Forty years ago, I rebelled. I dropped out of college and stayed in the far north, about as far away from home as I could be. My father had died somewhat suddenly two years previously and I had not really grieved. I had not gone through the five stages of grief. I somehow went from the denial phase to depression. Then I became angry. I wanted to forget my life entirely and live a new one. So, I dropped out of school and returned to Finland where I had been an exchange student in high school.
I found a job, went through the difficult process of getting a work permit and made friends. I experienced the coldest, darkest winter imaginable. I learned to cross-country ski, almost got frostbite and slipped on ice more that once. It was kind of like when Lucy pulled the football away from Charlie Brown. My feet went out from under me and I ended up on my back.
I appreciated the first birdsong and first bit of greenery that heralded a new spring. I already knew about the amazing nordic summer, but the other seasons were new to me. I grew up in southern California with eternal sunshine by the beach.
I remember one evening when I was with a group of friends and they said that I was like them, part of the gang. I was not the foreigner, but one of them. That was perhaps the greatest compliment I have ever had.
Finland is the most peaceful, beautiful place I have lived in. I have been going back to visit for 40 years, still see the same group of friends and it still feels like home.
— MCW
I found a job, went through the difficult process of getting a work permit and made friends. I experienced the coldest, darkest winter imaginable. I learned to cross-country ski, almost got frostbite and slipped on ice more that once. It was kind of like when Lucy pulled the football away from Charlie Brown. My feet went out from under me and I ended up on my back.
I appreciated the first birdsong and first bit of greenery that heralded a new spring. I already knew about the amazing nordic summer, but the other seasons were new to me. I grew up in southern California with eternal sunshine by the beach.
I remember one evening when I was with a group of friends and they said that I was like them, part of the gang. I was not the foreigner, but one of them. That was perhaps the greatest compliment I have ever had.
Finland is the most peaceful, beautiful place I have lived in. I have been going back to visit for 40 years, still see the same group of friends and it still feels like home.
— MCW
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