May 26
About 80km across the Gulf of Finland lies an interesting counterpoint to Helsinki: Tallinn, Estonia. A country that emerged from behind the Iron Curtain only 20 short years ago, Estonia has done much to modernize without losing site of its long history. A major shipping port for hundreds of years (Helsinki was originally founded by …
May 25
When we announced that we were moving to Helsinki, we got quite a variety of reactions, one of which, sadly, was “Where?” Admittedly, Finland is not a typical vacation destination for Americans, but that’s a shame considering all it has to offer. Likewise, stopping off in Helsinki for a day on the way somewhere else–which …
May 07
Tomorrow, my “baby” girl will be five years old. Five years since my father told me I needed to hurry up and have this baby because his flight home was booked for only a few days after the conversation. Five years since I squatted down to pick some asparagus on May 7 after days of …
Apr 29
Misunderstandings are a part of expat life. Language barriers, cultural differences, and a desire to attribute meaning when sometimes there is none–all of these are experienced on a regular basis. Such was the case when I posted the following in my post, Easter in Finland: Of course, it wouldn’t be a holiday in Finland without …
Apr 21
Easter (pääsiäinen) is a big deal in Finland. Maybe it’s because it’s a major religious holiday for Finland’s 4.2 million Lutherans (yes, that’s nearly 80% of the population), but it also marks the first holiday of spring and a sort of precursor or warm up, as far as I can tell, to the major party …
Mar 25
Like many American parents, I spent a great deal of time the past two years completely freaking out worrying about sending my children to school. Public school? Broken, underfunded, full of bullies, a little scary. Private school? Long commute, overpriced, not feasible, full of rich kids & drugs, a little scary. Home school? Holy shit. …
Feb 24
Considering what a huge role travel has played in my life, it was with a surprising amount of trepidation that I booked our Winter Break tickets to Paris. Trying to live in a foreign country with a four- and a six-year-old somehow felt less daunting to me than trying to enjoy a vacation in a …
Feb 08
On Tuesday, Fox News published an article by Dr. Manny Alvarez titled “English-Only Bills Are Not Unfair to Immigrants“. A friend posted it to her Facebook page, and I’ve been stewing about it ever since. I knew as soon as I read it that I disagreed strongly, emphatically, with his stance but it’s taken me …
Jan 17
Since I just admitted that I’m suffering from some degree of SAD, perhaps now is not the best time to ponder my cultural identity. Then again, perhaps it is the perfect time, especially as several catalysts (MLK Day, the recent shooting in Arizona, and a US identity-related assignment for Gabriel’s Kindergarten class) have conspired to …
Jan 04
I’ve known for quite some time that I am affected by winter’s short days and lack of daylight. Even in sunny Colorado, the lack of light gets to me in December & January, so I knew I’d have some issues when I moved a good deal further north. Not surprisingly, nearly 10% of Finns suffer …
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