In this week we worked all week from Monday to Friday. On Friday we met some other exchange students from Finland. On Saturday we went to Japanese Garden and it was beautiful, later some pictures about it. Sunday we just chilled and showed some city to other Finnish exchange students because they didn´t know almost nothing about wroclaw. So here is some pictures from our past week.
13.4.2018
Only the sky is the limit
The past cannot be changed but it should not effect on the future.
Just six years ago I got an extra game WOOOOPP!!
In Easter, six years ago, I got really serious blood poisoning and, as a result, my life changed completely. I have never been terribly afraid of publicity, but perhaps now it is time to open up!
So much has happened that I do not even know where to start…..
I lived my life swimming in the dark waters, I thought I was in love, but I was in a narrative relationship that completely destroyed me. It was Easter and I had a wound on my back for two months that I went to show to the hospital five times, but doctors said it was nothing, nothing?
Let’s have a bit of a mindset. If I lie in a coma for many weeks and my fingers and toes have to be amputated, was there nothing in the wound?! I was really sick and the doctors told my parents that I’m not going to survive and the drugs are ineffective because the poisoning had been so bad that nothing could be done. On Friday 13th (Friday 13th unlucky?) apparently I’m Satan himself because that day gave me a new life, the doctors said to my parents now, we still cannot promise that your daughter will survive, but the price of it is that we have to amputate her fingers and toes. And she can hardly walk anymore. Tens of operations and several months at the hospital were ahead and a lot of thoughts as well. Pleased, but also happy, because even though such shocking things happened, I still got a second life and another opportunity. I used to be a truck driver in my profession and they said I could never drive a car again, not even one with automatic gears. I stayed at the hospital for three months in the same position. I thought it was fucking! I got up from the bed and learned to walk again and get the balance, just an amputation of a big toe will take all the balance and I lost them all.
I decided then that as I walk, I would not spend my life in a wheelchair!!!
The first time I got an hour to leave the hospital I went to have ice cream with my mother and told her to let me drive. She said no way!! I went and took the car from my mother and I drove to Keljonkeskus car park. AND THERE I WAS DRIVING A CAR AND WALKING!!
The hospital staff became my family for several months. They said that if I had no such stubbornness I would never have risen anymore. People in the same situation are depressed and no longer care for anything. I thought I’ve got a new chance and I will not spend it by crying in the bed. Of course I was down for a long time, but even if I cried the rest of my life it would not change anything, would it?
Now, six years later, I have quite a hell of a great life and I am happier than ever!!!
Who would have thought that I would ride a horse, go walking many times a day with dogs, surf and drive a car and a scooter and do whatever I want to do. I have not lost anything but vice versa. I have realized my dreams and live my dream. Thanks to the graduated school. Now I have a new profession and I think this is my dream job. I love to travel and now it’s also my job which is great!!
I can tell you this even if a spider bite and a trip to the hospital here is nothing compared to what I’ve experienced, but I was sure that the karma returns and something bad happens in an honor of the day six years later. Now my current wounds begin to heal, but it seems like new bites have appeared.
My work ends sunday and I got really great reviews here. I was crying with happiness because I always think that I’m stupid, but now I’m starting to think I’m not a second-class citizen and an idiot. I’m fucking proud of myself and satisfied that I survived so well on the other side of the globe.
Everyone said when I left Finland that I am crazy when I leave and others said I’m really brave since they would not dare. That’s when I began to think for the first time that why should I be scared of what people are saying? I survived this as well, and this has been THE EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE!!! I have found myself again and I am truly happy!
I am grateful for this opportunity to the School headmaster Peter, Sari and Keijo and the greatest honor belongs to my boss Tracy who took me in with open plan and offered the job and I learned a hell of a lot from her!!
Now I have time to think what I want for the future and I will enjoy a moment of my life and reward myself, I have earned it, haven’t I? Life is wonderful!!
XoXo Caribbean freelife <3
11.4.2018
The circus
Last week has been an amusement park on all sides.
I had the infected mosquito bites that really started to bother me. First I got those antibiotics and went on Monday to see if everything was ok. I was bitten by a spider which was bad. On Monday, they gave me new antibiotics and injected penicillin to my butt. They told me to come back on Wednesday. My route was just full of rocks.
On Wednesday I went back to the hospital, and they said my leg had to be operated to open the infected spider bite area to remove the infection. On Wednesday they immediately anesthetized me and opened the abscess. I slept overnight at the hospital and in the morning I got home. I also went to the hospital on Saturday to be checked and I will go on Tuesday again. At least I think they take good care of me.
On Saturday evening we went to eat at the restaurant with all the people from my work and it was super wonderful. We laughed and ate well, and the boss paid for everything. It was wonderful to spend time with them because this is my last week at work and my boss is also leaving to Canada.
I am excited and at the same time sad when I run out of work but afterwards, I will take time for myself. I have studied and worked for a long time and I think I must take a break now and plan for the future. I already have plans, but maybe I’ll tell them later.
This week has been an emotional roller coaster but yesterday I got relief when a Finnish man came to look for me. I met him weeks ago when I was surfing and now he came to visit. We went to have a glass after work and discussed about life. It felt super nice to speak Finnish with someone face to face and to have someone who really understands. Cultural differences are huge and confusing. It was a pleasure to share ideas and now I am doing much better thanks to the Finnish guy. I miss my friends so much. And someday when I go home I know everything has changed and that scares me so much. But I am happy that Day is not yet soon.
On monday we weren´t working because it was a easter holiday. On tuesday it was hard to wake up because of the long holiday our workdays start at 7am so we have to wake up before 6. At work we were collecting staff for the leaving orders. We got out from work at 1pm because we worked too fast. From tuesday to thursday it was like that and on friday we were checking leaving orders. On friday we had this party because one of the guys from our ” Hallera family” left Poland. On saturday we were checking out more of the city and found many beautiful places. Sunday we were just chilling and sleeping.
So we came to Poland on Saturday and we had Sunday free. We decided with Iida to go watch some places in center of Wroclaw. We were quite excited about these upcoming 2 months. The first week we just mostly chilled and on friday was our first day at work. It was exciting and funny. Here is few pictures about our first week.
31.3.2018
Happy Easter love
This week has been busy and I have been ill, in Annika’s style, at least one hospital visit has to happen while on the road. Everything has been so great so far that I can comfortably go.
The mosquitoes had bitten me earlier a week ago and the wounds had already started healing until on the weekend they got swollen and started discharging. I sent pictures to my teacher and she said I must go to hospital. Yes I went to the hospital and they gave me some antibiotics and other medicines. They took blood tests from me. I went there on Tuesday and on Wednesday I had to go again. I got fever and convulsions at night between Tuesday and Wednesday. I was sweating and afterwards I was shivering for cold. I wondered if I was going to die now, here almost alone and far away from my family, but hey what could kill the Evil??? :´D
Here is a big party this week, the locals spend a week’s holiday and at weekend there is a big festival called Full moon Party, yeah!! I’m actually working on the weekend so I think I shouold escape from bigger parties. Or perhaps, besides you, I’m even fooling myself by saying this?! 😀 The first thing in life is to live, and only then the memoirs can be written! So I guess I must go live my dream and I write again after first living like grazy :DD
My friends invited me yesterday to take part on their family dinner and I was so taken and happy to be invited. There was a barbeque full of hot meat, sausages, potatoes and all the wonderful delicacies. I know it was a thank you invitation to me that really made me feel good. I appreciate them a lot and I would still like to thank the hospitality of this very kind act. Thank you. People here are amazing, beautiful, authentic and enjoy happy little things… I’m really grateful for these new friends <3
This week is celebrated as a celebration of the holy feast Semana Santa. The locals have their first holiday after the season.
Big festivals on the seaside, the same feeling as you were in festivals in Finland but on the seaside, my friends, on the TURQUOISE seaside <3. On Thursday at midnight, the music is turned off for a day and no one plays music. The music starts again on Friday at midnight and now the music is no longer turned off but is given to take whit the flow!!! YEEAHH I went on Thursday to smell a little bit of it out there and there she was the PARTYYYYY. Dance to the night and party like an animal and enjoy life, awesome!!!! On Saturday there is the actual full moon party, should I go to smell what is happening 😉 Now it’s the party time, see you my friends I love you guys!!!
AND I was plucked yesterday and now my moneybag is stolen!! Don’t worry be happy !
Hello.
We should have written this days ago but here we go. So our trip started Saturday at 2pm, from Helsinki. We were exited and little bit scared when the plane started moving. I gave Santeri a new nickname “vaappuvakana” because he was so scared that he waddle like a chicken in the plane. The flight to Frankfurt lasted 2 hours and 40min. In Frankfurt we switched to another plane and that flight lasted 1h and 15min. In Wroclaw taxi driver picked us up from the airport. We were little bit surprised at the way people drive here, it was so scary. The tutor showed us our flats and the city. Santeri`s flat is so cool it`s like IKEA heaven. Santeri is living with three Spanish guys and one French guy. My flat is not as nice but it is bigger. I live with 13people. One is Finnish and the twelve others are Spanish.
26.3.18
We only have one life and one chance!!
At first my friends I want to ask how are things going in the rat bicycle?
People should listen to their own body and well-being. The body tells us everything and each and every one of us should feel our own body. In this magical adventure I’ve learned so much about myself and I have found myself in a completely new way. I have always been a heavy drinker of lemonade and juice. When I was in this place for the first week, my boss mentioned to me that it would be good if I reduced sugar by drinking less lemonade and sweet juices because they are not good for health. I know, of course, but what bad can sugar do for you? I promised my boss that I would stop it. Now I have not been drinking lemonade for four weeks, except for once. I have been doing so much better both physically and mentally. Water alone brings miracles to the human body. You guys must try it too!!
The eyes are the mirror of the soul!!
Maybe my eyes tell about happiness, I hear everyday “ Annika you are wonderful you are always so super happy and your eyes are sparkling for happiness why you always wear sunglasses you have beautiful eyes and they look happy “. Small things make me happy here. And one of them is the sea. Yes in the morning when I drive to work, I take a deep breath and smell the scent of the sea. Maybe I’m humbling about it… <3 Leaving back home to Finland is not yet present, but even a thought about it makes me anxious. The only things that make me happy there are my family and my dogs, but otherwise I cannot feel mentally or physically well. Many people talk to me about how anxious I am to return to Finland and how the mere thought brings me a feeling of constriction. Should I listen to my own body what it is trying to tell me? My heart and soul stayed here already in November when I was on vacation. The beauty of the sea is something so pleasing that I’ve never seen anything so beautiful and the sea is my inspiration. The turquoise view of the sea and its fragrance are my pleasure and ecstasy.
I’ve also learned a lot of my new workplace marketing stuff and I am grateful that I have a good boss here who knows how to advise a different style of marketing than in Finland.
HAVE A GOOD WEEK MY FRIENDS I MISS YOU GUYS SO FUCKIN MUCH!!! <3<3
Haters!
I start again by telling you guys how happy I am all the time!! But I am, can’t help it!! Here I hear everyday “yeeeh you saved my day, thank you for being here!” I ask what do you guys mean? “You’re always so happy, smiling, dancing, singing, laughing… you’re just full of joy all the time and you give us lots of energy.” So weird that in Finland people tell me “You look scary, are you planning to kill us, you always look so angry and negative.” What should I think about all this?
I am a person who is annoyed all the time, or at least I thought that I am. But here I’m not upset, of course, sometimes, but rarely. I do not know whether it is the pleasure and the positivity because of the sun or the heavenly beautiful ocean or the people that are living here. They always smile and are sincere. I feel mentally better here than ever before, and here I can be completely myself. In Finland I usually cannot be. Finnish people are so condemning and negative. Of course not all but 80%. I am afraid of the moment when I have to share the hate. Depression will probably be total. But the joy is that I’m graduating from the school and with good results.
And now I can say that, after all, it’s time to be proud of myself when I started planning a job abroad I was thinking that I would be with my backpack in the airport saying “I could have enjoyed being here”. Well, we know it never happened. Work and break have done good to me, it has all been worth it. I was thinking I could never arrange this all by myself, the school would have needed to help me finding a job and a place to live but I organized everything by myself. Maybe I’m not totally jerk! The school had limited this international training period to take place in Europe, but it seems that I could present things right since I ended up in the Caribbean instead of Spain. I love working with the sea, it calms me and the sea inspires me and gives me energy and its colour shakes my soul.
I’ve learned a lot and got to know the cultural differences which are huge. I could almost say that this is exactly the opposite to Finland. Not just in terms of weather but ALL. In many cases, I have been confused here; is this how things are going and no one has to address them. It has been said to me several times that you are coming from the most accurate rules country in the world. And now I really see it. Of course in Finland things are better not to argue, but if you love nature and independence this is a paradise. <3
Marketing has been my work here and I have learned a lot. Of course, something I already knew, but I can say that here I have truly learned so thanks to Sari and the school headmaster, this has been a useful journey, instructive and given me a lot. And I promised you when I left that I create: INTERNATIONAL connection and I feel that I have managed to do it.
On the first working day I started looking for business partners and got many companies to work with us and yesterday it was the first fruit I sold a paradise island package to two Finns. My boss was so proud of me, and maybe I could be as well. Great! Life is wonderful. Life would be magnificent if I got my babies (=my dogs) here, but somehow one day 😉 I don’t want go back home anymore.
Yesterday, I again went to get Finland deeper into the Caribbean map. I tell you, here baseball is a BIG THING. In every professional team there are at least two Dominican players which means that baseball is taken here seriously. Yesterday I went to watch the game in the evening and it was awesome, it felt the same as watching sm-league ice hockey in Finland. There were awesome vibes and I enjoyed with full breasts. I was laughing and dancing and so were some of the players. When one game ended, the teams caught me and started taking pictures of me. I was wondering what the hell is going on. Each team in turn photographed me, what the fuck? Now, at least Finnish Annika has been with the baseball teams in the pictures, I was not really excited about it, but I was trying to be polite.
In the morning, one or two of the gues came to talk to me about how I inspired them and how they got good energy of me. I asked them why the teams wanted to take pictures of me because it looked like a hell of a shit. They said they wanted to show everyone how wonderful and awesome I am. I’m still a little confused about all this. But I’m happy if I’m able to inspire people. However, I do not want celebrity, even though it has already been said that I’m a celebrity here. I’m wordless, but I am a person who also requires own privacy. Yet, to be able to inspire people is quite intriguing, right?
xoxo<3 Caribbean lover <3
13.3.2018
Happy greetings for my beloved!!
Happy but very tired! My father came here on vacation last Thursday, I am very happy about that 😊 I only have time to see dad in the evenings. Dad visited my workplace and liked it a lot and praised the beauty. Today I have a day off and I’ll go surfing in the morning and after that I hang out with my dad. Next week we are going to some excursion on my free day with dad.
I’ve been dead tired this week, and I don’t understand why. Perhaps because it has started to be much warmer than before or maybe because I get up in the morning at five that I have time to surf before going to work. I wake up in the morning, I go surfing before going to work and I am working from 10 am to 6 pm, then run home to take a shower and after that I go to meet my father. I get home after 9 pm, after which I write a blog or I do another school work. At least I cannot complain that I didn’t have anything to do and my life would be boring…
Have dreams come true or are they going to be implemented?
I have taken a huge step to make my dreams come true. A year ago I wouldn’t have imagined how life could be. I never dreamed of a dream come true. But if you work hard enough you can make things happen. And I’m willing to do that. The first dream was to get to the Caribbean which was accomplished in December. Another dream I realized was that I can work abroad.
You see two dreams already realized, incredible!!
Yesterday something really strange happened, can you imagine?
I was working normally and heard when someone asked “Is Annika here?”. I wondered what the hell is THAT who is asking me here? I was wondering in my head what bad have I done this time!? I was afraid that the guy was a police or something. I encouraged myself to shake his hand, and I proudly said I’m Annika is everything all right?
The man said yes everything is fine and asked if I have a moment. I said yes yes, how can I help you. I talked so long and he came to offer me a job if I just wanted it, can you imagine? I am still amazed that he came all the way to my workplace to ask if I was interested on the job and yet on the other side of the world where I come from. If this took place in Finland EVEN I would have some doubts, but here in the Caribbean I’m in shock. How can these people know or know me here already? I’ve already been offered two working places here but I’m currently working on the dare2fly and Vitamin D and I will not take any other offer. I’m working here now and then looking at what the future will bring when I need to leave Dare2fly and Vitamin D. I enjoy this job very much and I like my colleagues.
And the most wonderful thing here is that my boss is a wonderful dog, Twiggy. Twiggy helps me when I miss my own babies who are now with their grandmother at home. Oh how much I miss them, but fortunately my workplace has dogs and their presence calms me. Also my boss manager Camilla has a dog Elenor who is a little snooped poodle.
Beloved greetings to everyone and do not break the spring into depression as it feels like many of my friends in Finland are going through. The point is to enjoy summer and brightness.
what do you want from your life??
<3<3