Saint Petersburg, most of the entries still keep the old buzzers in doors. They seem from many years ago, without brand and signature. To help guests find out which buzzer is, each block has a signal that shows you how apartments are distributed. In the below picture, the signal means ..2st floor, apartments from 1 to 4; 3th floor apartments from 5 to 8, etc…
But most of the old buzzers have been recently replaced by a modern intercom. As lock an electromagnetic lock.
How time affects behavior is a relevant area of study in intercultural communication. Basically, how we manage time is how we use it and for what purposes, how people think about or orient their behavior to time can vary considerably across cultures.
Last week in Saint Petersburg, we collided with time management behavior. Neither restaurants nor clubs wanted to split the bills for each one. To split bills means to take for each one so it means time and time means money. Can you imagine a group of not Russian-speakers trying to figured out how much each one pay?
I wasn’t easy to do it. As solution of this deal, the service borrows you with the bill a calculator to do it…brilliant!!
Examining how people relate to time, we can learn a great deal about how they communicate and how they value in communication.
Unisex bathrooms in restaurants and clubs of Saint Petersburg. I had never seen before a toilet with two pans in the same room and I had never imagine myself sharing those privates moments. Location:Russia»Saint Petersburg
Yes, we did it!!. Last 7th of November, we broke the Guinness World Record for the most nacionalities in a sauna. It was 56, it is now 76, thanks to multinational participants. It was a really great day, unforgettable. More information about the record in the works content asap.
Everyone who has lived in Finland knows that there is not much more culture of food there, in fact, Finnish food has a poor reputation. There are three meals per day: early breakfast, lunch time between 12 and 2pm and dinner time between 5 and 7pm. If you have a chance to share weekly days with Finnish people, you can realize that sometimes lunch time can goes unnoticed, it is not a moment to enjoy eating, is not a break time when journey stops and afternoon starts, is just another one more.
However, there are some traditional dishes. Weeks ago, I was attending a Finnish cuisine course where we cook some of then. Among other dishes there are Karelian Pastry and Sautedd Reindeer and as typically deserts Cinnamon Buns ans Blueberry Pie. Finnish cuisine shares a lot with Swedish, German and Russian cuisines. Read more here about it.
But the real eating life in Finland is not an easy issue, and much more for someone who is used to Mediterranean diet like me. In my personal opinion, this is the biggest cultural shock for us. Food is really expensive at supermarkets (lettuce 2.3€, bread 2€, packet of chicken breast 6€) even thought some of the fresh food…is frozen food. A way to take it easy if you are student is to eat a meal at schools lunch service that costs 1.3€ and which includes on small salad plate, a principal dish which can be chosen between two possibilities, water and bread. Everyone eats at school services even Finnish student. Other way, is fast food. Finland has its owner fast food chain: Hesburger.
Two and an half months after getting into Finland, I have started to forget my food habits, I have forgotten Mediaterranean diet, I have forgotten to enjoy eating, just taking hungry away, in other words; disconnecting from food habits. Does it means I getting over cultural shock??
That is the typical teacher’s desk in Haaga-Helia, full of equipment; two flat screens, a modern project working with an aerial video camera, a desk computer, a multimedia touch screen control (speakers, overhead projector, screens) and an audio-recorder.
I wonder if all of this equipment is really necessary for leading lessons. Do you think it’s too much??. I think so.
Last Wednesday 21-Oct, Chen Yi, Laura and I was visiting Turku, last capital of Finland (before Helsinki) and one of the oldest cities of the country. To be honest, not much places to see except the river banks and The Turku Castle. It was my first journey close to an iPhone. I usually like traveling with a conventional travel guide, normally Lonely Planet. I am used to carry it; history about, check the maps, where to go, where to eat, are really useful info… always or almost, it works. After looking how Chen Yi interacted with his iPhone, I realized it plus broadband lets enjoy in a much real-time way your trip. Wiki-travel and Google maps with GPS application were one of the tools used by him. Chen Yi close to his iPhone and Laura to her Lonely Planet were fighting on many situations. Laura checked the map and follow her intuition to get the place having a nice walk while Chen Yi pretended to follow the iPhone’s instructions.
While they argued, I was thinking about travel guides for mobiles. It would be really useful a guide for phones which approaches Internet assets. As I am used to Lonely Planet guide, I was thinking about it. For instance, “where to go part” plus GPS which guides you to the restaurant chosen, or “where to sleeppart” using a services which lets you checkout places, prices and availability. In few words, a travel guide using IT services.
Once at home, I started to checkout how travel guides are update with new IT services. And yes indeed! it exists. Lonely Planet Mobile has on-line guides to download in phones and be used like I thought. Great!!
What about Laura and Chen Yi fight?, Who won? Battery’s iPhone died in two-three hours. So, Laura’s intuition guided us and we had nice walk around.While they argued, I was thinking about travel guides for mobiles. It would be really useful a guide for phones which approaches Internet assets. As I am used to Lonely Planet guide, I was thinking about it. For instance, where to go part plus GPS which guides you to the restaurant chosen, or where to sleep part using a services which lets you checkout places, prices and availability. In few words, a travel guide using IT services.
Much gambling addiction in Finland. Besides casinos and pubs, there are slots in supermarkets and train stations. I have never imagine slot machines accepting credits cards. Can you imagine the impact on your card? Location:Finland»Helsinki»Tali bowling alley
Huge culture about second-hand markets in Finland. Finnish people, mostly young, are used to sell their personal things, they usually neither keep it or throw it away. That is due to apartments are smaller or just they keep nothing that they do not use. Why do not sell it? This kind of markets are frequently visited by couples with newborn babies to look for some clothes or whatever they need for their children. Also, once they have grown up, parents resell their stuff as third-fourth-hand. It is like a wheel that never stops.
We often visit Flea Market Valtteri (find it here) on Sunday mornings. Our earlier buyers have been a really nice dress[jacket+trousers] (1€), a skirt (3€), a piece of corduroy trousers (3€),a nice hat (2€) and a iron-machine(4€). You most likely find what you are looking for; clothes, furniture, games, books, flowers, even thought there is a old-technology stand… where everything works.
Talking to one of the sellers, one desk costs 26€/day. It can be rented by Internet (here) and you just need put your stuff over and seller abilities.
Sure if I leave Finland, I will be there selling my stuff and Laura’s… Location:Finland » Helsinki » Flea Market Valtteri
The web is up and running!. As I said in a previous post, my university Haaga-Helia is planning a challenge to the current Guinness World Record about most foreigners in a sauna. Cristian,Laura and I are the “Internet team” who had to build the web.
The keywords used to design and build the web were: international event, multicultural mixed with Finish culture, simplicity, funny and colorful.
You can check how signs up are going here. Take a look and lets know your comments.
After wondering on the Tallinn way why people carried such huge suitcases and even thought 2 by person, I figured out why on the return way; to bring alcohol. I knew that Tallinn is a cheaper place where buy alcohol, cigarettes, clothes, etc… but I would never imagine Finnish people bringing such quantities of it.
=“Please, do not pocket staircases light bulbs. Thanks.”
Talking through how “legal” Finnish are (or we feel) in the case they would never pocket something you have missed, I have recovered this photo.
The picture was taken in Carol&Juanmi building, Barcelona. They life in the oldest and most in-fashion part of Barna, where most of the young and modern people live. The signage asks their neighbors don’t pocket the building staircase light bulbs, that means neighbors don’t buy it when it gets burnt-out, they usually take from the staircase.
Making comparatives between Finland and Spain, I assure it would never happen in Finland, never. In some cultures, it can be considered as smart solution (Spain) or a really bad and unintelligible behaviour (Finland); different way to measure the behaviour.
I think to document signage is a good technique to understand cultures.
Jan Chipchase, Principal Engineer at Nokia Research Center , studies people around the world–how we behave,communicate, and interact with technology. He delivers a speech about one of his expereciences in Uganda. Really interesting.The name link goes to Future Perfect, website about the impacts of people, society and technology, written by Jan Chipchase. Speech SourceTED.
Looking ahead website contains information about my everyday and works as well as my Bio.
The blog was started in October 2009 but it will attempt to archive materials from last years. Find more information what Looking ahead means in the related content.
