After my arrival to Finland I have done some visits to see my friends and I did also some swimming. Driving around with a car on icy roads after half a year was interesting but no accidents caused by me. Things are pretty much same as they used to be in Finland. The language is not a problem because I did not forget my Finnish. Actually half a year is a pretty short time in some sense.

Weather has been here like it should be during the winter. The ground is covered with snow and temperature is -10 C degrees. I think the first difference I noticed was cleaner air. I think Budapest is not the worst case but it definitely smells and traffic pollutes more there than here. I don't know how much there is heavy industry around Budapest but at least I wait that day when they ban using those Trabants, Wartburgs and other curses of the Soviet era car industry.

Hmm... It would be nice to live in a city with all the services and attractions, clean air and calm traffic, enough space to do bicycling, a nice work place, a lake and some forest nearby, an international airport close with several cheap airlines operating there, warm summer and real but not too cold winter.

Now I am waiting my brothers to arrive here. The preparations are mostly done but we haven't done any of those traditional things. Those are for example going to church in the early morning, eating porridge and fetching the x-mas tree from forest. In this case there was a news paper, black coffee and a plastic x-mas tree. A modern and urban version, you see.

A view over frozen lake

Today I was walking around with my Dóra and her mother in an outdoor x-mas market. Dóra spotted a booth with the flag of Finland. It was selling winter caps and promoting Santa Claus events in Budapest. Well - nothing special then, I thought. But she suggested that I should go and talk to that guy who was from Finland. Umm... why? I am not going to buy a winter cap and I know enough about Santa Claus. I was feeling cold and I didn't feel like socializing. For her it was so strange that I didn't rush to have a chat. For me it was matter of convenience... I felt that the conversation would be following:

- Moi = Hi
- Moi = Hi
- Sä myyt näköjään pipoja? = So, you sell winter caps, right?
- Joo. = Yea.
- Niinpä. = I see (Sort of a conversation killer)

But don't think I am like that for everybody and every case. I just did not want to talk because of talking.

Hmm, I wonder if I would like to have Finnish friends here... never really thought about it.