Something new every day

The days go by, the work slowly increases and every day brings something new. Sometimes it's "new" and nice, sometimes not at all, every time it's a surprise and a new lesson in life. As is often the case, not everything always goes the way you imagine. For example, I imagined a little more work, more variety and better planning. Okay, we will probably get more work soon-ish, but for now I'm doing more or less two things - visits to the reindeer farm and an evening tour for the northern lights. I felt left out, because everyone else was mainly doing snowmobiles. And here came one of the lessons - to speak up, and ask for what I want. Before, I would probably just wait for things to change by themselves, for someone to notice that it's not fair. But not now. It forces me to stand up for myself more. And things can change. Well, let's see for how long...

Unfortunately, the weather is not in our favor right now, clouds everywhere, it often snows, but it's not that cold (usually something between +1 and -5°C). That means two things: 1) The roads are in terrible condition, the snow melts, freezes, then the roads become snowy, everything is slippery... What an experience! Or another lesson, this time in driving. Driving in this big car (I usually drive a van for 9-12 people) is a pretty good drill. I don't panic anymore when my wheels slip or when I get stuck in the snow. And 2) There are no northern lights to be seen! Because there are clouds everywhere. Fortunately, clients are often understanding, I explain to them that we simply can't command nature... I recently had a couple from Singapore, very nice people, we had a lovely chat, I told them everything I know abour Aurora, Finland... Although we didn't see anything, the time together was still very pleasant. They enjoyed it and I got an invitation to Singapore! So my second invitation – first the Philippines, now Singapore. Looks I should start planning a trip around the world!

It’s interesting how some things change over time. I’ve been here for two months, working for about 6-7 weeks and I'm slowly getting to know people from other companies. A few days ago I arrived at the reindeer farm, their guide (Thomas), whom I’d met about 4 times that week, was waiting for us. As soon as he saw me, he welcomed the clients and said that I could explain and show them everything else myself. A similar situation happened at the husky farm. Hemi was in charge of my clients there a few times, so we met quite often too. He greeted me from a distance. It was very nice. Maybe by the end of the season I’ll know everyone! It’s true that creating and maintaining relationships is important to me. And I try to do that here too. It’s easier with some people, like our bus driver – Mikkola. When we have a large group of clients, he takes a bus and drives us everywhere, he only speaks Finnish and he is incredibly nice. When I see him waiting somewhere, I go to say hello. It always makes him happy! And me too!

In two weeks it will be Christmas, the lights and other decorations here are at their peak – trees everywhere, lights everywhere, snow everywhere… Since it is dark here most of the day, it looks very beautiful. At the moment the sun rises at 10:45 and sets at 13:35, but thanks to the clouds we haven’t seen it for a long time , at least there is daylight for a while. And we are a little below the Arctic Circle, so there won’t be a polar night here. But even so, there is quite a bit of darkness here.

In the city center there is a big mall full of souvenirs and various expensive shops. Now before Christmas there is a space for Christmas marketsin one room. It is a very nice place, local grandmothers have tables with handmade things there. So you can find earrings, knitted socks, beads, baskets, various decorations... You definitely wouldn't expect it in such an environment, it's a pleasure to the soul.

Other new things are the small details that I noticed. People often take plastic sled to shop here, why carry bags in their hands when there is snow and they can be pulled. They also have winterized walkers here, which I personally found very amusing. And finally - people here ride bicycles even in winter and snow, with helmets and goggles on their heads like they're skiing. It's sometimes a very funny sight!