Finding other Finns

Today is Finland's 101st Independency Day, and while I have little saying about that, except that Finland is a pretty good country to live. That might seem like an contradictory view to hold, being traveling at the moment and all. But actually, when you see the world, you realise how well things are in Finland after all.

^{It is actually my first Independence Day outside of Finland.}

Anyway, here in my stay of Bucharest I ended up meeting couple other Finns, and it was rather interesting, because it was the first time that I met other traveling souls from Finland. By saying "traveling soul" I don't mean people who are going for a holiday for a week, but the mindset which I felt sharing with these two fellow Finns.

It's a cliche you hear all the time, but travelling really opens your mind and it has shed light unto the sides of my personality I didn't even know existed - my Finnish friends knew exactly what I was talking about. It's a thing you can try explain, but which cannot really be understood unless experienced oneself.

There was one dialog I remember especially well considering that exact thing: even though you might become a complete different person while traveling, when getting back home, it usually takes only a week and you're back the same, unless you don't let that happen. "But try to keep that going", he said.

I think what we both felt like, was that changing back to the old personality that left Finland would be a bad thing. But the reason why that is, is a different question altogether; it could be that Finnish culture isn't completely satisfying our needs and desires, or maybe it's that having evolved our personality, it would feel like regression to revert back to the old person.

What I would say though, is that Finnish culture sometimes feels a bit emotionally distant and uncomfortable, lacking intimacy. Maybe that is just my own experience, in which my family has a big part to play.

I still love some aspects of Finnish culture, like sauna (I could use one right now in the cold Bucharest), hanging in a cottage and just being close with nature.

Yesterday my Finnish friends were like "tomorrow we're definitely getting wasted". Today I realised that "of course, because today is Finland's Independency Day!" Though I will probably have to opt out of heavy drinking myself, because tomorrow I'm leaving early to Brasov and finally see the mountains which I never saw properly on the night train to Bucharest.