Should I stay or should I go -

 Hello hello hello!

In these past 2 weeks I've had 3 of my Finnish friends over! I was so happy to see them! Last one of them left yesterday and now my teeny tiny room feels really big and empty.

Now I would like to list all the places and amount of times I've visited sights in Paris:
Moulin Rouge - 6 times
Notre Dame - 4 times
La Tour Eiffel - 3 times
La Tour Montparnasse - 4 times
Musée du Louvre - 3 times
L'arch de Triomphe - 4 times
Basilique du sacré-coeur - 4 times
Chateau de Versailles - 2 times
Disneyland Paris - 1 time
Musée d'Orsay - 1 time

Yeah.. I'm getting a bit bored about this being a guide :D of course I understand that my friends haven't seen there places but still.. I have to find new attractions!

I really liked musée d'Orsay! Especially because they had a Finnish exhibition when I went there. I saw an ad about it and I HAD to see it! It was exhibitio of Akseli Gallen-Kallela and especially about Kalevala. For those who don't know; Kalevala is the national epic of Finland. I've always liked the stories in Kalevala and I was really happy to see paintings about it. I was really sad that we weren't allowed to take pictures so the only memory of this great exhibition is the picture I took from the main sign before entering the hall with the paintings. I had my Tunisian friend Khaoula with me and I was happy to explain Finnish lifestyle and culture to her. Did you know that when J.R.R Tolkien was writing The lord of the Rings he took influence from Kalevala and based the language of Elves on old Finnish?

I've continued my classes normally and we had our partial exams this and last week (what a perfect timing for my friends to be here..) My English teacher asked me to keep a little presentation about Finnish and I'm going to do that this Friday. Finnish is a really interesting language now that I think about it! Maybe I should devote a post here for Finnish :)

Then to the most interesting part: my employer suggested me that I'd stay here for another year. I have to tell that I'm interested. Many people here that I've told have been really excited for me and are asking me to stay. My mom is almost blogging all the airports in Finland so that I couldn't go back :D She also started telling me how she can bring my guinea pigs to me next summer if I stay. I think I'm going to talk with some people in the near future and start asking how hard would it be for me to stay. Hardest parts would be finding an apartment and my pets.


I started searching how expensive would it be for me if I stayed. The prices are awful here! In my hometown with 460 e/month I've rented an two-room apartment that had 45m^2. Here with the same price I'd get a little tuna can of 10m^2. On the other hand if I needed to find a job (like I think I do) it would be rather easy because I talk English and French so well. On the plus I talk also Finnish, Swedish and a bit of German so I'm pretty sure I'd find a job. I found out that I'd pay taxes to France and there is a law so that I don't have to pay taxes to 2 countries.

In Finland you can take a year off of our studies and continue them in an year so this wouldn't be a problem. On the other hand I would like to go Finland to help exchange students and finish my studies ASAP. On the other hand I would like to change my field of studies and find a new path in my life. I think staying here for another year would help me to think about what I want to do.



Well I have a couple of months to think about this :) I'll let you know.


And to finish this little update:
The family where my guinea pigs are told me that one of my little babies died. Now I have only 4 guinea pigs left when I go back to Finland. RIP Taavetti Joukahainen

In the last two pictures you can see a bridge where lovers attach a lock with their names written on it to symbolize their eternal love :) this bridge is near Louvre.

Bisous! à bientôt!