Living Abroad Amid Global Crises
When I was applying for the Fulbright US Student Program in 2019—well before the official announcement and major lifestyle changes and mandates connected to COVID-19—I never suspected that the Coronavirus would impact this experience and the world as it has. Nonetheless, by the time the global pandemic began, my application was already submitted for the 2021-2022 grant cycle and all I could do was wait and wonder whether or not the Fulbright Finland Foundation would permit me to conduct research in Eastern Finland with the ongoing pandemic. Finally, in March 2021 I made it through my final interview and confirm that I will be arriving the upcoming August. At the time, the pandemic was the major obstacle and the only one I really monitored as I went through the process of moving abroad and contributing to a new (to me) local community. Compounding the complications surrounding the Coronavirus, the war in Ukraine has also become an unexpected concern.
I know I wasn’t the only one who did not anticipate that, during my time here, Russia, Finland’s eastern land-border neighbor, would invade Ukraine in February 2022. Now that we are living through the repercussions of this new war, there are additional implications for me to consider as a resident in the North Karelia region of Finland in Eastern Finland. In this blog I wanted to cover some of the unique assemblage of obstacles I have been experiencing as a visiting researcher with the University of Eastern Finland, JoMoni Vice Board Member, Fulbright Finland Foundation Grantee/National Finnish Agency for Education Fellow, and humanitarian-minded human being with a desire to leave a positive impact wherever I am.
COVID-19
Overall, navigating the COVID-19 restrictions in Finland has been similar to navigating them in the United States (US) before I left. It has meant that protocols shifted or changed entirely, creating gaps or hiccups in the paperwork process involved with moving to a new country and bustling around within it. This mostly affected me from August through September 2021. In November and December, COVID-19 protocols became stricter to account for holiday gatherings, so restaurants and bars closed even earlier or simply did not re-open and they all required a vaccination card to prove your vaccination status.
Because I was required to show proof of vaccination to enter Finland in August, my shots were up to date. However, the issue I ran into occurred when Finland’s pandemic-oriented protocol did not include US COVID cards as “official” documents of vaccination status. Specifically, Finland’s vaccination record includes a QR code and is usually accessed via a mobile app tied to a healthcare record system. To many restaurant personnel, my blue, palm-sized paper with dates and three initials scribbled across it just looked like a poor attempt to fake vaccination status. While I really did not eat out often or frequent bars, I had plans to attend Fulbright events in Helsinki, where COVID-19 restrictions seemed to be the most heavily enforced (at least in comparison to the small-town vibe of most towns in Eastern Finland). I discovered that there were a couple of ways to gain access to restaurants that were not sympathetic to the plight of US citizens who had no QR code or more aesthetically formal vaccination documentation and took one that seemed to be logical and should have been easier than it was: get a COVID booster in Finland so I receive an EU vaccination QR code.
Although, successful in the end, the process of getting a booster in Finland turned into its own saga. In the US, I was eligible for a booster because of the amount of time that had passed between my last shot. However, Finland gave people close to three months (as opposed to three weeks) between the first and second doses of Pfizer, Moderna, etc. unless you were in an at-risk group. As someone who is not considered elderly, immunocompromised, unvaccinated, etc. my EU COVID-passport/vaccination QR code journey involved multiple attempts, different locations, and continual encouragement from other US immigrants and Fulbright grantees that this did work to gain access to the social scene in Helsinki. Was it worth it in the end? Yep. Navigating which spots I could and could not go with a group no longer hinged on my eligibility, which not only opened up options, but also cut out the (ridiculous) feeling of being a burden to a friend or group because I required the extra consideration.
Is this reasoning I would advise everyone to follow for something like this? Nope. About a month or so after I got my EU COVID QR Code, a policy was passed that restaurants and bars had to accept the US vaccination card. Still, some places give the holder a side-eye when this piece of paper is presented. I haven’t been to Southern Finland in a while and don’t generally need to use my QR code in Eastern Finland, but I’d like to think that restrictions are lessening, overall, down there like they have been in the East. Ultimately, navigating COVID-19 policies has shaped my experience here in Finland, but I do not think I have had a lesser experience because of it—just a different one that sometimes requires more creativity and flexibility.
Now, I have created habits around the national Coronavirus restrictions. Additionally, these restrictions are lessening a bit more each month in Finland. While these updates still require consideration and navigation, my focus has shifted to the war between Russia and Ukraine that seems to be pulling in other international governments, non-governmental agencies, and global citizens in unprecedented ways. As such, this international crisis affects me in Finland because of the repercussions of its proximity to my location in Finland, the organizations of which I am part, and my own sense of moral agency as a resident of this world.
Russia-Ukraine Crisis
First and foremost, I am safe and still enjoying my time in Finland. However, I will say that the first two weeks after it was announced that Russia’s military moved to overtake Ukraine was stressful. It was a tough couple of weeks for focus. To provide some context, there are people in the North Karelia region who still remember when Finland lost land to Russia after the Winter War and had to evacuate their homes and life as they knew it once the land on which they had settled was officially Russian territory. As such, there is a sizable Russian community here in Eastern Finland and many Finns in the area take trips to visit family members or friends in the “Russian Karelia” region of Western Russia. Pre-COVID-19, people took day trips to the Russian Karelian region because of its’ proximity and familial ties. Visiting Russian Karelia and other places in Russia was absolutely one of my plans before I read more into US travel advisories for US citizens residing in and traveling to Russia.
(Checking websites like the US travel advisory and US Embassy websites is absolutely a practice I recommend for anyone traveling abroad no matter the peace/war context.)
Because of the Finns’ history with its Western neighbor, the question on many peoples’ minds, especially then, was: Are we next?
Historical Overview
This image shows the border lines between Russia and Finland from before World War II (- - -) after World War II (—) and the “Russo-Finnish War”, also called “Winter War” by locals.
The North Karelian region of Finland is largely seen by locals as “small town” or “rural”. As such, relief and humanitarian efforts to the war in Ukraine has been people-centered. For instance, a local secondary school teacher told his neighbors and colleagues he was going to collect donations to send to refugees and before he knew it, he had to organize the effort with the Finnish Red Cross and government agencies because he was organizing thousands of Euros in cash donations and filled the gymnasium of his school with items people in the greater Joensuu area contributed to the effort. I know so much about this effort because my husband, Tom, spent two days volunteering to sort and pack the donations. On the third day, he served as a driver to take the goods to Poland and then use his skills as a translator when they returned with refugees. Within a week, the caravan of cars pulling trailers, campers, bread trucks, and tour buses (two) were packed with goods and sent down to Poland. On the return trip, 145 refugees of all ages were transported back to Finland, free of charge and with no strings attached. As I understand it, the next week the group made plans to do it all again because they still had so many locally-sourced donations to distribute. They took a local reporter with them, so you can read (or translate) the story of the Joensuu-Poland caravan here. (If you look closely in one of the video clips, you can see Tom interacting with of the group on their way back to Finland.)
Since the first two weeks, we all have sought, received, and shared so much information. Within the US Fulbright Program context, the Fulbright Finland Foundation arranged a virtual informational meeting with a representative of the US Embassy in Finland to answer questions and provide information. The prevailing messages of this meeting was: (1) We are safe here in Finland. and (2) We are legally obligated to notify US citizens if there is any indication that we should evacuate US citizens from foreign countries. So, if that becomes the case, you will certainly know. However, at this time, we do not anticipate this being necessary. Of course, I have stayed updated on the travel advisories, local news, international news, and social media sites to get an idea of how to appropriately gage the situation and plan. Despite my proximity to Russia, I still feel safe.
This has impacted my experience in Finland in that it provides me opportunities to step up in the local community. I am currently working with a nongovernmental organization called JoMoni to arrange for public conversations to encourage unity during times of war while discouraging Russian immigrant and international refugee (i.e., Ukraine, Yemen, Somalia, etc.) discrimination. While we would have been working on these topics without this crisis, the war in Ukraine provides a window of opportunity for a focused approach since this conflict currently holds the world’s attention. The University of Eastern Finland has also provided outreach opportunities in light of this crisis, and, as a visiting researcher, I have been invited to speak to international students about my experiences and the importance of and value in conducting research abroad, even in turbulent times.
Final Thoughts
Normally, professional experiences abroad come with their own set of complications and obstacles. Despite the additional hurdles, I am grateful for the experience and find value in the opportunity to help with the Russia-Ukraine war, in the ways that I can, from such a close proximity. I find value in the developing my patience with bureaucratic processes and am interested in understanding how masses of people respond to government mandates, internationally. I’m in a good place here, even with all of the turmoil. Plus, now I’ll have some stellar responses to problem-solving, character-building, scenario-based interview questions.
Of course, everything is still developing with the Coronavirus and the war in Ukraine, so all I believe I can do is make an effort to stay as focused as possible on what I am here to do, help the local community when and as I am able, and do my part to stay informed on new or developing restrictions and government mandates, internationally. I still have two months remaining in Finland, so who knows how these international crises will develop and what else 2022 may have in store for all of us. For now, I’ll just take one step at a time.
