Blueberry heaven and other things

Inka in a blueberry bush.

Last weekend we spent a night at our summer cottage again. This time there were only four of us, Inka, Johanna, me and Johanna's Australian friend called Rick. The blueberry season had reached its peak - there were so many berries just everywhere, just a couple of meters from our cottage as well. We picked up some and then sat on the pier, the sun was shining but it wasn't too hot. I had a coffee cup filled with blueberries and milk. It tasted like childhood summers and the atmosphere was just perfect. So relaxing, so beautiful, just like summer cottages are supposed to be.

In the evening we warmed up the sauna. During the night the lake was completely silent, no waves at all. We did pretty much the same things we always do at the cottage: go rowing in the sunrise, listen to the Beatles, take photos on the field, eat a lot. I am sorry I'm repeating myself but that's just what summer cottages are like :D


Finland is pretty awesome in the summer, don't you think?

They are delicious, healthy, and for free!

Inka and Johanna giving their best pose.

Another picture of the lake and the pier.

The Australian got all excited. "This is what I imagined Scandinavia to be like!"

So many mosquitos again :( But we are prepared!!

Inka swimming around 11PM

Johanna gave me a wild dance.

Feeling the Beatles.

Perfect moments of life :)

On the field, in a pyjama.

There were so many spider homes but no spiders... Where are they hiding??

Photo shoot.

Having some deep conversations in the morning sun.

The seagull was checking us out - maybe he thought we had some fish for him to eat for breakfast.

This photo is for Inka, since she loves clouds :D

Yesterday I ran a half marathon with my father. I was so scared since I hadn't been training enough and this was my first time running such a long distance. We drove 1,5 hours to a city called Kotka where they arranged the running event, then we ate some bananas and got ready.

The first 10 kilometres were a piece of cake, and the next 7 km still tolerable, but the last few kilometres... I've probably never been that tired. Every step I took felt so heavy, my knee was aching, and breathing was difficult. For my dad it was way too easy, he could've ran so much faster but he ran next to me the whole time. The last uphills were just pure pain. I'm sure I would've given up if my dad wasn't there, but since he was, I just couldn't stop. Running is surprisingly not just physical, but also very psychological. Giving up is just so easy, but it really takes mind power to keep on running even though you're exhausted.

My time was 2:18:01, which is not very good but not too bad either. Next time I do this I'll try to run it in less than two hours (if there ever will be a next time :D).

After the run. I look just as dead as I felt. And my dad looks just as sharp as he was.

My first medal from running! Everyone got one though, so it's not that special :D

56 days to Hong Kong

Trying to be cool, not succeeding. This photo was taken after a rave party some weeks ago.

I just chose my subjects for the semester abroad and got so excited about Hong Kong again. The website was pretty difficult to understand and we were supposed to check if there was any overlapping between the classes we're taking, but I was quite lost and now I'm only hoping I did it right. We are supposed to get from 9 to 18 credits during the semester, and I chose 5 courses with 3 credits each, stuff like Meeting Management and Professional Bar & Beverage Management. So interesting to see what the school will be like, probably very different from Fachhochschule Salzburg at least :D

So. Less than two months left before I am off to a new adventure again. This will be the longest time I have ever been away from Finland, since after the exchange in Hong Kong (from the 10th of September til the beginning of January) I'm planning on traveling in Indonesia and the Philippines until the end of February when my school in Austria starts again. For some weird reason I don't feel nervous at all. I'm only excited and very interested to see how everything will turn out to be. Since it's already three years ago when I was in Hong Kong the last time, I don't remember that many details, buildings, or places. Just the hot humid air, delicious food, bright lights in the evening, endless swarm on the streets. One thing I do remember is that one evening, when we were walking around aimlessly just to look around, we saw some sort of university building and decided to have a look at the surroundings. There were people wearing graduation hats and it was quite late so it was dark but the building was lighted bright. We just crossed the yard and looked around and then continued to a karaoke bar. Two years later in Salzburg, when we got the list of all the universities we could have our exchange in, that random university was on the list, and it was kind of obvious I should apply there. I mean, it felt almost like a sign or something.

There's still some things to do, like buying an insurance and checking if I need some new vaccinations. I already applied for a place in the student residence and the visa is hopefully on its way. I hope also Hong Kong is getting ready - for me and Kathi :D

A Week in July

This is what I did and how my week looked like :)

I saw a seagull eating lunch.

I had a walk next to the sea and took a lot of pictures.

I went to a market hall with reindeer fur hanging around.

I passed by the Esplanadi park which was full of people enjoying the sun.

I had a cup of coffee at Café Ursula with Teemu. Coffee refill was for free.

I sat in front of the house of parliament.

I went to an old school party. We listened to cassettes.

I bought carrots and made my friends eat them.

I bought a new jacket and a friend of mine said I'd be hot if I was a man.

I hung outdoors until it got so cold we needed blankets.

I thought Inka looked cool.

I saw vegetables growing in my dad's greenhouse.

I laughed at my friends when they went swimming in a fountain.

I met some cool new and old people.

I watched my dad doing gymnastics in a park.

I biked by Töölönlahti in the morning sun.

I went to a church for the first time in years to see my cousin getting married.

I saw happy people dancing and blowing bubbles.

I saw my grandparents and lot of pink colour and ate two pieces of cake.

I took a picture of my fossiles posing.

I walked in the city at 4:31AM.

I met a yodeling cow from Austria. No joke.

I saw buildings in Helsinki I had never paid any attention to before.

I woke up next to Johanna and had eggs for breakfast.

Saaks niin sanoo?

Juhannusseurue saunassa, sensuurihöyry iski linssiin.

Mä oon tosi onnellinen tällä hetkellä. Tai en ainoastaan tällä nimenomaisella hetkellä, oon ollut aika onnellinen oikeastaan nyt kolme viikkoa putkeen, ilman niin sanotusti sen kummempaa syytä. Samalla syitä on kuitenkin miljoona, ja mitä enemmän niitä alkaa ajattelemaan, sitä enemmän niitä löytää. Count your blessings ja sitä rataa.

Mun elämä on todella samanlaista kuin viime kesänä, tai sitä edeltävänä. Oon töissä samassa työpaikassa, nukun samoissa sängyissä, poljen samaa pyörää, hengailen samoilla kuisteilla ja oon menossa samoille festareille kuin ennenkin. Käyn samoissa kaupoissa. Soitan samoille ihmisille mutta myös muutamille uusille. Silti tuntuu että kaikki on jollain tapaa paremmin ja eri tavalla kuin ennen. Tunnen itseni onnekkaaksi ja oon kiitollinen kaikesta, arvostan asioita joihin en ennen oo kiinnittänyt sen kummempaa huomiota, tai asioita joita oon pitänyt itsestäänselvyytenä. Pysähdyn päivittäin johonkin hetkeen ajattelemaan sen hienoutta ja miten hyvä se on. Työ tosin tuntuu merkityksettömämmältä kuin ennen, mutta onneksi sen hyväksi vastapainoksi perhe ja kaverit tuntuu merkityksellisemmiltä kuin koskaan. Ja luultavasti kun taas ensimmäinen palkkapäivä kohta koittaa, huomaan työnteonkin ihanuuden :D



Kaisan juhannustaikakukat

Välillä jostain syystä tuntuu vähän nololta sanoa rakastavansa elämäänsä. En tiedä onko se suomalainen juttu, että se kuulostaa heti brassailulta tyyliin "Kattokaa kaikki kun mulla menee hyvin!", vaikkei kyse olisikaan siitä. Ei tarvitse tapahtua mitään erikoista ja elämä voi silti olla ihanaa - aikamoinen oivallus haha. Heinäkuun aurinkoisena päivänä vaan maailma ja Helsinki näyttävät parhaat puolensa ihan arkisinakin hetkinä, ja varsinkin nyt kun oon ollut jonkin aikaa erossa mun suomalaisista ystävistä, on todellista luksusta asua niiden kanssa samassa kaupungissa. Ja tätä ihanuutta jatkuu vielä yli kaksi kuukautta! Niin monta hyvää hetkeä vielä tulossa. Tässähän ihan pakahtuu kun alkaa miettimään kaikkea loputonta hyvää jota oon saanut osakseni.

Oon usein kuullut sanottavan, että joskus on mentävä kauas nähdäkseen lähelle, ja oon itsekin sen moneen otteeseen saanut huomata. Itävallassa sai ja joutui ottamaan vähän etäisyyttä kaikkeen tuttuun ja turvalliseen, ja kun sieltä palasin keskelle Suomen kesää, on kotona olo ollut juuri niin ihanaa kuin sen kuvittelinkin olevan. Myös suomalaisten sarkasmille ja rehellisyydelle osaan antaa nyt ihan uuden arvostuksen, ja vanhempien luona asuminen on oikeastaan ihanaa vaihtelua. Mun elämässä on niin paljon upeita ihmisiä etten voi edes käsittää. Jos olisin uskossa, kiittäisin mun elämän ihanuudesta jotain jumalaa, mutta koska en ole, en oikeen voi kiittää ketään muuta kuin kaikkia niitä ihmisiä jotka tunnen, ja universumia ihan noin ylipäätään. Huh huh, tässähän ihan herkistyy kun oikein kunnolla uppoaa ajattelemaan kaikkia ihania asioita.

Kiitos siis kaikille jotka tekevät mun elämästä sellaisen kuin se on. Kuten eräs spuge kerran Pauliinalle sanoi: "Päivääkään en vaihtaisi pois, joitain aamuja vain."

To Nina & others: I have been very happy lately. Somehow things feel different and better now that I have been away from Finland for a while. Everything is so temporary and maybe that's one reason why I am enjoying all this so much. Doing just normal everyday stuff is special when it's not everyday stuff anymore. I've had some pretty deep conversations with my friends and it has made me appreciate all the good things in my life even more. I know this is quite a cliché, but people should count their blessings instead of thinking about all the things they're missing and what they would like to have more.

I am a lucky person and grateful to all the awesome people I know, so thank you. And yes, I am having quite a great time here in Finland, the best month of the year is right now, so bring it on :)

Kotimatka

Next to the central railway station it looks like this. Not very pretty I know.

Today I biked home from work and took some pictures along the way. I'm living this summer with my parents in the northern Helsinki so the way from the city center is about 11 kilometers and today it took me more than an hour since I stopped every once in a while when I saw something I thought was worth photographing. Biking with my grandma-style bike in the evening when the sun is shining this kind of evening light - I love it. All the green colours look so much greener at that time of the day, air is fresh and you can feel the city and how full of life it is!

Helsinki city center has changed a lot in the last few years and they're building a lot of new stuff all the time. Still for me one of the best things about this place is how green it is, even though there's the feeling of being in a city, you can still go jogging to a forest somewhere nearby, wherever you live. Another thing I love is the sea, even though it's freaking cold all year round. Here the summer weekends are full of free events, concerts and outdoor parties, and well, July is by far the best month of the year (and August is a good number two). If you try to find some cool stuff or know cool people, you can end up having amazing and magical time. I promise. I've got a feeling that this month will be superb, last weekend already had some signs that said "so much awesome stuff is about to happen." I'll try to keep my camera with me more often. You can never foresee when something beautiful will happen around you.

The new music house on the front, the museum of modern art on the back.

Wannabe-Trainspotting

Töölönlahti + Linnanmäki amusement park on the back

I used to live in Itä-Pasila (which some people call "the Ghetto of Helsinki"). This was my train station.

Pasila TV-tower :D

"I don't want to be buried in a pet cemetery..."

My hoods

My dad built a greenhouse on our front yard for his chilis

I was listening to Jimi Hendrix on my laptop when my dad started playing Rammstein on his computer so loud I had to turn my music off... Parents.