They say: "Time flies when your having fun" and that's pretty much how my life goes at the moment. I've been here for over a month and again I find myself amazed how fast I'm able to adapt to the new things and make them my home. There are of course things that I miss about Finland like the public transport being punctual the Scandinavian way and being able to breath "real" fresh air when I step outside . Believe it or not, but there are also things I miss about Belgium -my second home- like the culture including bikes, delicious beers and the awesome atmosphere of the medieval city of Gent<3 People back home and all the other loved ones are of course a no-brainer, but here something for you too:
Apart from these things I hardly ever miss "home" too much. Home is where ever your heart is! I think it's probably all thanks to my parents for raising me to be so adaptable and eager to go for the new and unexpected:) I also know that they will always be there to support me wherever I am. So I'm just fine- even on the other side of the Atlantic;) People back home build their homes piece by piece, decorating & renovating their houses..me on the other hand just move all my stuff -my whole life- every 5 months to the next country:) I guess I just feel alive crossing my own boundaries.
That's probably why we made a deal with my friends to jump bengi on the day we graduate from Haaga-Helia:P The day is getting closer, be ready girls!:D For those of you who are wondering, Yes, this is how I tell my mother, I'm jumping a bengi:DD
Now that I've just claimed that I'm adaptable and nothing can mess me up I really need to say some words about the weather here in DC! I thought the weather in Finland is the worst, but seriously...this...is something I will never understand.:/ When I first arrived here they told me that it's mostly "okey" weather, but sometimes it gets extreme. I was like "yeah, yeah, I'm from Finland you know, hardcore;)" Well...not so hardcore anymore! This place goes fucking nuts and the worst part is you never know what to expect, so in other words you are always wrongly dressed! Last week we had the first REAL rainy day and of course I was just on my way back home from work. I literally walked from the embassy to the bus stop,like 4 minutes and yes..my "walking everyday to work" plan has kind of drowned. When just arriving to the bus stop it started to rain a little and I, without an umbrella, planned to stay dry under a tree. Well... after a couple of minutes this "little" rain wasn't so little anymore. I trusted my tree until the point the road was more like a river and every time the cars drove past, a bucketful of water flew on me. At this point I decided it was better to step a way from the tree and just get wet by standing under the rain. After waiting 15 minutes for the f..cking bus -like I said I really miss Finnish punctuality when it comes to the public transportation- I suddenly found an umbrella on top of me, protecting me against the rain. A nice little angel called a small Chinese women appeared with her umbrella to give me a shelter, probably because I looked like a poor little "uitettu rotta" as we tend to say in Finland! By this time I was totally soaked so the umbrella was more like a reminder that there are still nice people in the world<3
Lesson learned: ALWAYS carry an umbrella and yes, the weather here gets nuts.
They even have these kinds of cool bags for the wet umbrellas everywhere and wrap their mail to plastic when throwing it in front of the houses like in the movies ;) Now I know why:P
In the past weeks I had a "deja vu" from the hard goodbyes you come across while travelling. I thought I would have to face this in December, so I was not really prepared, like it would make any difference though:P Since I came to the house already in August all the summer interns where still here. I made great new friends and integrated rapidly. I don't even know how this was possible but I guess they just took me in so generously that it felt like I had been here for the whole summer<3 I had the most amazing time with these people and in the end of August-September it was already time to say goodbye:( Not fun I can say, and now I already have a reputation of "the crying girl" so... that went really well, no?;D
At least I got great friends who I will meet again somewhere in the world;) Finland is always open to you guys, just give me a call when you land;D
With old people leaving there comes the new people arriving and now the house is in it's full capacity again. 90 residents and 40 different nationalities, now that's what I call an international house;) These places really make you learn about cultures, both others and your own. You can only imagine the stories people have to tell and the differences we have to share between our own experiences! Also the fact that you live with these people 24/7 -literally- since we are even sharing rooms and everything. Depending from the room there is between 1-3 people sharing it with you and the thing called privacy is rarely existing. This being not so common in Finland, except for the guys in the army, I kind of didn't know what to expect, but since I've been lucky with my roommates I have to say that I kind of feel like living around people saves my days sometimes. Getting home from work is the best when you know there are people waiting for you to chat and laugh with them:)
Most of my weeks go by working in the Embassy. I work in the administrative department so paperwork, sitting in front of the computer, calling and answering the phone and dealing with my ultimate best friend called Office 2010! My mornings start with alarm at 7.00 followed by breakfast. At 8.30am I have to be at work and around 4-5pm I finish, dinner at the house at 6-8pm and then depending from the day we try to arrange something for the evening. This continues all week long until the point when the WEEKEND arrives and all the fun begins;) Check out the menu for breakfast:
The Embassy of Finland, welcome!
On the weekends we try to do as much as we can to see and experience everything while we're here. By we I mean the people from the house. Depending on the event we normally move in groups of 10-20-30 people, so for sure there is always someone who wants to do the same as you:D Cause I've been told that pictures tell more than a thousand words, I'll spare you the words and let you enjoy the ride of my first months as part of the Team Foreigner:
Best thing has been by far the Screen on the Green moment, where we gathered next to the monuments and watched a movie outside from a big screen. These kinds of things should definitely be organized also in Finland.
Piano concert from a famous Hungarian pianist in the John Kennedy Center. Nice views also;)
Farmers market and the Dupont Cirle market. Fresh fruit and food plus a lot of hand made stuff. Best of the markets are the free samples and, so far, the fresh German pretzel holds the bar very high.
Sightseeing of course, since we are in the capital of the United States;)
Paddle boarding and kayaking on the Potomac river. One of the best experiences too!
Time in the pool...
Game nights in the Boardroom. A nice bar with cool games for $2.
Late dinners and even later nights in the ping pong room at the house watching movies or Suits in the most comfortable sofas ever! The older the better;)
Eating eating eating...Since we have dinner at the house Mon-Fri we tend to eat outside on Saturdays and on Sundays. We've been to so many different places!
Another that we should have in Finland is a place where you can make your own froyo<3 So goood!!
Shopping of course, how could I live without. I still need to explore some outlets since we tried once but the car broke:D Better luck next time I hope!
Adams Morgan festival: live music, food, chilly atmosphere!
Oreo cookies fried in fat, cocoa juice and Brazilian marshal arts.
Muse concert in Verizon center. We bought cheap tickets and changed place to better ones when the concert started;) Definitely worth the money:D
And last but not least the perfect day trip in Philadelphia with a great bunch of people last Saturday.
Here is still the final announcement to my loved ones who worry about me and send me questions: "Are you okey, I heard there are horrible things happening?" YES, I'm okey. No hits, no trauma, although unfortunately that's not the case for everyone;( As we all know bad things happen everywhere and this time it hit the Navy Yard in Washington DC.
This week brought us an unexpected event expressed in the news as: " The worst loss of life in a single incident in the region since the September 11th 2001, attack on the Pentagon killed 184 people" This tragedy happened this Monday when " -a gunman killed a dozen people as the workday began at the Washington Navy Yard--creating an improbable moment of horror at the military facility with armed guards at every gate and leaving investigators seeking clues what spurred the attack." So yes, when I'm about to write here that my work gets boring sometimes or that the weather appears to become colder, I am reminded that there are worse things in he world that can happen.
That's all for this time, next time earlier I promise;)
Eagerly waiting for Halloween! People tell me it's a HUGE thing here in USA and I'm sure I will look good as a pumpkin;P
