"I hope you will make a good future in Finland"

Someone mentioned this to Piotr the other day and I rather liked the optimism of it. Summer seems an optimistic time this far north: The big, bright afternoon sunshine smiles on the Finnish soul and here in Tampere the locals gather on the riverbanks as if drawn to an emotional photosynthesis.

We've only got a few hours left in our "good future" here, but the program and experience already occupies a good past. Finland has been a place of crisp, vivid tones: the rich red of lingonberry jam that greets us in the morning on our pancakes; the tall, thick forests which color the countryside green; glittering blue lakes; a shock of blond hair that flutters past on the street. But enough rhapsodizing with the Lonely Planet-isms - what of Finland historically? Politically? Anthropologically?

Such were the questions that kept us busy during our SummerCulture stay. Certain themes persisted throughout: A nation delicately threading its geopolitical strategy between the West and Russia. A Nordic welfare state creeping toward a potentially calamitous date with demographic destiny. A civil war 90 years unresolved in memory. A global brand identity both omnipresent and unremarkable to locals. Consensus and humility. A communication culture (in the literal sense) undaunted by silences. Oh, and boozing.

To these lectures and explorations, we added a sprint through St. Petersburg (also in the literal sense). There I was struck by a city aiming for grace but achieving something more brutally modernist. The scope of St. Petersburg makes you feel small: Inhuman blocks, streets that stretch endlessly to the horizon, metro station-cum-bomb shelters burrowed almost miles underground. With planning like this (Peter... the Great?), you get the sense that as far as you've walked, you've not made all that much progress toward your destination. Nonetheless, it's European pretensions are not hard to miss: Amsterdamian canals (but bigger); courtly architecture (minus the grumpy Soviet holdovers); and a self-regard that considers Moscow a "noisy crowded village" (as voiced by the feisty editor of a scrappy local paper). What an eye-opening rush of detail and experience!

To pack all this into just two brief weeks is a testament to those coordinating - many thanks to Barbie, Risto, Kaarle and the Finnish students who have been invaluably helpful and accommodating (and to Annenberg for funding this amazing opportunity). Like others in the group I suspect, I'm exhausted and invigorated. A good future, indeed - perhaps not in Finland but most certainly with Finland.

travel safe-
serazio