I got 85%, while natural-born Finns I know got 30 points less. Doesn’t seem to make me or any other foreigner any more or less of a Finn in the eyes of society to know for example how people in Rauma speak, as the more I explore suomalaisuus it looks that it is an ethnic rather than cultural concept.

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Long-time foreign residents (and good friends) say there's only 3 things to do in Singapore: eat, shop and visit the rest of Southeast Asia. I wouldn't really mind, especially given their awesome weather.

The place looks absolutely stunning at night.

In Singapore and the rest of the world you can find Corona

Their Financial district didn't appear to have suffered the recession too much. Furthermore, everywhere is spotless.

There is very, very interesting architecture.

The place is almost a textbook case study of multiculturalism. Not surprising given that it was forced on them by the government a few generations ago.

The economy is still going strong.

The place seems to be slightly constrained on the political freedoms front, juding by the level of discourse in the country's media.

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I recently flew with Singapore Airlines and have to say the experience was very pleasant.  Even in economy class there was more than enough legroom, every seat had a good in-flight entertainment system, the movie selection was both varied and recent, the service was flawless every time and the meals were excellent in both flavour and presentation.  So unlike the state of airline travel in Europe or, worse, the US.

A special mention is warranted to the on-air personnel and their uniforms.  Unlike Western male-originated attire, their stewardesses actually look like women.  The picture below doesn’t do them justice at all.

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I watched this movie on a plane recently and was very pleasantly surprised.  Without giving away the essence of the plot, I can say that the first 5 minutes are the best, most touching opening sequence I have seen in a movie in the past 5 years at least.

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This time of the year it is very common to get foggy days in southern Finland.  I find them very interesting because the combination of setting with metheorological phenomenon brings to my mind images of Viking longships raiding the marshes and woods of the lands of the Fenni.

A friend of mine did share a story of Vikings rading a warehouse full of precious animal furs near the town of Nokia, which is where  it takes is name from (noki being “soot” and sable being as black as it).  Somehow drunken barbarians warriors attacking a town for its pelts sounds pretty funny to me.

This brings me to another point: every once in a while I feel like the Arab guy in The 13th Warrior. Par for the course for a southerner living in these northern lands

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TEDx Helsinki was organised this year as a local mirror for the wonderful, famous TED talks.  The event was quite good overall, even if the level of the talks was a little uneven.  The only problem they had was with misleading marketing in one important aspect: while their website and the registration process was in English, 80% of the event was in Finnish with no translations, which meant those attendants who didn’t master the language of Aleksis Kivi (and there were quite a few), were given a cold shoulder from the get go.

This was one of those situations where I was really glad to have learned the local lingo. If you are interested to know more about the event, you can check twitter or Anssi Kela’s post (in Finnish).

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One “small detail” that has gotten pretty much every Mexican netizen riled up is a raise of 3% on telecommunications, including the use of internet, as Congress considers it a “luxury good”.  Great way of stifle the development of the nation even further, especially when comparing it to what is going in in places like Finland where brodband access is a right (which doesn’t mean it’s subsidised by the state).  Here in Finland it is understood that connectivity brings economic advantages and growth, unlike our prehistoric Mexican politicians.

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I had heard that a proper Mexican taquería had opened in Stockholm recently, and this week I had the chance to visit.  As in any such places back in the land of nopales and chilangos, they don’t serve any of the elaborate traditional dishes like mole and such (which doesn’t make their food any less good), focusing on the humble taco in its varieties.  They prepare bistec, pastor and a variety of quesadillas, as you can see in their menu and they even have a tortilla making machine.

The reviews have been very positive, and I’m glad as the food is great and the real deal.  I wish them well.

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