Having been in Finland a week there are a few things id like to point out...
1. Toast is a figment of your imagination
Naturally I have to start with food. At home I eat toast for breakfast almost every single day. but toast and, it seems, loaves of bread, are a foreign thing to the Finns. This is discovered to my horror the first morning after i arrived when, on entering the hostel common kitchen, i found no toaster.. and after asking the reception if there was one i was greeted with a confused um. It was reinforced wehn i went grocery shopping a few days later, and struggled to find the bread isle. It was tucked away in the corner of a shop dominated by milk, cheese and energy drinks. i have resorted to eating oven baked toast. Yum?
2. What is a Moomin?
Need i say more? Do YOU know what a Moomin is? I sure don't and im confronted with the albino hippo-lion everyday. From posters to cereal to juice and tv. Moomin is everywhere. There is even a Moomin Island. Dont belive me? Look it up.
3. Quirky is normal and normal is weird.
Maybe its the opposite where you come from. It is where i am from. But I've gotta tell you there is nothing quite like people watching at Helsinki central station wehn the Tuska Open Air Metal Festival is on. Suddenly the place is crowded with corsets, studded boots, long hair, coloured hair, lots of black clothing and netting and a whole range of clothing and styles that dont have names yet. There are also lots of guys with long hair here, and lots of girls with dreadlocks or strange haircuts. And i find that i really like it. I wish i was bold enough to do it. They also have the coolest range of high heel shoes and clothes here. I LOVE high heel shoes. If nothing else id spend all my money on the shoes they have here and be content.
Finland is weird... but i love it. Except for their lack of toasters. I think that would eventually kill me.
