Hello everyone! I hope that all of you are doing well and are feeling happy and relaxed after celebrating Christmas (if you celebrate it, of course). I decided to relax a bit more now in December due to being very tired after each day of uni and work and therefore - no blogposts either. And as you may know, after burnout you need to be very careful regarding your energy levels because stress comes easier after going through burnout. But now I'm beginning to feel more recharged.

I'm currently on vacation in Madeira, Portugal. This is probably one of my favorite places in the world due to the beautiful flora & fauna, the kind people and the climate. The flight time from Finland isn't that long either which for me is a plus (I have no clue how I'll manage to do that trip around Asia that I've been thinking about) It's also pretty much a paradise for anyone who loves walking! It's easy to hit that daily 10k here and you'll enjoy the view while doing so. Tomorrow I'll hit the levada walks again, this time a shorter 6 km distance filled with local life, mountains and the color green! Today has been a more quiet day, filled with sunlight and fresh fruit. If you like fruit, especially passionfruit you should definitely visit this island! Passionfruit is the number one fruit here and you can get it as a sauce with the local fish espada, in the form of icecream, as soda (no it's not called pop!) for example bri sol & brisa, with a pannacotta styled dessert and so on. Thankfully I love it! I eat one passionfruit for breakfast every single day, too bad they aren't exactly a common occurence in a Finnish grocery store.

I got some shopping done today, went to Forum Madeira for a nice morning stroll. Now I'm thinking of going to the sea or perhaps the hotel pool for a relaxing swim together with my freshly pressed orange juice. I like the quiet and warm afternoons here, but my favorite time of the day is the morning. A nice morning walk to the harbour of Funchal that kind of looks like Miami and listening to Ecuadorian music such as the original version of El Condor Pasa is one of my favorite activities!

Have a nice day! 💫

/Rebecka

Sometimes I wish that I could only have one home like some people. Sitting in the warmth of a fireplace knowing that I could always return if the world outside would become too cold for me to handle. That would work out well if I was one of those peoples whom never get bored. But I do get bored easily. I need to see new things in order to dream, dream big. As I sit on the bus on my way from one home to another I wonder what it must have felt like traveling way back in history. Several weeks on the road and as a woman having to wear uncomfortable clothes and having to correct my makeup all of the time. I mean that would have looked good, probably better than I look now at least! But I can't let my mind wander like it does now, just keep focusing on the tightness of my clothes. Now I have the freedom of just being, just existing.

I look at the wonderful fluffy white clouds and imagine what Leonardo da Vinci would have felt like looking at birds being completely free of the human limitations of staying on the ground. What wonder it must have been to step onboard an airplane today when the noon sky was filled with this beautiful golden light. I was reading about Thailand and Carribean cruises with my morning coffee. A lot of people travel all the time, a lot of people never travel. Those of us who travel all the time no matter the distance might be familiar with the backpack theory.

The backpack theory is something that often occurs when traveling, especially when sitting in a bus. Almost every seat is taken but there are still a few left. Suddenly a new person comes in. This person is looking for their perfect seat. Somehow they always end up picking the seat next to someone with the largest bags/backpack. This is because they might not have noticed the bag/backpack. That person with the bags, yeah that is me. I try to make them room the best as I can. But I keep wondering, why is it that all those other empty seats without any large bags keep being empty? Is it becaue it's considered rude to put ones bag on an empty seat?

There is a lot of holiday spirit around. Many cities are putting up Christmas lights and people gather around to see them. I'm filled with a certain happiness. It's nice to be alive, right here, right now.

/Rebecka

Hey there! ⛵👣🌤🎶

I'm sitting here among the echoes of building sounds and people having lunch, waiting for my train back home. It kind of feels good to travel home and kind of not. The past 5 days the road has been my home again and now I wish that I could buy a plane ticket anywhere because I constantly watch trains heading towards the airport pass me by. My body is all like please rest now and after that head to the gym after all that sitting! But my mind is all like "Would not hurt to travel a few more days!". I'll have like 2 weeks of normal life ahead of me (= work, courses, BA writing..) and then I'll come back to Helsinki because I got my student pass for SLUSH 2019. SLUSH makes me both nervous and happy because it could very well be the opportunity of a lifetime and I'm willing to get ahead with that part of my life but also it puts a lot of pressure on me to be the best possible version of me, which of course is what everyone should strive for because life does happen outside of your comfortzone, I know that for a fact!

Another interesting thing I've noticed during my travel is how well I get along with my close friend Maria. I mean of course I knew that but traveling together unfortunately sometimes brings out the worst in us due to a lack of sleep, being hungry and other factors. But we didn't fight at all! Instead we had this wonderful mutual aspect of understanding and respecting eachothers needs between us. So if you don't know we went on a cruise to Stockholm together and it was our first time traveling together. We did the entire experience with karaoke, dancing, fancy drinks, great food, watching the sea.. But being in Stockholm was of course the best part of the trip. Stockholm must be my favorite city in the world. Anywhere you look you find beauty and new experiences. I don't know how and when to turn my life around so that I could move there. I seriously feel more at home there than in my actual home. Must be related to the fact that I visited Stockholm 2-3/year ever since I was like 5, must give me somekind of sense of security and childhood nostalgia. We also found an amazing cafe! (random side note, ignore it my brain is tired) But yeah if you are in Stockholm then visit Downtown Camper Cafe. Gamla stan was also like a dream like always, filled with Swedish culture and most importantly Christmas things.

Now I've also traveled all most any hour of the day experiencing both sunsets and sunrises and now I'm contemplating if I should sleep on this bench before my train leaves or perhaps striking up a conversation with some interesting stranger in order to top of my vacation.

Have a great week!

❤: Rebecka