Getting back home for a weekend from the civil service center, I thought now is a good time to reflect on the first week of my duty. If you just found me, in my previous post, My Civil Service #1 - Explaining the Liability to Military - A necessity for national defence with the cost of human rights?, I explain what is it all about so do check that out if you are curious.

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Before going to the civil service center I had a lot of uncertainties and I wasn't feeling good about going to a strange place with unknown people, not at all. To be honest I had a bit of anxiety and I was in a depressive mood just before getting there with the ordered buss ride. Luckily the first week cleared most of my fears one them being my...

Social life

Actually, most of my fears were probably connected with the necessity of having so many interactions with so many strangers.

Source
Fortunately, on the first day I was early and I didn't have to face the "Full Bus". Instead right next to me sat a guy I'm still chatting every day in the center.

And why I consider myself lucky is because I don't make a lot of friends and the reason of this ultimately boils down to my personality: I am very careful of whom I talk to and I'm always considering in my head of what I'm going to say.

Also what I seek from conversation isn't actually to "just talk about something". What drives me is "having a connection with someone" which leads into a state of what I could describe as being in a "flow state of conversation" without the doubt of if what I say is appropriate. This whole process is very intuitive and if I have to force a conversation on someone there likely isn't a so called "connection" with me and the other party.

Though from our lot, sized about 160 people, I've been able to find just the right amount of a few people I enjoy being around with.

So first week down and I'm not a totally closeted hermit! Hooray!

Also the other servants are generally very nice people and I haven't observed any kind of bullying or discrimination whatsoever. So no reason to be anxious, it's all good.

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Still, my favorite place was a non-occupied computer class
where I could write with no distractions.

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The Education

The first couple days were mostly just info, a lot of info: all the practical things about health care, transportation, safety, forms and finances during the stay on the service center and later in work service were instructed to us.

During the first week we (the education line of "The Prevention of Violence", PreV for short) already had some lectures on human rights and about the civil service law. So far I've enjoyed the line and the human rights lectures have stimulated some interesting discussion.

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The first aid course, mandatory to all servants, has also started and we learned some theory on how to recognize signs of a shock (the failure of circulatory system, not to be confused with mental shock) and how to act in the situation; resuscitation and calling the emergency number (112 in most European countries but 911 should also dialect outside of U.S.A) and acting by the instructions given to you.

On the second lecture of first aid we were taught how to act when someone is chocking:

• 5 slaps on the back between shoulder plates with the person bent forward, tell him/her to try to cough the object out

• if it doesn't work then proceed with 5 Heimlich strokes

• if none of the previous means don't work and the victim goes lifeless call emergency number and start resuscitation.

Source
The baby's head is supported from the chin so that the respiratory tract is open for the stuck object to get out.

We did practice it with baby dolls and the teachers were joking how hard slapping babies must be for us because we are in the "prevention of violence" group, not in a mean manner but a friendly laugh. I also think it's kind a funny😁

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The service place

I haven't yet found my service place where I will complete my service after the education period because, earlier trying to find it, everywhere I asked was already fulfilled and I got discouraged and unmotivated from it. However I'm now working on it again and I should soon get a place likely from somewhere in Helsinki since it's a big city with loads of service places.

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An unusual weekend on my off-duty: rarely do we have such good weather considering the time of year when it's usually cold and dark. Instead it was so warm I could walk with a t-shirt and cling on just a bit longer onto the warmth of the summer sun.

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I am a young man from Finland currently on education period of my civil service.

In the near future I will share more of my experiences on my duty.

Check my introduction post if you want a better impression on me.

See you later!