A new book

One day of the summer, I was strolling around Helsinki waiting for my train to arrive. I knew the trip would be several hours long, so I decided to go the largest bookstore and pick out a book. Prior to entering the bookstore, I had not been shopping for leisure books for a long time, as school work had been time consuming the last months before summer. The bookstore had several levels, and looked like a department store for books. It was a great feeling, being able to take my time and having several floors of books to choose from. It was a hard choice, and I was walking around the store with several books in my hand until I decided on what I would read. Bookstores have a specific vibe which personally bring calmness and the wanting to buy several reads. My personal favorite genre is non-fiction, with no specific category. I love reading narratives about ranges of science, business, philosophy, etc. Through books like these, I learn more however not through the academic way I do in school. I chose a great read, “Adventures of a young naturalist” by David Attenborough. The novel itself is broken down into three sections, one from Attenborough’s travels to Guyana, another to Indonesia and the other to Paraguay. The book is written by Attenborough himself, which makes it so interesting as the reader gets a behind-the-scenes of what his quests were actually like. I personally have watched several documentaries of his, which is why I have enjoyed the perspective this novel offers. As well, I have learned about the mentioned wildlife and cultures that he has come across. His narrative voice is as well greatly entertaining. Writing this post before leaving Finland, I hope to buy more books from the specific bookstore before leaving! 

Code-switching

         Every summer that I can remember I have spent in Finland. Although I have never lived in Finland, it feels like home as both my parents are Finnish and as well is where all of my extended family resides. As well, I have made a great amount of friends, who I look forward to seeing all year. The nature, food and summer culture are as well amongst the things I look forward to. Although having to code-switch throughout the year at home when I speak Finnish to my family, the task is heavily accentuated when I visit the country. Throughout the academic year, I do not practice my Finnish language skills, and my parents have adopted ‘Finglish’ around the house. Therefore, when I visit Finland during the summer, although being able to understand the language perfectly, I have trouble expressing myself as I notice how rusty my speaking abilities are. Reflecting on this summer, I have had several family gatherings where my extended family have come together to celebrate differing occasions. During these events, I am often asked by older family members on my happenings throughout the year and prospective moves, which is when I find myself at hardship with the language as I am not able to use the ‘Finglish’ that I have been using all year. I am not able to communicate several ideas simply because I do not know the words or correct grammar to express them through. I am often a talkative person and have a lot to say, but during these times I am left at a loss of words. Especially when listening to my friends speak, I feel like an outsider as I do not understand new slang words emerged throughout the year. Having to code-switch from English to Finglish and then pure Finnish is challenging, and what I say is often corrected by those who I am speaking to. Maintaining two perfect languages is hard, especially when one is used significantly less than the other.