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Entry Twenty Six: Day Two Hundred and Forty Five

Today I am going to my first big music event in Paris. I will be seeing Galantis and a few other DJ’s tonight so that should be exciting. 

This past week has been utter chaos to say the least. On Tuesday, Paris was struck with the worst snowfall since 1987. Wow. When I first heard this, I thought my gosh, that must be a lot of snow. It was to my surprise when it was only a couple of inches. I could not help by laugh. Back home, we can get up to five FEET of snow and people still go about their days. Just slap some winter tires on the pick up and you’re good to go. It amuses me greatly, and I have been trying my best not to sound condescending whenever my host family or other Parisians worry about the snow and the ramifications it can have. 

There were thousands of people stranded in Paris as the highways backed up, transit was delayed or cancelled and cars crashed. People were sleeping in makeshift shelters and the French Military was called in to assist with the chaos that ensued. 

It was especially difficult for me as I live in a Suburbia outside of Paris. I could not go to class because the buses weren’t running and I haven’t left the house really besides for a walk since this weekend. JP (my host dad) was also in Amsterdam for the week so I had a lot more work to do on top of the fact that the boys also had their preschool cancelled, adding even more on to my workload. It was  a hard week and I am anxious to get my weekend started. I need the relaxation. To add on to all of the annoyance from the Parisian’s serious lack of being able to handle snow, I decided I wanted to go out last night to a bar. I waited for over an hour for a bus that never came and so I was stranded and unable to get into the city. SO. ANNOYING. 

This reminds me a lot of Last Year when Vancouver got the worst snowfall of the past decade. Buses were stopped. People were freaking out. Myself and twenty others got stranded on the mountain of my University on NYE. 

Anyways... My holiday is almost upon me. One and a half more weeks. I decided to stick around for an extra couple of days to help my host family during the holidays. JP is going on another business trip and then Charlotte is going to visit her sister to see her and her newborn baby. 

That’s all for now 

- Trystan

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Entry Twenty Five: Day Two Hundred and Thirty Seven

It has been decided when I shall be returning to Canada. My host family will be letting me off of my contract early by one week so I can go help my mother prepare for a Horse Race. 

She and my sister are qualifying for the World Endurance Champions and will be going to a race near Edmonton as an Observation Event, a sort of precursor to the Championships in North Carolina next September. That is going to be a wild ride. I will be flying in from Paris to Edmonton, and then the next day helping my mom out at her race, THEN I myself may compete in a 50 mile race the day or two after. That shit is going to be crazy. I hope I have it in me. It has been sometime since I got on the back of a horse, and now the thought of going straight to competing... that sounds so nice. 

I have a holiday coming up in two weeks time. I have decided instead of going to a whole new country, I might travel France a bit. I want to get to Normandy to see all of the war memorials, and Vimy Ridge especially cause of the Canadian Memorial there. 

I was also thinking of going to Mont St Michel. Its literally an island church castle. That is nuts and so cool. 

Lastly, I really need to get to Versaille one of these days cause I have not been yet even tho it is only like 20 clicks away. 

I am also going to be getting a new tattoo in the near future. I haven’t gotten one in almost two years now, and I can feel myself really craving another. I have it all planned out so stay tuned ;) Just gotta find a good place to get it done. 

As my journey has reached well over the halfway point, I find myself really... anxious. I have been away for so long that I am kinda nervous about returning and leaving all these people I have become close with behind. I knew this was never going to last forever, but I have come to really love Paris and everyone here. 

That’s all for now. 

- Trystan 

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Entry Twenty Four: Day Two Hundred Thirty Three

Wow. It has been literally FOREVER since I have last updated my blog. So much to discuss. Where to begin? 

After my last entry I went to Amsterdam and Rotterdam for two weeks during the holidays. I met up with some friends from school and I also made new friends. Amsterdam is one of the nicest cities I have ever had the pleasure of visiting and I am truly grateful to the people whom made it such an amazing experience. 

I am now well over halfway past my stay in France. I have 159 days left until I make my triumphant return to Canada. I am honestly kinda nervous. I have I begun planning my school courses that I will be taking, I have me entire first year back already planned. I also have started looking for a place to live: I have two potential roommates but I am still working out the details.

I am grateful as well that I will have a sort of job when I return. S/O to my main boy Jono. 

This return is going to be scary. I have spent so long away from home that I honestly do not know what to expect. I have become so comfortable here in Paris that getting back to my routine in Vancouver is going to take some time to get used to. 

Once I do arrive, I plan on spending three weeks to a month at home in Fort St John with my family. I miss them dearly, and my time away from them has helped me truly appreciate them and how much I actually do care. Being in Vancouver and away for school, I still felt as if they were close by, a mere flight away. But being in France it has changed my perspective entirely and now I can not wait until I can see them again. 

I have also been helping my host family find my replacement. They will be needing a new au pair the moment I leave and so I am giving them my input on who to take on after I am gone. 

I will miss my host family dearly. The boys, as well as Charlotte and JP have become a family to me and I care about them deeply. It will be hard to see them go and only be able to watch William and Jarrod grow up from afar. 

To everyone in Vancouver, know that I am coming back soon and I will be coming back like a phoenix rising from the ashes. I left the country in a dark place, and now that I have spent so much time away, I feel myself becoming reborn. I am a different person now. and will be even more so this summer. I love you all, and I will see you very soon 

- Trystan

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Entry Twenty Three: Day One Hundred and Sixty Two

The days have just been flying by, and I am coming up closer and closer to being in Europe for half of a year. It honestly has been a bit of a whirlwind and it hard to believe that it is already over halfway through November. I have done so much in these past six months. I explored the natural beauty of Finland and the hustle and bustle of Helsinki. I got to lounge around on the beaches of Nice and Monaco. I have traveled across England, spending days in Leeds, Birmingham and Stratford-Upon-Avon. And I have explored Paris and found many hidden gems along the way. 

It is almost overwhelming to think of the amount of things I have seen already. Never in a million years would I have thought I could see so much of Europe at this point in my life. Christmas time approaches, and in one month I will be headed to Amsterdam for the holidays. If anyone has any recommendations for things to do in Amsterdam, feel free to send me a message! 

I know that there isn’t too many people who are following me, but I wanted to take the time to thank those of you that have been sticking around and reading about my travels! 

As of now, I like to think I have set up a good foundation in Paris. It was something I always feared when I arrived, that I wouldn’t be able to overcome some of the battles that I was faced with to set down some roots but I believe now that I have. My adventure in Europe is a little under halfway over already. I will be returning in July of 2018, so here is to the next part of my journey! 

- Trystan

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Entry Twenty Two: Day One Hundred and Fifty Five

In my first entry of my blog I discussed the Lost Generation as depicted in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and how I felt I connected with it in someway. Now that I have been in Europe for over 150 days, I can not help but feel even more so. 

Jake Barnes is the main character of The Sun Also Rises. A veteran of WWI and an American Expat who lives in Paris as a journalist, spends his days socializing, drinking and writing with other Expats who never left Europe after the war. He also is most notable for having a deep and complicated relationship with Lady Brett Ashley with which there are numerous and continuous complications. 

I find myself at an interesting point of my stay here. My love life has become complicated indeed and I too have sought and succeeded in finding work as a freelance writer in Paris. 

The Lost Generation was characterized as a group of people who after exiting the war, found themselves Lost in a world they did not recognize, trying to find themselves in the cosmopolitan city of Paris. I too am on a journey of self-discovery, aiming to find myself in the very same city, learn along the way, and perfect my art as a writer. I have become surrounded with other fellow expats who are either students, young professionals or artists as well. 

 I wonder if whether or not this is all mere coincidence, that I have found myself following in similar footsteps as the main character of the novel I so idolize. 

I have traveled much in the recent weeks, I spent a few weeks in England, travelling from city to city. My eyes are being opened to the world around me, and I am excited for the life lessons that will come from all of the new developments that have unfolded. 

There is a quote from the Sun Also Rises that I wish to share. 

“You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.”

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Entry Twenty One: Day One Hundred and Seventeen

Time sure does fly by... 

I have now been in Europe for almost 120 days. Almost a third of a year. Wow. 

As of late, I have been a bit scattered. My days are filled with caring for the boys, and my nights are either occupied by my side gig of working on Fiverr or French Classes. On weekends I spend my time with my girlfriend as much as possible. Makes it difficult to stay up to date on here but I am back! 

I have done some fun things. Going out in Paris is always a blast and I have made friends with a fine group of Au Pairs. One from Vancouver like me, and one from Finland. The irony is just grand. 

In the coming weeks I have my first vacation away from Paris. Hopefully I will be headed to Amsterdam to see some mates that I met at SFU. 

The boys have been great to me so far. I never really truly understood how difficult it was to look after children every day. They challenge me every single day. They also have moments where all the crap they can put me through makes it all worth while. 

My french is slowly coming along. Slowly but surely. I am still a lost child trying to navigate my way through Paris with only french. 

I am starting to really lose the initial shock of being in Paris. When I first arrived everything was so foreign and different. I am starting to get used to the city, its quirks, and I am finding some hidden gems along the way. I went through similar phases when I moved to my first big city, Vancouver. 

The person I have been writing stories for on Fiverr is quite interesting. He has me ghost writing tales of his D&D campaign that are in honour of a friend who recently passed away. He is a soldier in the Marine Corps of the United States. He has been a big part of me growing my influence on Fiverr, so s/o to this badass mofo and may your friend Rest In Peace. I hope I can do your stories justice. 

I am signing out for now, but I will try to be a bit more diligent in terms of posting. 

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Day Ninety One: Entry Twenty

It has been two weeks since my last entry and a lot has happened. 

I have settled in to the new job and new life here in France quite easily I think. The biggest adventures I have had have ranged from: roasting marshmellows over a flaming shot in a random bar, showing up at a house party where Katja and I knew no one and proceeding to make friends with everyone there, getting hit by a car on my way to the OFII medical office (luckily didn’t get a scratch on me), meeting a random Icelandic man who treated the group I was with like VIP guests at every bar we went to, and meeting some new Au Pairs from the area (One of them being from Vancouver, and the other from Helsinki. How flipping weird is that??)

The boys have been... challenging. I knew when taking this job that it wasn’t gonna be a walk in the park. I think I have finally gained their respect and admiration where they aren’t just outright refusing everything I say and do. I believe I have become one of the family in their eyes by now which has been all I could hope/ask for at this point. 

Charlotte and JP have been incredibly welcoming and are an easy pair to live with and deal with. They really treat me with respect and that is such a good thing for me as it makes my transition a hell of a lot smoother. 

One of the reasons I have not posted in so long is because I really haven’t had enough material to write about these past two weeks. Honestly with work, figuring out school and other administrative things, my bank, the OFII medical exam, I have been so busy that I haven’t had the time or the funds to do much of interest. Starting this week, all of my fees will have been paid for, so thankfully I can go out and enjoy myself a bit. I have been spending the weekends in Paris with Katja so hopefully this weekend will be the same. The weekends have been my time to relax and unwind after the week with the boys and it has been what I look forward to the most. 

Next time I post it will be something of more substance. I will try to find or do more shenanigans until that point so I can at least post something of interest. 

I am signing out! 

PS. I have begun a small gig on Fiverr as a way to pass the time. If anyone would like to check it out and maybe share it around, that would be pretty sweet. 

https://www.fiverr.com/trystanj250/assist-in-history-politics-english-and-philosophy-research-and-papers 

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Day Seventy: Entry Nineteen

So toAllday I am writing my entry with a bit of a handicap. Yesterday I took the boys I am caring for, Jarrod and William to the horseclub that is down the street from where we live. I was showing them how to pet the horses to avoid getting bitten and obviously due to the fact that they are three they aren’t the best listeners. Jarrod was petting one and that horse went in for the kill and I just managed to push his hand away in time but not in time for me to avoid getting a nasty bite myself. Luckily my first aid training is still recent in my memory and I managed to patch it up all nice. The irony is killing me. 

I have spent almost a week in Rueil Malmasion, the suberb of Paris where I live. The boys have been great. Little Jarrod has made me his designated patient/guest when we play doctor and chef. William has had me read the same two Dr. Seuss Books about 20 times in two days. All in a days work. 

Yesterday I went for a walk in the 6th to blow off some steam and I came across The Great Canadian Pub. Never have I seen the glory that is Canada in such a funny little place. It was filled with Hockey Gear, plaid, signed merch, a moose dressed like a Mountie and other such Canadian things. I got to sit and watch hockey highlights from the last season and eat a burger paired with a Moosehead lager. It felt like I was at home. 

After leaving Little Canada I went and walked around alongside the Seine. Only then did I realize in my haste to enter the Canadian bar, I had totally missed Notre Dame which was literally 50 meters away. It wasn’t like it was hidden or anything, its one thing that can be said about the French is that they aren’t exactly modest when it comes to their landmarks. I also had totally missed the Fontaine Saint Michel, a literal shrine to the Archangel Michael. Man oh man. 

This weekend I am hoping to get to the Louvre or maybe actually explore Notre Dame. I can’t wait to see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo in person. The art of the Renaissance Era was always my favourite and I hope to spend a whole day taking it all it. (how original of me right?) 

I also have reached out to a few other au pairs from a Facebook group dedicated to us for au pairs in Paris. Hopefully I can meet up with a few of them and branch out my circle a bit. It has been hard meeting people here what with my french skills being so lacking. I have been studying every day now and hopefully in a few weeks I will have some sort of baseline. 

That is all for now 

Cheers!

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Day Sixty One: Move In Day

Today was the day I moved in with my host family. I have been introduced to the young boys I will be taking care of for the next year and have been given the run down on my responsibilities as their care-giver going forward. The next few weeks will be a way of easing me into the daily routines and getting to know the boys. 

I will be looking after two little boys aged three. Their names are William and Jarrod. They are very cute little guys, and they can already speak english and french. Which is a lot better then me. 

I am looking forward to how this next little while plays out. I have always been good with children so here is hoping that I will catch on fast and that these little boys will learn to accept me as one of their own. I do hope that I can become a sort of big brother figure to them. I have recently quit smoking cigarettes because I really want to be someone that they can look up to, and if I was as addicted to smokes as I was before then that would have been a problem. 

Alright well thanks for reading, I am signing out

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Day Sixty: Entry Seventeen.

Tomorrow I depart for Nice in the South of France. My time in France has been so far really great. I have seen many beautiful things that fill me with childish like wonder every day. The first day I visited the Eiffel Tower all I could do is smile. The pure majesty behind one simple monument took the breath right out of my lungs. The Arc of Triumph, Notre Dame, Louvre, and Champs Elyseese all have done similar things. 

Nice will be no different. I have never gazed upon the beautiful blue sea that is the Mediterranean. This one body of water has seen so much, has been cemented into the history books since the days of egypt and has witnessed more battles and culture traverse its waters then almost any body of water in history. 

I start my work as an aupair in 11 days. Soon my year of work will begin and I will be officially a working member of French society. My French skills are still pretty much non existent and so I am excited for my classes to begin in a few weeks as well. Soon I will be able to converse without looking totally foolish or like such a tourist. 

I am signing out for now. I will post pictures soon once they have been edited and when I return from Nice. 

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Day Fifty Four: Entry #frustration

So sorry that I have been a bit of a ghost lately. I have been in Paris for some time now. The first few weeks were spent getting a lot of housekeeping stuff in order: bank account, OFII medical forms, Resident permit etc etc. I have also been caring for my sick girlfriend who caught my bug from Finland but it has morphed into something way worse for her. There has also been a lot of puppy training lately as little Ciara has been incredibly stressed with the move to Paris and we have tried to make her more comfortable before we do anything really exciting. Incoming Rant. Brace yourself. It's a doozy. Do you know how hard it is to get shit done with the French Government? I could do a heart surgery on a rabbit, and that would be easier then all of the nonsense I have dealt with this past week. First there was the bank appointment. This wasn't too hard to set up as it is run by a private company and so it got organized over the course of a day and my account is now open. Next came the drama that was "La Poste". I had to send out OFII medical forms that would authenticate and make my visa set in stone. All I had to do was mail some forms out and voila I'm done. Postage stamps are sold in Tabacs and "La Poste". I went to 5 Tabacs in my neighbourhood and 8 "La Poste" scattered around the city over the course of 4 days before I finally found one that was both open and sold postage. Why by God are so many closed in the middle of the week?? It took me literally forever to find a place to send a simple letter! The last bit of drama would be the one that is currently ongoing as we speak. When arriving in Paris I was told I have to visit a specific prefecture in order to pick up a resident permit. This prefecture is a 50 minute journey away, requires two metros and one train and a total of 10 Euros over all to get there from where I am at in Paris. I have so far gone twice now this week. Wasted hours of my time and money that I can't just waste I'm going to this place only to be told "It is closed, come back tomorrow." This has happened twice in the middle of the week. I have begun to realize now that there must be zero logic behind any of it. The French love to live in chaos and frustrate those silly people who think that navigating French government systems would be a walk in the park. It serves me right I reckon. Maybe I insulted someone in a past life. Maybe I was a person who caused a great travesty to occur to the French people and now this is my way of paying for my previous incarnation's follies. Whatever it was, I am sorry and only hope for this torture to stop. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting something to change. Like the Ancient Greek tale of Sisyphus, I am bound to hell, doomed to repeat the same agonizing acts over and over again to the ends of time. Next time you hear from me, I'll probably still be waiting for the same prefecture to be open. P.S. France is still beautiful and amazing. P.P.S. But this is such bullshit.

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Day Fourty Four: Paris

My first few days in Paris have been a bit of a whirlwind. In just a few days I have managed to: have a croissant and coffee breakfast at the cafe, drink 4.5 bottles of wine beneath the Eiffel Tower, spend hours hopelessly lost in the evening without a phone or wifi or any real clue as to how to get home and accidentally walk in to the finish line of the Tour de France. Not bad for the first coupon of days. We don't have wifi at the studio where Katja lives yet. We had to go get it arranged to be set up a few days ago. Her puppy has also been having a hard time adjusting to the new city. Paris is a lot busier then Helsinki and this is the biggest move she has ever experienced in her tiny puppy life and so it's only normal she has been so stressed out. When the pooch gets settled I will be able to do a lot more exciting things, but for now we are restricted to doing puppy friendly activities. I am still feeling a little sick as well so this is probably a good thing. When I finally feel better and the pup gets acclimated to the big city, that's when the real fun begins.

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Day Fourty Four: Paris

My first few days in Paris have been a bit of a whirlwind. In just a few days I have managed to: have a croissant and coffee breakfast at the cafe, drink 4.5 bottles of wine beneath the Eiffel Tower, spend hours hopelessly lost in the evening without a phone or wifi or any real clue as to how to get home and accidentally walk in to the finish line of the Tour de France. Not bad for the first coupon of days. We don't have wifi at the studio where Katja lives yet. We had to go get it arranged to be set up a few days ago. Her puppy has also been having a hard time adjusting to the new city. Paris is a lot busier then Helsinki and this is the biggest move she has ever experienced in her tiny puppy life and so it's only normal she has been so stressed out. When the pooch gets settled I will be able to do a lot more exciting things, but for now we are restricted to doing puppy friendly activities. I am still feeling a little sick as well so this is probably a good thing. When I finally feel better and the pup gets acclimated to the big city, that's when the real fun begins.

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Day Thirty Nine: Entry Eleven

Europe has so far been unreal. I can not describe how much fun I have been having in Finland and I am only one month into my trip. Tomorrow I depart for Paris. I have butterflies in my stomach for sure. I have gotten kind of used to the atmosphere of Helsinki so another city and another country will be a shock once more.

This is everything I have been working up to since October of last year. Paris is going to be something else I am certain. I will be arriving around 7pm tomorrow night, so not enough time for me to do anything. I have plans to take a taxi to my girlfriend’s house when I land and then since she lives so close to the Eiffel Tower, we will be taking a little stroll to sit underneath the tower and drink a bottle of wine. As some Canadian hick who could only ever dream of something like that, it feels like a dream come true to even think that I will be doing something like that.

Priority Number One will be to open up a bank account and set my phone plan up. I have been working off of just Facebook Messenger as a way to communicate with people and so it will be a big load off my chest when I will be able to text and to use internet where I am not tethered to a house. When I first arrive, there won’t be anyway for me to connect to the internet so I will have to figure out a phone plan as soon as possible. If anyone has any recommendations, feel free to let me know!

Priority Number Two is going to be travelling to the home of my host family on Saturday and meeting them in person for the first time. I will be moving in with them next month and so its good that I get to know them first before moving in full time.

That’s all for now. Helsinki, it has been a slice. I will be back here very soon.

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Day Thirty Eight: Entry Ten

The month of July I have been reading a little story called, “The Odyssey,” written by the Greek writer Homer. It is a very well-known tale that describes the ancient Greek Hero, Odysseus, during his ten-year journey back home after he fought in the fabled Trojan War. Odysseus is a fun character. He doesn’t fit into the mold of traditional Greek Heroes like Herakles or Achilles. He is a character who is mostly defined by his sheer wit and craftiness. He was the one who designed the Trojan Horse. He has a silver tongue that gets him in and out of trouble. His tricks were so different from what made a hero a hero that I have always kind of thought of myself as a somewhat Odysseus-like person. I am a talker after all. I have gotten myself out of some incredibly sticky situations by being either able to charm my way out of it, talk so much that people get sick of it, or my personal favourite, convince them that they are the ones who messed up, and not me. I am getting a little sidetracked…

 Odysseus went on a grand adventure and accomplished many great things, however I find it very important that people know about the story is that he never would have been able to accomplish such great feats or get home to his kingdom if it wasn’t for the generosity of the people he came across. Multiple times throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus finds himself in sticky situations such as being shipwrecked on the Island of Calypso, where he is forced to be her lover for seven years. The goddess Athena and the God Hermes manage to get him off the island and then he is taken in by a king who feeds him and clothes him and sends him on his way. He is fed by the wind god Aeneas and clothed and gifted with a bag of winds to guide him. He is fed and clothed by Circe for one year with his crew, (only after he threatened to kill her because she turned his whole crew into pigs, and she had to swear an oath to not harm anyone) but that’s besides the point.

My month in Finland would not have happened if it was not for the generosity of Katja’s family. Her parents, Kaisa and Antti. Her grandparents Rita and Romi and Kaisa. Her aunts Maya and Sunna. They have treated me as one of their own this past month and like Odysseus, my journey would not have been possible without them. This is my Thank You. Thank you for all that you have done, and hopefully I am back in Finland very soon!

 Cheers,

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Day Thirty Six: Entry Nine

Just a short entry today. 

I have finally succumbed to sickness. After over a month in a foreign country my body has finally said “screw you man” and decided it wants to be sick. I was actually predicting that I would get sick at least at one point in the first few months of my arrival in Europe but I didn’t think it would happen so soon. My prediction was based on such a horrifying thought. In thinking I would get sick, I was for sure thinking about good old fashion small pox blankets from Canada’s colonial days. Morbid. I know. 

Now in no way am I comparing this little head cold I have to the intentional attempted genocide of the First Nation’s people at the hands of the British, but ya know... my nose is runny and I have a sore throat. 

About a gallon of Earl Grey Tea and Honey, and a box of Strepsils are in my stomach today and here’s hoping that I get better soon. Its a good thing this happened now then before my arrival in Paris in five days! Silver Linings right? 

Alright, I’m signing out. Gonna read a book I found in a dinky little Finnish cafe about, “Soviet Russia in the Second World War: a modern history.” Riveting. 

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Day Thirty Five: Entry Eight

One week left in Finland before my journey begins in Paris.

Today I wanted to take the time to discuss some of the Finnish customs and symbols/quirks that I have begun to notice, that makes them stand out from everyone else.

First off is an obsession that the Finnish have, as well as some other Nordic Europe countries, and that is with licorice. Never before have I seen so much of this god damn stuff in my life. In Canada, we are known for our love of maple syrup and with the Quebecois delicacy, poutine, and Timmies, but you would be hard pressed to find these treats in some of the same spots as you would find licorice in Finland. Almost every store, museum, gas station, superstore, gift shop, sports locales, bars, etc. will have licorice of some sort, shape or variety inside. It is literally everywhere. I would go as far as to say that the Finnish people like licorice more then we Canadians like our Large Double Doubles from Timmies. Its madness. I have seen licorice of all forms: ice cream, hard candy, soft candy, chocolate, literally metre long sticks of the stuff, cakes, pies, drinks, liquors. I can’t wrap my head around it.

Another notable thing I have already discussed about the Finnish is the Summer House Culture. I wrote about this in a previous blog entry so I won’t go into detail, however there was one small thing I noticed today that correlates. We were driving back to Nostola from Lahti after having a very nice lunch and I noticed the strangest thing. The majority of all vehicles on the road and owned by the Finnish are SUVs of some variety, or a hatchback style car. Sedans were few and far in between. I couldn’t understand why this was the case then I realized that due to the Summer House Culture most people required large truck space and enough power to pull a small storage trailer to and from their little cottages. It just goes to show that the consumer base, and demand for different vehicles is correlated to the culture. This theory makes sense, as back home, everyone has a truck due to practicality, however trucks wouldn’t make sense in places like Helsinki so SUVs and hatchbacks are the next best thing. Look at me. My First Year Econ Prof would be proud.

The Finnish people are a very proud and straightforward people. They are not much for confrontation, preferring not to confront a person if they have been slighted. They are also very patriotic. This can probably accredited to a few things, and forgive me to any readers who are Finnish, I am not an expert but these are just theories. They have only ever been apart of other kingdoms leading up to their independence and so 100 years later, they have proven themselves to be a very resourceful and successful nation, often topping all demographic polls taken by the United Nations on livability, quality of life, human rights, business rights, social services and so on. Helsinki is almost always in the Top 10 if not Top 5 of every list that lists the best cities in the world to live in, (either behind or ahead of Vancouver :D). They have every right to be proud. The Finnish men are all almost always required to serve in the military and so I can imagine through the year they have in service, and the years that follow where they are in the reserve, they truly and rightfully believe in being a part of something big, a part of the defence and maintaining the stability of their great nation.

My past month in Finland has been absolutely amazing. Here is to the last week. That’s all for now, stay tuned.