finally i did it!

(written on Thursday, just pictures added today)

Okay, here we go... finally!

So, on Saturday 14th (almost two weeks ago.. woops) we got in a car with 4 friends of mine and headed towards a rented cottage situated in MeriTeijo, quite near to Salo. It took less than 2 hours to drive there. My friend and her friend had rented the cottage for a little cottage party! They both had invited their own friends so eventually there were quite many of us. Luckily it was a two-storey cottage so we didn't run out of room. There was also a terrace, three (?) bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a sauna, a hot-tub (:D), two bathrooms and... well that's about it! and the sea was very near so the craziest ones were able to go for a swim (why just the craziest ones? sea water here.... COLD). a few photos:

living room, isn't it a bit risky to put white carpet and white sofas there? :D

going to the beach! the journey back to the cottage wasn't so nice - uphill all the way

we had a grill and we grilled sausages and meat and corn!

drinking game with hunks-cards!

So we had a nice Saturday night there, I love my friends! On Sunday we all had a small hangover so we stopped in a pizzeria-restaurant in Salo to have some hangover-fastfood to deal with it. Then we came home.

Last week was quite tough for me when it comes to working. I had only one day off, Friday. On Friday, as I told in my previous (short) post, 4 friends of mine had their farewell party. Three of them are going to Peru for exchange and one is going to Spain to do an internship (I may be a bit jealous..). This fall will be strange for me as my best school mates are not there! :( I will miss you guys! Well I couldn't party much then because I had to go to work on Saturday morning but at least I was able to participate. It was great to see all the people, some of whom I haven't seen after my own farewell party.

I was at work on Saturday and Sunday, but on Sunday after work I took a bus to Helsinki where I met J and then we took a train to Hämeenlinna, to our summer cottage. You see I'm trying to catch every chance to go and "relax" in the countryside.. We spent a few days there and on Tuesday we came back. The weather wasn't good at all, but well, at least we got some things-to-do-at-the-summer-cottage done; we went to sauna, we went fishing, we took a countryside walk and saw lambs! It wasn't as relaxing as I had hoped but I'm still happy we went there instead of sitting here at home and just waiting for the next working shift.

fishing! all the foreigners, welcome to our lovely, sunny summer!

i caught a shellfish??

we saw lambs! there was also an angry rooster that kept on crowing..

countryside (what a sunny summer, right?)

So we came back on Tuesday and in the same evening I went to the stable with my friend and the horse girl inside me was very content! I was there with her also a week before, and my I can tell you that my desire for riding lessons has just strengthened...

Now I'm having four working days in a row and on Saturday I have an intention to go to another summer cottage after work. Our plans still haven't clarified totally but I hope everything goes as planned and I would be able to be there from Sat to Tuesday with my relatives that I haven't seen since Christmas! Then I have four working days in a row again, one day off, three days of work and then we are off to Oulu with J!

...

I'm trying to get some motivation back so that I would get something done with this blog. maybe one day.... last two weeks have been busy, I've been working quite a lot. Last weekend we drove to a cottage village in MeriTeijo to have a cottage party! This week I've been at work 6 days out of 7. On Friday my friends had a farewell party :( Three of them are going to Peru for exchange and one is going to Spain to do an internship. Good luck to you all, I will miss you! Today after work I will take a bus, go to Helsinki and take a train to Hämeenlinna with J. I have two days off, so I wanna catch the chance to spend those days in the countryside. Now I'm off to work, adios!

Midsummer & my first week back in Finland

So, I'm back in Finland now. Last Tuesday I checked out from the hotel in Barcelona, took a train to the airport, spent almost 100 euros in a duty free shop and caught my flight to Helsinki-Vantaa. The flight seemed to pass quickly and sooner than I realized, the airplane landed at the airport. My sister and J were there to meet me, it was so weird and my hands were shaking because I didn't know what to do or what to think about or anything. I was confused. We took a taxi to my uncle and aunt's home, there were some relatives, cake, coffee... I really felt that I had come home. I was confused but happy.

On Wednesday, I met some school friends - it was so good to see them! I've been missing my friends a lot. First we were hanging out and drinking in the Kaisaniemi park (in Helsinki) and after that we went to a terrace. I finally got the Somersby apple cider that I had craved and it was just as good as I remembered! On Thursday I met one of my oldest friends that I haven't seen in 8 months because she left already in October (?) to travel around Australia. I also went to get more clothes and stuff from "home" where I had left my luggage. To clarify, I've been living at J's because I haven't got my own apartment back yet.

On Friday, we took a train from Helsinki to Hämeenlinna, in order to go to our summer cottage to spend the midsummer in the countryside! The train was full and there was no room for 4 persons (me, J, my cousin and her boyfriend) to sit so we had to stand, but luckily it didn't take more than one hour and 15 minutes. My uncle came to get us from the train station and then we drove to Hauho. On Friday, the weather was (luckily) perfect so we could spend time outside. We were about 15 persons there then, so it was better that way (compared to Saturday & Sunday when the weather was not so good so the house was filled and it was quite tight there...). We also drove to a lake so that my cousin's daughter got to swim (and J had to go with her), we went to sauna (felt sooooo good after 6 months of no-sauna) and later we went to see the bonfire. Of course we also watched the Germany vs Greece match, drank and ate well. It was a good day.

front yard

the local pub had karaoke-nights on Friday & Saturday! too bad we didn't go there..

sauna drink :-)

Midsummer bonfire

On Saturday, as I already mentioned, the weather was a bit worse so we stayed mainly inside the house. Actually we didn't do anything so special, just hanged out there at the cottage. In the evening we went to sauna and watched the Spanish game - Spain vs France! I was a bit nervous because the French team is also quite strong but, after all, of course Spain won (even though I didn't have my shirt on or my flag with me there :|). ¡Viva España!

Sunday was a rainy day. I hadn't slept well and I was already ready to head back to Helsinki. We still spent the day there, and finally we took a train back to Helsinki before 6pm. We came to J's place and watched the Italy vs England match.

last night's view from J's balcony

Today I have no special plans, I'm just gonna get some more clothes and stuff from "home". I think I've now realized that I'm seriously back in Finland and I'm not going back to Valencia anymore. It's confusing but that's just how it is. But I think everything still feels a bit weird mainly because of the fact that I haven't got my apartment back yet so I haven't been able to unpack or settle down. I will move back to my own apartment - my real home - in a week and I think it will stabilize the situation. I also have a job interview on Thursday...! So, it's time to get back to reality.