I recently read about something that made me pause. Each year, small, determined birds lift themselves from the Arctic coasts and the Nordic tundra — from Finland’s northern light, from Alaska’s wild edges — and fly all the way to Australia and New Zealand. Non-stop. Across oceans. Across hemispheres. From one end of the earth…
Tag: Cultural Diversity
The Strength of a Bridge
Some days it rests quietly within me. Other days it rises gently to the surface — not asking for attention, simply asking to be acknowledged. I was eleven when I stepped off a plane into Australia. The sky felt impossibly wide. The light sharper. The language fast and unfamiliar. I sensed very quickly that survival…
Bless Your Heart
At the moment, our home is like a linguistic smoothie, blending accents from around the world! You see, our friends from Florida are currently enjoying an extended stay with us throughout the entire month of November. Within the confines of our humble home, there’s not just the delightful blend of Finnish and Australian accents echoing…
I Still Call Australia Home
Once again it hit me full force, like a bolt out of the blue. We have my husband Peter’s Finnish relatives staying with us, visiting Australia for the first time. Among other places we have shown them The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, The Parliament House in Canberra, Sir George historic boutique bar in Jugiong,…
White Christmas
I have only ever had one white Christmas as an adult, and it was truly magical. My family lived in a small country town in the eastern side of Finland, 60 kilometres from the Russian boarder, called Savitaipale. This is where my paternal grandfather’s side of the family is from. The town is so small,…
Light Mind
Being originally from Finland, but living in Australia, I have often been asked what a Finnish sense of humour is like. If you are a Finn, you would understand just how challenging it is to explain it! Customs and beliefs are easy to explain but a sense of humour is not. A lot has been…
Rustic Wisdom
During our last visit to Finland, I had the honour of staying at my late mother-in-law’s childhood home, in a small village, in the Finnish countryside. These days this ancestral homestead belongs to one of the cousins, Hannu. When I stepped inside the old country house, it felt like the earth had paused to take…
A Few Words
If I were to pick one characteristic of Finnish people, I would pick this: “Finns place great value on words”. The keys to Finnish character are peacefulness, calmness, and placidity. They value tranquillity, serenity, and silence. It is reflected in the way Finns choose their words carefully, how literally they take what is said and…
Outside Finns
There is a word that Finland calls us, the Finns that were born in Finland, yet live overseas. They call us “ulkosuomalaiset”. “Ulko” means outside, “suomalaiset” means Finns. We are the outside-Finns! No matter where in the world we live, we have something in common with one-another. We all miss certain things about our birth…
Music and Dance
As a thoughtful mothers’ day present, my daughter treated me to an enchanting evening of music and dance by candlelight last night. My weary soul soaked up every moment of the captivating performance. From the instant I stepped inside the classic inner Melbourne Astor theatre, I was overcome with emotion. This wasn’t the first time…
Apples of Gold 