Approaching Spring

Being so far north, I knew that I was in for a long winter. For most people who know me well, it didn't make a lot of sense that I was moving to a location that was much further north than Iowa. Why? I hate the cold. Everything about it. Being cold, having to wear several layers of clothing, wearing clothes for function rather than fashion, and not knowing when, if ever, I will be warm again.

Winter began in earnest in Helsinki on November 29 with the area's first blizzard, Antti. They name their winter storms here like NOAA names tropical storms. This wasn't the first snow (I remember the date: October 26; I won a bet with my husband of when the first snow would fall!), but it was the first measurable snow fall at 12 inched. All of the Finns I know were so excited and relieved to have all of this snow sticking to the ground. By the end of November, the length of sunlight was already down to 6.5 hours (from nearly 19 hours in June) and the snow on the ground reflected what sunlight there was and the street lights to provide an illusion of brightness. They were excited for each successive snowfall as the clean snow covered up the dirty snow. There is a saying in Finnish that more or less means, "The new snow kills the old snow."

Being on the water, the weather in Helsinki is quite stable and more and more snow added to the first blizzard, never melting. A month ago, there was still nearly a meter of snow on the ground. In March, this was really depressing. A lot of people here become seriously depressed by the lack of daylight in November and December. Not me -- I was disheartened by the lingering cold. March turned out to be the coldest of the whole winter and despite the long days (over 13 hours already at the end of March and creeping toward 16 hours now!), the frigid temperatures were getting me down. The Finns told me not to despair -- all of Europe was in a cold spell, so it wasn't just Finland.

So, I did the only thing I could: wait. Last week and this week the snow disappeared and the frozen harbors have melted. Yesterday we watched as a crane lifted a few boats into our local harbor. The seagulls have returned, harassing the poor ducks that have been peacefully existing the last two months at the few spots of open water.

The grass isn't growing yet, nor are the trees budding, but there are some lovely weeds in bloom.

I am still wearing my winter coat, wondering when I'll be able to put it away. But surely it will be soon. The signs of spring are finally here!

Finnish thesis defense

I recently had the honor to attend the PhD defense of one of my coworkers. It was a very different experience from my defense, and that of my friends who graduated from the University of Iowa.

1. The defense is a formal event. Our student, his opponent, and the mediator (more on that next) were all wearing formal dress: black trousers, black coat with tails, white vest, white tie, white shirt. I hear that females are expected to wear a formal gown.

2. There is an opponent and a mediator. Rather than being quizzed by a committee of professors, there is one person, the opponent. This is a person chosen by the student and thesis advisor who is outside the university and knows the most about the particular topic that is the subject of the thesis. This person gets to ask all of the questions. The mediator is a representative of the student's department who can intervene if things start to get out of control. Otherwise, this person does not have much to do.

3. The language may be English, Finnish, or Swedish. As I have said before, Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish. If the opponent speaks Finnish or Swedish, and the student prefers, the defense can be conducted in either of these languages. If their common language is English, then the defense will obviously be in English. Unfortunately for me, the opponent for this particular defense was a native Finn and the student chose Finnish for the defense. However, my friends translated the funny bits for me, the opponent and the student had the audience rolling with laughter at some points.

4. The entire defense is public. The student gives a 20 minutes seminar, more or less, that gives a broad overview of the state of research in her field. The student then sits at the front of the room, facing the opponent, and the opponent then asks questions from the thesis. In this particular case, the opponent questioned the student for 3 hours.

5. There is a protocol to the defense. The audience sits in the auditorium, waiting for the guests of honor to arrive. The student, mediator, and opponent then enter the room, in that order, and the audience stands. From what I understood of what occurred next is as follows: the mediator speaks, welcoming the audience. The student then welcomes the audience, thanks the opponent for attending and then asks the opponent for the examination. The opponent then accepts the task of providing the exam. The audience then sits. The student gives his short presentation, and then the opponent fires away. Once the examination wraps up, the opponent has something specific to say, closing the exam if the audience does not have any further questions (this is very rare), and granting the student the title of PhD. Then the student has something specific to say. Sorry for the vagaries  but this was all in Finnish and not translated for me.

6. The party afterward is bigger than weddings in Finland. I was fortunate to be invited to the 'karonka' or thesis party given by the student (not all lab members are invited). This particular party is a big event in a student's life. The dress for the event is formal and I had to wear a formal dress. The student hosts the party at a rented-out restaurant which includes a formal sit-down dinner, complete with beverages. This party is quite the expense, and to save money, it is common for the student to stock up on alcohol in Estonia (half the price of that found in Finland) for the event. After the cocktail hour, the meal, and the dessert and coffee, there are speeches. The student starts and addresses the opponent, then the mediator, and then the advisor. After this, the student may thank other people in attendance who were vital to the completion of the thesis: lab mates, lab technicians, collaborators, then maybe friends, family, and their significant other. When the student has finished with her speeches, those people she thanks are expected to give a speech, in the order they were addressed. So, the opponent, the mediator, the thesis advisor, and so on, give speeches.

7. Our lab engages in public humiliation at karonkas. We lab folk spent two weeks preparing to humble ourselves at the party. What did we do? We stood in front of the party and sang and danced. We sang two songs in Finnish (Tipi-ti, and I don't remember the second), and we changed the words to 'My Way' by Frank Sinatra, and 'Gangnam Style' by PSY. Though embarrassing, it ended up being fun.

Though I couldn't understand half of what was said during this event, it was a lot of fun. It was also interesting to see the differences between this style of thesis defense and that of what I was familiar with. Can't wait for the next one!

Finnish Museum of Natural History

With a visitor in town, I again had some great suggestions for touring Helsinki from my coworkers. I realized that I had previously over-looked the Finnish Museum of Natural History, or Luomos. This is located in the Töölö neighborhood and is a part of the University of Helsinki. The building was built in 1913 as a Russian gymnasium and functioned as such until 1923 when it was adopted by the University of Helsinki. At this point, it housed part of the biology department and my bosses can recall attending classes there while working on their bachelor degrees. In 1988, it became the Museum of Natural History.

                                                                                             courtesy of luomos.fi


This museum was fantastic. It is manageable in an afternoon and is reasonably priced: 10 euros for adults with various discounts for students, University staff, and children. The majority of the museum is a permanent exhibition, but all of the information is in Finnish or Swedish. However, there are free audio tours available, at least in English. And this guy was in the front hall to greet everyone:

courtesy of luomos.fi

The exhibits held animals from around the world, prehistoric to present, but especially showcased those animals that one would find in Finland. What I found interesting was the realistic nature of the displays: animals acting as predators and prey. For example, in one display, a lion was dragging a limp zebra in its mouth. There was also animal scat from each animal in every display. I tried to recall, but I don't remember seeing such realistic exhibits in the Museum of Natural History in New York.

The temporary exhibit at the museum was on bats. The room was made to mimic a bat-cave with sounds of a bat flying overhead (all too real for me). This display had information in the usual Finnish and Swedish, but also included English. Take home message: very few species of bats suck blood. Even fewer attack humans.

If you enjoy looking at dinosaur bones and taxidermied animals, then this is the place for you. Even if you don't, it is a small dose and I highly recommend it!