Again, I'm reminded of how little I enjoy waiting - I've done packing (twice), settled my bills (to be reimbursed later by the Norwegian Armed Forces), and had all the coffee I can reasonable drink without injuring myself... all that is left to do is to watch Finnish television, stare at the walls and wait for the clock to hit noon and the bus to arrive.
The closing ceremony and dinner was somewhat formal in the beginning, but with the aid of 'traditional Finnish white wine' - also known as vodka - it soon settled into a more comfortable, if somewhat loud, groove. Music was by a Finnish military band, and after a few compulsory marches and other military music they changed to popular music from the '60s, '70s and '80s - itself a good indicator of the age range among the students on the course. And as always, while some of us found it prudent to head to the barracks when the official party was winding down, others decided to make the most out of their last night in Finland... some even made it last until the very early morning.
And on that note I'll lay this blog dormant for now - I'll resurrect it when I'm heading out on a real mission; most likely next fall.
Friday, 29 May 2009
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
EndEx for real
True, the exercise was 'only' two days, but they were busy days.
Whats left is getting clean (sand can get into places you would never imagine), pack everything up, eat dinner and get on the bus for a three hour or so drive to get to Fincent. The challenge is to do it while more or less asleep on our feet - as someone commented; 'I hope the bus driver stays awake because no one else on the bus will'.
What is left of the course is more or less wrapping up loose ends: feedback, settling of bills, the closing ceremony and dinner, stuff like that. By Friday dinnertime I'll be back home, a tiny bit older and hopefully quite a bit wiser. But right now it's time to go stand in line for the showers...
Whats left is getting clean (sand can get into places you would never imagine), pack everything up, eat dinner and get on the bus for a three hour or so drive to get to Fincent. The challenge is to do it while more or less asleep on our feet - as someone commented; 'I hope the bus driver stays awake because no one else on the bus will'.
What is left of the course is more or less wrapping up loose ends: feedback, settling of bills, the closing ceremony and dinner, stuff like that. By Friday dinnertime I'll be back home, a tiny bit older and hopefully quite a bit wiser. But right now it's time to go stand in line for the showers...
Sunday, 24 May 2009
Welfare trip to Tampere
Tampere... Finland's 3rd largest town. It has closed down shoe factories. And, uhm, thats it.
Well, not really - but about every other building the guide pointed out was a closed down shoe factory that lived by selling shoes to the Soviet Union... so when the wall fell, and the russians started to want newer models of better quality and lower pries, pretty much every factory went belly up.
Other than that it was a decent enough trip... whole class had dinner on Saturday, and a varying amount of beers after - along with a coupe of other Norwegians I found a place that had Kilkenny on tap, so thats where I stopped. And I have to add - having been around a bit by now - that the Finns in their natural environment can be funny, but also depressing and scary...
On Sunday we stopped by a giant mall to let us do some shopping, before we went to the local water land to prove the theory that the armed forces makes boys out of men... consider it to be a proven fact. Personally I think the "who can get the best speed in the water slide' was the clincher... 17 seconds by the way, with the best speed being 15.
After a buffet dinner - in the best tradition of the ferries to Denmark - it was back to Niinisalo, where the program for the Big Exercise was waiting in our pigeon holes, along with more things to read... I know what I'll do this evening.
Well, not really - but about every other building the guide pointed out was a closed down shoe factory that lived by selling shoes to the Soviet Union... so when the wall fell, and the russians started to want newer models of better quality and lower pries, pretty much every factory went belly up.
Other than that it was a decent enough trip... whole class had dinner on Saturday, and a varying amount of beers after - along with a coupe of other Norwegians I found a place that had Kilkenny on tap, so thats where I stopped. And I have to add - having been around a bit by now - that the Finns in their natural environment can be funny, but also depressing and scary...
On Sunday we stopped by a giant mall to let us do some shopping, before we went to the local water land to prove the theory that the armed forces makes boys out of men... consider it to be a proven fact. Personally I think the "who can get the best speed in the water slide' was the clincher... 17 seconds by the way, with the best speed being 15.
After a buffet dinner - in the best tradition of the ferries to Denmark - it was back to Niinisalo, where the program for the Big Exercise was waiting in our pigeon holes, along with more things to read... I know what I'll do this evening.
Friday, 22 May 2009
Endex, for now
Train hard, fight easy.
Or, in the case of being an UNMO - train hard, observe easy.
And off course, all of the training is considered UN Restricted, so I can't discuss any details of it here... lets just say it was more mentally than physically taxing, and the physical bit was hard enough for most of the students.
After EndEx - End of Exercise - today we had a quick brief on what living in each mission is like from one of the instructors who had actually lived there. Since I'm going to Sudan, I naturally selected that group and got a decent feel for what it's like. And despite some of the horror stories you can find online, it sounds fairly decent all things considered - for instance most team sites now have containers you an rent to live in, with a bed, fridge, AC and a small office space. And for 21$/night - deducted straight from your MSA - it's not a bad deal at all.
This weekend we'll go on a welfare trip to Tampere, and from what I've been able to gleam t should be a more relaxing weekend then Helsinki was. Most of the downtown area is within a few blocks from the hotel, and that includes four shopping centers and two Alko - the Finnish equivalent of the Norwegian Wine Monopoly. Sunday we'll spend some time at a huge shopping center / spa / bath land style of thing - imagine Tamarack meets a sauna meets a water park, and you should be fairly close.
On Monday we start up the 'big' exercise - the one where the instructors wont hold our hands. I'm not sure if I should worry or not, but I am excited...
Or, in the case of being an UNMO - train hard, observe easy.
And off course, all of the training is considered UN Restricted, so I can't discuss any details of it here... lets just say it was more mentally than physically taxing, and the physical bit was hard enough for most of the students.
After EndEx - End of Exercise - today we had a quick brief on what living in each mission is like from one of the instructors who had actually lived there. Since I'm going to Sudan, I naturally selected that group and got a decent feel for what it's like. And despite some of the horror stories you can find online, it sounds fairly decent all things considered - for instance most team sites now have containers you an rent to live in, with a bed, fridge, AC and a small office space. And for 21$/night - deducted straight from your MSA - it's not a bad deal at all.
This weekend we'll go on a welfare trip to Tampere, and from what I've been able to gleam t should be a more relaxing weekend then Helsinki was. Most of the downtown area is within a few blocks from the hotel, and that includes four shopping centers and two Alko - the Finnish equivalent of the Norwegian Wine Monopoly. Sunday we'll spend some time at a huge shopping center / spa / bath land style of thing - imagine Tamarack meets a sauna meets a water park, and you should be fairly close.
On Monday we start up the 'big' exercise - the one where the instructors wont hold our hands. I'm not sure if I should worry or not, but I am excited...
Monday, 18 May 2009
The end of the begining
The last day of theory... tomorrow we will transfer to Niinisalo to start the first of two exercises. It'll be long days, starting at seven and ending 'late', or possible even early. But the time will probably pass quicker than the first week - theory can be slooooow.
The bags are packed, the snacks bought, the batteries of my little 'puter are charing as I type. I guess I'm as ready for the four and a half hour bus trip as I will ever be.
The bags are packed, the snacks bought, the batteries of my little 'puter are charing as I type. I guess I'm as ready for the four and a half hour bus trip as I will ever be.
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