After such a long blogging silence, it's a little hard to get back at it. Why did this blog die all of a sudden? Well, first of all, I found friends. And things to do in Petro. So less time for blogging. Secondly, I got used to living in Russia. All the things that foreigners find interesting in Russia became so normal that writing about them seemed dull. The biggest reason for the blogging silence was because I didn't feel like writing deep, analyzing texts about the "Russian mind" that would be interesting for readers. Not that I ever really meant to write such texts but nevertheless, I felt no such journalistic interest. At the same time I didn't dare to write about very personal stuff, either. So then you're either stuck with very shallow stuff or not writing at all.
But now I'm here and will try to continue. Maybe. No promises made!
As most of my thousands and thousands of (five) eager readers would know, I'm still here in Petrozavodsk. The spring went past very fast and as a slow adapter I'm happy that I could stay. I felt like I learnt way too little Russian during the spring (a language course that was way too easy didn't help much) and felt like just as I started to feel like at home here, I had to go back. Luckily a summer job application turned into a one year contract at the Finnish consulate and I got to continue this adventure a bit longer.
How are things over here now? Every now and then I have to stop, take a deep breath and actively realise something: my life is just like I've always wanted it to be. Yes that's right, here in poor dirty Petrozavodsk. For a long time I've dreamed of a life settled in Finland but with working abroad every once in a while. And here I am, doing just that. And I haven't even graduated yet! I guess it's like how J put it: "I've come to realise you're just the type of person who has to spend a year abroad every now and then." No, I'm not working in New York, making tons of money or "making contacts" (my least favourite phrase in the world) with important people. Those are other people's dreams. I'm living in a people-sized town and have a nice job where I get to work with people and learn things every day. I work with clients who apply for a residence permit in Finland (so basically anyone wishing to live in Finland continuously for more than three months). I speak my appalling Russian and most of the time, I'm understood. Let's hope one year is enough to go from appalling to decent!
On a personal side of things, there's one thing that is missing from Petrozavodsk. It's J. Being in a long-distance relationship has made us stronger than ever and taught us lots but man it's though. I'd much rather share this adventure with him. Luckily J might have an adventure of his own coming in January. Anyhow, skypeing really isn't the same as sharing a normal life together. It's so unnatural and weird. In normal life, how often do you stare at someone's face for an hour or two? Thank God J is here now and will stay for a month or two. I wish he could stay. Not because I can't live without him. But because life with him is so much better.
