Wednesday, October 26, 2005
My latest and last column for the Joensuu University Newspaper.
I normally spend my time writing about what’s pissing me off here in J-town. I don’t know if it’s pissing you off, but for whatever reason it’s pissing me off. Whether it’s the way people in this town drive like a chicken with its head cut off; or the way that J-town locals choose to ride their bikes through the forest on the wrong side of the path without a light; or the way that the grocery stores sell products that have gone bad or push the ones that are about to go bad to the front so that unsuspecting customers will buy them; or the fact that out of the one-thousand or so people who watch the Kataja basketball team, I am the only one who yells obscenities; or maybe it has something to do with the fact that on Friday and Saturday nights I see the same cars drive the same streets with the same kids inside them all night long. What are they looking for? Why can’t they decide on a place to go and go there? Do they really think that something is going to change in the few minutes it takes to cruise the entire town? Instead, this time I think I am going to share with you some of the things about J-town that make me smile. Okay, let me think…
To start things off, I like the feeling I get when I arrive at the Joensuu airport even when it’s snowing and miserable. There is just something very satisfying about getting off of the only plane in town. Sure, sometimes the plane is a little too small for my liking and the trip is a little too bumpy for my stomach and the snack a little too chocolaty, the coffee a little too bitter and the seat a little too cramped, but at least it’s not too long. That’s something good isn’t it?
I like the fact that damn near everyone I have met in J-town is in a band, or at least was in a band at one time in their lives, and I mean everyone. I also like the fact that I can have a conversation with a couple of locals about music and in the next minute I am getting advise on what to do in the event that a male goat attacks me. And immediately after that I can learn the best way to cook 10 kilos of lamb, just in case I have avoided the deadly man-goat and find myself in a situation where I have one hundred guests to feed and have nothing to serve but lamb.
I like it when my neighbours leave their clothes out to dry for any and everyone to see. I like it when they leave their clothes out to dry even when it is raining and snowing. I like it when they beat their rugs early in the morning on Saturdays when I am trying to sleep of the previous night’s adventure at Jokela. Well, come to think of it I don’t like that too much.
I like to go to the Giggling Marlin on a Friday night and watch as J-town locals climb on top of the tables and dance and sing and puke and fall all over themselves. I like going to Kimmelli on a Saturday night to watch the mating rituals of J-town’s older generation. I like going to the movies and freezing my ass off while watching whatever movie we’ve been fortunate enough to get here in J-town.
I like the fact that no matter what is going on in the world, J-town is a pretty safe place to live. No earthquakes, no hurricanes, no terrorism, just a whole bunch of cold weather and lots and lots of mosquitoes. I like the fact that my friends here in J-town are kind and giving and that they don’t mind it when I complain, as I have been known to do. I also like the fact that I get the opportunity to voice my complaints monthly in this here newspaper. I’m not too pleased with the picture of me in the paper, but I’ll take what I can get.
I normally spend my time writing about what’s pissing me off here in J-town. I don’t know if it’s pissing you off, but for whatever reason it’s pissing me off. Whether it’s the way people in this town drive like a chicken with its head cut off; or the way that J-town locals choose to ride their bikes through the forest on the wrong side of the path without a light; or the way that the grocery stores sell products that have gone bad or push the ones that are about to go bad to the front so that unsuspecting customers will buy them; or the fact that out of the one-thousand or so people who watch the Kataja basketball team, I am the only one who yells obscenities; or maybe it has something to do with the fact that on Friday and Saturday nights I see the same cars drive the same streets with the same kids inside them all night long. What are they looking for? Why can’t they decide on a place to go and go there? Do they really think that something is going to change in the few minutes it takes to cruise the entire town? Instead, this time I think I am going to share with you some of the things about J-town that make me smile. Okay, let me think…
To start things off, I like the feeling I get when I arrive at the Joensuu airport even when it’s snowing and miserable. There is just something very satisfying about getting off of the only plane in town. Sure, sometimes the plane is a little too small for my liking and the trip is a little too bumpy for my stomach and the snack a little too chocolaty, the coffee a little too bitter and the seat a little too cramped, but at least it’s not too long. That’s something good isn’t it?
I like the fact that damn near everyone I have met in J-town is in a band, or at least was in a band at one time in their lives, and I mean everyone. I also like the fact that I can have a conversation with a couple of locals about music and in the next minute I am getting advise on what to do in the event that a male goat attacks me. And immediately after that I can learn the best way to cook 10 kilos of lamb, just in case I have avoided the deadly man-goat and find myself in a situation where I have one hundred guests to feed and have nothing to serve but lamb.
I like it when my neighbours leave their clothes out to dry for any and everyone to see. I like it when they leave their clothes out to dry even when it is raining and snowing. I like it when they beat their rugs early in the morning on Saturdays when I am trying to sleep of the previous night’s adventure at Jokela. Well, come to think of it I don’t like that too much.
I like to go to the Giggling Marlin on a Friday night and watch as J-town locals climb on top of the tables and dance and sing and puke and fall all over themselves. I like going to Kimmelli on a Saturday night to watch the mating rituals of J-town’s older generation. I like going to the movies and freezing my ass off while watching whatever movie we’ve been fortunate enough to get here in J-town.
I like the fact that no matter what is going on in the world, J-town is a pretty safe place to live. No earthquakes, no hurricanes, no terrorism, just a whole bunch of cold weather and lots and lots of mosquitoes. I like the fact that my friends here in J-town are kind and giving and that they don’t mind it when I complain, as I have been known to do. I also like the fact that I get the opportunity to voice my complaints monthly in this here newspaper. I’m not too pleased with the picture of me in the paper, but I’ll take what I can get.
// posted by Howard @ 2:32 PM 
