Wishing tree in Finland

Apart from seeing Lam Tsuen wishing trees in Hong Kong I found one in the park of Kauniainen in Finland. It's not well-known but a few people considered it as a wishing tree. Instead of throwing the orange tied with a paper in Hong Kong, people throw SHOES here!!!

It was believed that if the orange(/shoes) successfully were hung onto one of the tree branches, these wishes would come true ;)  I found this interesting and wanted to give it a try~ I told my wish to my shoes and then threw it. Do you want to guess how many times I threw my shoes? 9 times...

So big tree.....

Believe me, it is really difficult to throw it to somewhere high. A few times I even threw them to the opposite direction of the tree. Be sure that nobody is close to the tree or in the range of your throws! Once it almost hit my friend... whoopsies... Now the shoes are hung there and holding my hope~

PS. Don't tell anyone your wish otherwise it won't come true ;) I hope your wish comes true too!

What is sitsit?

There was Suursitsit-event on the Senate Square in front of the Helsinki Cathedral! It was meant to celebrate the University of Helsinki's 375^th anniversary and the 150^th year anniversary of the sudent cap. Also the event shows for all to see the students' festival traditions. Very many students and academic communities covered the square to celebrate the joyful traditions of the Academic Table Feast for the second time in the history (the first one was in 2012).

So what is Sitsit? It's a special academic dinner party where people can sing songs, drink wines/beers, chit-chat, and enjoy the miscellaneous and unexpected programs. Each sitsit has its own theme and dressing codes. In addtion, after parties are usually arranged after Sitsi dinners.

To start with, people stand behind their seats and wait for the toastmaster's announcement. After his small speech, he proclaim the next song ("Helan går") and everybody starts to sing. You can see there are small booklets with lyrics and shot glass with vodka in front of you. Songs are mostly in Finnish but there are also some in German, Swedish, and English. Some of them are really hilarious (you might be surprised ;) ) and you need to stand up and dance the way it requires.

You have to follow the rules and regulations instructed by the toastmaster. It's important to keep the dinner under control so everybody is able to enjoy it. Otherwise it would be chaotic and noisy. By following the rules you may avoid getting punished ;P

The big bell :P

Performance/Speech

In the center of table there is a big bell. You will hear "gong" if somebody wants to perform something. At that time people should listen to him/her and stay quiet on their seats. You will hear this "gong" again, again , and again... These interruptions continue through the whole evening so the whole dinner is full of speeches, drinking, singing, and performances e.g. dancing, and band. "Sitsit with cold food is a good Sitsit!"

During breaks people can leave their seats for example to buy more drinks from the bar, to walk around, to hang out and so on. It's also recommended to go to the toilet during the break since this is the only time you are able to go around ;)

Actually I have participated in only a few Sitsit, because this is not quite my thing and sometimes I think it's too noisy for me :P. But it's really nice to enjoy the "dinner" with your friends and make new friends. It feels good to wear suits one in a while. I can also sing some song without lyrics haha XD Sitsits are really funny and interesting. If you are interested in Sitsit, but the language (Finnish) is the problem to you, I really recommend you to participate in International Sitsit that is arranged around twice a year (in the autumn and spring semester).

More information about the event, just check out these websites:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1565227897065454/ (facebook event)
http://www.esnjyvaskyla.com/news/sitsit-101-two-viewpoints (sitsit rules)

Vapiano restaurant

In the evening I went to have dinner with my school mates in Vapiano restaurant (the address is Mikonkatu 15).

The system in this restaurant is quite special. When you enter, you will receive a card from the cashier. The card is the most important object in this restaurant so don't lose it otherwise you may get into trouble! Every time you order food (pizza, pasta, antipasti, salad, soup) or drink (alcohol drinks, tea, coffee, cocoa, juice), you need to press the card into a machine and the charge will be saved into the card. There are two floors in the restaurant.

We ordered Salame (10,90€; tangy salami, homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella) Prosciutto E Funghi (11,90€; Italian ham, fresh mushrooms, homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella),and Pesto Con Spinaci (10,90€; baby spinachi leaves, marinated tomatoes, creamy pesto sauce, mozzarella). My friend ordered beer, which cost 6€. They were quite delicious. Remember to eat the food while they are still warm! Otherwise it would be difficult to cut the pizza :P

You can add some basilia-leaves in your food :P

The style in Vapioano was unique, the Italian style contained wood, marble, leather and light elements. There were also many funny looking pictures on the wall. Tables were large enough to enjoy time with friends, families and strangers. There are living plants (fresh herbs) you can take for direct food preparation on the tables.

In the end, you need to return the card back to the cashier and pay the bill.

This restaurant is unique in both decoration and paying system. It's place to pass the time with your friends, family or workmates. I recommend you to try this place! ;)

More information from this websites:
http://www.vapiano.com/en/home/

Maailma kylässä~

After sushi buffet, the journey continued to Rautatientori and Kaisaniemen puisto where "Maailma kylässä" -event was taking place. It was free entrance.

In tents there were many kinds of educational institutions, public authorities and business participate in the festival, such as Kansainvälinen vapaaehtoistyö, Insinööriliitto, Helsinkirekry, SAK, Metro, Sirkus Magenta, UFF, and etc.

Films, documentaries and kid's programs were provided. In addition, you were able to enjoy food from different cultures in the world (from Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, China, Philippines Ethiopia, Ghana, Nepal, Peru, Niger, Turkish...) while watching performances from stages.

Plus various bazaar vendors sold small handicraft and fair-trade products like jewels, textiles and potteries.

More information about the event from these websites:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1437076713261841/
http://www.maailmakylassa.fi/

Kin Suhsi restaurant

I planned to go the event called "Maailma kylässä" with my friends in the center of Helsinki. Before that we decided to have sushi buffet of Kin Sushi restaurant. The address is Lönnrotinkatu 2 and you can find the place in the opposite of Stockmann close to Scandic Marski hotel.

The buffet costs 14,50€ (you are able to check from their website) and you can eat more than 20 various kinds of sushis. My favorites are avocado, surimi (red, white meat), inari (tofu), saki (salmon), smoked salmon and spicy ebi (shrimp) tempura!! :P

We ate on the lower floor since there were not enough spaces for us. The decorations of restaurant made me feel comfortable and delightful. It was relaxing to sip the green tea and chat with my friends~

Sushi were delicious and I recommend this place. I ate sooo much that I had to rest a bit haha xD

More details about the restaurant from these website:

http://www.kinsushi.fi/#about

https://www.facebook.com/RestaurantKinSushiHelsinki?fref=ts