Blogs from Jyväskylä, Central Finland, Finland, Europe

The night before I left for Ireland I made a huge mistake. It was a pretty classic Hannah move really but it was awful. That night, me and my friends decided to go to the karaoke bar/restaurant next to where we live to sing and have a few beers. We had a good time there and we left pretty late. We hung out later into the night and the next thing I knew, I was headed back to my apartment and unexpectedly, it was already 6 am. As if I didn’t already feel panicked about the fact that I was a little tipsy, not completely packed, and needed to get on a train in about three hours, I suddenly realized I didn’t have my phone. I don’t really use my phone that much here because I ... read more

Many of you are aware of the burrito shaped hole in my heart which developed shortly after arriving in Finland. Luckily, I was finally able to fill that hole! Nathalie found a burrito place in Turku and it was amazing. It was like Qdoba or Chipotle except really delicious. Yeah, you read it right. I said except like as in contrary to those places. Cry about it. For this momentous occasion, I wrote this haiku. I love burritos. Rice, beef, and cheese. Sour cream please. And one for the road. Sadly, I did not grab a second burrito to go but to do it over again I would. You may have also noticed that I renamed my blog to an actual blog name. "All My Friends Are Asleep" seems like an appropriate name for a West ... read more

So much has happened since my last blog entry! I am still so tired from my trip to Italy but I figured that if I don't document some of my adventures soon it will be too late, so here we go. The week/weekend before I left for Venice was relatively relaxing. I spent most of the weekend getting to know my host family better. Arja had her run that I mentioned in the last blog post so I used her run as an opportunity to finally explore Jyvaskyla since I now have a bike and the weather was so beautiful that day! It was really fun riding around the lake and going to the check points for the run. I took a few pictures of the largest lake in Jyvaskyla which are attached to this blog. ... read more

Hello beloved friends and family! I am so touched that so many people want to know how I am doing and what I am up to so I have decided to make this blog in order to keep all of my loved ones informed and of course, to document my experiences in Finland. It has only been 3 days and there is already so much to say I don't even know where to begin. As many of you know, I am very jet lagged. My body doesn't understand what time it is or what it is supposed to be doing. Right now, it is 10:39 AM in Salem, Oregon but here in Jyvaskyla it is 8:39 PM. That is a ten hour time difference. As many of you saw, I took pictures of Pusheen the Cat, ... read more

Jyvaskyla is a special place to visit for me. I have traveled there several times and continue to go once a year in the Fall. The city presents a great taste of Finnish culture as a medium sized town in central Finland surrounded by beautiful forests. The University of Jyvaskyla is picturesque sitting on the lake with the design of Alvar Aalto evident in many places. The bridge running across the lake is amazing as are the modern white sharp-lined buildings that seem to blend into the trees that surround them. If you want more Aalto you can tour his museum or visit some of the buildings on campus that he helped design. Also, check out the statue of the great Flying Finn Paavo Nurmi just behind the Aalto museum. If you enjoy exercise, like most ... read more