we're not in texas anymore

Over the past week or so that we’ve been living here, we’ve noticed several things that make it very clear we are not living in Texas anymore.

1. No stop signs

From the very first day, as we were walking around the town, we noticed that there were not any hexagonal red signs with the word “Stop” in Finnish. There actually weren’t any signs that looked like they could be stop signs. Every time we came to an intersection the cars would just kind of slow down and one would go, then the other. So I asked a native Finn. She said that there was a sort of implied yield at every intersection that did not have a stop light. You were supposed to slow down and look to see if anyone else was coming, if not you could just go ahead. I have yet to see an accident.

2. Bikes EVERYWHERE

It is really something out of this world. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many bikes in one place. I’m pretty sure there are more of them than cars. On our long walks into town, there are bikes speeding past us the entire time. And everyone rides them. Young, old, and in between. EXCITING NEWS: We got a bike!! Well I got a bike. There was only one available and it was on the smaller side, so it fit me better. It looks pretty rough, but it rides great. You would not believe how much faster we can get places now! Since we only have one now Scott rode it home and I sat on the back. It was a sight to see I’m sure. If only there were pictures…

3. Blondes

blondes not pictured due to my lack of paparazzi skills

When we were waiting in the airport terminal for our flight on FinnAir, they were everywhere. I have never seen so many natural blondes in one place before. It was crazy. Since we’ve been in Joensuu though we’ve realized that we may have gotten a skewed picture of Finland in the airport. There are definitely a lot more natural blondes than in Texas, but it’s not the entire population. I can stop putting lemon juice in my hair now. Joking.

4. No friendly smiles

It is a completely natural reaction for me to smile at people when they walk past me or when I make eye contact with them. I may even go so far as to say hello, even though I have never seen them before in my life. Not here. I haven’t been able to bring myself to stop trying yet, but I am not getting the reactions that I want. Everyone is extremely nice and helpful, they are just reserved and do not go out of their way to say hello or give you a friendly smile. But I almost feel rude if I just continue looking straight ahead and don’t even acknowledge their presence. I will persevere.

5. Shower/bathroom area

We got the first taste of this in our hotel room when we arrived in Helsinki. I hoped and prayed and crossed my fingers that the bathroom in our apartment would be different. But when we got to our next hotel in Joensuu and the bathroom was the same, I lost hope. So let me explain, there is nothing separating the shower from the rest of the bathroom. Meaning, when you take a shower the water is not confined to the shower area, it has the freedom to go all over the bathroom if it so pleases. I (and I really mean Scott would be doing it) had plans of building some sort of barricade on the floor to let the water know where it’s supposed to stay, but luckily the one in our bathroom really hasn’t bothered me so much. The water seems to be tamer or the layout of our bathroom is better, but it’s working for us so far.

Although we realize there’s no place like Texas, we’re learning to love our new home here.