E m b r a c i n g     T a l v i
Back into the arms of Mother Finland
by Gary L. Wolfstone garywolfstone@gmail.com
I am embracing Mother Finland once again. I left Sea-Tac (the place was as empty as a ghost town … I thought Thanksgiving Day week end was supposed to be a crush of humanity!) on Sunday afternoon, November 28, 2010 at 3:30 p.m. My watch is now and was then set at Finland time for the entire two weeks that I spent in Seattle so it tried to tell me that it was 5:30 p.m. I knew that I would land in Helsinki at 1:10 p.m. the next day so I wanted to make sure that I would not lose sight of my goal during the flight.

Keflavik Air is wonderful. I have booked flights with Keflavik Air on two previous occasions and found it necessary to cancel. As long as you have checked the appropriate box and paid an extra $25.00, you have cancellation privileges and receive a prompt full refund. The flight from Sea Tac to Keflavik (the Hub for Keflavik Air) was 7 hours and 30 minutes. Then I had a one hour layover and just enough time to buy more licorice (a non fat treat).

The flight from Keflavik to Helsinki was 3 hours and 20 minutes. The front of the airplane (first class seating) was empty so I walked forward and sat down in a first class seat. When the stewardess passed, I smiled and she smiled at me. My way of saying, “Gee I share this planet with you so why not share your airplane with me?” Neither she nor I spoke (how can you have a conversation with the jet engines howling?), but her friendly demeanor told me that she would overlook my self-conferred upgrading. Indeed, she served me with complimentary coffee and orange juice on the rocks after I repaired to the front of the airplane.

The sun was shining brightly, and I was tired when we arrived. I have never been able to sleep on airplanes, and I refuse to take drugs to induce sleep. I picked up my luggage and walked past Tulli (Customs). Again, I smiled and the Finnish woman at Tulli smiled. I had nothing to declare save only two pounds of Italian roast coffee which I picked up at Starbucks. Too bad Starbucks has not gotten established in Helsinki ~ I would be their best customer!

I had been forewarned by Elvi in our last Skype video conversation before leaving Seattle ~ Finland is in the grips of Talvi [winter]. The temperatures have been running -10 to -16, and there is snow and ice on the ground. The cold air was penetrating, and my long underwear offered little protection. I took the first available taxi, and to my delight, my cab driver was an attractive blond. I got into the front seat with her and engaged her in conversation all the way home. I think she was surprised that an usalainen [U S A person] could speak her language with the modest facility that I have achieved. I told her about Elvi [my kultaseni] so that she would not be apprehensive about my flirting. I simply cannot help flirting with beautiful Finnish women … afterall I am a healthy heterosexual male! I hasten to add that a man can review the menu without placing an order. When the trip started, this woman was thoroughly Finnish [introverted and businesslike] but when the trip ended she was my uusi ystavan [new friend]. We exchanged smiles and I said "hauska tutustua" [nice meeting you] and she replied, “Samoin.” [the same]

I had told Elvi to stay home and wait for me … she had a kettle of warm Finnish vegetable soup with kalkuna waiting for me. The love birds are together again!

The next day ~ after Elvi had left for the morning shift ~ I bundled up and walked to the kaupakeskus [grocery store shopping center]. The cold air hit me like a blast. I felt that I had just walked out onto a movie set. Obviously I had been transported from the relative warmth of Seattle to the subzero winter conditions in Helsinki. The Finns were all heavily laden with layers of clothing and walked straight ahead to their appointed destinations without glancing at each other. Movie set is the correct analogy … they didn’t look at me because I was not in the script! There must have been a director on the sideline with a megaphone: “Ready … Action … Camera!” I was the interloper from a different world. I was able to walk through the movie set unnoticed, but I enjoyed every minute of it. The Finnish men are serious and look like they might growl if you approach them. The Finnish women are beautiful and mysterious creatures who wear very little make up. They look so self confident with their rosy cheeks in the Talvi air. They are perhaps proud and arrogant ~ as well they should be … afterall they are lovely and seductive and live in a paradise. Women run this country, and they do a damn good job of it!

One third of Finland is north of the Arctic Circle, and the Finns know how to build an asunto (apartment house) which is warm and comfortable inside with double doors and double windows. I now have residency in Finland, and I am richly blessed with Elvi, her family, this clean and quaint city and these remarkably kind and compassionate people. Yhdesvalat [the United States] has much to learn from Finalnd, but the task of re-education is too formidable to attempt. The Finnish people are honest and assume that everyone is honest. The Finnish people are forgiving ~ so that the gossipmongers of Grayland and Westport would not be respected here. The Finns are committed to the life value that “Every man must go his own way.” A handshake is more binding here than a written contract. Children are a treasure and are treated like a treasure. Lyle would never have been turned out into the cold in Mother Finland. Education is a high priority and Finns pay no tuition to study at the Yliopisto.

I am spending some time in Seattle because of my koti ikava [home sickness] but Finland will always beckon to me. I have become a world traveler, and I have discovered a country where community spirit and hard work yield a high standard of living. Any child who is born in Finland is a lottery winner ~ big time! I have returned to Mother Finland for Chirstmas 2010, and I brush back a tear when I think of leaving. My blood is melting pot American, but my heart is Finnish to the core.