Second lift this summer

Hitch-hiking: Hankasalmi - Jyväskylä (1.7.2006)
Distance: around 40km
Time: 50min
Lifts: 1

Beautiful! From this ancle I see no coulds but perfect blue sky and I can feel the bright sun giving life to dem veggies growing on the other side of the window. Conscious decision to stay in Finland and basically in Jyväskylä for the whole summer. We had a chance to grow stuff in our little garden (9x7 metres). Quite a lot of vegetables, herbs and flowers witnessing the miracle of life. Unbelievable, stuff growing and living it on.

Yesterday I went to the summer cottage of my girlfriend's parents. Others stayed there but I had to leave today to pack stuff because the day after tomorrow I'm moving to Helsinki. So today, my second hitch this summer. I don't fancy the idea not being able to hitchhike and travel THAT much this summer but unfortunately it is most likely to be the truth. My civil service starts exactly after one month, after which it will surely be quite dead when it comes to my hitching: somehow I just think that if and when I'm travelling (especially after the warm and during the cold) I will be using my free travelling tickets contributed by the State.

Anyways, today's lift was warm and nice. This hearty woman was going all the way to the Southern Finland to meet her relatives or something. I don't see that happening too often: women giving me a lift (though I used to look more hippie, if that has something to do with the issue). Originally from Western Finland but the fact that she'd been living in Eastern Finland for decades turned out to be a nice one.

To chat with people with karelian or savo dialects is definitely refreshing - for someone like me who is originally from those neighbourhoods. Talking with her about the life in the countryside, in one's own house or anywhere else than in a typical appartment house got me thinking that it might be challenging especially for us, finns, to live in an appartement house if you want to make buddies out of your neighbours. The reason is that they are close, way too close. We can hide it but not forget that if that if the wall would just not exist we could shake the hands of the neighbours we don't even know. Somehow it doesn't sound that odd that you would rather keep it that way. Rather not know who are living way too close. She, the driver, agreed.

I'm about to change that in my part. After living one year in this beautiful neighbourhood and in our own little commune house (and by the way, knowing and talking with all our neighbours) I'm moving to another city in an appartment house. I'm going to knock on the doors of my new neighbours, shake their hands and let them welcome me to the building. We'll see what happens. I mean, anything can happen.