Goodness glaciers! As much as I’d love this blog to only be a record of fun happy things, I think it’s important to acknowledge the shitty times when I was lonely and confused and lost and cried like a baby. I wasn’t expecting everything to be perfect straight away, but it was still a shock to suddenly have no control or understanding over what was going on.
My flights over were good, it was a long time in the air but Bangkok was rainy so I didn’t have to die from drowning in my own sweat, the plane to Helsinki was only mildly late and my luggage arrived with me in Rovaniemi. Perfect! I wanted to get money out at the airport, but there was no ATM so I headed out into the world cashless, which was a mistake.
I took a taxi to DAS headquarters (they run the accommodation) and asked the driver to wait for me. He was really nice, Finnish people are definitely friendlier than I anticipated. They might not be keen to initiate conversation, but if you talk to them (or in my case ask beg them for help in English) they’re happy to take the time to assist. Anyway, I was in a hurry and was feeling the burn of the taxi meter already being at €30, so instead of hanging around and asking every question I could think of, I quickly filled out some forms, grabbed my keys and headed to my building that’s a bit of a drive away.
Usually, your assigned tutor meets you at your building with the keys, but because I’m here early my tutor isn’t in town. I found my apartment on the third floor (woo, stairs!) and got in the front door, but the bedroom door was locked and wouldn’t open. I sat in my cute little kitchen to assess the situation, and realised I had no phone service (f*** you Telstra global roaming, what part of global don’t you understand?) no internet, no cash to catch a bus into town, no food, no way to get into my room and a much needed bed, no way to contact anyone to let them know I was here safely, no way to call DAS about my keys, no knowledge of where I was or where shops and public transport were, and after knocking on many doors, no-one around to ask for help.
A little while later when a person downstairs opened their door to me I did the rational, grown-up thing and burst into tears. She let me use her phone to call security, who said they couldn’t help me, which made me cry again. Finally, her partner called them back and TOLD them to come unlock my door, which made me realise how easily I cave and respectfully believe anything said by an authority figure. Turns out my key DID work in the lock, the door was just jammed and needed a quick security guy shoulder barge. I’d tried it already but my shoulders are obviously made of marshmallows. He was nice about it though, which only made me feel more retarded.
Here are some photos to break up the too-many-word fest!
My cute little bed
Handy dandy washing line
Is it a chair or is it a drawer? I don't care, it's adorable.
Big spacious windows that open, none of this flyscreen business.
The view out my window, very pretty.
Everyone needs two front doors, one inside the other. Don't question it.
This fun mirror is in my hallway
Bathroom! I hate that there's no divide between the shower and the floor..
Another pretty view out the kitchen window
Cute baby stove!
Messy desk = messy brain.
All my worldly possessions.
So I showered and scraped 30 hours of airplane grease off my body, and walked around the rest of the morning trying to find some kind of shop where I could buy, steal, sell my body, etc. for a sim-card for my phone. After a long, confused couple of hours wandering I found one. Calls are so cheap here, even buying the first pre-paid sim I laid my eyes on at a grimy petrol station, it’s 0.6 euro cents a minute for local calls, and 7 cents for an international text message. Makes you realise how badly you’re being ripped off at home.
When I called Simon and heard his voice obviously I started blubbering again, but he was super amazing and reassured me that I was okay, and then googled some useful things for me to know seeing as I was without my sole source of know-how in this big bad world, the internet. I did some more sooking when I talked to mum and dad, but it was a relief to know they wouldn’t have to call the police and the Australian embassy to try and track me down as I wandered around Rovaniemi for days, cut off from civilisation.
To cap off this phenomenal day, I ate sour cream and onion chips for dinner and fell into a coma at 5pm, on my little bed with no pillow, sheets or blankets. Luckily Bec had given me a sleeping mask (what are those things called, dangnabbit) because there are no curtains in this place, and the sun just doesn’t quit at this time of year. All up I slept for a much needed 15 hours.
And that was my first day. Pretty freakin’ shitty! But done now, and never to be repeated. Yay!
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