Here we are two exchange students from Czech Republic and Russia in the cozy place called Muistola (or DaisyLadies ry). We were really lucky to be here as students of Social Services faculty of TUAS. As a part of our study we have practical training in the place connected with social area. And we got the opportunity to do our internship here. We will spend here about two months and we offer you to take a look what is going on here by writing the diary about our experience that supposed to be unforgettable.
To make it more interesting we will not only write about daily routine, but we will add short notes about social business as it is, finish lifestyle as we see it and about great women we meet here. Because everyone has his own unique life story that should not be forgotten.
So, let´s start.
“Anna and Evgeniya”
Monday 21.01.
What should we start with in our first note about DaisyLadies? We think that most important thing about this place is the mission. Women from different countries representing unique culture background have the opportunity to come here and learn from each other. For immigrants to became the part of Finnish society it is necessary to gain some basic skills to improve the quality of their lives in new country.
Coming here they have the opportunity to learn basics of language, handcraft and culinary. Their weekly schedule is full of various activities that are oriented on creating friendly space where everyone can feel included. And we will tell you more about how it works.
Wednesday 23.01.
Despite the regular schedule DaisyLadies provides some special workshops. Today Hannaneh Mahmoudian came to ladies to talk with them about breast cancer. She decided that it is important to share knowledge about women’s health care with immigrants. When we ask her about the importance of it she answered that in many countries it is not common for women to take care of themselves. “Education is often not available in their areas so they simply don’t know about the risk of cancer and don’t get necessary information about prevention. I saw the need to educate them” It is why she decided to became a volunteer even though she is student.
In this workshop women learned basic information about the danger of breast cancer and importance of regular control of their bodies. Hannaneh also presented some videos with explanations of modern technologies which can be used to reveal cancer in early stage. So, women were really enthusiastic about this event because it’s quite important for them to know about it.
Hannaneh is going to visit DaisyLadies every week to discuss different topics about women’s health and self-care. Waiting for next time!
Thursday 24.01.
What DaisyLadies day routine looks like? It starts at 9:00 with morning activities that include three parts.
First is drinking coffee or tea and free conversation on different topics. Ladies are welcome to talk about whatever they want and start the day in good mood.
Then – the second part – dancing. It may sound weird but this kind of morning exercise fulfill you with positive energy for the rest of the day. So, how we dance? One of the coordinators choose music and sometimes even video tutorial and lead the others. All the women try to repeat movements and have as much fun as possible. It is not important to do it perfectly but to enjoy it.
“Daisy jumppa”
The third part is more official but still keeps friendly atmosphere. Women listen to news podcast that is long for about five minutes. It’s called “Selkouutiset” and its main purpose is to practice finish and to stay in a picture of what is going on in the country. Also, women can discuss what they think about this.
This part is constant for every morning and women like this tradition a lot. All coordinators have the same opinion about necessity of morning activities that gather all ladies together to star the new beautiful day in the “Muistola”.
Friday 25.01.
After the morning activities it’s time to learn and improve your skills. Every Friday at 10:00 two volunteers come to the Daisy Ladies to teach women how to knit. These volunteers want to share knowledge and skills they have with migrants for them to be able to make clothes by themselves in the future.
“Ulla Syväkari and Eeva Lehtonen”
Muistola is really welcoming to visitors who want to share the atmosphere and become the part of community so this why many women come here to join handcraft-time. The coordinator of this course Heidi told us that this activity aimed at the creating simple things like socks and scarves that are popular here in Finland. So, after finishing women can please their relatives with warm self-made clothes.
Heidi also explained to us that when the results are quite good DaisyLadies ry can sell it to the guests. So, if you want to buy something really authentic and support the organization you can just come, choose what you like and enjoy it. By the way, there are not only knitted things but also other hand made goods. You are welcome!
Monday 28.01.
Lunch time in DaisyLadies is our favorite time. Shahla is the artist of her kitchen. At 11:30 there is bell ringing to call everyone to have food. There ’re always two options: one with meat and other is vegetarian so you can choose what fits you more.
Lunch is always different so you won’t get bored with monotonous food. Also, menu includes many cuisines from all over the world. You can try Finish traditional soups, Italian lasagna and Asian spring-rolls and so on.
We like lunch-time so much because it is free time for everyone to gather and discuss whatever they want. As well as we speak different languages it is quite international event. But you can try your best to learn something new. Never boring!
DaisyCafe is another service of Muistola so you can join us for the lunch or just coffee. You can find menu on the Website and choose the day to visit us. You are welcome from 11:30 till 14:00. The price for full lunch (including salad/bread + drink with dessert) is 5 euro and for 3 euro you can take lunch and drink. If you want to drink freshly brewed coffee or tea you can take it for 1 euro.
By the way, you can also order meals or desserts to take it home or to any event. It will be prepared in our kitchen just in time. Feel free to contact us.