Max's log book

Before I start, I’m going to answer the question I’m asked the most: “what do you do in the Bahamas? I thought you were living in New Zealand”. I used to answer “I’m doing onsite support for the system we provide to the Ministry of Finance”. While this is true, there’s more to it. My co-worker JK told me to bring things in perspective and not to necessarily undermine what I do. So here it is. When I’m here (another week to go), I’m the only person on site providing technical support to a system that is responsible to collect the tax revenue for an entire country (namely the Bahamas). In 2015, $700 million were collected through that system. That’s pretty huge I think.

This time, I’m going to talk about life in general. And I’ll try to include France and New Zealand but the Bahamas and Finland (from memory) as well. These are 4 very different countries I have lived in. For this one I’ll cover street life and supermarkets. I’ll continue with other things later on.

Let me know if you think I’m wrong (especially Finland as it’s been a while).

Walking in the street: well there are obvious factors here: Winter in Finland, Caribbean weather in the Bahamas, the wind in Wellington (because yes, Welly is a very very windy city) and the business of Paris.

• Helsinki: in general Finns are shy and try to avoid making eye contact. It feeds into the Finnish shyness. They usually go right where they need to go and that’ll be it. It’s especially true in the winter. When it’s -30°C in Helsinki, you’ll notice that the streets are basically empty, and for good reason, the darkness makes it even emptier. As the streets are covered in snow, you don’t even hear the sound of cars and busses.
• Paris: in Paris, the streets are always very busy. While most people will make a half a second half contact, they will zigzag left and right to make their way across (it’s almost like a dance). There are a lot of beggars and people trying to enrol you into something or to sell you stuff, and because it takes forever to go anywhere (it’s a huge city) people tend to walk quickly and may even look grumpy. I realised I was doing the same, really, when you have your earphones screwed onto your ears, you go onto your resting face and don’t look so welcoming.
• Lorraine (my home region in France): people are generally not so busy, there are also less people in general. People are more friendly. Often you’ll just smile at a stranger and definitely eye contact with them. It’s sort of a silent way to say hi to a stranger. If you go to my actual home valley and a few valleys around, if you see someone on a track, you’ll smile and say hi to them. If you know them, you’ll stop a chat for a few minutes.
• Wellington: people tend to be more like back home, taking more time to do their stuff because really, it’s not big of a city. However, Wellington being a windy city, you’ll often see people walking against the wind, leaning on one side. If it weren’t for the hair all over the place, you’d thing they are drunk. And when it rains, don’t you dare taking an umbrella, unless it’s one of those very solid ones. Otherwise, it’ll get blown away.
• Nassau: Nassau is a very touristy city, there are many huge cruise ships stopping by and vomiting American tourists for the day. Any area close to the harbour is very busy during day time. Loads of tourists shops, straw markets, bars and restaurant. If you venture further away, you’ll get away from the crowds and will be able to enjoy the city. Now it’s always hard to tell locals and tourists walking by. Many tourists are in Nassau for the day so they will not bother trying to get to know the city. They’ll go straight to the tourist’s traps. The ones who stay in the hotels often stay in the resort to enjoy their all-inclusive. There is a big difference between the typical American tourist, the Asian one and the European one. American don’t get loads of leave, so they’ll make the most of it, they will take a rest and take advantage of the big resorts around the world. If it’s not a resort, it’ll often be a city where they will do all the touristy stuff. Asians will go in groups (usually buses) with people from the same region/city. Everything is organised for them, they just need to sit back and enjoy the view. Europeans are usually more adventurous and, after taking a few days doing the same as Americans, they will like to venture further away.

Helsinki (Rautatientori, front of the central railway station), Finland	Paris (le Marais, centre Pompidou), France
Wellington (Civic Square), New Zealand	Nassau (Marina Village - Atlantis), Bahamas

Supermarkets and shops:

• Helsinki: Finnish supermarket are very much like any European supermarket except for a few differences. It’s now changing a bit, but back a few years, you only saw anti-theft detectors at the exit of shops. Finns are very trusting and trustworthy. At the checkout, the officer will say “Hei” or “huomenta” then scan your articles, ask whether you have the loyalty card of the shop “….korrti?” to which you’ll probably answer “Ei” (no) and then tell the total to pay. You’ll get a “kiitos” (thank you) and that’ll be it. Very … well very Finnish really. Note you’ll have to bag your groceries yourself but there will be a divider at the end to make sure your items are not mixed with the next/previous client. Also note you will not see any alcohol (except for beer) in supermarkets. Alcohol is only sold in state controlled shops called “Alko” (conveniently). Funny story that happened to me. I went to an Alko once and when paying the guy asked me “something-kortti”. I assumed he was asking if I had a loyalty card, which I didn’t, so I told him “ei”. He then looked at me with big eyes, surprised. I then realised it may not have been the right answer, so I then told him (in Finnish) “oh, sorry, I didn’t understand, I speak only a little Finnish”. He then said “ID Card please” … Oops!
• Paris/Lorraine: in French supermarkets, you’ll see the anti-theft detectors, you’ll also be able to buy every type of alcohol (beer, wine, spirits…). People at the checkout aren’t usually very talkative, unless they see you’ll be receptive. They will be polite of course (they may not smile much in Paris though). Checkout in France is confusing for foreigners. Because it’s like synchronized swimming. First of all you have to bring your own bags. You’ve had to pay for them for a good 7-8 years now. As at 1-July, plastic bags will be completely forbidden. It’s an effort to save the environment. Usually you get these solid plastic ones that you buy for 1 € or so and you’ll reuse them (unless you forget them at home, as usual). When the officer starts scanning, you start bagging everything in a quick and organised manner. Then when it’s to pay, you pause, put the card in the reader, continue bagging as the thing reads your card. Then type your PIN. By the time you’re done, the payment will likely be completed. And you’ll only have to grab your card, your receipt if you want it and finish packing the last 2 items while the clerk starts the next client. It’s all organised and of course, foreigners who are not used to this are confusing and get a few angry looks as they will hold the line while packing. Unlike Finland and New Zealand, supermarkets are only open on the morning on Sundays. Like most of the shops. Sunday is rest day for the whole country. Foreigners are always disappointed to hear that when they come to France. It’s the law and we’re attached to our leave. On Sunday, you do other things that shopping.
• Wellington: Alcohol-wise, you’ll only be able to buy beer and wine, but definitely no spirits. Liquor stores are made for that (usually there’s one near every supermarket). At the checkout, like everywhere in NZ, the clerk will say “Hi! How are you doing today? Are you having a nice day so far?” that kind of chit chat. Kiwis love these and it makes them very friendly. While they have no interest in your like, it will make everyone’s live happier to be nice and friendly. Most of the time, there will be someone there to bag your groceries. So really they only thing you can do, is to wait, prepare your card and your Fly Buys and chat. I still quite can’t get my head around the way the aisles are organized. And I’m not even talking about Pak n Save where everything is all over the place.
• Nassau: Bahamian supermarkets are mostly like every American supermarket. Except everything is overpriced and the kid who bag your groceries will expect a tip. I hate the fact that the prices are not VAT (or GST) inclusive. You never know how much you’ll have to pay. And the kid who bag your groceries will use a ridiculous amount of bags. The bags will be half full and will be doubled. Because yes, toilet paper is very heavy and will likely break the bag if there’s only one… I have found the people at the checkouts being generally rude (they only answer to you “hi” half of the time). This not a generic thing about Bahamians. The ones I work with are very nice (most of them anyway) and friendly.