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Finland's mark



Today in Finnish class I went up to a Nepali classmate and asked him if he knew a Nepali song that I have been obsessed with for the past two weeks. I told him that I was in love with the song but couldn’t understand a word so could he please translate it? In the middle of asking my question I realized he had no idea what I was talking about and that this was really awkward but it was too late to back out so I ploughed ahead anyway. The result was that I avoided him for the rest of class. But part of me didn’t care. Being in a new country gives you thick skin for awkward encounters.

Being in a new country also shapes you and molds you into a different version of yourself. A friend of mine wisely said that “where you live leaves a mark on you.” I’m still only a couple months into my two year long stay here in Finland but it is leaving a mark already.

On our way to Naantali, a town 18 km away from Turku.
There are the little things. I drink coffee (well, half of it is milk and sugar but still, baby steps). I wear reflectors now. With the winter being so dark, multiple people have said reflectors are an important way to avoid accidents when you have to walk both to class and back home in darkness. Biking is my preferred means of transportation and has forced me to learn to bundle up. And after years of my mother unsuccessfully imploring me to wear a hat, I now don’t leave the apartment without one.

I have taken charge of my education and social life as well. These are two very broad topics and probably deserve posts of their own but I will be brief here. In Finnish higher education, most of the learning is done by yourself rather than in class. The result is that you need to take the initiative to read, discuss and complete assignments without a teacher breathing down you neck. Most of the readings that are due for classes aren’t ever mentioned by the teacher. And socially, I have transformed into a planner to prepare for the impending winter. Keeping an active social life, I have
heard, keeps the winter blues away.

Some of my lovely classmates at our first potluck.
Subtle changes add up and sometimes I wonder how it will feel to go back to the US after two years of living here. Turku feels like home and has already made many of the changes I wanted to make on my lifestyle but was never able to back in the States. But as that same wise friend said, I haven’t seen a Finnish winter yet so we shall see how much I love this country in December. But to quote the Finns (and Game of Thrones) winter is coming.

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