Mei Generis

A question everyone asks me when we first meet is how I found my way in Lapland. I reply that it is a good question. Rovaniemi has a charming aura around it. Many people I know who have been here as exchange students or simply as tourists always come back and sometimes for good. I am just a live example of the charming power of Rovaniemi.

What is it that makes people return to Rovaniemi? The long, dark days which start from late October and finish at late March? The slippery pavements, the empty streets, or the laconic Finns? Well, my explanation is that Rovaniemi is an international, developing city with huge potential. Despite the harsh climatic conditions and the vast distances from urban centres, Rovaniemi’s people managed to turn all the negatives into positive selling points.

Twenty years ago hotels were closing at the wintertime. Now, four-star hotels, safari companies, restaurants and local handcraft businesses have great profits from the masses of international visitors who fly in flocks every Christmas season to visit Santa Claus’ hometown. Here is another success of Rovaniemi. Apart from the internal strength -‘sisu’ as Finns call it- to make a living, they are great business minds knowing well the rules of marketing and branding. If Rovaniemi didn’t have Santa Claus, they definitely had to invent him!

In terms of education, the University of Lapland and the University of Applied Sciences attract a great volume of international students from all over the globe by providing courses in English and an opportunity for young people to experience life up north. Sauna, riding a snowmobile, ice-fishing and tasting reindeer meat and fresh salmon. Hmm, that must be heaven! Well, not really but quite exotic.

On the other hand, some tourists are complaining that things are too commercialised -for instance 20 Euros for a picture with Santa- but generally Finland is an expensive country. However, it has other things to make it up. Last week that I was in Rovaniemi I realised how much I miss the beauty of the frozen rivers Kemijoki and Ounasjoki and their surrounding nature. Slowly I will make my way up here again. Shamans casted a spell on me again!

In Greece around 5th century BC, Antiphon the Sophist, in his work named On Truth describes time as such: “Time is not a reality, but a concept or a measure.” Time is indeed a human creation but yet it manages to impose strict restrictions on our daily lives. Deadlines, appointments, aging… I was recently discussing with a friend of mine about how fast time passes when you grow older. As a kid time, for instance from one New Year’s Day to another, seemed almost as eternity. Nowadays as an adult, I feel as if the year has shrunk. 

New Year’s Eve is approaching and I have decided to set some goals in order to better utilise my time. The term New Year’s Resolution is commonly used in lifestyle magazines and everyday life in the USA and UK. New Year’s Resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to pursue certain objectives that normally go effect on New Year’s Day. 

Many New Year resolutions in the Western world involve maintaining peak vitality, physical fitness, or appearance. For example, one person’s goal might be to quit smoking or drinking but the most common New Year’s resolution is weight loss.  New Year’s Eve has always been a time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year. It is a time to reflect on the changes we desire to make and resolve to follow through on those changes. This is my top-5 list: