We got it! My SO emailed me a scan of our marriage license this morning
It's all in Finnish so I didn't understand much, but it feels nice to finally have that certitude.He also called up the maistraatti in Turku to book us a spot, and we now have a set date. November 2nd, at 14h30 \o/ I wasn't too happy about having to get married in November because frankly (and I couldn't explain why) I dislike that month, but 2/11/12 is a nice date to get married, after all. He told his family this weekend and they were over the moon, apparently. I was worried Tommi and Jaana wouldn't be able to attend because of work, but they confirmed they are coming. They will be our witnesses, and Tapani (the middle brother) will be Timo's best man (which entails just handing us the rings, really). I imagine the parents have planned a small and nice family dinner after that, at home, and that'll be that.
I'm getting pretty nervous about it. I can't help feeling like I'm doing something horrible, going behind my own parents' back (they would never approve of our relationship and they would do everything in their power to stop me, for rather selfish and bigoted reasons) but then I try to remind myself that what they want for me is different from what I want for myself, and that I'm almost 30 and there's no time to waste. But still.
Okay, enough with the negativity. I think I have decided what kind of top I'll wear. It's something old that I've had for a while, but it looks nice. It's black, so it doesn't at all look bride-like, but we had already agreed that it won't be a conventional wedding, so it doesn't matter.
I have finally decided on what name I will take. This morning, actually. Timo said he has to tell the maistraatti as soon as possible. Anyway, I was pretty close to taking his name, but then I thought of something I hadn't considered. My name on my national identity papers (passport, etc.) is not going to change because I probably won't be able to get our marriage registered in Algeria (we need to provide proof that he converted to Islam, and he didn't, so...) so I think it will create difficulties when the name on my passport isn't the same as the one of my residence permit (I'm thinking well ahead, still need to apply for that permit, and I might not even get it!) and things like that. The problem is that my maiden name and my SO's name end with the same letter (or sound, really) so it might be difficult to pronounce, but I suppose I could just introduce myself with his name in everyday conversation.
In case you are wondering, I'll become Radia Otmane-Nappa. My name is pronounced "Otman", but since we have our names transcribed in French, they wrote it down with an E at the end. Finns will probably pronounce it Otmané-Nappa, but that doesn't really bother me.
Now, for a rather unpleasant subject, Air France is going on strike on Oct 26 (they said starting Oct 26, so I'm guessing it'll continue after that). I really panicked when I found out, even though they officially said "there will just be a few delays in flights." You see, I'm leaving on Oct 29. I didn't buy a whole ticket from Algiers to Helsinki via Paris (like with just one company, with the luggage being taken care of during layover) but two separate ones. One from Algiers to Paris (with Air France) and a second one from Paris to Helsinki (with Finnair). That way my SO is able to pay for the second one so I wouldn't have to shoulder all the expenses. We picked the last flight to Helsinki, which leaves Paris at 19h00. My first flight was set arrive to Paris at 15h45, so that would leave me with enough time to collect my suitcase, walk all the way from one terminal to another and even get bored while waiting for boarding, so we didn't think we needed to make the Finnair flight changeable (it's cheaper that way). And then I get these news. If my first flight is delayed by more than two hours, I'm basically screwed: my Finnair ticket is cancelled for not showing up, and since it's the last flight I'll have to stay in Paris one night until I can get a new ticket to Helsinki. I don't really feel like dragging my heavy suitcase through train and metro stations to spend the night alone in a miserable hotel room. And airport hotels in Roissy are kinda expensive.
I figured my only option would be to change my first ticket to the earliest flight from Algiers to Paris, which cost me 120 euro (ouch). It's set to arrive to Paris at 13h45, which leaves me with four hours before check-in closes for the Finnair flight. I'm hoping it will be enough. All I can do now is worry. I hate Air France
I always pick them because they are the most reliable company flying to Roissy and they are almost never late. But the flight attendants are arrogant, the seats are very uncomfortable and the "food" is disgusting. And now this! If anyone has any advice about airlines going on strike and delayed/cancelled flights, I'm all ears.
If you are in the terminal that I was when I flew from Paris to Tallinn (via Helsinki), then there are some powerpoints once you clear security and go to the departure gates.
Good luck!
Mllebamako: That is good to know. We don't exactly know when we'll close the distance. I don't want to apply for a residence permit until I talk to my parents and try to convince them. I'm hoping sometimes next summer, but it'll depend on a lot of things. As for the conversion thing, Algerian law mostly follows Islamic law, and in Islam, while a man can marry a non-muslim woman, a woman can't. So far I just heard someone say that, so I have to look into it, but it's difficult to ask that kind of question because as far as the people who know about my SO are concerned, he converted to Islam (they also think I'm still a muslim myself)
Tooki: Pretty sure it's the same terminal (2D) so I'll look into that
ioanna: Thanks for the "zagharid"