Konnichiwa!

I have make good foto in Sapporo! Hi five! You look, please. (-->Some photos)

Is this it?

Indeed, it is. The first official insert to my weblog. So, here I am, in Japan. It only took about 18 hours onboard three airplanes, and about 9 hours killing time at 4 different airports..Now I've been here for four days, amidst these small, busy, and overly polite people. On Thursday the 21st, I landed on Japanese soil for the first time. It was around 15.00 hours. The view was amazing, to say the least; the last 30 or so minutes of the flight, all I saw was tall, forested mountains with cities and fields scattered here and there. After a courteous security check, me and a few other fellow HUSTEP students were received by four Hokkaido University Students, who were holding up "Welcome to Hokkaido University" -signs. Cute. The boy in charge of this small welcoming committee asked me if I could speak Japanese, to which I responded: "Sukoshi dake. Yukkuri hanashite kudasai." While waiting for other HUSTEP students whose flight was to arrive shortly, we had a half-English, half-Japanese conversation and got to know each other a little better. I realised that I had almost completely forgotten my vocabulary, and pretty much all of my grammar as well. Frustration. I've got a lot of studying to do. It's cool though, it's about time anyway. Having been here for four days now, I've gotten the first taste of Sapporo. The city is a very dynamic one, indeed. Once you get to the downtown area, from the JR Sapporo station southwards, the streets get very busy. People rushing everywhere, massive, colourful screens playing cartoonlike advertisements, loudspeakers blasting high-pitched Japanese female voices, and toylike cars driving to and fro. The city skyline is beautiful as one can see mountains in almost every direction in the background. And, comparing to many other big cities, Sapporo is very clean, and the air is nice and fresh. The only thing that might take a while to get used to is the omnipresent kanjis, hiraganas and katakanas. The only places you might see roomaji, the European writing system, is on street signs, and maybe the airport. Before I leave, though, I've got to tell you about the food. It's very good. Noodles and sushi are dominating the restaurant scene, but almost every type of cuisine is represented here, and restaurants are everywhere, and easy to find too, since Sapporo is built on a grid system. And most of the restaurants, even in the heart of the city, are quite inexpesive. For 4€ to 6€, you can get a healthy, tasty meal. Raamen Rocks. I'm out. Doomo arigatoo gozaimashita.

The Excellent Exile

This is it...a significant tranisitional phase; travelling, if you will. On Wednesday morning, 13th September, I realized the very instant I woke up that this day I would leave Oulu. The cloudy, gray weather served as a perfect background for a somewhat melancholic departure.
Of course I'm dramatising. But I do admit the trip brought about a somewhat bittersweet feeling on this pale Wednesday morning. On one hand I'm excited to get far, far away from this boring city, Paskakaupunni, and on the other..leaving the place I have inhabited for about 22 years feels strange, even awkward, perhaps.
Thankfully all my friends are malfunctional, retarded or otherwise just annoying, so I won't be missing them that much. I kid :D Some of them might come and visit me in Sapporo, if they win the lottery..Poor bastards. Don't be so uptight, it was a joke. (But the are bastards)
Halfway to Turku, the hint of sadness clouding my mind in the morning hours had faded away as I watched the monotonous rural landscape passing by the train window. It once again dawned on me that this was indeed a wise move; to go see some other scenery. To go see some other culture. For almost an entire year. The thing is, when I get back (of course, I'm only referring to Oulu) it is very probable that nothing has changed, except for some bar some Seppo might have decide to erect. He does that a lot, you know..
So this is it, then. The biggest trip of my life has just begun, and I don't mean TKU or HKI, I've been to these places before. And I'm not talking about drugs, either. Or am I? Maybe I'll just travel to Sapporo by my..dragonfly, while I'm at it I might just kiss the sky.. Don't believe everything you read. But to conclude on a more serious note: Desmond is coming soon to a Sapporo near you. ...whutt....?

Where's the afterparty?

Well, not at my place, that's for sure. I am once again living at my parents house. Thankfully, I'll only be hanging about for a week or so. Then I'll be off to Turku and Helsinki, and finally to Sapporo. It's actually nice to be here in Karjasilta. It's amazingly quiet here, no drunken people making noise in the middle of the night or trucks driving by every minute..When I get back from Japan, I'll definitely consider orther less noisy options than Hallituskatu. Don't get me wrong, it's a good location; in the middle of the city, not too far away from anywhere. And you get used to the almost constant noise creeping through your windows. But sometimes it can really get to you. You come from work and go to sleep because you have to wake up early in the morning for skool, and some idiot wakes you up at 4am by screaming and shouting in the street.. Karjasilta is nice and quiet. Maybe I should move here permanently. My mom doing my laundry and cooking me food every day, no rent...easy living. Just kidding, stupid. In a few weeks my address will be a few thousand km:s eastwards. Funny business? No, I'll be a good boy. Promise.