Most Finns have their own sauna stories to tell. Here are some of mine. As someone born in Finland, I see the sauna as much more than just a place to sweat. It’s a space for relaxation, reflection, and rootedness— a tradition passed down through generations. Sauna is where babies were born, the sick were…
Tag: mindset
What makes a friend feel like home? And are you also that friend to yourself?
When we live across cultures, we meet amazing, diverse people. Still, forming lasting, true, or like-minded friendships can be hard. So much depends on our history, personality, location, language, role, life stage, and luck too. keep CONNECTING with an open heart During my 14 years abroad, I’ve found friends in all sorts of places: our…
The ‘Stranger’s Freedom’ and 10 ways how it manifests itself
We know that life abroad comes with difficulties. For example, we may have limitations that the locals don’t have, and we may miss people from our country of origin and sometimes feel like we don’t belong. But the other, bright✨, side of the coin is the freedom the foreignness can bring (of course depending on…
Breathe in… Breathe out… Repeat
Breathing is the first and last thing we do here on earth. And there’s the whole lifetime between for us to learn to breathe better – in ways that improve our health and quality of life. Better breathing helps us to relax, sleep, digest, remember, focus, move… the list goes on. Fortunately, it’s never too…
25 ideas to brighten up the grayer days (that don’t look like these photos)
“What makes you happy in the rainy and dark autumn days?” a fellow nature-lover asked on Instagram. She mentioned photography and creativity as examples, and we agreed to make a list of things that bring us joy during this season. Of course, there is no one way to “do autumn”. Some take a more stoic approach, running in…
The many colors of the Sisu courage
You may have heard about the Finnish term/mentality called sisu – described as extraordinary courage, grit and resilience. Like an inner fire driving you to reach almost impossible goals. Sisu can be seen as a verb, it’s determination in action*. Sisu is often associated with toughness and masculine power but it also has a colorful and softer side that deserves to be shed some light on. A…
Go solo – why some trips are better alone?
Traveling with family or friends is fun but sometimes it’s good to go to places alone too. Even a day trip can do wonders! Here you can read five positive perspectives of solo travel: 1. SIMPLICITY The trip will be simpler to plan and execute as you don’t need to negotiate with anyone. You are…
Cherish your relationship with your country of residence
A new country is like a new relationship. Sometimes the chemistry is there right away, sometimes not. Like in relationships, getting to know each other helps to understand other one better. Your own attitude also affects the development of the relationship. Every experience of living in a foreign country is unique. How each person experiences…
Your energy is your currency – how to fill your spark account
There are many ways to fill our energy assets in addition to healthy nutrition, sleep and exercise. Make your own energy source list and check out 10 ways to boost your energy.
WOOP your wish come true. Wish-Outcome-Obstacle-Plan
The WOOP is a simple, easy and yet effective method to make your wishes come true. The abbreviation comes from the words W – Wish, O – Outcome, O – Obstacle and P – Plan.
Abroadland 