Hi, it’s Vivian, your ordinary Vietnamese girl, and I basically end up being a tourist to locals and a local to tourists in Rovaniemi. Wonder what it means? Let’s me explain it to you by my experience as a foreigner living in this Santa Claus hometown.
I’m a tourist to locals…
As an Asian girl who went abroad for the very first time, I guess I used to always look like a confused tourist in Finland. I used to pay everything by cash and drop the coins at the cashier. I forgot to bring my reusable shopping bag all the time when going to the supermarket. Again, I didn’t know that we could bike almost everywhere around the city. And who knows walking was also an option to travel in Rovaniemi. “Your walking speed was even slower than old Finnish women”, said by one of my classmates. 😂 I may look less confused and more like an international student who knows every second hand store in the city now.
The way I dress was, and is, still a mismatch compared to popular fashion trends in Finland. Hey, I’m from a tropical country and this is a very cold Nordic country. What else can you expect from me? I think I have improved somehow now. Still, I want to be like that expensive-looking girl walking down Helsinki main streets. Never mind just kidding 🤣🤣
The biggest difference between me and my Finnish friends are about our hobbies. Finns usually like to spend time with the nature and have natured-related hobbies. They are madly in love with biking, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, swimming or exercising. Meanwhile, I am most of the time only interested in hanging out with my friends at milk tea store and restaurants. Sometimes we also cook and party at home.
… and weirdly also a local to tourists
I have been living in Rovaniemi for more than 3 years already. It’s obviously strange to say I’m a tourist, because well, I know too many things here from my experience. I can proudly say I finally could enjoy summer like a local. Sunbathing on the beach with some drinks and running to the cold water after were what I did all summer. My Finn friends also took me to summer cottage, got me in a burning hot sauna and pushed me into the river. We then grilled some food, drank and repeated. That pretty much sums up how Finns spend their time in the summer right?
Living Finland helps me appreciate the nature and find its beauty in all the small things. I lost count of how many times I have to gasp at a beautiful but unreal landscape. Sunshine in the summer, autumn fallen leaves, snow white in the winter, how can I describe all of these beauty? And out of my imagination, I actually started to go hiking alone just to feel the nature. Weird but in a very positive way. By the way, aurora is becoming a common thing in my life at some points. Don’t be jealous!
So who exactly am I?
I don’t know who should I be in Rovaniemi, a tourist or a local? Either ways, I must confess I’m in love in Rovaniemi just as what it is. It’s hard to find my favorite Vietnamese food here sometimes but hey, I can improve my cooking skills then. So not to bad huh 😎 If you are interested about my lovely city, check out Rovaniemi city’s website with all the information you may need in both Finnish and English.
Want more exciting stories? You can read my classmates’ journeys in Finland here! Go and check them out!