Erilainen.

I want this post to be different than the rest. Usually, I write random things and I may refer back to them to either remember what I wrote about last time or to show someone pictures of Finland or the apartment. But I want this post to be something that I refer back to whenever I need to remind myself of what I've accomplished here.

It's no secret: moving to a different country is really hard and really scary. But I, like 99% of people [I'm convinced that made-up statistic is correct] was expecting the hard and scary but without actually thinking too much about it because then that fear might hold you back. In any case, I just wanted to make a list of the things I've accomplished so far in my time here and of the things I'm most grateful for.

But first, a short note on goals. For as far back as I can remember, I've been in school. I do not remember a time when I wasn't. Or if I have distant memories of that time, they don't factor in a whole week's worth of events. Studying shapes up in a very specific way. There are lessons, homework, group assignments, presentations, grades, results and of course, summer vacation. None of this is new to any of you, I hope. That system gets you in the habit of always knowing what to anticipate. It might be a dreaded result, I remember being in grade 4 and feeling pretty discouraged about the EIGHT remaining years of school. Still, imagine kindergarten kids! They don't even realize that they likely have as many as 22 years of school ahead of them. Some people become academics, teachers, professors and, in a way, always revolve around a school calendar. Others don't. What you don't anticipate though is the big black void of nothingness that follows the end of your life in school. And although I did get accepted to study for my Master's in September, that void is something I've now learned more about and will know to anticipate again, while I figure myself out in the next 2 years.

Things I've accomplished so far...
- Learned about big black void.
- Narrowed down some career possibilities [this had previously been done by the process of elimination so it was horribly slow and inefficient.]
- Learned to cook!
- Learned to eat healthy food!
- Stayed away from sugar, white flour, alcohol and bread for 3 months. [Don't think this is a big deal? You try.]
- Made friends in a completely foreign place.
- Learned to plan a day out of completely nothing! [Mind you, I haven't mastered this quite yet.]
- Got accepted to a Master's of Science in Marketing at a Swedish-speaking university in Helsinki.
- Scored a 650 on my GMAT.
- Learned how to say interior designer in Finnish. [Sisustussuunnittelija]
- Learned my way around Tampere.
- Learned how to ask questions in shops in Finnish... without being afraid.
- Provided e-support through Skype or phone whenever the occasion arose.
- Organized a Finnish language summer class for people interested. [Although the idea wasn't mine, it was Anne's. And I really hope people show up next week!]
- Speak Finnish with Juha, so long as we don't need to tell really long stories.
- From Start to Finnish by Leila White.
- I can follow along with the Finnish subtitles while watching Cold Feet and if I don't understand what they say in English [because their accents are so thick at times] I sometimes understand the Finnish translation. And the general gist of the subtitles makes complete sense to me now.

...
I can't think of other stuff right now but I'll can always come back later.

Things I'm really grateful for...
- My parents, family, friends [from all over] and Juha for continual support.
- Finnish summers.
- Finnish winters.
- The light after dark.
- Our apartment.
- Hanken.
- H&M [haha!]
- Pyynikin näkötorni.
- Canada.
- pretty much everything in between...
...
And again, I can't think of much else.

So thank you for listening, even though this post was written more for myself than for anyone else.