If I had been in Finland
I would have been
sitting there with them. ♥

Here I am on the other side of the world and what do I miss? Spending the midsummer in the countryside. On Thursday evening I was sitting and thinking that if I was in Finland there would be a big chance I would be in the car on my way to the countryside like so many other Finnish people too. It has been a tradition for a few years for me to spend the midsummer in the countryside with my best friend, her boyfriend, parents, cousin, uncle, aunt, a bit different mix of people every year. It’s so nice to relax, eat and spend time with others. We do have a habit of eating a lot! :D Breakfast, lunch, afternoon coffee, dinner, evening snack and whatever you feel like eating whenever you’re hungry. And no one minds if you want to a have a nap or you get up at midday. The sauna! How wonderful it is to get warm in the sauna and then swim in the cool water, and back to the sauna. Your hair feels so smooth after washing it in the lake! And the midsummer bonfire! I miss standing there in front of the huge bonfire watching the flames. But it’s the people who make the midsummer as great as it always is. And my dear friend made me part of it by sending me a couple of photos and greetings from everyone. It really made me happy.

Midsummer bonfire

I must say have really and truly great friends. I sometimes feel so bad when I don’t feel like writing and emailing and I just sit watching a movie or reading the news. It often moves me to tears to read my friends’ emails. The other day I was reading an email from a friend and it was a great way to start the day, but her words made me cry. Her words meant so much to me.

I’ve sat on the beach here countless times but still the scenery makes me stop and admire it. Today I sat there and look in the horizon, you couldn’t see where the sea ended and the sky started, it looked so beautiful! I have a huge amount of pictures taken on the beach but I couldn’t pick any favourite. All the moments worth taking a picture has been so wonderful that you just can’t pick one moment and one scene. Today’s mirror clear water and the horizon made me think of Fiji.

It’s really nice to work in a hostel but it can get tiring to meet all people and basically start the conversations with all the same things: where you from, how long are you travelling for, where are going to travel, what do you do back home etc. And since people don’t usually stay here that long, you go through that conversation every day for several times. It’s wonderful to hear all different stories but just sometimes it would be nice to just talk about things in your life with someone who knows you well enough so there’s no need to tell the history to understand the present. It’s sometimes frustrating because it’s not the same to write and an email to a friend as to sit face to face and just talk.



Paddle out for whales in Hervey Bay

There seems to be a curse on weekends when I’m having my day off. It’s usually raining and if not raining it’s really grey and it looks like it might rain any moment. Well, it gives a good opportunity to be lazy and just relax but it would still be nice if it was sunny. So today it’s grey and rainy but I still ventured out to have a look on paddling for the whales. Many people took part in paddling and equally many were watching from the beach. There were whole families on a kayak, a girl with a body board, people paddle boarding, a couple even had their dogs on their boards! :D

"A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same."
- Elbert Hubbard -