Women wandering around the world 11: In Finland, in Northern Europe, the new, the beautiful, the cold, the steaming, and the lingering ghosts

After school in this period, the signal tower is jointly operated by Zongzi, who is wandering in Finland, and Mobu Gu, who is recuperating in the Netherlands after returning from Africa. Zongzi and I had an opportunity 15 years ago when we entered the same high school, but it was only in the past few years that we really got to know each other. On the eve of my coming to the Netherlands, I traveled from my hometown to Xinjiang via Beijing. I experienced "sofa living" for the first time at Zongzi's residence in Beijing at that time. The experience was quite good, and it made me more likely to travel around the world in the future. kind of imagination.

Zongzi is also one of the few people I know as a liberal arts student who understands Internet technology. Therefore, when I planned to build the Wanderer platform, I immediately invited Zongzi to be the product manager. After one or two months of communication and cooperation, Zongzi made me realize that women are extremely suitable to be product managers. Clear logic, conscientious and responsible, emotionally stable, very self-driven, able to control the overall situation with precise rhythm, good at communication, and able to explain complex issues clearly and simply (a shot: Men generally like to make things mysterious to show their inscrutability) stupidity). Once after a meeting with Zongzi, I told Bawanghua that Zongzi made me believe that the Wanderer platform is really possible. Women make people believe more in the world and the future, especially outstanding women.

This article originated from Zongzi calling me one day. After listening to it, I thought it was a good story. If you don’t tell it, it will become a thorn in your heart. If you tell it, write it and spread it, it will become a reverse bayonet, stabbing those people. In the lingering malice pouring out of mainland China . So started marketing her to write an article about visiting Finland. She writes very well. The first part is about the basic necessities of life in Finland, which is very pleasant to read, and the last part is that story. After reading the above, you will feel that Finland has better welfare for students than the Netherlands, which makes people yearn for it. I hope that one day I will have the opportunity to go to Zongzi’s residence in Finland to sit on a couch and go to the sauna!

To women who want to travel to Finland:

Hello, I am Zongzi, currently studying abroad in Finland.

I studied and worked in Beijing for almost 12 years before. I resigned and left Beijing in February this year, and then returned to my hometown for a five-month rest. However, my living environment and mental state did not change much during this period, because I Still staying in my comfort zone, there are no language barriers, no dietary differences, and no problems of being alone in a completely unfamiliar environment. It wasn't until I landed in Finland more than a month ago, carrying a large schoolbag and pushing three suitcases at the airport, that I really began to have the intuitive feeling and experience of a person bravely venturing into an unknown world.

Since I need to go to the real estate agency to pick up the keys from the airport before heading to my apartment, I plan to take a taxi directly so that I don’t have to walk with so much luggage. Just when I was comforting myself that although taking a taxi was expensive, it was at least convenient, but I realized that I had no idea how to take a taxi in Finland. So I sat at the airport and started searching for how to take a taxi in Finland, and found two options: 1. Use a taxi app; 2. Stand on the roadside and hail a taxi. I thought this was similar to domestic taxi hailing, so I first installed the taxi hailing software recommended by the airport. However, I quickly got stuck at the registration step because my domestic mobile phone number could not receive the verification code from the Finnish taxi hailing software, and I could not verify my mobile phone number. I can’t register. If I can’t register, I can’t take a taxi. Not giving up, I tried two other Finnish taxi-hailing apps, but both encountered the same registration problem. Option 1 was fruitless, so I could only summon up the courage to push my luggage to the roadside outside the airport, ready to stop a car, but the airport was completely empty. There was not a single taxi on the road, but there were some taxis in the parking lot far away. The car was parked there, but there was no intention of coming over. I thought it might be because the airport is relatively small and there are few Finns (I met no more than 10 people at the airport that day). Maybe a taxi would come over after a while. Then, I stood alone on the side of the road, waiting and thinking about how to organize a conversation to explain the route to the driver, but after waiting for more than ten minutes, no taxi came. I started to doubt whether I could hail a taxi, but I was the only one standing on the roadside outside, so I couldn't observe or ask anyone else. Just when I was looking around because I was at a loss, a family of three walked over not far away. When I got closer, one of the men took the initiative to say to me that I couldn’t wait for a taxi here, so I needed to make a reservation first. Come over, and then I told him that I couldn’t use the taxi app because I couldn’t receive the verification code on my phone. He said that you can ask the airport staff to call a taxi for you at the service desk. This plan surprised me very much. It actually can be done in this way, which broke through my cognition. After expressing my gratitude, I quickly pushed my luggage back to the airport and found the service desk. There was no one at the service desk, but there was a phone. Next to the phone it said that someone would come over if you call me. I picked up the phone and someone came after a while. A staff member, I told him my problem and taxi needs, he asked me to write down my name, and then called a taxi for me, so I finally got in the taxi, got the keys and arrived at my residence smoothly.

The experience of taking a taxi at the airport made me deeply understand the problems and surprises of leaving my comfort zone. The problem is that the operations or solutions that are taken for granted in the comfort zone may be completely unfamiliar in the new environment, and the surprise comes precisely from this, that is, in the end, a new method can always be found to solve the problem. So don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone and wander around! There will always be problems, but surprises will also follow!

I have been living in Finland for almost two months. So far, except for the high prices and the difficulty of learning Finnish, everything else here has met my needs and imagination. Next, I would like to share my experience from the six aspects of clothing, food, housing, transportation, study, and entertainment.

Clothes

The popularity and cost-effectiveness of second-hand goods in Finland shocked me. It completely opened the door to a new world. Not only are there a variety of second-hand goods physical stores, but there are also convenient second-hand trading platform apps, such as Tori (very similar to the Salted Fish APP). Like, but almost all second-hand transactions are real people, not as many merchants as Xianyu). There is a comprehensive second-hand store and a second-hand bicycle store in the neighborhood where I live. Many of my items are bought from here, including furniture (this will be discussed later in the living module). It was summer in August when I first came to Finland. I brought some summer clothes from China, but I couldn’t wear them at all before August was over. I also brought some winter clothes, but it often rains in Finland after autumn, and the windbreaker I brought couldn't withstand the coldness of autumn here, so I went to a second-hand store and bought two more coats and a pair of pants. Among them, a thick jacket with a waterproof surface costs 25 euros, and the original price of a new product is more than 120 euros; another thin cotton-padded jacket costs 5 euros; pants are also made of waterproof fabric, costing 7.5 euros, new The original price of the product must be more than 50 euros. Although they are second-hand clothes, they are of very good quality with very few traces of use, and the second-hand store also helps to clean them up. Once you buy them home and wash them, they will look like new clothes. However, I have also encountered some students who cannot accept second-hand clothes at all, and that is such a shame!

Food

It’s really expensive to eat out in Finland. A regular McDonald’s hamburger + French fries + Coke set meal costs more than 10 euros, so I basically eat lunch in the school cafeteria on weekdays (Monday to Friday), and cook other meals at home. . Because the Finnish government provides lunch subsidies to students, you can enjoy a lunch buffet for 2.95 euros on weekdays by showing your student card in the school cafeteria. The buffet will have 3 main dishes to choose from (multiple choices require additional money), followed by salad and staple food. There is basically no limit to food and bread, and there is also a buffet of drinks such as milk and juice. Various condiments are also provided for free. There are even melon seeds, peanuts, raisins and the like in the condiment area. The school lunches are really cost-effective. Although they are not as delicious as Chinese food, I think they are quite delicious so far (maybe because I am not picky about food). I eat a lot at every lunch buffet, and even if there are no classes that day, I Will go to the school cafeteria for lunch. I am more casual when cooking at home. It all depends on my mood and ingredients. Oatmeal soaked in milk can be used as one meal, and fried salmon can also be used as one meal. In a month, my total food and beverage expenses are about 220 euros. By the way, the cold tap water in Finland can be drunk directly, and it tastes like sweet mineral water. The milk here is also very delicious. I hate the fishy smell of milk at home, but I completely fell in love with milk when I came to Finland. , the price is also very cheap, only about 1 euro for 1 liter. After coming here, I also learned how to bake bread. After scalding the yeast to death the first time and not taking enough time to ferment the second time, I finally made soft and sweet pulla the third time! (pulla is a native Finnish bread)

live

The Finnish government not only provides lunch subsidies but also rental subsidies for students. I rented an independent apartment. The rent was 350 euros/month. Water, internet, and heating were all included. There was also 24-hour free hot water supply. This building The apartment also has a free laundry room, sauna, gym, entertainment room, storage room, tool room, and parking space. I pay the electricity bill by myself on paper. According to my electricity consumption, the current electricity bill is about 20 euros per month. The configuration of the room is indeed different from that of domestic rentals. There is no furniture, curtains and bedroom ceiling lights, but it is equipped with a wardrobe combination with large storage space. The kitchen also has complete cabinets, dish racks, worktops and stoves. There's even a refrigerator and oven. I love this kitchen. In a second-hand store less than 200 meters away from my residence (this store offers a 15% discount to students), I bought a 1.6m*2m solid wood bed for 20 euros (I moved it back home in 4 times to save 10 euros on shipping costs. Looking back now, I find it incredible. I don’t know how I did it. I can only say that I have unlimited potential), two pairs of curtains for 12 euros, and a chair for 8.5 euros. Then, on the second-hand trading platform Tori, I bought a second-hand mattress from IKEA for 80 euros (the seller later sold me 2 matching sheets for 10 euros), a bedroom ceiling light for 5 euros, a table lamp for 7 euros, and free Dining table and bedside table (people often give away various items for free on Tori, and I also helped a friend find a free large table on this platform). Finally, I bought a 15-euro memory foam pillow at half price in the supermarket. It was really comfortable. Because sleeping is the most important thing in my life, sleeping facilities are also the most important thing for me to invest in. In addition, I fell in love with saunas after coming to Finland. Now I go there once a week and I sleep more soundly afterward!

OK

In Finland, walking and cycling are extremely happy and safe modes of transportation. I have even seen four or five-year-old children walking or cycling alone, because there are not only sidewalks and bicycle lanes separated from the motor vehicle lanes, but also motor vehicles. EMUs are completely courteous to pedestrians. They will observe in advance when passing an intersection. If they find a pedestrian 5 meters away from the intersection, they will stop first and wait for the pedestrians to pass before driving over. The cars here will not whistle to urge you. This has never been heard in Finland. Car horns. The apartment I rented is about 3 kilometers away from the school. In the first few days, I walked to the school. I was very excited and happy because part of the way was through the forest and I could experience nature up close. It was like hiking, but it was only a one-way trip. It takes more than half an hour, so I spent a huge sum of 100 euros to buy a second-hand bicycle. I can ride to school in about 10 minutes every day, and it only takes about 20 minutes to ride to the city center. Now I ride for half an hour. You can almost go to most of the places I want to visit in this city. In winter, if the snow is too slippery, I may still need to go to the office to pay the card. The bus fare is quite expensive, about 2 euros one way. The monthly student bus card is 40 euros/month. This is why I bought a bicycle. , two and a half months of bus fare can save you a bicycle. I have been riding it for almost two months now, and I will get my money back by riding it for another half month. It is not a loss!

study

I am studying a master's program in information processing in Finland. It is a two-year program with two semesters each year. Each semester is divided into two periods. I quite like this kind of time division, unlike in China where there are six or seven courses in the first semester. They started at the same time, and the final exams were at the same time. I currently only have 3 courses in this period, so now there are only 3 classes per week, each class is 90 minutes, and one class is an online Q&A class, which can be participated voluntarily. Although there are not many courses, there are a lot of materials that require self-study. Various papers, data, and even books need to be read. After reading, you can do homework and write a study diary (a form of homework). When I opened the extended reading material for the first time and found that it was an English book with more than 300 pages, I was stunned. Then I came back to my senses and comforted myself silently: It's okay, I can do it. I can read page by page. It doesn't matter if you finish reading it... However, the study time arrangement here is indeed very free. Most of the time is completely at your own disposal. No one will force you to study, and no one will urge you to hand in homework. Consciously, this is the form and environment I like, and I can develop and exercise my time management ability to a greater extent.

entertainment

Before coming to Finland, I prefer to be quiet and alone. Especially after three years of domestic epidemic prevention and control, I have developed the habit of basically entertaining myself at home during my leisure time, such as reading books, watching movies and TV shows, and listening to podcasts. Listening to music, exercising, cooking, etc., these have not changed much since coming to Finland. For the time being, I have not opened up too many social activities, but I will go outside to enjoy nature more. Finland has a forest coverage rate of more than 70%. I didn’t believe it before I came, but I nodded wildly after I came. Moreover, it is a country of thousands of lakes. I often see natural beauty that can only be seen in paintings. My friends and I went cycling around the lake. We walked through the forest along the lake, bathing in the natural colors. At the same time, we felt the breeze blowing by our ears and breathed in the air with high oxygen concentration. I even felt like I was drunk on oxygen. . There is a park 2 minutes' walk from my house, and I often go there for a walk after dinner. After a 10-minute walk, you can also walk to a small bay pier that is under construction, which is also a good place to watch the sunset. I also often go to the nearby beach, which is only about 10 minutes’ ride away from my home. Inland people have finally realized their dream of living by the sea! Walking along the beach, blowing in the sea breeze, sitting on the beach watching the birds flying and waiting for the sunset, how pleasant it is!

The above is what I have shared about my life in Finland in less than two months. I am really glad that I can come to this place where I can slow down, study, and enjoy nature. If you want to talk about whether you have encountered any bad things, there is really one bad thing, and it is the only bad thing so far, but it is caused by the Chinese man and has nothing to do with Finland.

During the whole process of preparing to study abroad and coming to Finland, I did not join any study abroad groups or overseas Chinese groups. Because I had listened to the advice of some friends studying abroad, and I did not like socializing with strangers, so I was alone. Search for information to understand processes and solve problems. The only time I sent a private message to a netizen on Xiaohongshu was when I wanted to know if there was a router in an apartment in Finland. I really couldn’t find the answer, so I found someone on Xiaohongshu who went to the same university as me and had already arrived in Finland. I asked her privately and got the exact answer. After arriving in Finland, I found out that we were classmates in Finnish language class, and she became the first friend I made in Finland. In the two weeks since I came to Finland, I did not join any Chinese groups with strangers, only the classmates I met in Finnish class until I went to register for the population. After entering Finland, you need to carry out population registration. After the registration is completed, you can apply for Finnish ID cards and social security cards. There were so many things going on in the first two weeks after arriving that I didn’t have time to register. Two weeks after arriving, I went to the Finnish Population Registration Office, where I met 3 Chinese people who had just arrived in Finland, 2 women and 1 man. We chatted for a while while waiting, and then someone suggested adding WeChat to facilitate information sharing, so I added the WeChat accounts of two women, A and B. Among them, woman A was so enthusiastic that she invited me to join a local group of Chinese students studying abroad, and B also said that she was I came to Finland smoothly thanks to the news in this group. I was too embarrassed to refuse, so I joined this group of 200 Chinese students studying abroad, and this was the beginning of the whole mess.

There are a lot of useless chat messages in this group every day, especially a Chinese man whose nickname is IT-Keji. He always talks in the group about what he went to do and what he bought in the supermarket. , what did you eat and so on. Then, a woman C who had returned to Finland during the summer vacation showed up. She said she lived in a shared house, but when she came back this time she found that some items in the common area were missing, such as pots and pans. Then this Chinese man named IT-Keji quickly appeared as a "detective" and began to ask her which country her roommates were from. He began to use nationality to analyze who might be a thief, and when talking about certain countries, he said that he was extremely discriminatory. It was similar to the idea that a certain country is poor and therefore loves to steal. The first time I saw it, I felt extremely uncomfortable, but I still endured it. I thought that someone had just invited me to join the group, so it was not good to have an attack so quickly. As a result, the next morning after attending the international student orientation ceremony, I just woke up and sat on the bed to check the messages on my phone. I found that this IT-Corky had just finished making misogynistic remarks about the Virgin and the Virgin bitch in the group, and then started again. The most frightening thing about discriminating against international students from certain countries is that there are still some people who are responding to him. I really couldn't bear it, especially at the orientation ceremony the day before, the teacher used a page of PPT to tell everyone: Discrimination is a crime . In the end, resisting misogyny and rejecting discrimination gave me double courage.

I sat on the bed and immediately posted this message in the group: "First of all, Holy Mother and Holy Mother Bitch are words full of misogyny. Secondly, nationality should not be used to judge a person's behavior and personality, otherwise it is discrimination. Just yesterday I saw a sentence at the orientation ceremony: Discrimination is a crime. I just use this sentence to remind and warn myself. After posting this message, I will quit this group because I did not study abroad to be in a group with the Chinese. Discriminating against others.”

After clicking send, I exited the group chat, and even forgot to confirm whether the message was sent successfully, because before going to bed every night, I would unplug the conversion plug connected to the router (there is an indicator light on the plug that is too bright, which affects my sleep), and sit on the bed. At that time, I was still using mobile phone data with an internet speed of only 100k/s. However, the response to exiting the group chat was very fast. The group chat immediately disappeared from my chat history. I regretted that I should have confirmed that the message was sent before leaving the group. But after sending the message, it was like unbundling myself. I felt like I was no longer depressed and entangled, and even my breathing became much easier after quitting the group. That day, I asked a friend who was also in the group if she had seen the messages I sent. She said she didn’t read the messages in this group very much, and because she didn’t pay much attention to the messages early in the morning, I didn’t ask any more, thinking to myself. This message most likely was not sent out. This incident slowly faded from my life and memory. Until one day more than a week later, I accidentally met female B on the way to the library at school. We greeted each other, and she asked me how I was doing recently. I said it was fine. I thought it was just a simple greeting, but she Her face started to change. She said she saw the message I sent in the group. She had dinner with her senior sister (who happened to be the woman C who lost the item) two days ago. C asked B if she knew me, and B said she did. , C asked B to remind me to be careful, because IT-Corgi and some men broke their guard after seeing my message, and even threatened to search for me on Twitter. That’s why B asked me if I was okay recently, and was worried that I had been disturbed. I said not at all, it’s fine. This kind of Chinese man is the most cowardly, stupid, bad and cowardly. B said it’s okay if I’m not. They all think that I That message is very good. This is what these Chinese men are like, and they will still be like this when they go abroad. Up to this point, I feel okay, especially after confirming that the message was successfully sent, I am quite happy. Result B went on to say that they could not leave the group because they still needed to obtain some information from the group. The moment I heard it, I was completely stunned. My brain was working rapidly, thinking about what information I had to get from this toxic group. I couldn't find the answer, and I didn't know how to react, so I just said I would go to the library if I had something else to do. Left hastily .

After that, I studied in the library for a few hours, during which the conversation I just had with B kept replaying in my head. Although the trash man threatened to human-search me, I was a little scared, but that was it, because the national man’s I still understand the basics, but what makes me most uncomfortable is B saying that they have to stay in this toxic group because they need to get information from this group. It makes me think over and over why Chinese women have such high tolerance. , even thinking of those female victims who are always inseparable from domestic violence men. After returning to the apartment, I called Mo Bugu to talk about the matter, which relieved some of my discomfort and made me more convinced that I should try my best to stay away from these Chinese men abroad, because they will not be affected by going abroad. What qualitative changes have there been? I would like to call on women to believe more in themselves and rely on themselves. We can learn to search for information and solve problems by ourselves. We don’t have to rely on a certain group or men, and we don’t have to endure garbage for this. Only when we are truly independent can we make our most sincere choices and pursue greater freedom.

Finally, I want to use the aurora I saw recently at the beach to restore my mood affected by garbage, and share it with you! All in all, I had a great time wandering around Finland, and I hope you can embark on your wandering journey soon! Welcome to Finland!

Mo Bugu wrote at the back : A very strong feeling wandering around the world right now is that domestic men are the most blatantly racially discriminatory group among all the groups of people in sight, and no one can match them. Insulting titles such as "Ah San", "Bangzi" and "Hei Ge" are everywhere on Chinese social media, and these men who have gone abroad have no restraint. Sometimes I think that the fundamental reason why they are so sensitive to "insulting China" is because they insult all other races every day, so they also feel that any actions of others are also insulting to themselves .

I can say that in the past two years in Europe, almost none of the domestic straight men I met (and I actively avoided meeting them) did not use racial and gender discrimination in their speech. I was having dinner with another group of friends during a trip before. There were two straight Chinese men sitting next to me. I heard one of them say during their chat: "I had a roommate who was Indian before" and the other said "Ah San" They should all smell pretty good (meaning they smell bad)." There were more than a dozen people at the table at that time. I really couldn't suppress my anger for a while and asked them: "What kind of racial discrimination are you two doing here?" One of them saw that I was angry and muttered weakly: "Indians Isn’t it true that you smell bad?” What I wanted to reply at the time was: "Isn't it true that Chinese men are short and fast?" But considering that this man's girlfriend was also nearby and everyone was still eating, I didn't want everyone to have some disgusting scenes in front of them that would affect their appetite. I didn't say this out loud.

The other of these two men met two German girls next to us at another meal. I chatted with them. They introduced themselves and said they worked at VW in Germany. The man immediately lowered his voice and said to me mysteriously. , VW is a media that insults China. I was very speechless and told him that VW is Volkswagen, a German company that produces cars. The media you are talking about is called DW, and I think reporting the facts is not an insult to China. It is true insult to China that the various media cover up the facts, insulting every Chinese and treating people as fools.

When Bawanghua and I came back from Africa, we also met such a Chinese man. The local African staff we met throughout the journey were really warm and friendly. As a result, when we were queuing up at check-in, the Chinese man next to Bawanghua said: "Look at how she (airport staff) flatters white people. "This is Guonan's diode world: there are only people who flatter him and people who insult him, and there is no one who treats him and others equally.

I had two female friends come to Rotterdam to hang out with me. One of them wanted to come to Rotterdam first to attend another party that was all Chinese. She asked me and another friend if we wanted to go together. I asked if it was hosted by men. She She said yes, and I said I wouldn't go. She asked what she was asking, and I said, "Stay away from Chinese men and live 10 more years." Another woman agreed.

So this may be a motto for female friends wandering around the world: Stay away from Chinese men and live 10 more years.

I also often secretly make a wish, hoping that all domestic straight men who are racially discriminatory, sexist, geographically discriminatory, classist, and power-loving will stay in mainland China, which is most suitable for them, and not come out to cause harm to the world. Fortunately, these men will eventually go back, because they find that only in places dominated by patriarchy, patriarchy and authoritarianism can they continue to have vested interests.

May all the women we encounter on our journey around the world be brave and free! And always have the courage to fight back against any discriminatory behavior! Turn your heart into a bayonet!

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Extended information:

Share with you the daily life of study, work and life, and explore possibilities beyond daily life together. After we graduate from the nominal school, we enter a more complex daily life. In the face of life, we are all life-long learners: learning how to deal with life, how to settle down and become ourselves. "After School" hopes to be a place like this: it conveys the comfort of sharing, the power to move forward together, and the self-urge to "create" through words, sounds and images, through articles, podcasts and videos of traveling around the world. go out. Walk hand in hand with possibility!

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