It’s been quite a while since I checked in. I hope everyone is doing wonderfully despite the strange and uncertain times we are living.
I had a busy summer with lots of painting in June, three weeks of sailing in July and a new job in August (which wrote about here). In addition I had a few day trips in Finland and one to Tallinn.
In case you are wondering what I’ve been painting, no, I’m not aspiring to be the next Picasso! My painting has been quite mundane and sadly involved only the colors grey and white. My painting projects are ongoing year after year, as they concentrate on our house and garden! This year I painted our pergola and two sheds. All have to be painted again next year with another layer, so there’s no end in sight. As I had a two month summer holiday, I was happy to paint all of June.
In July we had a fabulous sailing holiday in Finland. What I thought was quite strange was that it was business as usual in the archipelago despite COVID-19. The marinas were packed, restaurants were operating normally and saunas were heated. The only difference compared to last summer was that disinfectant was available everywhere.
Don’t get me wrong, I am happy for all the entrepreneurs on the islands, as making money in Finland in summer is difficult in the best of times! Once or twice I did wonder how smart it was to sit in the sauna with ten other strangers in the light of the virus. However, everything went well, no-one got sick and the weather was mostly fabulous, so the sailing trip was a success.
In August I started my new job as a preschool teacher. (Which in Finland means 5-6 year olds who will start 1st grade/primary school the next year). I was quite nervous as I had no idea what it would feel like to be working with children again after 16 years.
After the first day, I felt ready to quit and start looking for something else! I was in a new environment, didn’t know the kids or routines and had to start preforming the minute I walked into the group. I had no idea what I was doing!!
Now I’ve been at it for 1,5 months and have to say I enjoy the job tremendously. I finally have a job that challenges me, there’s lots (truthfully too much) to do, my colleagues are great and I love the kids. In addition, the school is almost new so everything is still clean and tidy. Oh and did I mention that my commute is 20 minutes.
When you compare this to my previous job, it’s like night and day. Although my colleagues there were lovely too! But otherwise it was such a boring job with nothing to do and no challenges whatsoever. Also the commute was around one hour! Talk about waste of time. It’s funny to think that even though I’ve gone backwards (from education administration to the grassroots level) and the pay is just a fraction of what I got before, I’m much happier and my motivation levels have risen considerably.
Who knows where I will be in two years (I get bored easily and love change LOL) but for now I’m happy to spend my working hours with the kids, teaching, exploring and going on adventures together. It’s may be a cliché but I have truly found the joy of childhood again.
How are you? How was summer? Did you manage a holiday despite the “new normal”?
All these photos are random snapshots from our sail. Quintessential Finland.
xx
The Life and Travels of Mrs Suvi 
Wow, you’re photos are beautiful! They really do say Finland. It sounds like you’ve had a busy yet lovely summer! We managed a weekend in Savonlinna as a family of four (first family trip with the new addition!), and we’re heading to Rovaniemi this weekend. It’s nice to be able to “travel” during these times and bond as a family. Plus, we get to explore more of this beautiful country!
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Hi Emily! Savonlinna is quite a lovely place and it has surprisingly many things to explore 😅 We went one Midsummer (we didn’t have a boat then) and I remember my son also enjoying the playgrounds 😊 Have a great time in Rovaniemi, you will see that Fall is further ahead there 🍁🍂❤️
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So pleased you had such a lovely summer holiday Suvi and the new job is going well. In mid-March just before travel was no longer possible, we were in Cologne and shared a sauna each evening with several other people. Thankfully we didn’t come to any harm either! Marion
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Hello Marion! Thinking back, it’s a bit strange the saunas were open here but I guess the cases had gone down so drastically that it was thought to be safe. After a long day of sailing, the sauna is very much awaited as you can imagine.
Are you starting travel again? I went to Tallinn in June but at the moment I have no desire to go anywhere outside the borders. I do have an upcoming Tallinn trip in December but I may postpone it (again). Take care ❤️ xx
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happy to hear all is well and you are enjoying your new job 🙂 xx
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Thank you dear ❤️ xx
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It’s so lovely to see you around Suvi. I always enjoy hearing what you’ve been up to. It sounds like you had a wonderful and relaxing summer. I smiled when I read you’re not aspiring to be the next Picasso, because I can relate; I’ve been enjoying painting too this summer, garden furniture, among other things.
And like you, I managed short holiday trips around Finland. But I think it’s brave to go to sauna with strangers in these Covid times. So it’s a relief to hear it worked fine, no-one got sick. But yes, businesses have to survive somehow…
It’s also good to hear you’re enjoying your job. Working with kids is fun and rewarding, enjoy. And the 20-minute commute is a cherry on top, I think. ❤
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Hello Khaya, lovely to hear from you! Short holiday trips in Finland sounds good, did you discover new places? I have to admit that the painting was so full-on that in July I had no interest to continue and was happy to start sailing. The work will go on next summer 😅 Have a great Sunday ❤️
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Ah, did I discover new places? Well, with hiking there are always new and impressive discoveries. That’s why I love spending time in the wild. 🙂 Hope you have a lovely Sunday too. ❤
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Hiking is lovely, especially now with the “ruska” 💕💕
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Ruska???
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Hehehe it means the time of year when the leaves change colors and the nature looks like fireworks!
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Okay- that is a fun word! It’s a shame that we don’t have any Ruska.
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Lovely to hear about your successful summer, Suvi.
I can relate to what you say about the job situation. I gave up a higher paid job for a more enjoyable job, lower paid job with beautifully kind colleagues.
Elisaari looks serene and the sunsets gorgeous. I am very glad for you that you didn’t get Covid from the sauna.
Here we are kinda safe in a Covid bubble.
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Sounds good to me with your job choice 🙏 I’m so glad I took this leap backwards as it has had a great impact on my well-being. And it doesn’t mean that I get any free passes bc this job is more challenging than any of the jobs I had before this!!! And our kids are such a joy and an international bunch too 🥰
How is the Covid bubble there? To me it seems my life is almost back to normal as I work with kids in close proximity. Minus travel of course!
xx
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Kids are challenging in many ways, Suvi and physically the hardest job. I was exhausted working an 8 hour day with pre schoolers. Literally would fall asleep the minute I got home.
But I agree, they are lots of fun too.
Sounds like you might get to practice a few different languages too?
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Yes the days really are full-on but as my own kids are grown, I can rest once I get close the door. I think it’s most exhausting if you have small children awaiting at home and the same routines continue there. Half of our group are learning Finnish as a second language, so yes, I’m learning new languages throughout the day. 😅🤩
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To answer your question about Covid, our borders have closed and that is to keep out new cases from down south where they had the second wave. We have no new cases for a few days now! Yay! We can have gatherings of 10 and 30 in rural areas. They will relax more limits soon, I think.
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🙏💕
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To answer your question about Covid, our borders have closed and that is to keep out new cases from down south where they had the second wave. We have no new cases for a few days now! Yay! We can have gatherings of 10 and 30 in rural areas. They will relax more limits soon, I think. Schools are all functioning as normal.
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I was interested by what you say about your new job in preschool.
You got great vacations and we fell you are in full shape ! 🙂
Love ❤
Michel
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Thank you! Actually I don’t usually get two months vacation! This year I was between jobs for one month in the summer, so with one month of vacation and one waiting for the new job to start I got two months free! It was lovely 🥰 Thank you Michel for reading and commenting ❤️
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