ABC of Me

A – Aurinko. That would be sun in Finnish. I remember an advice from my dad when I was struggling with some minor school work: “Always pick the first thing that comes to your mind. Instinct is most of the time right.” And aurinko has been on my mind constantly for months now. There’s a saying in Finnish about people talking most about the things that they lack at that very moment. And I truly lack my doze of sunshine, sun owes me three months’ worth of shine dosage!

B – Bratislava. My former home city, capital of Slovakia and one of my favourite places on this planet. Everything is so cheap in Slovakia and there is a lot of what we have very little here in the North: Sun being just one them!

C – Cocktails. It’s Friday, of course the answer is cocktails.

D – Ducktape. I saw a glimpse of an article about how you can hide fatty parts in your body with ducktape. I didn’t bother reading the article but it brought tears of laughter in my eyes: I have done that! I have never been fat but as a teenager one imagines that one is fat. Back then very low-waist jeans were so in and combined with very tight shirts there might have been a hint of love handles about me. So one day I got fed up, got the ducktape and taped my love handles away, sort of like a self-made lower-body corset. It worked, but it was insane.

E – Estonia. My current home country. Mixed feelings. I love Tallinn, such a beautiful city but oh my lord this climate is MURDER! 

F – Furla. I got some money for a Christmas present and I immediately knew where to spend it: I had wanted to buy an expensive brand bag for ages and for a year I had craved for this bright orange Furla bag. My fast-approaching birthday acted as an excuse when I stepped into Stockmann and found myself in front of the Furla section there.

G – Google. Every office worker’s best friend. Includes Google Translate, my absolute favourite friend.

H – Holidays. I’ve decided I will have a week off in April and I want to go to South-East Europe! Croatia is number one on the list right now. But even though traveling alone is pretty hip these days I don’t think it’s suitable for me. I get to be alone enough here in Estonia, so for a trip I need company. And that’s why I need to wait until a friend of mine figures out her work shifts for April…

I – Indian food. Obsession. No wonder Brits have taken Indian food as one of their national foods. There is an exceptionally good Indian restaurant in the Old Town of Tallinn: Eliphant.

J – Justice. Is there any?

K – Karma. It will get you eventually. Or Korma? Then we're back to Indian food.

L – London. The biggest dream I have ever had was to move to London to work. And I did at the age of 21. And the whole experience was completely opposite to what I expected. My fault in part, I went in there with too big expectations. The only thing separating me from actualizing my dream life in London was money. But even though I didn’t enjoy living there I love the city. It’s extraordinary, they have so much of everything! And the pubs <3 I miss UK so much, I don’t want to live in London necessarily but Kent or Brighton, yes please. But with Brexit I think in the near-future it ain’t happening anyway.

M – Money. I need some.

N – Nationality. My passport says FIN, even my Estonian ID card says my nationality is FIN, but I have never felt like a FIN. Still don’t. I don’t fit into the box of what a Finnish person should be like. Maybe outlook-wise but that’s pretty much it. I’m a pretty good example of the fact that your nationality doesn’t define you. So stop being so bloody prejudiced, all of you! We’re all individuals despite what country we were born in!

O – Orange. The colour of my beautiful new handbag, which makes me so happy every time I see it.

P – Pasta. The best thing that ever came out of Italy. Even better than Versaci, because it’s edible!

Q – Queen. Oh, I’d like to be one! Princesses are cool but Queen has all the power!

R – Roses. In front of me I have a beautiful bunch of roses that match perfectly with my orange Furla bag. Flowers are such a simple way to brighten any day. It took me a while to figure out how to keep them alive more than two days but I got there eventually. Yes, Google was required.

S – Snapseed. My favourite application on my phone right now in addition to Instagram. Snapseed has such nice filters for photos and oh, I like taking photos! Of everything! Even my suitcase’s handle is photogenic in my opinion. And with Snapseed I can make the handle look absolutely fabulous!

T – Turku. The best. I rest my case.

U – Unexpected. Every time you think you’ve got everything sorted out life happens. And I love it!

V – Vappu. One of the biggest drinking holidays in Finland. The official day is 1st May but In Finland we party always the day before because then we can spend the holiday surviving the hangover. I miss student Vappu so much! It was the best thing ever! 7-day-party, so many new friends and so much fun. Wish I could go back... It's 2017, what's taking so long with that time machine?!

W – WC. We all need it.

X – Xylitol. I need to remember to buy some chewing gum on my way home.

Y – Youtube. Serves as a TV for me most of the time. In Estonia all TV channels cost so there’s no point for me to get any of them. Thank goodness for Internet once again!

Z – Zup zup… Nothing.

Å – Åbo. Turku in Swedish.

Ä – Äiti. Bestest, strongest, prettiest, cleverest.

Ö – A very much used syllable when a Finnish person is lost for words: ”Öööööö...” I think the French have it too.