Feeling homesick

I have less than 2 months left here and I'm feeling a bit sad. But also today I felt something for the first time in France: I'm homesick. I miss Finland. I miss exams in Finnish. I miss my pets, my friends and my studies. I miss winter! The winter here was so lame that I was almost depressed. I miss Finnish candy. I miss exchange students in Finland and having fun with them. I miss life where my grandmother was the only person to come to me and say "I don't like the pink part in your hair".

I'm sad that I had to realize that it was a wise decision to color my pink hair partly black before coming here. France lacks some kind of tolerance and is too old-fashioned for the hair that I had for 5 years. I had a friend who after 6 months came to me and told me that now she was used to my hair. I still have friends who say "it's not natural, dye it brown". I'm happy to go back to Finland and I'm already thinking of dying my hair pink again :) I miss a country where my personality was more important than my haircolor.

I miss knowing what I have to do when I get sick or something. I miss the feeling of knowing that the system works. I miss speaking a language that I can actually speak. I miss knowing that I'll pass my exams if I study. I miss having 3 hours to do each and every exam. I miss being able to have pets in my student apartment. I miss Finnish food (karjalanpiirakka!!). I miss less expensive calls and text messages. I miss a system where being on strike is rare. I miss a system where everything is based on trust and people want to help you.

I miss a system where they inform you if a class is cancelled and you'll find all the information on the internet. I miss being able to do my exams as many times as I wish without any penalty. I miss being able to surbscribe to exams and courses over the internet. I miss Finnish flexibility alltogether when it comes to studying. I miss people speaking foreign anguages. I miss a country where you can say your opinion about religion without someone getting hurt.

Well. I think I could come up with a longer list but I give up :) that's how I see Finland now. Open-minded, understanding young people, flexibility with studies and a working system. I'm not saying that I wouldn't live abroad anymore, the contrary :) I would love to live in other countries again some day. This is just a fraction of all the stuff that I'm going to miss when I leave Finland. Maybe next I'll do a list about what I'm going to miss from Paris :)

The cats in the picture are my future roommate's (but I <3 them so much)

The winter is approaching..

What do foreign people think about Finnish people? We are shy, not talkative, we drink too much, we are monsters bacause we eat Rudolf (reindeer) and no matter how many minus degrees there is we never feel cold. I've have heard the last one here so many times during the past weeks when it has been around +15C. What  can I say.. I come from a city where it can be -35C druing winter and +30 during summer. And unlike many people think we go on with our daily lives when it's -30C ;)


The winter is approaching.. (in Celsius)
+10° French people turn the heat on. People in northern Finland are planting flowers.
+5° Finnish people are sunbathing if the Sun happens to rise above horizon.
+2° Cars made in Italy won't start.
0° Distilled water freezes.
-1° You can see your breath. It's time to plan a vacation to the Mediterranean Sea. Finnish people are eating ice cream and drinking cold beer.
-4° The cat wants to sleep in the same bed with you.
-10° Time to plan a vacation to Africa. Finnish people go swimming.
-12° Too cold for it to snow.
-15° Cars made in France don't start.
-18° People in Helsinki turn the heat on.
-20° You can hear your breathing.
-22° Cars made in America won't start. It's too cold to ice skate.
-23° Politicians start to worry about homeless people.
-24° Cars made in Japan won't start.
-26° You can cut the vapour of you breath to build an iglu.
-29° The cat wants to sleep in the same pajamas.
-30° Cars made in Germany won't start. Finnish people swear, kick their cars and go start their Ladas.
-31° It's too cold to kiss because your lips would freeze together. Finnish football teams start practises for the next season.
-35° Time to plan a hot bath for two weeks. Finnish people are shoveling snow.
-39° Mercury freezes. It's too cold to think. Finnish people button up their shirts.
-40° The car wants to sleep in the same bed with you. Finnish people put on pullovers.
-45° Finnish people close the windows.
-50° Sea lions abandon Greenland. Finnish people start using gloves.
-70° Polar bears abandon the North Pole. In the University of Lapland in northern Finland they have a sports day.
-75° Santa Claus leaves the polar circle. Finnish people put on a hat.
-250° Alcohol freezes. This makes Finnish people really upset.
-268° Helium turns liquid.
-270° Hell freezes over.
-273,15° Absolute zero. All particles stop moving. Finnish people admit that it's starting to be a bit cold and pour another shot.