Today was a rainy day, and combined with the fact that it was Helsinki Day (which meant lots and lots of concerts and food and visitors and celebrations), there were huge traffic jams throughout Helsinki. Not even in San Francisco have I experienced so terrible a traffic jam. On the bridge, there were stretches of time where we hadn't even budged an inch and when we did move along, it was often a meter at a time.
Because the FUSYE scholars were supposed to meet up at the YFU national office in Finland at 8:30 AM and I was estimated to arrive at 8:45 AM, my host mother Jaana drove me directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Surprisingly, I came right on time, as the presentations were just about to commence! Dripping wet with a soggy umbrella by my side, I took my seat and waited patiently for the speaker to begin.
Our first presentation was delivered by one of the Economics and Trade Relations officials, who, although spoke in a monotonous tone, offered some fascinating insights.
One of the questions I asked him about was regarding fiscal austerity and 1) whether or not Finland would implement austerity and 2) if Finland did implement austerity, would it be successful?
My interest in austerity in economic policy began last year at the Summer Institute on International Affairs, when we were discussing the negative implications of collective austerity. As in the cases of Greece and Spain, when all countries undergo austerity at the same time in an effort to cut spending and contract the budget, there are no spenders to stimulate or invest in the economy.
While he agreed that collective austerity is nearly always ruinous, he believed that there is a delicate balance to be struck between too much budget-cutting and too little budget-cutting that must be discerned by policymakers.
Another imminent economic issue he emphasized was the negative consequences of a Russian economic sanction on Finnish society. In response to the Ukraine crisis, many western countries have begun implementing economic sanction to deter Russia from further invasion of sovereignty. However, because Russian goods accounts for 18% of Finnish imports, imposing sanctions upon Russia may cripple certain sectors of the Finnish economy.
In addition, he mentioned that Finland is emerging as a hub for start up entrepreneurial ventures, and have established relations with companies and venture capital funds in the Silicon Valley! How exciting it was to hear my home region mentioned at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!
Our next presenter was from the political and foreign relations department of the Ministry! She basically analyzed the role that Finland played in the context of the world, and especially emphasized the unique Finland-U.S. relationship, which began when Finland was the only country to pay the U.S. back after World War I! I distinctly remember learning this obscure piece of trivia in APUSH. Finland focuses primarily on international development issues, environmental and climate change issues, LGBT rights, women's rights, and disabled peoples rights.
From her, I learned that Finland places priority on multilateral agreements such as agreements between multiple countries through supranational organizations like the United Nations and World Trade Organization. One question I asked her was regarding Finland's biggest adversary, in terms of international relations, to which she replied, Finland really didn't have any adversaries! Definitely one of the perks of being a small country. Very peaceful, democratic, and stable.
A slide from the Foreign Affairs powerpoint, discussing Finland's political relations.
With the political and foreign relations officer.
At 5 PM, my sister Sanni arrived at the YFU National Office to take me shopping and to dinner! She usually works at the Lelomuseo (the toy museum on Suomenlinna), but she didn't have to go to work today. We headed to the center of Helsinki, where most of the stores and restaurants were located.
Stockmann- Finland's largest department store.
From a souvenir shop, I bought a shirt that said "2011 Ice Hockey World Champions: Finland" for 5 euros. I was hunting for an "I <3 Helsinki" shirt, but all of them were 25 euros, which is an outrageous price for a simple shirt. Then Sanni wanted to step inside an H&M to find some loose trouser type pants. Although we didn't find the pants, several sales racks caught our eyes, and we purchased matching cream/beige sweaters!
After browsing through several other stores, we decided to stop for dinner! We went to a sushi restaurant called "Zen Sushi"-- I forgot the name of the sushi type that I ordered, but I got the same thing as Sanni. There were 8 sushi rolls filled with salmon, carrot, avocado, and cucumber. The salmon was pleasantly fresh and delicious, probably because Helsinki is so close to the sea. While eating dinner, we talked for a very long time about the importance of exchange programs, differing cultural norms between the US and Finland, as well as the intricacies of the Finnish language and grammar structure.
Downtown Helsinki! It was a pretty rainy day (as mentioned previously).
After we were full of sushi, we rode the bus home and arrived at 8 PM!
At the bus station to come home. Our bus is number 67.
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