It was the first time ever since I've known her. I've only known her for, what, five years?! It was about time I saw her humble abode. It was really nice of her to let me stay at hers during my conference trip.
I don't know how she felt about it, seeing that I had to hog her bed due to reasons of practicality, while she had to sleep on the couch.
On top of that, her work mate thought she was a lesbian because I was staying overnight and, you know, I'm a female. The situation calls for a lol, even though I try to avoid that expression elsewhere but in online chats. The thought still cracks me up. I didn't do wonders for her reputation.
Personally, I thought it was a surprisingly nice visit. Even though we've only met "in real life" a couple of times, it felt comfortable and not at all awkward.
We didn't do anything special. I came back from the conference so late in the evening that we didn't really have time for much. On Monday, we watched Desperate Housewives with a friend of hers, then Californication, followed by some Bible channel show. I've got to find out if I have that channel here - it was hilarious.
Amoena has often commented on how cosy my apartment looks and feels. I could say the same of hers. It had so much space, soothingly white walls, and there wasn't as much stuff lying around as in mine. She also had some interesting decorative items, and an impressive bookshelf. I usually keep my own books on the floor out of convenience.
She had so many classics as well as some praised contemporary writers there. I admire so much her ability to not be a genre reader. You'd be hard pressed to label her taste in books. Eclectic, perhaps?
She had stowed in her closet a big box full of some old books that she was willing to give away. I came back home with several kilograms' worth of books. They're all written in Finnish, so it's going to be fun to read books in Finnish for a change. Here are for instance two poetry collections of Viljo Kajava and Toivo Laakso that she gave me:
It's a strange experience to read something in your mother tongue as though it was a foreign language. I'm a little concerned about this. I think I should try to find an opportunity to write more in Finnish, and more often. Chatting on the internet doesn't count.
There is this article I've been trying to write in Finnish for weeks now. All I can come up with are English sentences. It's not that my English is better than my Finnish by any accounts, but for some reason I find it easier to sort my thoughts in English.
It probably also has something to do with your mother tongue feeling more personal, and consequently you pay more attention to your choice of words.
Besides, there are just too many choices because your vocabulary isn't as limited as with a foreign language. But since Finnish teachers think that you have to master your mother tongue before you can master any other languages, I suppose I must do my utmost to practise it more.
Oh and may I point out to Amoena that I finally took heed of her advice: I shrank the banner. See, I'm not completely stubborn. I guess my honeymoon period with that picture is over, since it no longer pained me to distort its proportions.
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