Howdy Ho

It's been my second day back home and I couldn't be happier. It's magical here. I don't really know how to explain this but I had no idea I had missed my country this much! Already landing with the airplane brought tears into my eyes oh the drama. The air feels easier and clearer to breathe, the food has more taste, people look familiar and the landscape so beatiful. To put it simply, I just feel home again. A sensation I haven't experienced in a very long time.

The Midsummer's Eve wasn't spent as drunk and partying as I thought but with my mom and sis at home instead. However I called around to some good friends, letting them know I'm in town and wishing them a happy midsummer night's eve. To enlighten you foreigners, Midsummer Night's Eve is probably the second biggest event in Finnish culture after Christmas. This is the longest day of the year, the night when the sun doesn't go down (few hours here in south tho) and the whole nation is getting wasted. Generally we  love spending it in the summer cottage with our lake and sauna. On midsummer's eve you traditionally should burn a big fire and do some small magic at night. (Running naked in the field, picking 7 flowers, climbing over 7 fences and hiding the plants under your pillow to dream about your future husband for example).

Today, on midsummer's day, I was visiting my cousin, aunt and uncle at countryside (15min by car from where I live). with my family and grandpa. They have a bigger house, pond in the back yard with some real nice sauna building. I love going there! My aunt is such a great cook and today she had prepaired some new potatoes and salmon, (mom and I made the salad). I've been a complete vegetarian for 2 years now but being here and having the nowadays rare chance of tasting her cookings, I kinda decided to go with the flow and eat the fish. It tasted heavenly and I don't regret it at all.
After and while eating I got slightly tipsy with sider, chatting and laughing with mom and auntie while waiting for the sauna to heat up. I haven't felt this relaxed in Germany once! In sauna we cracked some more jokes and my cousin and my sister joined us for swimming in the pond... You know, I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that jumping into a cool water after a hot sauna is another kind of orgasm. The rush of blood, the sensation of each of your cell coming alive and the tingling feeling in every part of your body just makes you scream of shock and joy! Swimming in clean, cool, sweet water naked after sauna is one of the best things in life I thought.
After sauna my aunt made pancakes with "real" butter and strawberry marmelade (the world's best pancake marmelade). Washing it down with my non-fat milk (in Germany they drink cream milk with 3,5% fat) made me feel happy and satisfied enough to cry. After singing Finnish Singstar Hits with my sis and cousin it was time to go home. Oh bliss..

This sense of belonging is so overwhelmingly strong. This is what I was made of, where I was born and where I grew up. I'm somewhat surprised how deeply touched I am with my country's beauty and my culture's warming welcome. Everything is like a dream yet so incredibly vivid, it makes my heart ache. I am home.