Halloween and All Saints' Day

We celebrated both Halloween and All Saints' Day a few weeks ago. Traditionally, we haven't celebrated Halloween in Finland; it has landed into our country only recently, and I think mainly children and young people are interested in it. We normally celebrate All Saints' Day by bringing candles to the graves of our departed loved ones, and that's the way we Finns see the meaning of that day; as a special day to reminisce our family members, friends and relatives that have passed away.

This year the 1st of November in our house included elements of both of these two very different celebrations. In the afternoon we had a Halloween -party at home. Our five-year-old daughter had requested a Halloween party for her and her cousins, and so I decided to throw a small-scale party for them. We had some Halloween -decorations inside the house, served some snacks and cake and candy and most importantly: we all had Halloween costumes on. I myself have been to a masquerade -party only a few times, and getting dressed up like that is quite strange to me, but this time it was actually great fun! My daughter wanted to dress up as a fairy (we slipped from the original theme a bit), and I dressed up as a witch! We both chose our clothes and jewellery carefully, did our hair (I wore a wig, so doing my hair was easy), and even put some nailpolish on which suited the roles of a fairy (nice red nailpolish) and a witch (black nailpolish, of course). The guests were just as enthusiastic about the party as we were, and as a result, we ended up having a small fairy, a little beautiful princess and an Indian princess (Pocahontas, maybe..?) in the party. The witch served as a waitress and a general hostess, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Later in the evening when it was already dark outside, we went to a cemetary to take some candles to the graves of our deceased family members. You can't believe how beautiful the cemetary looked with hundreds of candles twinkling in the dark! When we were walking back to the car from the cemetary, I couldn't help but thinking how the same day entailed two opposite things; a children's party full of life, and an evening reminding us of death and dead people. It seemed amazing but in a way very comforting to see how these two things could actually intertwine together quite easily. I guess that's what they do anyhow; life and death are never that far apart.

Picture: christmasstockimages.com

Mutual understanding

We had our autumn break a few weeks ago, and my family and I travelled to Legoland, Denmark. Our kids were immensely enthusiastic about the whole thing; their first flight was an exciting adventure, and naturally the destination itself was basically heaven on earth for them both!

A pretty scary Lego-pirate. ARRGGHH!

Surprisingly lifelike lions!

The weather was not terribly good, but we didn't mind; there was so much so see and do in Legoland. There were Lego-figures of all shapes and sizes, and there are actually a lot of activities there as well, since Legoland is actually an amusement park nowadays. Some of the water slides etc. were closed (quite understandable in October), but still we had no problem in finding enough to see and do while we were there!

Mount Rushmore; the real thing or...?

 

 

Mexican style!

We stayed at Hotel Legoland, which is right next to Legoland. It was interesting to see how children from very different countries all had similar interests: they all loved to play with legoes and build all kinds of constructions. It was endearing to watch children gather around a large container filled with legoes and try to make the images in their heads into real Lego-constructions. The children didn't have a common language, but they seemed to understand each other surprisingly well. If someone was going through the legoes trying to find a particular piece, someone else might realize what that person was looking for and hand over exactly that kind of piece! That showed me that children are very much the same regardless of where they come from, and they somehow have this mutual understanding that doesn't even require the use of words! I suppose us adults should follow their example and try to understand each other better. My guess is we would succeed if we tried a bit harder.

Elephants in the wild in Denmark?!

Which one of the gorgeous girls is real...?

A brand new tablet girl

I am a proud owner of a brand new tablet computer. I bought the thing for a couple of weeks ago, and I must admit that I like it quite a lot! I've tried to familiarize myself with different functions and applications, and now I find myself connected with the Intenet, Facebook, Messenger, Viaplay, Netflix and Vanity Fair just to mention a few. I've also altered my newspaper subscription so that from now on, I'll be getting paper newspapers only at weekends; I'll be reading an electronic newspaper from my tablet PC from Monday to Friday. My son plays The Clash of Clans and Minecraft on the tablet, and I've downloaded for instance a princess -game for my daughter where she gets to dress princesses from head to toe. I probably don't need to tell you that the kids are also pleased with my new purchase! 

It is interesting to see how people's opinions -even your own- may change quite drastically over time. I myself am not a technology-enthusiast at all, quite far from it. If I learn how to use my phone, TV, computer or any other electric device, I definitely would not like to change it for a newer, better model. No way! Instead, I'd like to keep using my own familiar and comfy gadget for as long as it works and not change it for anything. You see, I hate the learning period and process that you inevitably have to go through with each new machine, device or appliance you buy. That's why I was very reluctant to start using tablet PCs for a long time; I didn't want to go through the trouble of learning how to use them. What changed my mind was watching people use their tablets and it seeming so easy and effortless. Finally I ventured into trying my mom's tablet myself, and came to the conclusion that it might actually be quite easy to learn to use one. So, here I am, a brand new tablet girl!

Language teacher, language student

The autumn term is just about to begin, and I start my teachings tomorrow. Even though I've been a teacher for years, it is always a little bit exciting to start a new term. There are new students and new groups, and it takes a while for people to get to know each other and the teacher, and vice versa, of course. This autumn is new and different for me also for another reason: I'm going to take on the role of a language student myself!

It's been my dream for a long time to learn to speak Italian. I've been to Italy several times, and it's always just as frustrating not to be able to communicate in their own language when the fact is that I would like to know Italian at least somehow. In my youth I studied French, so I believe that learning Italian might not be impossible for me, but starting tenacious, long-term study of a new foreign language has not been possible until now. Or, so it seems at the moment, but let's see how I'll find the time and the energy to study during the dark months in the winter. As a language teacher I am very much aware that learning a new language from scratch takes time and effort, and you'll learn to master any language slowly and gradually. But anyhow, I'm still excited, and as you can see from the picture, I'm an eager student who already has bought herself books and pencils and is ready to start. Uno, due, tre, parliamo l'italiano...

Greetings from London!

I was able to visit London at the end of my summer holiday; here are some examples of the different things you can see or do in London. You can, for instance...

 ..visit the beautiful and lively Covent Garden market. It is a former fruit and vegetable market, now a popular place with various things on sale.

 

 

 

 

 ..visit Greenwich and Cutty Sark.

..go and have your picture taken with the Beatles.. of course at Madame Tussaud's.

 

..see the beautiful Tower Bridge on your way ..

 

 

 .. to the Tower. Check if you see the ravens and the beefeaters, see traitors' gate and be amazed at the Crown Jewels!

 

 

..enjoy the all-English dish of fish and chips!

 

..hop on Europe's tallest Ferris wheel!

 

 

If you're into second-hand clothes, antiques or other small things, then the Portobello Road Market is the place for you!

 

 

 

History enthusiasts -and others- find Hampton Court and its gorgeous gardens well worth the visit! 

 

 

Musicals, Harrods, double-deckers, pubs, concerts, sports events, history, you name it. In short: there's something for everyone in London, and it really is true that "if a man is tired of London, he's tired of life!"