Contemplations

Instead of updating the previous post, I decided to share with you some of the thoughts that have preoccupied me lately. I'll update that post later, maybe.

I think everyone should go on exchange. It's an awesome opportunity to reflect on your life from a different perspective. It's easier here than in Finland, 'cos I've got nothing familiar around me, except for the few items I brought with me. So it's easy to put on your thinking cap and start meditating ;)

I have already resulted in one conclusion during these meditations. It's the fact that I will not spend the rest of my life in Finland. Well, at least not all of it. No, don't get me wrong, this isn't something I've come up with during the past three weeks. Britain (or London) has been my second home since 2002 when I was on that language course in the spring and at that summer 'job' whatever in the summer, and I've kept talking about moving here ever since. Well, now I'm absolutely sure about it. I've never had intentions of getting a bigger apartment in Helsinki, actually the whole thought of a huge loan has intimidated me. And again, don't get me wrong - I'm past the honey moon phase with this country. I've been here so many times. I know the pros and cons, I know that the NHS (National Healthcare System) sucks, that the trains are always late, that the standard of living is lower than in Finland (and still you pay twice as much for rent), that you need a car to get to places (even to the nearest supermarket)... But hey, why should I list all the downsides to it, I could never be that dryly down-to-earth. I'm not like that. I've just always sensed that there's something to this country and culture I find very familiar and easy to relate to. Life is short, I've gotta do something about this once I get back in Finland. I'll have to finish my degree as fast as humanly possible ;)

I've also been quite surprised by the fact that I don't really miss anything in Finland, except for Lauri, but we've been together for so long that it's actually nice to live apart for a change. However, I don't really miss home (by home I mean the apartment, not the whole concept of home). And I don't miss my stuff. I thought it would be harder to live here on my own, far away from everything. But it has turned out to be quite easy.
Last Tuesday I saw Motorcycle Diaries. Now I have some vague idea who Che Quevara is - hey, don't laugh, at least I have the balls to say I didn't know who he really is! ;) Anyway. The movie was thought-provoking, very insightful. It sent me thinking how it would feel like to leave all my possessions behind, sell them all, keep the money, and set off on a trip around the world, tour around some inexpensive coutries, in Asia for example. Just wander around with no predetermined destination. Look poverty in the eye and see different lifestyles. I think that would teach us people much more about life than any courses we take at universities and colleges. But who has the courage really. Materialism is our religion. Not mine though, even though the Ikea trip cheered up my mood ;D Let's say stuff isn't everything. I could settle for less. I somehow feel much happier here, 'cos I don't have all that stuff around me. I've got so much less to worry about. It's just me and my little room, my clothes and other more or less replaceable stuff, and the three valuable items I own - my laptop, my camera, and my mobile phone. That's all I have to worry about here, and my god, that's liberating. God knows what happens when I get back home from here. Oooooh beware! ;D Ha ha.

Let's finish this post with a bit more commonplace observations - that is, the good Scottish weather.
The weather has been very nasty lately. It hasn't actually been normal. I've heard that stormy weather has plagued the whole of Europe, so it's not just Scotland. We've had winds so tempestuous that it's been difficult to walk straight. The wind just pushes you back. I've still gone out in the evenings, 'cos there's no point in waiting for a fairer day - you'd spend all spring waiting for that.
However, today was a fair day. Glasgow was basking in warm sunlight. In fact, the birds are singing here already, acting out their mating rituals. And by the way, what do you do there, back in Finland? Shiver with cold at tram stops? ;) Hmm, I shouldn't be this smug, this might all come back to me in the form of good old Scottish rainstorms... ;)