I swear I didn't assign "extoll the virtues of Alisa" to the kids, but apparently I'm just that awesome. 

My jeans! They are finally here!

If I had been more timely in recapping my European adventure (I SWEAR I'm going to get around to it!) I would have mentioned that on my second morning in Helsinki (a great little capital city, by the way, very pretty and with lots of free wi-fi and pulla in every supermarket and bakery) I popped into* NOMO Jeans and had myself measured for a pair of bespoke jeans.

* Ok, less "popped into" and more "wandered around for a good 25 minutes trying to locate the mall, then, upon finally getting there, walking up to the shop, glancing uneasily into the minimalistic store manned by a tall skinny hipster-type, sternly telling myself that it was RIDICULOUS to not go in since this was my only chance, taking a deep breath, going through the whole thing, then walking out of the mall to discover that if I'd turned right instead of left earlier that morning I could have saved myself a good 20 minutes of wandering".

It definitely has a lot to recommend it...trying on jeans is generally a highly painful process even if you are not a slightly overweight foreigner with accompanying foreign hips trying to shop in Japan, and this just required you to strip to your underwear, stand in a booth for 30 seconds while futuristic lights beeped and booped, and then pick out the type of jeans you want and all the little details. I mean, really. I want ALL my clothes to be fitted via body scanning. So much better for the self esteem.

Actually getting the jeans was not a fast process, though. This was right at the beginning of April and they weren't due to arrive back in Helsinki until May 16th. This was delayed by about a week and then it was a few more days before they shipped. I had a horrible moment when I went to check on their status and it said "shipped" but the "payment received" had changed from 169 euros to 126. I spent a little while wondering if I had seriously misheard the guy when I asked about average shipping costs, but luckily when I got them today the postage was only 35 euros. Phew.

As for the fit, it is pretty great, as one would expect. Because they are jeans, after all, they will need some breaking in but overall everything is fantastic. I especially love that the waist is low enough to not be mom jeans but just high enough that I can wear them to work and not worry about showing off my underwear if I bend over. I will definitely be buying more jeans from them, and I might get started on that pretty soon, actually. Given the length of the process, it makes sense to order this summer for jeans I won't wear until October.

(I was asked what happens if I gain or lose (HA) a significant amount of weight. The answer to that is, fly back to Helsinki and get rescanned, because seriously, trying on jeans is just THAT depressing.)

And speaking of shopping, I have recently been exposed to a whole new world of online shopping in the form of Polish companies that acknowledge that finding shirts to fit your boobs can be a giant pain in the arse. Ironically, I didn't learn about this until AFTER I got back from Poland, but there you go. I already have a bunch of tops and one dress from a company called Biubiu, including the first fitted button-up top I've ever owned. It fits in the waist! But doesn't gape in the chest! It's practically a miracle! It's kind of amazing the difference buying clothes made for boobs makes. So far everything is flattering but doesn't show off tons of cleavage, and that includes the wrap top. I have since come across another company I am itching to try but first I have to try and make sense of their sizing chart. This is the only downfall, but once you figure out your size (which requires you to measure your bust AND your waist, like, why is this so difficult for mainstream companies to figure out??) you are pretty much golden. Golden, and tastefully but prettily dressed.

"Have you had your picture taken with the dinosaur yet?"

"No, but I should, so I can send it to my brother. He loves dinosaurs."

"Awww. How old is he?"

"...32."

"Ooh, something shiny on the ground! What do you mean, 'behind you!'?"

Today I learned that teenaged girls have very good taste when it comes to shoes. I cheated and brought my Fluevogs...not actually "indoor" shoes, but then, neither are the "indoor" shoes I keep in my shoe locker there. (Those are an old pair of mary jane type sneakers that are very comfy but have an annoying velcro problem where one shoe keeps coming undone. This is tolerable in school where I am not really walking about all that much but super annoying outdoors, so the soles got a quick wipedown and hey presto, indoor shoes!) As I was walking up the staircase to my first class I heard a chorus of "CHOU KAWAIII! (SO CUUUTE!)" and I finally turned around and gave them a slightly puzzled look and they pointed to my shoes, gasping in delight.

Man, they think those ones are cute, wait until they see my boots.

I got the results of my teacher evaluation today. However, since a) the students were asked to fill this out after, like, three lessons and b) no one has ever bothered to explain to us what any of the questions or results mean, it's not very helpful. There is a graph that shows how you compare to the average (although, again, no real explanation as to where you are doing well and what needs work), and it appears I am doing better with the older girls than the younger, but that might just be because I get the older classes after lunch so they are happier in general. Who knows?

Overall I am not really digging my new schedule. It is all late nights followed by early mornings now, which is not really my style. And when I say early mornings, I am not talking about nine am, I am talking real-people-with-jobs before 8. Sometimes even 7 am! And then I get home anywhere from 9-10 pm, have to make dinner and do the washing up and try to fit a bit of reading or tv or general relaxing time in there and hey presto, it is midnight and waaaaay past my new bedtime.