Lahti is the sister city of Akureyri in Iceland, although it is several times larger in population. It sits on a lake (as do most (all?) cities, towns, and villages in Finland), and claims to be a Business Center in the country. It is also known for its ski jumping towers. The morning and evening are spent taking care of paperwork, correspondance, and some planning for the course here, as well as settling into my room which is actually in the school building itself, right across from the main office. I will be here for four weeks — almost the entire month of February — not counting weekend forays into Helsinki to visit friends, network, and shop (hah!). I write to Kate in Ann Arbor:
sotto voce: Much has gone down, much goes down, and much will be going down, until all is down, dirty, and done, then all will rise, not for the judge, but for the Judgment of what has gone down before the time arrives for it to be judged. like, something strikes the FAN. and other things are simply passed over. the good, the bad, and that which is neither — the contents of time-bound life and living.
When I arrive in Lahti last night, I am met by two Spanish exchange students who find a cab to take me to the school. They were waiting for a compatriot to arrive, but he is apparently delayed at the airport and was not on the same bus as I. All this reminds me of the incredible opportunities young people who are studying have in Europe at the moment. One wonders where the constant exchanging of these intelligent adventurers will lead in a Europe that has seen few decades of peace in its entire history. Most of the art academies have a transient population that is steady at 15-20 percent of the student body, and a majority of students will take studies for at least a half-year at another institution before graduating. The ERASMUS and NORDPlus consortium exchange programs include students all across greater Europe, and frequently institutions have multiple contacts on every continent. This mixing forms strong and intimate bonds across cultural borders — something I have been a proponent of for years. In my class I will have four Spaniards, a Belgian, and six Finns. Nice. I have a theory that email and these exchange programs will have a fundamental effect on the cultural life of Europe. Not only do the students have the opportunity to make contacts, but they have the tool to maintain dynamic collaborative situations. This also has the effect of leveling regional cultural differences, but allows for new forms and identities to arise. It turns out that my old friend Terhi is actually attending school at the Institute, and she is here when I arrive — it is a very pleasant surprise, as I had not heard from her for a few months since we worked together on net.sauna at Ars Electronica last September. She is working towards a continuing education BA diploma after some years of not studying. In the frigid temperatures, after a quick tour of the whole school, we head to the closest bar that serves Guinness. Back in, Finland! This time in winter. Full winter, though not as dark at all as expected, guess that was lived out between Arizona and Iceland. During the last few days I have had several instants where I will shift into a state of concentration and observations begin to flow. I am hoping to harness these energies in the next days to begin, well, to continue work on something of substance here.