I'm Still Alive Part Two

How apt was the title of my last post?  My sister in Michigan e-mailed me a week ago to ask if I was still alive at this point in time.  I have indeed been absent from my writting and am again sorry.  I got back two weeks ago from a cruise to the Caribbean with a dear friend and have been re-adjusting and doing laundry ever since.  It sems that laundry is never done...even with just two people in the household.  I can only imagine what a family of six (like my sister's) would generate.  But I digress.

I was away, and now I am settled back in here in Helsinki.  It is odd how where you live becomes home and the norm of your living.  I found that while in the States (for a few days before the cruise) I was shocked by people talking to me in elevators and in lines at the stores.  Finns pretty much keep to themselves and don't talk unless specifically spoken to.  It's not that they are cold, it is just their way, and I have gotten used to it.  I won't say I like it better here, just that it is different.  Anyway, I found myself having to get used to the social differences again, but in reverse.  I found myself excited by the strangest things...like chicken fingers and breakfast food, and people saying "please."

So now I am re-adjusted and back into my routine.  It is mid-summer celebration...I think that's what it is.... here in Finland.  Things will close early tomorrow and be closed on Saturday.  People will celebrate this weekend.  The Finns love to celebrate.  I love to celebrate with the Finns. 

We have been invited over to a friend's summer house this weekend, something I have hoped to experience while we are here.  The Finns really have the work/life balance thing figured out and I am told that most have summer houses that they go to in the summer...especially July when the country goes on vacation.  The city is likely to be a ghost town filled mostly with tourists during this time, and this is the weekend that it starts.  I am excited to celebrate this time with Finnish friends so that we can do it right.  It is an honor to be invited.  I don't know what to expect, but I will surely report on it when we get back.

Well, that's it for now.  I have to go get ready for my weekend....