Dear Diary #9

Silly Things That Make You Feel Like an Inadequate Alien ☔️

Reading takes 3 minutes. It is worth finding the ☔️
Play Adore You by Harry Styles.

Welcome to Dear Diary, a monthly newsletter sharing my journey of adapting to Finland, navigating relationships, and finding joy. I've got more questions than answers, but I believe in the magic of connecting through words. That’s why I keep writing. Secretly, I think that friendship and joy are a safe exit from the patriarchal trap. If this email strikes a chord, feel free to reply. It inspires me to keep spilling the tea away.

Autumn of 2020, before moving to Finland — I was in Helsinki for the second time, paying attention to every detail to get as much input as possible to decide whether to move here or not. My heart had already decided we were going, but my stubborn head wanted to double-check in case I found something absurd that could change my heart’s decision.

I needed to picture myself in this harsh weather to predict how it would be my life—naive me, but good try. How would I feel after fighting the wind with an umbrella? That day, besides the umbrella, I had just bought a yoga mat, and the wind was trying to take it from me—an authentic Helsinker experience—funny and ridiculous. A raincoat was all I needed to feel less like an inadequate alien. Was it?

Three years later, I don’t trust umbrellas anymore.

Last week, I was one in a million frustrated people by the relentless wind and rain. However, without an umbrella or a raincoat (my bad, I know), I still had to make my way to Jätkäsaari to run a small errand. The wind there is almost like in Suomelina, in case you don’t know.