Life in Birmingham

I got a bit rough start when I moved to Birmingham. I came here excited and ready to settle down. At least to tick the box in my bucket list " live somewhere for more than a year". I ended up without money, bank account - scammed and scared.  There was all the odds that I could have grown to dislike Birmingham as it didn't welcome me in the best way. Luckily I have such a strong safety network: friends and family who helped me in need. Even my new colleagues and my landlady offered to help me. I was welcomed by the people in here which helped me to look past the incidents in the beginning.


Symphony hall

After a couple of months without money (I have done that during my studies, it is kinda good exercise for everyone. One really finds out where all that money goes :D) I finally got my bank account and even my scammed credit card was refunded, and life started to look quite nice. I have my flat which I share with one flatmate who is also my landlady. It is actually a house, semidetached like a proper British house. We have a small garden with a compost (and a garden next summer!), two floors (all carpeted of course) and our own rooms as well as nice common areas which she has decorated. My roommate is surprisingly similar to me and we get along well. Social when we feel like it and free to be antisocial when we don't.

My home street // kotikatu

The house is freaking cold. All the stereotypes of English houses are true. And I finally understood why the young Britons can manage to walk outside with short skirts and t-shirts even in winter. It is because it is as cold inside as it is outside! Not kidding. They have gotten used to it. And surprisingly, I think I have now as well. I was absolutely freezing the first months but now I am under two blankets, with long sleeves and woollen socks and I am perfectly fine :P

By the canals // Birminghamin kanaaleilla

In addition to having a nice place to live I have been very lucky with my job. I am really enjoying it and to be honest, for the first time I feel like I am actually building a career in something that is not only useful for me in the future but exactly what I want to do. I still have my dream about MY hotel but juggling the numbers is something every manager needs to do and this future manager really enjoys doing. Who would have guessed! :D I am responsible of the daily revenue management of 4 soon to be 5 hotels and even though I wake up sometimes thinking about work I go there happily - even on Mondays.

View from our office // näkymä toimiston ikkunasta

One of the main things why I like to go to work is of course the people. We have a very multicultural team of people more less the same age as me. It is great to work with people who are ambitious and even though we kind of compete in our performance everyone is nice and helpful. To be honest in England they kind of over-do the politeness which is often a complete scam. Some pretend to be nice which is enough if you just need help and don't care what they say about you afterwards. If you can look past this gossiping, people are nice over all. And of course not everyone is like that. I have found awesome people with whom I like to spend time also during free time. I have had good parties, great dinners (so far at least Persian, italian, thai, indian, romanian etc one great advantage of multicultural city), funny games, disgusting shots, good talks and maaaaaaaaany after works in pubs. We even have a "local" next to our working place which is something very British and I love it :D

I have really enjoyed the life so far in Birmingham. I loved my masters but now when they are over I  cherish the evenings when I don't have to study unless I feel like reading something. I thoroughly enjoy Saturday mornings when I can go to gym, eat a big breakfast and decide if I feel like going somewhere (like museum, café or something like that as there are plenty of options), meet friends or if I just want to watch Netflix and do laundry :D Even though Birmingham is not definitely the prettiest city in the world or England it is lively, colourful, multicultural and has many things to do. Yep, I  am excited about this new year. I feel like I will enjoy living here as young professional :)

I am not a racist but…// En ole rasisti, mutta...

(suomeksi alla)

"I am not a racist, but..." This is a phrase that annoys some tolerant people even more than direct prejudices. In my opinion instead of silent or less silent disapproval the conversation should start by asking “But what?”.

It seems that in this situation you (or me) are either tolerant or you are a racist. You accept or you don't. There is no middle way. But in my opinion it is wrong also to preach live and in social media without being tolerant to those who are a bit puzzled about this situation.

I have traveled some and still when I see someone who distinctly  represents another culture or origin in a supermarket it caught my eye and I curiously follow this person with my eyes and think things such as when has he or she come here or if he or she speaks Finnish without accent. I do not do it because I would disapprove it, and I fully acknowledge that this person might have been born in Finland. I do that because our S-market in Tuusula has relatively few immigrants and people representing other cultures, especially if I compare for example it to my new hometown Birmingham. And different people are intriguing and as long as I am curious and not malicious that should be okay, or?

This situation is out of ordinary, extreme, that is what they say. That we should accept people because that is what we as humans should do to other humans. And let’s be clear, I agree. But what happens when this situations soothes but people keep coming, maybe from other countries, and those who once moved stay. Is there a possibility that people turn against these people because they thought that they are just coming here temporary. Is there a possibility that they ask “why aren’t you leaving already?”

This is not temporary and it is not new, we are going to get asylum seekers, immigrants, and different people from different cultures in future as well. I believe that multiculturalism is a richness but when coming from a rather conservative and reserved country I understand that it, as everything new, might be hard in a beginning. Therefore everyone should have the right to discuss and process in a way that we could be genuinely tolerant and not find other cultures threatening to our culture.

I think that an open conversation would benefit us all. We as receivers have hard times but it is quite obvious that we are not the ones feeling most distress. These people who come are escaping, leaving their homes and possibly are parted from their families in countries which have many people who do not wish to live with them at all or at least an arm’s length away.

Helsingin Sanomat (6^th September 2015) quoted a mayor of Henningsdorf, Germany who said that the key is to get to know each other. I am going to follow this guideline. Get to know like new neighbours and by doing that welcome them and gain some understanding of my own. And meanwhile have a conversation with my friends about how I feel about this all. I believe that these are important things to do simultaneously in order to achieve tolerant atmosphere in a long term.

 

"En ole rasisti mutta…" Tässäpä fraasi joka nostaa jotkut suvaitsevaiset ihmiset takajaloilleen ja ärsyttää mahdollisesti vielä enemmän kuin suorat ennakkoluulot. Minun mielestäni hiljainen tai äänekäs paheksunta pitäisi korvata kysymällä ”mutta mitä?”. Vaikuttaa siltä että tässä tilanteessa ihminen on joko suvaitsevainen tai rasisti. Ei ole mahdollista olla mitään siltä väliltä. Mutta mielestäni on väärin myös ”läyhätä” laput silmillä suvaitsevaisuudesta antamatta mahdollisuutta ihmisille olla vähän ihmeissään ja suvaita myös niitä jotka eivät purematta niele ajatusta monikulttuurisuudesta.

Olen matkustanut jonkin verran ja silti voin sanoa että kun lähi S-marketissa näen jonkun jonka ulkomuoto kertoo erilaisesta kulttuurista tai alkuperästä jään hetkeksi uteliaana seuraamaan ja miettimään mistähän kyseinen henkilö on tullut tai puhuukohan hän suomea, ehkä jopa äidinkielenään. En tee sitä  koska paheksuisin ihmistä vaan siksi että Tuusulan S-Marketissa kun nyt vain on vähän vähemmän maahanmuuttajia ja ihmisiä toisista kulttuureista, erityisesti jos vertaa esimerkiksi uuteen kotikaupunkiini Birminghamiin. Ja erilaiset ihmiset tekevät minut uteliaaksi, kun se ei ole pahansuopaa niin eikö se ole ihan okei?

Tämä tilanne on epänormaali, kärjistynyt, niin sanotaan uutisissa. Meidän pitäisi hyväksyä ihmisiä koska se on inhimillinen teko. Ja haluan nyt painottaa, olen juurikin tätä mieltä. Mutta mitä tapahtuu kun tilanne toivottavasti (näiden ihmisten kannalta) rauhoittuu vähän heidän kotonaan, mutta ihmisiä tulee edelleen, ehkäpä muista maista ja ne ihmiset jotka tulivat, ehkä jäävät. Onko mahdollista että jotka ajattelematta ryhtyivät talkoisiin tulevatkin kysymään että ”milloin te lähdette”, eikö tämä ollutkaan väliaikaista.

Tämä ei ole väliaikaista,eikä sen puoleen uuttakaan. Suomeen ja muihin maihin tulee jatkossakin turvapaikanhakijoita ja maahanmuuttajia, toki ehkä vähemmissä määrin kuin nyt. Siksi ihmisillä pitäisi olla oikeus keskustella, yhdessä prosessoida tuntoja niin että meillä olisi mahdollisuus olla aidosti avoimia ja perehtymällä asiaan hälventää muiden kulttuurien uhkaavuutta omalle kulttuurillemme.

Luulen että avoin keskustelu olisi kaikkien kannalta hyvä sillä vaikka meillä vastaanottajina on välillä vähän hankalaa niin voin kai suoraan sanoa että tulijoilla on vielä hankalampaa. He ovat joutuneet lähtemään kotoaan, mahdollisesti erossa perheestään maahan jossa useat eivät heitä hyväksy tai halua heidän kanssaan elää rinnakkain, tai jos niin ainakin kädenmitan päässä.

Kuten Henningsdorfin pormestari Sunnuntai-hesarissa (6.9.2015) sanoi, olisi tärkeää tutustua tulijoihin. Näin aion itsekin tehdä. Kuin uusiin naapureihin, ja sillä toivottaa heidät tervetulleeksi ja samalla avata omaa maailmaani. Ja sitten keskustella kavereiden kanssa rohkeasti miltä tämä nyt minusta tuntuu. Nämä eivät sulje tosiaan pois vaan mielestäni ovat tärkeässä osassa jotta saavutetaan suvaitsevainen ja monikulttuurinen ilmapiiri – eikä vain väliaikaisesti.

 

Biketrip 2: From Balloch to Tyndrum and around

kyllä tällä pelillä kulkee  //
the lead actor in this play

Tämä kyltti oli tervetullut, kun 60 kilometrin matkasta viimeiset pari tuntia oli ylämäkeä. Otin kyllä niin rauhassa että matkaan meni koko päivä mutta mikäs siinä ihmetellessä kun maisemat olivat niin upiat :) //
This sign was most welcomed because the last 2 hours of my 60 kilometers trip was uphill. I took my time and spent the day enjoying the trip and amazing views.

 

Tyndrumin hautausmaalla ei ole tunkua //
Tyndrum cemetery



Tallustelin eilen pari tuntia ympäri Tyndrumin maastoa ja lueskelin mitä upeimmissa maisemissa //
I walked around yesterday and I have to say that the views where I read my book have never been better :)

<3 scotland



Vasemmanpuoleinen liikenne käytössä //
sheep know their traffic rules

Lehmä-selfie //
cow-fie

ihan vaan selfie. Tänään jatkuu matka eteenpäin. Skotlannissa kuulemma sataa reippaasti yli 200 päivää  vuodessa. Nyt uskon... // Just a selfie. I continue my trip today. They say that it rains in Scotland way ovcr 200 days a year. Now I can believe that ..

Biking in Scotland 1: From Poole to Balloch

"Please don't flush Nappies, sanitary towels, paper towels, gum, old phones, unpaid bills, junk mail, your ex's old sweater, hopes, dreams or goldfish down this toilet"

-Virgin trains

Tällä aamupalalla lähtee tänään, ensimmäinen pyöräilypäivä edessä //
proper Scottish breakfast to speed up first day's cycling

 

Fearless researcher ready to go // Peloton tutkija valmiina lähtöön

Alla suomeksi.

I have wondered in every forum how can it be that my Masters are over. In one way I am relieved because I have to say, the assignments were soooooo interesting but also a lot of work. But like said, I enjoyed every course I had and got something out of every assignment. Customer involvement in service delivery process in  Budget hotels, co-operative strategy, alliances in cross-cultural business, Corporate Social Responsibility in Hospitality and so on. Maybe not so interesting for everybody but I loved it. My "ready assignments" folder looks good now :)

What is left is my dissertation. Tiny little piece of work. My topic is somewhat "Sense of community in co-created customer experience in B&B's" which does not maybe say much but is a hot topic (value co-creation) in the industry with an individual twist (sense of community and C2C value creation). And I am thrilled. It is definitely outside of my comfort-zone as something more concrete and managerial would have been my cup of tea but that is one reason why I decided to go for it. Even though I have just gotten to the mood of doing the literature review, now it is time to do the data collection.

I am lucky to be able to do my data collection in Scotland because of the funding opportunities in BU. I am combining my dream with a purpose which is a way I can travel more. I am leaving on Sunday, taking trains (plural, yes, I dont even want to say how many trains I need to take) with my bike, arrive in the evening to Balloch Scotland and the next 9 days I will cycle 200 kilometers from B&B to another and observe. I am pretty excited! And even though I tried to ignore my mom who kindly said that it will rain for 9 days because - Scotland, I ended up making a plan B. After making a bullet proof risk assessment I decided to take a waterproof bag for my computer and sunlotion but other than that I refuse to think that it is nothing than from a movie and everything will go well.

So now I have some days to finish my lit review and learn what there is to learn about ethnography as a research method and pack and un-pack until I have a tiny bag with only essentials so I can enjoy my week in Scotland. I will try to write from somewhere magical Scotland, stay tuned...

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Olen mietiskellyt kaikilla foorumeilla miten voikaan olla niin että masterit on gradua vaille paketissa. Toisaalta on helpottavaa että tehtävät, vaikka ne olivatkin super mielenkiintoisia, ovat ohi. Askartelin tehtäviä alliansseista monikansallisessa yritystoiminnassa sekä asiakakkaan osuudesta budjettihotelleiden palveluprosessihin ja niin edelleen, "valmiit tehtävät" kansio näyttää hyvältä nyt :)

Mitä on siis jäljellä on gradu, pikku loppurutistus. Aiheena on palttiarallaa yhteisöllisyys osana yhdessä luotua asiakaskokemusta Bed&Breakfasteissa. Aihe menee kyllä mun mukavuusalueen ulkopuolelle (olen ehkä vähän konkreettisempien asioiden ystävä) mutta siksi valitsinkin sen. Kasvaa voi vaan kun tekee jotain mikä ei ole helppoa eiks niin.

Sain rahoituksen graduun mikä tarkoittaa että voin tehdä datan keruun Skotlannissa. Yhdistän hyväksi todettuun tapaani unelman ja hyödyn reissussa ja poljen 200 kilometria ympäri Skotlantia ja yövyn neljässä eri B&B:ssä ja tarkkailen ja tarkkailen.  Koska äiti ystävällisesti vihjaisi että tulee satamaan 9 päivää putkeen niin tein vedenpitävän varasuunnitelman. Eli otan vedenpitävän pussin mun läppärille ja aurinkorasvan ja avot! Lopuista huolehditaan sitten paikan päällä mikäli huolehdittavaa on.

Eli nyt on loppuviikko aikaa tehdä gradun teoriaosuus niin valmiiksi kuin mahdollista ja pakata ja purkaa kunnes kaikki tarvittavat mahtuu pieneen pyörälaukkuun jotta voin nauttia täysillä pyöräretkestä Skotlannissa. Palailen linjoille sieltä kun on jotain kerrottavaa :)

laundry time

My ability to rember things equals to that of a gold fish. It is a shame since I would like to remember things from my trips and life better than I do. My selective memory is rather funny. Just now when I was doing laundry my student accommodations laundry room downstairs I got several flashbacks of different laundry times in different countries. I have to ask why did these moments stick in my head and you might ask why the heck do I write about laundry to my blog. Well I guess they are just memories that I want to share.

Last time when I lived in England I lived in a staff house which smelled like old humid house. The washing machine was in a common kitchen and everybody smoked inside. We set these long strings accross our room and hang our clothes akwardly and very unconveniently in the middle of everything. We also put our pictures as decoration hanging from these strings, an idea I used also in Thailand in my bambu hut.

In Thailand I did my laundries often by hand, in a large bucket next to the outdoor kitchen where the dishes were also washed. On the floor barefoot. But there was a washing machine as well. It was outside and you could see the water inside when it was on if you wanted to see your laundries getting washed. It was always an adventure to put them dry because the strings and trees were full of red ants that hurted like hell. And they were particulary interested in our clothes. And we never got all of them when we folded the dried clothes. Or well, in Thailand they were never dry because of the humidity.

I remember clearly how humid and hot it was also in Mexico when I was taking out our laundries from the washing machine in small inner yard. I put them dry outside where it smelled like... well the smell that hot countries have, you can almost smell the sun how it burns things and plants in a city. In Mexico other option was to call a lady to do the housekeeping. She came sometimes to clean the apartment, cook and also did the laundries. With a same amount I do one laundry by myself here in UK.

In Austria... I cannot remember where I actually did the laundries! It was also a student accommodation with 5 roommates so we must have had a laundry machine somewhere... I just remember clearly how I put them dry to hangers and hang them on the walls of my room. It was the time when I was just 21 or something and all my clothes were black. I only realised that when I saw them decorating my walls.

Now in here yet again in a student hall accommodation I use common coin washing machines and dream about the time in Finland when I had my own washing machine and a small backyard where to put them dry. Simple things make good memories :)

Spring is here!

Today I had an "escape lunch" between a trade show and uni life. First of all the Hotel and Catering Show in BIC was great. Good speakers such as Charles McIntyre from BU who talked about very interesting topic of trend of communal settings and design in restaurants. Many little details to think of which make all the difference in the dining experience and atmosphere! Another speaker that I enjoyed was Monica Or, who nailed the top 10 things to think about in order to run a successful hotel. Other than that the exhibitors were more for industry professionals looking for suppliers but well I didn't mind tasting local cheeses with local Ales and chatting about hand painted chocolates.

The Crab Sandwich

After that I went to test The Crab At Bournemouth, which was a nice surprise. Except the water added to my bill which costed practically the same as my wine. -10 points Crab@Bournemouth. But +10 for good food and service :) Gotta love a place which has a sandwich menu :D

Bournemouth Beach

And my dessert coffee I had by the sea when I took a first sunny walk of the spring. And well, this is a great place to live.

Bournemouth Beach

Lansdowne

East Cliff, Bournemouth