"In the beginning there was nothing...

... which exploded."

The quotation from T. Pratchett shows very well how my attraction to Finland evolved when I learned that I am going to be an exchange student there (attraction level = 0%) and after spending 4 months in Kuopio in Finland (attraction level = 100%).
I cannot say if it is the experience shared by most of exchange students coming to Finland, but it definitely happened to many of those who came to Kuopio.

This explosion of attraction for Kuopio and Finland can be easily explained by a phenomenon known as cultural shock. There is however a difference between the regular cultural shock which lasts for few months and an abnormal cultural shock which lasts in my case for almost 5 years now. Kuopio has some kind of magnetic power which attracts many foreigners to come back and live here.
What is that power? For those who are interested, want to know more, and have a sense of humor I recommend R. Schatz's book titled "From Finland with Love". I don't recommend this blog as a source of information as it will be seriously biased, written from one perspective only, will not provide comprehensive knowledge, and the systematic posts are highly doubtful (if there will be any at all).
Nevertheless I will try to continue writing as I am very prone to do things I am not good at (Like writing. Writing in English in particular). At the same time I have to declare that I will not take any responsibility for those who decide to visit this blog. You do it at your own risk.