The football matches I have seen abroad

Open training session of Real Madrid

In Finland I have seen numerous matches of KuPS since I was a kid. While staying abroad I have tried to see live local football matches. Unfortunately I did not see a match in Poland when I stayed there for two years. Here is a list of matches I have seen abroad inspired by Futisforum2.org topic "matches seen abroad" including the links to the match reports I have written.

1. Spain - Argentina, Friendly match, 2009

2. Real Madrid - Osasuna, La Liga match, 2010

3. Malmö - AIK, Allsvenkan match, 2010

4. Ankaragücü - Fenerbahce, Süper lig match, 2012

5. Dinamo Tbilisi - Torpedo Kutaisi, Umaglesi liga match, 2015

6. Dinamo Tbilisi - Samtredia, Georgian cup final, 2015

7. Sant Andreu - Vilassar de mar, Spanish third division match, 2016

8. Barcelona - Espanyol, Copa del rey semi final, 2018

9. Dinamo Tbilisi - Saburtalo, Erovnuli liga match, 2018

10. Georgia - Latvia, UEFA Nations league match, 2018

5 reasons why my flat in Finland is more comfortable than in Spain

Here is a list of 5 reasons why my flat in Finland is more comfortable than the flat I lived in Spain.

1. No mold on the walls

2. You have comfortable floor to walk at home in socks

3. Comfortable temperature inside around the year

4. You can take long shower without running out of warm water

5. No cockroaches

Baptizing ceremony

Within one year I have attended an orthodox baptizing ceremony in Georgia and a protestant baptizing ceremony in Finland. To summarize the ceremony in an orthodox church in Georgia with one word: chaos. The ceremony was held in a church in the center of Tbilisi. The baptizing ceremony was not the only event being held. There was also a wedding, another baptizing and also many other visitors to pray and tourists. During the baptizing the priest was interrupted few times to give a blessing, the priest took the baby around the church and a tourist interrupted in order to take photos of the baby. Afterwards the celebration was continued in a restaurant. In Finland the event was held in a small chapel with only the people attending the event and without any interruptions. After the ceremony the celebration was continued in the home of the baby.

The religious rituals reminded each other in the both events. The head of the baby was wetted in the near presence of the chosen god parents. In both countries family and friends gather together to celebrate the baby.

Utilily costs in Spain

Spain has the reputation to be cheaper than Finland. Surprisingly example grocery basket was cheaper in Finland than in Spain. In this post I am going the compare my Spanish electricity bill to my Finnish electricity bill. In Finland my one month electricity bill was 22,05 EUR with the consumption of 175/kWh. In Spain my one month electricity bill was 115,34 EUR with the consumption of 440/kWh. Both of the bills are from winter months and there was not gas available in my apartment in neither of the countries. I can tell that even though it was much more colder outside in Finland my 50 m² apartment was much warmer in Finland than in Spain during the winter. In Spain my 33 m² apartment did not even have a radiator and still the electricity bill was more high. Heating the water tank and keeping the house warm during the winter gets expensive in Spain. The nordic people who spend their first winter in Spain the coldness of the apartment might come as a surprise and keeping the apartment warm might bring you a surprisingly big electricity bill.

Language learning

Duolingo app

While staying abroad I have tried to learn the local language. I used to attend language exchange meetings where I could practice/speak various languages during the meeting. When I moved to Barcelona I started to learn Catalan with Duolingo application and since then I have kept my learning streak and reached over 1000 days. I have been learning/keeping up with the other languages aswell in order to retain at least my current level. Keeping up with the streak definitely pushes me to make a little daily effort to study a language.

Top Posts 2018

By the Martvili waterfall

Time to list the Top Posts of 2018.

1. Previously I read only non-fiction, but also fiction can have a big impact.
2. After 6 years I edited a throwback video of my trip to Easter Turkey
3. Local football is not flourishing in Georgia
4. The street fashion of Barcelona in order to blend in
5. Watched the derby of Barcelona in Camp Nou

Top posts from previous years 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Return to Martvili

The waterfall

Last summer I visited Martvili for the second time, three years after my first visit. I wanted to visit the place again as I enjoyed the place very much in the first visit. When we arrived it was a big surprise that the area of Martvili canyon had had a big makeover. The area was fully comerzialized with organized rubber boat tours, landscape by the canyon and a big building with restaurant and other services. Exploring some of the area was restricted due the changes on the other hand some new areas had been made accessible. You were not allowed to swim either in the canyon. Though nearby is an impressive waterfall where you can swim and enjoy the chill water in a hot summer day. The most of the tourists did not seem to know about the waterfall as it was much more calm there than in the area of the canyon. Personally I enjoyed more spending time by the waterfall.

Moved again

I have moved again but this time I did not move outside of Finland. Now I am living in the capital area of Finland. Still in a new city in my home country I have felt a little like an outsider. You still need some adaptation time even in your home country and despite having moved many times.

Lessons about Muslim culture in "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns"

I read novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini as it was recommended by James Altucher. The novel is a story of an Afghan boy who flees from Afghanistan to USA and much more connecting the war in Afghanistan to 9/11 terrorist attacks in USA. By staying 10 months in Turkey I learned a lot about Turkish and Muslim culture. But by reading two books of Hosseini I learned a lot more about Muslim culture.

The novel gives tells how important it is to follow the traditions in Afghan culture.  Especially now a days in the western world often the individualism is highlighted how one should follow their heart and do what they feel being right. As in the Afghan culture the most important is to follow the old traditions and values in order to maintain the harmony and the reputation within the community. One has to make sacrifices and give up own desires in order to keep the reputation of yourself and your family. Even though the facade might look great, there are tightly kept secrets underneath.

Racism is also discussed in the novel. No matter how loyal or good human being Hazara people are in the novel, they are never treated equal. Similar way bastard children are also in a very difficult position.

The male protagonist Amir is few times thinking how lucky he is as he has a male privilege compared to women. In order to learn better the social status of women in Muslim culture, I read the second book of Hossein "A Thousand splendid suns". Even though a man has behaved irresponsible and a woman has been involved, he can escape the responsibility, by blaming the woman and then without a question the woman has to carry the consequences. Another example is that as long as the husband did not abuse his position of power the the female protagonist Mariam in "A Thousand Splendid Suns" was happy with him. With power comes responsibility.

I did not like the chapter 22  in The Kite Runner as it was like a cliche from an action movie where the bad guy is in a total control of the situation and still the good guy manages to make a miraculous escape. Despite the cliche scene I can strongly recommend reading both of the books mentioned in this review.

Uefa Nations League in Georgia

Georgia - Latvia

Earlier this year I went to see a match of Geargian national league and it seemed that football is not doing well in Georgia. On Sunday I had a chance to see a match of national team of Georgia. I bought a ticket for 1,6 euros and thought how many people would attend the match. The 55k stadium was not full but I would estimate that around 45k people attended. The match was not very entertaining but the crowd kept supporting their team which was rewarded with 1 - 0 winning goal from a penalty kick at 77 minutes. Waves were started but they did not manage to catch enough people to go around the stadium. National team of Georgia is still drawing crowds to the stadium eventhough local league teams are not getting much people to the stadiums.