Oui, merci.

Okay the photo above is from Helsinki but it might as well be from Paris. And it will, in November. Crème brûlée, pain au chocolat and tarte au citron be aware! I'm coming to get you all. And even better, I'll have a superb hostess.

MAZEL TOV

Koko I miss you!

Today's lists

List 1

To buy
-a mirror
-a reading lamp
-shower gel
-a cardigan or a hoodie
-a wooden structure to put underneath my mattress

List 2

To do
-measure my mattress and get some guy to do the wooden thingy for it down at the carpenter's
-plan a studying schedule
-study Spanish
-get tiles from the hard ware store and build a table using the tiles and an old window frame
-pay the rent
-go through the photos from my London-Paris-Pedreguer trip and post some of them here

List 3

Good things
-the sun
-friends
-new home
-learning new things everyday
-the view from my window
-the face lift that the States is going through
-the sometimes occurring optimism of actually speaking Chilean one day
-sleeping when sleepy
-eating when hungry
-the music I listen to

List 4

Not so good things
-flu
-tiredness
-feeling cold
-not being able to communicate well
-Finnish sweets which now have a strong onion aroma because apparently the jar I put them in used to have something onion-y inside
-missing out on lives of people who are very important to me
-the frequently occurring pessimism of never learning Chilean
-fleas
-the music Danilo listens to

Oh you, you beautiful you

www.ltehelsinki.blogspot.com

A Day in Tallinn, Estonia

I against I

Because a special someone already filled us in on our encounter today I will not go into it.
I find it difficult not to write about her. Even so, today I will refrain from telling about her and instead just post pictures of her from yesterday and today.

Lately I have felt like the environment's worst enemy. I have bought several flight tickets, bus tickets just for my own sake of enjoyment. I remember telling myself many times that the next time I'm taking off it shall be for professional/educational purposes. Oh look at that, not happening. I doubt that I'm actually the environment's biggest problem but it seems that I am my biggest problem.

Living with the constant feeling of contradiction is tiring. It is fulfilling too, no doubt, I would have not experienced some of my best times without its hold over me. By contradiction I mean two opposing ideas which clash, often beyond your will.

For me, my greatest contradiction in life, among multiple number of other less ground breaking ones, is security vs. adventure. The way it displays itself most prominently in my life is the fact that at the same time I want 1) a secure home where I can invest on books, records, kitchen commodities, quality furniture, career and important relationships, and 2) to feel free, untied, go around, learn new languages, taste wines in their spot of origin, miss home and my people at home and return home just to miss being away again.

The two opposing ideas just don't seem to match. Sure, in some ways I have been able to combine these two. For the very most part of my life I have been relatively stable when it comes to living in different places, by places here I mean different countries or towns. And I have been fortunate to travel too. But really, I mean really, five years is the longest I have lived in one home and that was from the age 7 until 12. Praises for that, very important time for my development I'm sure.

It is not only my social life or my material life which suffers (albeit, the benefits are countless). All in all I have a hard time making long term commitments, decisions. Sometimes I think I sacrifice my potential for the sake of being this rootless being with a confused mind, yet twisted-ly rooted hard on the ground of my ancestors.

It would be easy to blame my parents for my restless mind and my vulnerable heart. And I gotta admit, I find pleasure in blaming them or any reason other than myself for anything and everything I lack of or suffer of. However, it is me I am set against.

My oh my, I thought I went through all this pain in my teenage years but who woulda known, I'm still struggling. When the time comes to make decisions, I hope I’m ready.

Now listening: I against I by Mos Def & Massive Attack

Empty Bowls

Today me and Koko went to an event called Empty Bowls: design for a purpose (in Finnish) which was part of the Helsinki Design Week. The idea is that different designers and artists donate their seld-made ceramic bowls for the event which then the audience can buy. By giving money, people can choose a bowl they desire to have and get soup for lunch. All the money goes to charity for the fight against hunger. Here in Helsinki the Empty Bowls project worked in collaboration with UNICEF. The idea is quite nice, you get yourself quality handmade ceramics while giving money for charity.
We got there at 11 when the event started but already there was a long queue almost reaching all the way to the next block. Once we got in the beautiful Helsinki Cathedral crypt was packed with people searching for the favorite piece. After a while me and Koko found our favorites of the big bunch and were ready to get some soup. There were 6 different options for soup! Pumpkin soup, mushroom soup, borch soup, crayfish soup, sausage soup and sea food soup. I took crayfish soup and Koko got pumpkin. Both were delicious.
The atmosphere at the event was wonderful. A string quartet playing beautiful classical tunes and people enjoying their soups and their brand new designer ceramic bowls.
My bowl is like a tear. That's why I pretended to be sad.
While Koko didn't have to pretend at all. Her bowl has bees and flowers.
We had such a nice time, me and her. Thank you dear for asking me to join you.

P.S. In Finnish the name of the event is good, "Tyhjä kulho", meaning empty bowl. In English I can't help but to think of someone emptying his bowels for the sake of famine. How vulgar.

Yesterday

Location: Stockmann
Attendees: Koko & Maija

Chai & Sushi

Plums are delicious at the moment. All of a sudden you realize you've eaten a dozen of them. I've made myself tea by boiling cinnamon, cardamom and clove.
I had a wonderful day yesterday. I met with two friends in town. Aren't they the prettiest? We ate some, drank some, talked a lot and laughed a lot. What else do you need?


Sushi, you need sushi. So today I made sushi and I'm gonna go meet my friend soon (the girl on one of the pictures with a blue-striped shirt and the cutest flowery belt) and surprise her with some fresh homemade sushi.

Summer Joy

I'm back from Chile. I had the most wonderful time there, I couldn't have imagined a better June. It wasn't easy coming back. I spent a month without a cell phone or a clock, just enjoying my time, drinking wine with good friends, taking walks in the beautiful hills of Valparaíso.

But somehow the amount of light - day and night, and the greenness of the nature has caught me off guard once again and made it a lot easier to adjust to being home again.


We had my friend's birthday party and it was so much fun! We drank rum punch, sang karaoke, played capoeira and danced salsa (not me, the capable ones). I left home when the sun was already rising. It never gets entirely dark this time a year.