The Sun is Shining and I Break out in a Smile!

24th April 2008! With just over a week left in Finland I feel like the last 3 months have zoomed by as fast as a sneeze. Looking back over my photos of when I was in Helsinki at the star of my trip it seems like eons ago! And yet I'll be going back via Helsinki again next week but this time with a completely different outlook. I won't really be a tourist anymore, I won't be wandering around in utter amazement and disbelief...I'll be walking around like a resident almost! I certainly feel more relaxed and confident about 'knowing' Finland now! It's such a shame I couldn't make the most of being a true resident :(

Last week I also discovered the 'Kaupahalli' (indoor market)...amazing! Ok, so it sells mainly meat and bread, but there are other stalls, coffee shops and so forth and it just has just a great buzz thats's so comforting! I particularly enjoyed getting a sandwich and then sitting outside in the courtyard soaking up the sun with a great friend. It's at times like this when words are not necessary and all you have to do is look at the blue skies and smile! Actually, I know we're nearing summer now because the sun rises at like 5.30 and sets at about 10pm! As soon as I open my eyes and see clear blue skies straight away I'm set for a good day - I'm as simple as that!

Sitting with my girlefriends last night having a good chat, we've all realised how benefitial this trip has been to us all! I've discovered a more confident, adventurous side to myself; one flat mate said she's realised what direction she wants to take her life in (and I think she'll do it very successfully too!), and the other said how much she's grown as an adult, how you can't alter some things but the things you can do something about we do it with great passion! Why not?!

Our film is now coming to an end after so long...we are in the final stages of the Sound Edit, and will be finished by tomorrow! As much trouble as we have had during this project, I am still very fond of it and hold it close to my heart; we have all put so much effort into it, and I do think it's going to sound great (Ok, so I'm slightly biased as I'm co-Sound Editor!). I feel this has been with me for as long as I can remember, it has literally taken up almost every waking hour of the last 3 months and I feel like I'm going to be handing over an arm or a kidney at the premier on saturday! I just hope it's as appreciated as you would be if I were handing over my kidney!

Strangely this is a short one from me today...yes I do have work to do, but I think I want to avoid the topic of 'leaving' because as of next week I will be preparing to leave my home here in Tampere to start the next chapter in my life! More of that to come!...

Last Month to Look up to...

So for all those lucky people back in the UK who have had a lovely long Easter break, I hope you've had a good one! Perhaps caught up with work, sleep, fun and so on! I only the other hand, have had no Easter break! For us lucky Salfordians here in Finland, we got a long weekend! Not to worry because even if we did have longer we'd still be working our little selves to death! (More about that...!) Easter weekend we decided to go out for a boogie and yes, it was that day (morning/night/early hours whatever!) that the clocks went forward! So we lost an hour! This then resulted in massive queues for the bus which meant we had to wait for an hour and a half in the cold for the next bus (we were actually in the Taxi queue but that was just as long!). Not to worry, I think there was something about the clocks going forward which instantly brought us into spring! The coming week resulted in lots and lots of gorgeous sunshine, a dramatic raise in temperature (+5!) - enough to only wear a shirt - and a complete change in people! I was walking around the town centre and there seemed to be a million more people walking about, actually smiling, looking cheery and chairs out on terraces at cafes! Just seeing this plastered a mahoosive smile on my own face (nothing makes me smile more than blue skies, sunshine and other people smiling!). It gets dark pretty late now too, like at 8.30pm which is always a bonus, that warm afternoon glow in the sky pouring into my room, beautiful!

Although I did say we've been majorly busy this past week, I meant more the editors of our film! There were a few problems at the beginning, naturally, but all seemed to have worked out and the editing team are putting every waking hour into getting the film finished. I have seen one of the editors walking around almost like a zombie she's been staring at the screen so long till the early hours of the morning! Thats dedication for you! This coming week is my turn for Sound edit...we originally thought there were going to be millions of problems and we'd have to work solidly for 2 weeks to finish it (which I was more than prepared to do, you have to!) but luckily the Sound wasn't as problematic as we thought. So perhaps only a few sleepless nights for me! I'm sure there'll be more on this to come!

Along with editing, we met the composer for our film! He is another student where we are at TTVO and he's a really cool guy! His band play rock music, but includes a banjo and fiddle! A rather bizarre combination but we'd heard lots of great things so we were willing to give him some creative freedom! He also invited us to a gig of his which even if he wasn't going to be our composer we would have gone to! I'm soooo glad we went because it was fab! The band are called Jaakko and Jay (the composer and the drummer's names) and they were awesome! So much energy and great music! It was a fantastic night and that's one more thing we can tick off our list of 'Things to do in Tampere'!

So, as my last month here is rather quickly disappearing (much to my disappointment) and the work loads seems to be tripling, I'm determined to make my outlook three times as optimistic! Yes, my time as a student is coming to an end, only to be highlighted by my return to England; the work load could possibly bring on an early menopause; I'll be waving goodbye to some dearly beloved friends and I'll be separated from my flatmates (whom I have begun to think of as sisters), I have to think positive! Ending life as student surely means that I am progressing into adulthood, responisibilites and the Real World (all of which give me a slight thrill if I'm completely honest!); surely the work counts for something and just shows what I've learnt in the last 3 years; there's no such thing as Goodbye, you can make anything possible if you try; and at the end of the day, my flamates aren't moving too far away, at most an hours drive! There is also a possibility of getting together over the summer and making another film! Surely that's something to get excited about! During my trip here I've mentioned a few times that I think I'm due a good cry, because I'm sure I should have had one by now (about anything: moving away, homesickness, etc etc)! But come to think of it, the only reason I would shed a tear right now is because I'm so unbelievably happy and proud of where I am, what I have achieved, who I've met and what the future holds! At New Years I told myself that this was going to be My Year, and even if the year were to end now, I'd say it has been! Who knows what's in store for the rest of the year but whatever it is, I say Bring it on! :D