Hello everyone,

I'm posting from Serbia, I came home because I don't have many lectures in March (the regular semester in Germany hasn't started yet). The weather here is beautiful, I'm enjoying my mum's cuisine and looking forward to going to Belgrade on Friday, where I'll see my friends... the ones that haven't moved to other countries. (Yet?)

Here are the Instagram photos from January and February - another reminder of dear and beautiful Finland. It's been almost three weeks in Germany now, but I still listen to Finnish radio. I love hearing Finnish... even hough most of the time I have no idea what they're talking about. I hope my German skills will be better in six months' time!

Talvi Joensuussa

I actually took these photos months ago, because I wanted to show you how beautiful winter (talvi) in Joensuu (Joensuussa) can be. Since I have already showed autumn on this blog, it might be interesting to compare and contrast. One of my biggest regrets about Finland is that I only got to live there in the bad part of the year - since autumn colors were that amazing, I bet spring is equally wonderful, if not even more!

Anyway, this really isn't Joensuu now, as it was really warm there 10 days ago, when I left. As I mentioned before, warm in this sense means around 2 degrees. :) Actually, this February was the second warmest in Finland since 1900 - earlier I would have said that I got lucky, but having survived Finnish January, I kinda feel bad - it's like seeing and experiencing global warming at its worst, and Finnish winter is really not impossible to endure, not even for me. It's also not nearly as beautiful now in Joensuu as it was some time ago, because the snow is melting and it's ugly and dirty. So here are the oldies, but goldies! :)

Five Months in a Nutshell

A stranger on the bike stopped on the crossing because it was red for him. It was green for me. As I was crossing the road, he gave me a big bright smile. I smiled back, so he nodded and then we simultaneously said “Hei”, still smiling, both of us. It could have probably happened anywhere and anytime in the world, but it happened on a February morning at the corner of Suvantokatu and Torikatu, in Joensuu, Finland, and that is just one of the reasons why I love Joensuu so much and why I felt my heart was breaking because I leave.

(via)

A Very Late Instagram Post

I was really surprised to realize that I haven't posted Instagram posts for quite a while now. So here's a very late Instagram post, from November and December last year. I look at these pictures and see how I fell in love with Finland. It took me a while, but then it struck me as a lightning and it's gonna last forever.

Clockwise: wool hats displayed in Joensuu Arts & Crafts market; learning colors in Finnish; beautiful autumn
landscape in Joensuu; vitamin D pills called Aurinko - "The Sun"

Can You Be Happy for 100 Days in a Row?

I once read that tomorrow was "a mystical land where 99% of all human productivity, motivation and achievement is stored".

Actually, I'd say it is Monday. And chances are that you know it from your own experience.

Apart from New Year's, Monday is the time when we start dieting, quit smoking, start working out, start being hard working and study regularly... 

...or more accurately, that's what we think before Monday.

And then it turns out it's just a regular day. Starting with coffee and a chocolate croissant straight from the bakery, spending limitless time on Facebook, smoking too much, and skipping the gym one more time.

Been there, done that. A thousand times.

But I tried challenging myself one last time. I saw this on Twitter and thought to myself: Why not?! Maybe it's exactly the thing I need right now. Maybe not, but I think it's worth trying.

This Monday I'll try to be happy. And keep the happiness for 100 days. 

Hyvää Ystävänpäivää!

I know I’m late!

I also know I am probably becoming boring by constantly emphasizing things I love about Finland, and luckily for me, the list seems to be expanding all the time. (But then again, not so luckily when I remember that I am actually leaving the country quite soon.) One of the things I liked not long ago was realizing how Finns perceive Valentine’s Day. I am one of those people who don’t really appreciate the date. I strongly believe it is a holiday invented to make malls happy, as well as candy and silly teddy bears manufacturers. I also believe that love should be cherished and praised every day, not once a year. And last but not least, I have been single for so long that I am a bit sceptical towards a holiday that celebrates love. Not my cup of tea, definitely.

(via)

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

I’ve been blogging for only few months, but I already experienced writers’ block. Many times. Even though I love doing this and I try doing it for myself, thinking if I enjoy writing readers will also enjoy reading, sometimes I feel I am disappointing you guys for not blogging so often. The reason is simple – it’s either lack of time or inspiration! You successful bloggers out there, how do you manage to keep both?! You don’t have to comment in public, but send me an email instead and reveal your secret to a fellow baby blogger :)

Anyway, even though it’s February and I hope all of us stopped writing "2013" when stating the date, I still feel I should raise a glass to 2013. An incredible year it was!

(via)

A Post About Love

*This post was stuck in my Draft folder, even though it didn't deserve it. It didn't deserve it at all! I hope I can make it up to it by publishing it now.*

You know that teenage period, when Mr. and Mrs. Know-It-All seem to bother you so much? Stop surfing, You spend too much time in front of the computer, Go to the shop, Study something, Tidy your room, What kind of a grade is this, You don't do anything at all, You're just watching television, get out sometimes, But you went out yesterday, what does it matter it's Saturday, You don't study at all, you're so lazy, When did you come home last night, Turn that volume down, Is this even music, blah, blah...

Where Magic Happens: Lapland, Part 2

Maybe I sounded too excited in my previous post (check it out if you haven't). Maybe you thought there is not much magic around a zoo, Santa's Village and a lot of snow? Well, you might be right. I wouldn't agree, though. I'm easy to please. Recently a friend asked me if there was a place I didn't want to visit. Amongst those I hadn't visited so far? No, absolutely not. I want to see it all and experience it all. Life is short, I probably won't make it. But let's take one step at a time.

One of the things on my bucket list was seeing the northern lights. Aurora Borealis. It was something I wanted to see someday in my life, but up to few months ago I probably thought that would actually never happen to me.

But it did.

Where Magic Happens: Lapland, Part 1

The winter really has come since my last blog post. And can you imagine welcoming winter in a better place than Finnish Lapland?

I mentioned the trip of the year in some of my previous posts. This was it! It lasted less than a week, but I can certainly say it was the best trip of my life! I did some things I have never ever imagined I would do. And for the most of the time it really did feel like magic. Like living in a fairytale. Considering the fact that it is the very home of Santa and his little helpers – that's not strange at all!