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 -