WanderingFinn's VirtualTourist Home Page

I think it is great to meet people from different countries, cultures, religions, continents. If possible, I always try to make friends with locals and exchange contact information to be able to continue the friendship also afterwards.

I have noticed that despite the race and religion we all may have even a very similar sense of humour. But first you have to know yourself to be able to respect the others.

One of my favorite sayings is "you got to have roots in order to get wings", and that is so true. I think it is important to know own roots, family history and the most important happenings of your own country.
By growing the strong roots and building your own identity you can get the wings to become an understanding, international and loving person.

I am like my country - not among the most well-known ones in the world, but definitely strong. I get a lot of power of our pure clean nature.

At this moment I have been to 50 countries; at my own cost and own free time (vacation); no business trips (except Singapore). My travel map doesn't show the exact amount -I think one is missing- as I have countries that are not existing today but have clearly been separate own countries; e.g. East Germany - DDR; or have not been officially accepted as countries by all nations like is the case with e.g. Northern Cyprus). I haven't done all of my travel pages of those 50 countries yet; still a lot of scanning work to do in addition to the tip & photo posting and Intro writing itself.

I travel mostly with my husband but can travel and sometimes do also alone.
I want to visit new countries to get new experiences. Though my heart aches for longing after some countries like Lebanon, Croatia, Bosnia, Gambia - just to mention a few. I also like to try a little unusual holiday countries and not go with the masses. But me too, sometimes I need the sunshine, sea and lying down doing nothing.
I take a lot of photos and always immediately create albums with texts, coupons, receipts and tickets as memories. It's great to look at after years.

I try to photograph everything, not just posing pictures or some statues. In addition to them I always keep my camera ready, and take a picture of some funny happening, perhaps meeting local animals, traffic - anything can happen. The best pictures are real life pictures and not planned.

What comes to what I require - I cannot describe anything. Sometimes I feel like going the relaxed way in casual clothes; sometimes it's nice to be neat and take a little look at how you dress yourself. Depends on the place and time of course; and in some places one needs to take higher preventative travel security measures.

Everything goes for me - I've been to 0-1 star hostels to 5 star hotels and suites. I am very flexible and can adapt to the circumstances and take everything finally as humour, even if something fails. It is a new experience - again!

I was born in southern Finland, and moved to the Greater Helsinki area when I was less than 1 year old. My city name is Espoo; beside Helsinki, on the southern coast of Finland. My mother tongue is Finnish; I speak also fluent English, Swedish, manage in German and French. I studied some basics of Spanish and Russian, and have earlier studied the basics of Hungarian too. Always when visiting a country, I try to learn a few phrases and words beforehand; if not for surviving then at least for being polite and nice.

I am a 41-year-old female; but I feel (and perhaps look) a lot younger. I am married but always a free soul and heart and identity. We have no children. I will always be young and crazy at heart. I don't act, dress, feel, look etc. "like a 40-year-old should" (if such rules even exist).

I have blonde hair and green eyes and quite pale skin (as I am a Finn...). Personally for me a person's outlook is not the most important thing; I believe in the inner beauty and the beauty of the noble souls.

At the moment I am unemployed; I used to work as a senior security specialist in a big multinational company, in the headquarters. At my freetime I study languages, play flute, beginners' piano, sing home karaoke, write and read poems. Voluntary defence work is close to my heart too. Reading, (war) history, biographs is interesting too. I also like photographing. And last but not least - traveling! I travel always when I have the chance (lack of money is the thing most often not letting me go...). Also, I have two sponsored children via World Vision (boy in Kenya, Indian girl in Peru).

Finally, I belong to the community of Helsinki St. Thomas Mass (the mass is a Lutheran worship service that has been influenced by old liturgical traditions of the Church as well as by the spirit of ecumenism. It has been named after the Apostle Thomas who seemed to have more questions than answers in his faith.) I am taking part, as a volunteer, in organising the masses, doing several things, from distributing song books and welcoming the people on the door to the mass to act as a prayer altar servant to the demanding simultaneous interpretation of the mass for the foreign visitors (Fin-Eng).
Nowadays I belong also to the Finnish Red Cross, and volunteer there in the mental first aid / mental support side.

My character/nature...many people say it is impossible to describe as I have so many characteristics. Perhaps I am manysided. I am happy, an optimist, positive person, I laugh and joke a lot. I like to sing by myself. I think there is no life without sense of humour. Yet respect for the individual (any culture) is important.
I also show my feelings and cry if there is need. It is easy for me to talk things out at an adult peaceful way. I am romantic, like candles, wine...collect angels in every form. Despite my sensitiveness, I am not weak. I am quite a strong mentally, decisive and and equal (but not feminist) person. I am also a good listener. There are other big things in me too ;) but the biggest one I think is my heart.

I am in the Senegambia area, going from this bar to a very popular local place where a lot of rastas spend their time too. All kinds of local people with all kinds of clothes. Don't ask me what the music was - rap, hip-hop, techno??? Just joking here. Like always.

I think that intelligence and sense of humour are somehow linked to each other; they go hand by hand. I like a lot people who recognize and laugh to especially verbal acrobathy and situation comics (no lousy told jokes). Often the spontaneous happenings, ideas and things are the funniest.

I met my new admirer in Thailand. This guy was quite heavy. Later on he wanted to kiss me and nearly managed...but as I wasn't so happy about it, I just had to be rude and say "no thanks".

This is something even I as a born Finn always wonder like a child. When the autumn comes (September-October); all the leaves of the certain trees turn to yellow, orange, red and brownish.

In the north, Lapland, it is even more awesome.

The clear autumn days are the best time of the year for walks.

I guess I already have advertised our sunsets and lakes a lot in some of my albums - but it just IS so breathtaking. Our short summers are like from movies.

I love to sit by a lake (a summer log house, perhaps) or terrace of the log house and watch the sun go down, until the end, and have wine. Of course we have the Midsummer time when you have to wait and wait...as the sun does really not set at all. You can read outside at midnight without any artificial light.

This is a topic everybody has heard of I guess...but we really have some 100 000 lakes in Finland. In many of them the water is so clean that you can drink it. Not to speak about swimming.