Wooo! Look at all the replies. I feel so popluar
alloydog wrote:"... apply for a residence permit"
You mean you haven't already?
Have you got the correct visa to work here?
Do you have any employment prospects lined up?
Do you have any hopes, dreams and ambitions, we can mercilessly shoot down for you
I haven't already because I don't have a job lined up yet. They just changed the laws so you can move there with just the passport (you get 3 months that way and don't need a visa) and if you get married within that time you can apply then under the basis of family ties (since hubby will be Finnish). So that has yet to happen but its all legal I promise. And about my ambitions ... I only hope to lose weight since I can exercise there ... please don't shoot me down
alloydog wrote:Oh yeah, one last thing, the end of January, early Feb, is usually the coldest part of the year - In the Oulu area, in '99 it bottomed out at -40ºC (-40ºF), but normally -30ºC (-22ºF) is not uncommon. So pack your longjohns! Or stay in bed and generate lots of bodyhead...
Thanks mom. I have visited Finland in the winter before.
It got down to about -30 and we stood outside to watch fireworks on newyears. So I am prepared. But actually the low in northern US was down to -55 degrees last night. Thank goodness I live farther south than that.
tjwatts wrote:Your ruby slippers in case you want to get home again
har-dee-har-har
I am going to live in Seinäjoki actually and my plans are quite sparse. I hope to take a language class begining in March though.
Hank W. wrote:It must be the bacground radiation in Kansas. Do you live close to Fred Phelps?
Stupid Fred Phelps. I do actually live quite close to him. He has the American flag hanging up-side-down on his flag pole and a big banner on the side of his church with his website on it (which I would rather not mention). The dumb ass one time though decided to try to piss off Swedish people by hanging their flag up-sid-down (he had already done Canada's too) but it looks the same both ways. I had to laugh. If you don't know already, Fred Phelps is an anti-gay activist who has written his own version of the Bible and has his own church and his minions go out to places to protest and have signs saying things like "God hates America", "God hates fags", "fags die, God laughs" and all sorts of lovely things. Topeka is a place you have to visit to understand how f***ed up it is.
Caroline wrote:I second Hank's advice- do not close your U.S. bank account. Since you said you did already, open a new one or ask if you can halt the closure somehow. It will probably become useful while you are living here, and if you move back to the U.S. someday, it will save some hassle to have the account still there.
I only closed my savings account. I still have a checking account. I had to keep it open anyway because I used my Visa Checkcard to order my air tickets on the internet. I chose to have paper tickets but they never sent me any so I wrote them an email and they said I needed to check-in like I had an e-ticket so I still need that card active when I leave. But I didn't plan on closing it anyway.
Caroline wrote:Since you have yet to get married, I'd STRONGLY recommend getting a book on intercultural marriage while you're still in the States, and bring it with you, because it's much cheaper that ordering it from abroad.
Already got one. Its called "Intercultural Marriage: Promises and Pitfalls" by Dugan Romano (second edition) ... I guess the first edition resulted in too many divorces or something
. I haven't read it yet, I am saving it for the long plane ride. I was also considering buying Dr. Phils "Relationship Rescue" but I don't know ... anyone read it?
And thank you all for your warm wishes! I got one more going-away party and then its time to pack. Only two more full days left of being a resident of the USA.
*sniff sniff*
no wait, Im not sad. This is exciting![/quote]
lol Just kidding! 
