What Anders Breivik did, and the reasons why he did it, have not gone unnoticed in Canada. Coming from another Nordic country, we have been asked some tough questions by ordinary Canadians who are utterly dumbfounded that something like this could happen in a region they have come to perceive as peaceful, progressive and internationally oriented.
Since Canada was practically built on immigration and has developed a sophisticated structure of current-day immigration, it seems inconceivable to most people we have spoken with that a 2-3% immigrant segment could cause a rise of the populist right in the scale of Finland or Norway. A dose of Halla-Aho's greatest hits in English has further added to the astonishment, to put it mildly. That obvious hate speech can be freely spread even by MP's in Finland seems to raise quite a few eyebrows.
Unfortunately, we are as much at a loss than the guys over here when it comes to explaining this. Seen across the transatlantic distance, the Nordic nationalist populism looks like a very small group of people, very dependant on the world around them, gone totally bonkers in the grip of some kind of megalomaniac, absurd delusion. That they would spill blood to defend what they see as the "true culture"(whatever the hell *that* means - beer? expensive houses? lottery on Saturday? mandatory military service? meat-eating? passive membership in the Lutheran church? easily sunburnt skin? Who knows!) is just beyond everybody here.
Because the average Finnish populist does not hate merely Muslims but also has issues with gays, feminists, environmentalists, Swedish speakers etc etc, we have to conclude that racism is not the accurate term here. Xenophobia, the deep fear of anything perceived as alien or "other" seems to be closer to the truth. Unfortunately, our history of relative isolation, demands of uniformity and the culture of "no small talk, please" have created a situation where it's hard for us to take the Other's (capital letter intended) point of view, let alone let him into our house for coffee and chat. In this, we have no other option but to learn.
"Quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand. Ignorance, prejudice and fear walk hand in hand". Words of Neil Peart, a Canadian. So it's not perfect here either, but they seem to have moved a bit further. We have a very long road ahead of us, but it's the only one there is, if we don't want to enter the deep dark woods and live with the beasts.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Back in Canada: Birthdays and excursions
Leaving the stars and stripes, we returned to the maple leaf on the 22nd. The following day we drove the short stretch from Sarnia to London to stay with our friends Donna and Andy and celebrate their birthdays; in Andy's case, the Big 50. That turned out to be some evening, with lots of new people to meet, Hungarian cabbage rolls to eat, lots to drink and a suitably grand performance of The Horrible "I will never do this again in my life" Hangover in the morning (the latter for just one of us, thank god).
Having recovered enough, we all had a great time at Donna's brother's summer place in Port Stanley, a most charming town by Lake Erie. Joining us were members of their families plus D&A's musician son Dan and his colleague Allison, whose latest solo CD we now have, with autograph :) Do check out www.allisonbrown.ca if you're at all interested in North American acoustic roots music!
Monday was Town Day for us. We strolled around central London (which, it must be mentioned, has a River Thames, a Hyde Park and a Victoria Park, and no doubt a few other namesakes of its older sibling...). Reko found the so far last of his must-have Marvel books, Annu got some new running gear and everyone was surprised when we realized we had been walking for four hours straight.
After days of enjoying our friends' hospitality in their home, we moved our camp to their trailer near the town of Goderich, so it's just us four here at the moment; Donna and Andy will join us tomorrow for the long weekend in Ontario. On the way here we stopped at the stunningly pretty town of St Mary and the bigger but also very picturesque Stratford, home of the annual Shakespeare Festival (as well as Justin Bieber, a fact our boys would rather forget).
Yesterday was another excursion day, this time to the towns of Grand Bend and Bayfield. We had briefly visited both on the previous trip but now we could spend some time in both. Grand Bend is a summertime micro-California, apparently based on beach visitors and related commerce. Fun, sunshine + ice cream were not the only things we got there: one of the boys now has an earring and one of the adults now has a double piercing in one ear... Bayfield, a little way north of Grand Bend, is a different kind of summer town: serene, handicrafts-friendly, thoroughly nice and comes with a great hippie-ish this and that store. Plus there's an extra nice bookstore (The Village Bookstore, what else!) where we found some more literary baggage to take on the airplane. The fine day concluded with a Lake Huron swim (boys) and a very nice home made dinner. It rained heavily during the night (after all the heat it came in necessary) so now we have to figure out if it's mud wrestling or campground swimming today.
Having recovered enough, we all had a great time at Donna's brother's summer place in Port Stanley, a most charming town by Lake Erie. Joining us were members of their families plus D&A's musician son Dan and his colleague Allison, whose latest solo CD we now have, with autograph :) Do check out www.allisonbrown.ca if you're at all interested in North American acoustic roots music!
Monday was Town Day for us. We strolled around central London (which, it must be mentioned, has a River Thames, a Hyde Park and a Victoria Park, and no doubt a few other namesakes of its older sibling...). Reko found the so far last of his must-have Marvel books, Annu got some new running gear and everyone was surprised when we realized we had been walking for four hours straight.
After days of enjoying our friends' hospitality in their home, we moved our camp to their trailer near the town of Goderich, so it's just us four here at the moment; Donna and Andy will join us tomorrow for the long weekend in Ontario. On the way here we stopped at the stunningly pretty town of St Mary and the bigger but also very picturesque Stratford, home of the annual Shakespeare Festival (as well as Justin Bieber, a fact our boys would rather forget).
Yesterday was another excursion day, this time to the towns of Grand Bend and Bayfield. We had briefly visited both on the previous trip but now we could spend some time in both. Grand Bend is a summertime micro-California, apparently based on beach visitors and related commerce. Fun, sunshine + ice cream were not the only things we got there: one of the boys now has an earring and one of the adults now has a double piercing in one ear... Bayfield, a little way north of Grand Bend, is a different kind of summer town: serene, handicrafts-friendly, thoroughly nice and comes with a great hippie-ish this and that store. Plus there's an extra nice bookstore (The Village Bookstore, what else!) where we found some more literary baggage to take on the airplane. The fine day concluded with a Lake Huron swim (boys) and a very nice home made dinner. It rained heavily during the night (after all the heat it came in necessary) so now we have to figure out if it's mud wrestling or campground swimming today.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Michigan, July 15-22: Surviving Camp Heat
We spent the previous seven days at the Outdoor Adventures campground in Davison, MIchigan, with our dear friends and their kids. It was a week dominated by one word: heat. The over 90 F temperatures made certain that hours were spent in and/or by water, if not inside the well air-conditioned cabin. Swimming, wading, splashing and kayaking were all in the order of the day.
Outside of campground limits, we experienced
- the last Harry Potter movie
- a wonderful Japanese dinner with a real Iron Chef (yep, with all the cutlery-juggling and fireworks)
- Laser Tag, first but certainly not the last time for us!
- a bit of fishing (Atte).
It's always heartbreaking when you have to leave good friends behind, but this we had to do today, with some very heavy goodbyes involved. On the lighter side, we did make a deal with certain guys to meet them a year from now - not in the USA, not in Canada nor Finland... Where then? We'll leave you guessing...
We are now looking forward to another friend's birthday party here in Ontario tomorrow! After that we will have a week and a half left and we are not sure how we're going to spend those days, but without a doubt we will come up with something :)
Outside of campground limits, we experienced
- the last Harry Potter movie
- a wonderful Japanese dinner with a real Iron Chef (yep, with all the cutlery-juggling and fireworks)
- Laser Tag, first but certainly not the last time for us!
- a bit of fishing (Atte).
It's always heartbreaking when you have to leave good friends behind, but this we had to do today, with some very heavy goodbyes involved. On the lighter side, we did make a deal with certain guys to meet them a year from now - not in the USA, not in Canada nor Finland... Where then? We'll leave you guessing...
We are now looking forward to another friend's birthday party here in Ontario tomorrow! After that we will have a week and a half left and we are not sure how we're going to spend those days, but without a doubt we will come up with something :)
Friday, July 15, 2011
Some flies in the soup ;)
As we are now in a transitional phase of our trip and nothing much is happening right now, it's time to note that anything that's human is always by default imperfect. Here is our list of things we'd change in North America:
- That the car is king in America is a fact grounded on certain historical developments and vast distances. But it should not make pedestrians feel like trash or lower level beings, which unfortunately is the case most often. Even as we travel with a car, we like to walk (or run, as in Annu's case) around the new places we arrive at, but the sheer absence of sidewalks and pedestrian crossings in many places (and the ridiculously pedestrian-hating streetlights in many others) keep reminding us that getting by on your legs just ain't the local way. We can't help but feel that the culture has gone somewhat overboard in this particular matter.
- Find a way to include taxes in the prices, please. We have learned to mentally add taxes to price tags but it's never that accurate. And it's just more fair to the consumers if they know how much they actually have to pay at the checkout.
- It's not very safe when drivers change lanes at high speeds just like that, without signaling at all. Admitted, we are getting the same behavior in Europe too, but not in this scale (plus it tends to occur mostly with Audis). Also, when you're going to pass, pass. Too often the passer sorta just stays at the passees side and the traffic behind this pair piles up. Find that gas pedal, there is one!
- Too many commercials on television! Us boys in the family even gave up watching the MLB All-Star game because the broadcast time had more insurances, food and cars than sport. Urgh. Bautista rules, though, let's keep that very clear :)
That's the top list, really, so not much in the end... but this, of course, is the visitor's view. If we lived, worked and went to school here, we might come up with a few more, maybe. Before we would get used to everything and start to think that things are funny in other countries, that is.
- That the car is king in America is a fact grounded on certain historical developments and vast distances. But it should not make pedestrians feel like trash or lower level beings, which unfortunately is the case most often. Even as we travel with a car, we like to walk (or run, as in Annu's case) around the new places we arrive at, but the sheer absence of sidewalks and pedestrian crossings in many places (and the ridiculously pedestrian-hating streetlights in many others) keep reminding us that getting by on your legs just ain't the local way. We can't help but feel that the culture has gone somewhat overboard in this particular matter.
- Find a way to include taxes in the prices, please. We have learned to mentally add taxes to price tags but it's never that accurate. And it's just more fair to the consumers if they know how much they actually have to pay at the checkout.
- It's not very safe when drivers change lanes at high speeds just like that, without signaling at all. Admitted, we are getting the same behavior in Europe too, but not in this scale (plus it tends to occur mostly with Audis). Also, when you're going to pass, pass. Too often the passer sorta just stays at the passees side and the traffic behind this pair piles up. Find that gas pedal, there is one!
- Too many commercials on television! Us boys in the family even gave up watching the MLB All-Star game because the broadcast time had more insurances, food and cars than sport. Urgh. Bautista rules, though, let's keep that very clear :)
That's the top list, really, so not much in the end... but this, of course, is the visitor's view. If we lived, worked and went to school here, we might come up with a few more, maybe. Before we would get used to everything and start to think that things are funny in other countries, that is.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Newport to Central Pennsylvania, July 11-13
Moving camp from Lowell/Salem to Newport, R.I. was the shortest transition of the trip. Only in distance, though, because culturewise we might just as well have been transferred to the French Riviera.
Newport has always been an area with wealth, it seems. Some of the riches have beem shamefully created - it was a slave trade center in its earliest days - but for the past 200 years the town has been a summer playground for those who have the wallet to buy a piece of the heavenly scenery. Us regular folks have dutifully followed to populate the beaches and walkways.
We enjoyed the stunning views on the Cliff Walk, a 5,5 km track that snakes along the steep cliffside on the coastline. The view to one side was nature-made, a vast, awe-inspiring panorama of the Atlantic. To the other side are the famous Newport Mansions, most of them about a hundred years old and testament to the fact that for many rich folks out there, too much just ain't enough. Not that the mansions are not beautiful and impressive, they are, and well worth seeing. Bellevue Avenue is the main street in the mansion area and as the name suggests, there is something very non-American and Mediterranean about it (except for the XL sizes, of course). But just mowing the lawn has to be a full day job so we'd rather pass ;)
Since we were on the move already in the morning, we saw the thick morning fog swirl and give way to cloudless sunshine, a spectacle freely offered. The rest of the day was then well spent in Easton's Beach where the boys finally had their fill of splashing about in the waves for hours on end.
Moving on, we are now on our way to Michigan, over 800 miles to go in all. Stage 1 was completed yesterday in the tiny town of Cobbleskill, NY where the huge but gentle hills are complemented by very nice folks. We did a cavern tour first this morning and set off to the west again. Result: eight hours in the car, with Annu driving across the almost entire Appalachian Mountains! Huge views, very snaking roads and moments of will-this-never-end near-desperation... but here we are now, in Bellefonte, PA for an overnight stay in a nice motel. Tomorrow's theme: let's keep on the Interstate! We have had our share of backroads navigation for a while, thanks so very much.
Newport has always been an area with wealth, it seems. Some of the riches have beem shamefully created - it was a slave trade center in its earliest days - but for the past 200 years the town has been a summer playground for those who have the wallet to buy a piece of the heavenly scenery. Us regular folks have dutifully followed to populate the beaches and walkways.
We enjoyed the stunning views on the Cliff Walk, a 5,5 km track that snakes along the steep cliffside on the coastline. The view to one side was nature-made, a vast, awe-inspiring panorama of the Atlantic. To the other side are the famous Newport Mansions, most of them about a hundred years old and testament to the fact that for many rich folks out there, too much just ain't enough. Not that the mansions are not beautiful and impressive, they are, and well worth seeing. Bellevue Avenue is the main street in the mansion area and as the name suggests, there is something very non-American and Mediterranean about it (except for the XL sizes, of course). But just mowing the lawn has to be a full day job so we'd rather pass ;)
Since we were on the move already in the morning, we saw the thick morning fog swirl and give way to cloudless sunshine, a spectacle freely offered. The rest of the day was then well spent in Easton's Beach where the boys finally had their fill of splashing about in the waves for hours on end.
Moving on, we are now on our way to Michigan, over 800 miles to go in all. Stage 1 was completed yesterday in the tiny town of Cobbleskill, NY where the huge but gentle hills are complemented by very nice folks. We did a cavern tour first this morning and set off to the west again. Result: eight hours in the car, with Annu driving across the almost entire Appalachian Mountains! Huge views, very snaking roads and moments of will-this-never-end near-desperation... but here we are now, in Bellefonte, PA for an overnight stay in a nice motel. Tomorrow's theme: let's keep on the Interstate! We have had our share of backroads navigation for a while, thanks so very much.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Bewitched in Massachussets, July 8-10
Moving down from Maine, the last two days have been in Massachussets. We are staying in Lowell, at the U. of Mass. Conference Center, a very affordable and very nice place that also serves as a hotel. Lowell itself has also given a very good impression of itself - the place has an interesting history in American industrial life and its ups and downs. Also, there's a pink / violet / purple colored house on sale nearby and Annu has kind of set her eyes on that. The only obstacle is the million dollars we don't currently have...
Also worth mentioning is the cool and friendly Mr. Jalopeno restaurant on Merrick. The food was real Mexican, very good, and the margarita pitcher they brought to the table was... huge. Que the helpless giggles and next mornings omg's.
Yesterday was dedicated to Salem and its history of Puritan settlement and, of course, the witch trials of 1692-93. It was a beautiful day, the people were fab and the past was present, but... Us adults felt that modern-day Salem may have gone a bit overboard with the tourist industry thing. Everything came with a price tag, naturally, but on top of that everything was 101% neat, with a slight movie set feel. But hey, let's not be too picky: the town is obviously doing well and the lessons of the past have been heeded. Plus, the boys liked the place a lot :)
Today Annu will only have to drive for about two hours. Newport, Rhode Island is only a 100 miles south from Lowell, so we will be there in no time.
Also worth mentioning is the cool and friendly Mr. Jalopeno restaurant on Merrick. The food was real Mexican, very good, and the margarita pitcher they brought to the table was... huge. Que the helpless giggles and next mornings omg's.
Yesterday was dedicated to Salem and its history of Puritan settlement and, of course, the witch trials of 1692-93. It was a beautiful day, the people were fab and the past was present, but... Us adults felt that modern-day Salem may have gone a bit overboard with the tourist industry thing. Everything came with a price tag, naturally, but on top of that everything was 101% neat, with a slight movie set feel. But hey, let's not be too picky: the town is obviously doing well and the lessons of the past have been heeded. Plus, the boys liked the place a lot :)
Today Annu will only have to drive for about two hours. Newport, Rhode Island is only a 100 miles south from Lowell, so we will be there in no time.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Burlington to Bangor, July 3-7
Burlington to Bangor
After the great time we had in Ottawa, it was with a touch of sadness we left the Canadian capital for the USA. At the border we were given unexpected and very useful Maine travel advice by the nicest border guard you'd ever meet, so our welcome to the US was very warm indeed.
But before Maine we spent some very warm days in the town of Burlington, Vermont. Beautiful place and nice people. Our arrival happened on July 3 so imagine our surprise when the fireworks began some ways away but visible from the hotel room window, nicely accompanied by a lightning storm on the other side of town!
Turned out Burlington had decided to celebrate the 4th on the 3rd because it was a Sunday! Initially disappointed for missing all the parades and hoopla, we were eventually glad to spend the fourth wandering the town in peace and quiet. And Make found a neat and ultra friendly Apple store where he got the iPad this is being written on - here's a good one for the great people at Small Dog Electronics!
Yesterday was Annu's big effort, driving from Burlington to Bangor, Maine where we now are. It took about eight hours in all (these low speed limits in the US are maddening) but she got us all here safely. And the scenery, the huge mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire, were just stunning.
Today has been Hot Times in Bangor Day: heat and more heat that finally broke in thunder and downpour. The town is not the prettiest around but the people are nice, the picnic at the riverfront was fun and WE SAW STEPHEN KING!!!
Make and Annu being King fans, it was a must to try and find the home of the master. With the kind help from a local, we dared the heat and made the pilgrimage. And when taking a few polite pics of his neat house, the man himself drove into the yard in an ordinary little car, got out, walked across the yard in deep thought and went in. We registered him in awed silence and walked away feeling somewhat blessed ;)
Tomorrow it's time for nature in the Acadia National Park, and the next day we'll be moving on to dive into witch hunt history in Salem, Massachussets... Can't wait for that one...
Cheers all!
After the great time we had in Ottawa, it was with a touch of sadness we left the Canadian capital for the USA. At the border we were given unexpected and very useful Maine travel advice by the nicest border guard you'd ever meet, so our welcome to the US was very warm indeed.
But before Maine we spent some very warm days in the town of Burlington, Vermont. Beautiful place and nice people. Our arrival happened on July 3 so imagine our surprise when the fireworks began some ways away but visible from the hotel room window, nicely accompanied by a lightning storm on the other side of town!
Turned out Burlington had decided to celebrate the 4th on the 3rd because it was a Sunday! Initially disappointed for missing all the parades and hoopla, we were eventually glad to spend the fourth wandering the town in peace and quiet. And Make found a neat and ultra friendly Apple store where he got the iPad this is being written on - here's a good one for the great people at Small Dog Electronics!
Yesterday was Annu's big effort, driving from Burlington to Bangor, Maine where we now are. It took about eight hours in all (these low speed limits in the US are maddening) but she got us all here safely. And the scenery, the huge mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire, were just stunning.
Today has been Hot Times in Bangor Day: heat and more heat that finally broke in thunder and downpour. The town is not the prettiest around but the people are nice, the picnic at the riverfront was fun and WE SAW STEPHEN KING!!!
Make and Annu being King fans, it was a must to try and find the home of the master. With the kind help from a local, we dared the heat and made the pilgrimage. And when taking a few polite pics of his neat house, the man himself drove into the yard in an ordinary little car, got out, walked across the yard in deep thought and went in. We registered him in awed silence and walked away feeling somewhat blessed ;)
Tomorrow it's time for nature in the Acadia National Park, and the next day we'll be moving on to dive into witch hunt history in Salem, Massachussets... Can't wait for that one...
Cheers all!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Canada Day at Ottawa
When we booked our trip so that we would be in Ottawa for Canada Day, we had no idea William and Kate would be there on their first trip abroad as a royal married couple.
Make no mistake: Canadians have not severed the ties to the mother empire. If they had, we would not have been nearly smothered by about 300 000 loyalist Canadians who all braved the heat to get a glimpse of the rulers-to-be as they arrived on Parliament Hill with all the necessary pomp and circumstance (and about half of the Canadian Air Force).
Did we see them? Yes, on the giant screen - they passed us maybe only 20 meters away but the wall of humanity between us and HRHs effectively blocked the live view.
It was fun all the same, and as the day ended with a big concert and fireworks, we could not but notice the total absence of drunks and troublemakers in the vast crowd. Ottawa remains an elegant, friendly and warmhearted city that is as nice and cozy as a major capital can be. We will miss it when we leave on Sunday.
Make no mistake: Canadians have not severed the ties to the mother empire. If they had, we would not have been nearly smothered by about 300 000 loyalist Canadians who all braved the heat to get a glimpse of the rulers-to-be as they arrived on Parliament Hill with all the necessary pomp and circumstance (and about half of the Canadian Air Force).
Did we see them? Yes, on the giant screen - they passed us maybe only 20 meters away but the wall of humanity between us and HRHs effectively blocked the live view.
It was fun all the same, and as the day ended with a big concert and fireworks, we could not but notice the total absence of drunks and troublemakers in the vast crowd. Ottawa remains an elegant, friendly and warmhearted city that is as nice and cozy as a major capital can be. We will miss it when we leave on Sunday.
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