Hey, no cutting in line!

My day was rather productive today. I woke up around 5:45 am and left the hostel around 7am. I walked to the train station with two Aussie guys who were headed to St Petersburg. Interesting guys; we had a nice chat before parting. I explored the central station and the surrounding areas as most stores were to open after 9am. There was a nice fruit stand offering fresh strawberries, blueberries and golden apricots to travelers taking trains. They looked delicious; too bad I don’t have a fridge yet.

I had gone to the station to see if I can get my travel card. I was told that I need a letter from the city certifying that I live in Helsinki before getting the special rate for Helsinki residents. So, I headed to the housing office, HOAS, under scattered showers. Fortunately I had my umbrella. People I have encountered in Helsinki are generally quite nice and helpful. A girl was going towards Kamppi shopping mall near the HOAS office, so we walked together and she showed me the direction. I had to pay a deposit before signing my lease so I headed back to Kampi to find a bank.

Opening an account was rather easy. A bit of shopping around helped. The second bank had service charges one-third of the first one and I was able to transfer the deposit to HOAS online at no cost. Online banking is different here. You are given a printed list of passwords. Each password is used only once and you cross it off the list once you use it and proceed to the next password the next time. The system also asks you to enter another code corresponding to a random letter. A table of letters with their corresponding codes is also printed on the document given at the time the account is opened. These codes are re-usable. You cannot change your pin on your bank card and no name or signature appears on your card, so if you loose it, they give you a new card with a new password.

After signing the lease at HOAS and getting the info on the free internet service included in the rent, I headed to register myself in the National Population Information System. This allows you to get a Finnish social security number as well as the document required for buying your travel card (public transport pass). I found their office a bit chaotic. To my surprise, there were no clear line-ups and no number system. Everyone would approach the counter and it seemed that the more aggressive you were, the faster you were served! Cutting in line seemed quite common! And it wasn’t a foreigner who was doing that; it was a senior Finn who quietly ignored my presence and went right in front of me as if I didn’t exist! I didn’t expect this in a Scandinavian country!

The rest of the day went smoothly. I finally got my travel card and loaded it for 60 days of travel. I got my cell number and by 3:30 pm I was already exhausted. I took the tram back to the hostel and went to bed!