異國邊境 - 芬蘭森林
I was in Helsinki for 2-week-vacation staying with a friend of mine, Hitomi, a japanese classmate at the university Langues O' in Paris in 2004-2005. The first day in Helsinki, there's a middle-aged woman approaching us and asking : " May I know the reason why you two ( two asian girls) speak to each other in french ?" Apparently, she's not the only personne having this kind of curiosity during my stay in Helsinki. That's true that people get confused seeing two asian people speaking neither chinese nor japanese, but french. Well...the appearance can cheat!
I had a good time in Helksinki. First of all, I have to thank to Hitomi who's a real Finnish since she's been there for more then 10 years. Also, I had the occasion to meet her friends. Like Hitomi, they are japanese women linving in Helsinki for several years. I adimire their courage living in this foreign country, differenet from their country, Japan. However, Hitomi thinks that the culture cap between Japan and France is biger then the cap between Japan and Finland. In other words, concerning of life philosophy, the Finnish are as disciplined as the Japanese.
During my stay in Helsinki, Hitomi and I took a one-day-trip to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Unlike Helsinki, well-knowed for his modern design, Tallinn is more like a medieval city with ancien architecture. However, there's an information for the Taiwanese: For traveling in Estonia, it's necessary to get the visa even if we have the residence permit in the coutry like the member of European Union. ( It's not the case, however, for the citizen of HongKong or Macao). Talking about the procedures to get the visa, Estonia remains still lilke former soviet union regarding administration routines, even if it's nowadays one of the member of the European Union since 2005. Despite of that, Estonia is a rich baltic country thanks for the tourism along with the entrance to the European Union, which is a good news for local people, but the bad news for the touist is the price here is as high as in Helsinki, but not for the alcohol. That's also why Tallinn, for the Finnish, is a "holy site" for the "alcoholic pilgrimage". Take the ferry linking Helsinki and Tallinn, it's worth a try seeing this "phenomenon"...
I was lucky enough to have a good and warm weather in Helsinki. But, Hitomi told me that the summer in Finland is finished since I have left there in the middle of July. I'm so sorry for that, Hitomi. I hope you did enjoy your sun-baths at the beach this summer. I'll try a winter in Helsinki next time, I'm sure the sauna in winter will be another experience :)