What Its Like Living in a Different Country for 2 Months...

Dear Diary,

As many people know through my multiple Instagram posts and snap chats, I spent my summer living in Finland with my boyfriend and his family. They spend the entire summer their from June-late August. I had spent 2 months their this summer. When traveling abroad you have a certain expectation of what the country is going to be like. Finland exceeded all of those expectations and to be honest, was not what I had expected at all.

First off my expectations were probably typical for someone who had never been out of the US before. Such as, foreign languages, confusing roads, not so friendly people. I was almost positive that I would be solely dependent on my boyfriend to get around and figure everything out. However, that was not the case. Finland was surprisingly "americanized" (as one of the people I met their had said). Everyone speaks English, since they start learning it in 3rd grade. This made everything so much easier, no one was rude or annoyed that I couldn't speak Finnish, everywhere I went I was able to help myself and communicate on my own.

Next thing that surprised me was how easy it is to get around. When going into the city I was able to walk everywhere without a problem and find my way around. Helsinki is BEAUTIFUL, its right along the coastline with so many cute bars and restaurants. The city is old with cobblestone streets and architecture, but has a modern feel to it. It is extremely safe, you don't have to worry about walking down a bad street or running into a bad area, like most cities in the US. Besides the city, most of Finland is countryside. Beautiful fields and farmland, also surrounded by forests. My boyfriends family lives about 40 mins outside of the city in Kirkkonummi right on the water, he describes it as more forest, but I see countryside and forest. The pace of life is way more relaxed and well spent. The summer days are long with the sun not setting until about 10:30PM. People aren't in a hurry 24/7 to get things done. Time is enjoyed outside in the sun, jet skiing, boating, drinks & lunch at the waterfront. This was by far my favorite part about Finland. I didn't feel the stress and craziness from living back home when everything and everyone is go, go, go all the time.

Moving onto the food, everything is soooo fresh. Everything is fresh homemade meals straight from the gardens. Most people had gardens in their backyards filled with berries, lettuce, and vegetables. From my experience, the main foods are salmon, potatoes, sausages, and breads. Soups and stews are very popular as well, hand made of course. Pea Soup, Sausage Stew, Salmon Soup, and Reindeer Stew were my favorite dishes. Moving onto the drinks, so they have something called a Long Drink, basically its Gin & a mixer. The top brand is Original, you can get them everywhere you go, the signature drink and it is AMAZING! Another drink that is very popular is ciders, my favorite were the dry apple Happy Joe ciders and the Cromwell dry pear ciders. People drink all day and night, it is more of a social and casual thing than a party atmosphere that I was use too.

Overall, living in Finland for two months became easy and comfortable. Something I tremendously enjoyed. I felt very much that I could've stayed longer and been perfectly happy. It started to feel like a second home in a way that I wasn't constantly looking towards people for help, and planning big excursions. Of course, I did my tourists sight seeing and what not last year. But this year I feel like I more so adapted to the lifestyle. Coming back to California I never felt less stressed, not worried about my future, completely comfortable and happy with myself. I really found what I love to enjoy and how I like to spend my days and the comfortable, easy going lifestyle I would like to continue to live. I hope that everyone gets a chance to travel and really experience another country by immersing themselves in it completely. I have learned a lot about who I am, what I want, and would like to have for my future. Everyone needs to experience that, it is truly life changing and opens your eyes to so much more that I didn't see before.