How my life changed sleeping next to a reindeer

You cannot immagine how noisy and restless a reindeer can be while sleeping! And let’s not mention how hungry a mosquito can get  during night. I have personally experienced this annoying behavior from these lovely animals!   

Last Summer I spent a whole month in Finland and I can proudly say I am able to put ketchup onto  my pasta without fainting now. Which is a big step for me. But I wanted to feel as much Finnish as possible during my stay , therefore, I did not care too much about what they used to put on their meals. I remember the first time my host family made me try Makaronilaatikko; a delicious oven-made “pasta pie” with meat and vegetables and a whole can of salt and pepper. It looked so appetizing… until they squeezed Heinz onto it. After the first bite my expression showed how much I loved it and I kept on using ketchup thereafter but secretly. 

I lived in the middle of a wood, between a birch forest and a berry field. I used to run through the hight oaks and fall because of a protruding root, get my socks wet by sinking in a deep puddle just to dive into the slimy lake, my slimy, yellow lake; covered by dry leaves and fine sprigs. I used to lie on the grass during an endless storm, just to feel the soft drops streaming down my face, to catch strawberries during a windy day and even to cry in front of the beauty of the sunset. I understood the lapping of the waves, the  howling  of wind and the rustling of the leaves as if they were the  language of Nature. 

That’s a good point: the language. I didn’t go there to learn how to speak Finnish properly.Although it would have been quite a struggle in only thirty days, I tried to do my best to start learning it but also to make myself understand as much as possible. This language with its complex grammar ad strange sounds has always been a hard code to codify. Finnish sounds! Sometimes shrill, strange sounds, very similar to a man who has flu! But I have always found all this extremely fascinating. I started by using always the same statement to show my agreement, “ yes, of course!” shortly after it became quite easy: Jo, kyllä! Furthermore, other basic questions words like what?; where? or why? have been replaced by mitä? missä? And miksi? I started asking my host mother some grammar questions and the meaning of the words I used to hear more often. After that I was able to form my first sentence! Which was…“ I go to school on a reindeer”, isn’t it great ?! That was such a huge achievement for me, that I went on repeating it all the time . You know what? Minä menen kouluun porolla!!! They started laughing, but that’s what I wanted . 

But my struggles weren’t finished at all. I ended up in the worst place for foreigners. It seemed as if no one was able to speak English at all. 

For me both Kauhava and the towns nearby like Kortesjärvi were an endless labyrinth, a parallel dimension torn apart from rationality  and normality: such as contrasts, wonders and eccentricities. Moreover, the lake of Eurojärvi symbolized the entrance cave which took you  into this unexpected world , whereas the berry field represented the hiding place for elves, gnomes and little fairies. In my mind all the things, people, animals and happenings by which and whom I was surround had just jumped out form a novel by Boris Vian or Günter Grass; where the strangeness is the normality and icy beer is their life-blood. 

   I remember once I decided to go cycling along the desert road next to our charming and messy red cottage. It was a chilly but sunny day and my host-dog Reksi decided to join me. After several kilometres I noticed he was  keen on changing direction and driving me mad. I had to stop various times  to look for him.I remember thinking to myself “Christian! Come on! You’ve to relax. You have a fantastic charme on animals, babies and… old people.” I succeeded finally in making him follow me ! Suddenly, we saw an old man with a very tight running suit…let me say very tight… too tight. Everything was great and quite, the beauty of the nature, the soft breeze, my superbe dog, I was feeling free  until Reksi started running furiously towards the strange dressed old man. I told  myself “Chris remember to breathe”. The man looked angry. Who wouldn’t  have been! I thought “I could tell him  in Finnish how I go to school!”. While I was cycling quickly towards him, the saddle  broke. I tried to apologize by saying Anteeksi (sorry). He began laughing and looked happy and glad. “Finns are really strange” I thought in that moment. He had red chubby cheeks and was  breathing heavily. He started speaking Finnish and I was not able to follow what he was saying, he spoke so fast but i felt that he was really focused and proud about what he was explaining. I’m quite sure he was speaking about his war mission against Russians! In the meantime, I was focused on the sound of the language; fantastic. I tried to find a moment of silence through this heroic story, but he didn’t want to stop. I found myself laughing  too. Sorry, I am not Finnish, I am Italian. I do not understand you. I said in Finnish finally. He did not replay, but the expression on his face made me understand he was thinking: w-what’s happening , I don’t get it. I 've talked all this time  and this young fellow right now is telling me  he hasn’t understood anything? And that he-he is what? Italian… oh, poor boy! He started speaking again. Always in Finnish. Fast. With no interruptions. At the end I replayed with a polite Kiitos (Thank you) but just while I was thanking in Finnish, I realized that it didn’t fit in the contest. I was so confused.I didn’t meet him anymore  but he made my day!

I have always felt at home and safe in Finland, despite there being so many cultural differences and their different way of thinking and considering life. Finland immediately became my second home and country , their lifestyle was mine as well. I do not know how it happened; I remember I used to ask myself the reason of their behavior, to analyze their actions and to understand them. Afterwards I was able to emulate everything. I liked this sensations; I was proud of my sense of adjustment! The first time naked for a sauna was natural and fun as well . I was constantly telling my self how amazing their culture was and how it would  have been awful and unfair if I’d wasted my time considering my Italian culture , without sharing  and mixing both .

In Finland people say Kiitos to the cooker after having eaten. Now I do it in my home town as well.

Finns never put salt or vinegar onto the salad. I got used to this natural taste  and now I find dressed salad quite spice and artificial.

I have learned how to consider my own freedom a substantial power.

I used think to much before  my landing in the “Muumi’s world”, but now I have realized how much time I wasted, how many opportunities have flown  away without catching nor enjoying them. Now I have learned how to rationalize my mental time and how to discern by understanding quickly what’s the best decision to take (well…I hope ). With this new “mental approach” to life, I am able to do more things and first of all I am able to do them better and not to waste time . There I learned how to live hic et nunc, to enjoy the moment and carpe diem!

Finlanders don’t speak, they change their facial expression to make you understand what they mean; but when they’re angry or drunk they are sincere and words do not come from their mouth but from their heart.

While in Finland I had to get used to going to sleep with the sun high in the sky.I have discovered the importance of the moon and  the darkness and the magic  of silence, a warm silence, a silence which isn’t awkward but it’s a moment of reflection and of common calmness.I laughed and smiled a lot while l was there , just to bring some warmth and happiness and to melt that icy behavior. Sometimes they thought I was mad but I often distinguished a smile on those pale faces.

I entered into the thick wood during the luminous and bright nights and my mind is still enjoying the wonderful fragrance of birchtrees and leaves.

I strongly believe home’s a mental statement; something imperceptible and abstract, a place in which you can light up a cinnamon candle and get warm in a soft wool blanket,in a little corner where you don’t have to worry about the language or people, because everyone can enter and you will make yourself understand by perseverating  or even by making gaffes. If you do not have a candle to light  or a blanket to keep warm, immagine them. People can even live under a tree and cover themselves with leaves. You can invite other foreigners to join you, who won’t be foreigners for long. 

Abroad I understood that our biggest power  is the freedom of our mind!