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When I first took on the task of writing an article about an outsider's view of Pispala, in Tampere, Finland, I imagined a travel style article, full of tips and hints to make any foreigner's stay there pleasant. I wanted to include reviews of places I'd been to, and ideas of what to do in a day for travellers to follow. However, I soon found myself thinking back to the summer of 1997, when I spent a month in Pispala, and I realized that a travel style article would be far too mundane and average to even begin to describe the diversity and eclectic nature of this place. I began to reminisce about my first impressions of Pispala, and how I felt while I was there. Even in the short space of a month, I began to feel at home in the free-spirited and bohemian community that I discovered during my stay. I can honestly say that I really didn't want to return to England after my stay there.

In the summer of 1997, I was 19 years old. Although not exactly nave; by this point in my life I'd already moved halfway across the world on my own, I was by no means worldly-wise. I was living in Epsom, in Surrey, which is where I met Paapi, and we quickly became best friends. When she left England to return to Finland, I decided that I was going to go and visit her, so I saved up some money (not an easy feat, as I was unemployed at the time) and by the summer of 1997, I was on a plane to Finland for a month. I've always loved travelling, having grown up in a household that moved around quite a bit, and this naturally extended into my adult life. My outlook on life at this time was unconventional to say the least. I had dropped out of university, and was on the dole, living life one day at a time, and enjoying my youth. My gothic and punk tendencies had taken over my appearance, and I sported numerous facial piercings, exaggerated makeup, tribal tattoos and a shaven head. Epsom, despite having a large student population, was still a fairly conservative and affluent community, and relatively prejudiced in its views of alternative lifestyles. It was not uncommon for me to attract rude comments from passers-by when walking down the street in Epsom, and to be followed around shops by security guards who assumed that someone who looked like me would be shoplifting or committing some other form of crime.

I arrived at Helsinki airport late on the evening of Friday 13th June, 1997. Incidentally, if you're looking for a cheap flight, try one on a Friday the 13th,

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