A description about the 24h of being a refugee

Last summer I was at Roihu. Finland’s biggest scouting event so far. It was on July 2016 at Evo Hämeenlinna. I’ll tell you about 24h I spent as a refugee. In the Midst of Conflict is a Finland’s Red Cross’s developed live role-play. It gets you literally in the midst of conflict. The game felt real and it wasn’t fun. Quandary was with us all the time. We didn’t know where we were going. We couldn’t trust anyone expect our group.

Our 24h was mostly walking. We had a group from a same village. We created our backstory before starting. The whole game was in English an we had to be in our roles. 

The game started when we arrived in to some kind of registeration. Then armed soldiers came and we ran away with the smuggler. When we walked we weren’t allowed to talk without the smuggler permission. She also listened all our conservations so we couldn’t plan any kind of rebellion against her (and yes we tried it !). 

After about six hours of walking and hiding in the ditches we arrived to border. They made a personal search. If someone had food or any something illegal (mobiles, food, knives etc.) they took it (of course they gave them back after the game). We sat in the prison and spent time by throwing rocks in to our shoes. If someone spoke, the guards came and yelled like ”Silence !” or ”You think this is fun ?!”. We also had to do squats and push-ups and run. If someone smiled they had to do push-ups. 

After the border we walked more and met other refugees. We had to think human rights in practice. We got lost a few times and when we finally arrived to the refugee camp we got little rice and salt tablet. We hadn’t eaten all day apart from some raisins and chocolate that we bought from our smuggler. Raisins and chocolate have never tasted so good as then ! At night we slept a few hours before waking up. At the morning we got some proper breakfast before coming back to the camp area.

In the Midst of Conflict was one of the most eye-opening experiences I’ve ever had. It made me feel. The game felt real and now can I somehow identify into refugees. But still I couldn’t believe that really many people live like that. In a fear and quandary. Without a home apart from their families and everything safe they know.

@ Sceilig Mhichíl

So yay, I'm finally here at Skellig Michael (or Sceilig Mhichíl as Irish people say it.) Skellig Michael is a small island (it's area is only 0,22 square kilometers !) nearby Ireland's south-east coast. I'm staying here only for a few days and then I'm going back to Ireland's main island.

But what can I say about this place ? At least here is quite windy and rainy. Here lives only about ten friars. Really can't wait to get learn more about their way of living here. I can bet that now you are asking why I'm visiting here on a small rocky island ? This is part of a research I'm doing for my new book. But I can’t tell you more about it is a secret for a while !

Now I have to go. The friars are waiting for me. They are going to show me around the island and I must get my camera with me so I can get photos about these stunning views !

© valkyrieh116

" a disaster for the world's wildlife "

a link to the article *

Yesterday I saw an article on The Guardian about the critique what Planet Earth II has got. Planet Earth II is a sequel to Sir David Attenborough’s famous nature series ’Planet Earth’. Martin Hughes-Games (a presenter of BBC’s Springwatch) says: ” David Attenborough’s blockbuster nature series Planet Earth II is ’a disaster for the world’s wildlife’ and a significant contributor to planet-wide extinctions, a rival natural history producer has claimed.” Hughes-Games opinion is that the series don’t show the damage that humans have made to nature.

I think Hughes-Games is partly right. But if we think this from Sir Attenborough’s aspect I can also see his point. His series would lose viewers if they would show the reality because nowadays in many parts of the world the incredible nature has been destroyed by the humans. It would be fair to show the real condition of the worlds nature.

I agree with Hughes-Games when he says that the real condition of the worlds nature should be shown to the viewers. The people would realize better that if we keep living like this, soon we won’t  have a place to live on. There is no second Earth.

dear santa

Dear Santa Claus,  

As you know I have been extremely kind this year, as always. And if something not-so-good has happened, I can insure that it hasn't been my fault. I just have been in a wrong place on a wrong time. I don't always write letters, but when I do, I have something really important to say. 

I specifically want to remind how kind I have been during the past year. That's why I'm asking for a few things for this Christmas. My dogs (or Creisi) has only eaten one shoe on her puppy time, so they are asking for a huge stuffed animal like those pigs at the Ikea. They are also asking for something to chew (something more than table legs, ooops Creisi). I'm asking for a UV-filter for my Nikkor lens. About the cameras, I'm also asking for a new Fjällraven Kånken (black and ox-red) with the camera insert. It would be perfect for the next year's adventures.

That's all. I really hope you could fill my little wishes. Hopefully we have snow on Christmas Eve so you can come. Give carrots to Peter the Reindeer.

P.S. I also made some ginger breads to you. They are next to the Christmas tree.

Yours, Hanna

homemade gingerbreads - recipe

Christmas is coming and so is gingerbread season ! Here I have an awesome recipe how to do these tasty homemade gingerbreads.

INGREDIENTS

1½ dl sugar

1 dl dark syrup

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground glove

125 g margarine

1 egg

about 5 dl flour

1 tsp baking soda

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Measure sugar, syrup and all the spices to the kettle. Parboil the mixture. Take the kettle off the stove.

2. Cut margarine to smaller pieces. Add margarine pieces to the warm spice mixture. Blend and cool the mixture down.

3. Whip well together egg and the mixture.

4. Add flour-baking soda - mixture through a colander to the dough (spice-margarine-egg-mixture) and blend well.

5. Let dough set until the next day in the fridge. You can also freeze the dough, but remember to take it out off the freezer in order it to dissolve early enough before baking.

6. Split the dough to two or three pieces. Roll out quite thin sheet. Use molds and cut the dough in to different shapes of biscuits. Place the biscuits on to oven pan.

7.  Bake the gingerbreads in the oven 175℃ about 10 minutes or until they are done. Gingerbreads will set when they cool down.

Gingerbreads are a traditional Christmas food in Finland. They are also eating mostly in winter. That's why I thought it would be nice to share this recipe. My family has had this recipe for a decades and this is the only right way to do ginger breads.

You can also decorate your gingerbreads with sugar-water mixture if you want to (get them from the grochery or do it yourself).