Need to have a headline here but can't really think of anything

I have landed on the continent of the Americas - so less exotically I am in the States right now.

Mostly I have been vacationing, so I don't really have smart topics in mind. I have enjoyed the warm summer days, marveled the magnificent Rocky Mountains, hooked up with people I haven't seen in years.

Some of my friends are getting married while others divorced, some have changed jobs or moved, some are pregnant. I've been gone only for few years: it's amazing how life can change.

I wonder what has happened in the lives of my Finnish friends by the time I come to visit?

How much can you actually control what happens? Sure you make the decisions in life, but not all things are controllable. Eventually we are just teeny tiny crumbs in the universe, trying to leave some footprints on this tiny planet (and we're leaving a footprint all right).

If you read this far, you might wonder what my point is (because surely a journalist would always have a point). To be honest I don't have one. I have no idea what I am writing about, I just needed to type something in order to have a new blog post.

Truthfully I have not been thinking about journalism since I left Europe (okay, that's a lie. I even dream about journalism. I meant my blog. Haven't thought about blogging since I left).

Next week I am headed to Mexico, and I am sure that country just boils with interesting topics. So... hang in there (or not).

"A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?"
-Albert Einstein

On the road again

I have not completely unpacked my suitcase ever since I left Finland in January. It seemed unwise: I’d be going again soon enough. Plus I feel comfortable having my clothes in the suitcase rather than in a closet. If I put them in a closet, it means I’m staying. And I don’t want to stay.

I’ve been travelling outside Holland so much that I don’t really feel that I’ve lived here. But when I look back now I realize I have felt comfortable in this weird Dutch society. I love the biking, how convenient it is and how people take it seriously. I love how the bikes most people use would be considered really crappy in Finland, but how they actually are comfy and useful here.

I’m going to miss my afternoon lattes in the cozy Dutch cafes, where the service is terrible but no one really cares. I’m going to miss my awesome gym, which had zumba classes every day – so addicted! And I don’t know how I will adapt to a life where I am no longer a hobbit in the land of giants.

But most importantly I’m going to miss all the funny and intelligent people I had the privilege of becoming friends with. Even though I was absent every other week, I grew fond of the time we spent together; interesting conversations about journalism over a drink, joking around in the classroom, playing games and just having a good time.

I love travelling because I love meeting new people. Every person I encounter is like a newspaper article; with some I spend more time than with others, but each is worth reading. Some make me laugh, some make me cry, some make me think; all of them shape my view of the world.

And then there are some I feel are worth saving: I file them up in a folder to keep them with me.

This is the case with most of the people I met in Holland. But don’t worry, I’m not actually going to put you in a folder. It was a metaphor. Which you of course knew (it gets so much better when you explain it, doesn’t it?).

I should probably say that I’m sad to leave, but that would be a lie. I’m not sad, quite the opposite. One chapter in my life has ended, but it doesn’t mean the new one couldn’t be even better. Always be thankful for the experiences you had, but confident tomorrow will be even more exciting.

I know most of you will return to your home countries (or just stay in Holland if you happen to be Dutch). You know that’s not the case with me. But I want to tell you that I’m sure your home towns and cities can offer you a life full of challenges and adventures. I’m living a gypsy life, but you can choose to stay put and still have an exciting life.

Follow your dreams. Don’t listen to the people who tell you that you can’t do something. Together we are going to rock the world. 

"No person has the right to rain on your dreams."

-Marian Wright Edelman

21st Century Journalism

What does it mean to be a journalist?

Are journalists watchmen of democracy? Are we the sound of truth? Are we supposed to widen the horizon of knowledge and produce quality information with perfect grammar?

Yes. We are supposed to be and do all that.

But is it really so?

A good friend of mine, and one of the most promising young journalists in Finland, started her summer job in a Finnish paper this summer. After few weeks on the job she was told pretty much to forget what she learned at journalism school. Reality simply doesn’t work like theory.

This of course applies for every field of profession. But in this case ‘forgetting what you have been taught’ meant not really checking your facts and figures (you’re just supposed to know them all) and not caring whether your grammar and language is pleasant and correct: as long as it’s understandable it’s good enough.

Why is that, you might ask. So did I. The answer is simple: there is no time. Working in a busy newsroom or a paper you are supposed to produce text for articles in less than an hour. At that point of course you should have all the information you need. But there is no time for editing or double checking.

I understand that journalism is tough business, but this trend visible in it worries me. We still have responsibility of what we write and publish. In a hectic atmosphere like that, who can really guarantee quality, or even truth?

It seems like papers nowadays don’t care for quality. Journalism is business like any other; the only purpose is to sell. If you can sell with quality journalism, good. But in fierce competition speed and efficiency win accuracy and wide research of information.

It’s not that journalists don’t care about journalism anymore. But they are left with few choices. They too are just employees who want to get paid. And when you want to have a job, you have to roll with it.

This is exactly why I prefer to stay as freelancer. I can decide what I do, when I do it and how. I can double or triple check my information and find as many sources as I feel necessary. Sure the money is never stable, but I’m not in it for money. There is no money in journalism – at least not for journalists.

So what does it really mean to be a journalist? I don’t have the perfect answer, but I will learn while years go by; for sure it’s much more than I imagined before. 

"In journalism, there has always been a tension between getting it first and getting it right."

-Ellen Goodman

Small me

You know what the best thing about travelling is? You realize how small your life actually is.

I have met a former child soldier from Cambodia, who told me his life story. Being forced to bear arms at 12 he had shot over 3000 people in his life. He had seen violence beyong imagine. Murders, torture, rape. At the age of 12. 

I have seen a beduin wife working hard for her family in the desert, wearing burkha in unbearable heat, without complain. I have met people who have survived war, who lost loved ones at war, who have been through experiences I can never fully understand.

I have seen the sunset in Sahara, swam in an oasis in the desert, climbed a mountain in the Rocky Mountains, come down a waterfall in the jungle of Sierra Madre.

Only to realize that I know nothing of life.

I grew up in a good family, with everything I ever needed. My family has always supported my choices in life. I could do anything with my life. I've never been poor (being a student in Helsinki doesn't count!), I've never suffered hunger, violence or sickness. I've had a good education, yet only after leaving Finland I've realized how little I know.

Real knowledge doesn't come from a book. Real knowledge you don't learn at school. You can have the highest education possible, but if you've never left your home country, you don't really know anything.

I am only at the beginning of my journey, I'm just starting to learn. But sometimes I find it difficult to identify myself with Finland anymore. Finnish people (no offense) know nothing of the reality of life.

Do we have problems in Finland? Yes. Do we have people who need help? Absolutely. Do we have people who suffer? No doubt about it. I don't want to dismiss any of that.

But. Finns can be very selfish sometimes, refusing to think beyond own borders.

I remember having a conversation with a friend few years ago. We were talking about immigration and she felt very strongly about it. She said her parents had worked really hard to make Finland a good country to live in, and she doesn't want to give it away for people who have done nothing for it.

I want to understand this point of view. I really do. But I just can't. 

Because I have seen how it can be elsewhere. I have seen how people have no hope or future in life, and for what reason? Who is to blame? Or does blaming someone even help? What makes us so much better that we do not want to help one another? Did you choose the country you were born in? Did you choose the circumstances you grew up in?

Now I'm not one of those people who say Finland should take in all people in need no questions asked. No, I think we should have a smart immigration policy and we should see that immigrants and refugees actually intergrate to our society. But yes, I do believe in helping other people without waiting to be repaid. 

I do believe welthier nations should not only help people in need, but that it is our responsibility. And yes, we should do it smart. We should make it count and work. Just throwing money at third world countries is not smart helping. If it doesn't make things better in the countries, and we are losing money, who benefits? Maybe few dictators.

But I have seen people in bad conditions, in poverty and sickness, to give away from what they don't have just to help a fellow man. So it really makes my heart ache to hear comments and thoughts from my own country that only represent selfishness, narrow-mindness and lack of compassion for one another. 


"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
-Mahatma Gandhi

Powerful Men

What is it with men and power?

May 14 a maid at Sofitel in New York enters a luxe suite and finds Strauss-Kahn, French presidental candidate and head of International Monetary Fund, naked. The maid apologizes and turns around to leave, only to be chased down by Mr. Strauss-Kahn. The victim says she was then assaulted and forced to perform oral sex.

Strauss-Kahn, after resigning from IMF, has denied all charges. While innocent until proven guilty, it makes me wonder what is going on with powerful men. This is not the first time (and definitely not the last) when a man in power has been accused of sexual assaults or inappropriate behavior towards women.

In her article "What is it about power that makes men crazy?" in the Time magazine (May 30, 2011) Nancy Gibbs writes: "More often than not, the women involved [in a sexual assault case] weigh the stakes and decide to be silent, judging that the burden of proof is high and that they have little to gain and so much to lose."

What kind of society are we living in, when women assaulted by men (powerful or not) have to be afraid to accuse them?

Bill Clinton, John. F. Kennedy, Roman Polanski, Eliot Spitzer, Mike Tyson, Anthony Weiner. Just a few men guilty of misusing their position and power for their sexual desires. And I'm not even gonna mention Silvio Berlusconi (oops.. I think I just did).

According to research women working under men feel they are left with very few options when it comes to reacting to harassment. Refusing to play along would affect their lives negatively, so many go along with an affair, or just decide not to report assaults. 

It seems like the rules the ordinary people have to live by don't apply to men with money and power. When you gain certain position in society, you can go around the laws more easily. But power, especially in politics, is a responsibility and not a privilege.

Power is a tricky thing and I understand it makes people go crazy sometimes, to lose reality for a moment. But us not treating crimes committed by politicians the same way we treat crimes committed by others is something I can not and will not understand or accept. 

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
-Abraham Lincoln

Dancing makes life so much better

"There are short-cuts to happiness and dancing is one of them" 
-Vicky Baum

What would life be without dance? 

I grew up in surroundings where dance is not really approved or understood. Yet I have learned to love dancing to such extend that I could not imagine a life without it. It has been said that life without music would be a tragedy. Well, the same goes with dancing. Music needs its partner to be alive.

Dancing goes back in history a long time. Before written language was invented people used to tell stories through dance; and they still do. It's a way of communicating with one another, just as art, theatre, writing or talking. 

Wikipedia describes dancing as nonverbal communication between humans (and by some animals too). Many sports such as figure skating, gymnastics and different marshal arts incorporate dancing. 

Through dance you can express emotions and tell a story. Dance can make you laugh or it can make you cry, it can make you happy and sad at the same time. At best dance and music perfectly combined can touch your soul.

As a journalist - and a human being - I'm very much interested in different ways of communicating and expressing feelings. It's fascinating how different things can really move us. Through dance we can experience all possible emotions in this world. It is entertainment, but not just that. Life itself is a dance. You can't live without it - and you shouldn't (plus it's fantastic exercise..!). 

I'm sorry that my blog is full of video clips this time, but I think this topic needs them. You can not feel what I try to explain without seeing some awesome dancing. 

It's a shame that certain people consider dancing as something bad and not approvable. I believe they are missing out on something that can be pure joy and happiness. Dancing just makes life so much better! And to quote the song on the second video: life without dance is like life without air.


"Dance is the hidden language of the soul"
-Martha Graham