My views about Finland? Hmmm...I had never actually been in Sodankylä prior to moving here, so again I had NO idea how I'd react to it. The first month was rough since I felt like a fish out of water...but then it slowly got easier and easier as I knew my way around. I first thought that I might not like living here since I had lived my whole life in a big city where malls were everywhere...but GLADLY that's not true. ;-D
I've
LOVED other aspects of this village that I can't possibly find in Indo: fresh air, no traffic at all, snow, reindeer, birds singing happily all the time, cute squirrels, the many variations of colours in the sky, Midnight Sun, drinkable tap water that tastes SO GOOD, trees, lakes, rivers, sauna, cider, reindeer meat, not having to iron clothes, not having to hang clothes to dry outside, not having to worry whether the apartment's roof's going to leak or not, not having to be overly cautious and alert whenever I go out for fear of pickpockets and whatnots, serenity (this is definitely not a noisy place), no cockroaches (my mortal enemies!!!), no rats, no ants, no smoking inside houses or buildings, sky stretching miles and miles away that makes me feel that this world is TRULY vast, free courses (they're not only free, but we also get paid!!! In Indonesia, usually what's "free" is either yucky or it comes with some strings attached).
I'm not going to count the aspects of this village or country that I dislike since it won't do me any good, but I guess I can share just one particular thing he he he...One thing is dislike is when the snow melts and then turns to ice. It's SO slippery and I'm SO afraid of falling down and breaking my bone(s). Arttu had fallen on ice once and twisted his arm (gladly no broken bone). My Brit friend MC had also slipped on ice and broke her arm. And as you probably know, my mother-in-law also slipped on ice last December and her ankle had to be put on cast. Since she's old, even until now she still feels some pain when walking without cast.
Anyway, one of the highlights of my year is of course
BLOGGING. I don't think I've EVER learnt and re-learnt so many lessons in the course of a year before I moved to Finland. Being outside my safety zone is reason enough to learn more things, but another reason is learning from my blogger friends' lives. If you wanna read again
the lessons I've learnt and re-learnt this year, just click on the link.
OK, I think this post is long enough. Last but not least, I'd just love to
THANK all my blogger friends who have really been enriching my life with all your stories, comments, feedback, input, questions, and reflections.
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