Finland

Moi!

And welcome to today's post on Finland. This will actually be my last post, since the due date for the personal project is on Wednesday, and after this there is no point of me writing this blog anymore, unless anyone wants me to write more about other locations :)

December 19th, 2:47PM

This post I will write from a more personal point of view.

Finland has always been home for me. I was born there and spent most of my childhood there, and I consider myself very lucky to be able to have a place I can call home, because some kids who live abroad don't have that. All of my family lives in Finland and I have a permanent house there. I also know that in the future, no matter where in the world I end up, Finland will always be my safe place.

August 4th, 11:07PM

In this post I will tell you the things I love about my country, and hopefully this will encourage/inspire some of you to visit Finland. 

Finland is such a small, unheard of country in Northern-Europe. Usually when people ask me where I'm from and I say Finland, most people don't know where it is, until I tell them that it's the country next to Sweden. I feel like Finland has always been in the shadow of Sweden and doesn't really get all the credit it deserves. The thing about Finland is that we don't have any the fancy buildings, cool architecture or sick amusement parks. In Finland it's all about the simple things, like going on a walk in a forest on a Wednesday morning and seeing no one or spending the night by a lake with a bonfire, grilling sausages and corn. Something I have learned from living away from Finland is to appreciate these small, simple things. When you live in a city like Shanghai, where you can't go outside because of pollution, it makes you appreciate moments when you can do that.

July 2nd, 10:41AM

August 20th, 9:18PM 

Whenever I return to Finland after being in Shanghai, I feel so relaxed. Finland is one of those places where it seems like no one is busy and everyone seems calm and collected, even if that wasn't the case. When I went to Finland this Christmas break, after all the stress I had from school, it was the perfect escape for me. Waking up to a white, snow covered ground on Christmas Day is one of the best feelings in the world (in my opinion) and I will always very much cherish moments like that. What I'm trying to say is that if you're looking for a holiday destination where you just want to relax, Finland would definitely be a good option.

August 22nd, 11:48PM 

Enough nostalgia, and now onto the things you can actually do in my wonderful country.

Over the summer my best friend from the Czech Republic visited me in Finland. This got me thinking; what can you actually do here? I've always kind of been against her coming to Finland, because whenever I visit Prague, there is so much to see, whereas I felt like in Finland, there is nothing 'famous'. This relates back to what I said about appreciating the simple things. Just the fact that in the summer you can be outside until 1am with it still being light outside is pretty amazing.

August 22nd, 9:24PM 

If you're visiting Finland in the summer, I would definitely recommend renting a house by a lake. It honestly doesn't matter what lake or how good the house is, as long as you have a bed, grill, fridge and friends. A rowing boat is also a plus :) On long summer days the best thing in Finland is to first have a huge barbecue with friends, then go to the sauna and go swimming. After this, you go light the bonfire which you have to keep going until the sun goes down. Put your phones down, grill sausages and roast marshmallows! This is the perfect way to relax whilst also spending some quality time with friends. Stay up late to see the midnight sun, and if you're lucky you might even see northern lights. What I love most about summers in Finland is that it's light all day. Only in the early hours of the morning it gets a bit darker, but at 4AM everything will be back to normal again.

August 18th, 10:17PM

August 12th, 9:16PM

One of my absolute favourite pictures

If you're visiting in the winter, expect no sunlight whatsoever. Hahah, I'm kidding (sort of)! But I am warning you that most days the sun is out for about two hours, if even that. Many people in Finland (and all around the world I suppose) fall into a low-key depression during winter. It is dark all the time, the weather is bad and people think that there is not much to do. I agree, unless there is snow. If there is snow, there are so many things you can do! Ice-skating, cross-country skiing, sledding, nordic walking, skiing or even just having snowball fights. If you're visiting Finland in the winter I would strongly suggest going to the North. You are this way guaranteed more snow and you can even go see Santa Claus (who is from Finland) in Korvatunturi! For more information on that, click here. But if you decide to go there, please remember to pack your warmest clothes with you and when you think you have enough, take even more, because it gets extremely cold.

December 28th, 11:09AM

January 2nd, 12:02PM

This also bring me to my global context (fancy IB stuff) for this personal project, which is orientating in space and time, specifically the homes and journeys strand. I hope that with this blog, I have given you an idea of what my homes and journeys have been and hopefully this has inspired you to get on your own journeys. Orientating in space and time is such an interesting thing and something that should be cherished. We are lucky to live in a world where travelling is made so easy, cheap and accessible to almost anyone. 

August 4th, 9:37PM

As we have come to the end of this post, and also the end of this blog, I would like to remind all of you world-travellers of another thing I have learned over the years (this sounds like I am really old). When travelling, please remember to respect the place you're in. Respect the culture, respect the environment, respect the people. Especially when you are visiting a place that is not as developed or advanced, always remember to try and preserve the culture. When tourism comes into places, such as Palawan in the Philippines, people start thinking more about the money than about preserving the nature. If these people that only think about the money have the power, we soon won't have any of these amazing places to visit; instead, everything will be ruined and these places won't exist anymore. Something to keep in mind when travelling...

August 2nd, 9:01PM

Another favourite of mine, a thunderstorm 

Thank you for all of you who have read my blog and done my survey, this has helped me a lot with my personal project. If anyone still reading has any questions or would like me to write more, please leave comments in the comment section below and I'll be happy to answer your questions. 

Also a lot of people at my personal project exhibition asked me about the pictures in this blog. I have taken all the pictures myself, either using my iPhone 6 or my Nikon D3100 with a Sigma 18-200mm lense. On this post, all the pictures were taken on my phone.

I'm sorry this last post was a bit personal and deep, but I hope that's ok with all of you :) 

If you'd like to keep up with my life and what I'm up to, you can follow me on Instagram @karoliinakuisma :)

Thank you so much for reading, 

Karoliina