I am in Finland!

7:45 AM;
walking from the bus 75 stop to school;
a 5 minute walk through a narrow two way street;
enjoying a song by John Mayer;
not too cold; not too dark;
the street beautifully covered with snow;
I am walking right in the middle of the street!

A car gently passes me by and quietly goes back to its lane!

Smile on my face: I'm in Finland!

Feeling a bit embarrassed about my total oblivion to walking in the middle of the road, I quickly move to the right, where the sidewalk would be, hidden under all the snow (roads are not salted here and snow removal seems limited to major streets). At the same time, I find it rather charming how the driver kindly found his way around me without feeling the urge to break the early morning peace and silence in order to demand his presence acknowledged. After all, this is Finland.

It has been rather quiet this year. Many exchange students and new friends have left Helsinki and my social life is a bit calmer. No longer do I face with the dilemma of which party to attend on the weekend. But the good thing is that I no longer feel like a tourist here. It's a bit too quiet at times, but the school and projects keep me busy. I try to swim regularly and I appreciate Sauna more than I did before.

It's sometimes easy to forget where I am! I live my life in English here. I actually hear very little Finnish around me. The masters program is conducted in English and everyone speaks English pretty well. Having lived through the Canadian winter, the Finnish winter feels just like home. I could be anywhere really, but then again, some days, there are little reminders.