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?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?? ????????. ???? ???????????? ??? ???????? ???? ??????? ???? ???? (??????) ??? ?? ????? ??? ?????????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????????. ?????? ????????, ??????? ?? ?? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????? ??? ????????. ??????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ????.
?????? ?????? ?????? ??? ?? ????????. ???? ???????????? ??? ???????? ???? ??????? ???? ???? (??????) ??? ?? ????? ??? ?????????? ??? ?????? ??? ??????? ????? ?????? ??? ?????????. ?????? ????????, ??????? ?? ?? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????? ??? ????????. ??????? ???? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ?????????? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ?????? ????.
?? ??? ???? ??? ?? ????????? ????? ??????? – ??????? ????? ?????? ???? 4 ????.
????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ???? ??????. ??????????? ?? ???????. ??????? 2011, ? ?????? ??????? ?? ?????????? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ???????????. ??? ??? ???? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ????????? ??????. ?????? ??? ?? ?????????? ??? ???????, ??????????? -15, ??? ?????????? ??? ?? ????? ??? ????? ????? ??????? 250 ?????????? ??? ??? ??? ??????????. ??? ???????? ??? ?????????. ?????? ????????? ????????? ??? ???????? . ?????????????! ??????? ?????? 4 ??????. ? ??????? ?????? ?? ????????. ????? ??? ?? ???????? ??????? ????????? ??? ?? ????????????. ?????? ???????, ????????? ???????????. ?? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ???????? ??? ????, ?? ??????? ??????????? ????? ??????????. ???? ???? ? ???? ??????? 340 ?????? ???????? ???????????? ??????????? ?? ???????? ???? 5,5 ??????????? ?????????? ??? ??? ??????????????? ?????. ?? ???? ????? ???? ?????????, ?????????? ???????, ????????? ???????? ??? ??????. ??? ????? ????? ????????? ??????? 2,500 ????????. ????????? 12 ?????????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ???????. ???????? ???????????, ????????, ???????? ??? ??????? ????? ???? ????????? ??? ??????? ??? ????? ?????. ???????? ??????? ???? ??????????? ?????? ??? ???? ????. ???? ???? ??? ??? ??????? ?? ??? ??? ?????????? ??? ?????. ? ???????? ????? ???? ??? ???? ????????? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ??? ?????????. ??????? ???????? ? ????????? ?? ??? ????????. ??? ??? ??? ???????, ???????. ?? ???????????? ?? ??? ??? ????????? ??? ??? ?????????????. ??? ?????????????? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ???????? ????????? ? ???????? ?? ????? <<???????>> ?? ??????????? ?? ???? ??????. ??? ????? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ??????. ???? ???????? ????? ?????? ????. ? ??????? ???? ?????? ????????? ???? ?????????. ???? ????????? ??? ??? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ??????? ????, ????? ???? ??????. ???? ??? ?????????? ?? ?????? ? ??? ?????????? ??? ????. ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? 188.000 ??? ??? ????? ????????.
English translation:
From the Mediterranean to Scandinavia
I remember as a small boy hearing about Finland. The first time I heard about Santa Clause Village in Rovaniemi was in the primary school of my city Paphos, Cyprus. I imagined white snow sleds towed by reindeers and of course Rudolph. At that moment I thought to myself that “this must be so far away, it would take hours to get there.”
However, a direct flight from Larnaca to Helsinki takes only four hours.
Who could have told me that as a grown up man I would be married to a Finnish woman and living in Finland. In March 2011 I took the big step to move from the Mediterranean to the Nordic region exchanging the shining sun and the blue sea for the white snow and frozen lakes. I felt exited when I stepped out of the airport in Helsinki to -15°C freezing cold. The 250-kilometer drive from the capital up to my new home in a little village called Otava was nothing less than magnificent. Everything along the way was white, even the huge lakes that look like an ocean where all is frozen. I was thrilled!
Four years have passed since then. The dull weather tires me. Even the Finns feel depressed and tired of the cold and long winter. It can get very depressing. No wonder why alcohol flows through the veins of the Finns like water. Very often they drink so much that they are about to pass out.
This country has an area of almost 340 thousand square kilometers and with a population of only 5.5 million. The weather can be harsh sometimes, but in spite of this everything works like a well-tuned clock. It is robust, yet with a very well-functioning economy, social welfare, education, and health system.
The population of Otava is about 3,000 people. It is located 12 km from the city Mikkeli. It has a kindergarten, primary, secondary and multicultural School that hosts students from other countries. It also has a church, a small harbor and two minimarkets.
Most people of Otava are friendly towards foreigners. It is not the same throughout the rest of the country. “Finland is only for Finnish” a politician recently said on television.
The official languages ??are Finnish and Swedish. As for the foreigners that cannot speak these language life can be very difficult. Most Finns know English, but because of lack of usage they feel ashamed of speaking it. If you are in need of any information or help, you must be very lucky to find someone that is willing to help you out in English.
Those who don’t know it the SAUNA is the Finnish way of life. The number of saunas in Finland is almost the same as the amount of inhabitants. Because every home has a sauna and most Finnish people also have a summerhouse by the lake in the forest, a sauna in your house is a must.
Like I mentioned before Finland is full of lakes, all in all 188,000 and that’s no exaggeration. If you would see Finland from above the only thing you would see is forest and lakes, a whole lot of nature consisting of more forest and lakes.
Leontios Christodoulou