The other day I went into a post office. Yes, I knew it’s getting near Christmas and that there probably would be quite many other people too. I was right. The queue went all through the post office and outside through the sliding doors. Well, I did have time to wait so I just joined the queue. An elderly lady sat on a chair waiting while her friend queued for her. No one complained or looked badly when the lady walked to the front of the queue. No one was complaining about how long it takes to queue and get service. You could hear people chatting all around. You could see families queuing together. You could see people talking to total strangers. Behind me in the queue was a mother with a about six-month-old baby, never complaining about the time spent in the queue even though she had the baby on her arms the whole time. People around her talked to her, an older woman gave her son a mint box to play with. When he managed to drop all the mints on the floor no one minded. Women around just said that there have definitely been worse things on the floor than a few mints. No one complained to a woman whose child was screaming loudly from time to time. When you got to service desk the staff didn’t look stressed. All were smiling and talking to every customer with friendly voice and wished you merry Christmas when you left.

It’s funny to think that Christmas is only nine days away. I haven’t quite realised it yet. One reason might be that I’ll be working on Christmas so it won’t make that much difference. And even though there are all these Christmas things in the shops the hot and sunny weather fools you. Also the fact that backpackers are travelling whether it’s Christmas or not makes Christmas feel like any other day of the moment, or at least almost. We will get our Christmas lunch and we don’t have to work that much but it doesn’t feel that Christmassy. We do have our Christmas tree up and I have my Christmas hat which I’m wearing already (well, at least I’m trying to wear it). For me baking Christmas cookies is part of the Christmas and since I haven’t done that this year I don’t realise that Christmas is around the corner. Maybe I’ll realise it when it’s actually already Christmas day. :D   

 

In Finland when the winter comes people start getting sick with colds and flus. During the summer people just don’t get sick that easily. So I really associate having a cold with cold and gloomy weather, not with hot weather and sunshine. But my body must feel compassionate for all the people in my home country because I have the worst flu I’ve had for years. And when it’s +30 degrees and the sun is shining you don’t really feel like lying in bed doing nothing. It feels waste of time to do nothing. Going to the beach wouldn’t be good because I would just be tempted to jump into the water. It’s hot so I love eating ice cream but no, my doctor denied that from me. People are telling me to take it easy and rest but there’s only as much as I can do nothing and I’m over the limit.

Sometimes when you’ve stayed in a place for a while you stop seeing all the beautiful things around you. You get into a routine and stop enjoying the scenery around you. I thought it wouldn’t happen to me but I was wrong. Just last week I went for a walk on the beach with a friend and realised how much I had missed just walking and enjoying the view during the low tide. Or how wonderful it was today to watch waves (yes, we actually got some waves today!) wash over to the street. The water is my element and I could sit on the beach for hours just watching the ocean.

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said that it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."
- Unknown -

It’s good to be back home. No need to travel every few days and pack and unpack your backpack all the time. No need to carry your food around and to estimate what you eat in a couple of days. It’s good to have your things on shelves and your food nicely in the fridge. You know where to go to buy things and in a supermarket you know you’re way around, no need to go around looking for things. You know where to go for a bit of exercise and which route to take when you don’t have that much time for a brisk walk ( I do not run!). And there are people you know. Someone you don’t need to start with the usual where-you-from, where-have-you been and so on.

I haven’t been going out that much while I’ve been travelling and I didn’t even really realise that I missed going out. But you need to get out there and have a bit of fun now and then, we all need that. I must admit that it was extremely nice to go out with a few familiar people and just have fun yesterday. I must say I was happy that there were guys in our group who were able to save you when you didn’t want to go dancing with some random drunken person. Good night out it was.

Familiar sight in Sydney. I love the city.

I had a bit of trouble speaking Finnish a few weeks ago. A Finnish girl was amused by my lack of finding words and the difficulty of speaking Finnish, my first language. She even said to me: “You can talk English but I’m going to speak in Finnish now.” In environment where I’m used to using only English, speaking Finnish seems unnatural. It doesn’t come easy. Luckily for my mum I was able to speak Finnish pretty well while she was here. Just sometimes I had to think a little bit for Finnish words. :D But all in all it went well. But now I’m happy to go back to speaking English and only English, it just is so much easier!

 



Great scenery on Fraser Island.

I did have great three weeks with my mum. It was good to see her. It was pretty intense three weeks. Sydney, Blue Mountains, Brisbane, Hervey Bay, Fraser Island and Noosa in that time, not really a relaxing holiday! But I was glad to show places for mum and get her to see why I like it here so much. And I think she got to see it. Three weeks by in a flash and before I knew mum hopped onto a shuttle bus to the airport and I returned home.

 
The weather is a great factor for staying here. It just is so much warmer here and it’s not cold and dark like in Finland at the moment. Now that summer is here I must admit that even the winter wasn’t bad. For some the heat of the summer can be too much but I’m not complaining. Having a work out in the heat of 29 degrees is fine. 37 degrees that we had here yesterday felt hot but wasn’t unbearable. I just love it when you can wear shorts and a top all day around, no need for long-sleeved shirts. And the nature is just beautiful. I could sit on the same beach every day and just marvel the scenery – never getting bores. People here are more easy-going and relaxed than people in Finland. People are helpful and welcomes you into their country with open arms and help you all the way they can. I just love it here.

"Home is where the heart is."