Minulla on ikävä Suomea (En)

I miss Finland.

Of course, you might wonder how it is possible for one to miss a country one has never been in . Because, as we all know, in order to miss a person you must have known that certain person, and to miss a place you must have been there, correct? And I've never been to Finland, but I miss it. How can that be possible?. The answer is simple... it just is. And I just do.

Let's sit around the imaginary fire and think about this word, "to miss" for a second. According to the Cambridge dictionary of English, it means "to regret that a person or thing is not present". Well, that certainly leaves room for interpretation. Finland is not here, is it? Therefore I can, technically, miss it.

But I'm not here to talk semantics.

Let's go with the definition that requires me to have been there. You see, it feels like I've been there. I feel connected to that place. Through its music, through its culture and through its wonderful people which I've had the pleasure of meeting, I feel a part of it. And, as Sofia always reminds me... Mä olen Suomalainen, I am a Finn.

Wait a minute? I wasn't born there (haven't even been there), and my parents have no connection to Finland whatsoever. So why am I a Finn?

Simple, I'm a Finn because my favourite songs are "Joutsenlaulu" by Yö and "Tällä pojantähden alla" by Matti & Teppo, because I sing "minä lähden pohjois-karjalaan" when I'm on the road, because I eat ice-cream in winter and like to sing and dance around a campfire, because I read "Kalevala" and now I understand what the song "Tuonelan koivut" is about, because I knew the answer to a question in advanced Finnish class at Cluj Uni, because I liked Nightwish better when Tarja was their lead vocals and believe their best songs are the ones in Finnish, because I make fun of Swedes even though I secretly like them, because I look for trolls when I cross the street, because I'm very polite to strangers and suspicious of them at the same time, because I feel lucky when I hear a cuckoo's song, because I say "Perkele" when I'm angry and when I'm happy, because I sing Christmas carols in Finnish... even in summer, because I call myself Enkeläinen, and because I'm in love with this girl's voice: