, he got what he deserved!) and this time we had enough time to enjoy it. Dessert was ice cream with fresh Cloud Berries, which are sweet and tart but beautiful! At 10pm (I would say night but it doesn't seem appropriate) we went to the only fell (area above the tree line) in Finland that you can drive to and watched the sun not set. Every time I say or write that it seems weird! It was a magical trip topped off by the best nights sleep I had had in weeks! We flew back to Helsinki and connected with a ferry (uuuurrrrgh - more water!) and made our way to Estonia… But you'll hear more about that next week.
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Copyright 2003 Shane Manusu
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