Last week was a real roller coaster for me. Showing The Engineer around was quite a hectic job since almost everything in Finland was new and exotic to him. On top of all regular (to us) things, like a lot of forests, temperatures close to zero and so on, the first snow came on Friday. I don’t remember the last time with so violent blizzard-like first snow, so The E got exactly what he came here for.

I got my invitation letter from Bangalore on Friday and immediately filled the visa application. All it requires now is two photos and a letter that explains the essentials of my trip. After that the application and my passport must be sent to the Indian embassy in Helsinki, which will return the passport if a letter with sufficient stamps is provided. Otherwise I would have to personally visit the embassy in order to get my passport back.

I have done quite a lot of research regarding India already, but there is still a lot more to learn. There are things that cannot be learned by reading, but the cultural shock might be a little milder if I prepare myself well. Another way of adjusting would be to find some familiar things that I can take with me, either in my backpack or in my mind. Those would be music, books, foodstuff, exercise and other such things I’ve gotten used to in Finland.

I am still waiting for information about accommodation on my visit. It has now been two weeks since my query for an apartment, but nothing has come up so far. I hope this is not another thing that has been forgotten somewhere between other tasks…

Maybe I’ll give them a reminder just in case.

Tags: accommodation, colleagues from India, culture, practical stuff, visa, weather