. . . and the very small world we live in
In 1870, Aleksis Kivi wrote the first ever novel in Finnish, called Seitsemän veljestä or Seven Brothers. That’s why, in honor of his birthday Siniristiliput – our blue and white flags are flapping happily in the very strong wind everywhere.
I mostly stayed home all day, working frantically to produce materials for Nettilehtori – the Net Lecturer - an online Finnish course to be posted in the net this week. It’s the first cold day. I had to wear leather gloves and a beanie under my helmet to keep warm. It might dip down to -2 C or 29 F tonight. That’s below freezing, as you well know. I can’t wait for the first snow . . . or maybe I can. Anyway, I had made an appointment for 4 PM to meet with a young woman who volunteers at her church to work with immigrant women. I was sure we were to meet in the main lobby in the library, on campus. I got there five minutes to four and waited. She had told me she has very short, very blond, very curly hair, and I had told her I had my turquoise Marimekko bag. The classic shoulder bag I have is obviously now THE BAG on campus – but I haven’t seen another turquoise one yet. So, there I sit, under a huge plant, on the edge of the planter, waiting for the curly-haired girl to appear. Just then I realize I have forgotten to move my cell phone from my backpack, so she can’t even call me. I spot red-haired girls, black-haired girls, a girl with green stripes, another with dreadlocks, and many blond girls, but not my curly-haired one. I start looking around, after placing the Marimekko bag right in front of me – for no one to miss. I spot a Filipino man talking on his phone. I look at him again. He looks so much like my former Finnish student from almost 20 years ago. I decide to slowly walk by him. All of a sudden, I feel ashamed. Have I turned into an old-fashioned Finn who thinks that since he’s a Filipino, he must be the only Filipino I know well? I blush at my stereotyped thinking and stupidity and walk to a study room, looking for a lone table in the furthest corner - and sit down to study. Anyway, what would Roger Pineda who owns a company and lives in Helsinki be doing in the university library in Jyväskylä? I have just pulled my book from the bag when the Filipino I just saw runs to me.
- Sirpa, it’s you!!! What are YOU doing here?
- Roger – I could ask the same, couldn’t I!
It turns out Roger Pineda has just started an MA-program at Jyväskylä University. He lives five minutes from me, in the student village, in building A, right next to building B where Robert and I used to live. We had a coffee and tried to catch up. We concluded that we had last seen each other when Aura, Roger and Anuliina’s daughter and our Rafael were three moths old. Aura is six days younger. I invited Roger for dinner next wee, so we can really catch up. - It is a very small world indeed!
I mostly stayed home all day, working frantically to produce materials for Nettilehtori – the Net Lecturer - an online Finnish course to be posted in the net this week. It’s the first cold day. I had to wear leather gloves and a beanie under my helmet to keep warm. It might dip down to -2 C or 29 F tonight. That’s below freezing, as you well know. I can’t wait for the first snow . . . or maybe I can. Anyway, I had made an appointment for 4 PM to meet with a young woman who volunteers at her church to work with immigrant women. I was sure we were to meet in the main lobby in the library, on campus. I got there five minutes to four and waited. She had told me she has very short, very blond, very curly hair, and I had told her I had my turquoise Marimekko bag. The classic shoulder bag I have is obviously now THE BAG on campus – but I haven’t seen another turquoise one yet. So, there I sit, under a huge plant, on the edge of the planter, waiting for the curly-haired girl to appear. Just then I realize I have forgotten to move my cell phone from my backpack, so she can’t even call me. I spot red-haired girls, black-haired girls, a girl with green stripes, another with dreadlocks, and many blond girls, but not my curly-haired one. I start looking around, after placing the Marimekko bag right in front of me – for no one to miss. I spot a Filipino man talking on his phone. I look at him again. He looks so much like my former Finnish student from almost 20 years ago. I decide to slowly walk by him. All of a sudden, I feel ashamed. Have I turned into an old-fashioned Finn who thinks that since he’s a Filipino, he must be the only Filipino I know well? I blush at my stereotyped thinking and stupidity and walk to a study room, looking for a lone table in the furthest corner - and sit down to study. Anyway, what would Roger Pineda who owns a company and lives in Helsinki be doing in the university library in Jyväskylä? I have just pulled my book from the bag when the Filipino I just saw runs to me.
- Sirpa, it’s you!!! What are YOU doing here?
- Roger – I could ask the same, couldn’t I!
It turns out Roger Pineda has just started an MA-program at Jyväskylä University. He lives five minutes from me, in the student village, in building A, right next to building B where Robert and I used to live. We had a coffee and tried to catch up. We concluded that we had last seen each other when Aura, Roger and Anuliina’s daughter and our Rafael were three moths old. Aura is six days younger. I invited Roger for dinner next wee, so we can really catch up. - It is a very small world indeed!
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