When I sat at the table for the first time, I sat in front of a plate of naked noodles and a piece of the whole chicken that I. had been cooking in the oven for five hours. The plate was as big as a breakfast plate in Germany, but full to the brim.

In Russia, I am asked without circumlocution about my living circumstances. Often in the first hour of an encounter and mostly by other often older women. "Do you want to get married?", "Would you like to have children, you can handle them very well, you should have kids soon!", "Do you have a boyfriend?" And "Why are you in Russia?"

My experience of the Russian culture is entirely different from that in other (European) countries. All of my previous knowledge is tainted with prejudice. The cultural differences go so much deeper than I ever thought possible. I have spent the last three months getting rid of them.

My host family was so kind to invite me to their celebrations. We drove about 600 km to the north, to Kalajoki, where my host mother's parents live. Kalajoki during summer is the Las Vegas of Finland. In winter, nothing is happening. It's not far enough in the north to be snow prove in December, which means that their favourite pastimes (skiing, snowmobiling, etc.) can't be guaranteed. Most Finns go to relatives or directly to Lapland. Whether you believe it or not, although at the beginning of...

The sixth of December is not Nikolaus in Finland. There is only one man in a red coat: the Joulupukki, the Santa Claus. On the 6th of December, Finland celebrates the Birth of the Nation. The day on which Finland proclaimed its independence from Russia. In celebration of this day, there is a church service in Helsinki Cathedral, a reception at the Palace of the President, accompanied by a whole series of demonstrations. The many Finns, who don't have to dress up for the reception of the...

Advent is Advent, is Advent, is Advent. I am staying in Finland for Christmas and New Years. Since it will take another two months before I have shared all the content from my travels on my blog, I decided to write about the Christmas season in Finland once a week. That means that I am not going to narrate what happened strictly in chronological order. This decision might be strange, but who would like to read about Christmas traditions in February? Not me. It's one of those situations where...