PolarTREC teachers are called upon to do a lot of things. Some of us sleep in tents on the ice and shoot polar bears with tranquilizer darts. Some cut up glaciers with chain saws. Plenty have jumped into the Arctic Ocean without a wetsuit. But, I’ll bet I’m the only one to go grocery shopping in Finland…
Alone.
Within an hour of arriving.
Not having slept since yesterday morning.
And then find the way back to an apartment on the third floor of a building that looks like all the other buildings on a street whose name I think begins with "K” (but so do all the other streets.)
He hasn't slept or shaved since yesterday morning
People on the team are showing up a few at a time and my roommate hasn’t arrived yet. My ride had to rush back to the airport for another pickup. So, I thought I would make myself useful by buying a few groceries. What is a Northern Finnish grocery store like?
Well, it is really lacking in fruits and vegetables. No surprise – it’s early spring here in the sub-arctic.
It’s also lacking in fresh meat and fish. What they do have has been pre-marinated in a strange sauce. I might be able to recognize the meat by its color, but the sauce has confounded me.
Probably marinated pork
There is lots of processed meat of the hot dogs and cold cuts variety.
Mostly, everything comes in packages. Totally unfamiliar packages. And I can’t read a word on any of them!
Probably margerine (top) and butter (bottom)
But, I buy some packages and haul them home. I slice some sausage, some cheese, and unwrap a loaf of bread. I try some . AHHH… It is really good! Fresh, whole grain, kind of rye-y but it has some other aroma too – maybe molasses? Caraway? Who knows? You sure can’t get this at home. Grocery shopping here is going to be OK.
**Update on May 21: **Here's what I've been living on, mostly: Rye Bread cheese smoked salmon and whitefish Makkara (Finnish hot dogs) Beef stew cookies Tea and beer Oranges from Egypt Cherry tomatoes from Israel