How nice it is to just chill at home, in the place where I grew up and spent the carefree summers of sunbathing, berry picking and swimming. Now it is just a week of that after all the work and studying, but it is enough. It is even warm, at least for us Finnish people!
On Saturday we saw a bunch of relatives, as we were celebrating my grandmother's 80th birthday. It was really emotional to see her so fragile, but I am really happy how she managed the few hours of greeting the family and eating. It was a fun day, I got to wear my awesome dress I bought from Spain and I even performed there playing the piano. I am so proud of myself, I hadn't played for months and after two days of practicing (okay... more like two hours) I did really well. I heard there were teary eyes, even. And afterwards my mom's cousin came to give me a hug and thanked me for creating "a timeless moment", which was probably the nicest compliment I've ever got for playing music.
Yesterday I helped my little sister pack her belongings, as she will be moving to Jyväskylä next weekend, it is really nice to have her there from now on! This morning I had to get up pretty early as I needed to be in front of the computer exactly at 9.00 am to sign up for this year's courses. So, a new year and definitely new adventures await!
Now I'll go pick up some berries, since I'm still here and it's summer and it's warm and I'm home. And that's pretty awesome.
maanantai 24. elokuuta 2015
tiistai 18. elokuuta 2015
Back to reality
It still feels so weird to be back home. Not that I was away for that long, but after Spain I spent the weekend at my sister's in the capital so being back in Jyväskylä is kind of strange, especially after such a different scenery I was in.
But anyway, my trip went great and I am so happy. I had been waiting for it for so long and it was more than I could have even hoped for or imagined. It was exciting, fun, memorable, educational and so much more; sometimes even scary, frustrating and exhausting, but I guess traveling always is, especially when you're doing it for a bit longer period of time at once. I got to use my Spanish skills, which I realized to be at a very good starting point for the exchange, which was sort of a relief.
I could produce half a novel to write down everything we saw and did, but I think that I could just bring up something more significant, as I feel like the trip taught me a lot about myself and gave a much needed break from everything. Funny, how being physically far away also gives you distance from the emotional and mental issues you're dealing with.
I learned to walk a little bit slower, to think a bit more calmly. I took my backpack and went, without a plan, without hurry, without a need to accomplish something.
I let moments to fill me completely; I immersed myself in a beautiful view, in a good book, in a bite of delicious food. Most nights I went to sleep satisfied, knowing I had had a really good day filled with experiences. I could have taken a thousand pictures, but none of them could have captured the experiences I had.
I also learned that traveling requires boldness to say exactly what you want, what you feel like doing, and how you are feeling. It is extremely useful in everyday life as well, but when traveling, it somehow comes up in a more crucial way. And as traveling is a luxury to me, it is so important to make it a journey for me. Not to be selfish, but to appreciate yourself.
And to sum up everything else, I could make this list of words that wraps up the essence of my journey: walking, pavo real, parks, heat, views, exhaustion, wine, pinchos, reading, friends, erizo, freedom.
And when I was in the train coming back to Madrid from Aranjuez, there was this woman reading a book. She started dozing off while reading, leaning her head against the wall. At some stop she woke up, and adjusted her position so that I saw the title of her book, which was "No abras los ojos". I laughed so much.
I had moments of complete clarity when I honestly thought I could even live there someday, and I still think so. But still, when the plane started landing to Helsinki and I started to see the forests and the familiar views, I knew I was home, and nothing could ever beat that.
But anyway, my trip went great and I am so happy. I had been waiting for it for so long and it was more than I could have even hoped for or imagined. It was exciting, fun, memorable, educational and so much more; sometimes even scary, frustrating and exhausting, but I guess traveling always is, especially when you're doing it for a bit longer period of time at once. I got to use my Spanish skills, which I realized to be at a very good starting point for the exchange, which was sort of a relief.
I could produce half a novel to write down everything we saw and did, but I think that I could just bring up something more significant, as I feel like the trip taught me a lot about myself and gave a much needed break from everything. Funny, how being physically far away also gives you distance from the emotional and mental issues you're dealing with.
I learned to walk a little bit slower, to think a bit more calmly. I took my backpack and went, without a plan, without hurry, without a need to accomplish something.
I let moments to fill me completely; I immersed myself in a beautiful view, in a good book, in a bite of delicious food. Most nights I went to sleep satisfied, knowing I had had a really good day filled with experiences. I could have taken a thousand pictures, but none of them could have captured the experiences I had.
I also learned that traveling requires boldness to say exactly what you want, what you feel like doing, and how you are feeling. It is extremely useful in everyday life as well, but when traveling, it somehow comes up in a more crucial way. And as traveling is a luxury to me, it is so important to make it a journey for me. Not to be selfish, but to appreciate yourself.
And to sum up everything else, I could make this list of words that wraps up the essence of my journey: walking, pavo real, parks, heat, views, exhaustion, wine, pinchos, reading, friends, erizo, freedom.
And when I was in the train coming back to Madrid from Aranjuez, there was this woman reading a book. She started dozing off while reading, leaning her head against the wall. At some stop she woke up, and adjusted her position so that I saw the title of her book, which was "No abras los ojos". I laughed so much.
I had moments of complete clarity when I honestly thought I could even live there someday, and I still think so. But still, when the plane started landing to Helsinki and I started to see the forests and the familiar views, I knew I was home, and nothing could ever beat that.
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