Finland - Day 1 "Solo and So Not Fluent"

"Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world."-Gustave Flaubert

Each time I visit a different place, I find this to be true. Being out of my comfort zone, not being fluent in the language, not knowing the nuances of the local social norms, or the unfamiliarity of the cuisine are all aspects that remind me of how much bigger this world is than me and how much is happening in the world outside of my own bubble. While I get a taste of this each time I travel, the first day of my trip in Finland magnified this into my brain more glaringly than I have experienced previously. You see, this was my first time to travel alone. While I was meeting up with a guided trip, the first day was a solo experience. To some, this may sound silly, but to me, it was quite a task. I recognized through this trip that I thrive off of shared experiences. While the idea of venturing off on a solo adventure sounds enticing and exhilarating, it is actually quite emotionally exhausting for me. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy parts of my solo time, but my most beloved time was experiencing the trip with new friends (even though they began as strangers).

My trip began in Orange County with a 4 hour flight to Chicago, a 9 hour flight to Helsinki, and a 25 minute commuter flight to Tampere. Sleeping and flights do not typically exist in the same world for me, so this resulted in about 26 hours without sleep by the time that I had landed. Thank goodness I had pre-booked a taxi to pick me up from the airport! Way to go, Stephanie! Right?!?! Except the taxi decided not to show up...on a Sunday...when there were no other taxis at the airport and most parts of the airport were closed. No problem...growth mindset, right? Be flexible! This is why I had the "Travel Pass" on my phone...which would've worked beautifully...if I was entering the country code correctly (which I did after my 5th try!). After confirming that my taxi driver, indeed was not coming, I began to feel a twinge of panic, but with a glance to the right, I saw a glimmer of hope...a taxi call box! I lifted the handle and waited until I heard the Finnish speaker on the other end. I read my imperative Finnish phrase that I had been practicing prior to the trip, for such a moment as this, "Puhutko englantia?" (Do you speak English?) which harkened a response in more of the Finnish language that I so desperately wanted to understand. I tried again. "Puhutko englantia?" to which the operator responded, "Um...I'm sorry but do you speak English?"*** My failed Finnish attempt was overshadowed by the fact that I was going to be able to speak to the operator! Three minutes later, a taxi was at the airport ready to take me on my 20 minute journey to my hotel. ***(This is not the first time I have attempted to speak in a foreign language to which the response from the other person has been "Um...I'm sorry but do you speak English?" I will keep trying, though!)

After arriving at my hotel and checking in, I noticed two other women who had checked in at the same time. As we continued meandering through the various stairways, hallways, and elevators to the hotel building (reception was in a different building), it became clear that one of these women was my roommate for the trip! We settled into our room and gave quick introductions before she and her professor headed out to meet with a Finnish friend at her home for dinner. I decided to venture out on a jog to acquaint myself with the area and to ward off any symptoms of jet-lag that wanted to settle in my already weary brain. This run was definitely the highlight of my inaugural day in Tampere, Finland. My hotel was a jog away from the lakeside and a walking path curved its way alongside the lake and through various bridges and wooded areas. It was a beautiful introduction to Tampere and an excursion that my heart, mind, and body needed.

Getting back to the room around 6:30 p.m., I was excited to shower and explore to find a place to eat. However, I quickly found that Saturdays and Sundays are officially "non-working" days...which led to limited choices and farther distances to find an open establishment. My lack of sleep, combined with the ever present knowledge that I was alone (missing my typical travel partner a great deal!) and a desire to have some level of "comfort," led me to the less than exciting decision to eat from my suitcase snack arsenal and stay on hotel grounds for my first evening. This gave me a chance to call my typical travel partner to fill him in on all my mishaps from the day and have a laugh about these learning experiences. However, the minute I heard that voice of "home", tears of defeat, not laughter, quickly began to fall. Here is a glimpse into the word whirlwind that followed: "What am I doing?!?! I'm so fortunate to be here...and I'm a grown adult...why am I crying??? It is so beautiful here, you should see the sunset with the boats...I just like being with other people...Maybe I'm not meant to travel alone...I loved my run I went on today...happy words....sad words...yaddah yaddah" I think you get the picture. My emotions were ALL. OVER. THE. PLACE. It's funny how you can keep it together, until something familiar simultaneously comforts you and puts you over the edge. This conversation, followed by some extremely thorough journaling, helped me to harness my emotions and fully recognize and appreciate that I was embarking on something new and unknown to me: a new country, a new living situation (for the week...haven't had a stranger as a roommate since college), a new way of traveling (individually). With this reflection in mind, I went to bed hopeful for what the next day would hold. While the first day of my trip was not even close to being my favorite of the week, it was a day of firsts and a day that reminded me that I am quite small in this big, big world.