When I was in college, going back home to Paris a friend sent me a letter from Illinois, where she’d gone to visit her grandparents. It was super symbolic because she knew how important living in Chicago had been for my sense of identity. Despite it essentially amounting to the blink of an eye. Don’t…
Category: The Positive
Three Positive Things About the Place You Live
Right now, and this may or may not change, Finland is not my favorite place to be. I’ve tried to achieve something (many somethings) that generated very positive responses in other countries but never here, and between that and the beyond abysmal healthcare – henceforth known as Burana Care thanks to the inimitable and super…
Beneath the Surface of Sauna, Salmiakki and Santa – intro
Like a celebrity, countries are excellent at putting out an image to the world of how they want to be seen. There’s the brazenly rugged terrain or the soft rolling hills, or the vibrant metropolis. No matter how a country decides to brand itself, there is always an element of truth, wishful thinking, a lie…
Negotiating the State of Mind in Terms of Finland – from Love to Hate to (hopefully) Neutral Ground
As with every place I’ve ever lived in, Finland is at the tail end of my intense and unabridged hatred on bad days and severe displeasement on better ones. A combination of xenophobia and medical incompetence – which resulted in a 90% impairment on my quality of life for the past 18 months and hopefully…