Two new Finland-in-English blogs to check out
Along with a few old favorites (Such as Jukka V., FinnSense, and Mr. Slender), here’s a couple new Finland-in-Englsh blogs to check out…
Toby Archer of the Finnish Institute for International Affairs (interviewed here on Radio Free Finland) begins a new blog about international politics entitled, “Northern Light – chilled thoughts from the top of Europe”
We are colleagues who work as researchers studying various aspects of international affairs. Our interests are wide and many, often going beyond what we have time to write about for our work. This blog is to provide space to write shorter, but hopefully still well-informed, comments on whatever else sparks our interest. We are based in Helsinki, so there may be a Finnish ‘tinge’ to the comment, although Toby is British and Charly has spent as much time out of Finland as in it. The focus will be unapologetically on international politics – if this makes us foreign policy wonks or geeks, we can only take that as a compliment.
Helsingin Sanomat begins a new blog in English for this summer. “Citysherpa” puts together a tourist, a native, and a reporter together for a tour of the city – then they write about it on the blog…
Wouldn’t it be great if a local showed Helsinki to you? It is possible now and it doesn’t cost anything! Citysherpa is a service which gives a tourist the chance to meet someone who lives in Helsinki and who wants to show his or her city. Sherpas will not be paid a salary, and it doesn’t cost anything for a tourist to use their services. The job they do is entirely voluntary.
How does it work? Read the presentations of sherpas and send an e-mail to the person you wish to show Helsinki to you. Citysherpa says yes, if it is all right for him or her. There is no defined length for the tour, it can take an hour, or a day. The tour as such doesn’t cost anything, but you are expected to pay entrance fees and other such expenses yourself.
Have any of you volunteered to be a Citysherpa? I think I’ll sign up and my tour will be called “Excellent Espoo!!” or “The Welfare State Experience: A Day in the Life of a Homeless Alcoholic”




