October 5, 2007      Music, music, music . . . and more strangers . . .


It’s been a busy week. I’ve been attending an excellent – but intensive – one-week course on ethnography given by one of the leading authorities in the field in the world. So many ideas my head is buzzing. But it’s also been the week I’ve been going out a lot – a week of music!

On Mondays, at 8 PM, I walk about 5 minutes to the nearby church to attend a Gospel-exercise class. It’s great fun. The leader is excellent, and we get a real workout, designed to Finnish gospel music. There are about 40 women of all ages. Some moms come with their teenage daughters. According to the Finnish honor system, you pay directly to the bank. You actually have to ask the leader for a bank deposit slip to pay. I don’t think anyone will ever be held accountable if they don’t. It’s 3 euro a night – or 25 for the whole fall. Of course, if you’re a student, unemployed, retired, etc, you get a hefty discount. The leader felt bad when I kept saying not unemployed, not a student while she tried so hard to figure out a discount category for me. I didn’t want to explain what a bargain this was – and that I could technically qualify for both.

Tuesday night brought a night out at the movies with a colleague. We saw a brand new Finnish movie, Gaines (http://www.ganes.fi/), telling a story of the first Finnish rock band that gained international following, Hurriganes. I guess I wasn’t into rock at all in those days since I had really missed them. It was an interesting film, depicting the 70’s so well – very nostalgic!

Wednesday is my TV and sauna night! So, just relaxing!

Thursday I went out alone to the local concert/exhibit/conference venue, Paviljonki, The Pavillion, to hear one of my very favorite Finnish singers, Susanna Haavisto. She was wonderful in her 25-year-artist anniversary tour. She’s really an actor but performs chanson type songs with artistic skill and strong, beautiful voice. She did sing my favorite, Waiting in Paris, Odotusta Pariisissa. (http://www.biisi.fi/tuotteet/tuotekortti/?albumid=8032  # 14). And I remembered! I’m getting better at being a Finn again. I walked in with boots but did bring a pair of heels to change into. You can leave your coat and boots in a cloakroom, so I had packed a pair of heels into my purse and felt very Finnish slipping into them. Three years ago, in Helsinki, in November, I attended a theater performance with two friends – and did NOT remember. I was wearing my Doc Martens, and my friends looked in utmost shock and disbelief; how could I have possibly become that American!?? I’ll never forget again.

It’s a great feeling to be able to walk to the bus stop right around 11PM alone, without feeling apprehensive at all. I joined a couple of other solo women waiting for the bus– and marveled the feeling of safety.  Just when we were about to take off, a young man ran in, yelling to the bus driver . . . wait, wait . . . I’m the only Finnish speaker . . . wait, they’re all Russian and Slovenian . . . and they’re coming – while he was trying to find the rest of the group by phoning them. The rest of the very drunk, young crowd got in, and the clearly non-Finnish driver was trying to figure out where they were from. No, not from Slovakia as he was – Slovenia. I couldn’t help hearing ‘the only Finn’ introduce the foreigners to a young Finnish woman. After they had admired her very dark hair, she admitted being half Iranian. The story the drunk guys told was so incredible that I believed it. They were too far gone to be able to have pulled it together on the bus. The Russians and the Slovenians were visiting their Finnish friend. They had all lived in Tanzania where the parents worked for humanitarian agencies – and they had all met in high school in Burkina Faso. I was just listening in disbelief. ‘The only Finn’ and I were really the only Finns on the bus – if either of us can really be counted as a true Finn.

Back to music – On Friday night, tonight, I attended a heavy metal mass – yes – you read it correctly. (http://metallimessu.com/0) All the different Christian denominations in Jyväskylä have joined forces and are having a huge meeting, MISSIO,  this weekend. Tonight, at 9 PM. Metallimessu took place. But notice that it’s white metal – not black. A young woman in my ethnography seminar is writing her dissertation on the lyrics of this white metal band. I actually enjoyed the mass – great energy. – And I should know by now that it was no accident that I happened to sit next to an English speaker whose companion couldn’t provide simultaneous interpreting – so I did. She was a young Scottish trombone player, hired for the Jyväskylä symphony. I promised to go hear her play. At least here I can afford culture!