I am also getting quite good at making my way around. I found the library in Malmi and checked out two books by myself - a small victory. Since I left home I have already read three books, and am eager for more. Unfortunately the library in Malmi is not very large, so the section of books written in english is quite small. Pauli promises to take me to the larger library near Helsinki - he's afraid to give me directions because he says he gets lost there himself.
That evening Pauli's brother Mikko and his fiance Sanna had us over to their place for dinner. It was a very nice evening, and the first time I really got to sit down and talk to these two since they visited Madison last winter. It was a lot of fun chatting with them, and of course dinner was wonderful.
There was tea, dessert, and wonderful conversation waiting for us at Juha's apartment. Unfortunately, Juha's girlfriend doesn't speak much english and was quite quiet for most of the night. I think that is the one thing that reminds me that I'm in Finland and not at home - the language I mean. It can be such a barrier, at times it's disheartening to see people unable to communicate with one another for this reason. I know it's virtually impossible to implement such a thing, but the idea of a universal language sounds lovely to me.
