I have to say I was starting to feel the panic several days before heading home. In the beginning I thought that I would have too much time on my hands but at the end I realized that I don't have time to do everything. Summer arrived in Finland with a bang, it was hot and sticky on the days before my departure. I can tell you it is not fun packing your stuff when it is around +30 C indoors and just a few degrees cooler outside.
I spent time with family and managed to see Tuula before heading home. I did last minute shopping in Tampere and on the last evening there bought a huge bag of candy and to balance that shopping trip, some rye bread too. I had the chance to eat some of my favorite dishes too. ...and amazingly I managed to sleep the night before, even though it was too hot and I was a bit nervous about the trip.
I got up at 6.20 am on Wednesday, woke up a bit before that. I took the 8.30 am bus from Tampere to the airport. I had plenty of time to check in and I needed it as the SAS check in always has long line-ups. The flight from Helsinki departed at 12.50 pm. In Copenhagen I had plenty of time and decided to have a proper meal to avoid being hungry all the time. Of the pasta options I chose the lasagna because I was least likely to get sauce all over my shirt with it. There must be an overproduction of cheese in Denmark as half of the lasagna was cheese. ...and one is supposed to eat light before a long flight. The seat next to me on the long flight was empty, it made the suffering a bit more bearable. I was so bored halfway through the 9,5 hour flight; boring movie options, not interested in reading and couldn't sleep. Somehow I made it to Seattle, got through U.S. immigration and customs quickly and the SAS personnel were kind enough to check my luggage after customs and I made it to the connecting flight to Vancouver. Here at the airport I was through in about half an hour, that must be a record.
The cool weather didn't bother me, I loved it. I had been awake for 24 hours by the time I got home so I was not the happiest person on earth. I really hate jet lag. I was hungry all the time for the first couple of days, I had a headache and I was slow. I managed to stay awake till 8, max 9 pm and woke up around 4 am on the first days. ...and was really tired the rest of the time, not too tired to nap easily though. Gosh!
On Thursday I spent some time outdoors, went to the library and Chapters to get a couple of magazines. I had sushi for lunch and a smoothie, I missed those most food wise when I was away. Yes, they sell sushi and smoothies in Finland but they are so expensive there that I could not enjoy those items many times. In the evening I went to Future Shop and HMV with Jari, he was looking for games for his PSP. On Friday I surrendered my Finnish driver's license back to ICBC and got my learner's permit. After that I took my camera, well the lens, to be fixed. I dropped my backpack a few days before returning and managed to damage my SLR. I also met with Alex and his mom for a coffee in the afternoon.
* * *
I must say the visit was great, having all that time in my disposal was luxury. I still didn't manage to see all my friends. It was great to see everyone there, have great chats with people, some visits were short though.
Finland has changed quite a bit since we moved away from there, in good and in bad. Shopping was great and I did quite a bit of it. I think in some sense the selection is better in Finland and the deals are better. I bought a new memory card to my camera, a headset with a mic and a Playstation PSP for Jari way cheaper than what they cost here. Our dvd collection got quite a bit bigger as I bought several new ones, I also bought a couple of cd's, books, magazines, some Finnish design, a t-shirt for Jari and lots of candy.
It was great to enjoy all Finland has to offer. I had to change my opinion about Finland and I'm ready to move there at some point. Not right away though... I'm getting old as I started to dream about my own cottage by a lake and spending quiet vacation time there. Dipping in the lake from the sauna. Ahh, dreams... Having to seriously consider about moving to Germany while I was in Finland was liberating, doing it away from home here. Actually it won't be that difficult to leave Vancouver when the time comes. I had to go all the way to Finland to realize that.
My main goal for the trip was to figure out what I want to do... Well, I didn't quite manage that but I know that I need a big change in my life. Whether it involves finally finding a job, going back to school or even trying to complete my studies in Finland, I have to break free of all routines. That includes watching too much tv. It's summer and we have to enjoy it!!!
I took over 800 photos during my visit so it might take a while before I get to post some of them online. Be patient!
I spent time with family and managed to see Tuula before heading home. I did last minute shopping in Tampere and on the last evening there bought a huge bag of candy and to balance that shopping trip, some rye bread too. I had the chance to eat some of my favorite dishes too. ...and amazingly I managed to sleep the night before, even though it was too hot and I was a bit nervous about the trip.
I got up at 6.20 am on Wednesday, woke up a bit before that. I took the 8.30 am bus from Tampere to the airport. I had plenty of time to check in and I needed it as the SAS check in always has long line-ups. The flight from Helsinki departed at 12.50 pm. In Copenhagen I had plenty of time and decided to have a proper meal to avoid being hungry all the time. Of the pasta options I chose the lasagna because I was least likely to get sauce all over my shirt with it. There must be an overproduction of cheese in Denmark as half of the lasagna was cheese. ...and one is supposed to eat light before a long flight. The seat next to me on the long flight was empty, it made the suffering a bit more bearable. I was so bored halfway through the 9,5 hour flight; boring movie options, not interested in reading and couldn't sleep. Somehow I made it to Seattle, got through U.S. immigration and customs quickly and the SAS personnel were kind enough to check my luggage after customs and I made it to the connecting flight to Vancouver. Here at the airport I was through in about half an hour, that must be a record.
The cool weather didn't bother me, I loved it. I had been awake for 24 hours by the time I got home so I was not the happiest person on earth. I really hate jet lag. I was hungry all the time for the first couple of days, I had a headache and I was slow. I managed to stay awake till 8, max 9 pm and woke up around 4 am on the first days. ...and was really tired the rest of the time, not too tired to nap easily though. Gosh!
On Thursday I spent some time outdoors, went to the library and Chapters to get a couple of magazines. I had sushi for lunch and a smoothie, I missed those most food wise when I was away. Yes, they sell sushi and smoothies in Finland but they are so expensive there that I could not enjoy those items many times. In the evening I went to Future Shop and HMV with Jari, he was looking for games for his PSP. On Friday I surrendered my Finnish driver's license back to ICBC and got my learner's permit. After that I took my camera, well the lens, to be fixed. I dropped my backpack a few days before returning and managed to damage my SLR. I also met with Alex and his mom for a coffee in the afternoon.
* * *
I must say the visit was great, having all that time in my disposal was luxury. I still didn't manage to see all my friends. It was great to see everyone there, have great chats with people, some visits were short though.
Finland has changed quite a bit since we moved away from there, in good and in bad. Shopping was great and I did quite a bit of it. I think in some sense the selection is better in Finland and the deals are better. I bought a new memory card to my camera, a headset with a mic and a Playstation PSP for Jari way cheaper than what they cost here. Our dvd collection got quite a bit bigger as I bought several new ones, I also bought a couple of cd's, books, magazines, some Finnish design, a t-shirt for Jari and lots of candy.
It was great to enjoy all Finland has to offer. I had to change my opinion about Finland and I'm ready to move there at some point. Not right away though... I'm getting old as I started to dream about my own cottage by a lake and spending quiet vacation time there. Dipping in the lake from the sauna. Ahh, dreams... Having to seriously consider about moving to Germany while I was in Finland was liberating, doing it away from home here. Actually it won't be that difficult to leave Vancouver when the time comes. I had to go all the way to Finland to realize that.
My main goal for the trip was to figure out what I want to do... Well, I didn't quite manage that but I know that I need a big change in my life. Whether it involves finally finding a job, going back to school or even trying to complete my studies in Finland, I have to break free of all routines. That includes watching too much tv. It's summer and we have to enjoy it!!!
I took over 800 photos during my visit so it might take a while before I get to post some of them online. Be patient!
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