All the sugar, none of the sweetness.
When Smallsteps went to the movies the other day, she and her friend each chose some candy to take in with them. Smallsteps had gone a step ahead when the friend's mother said to her daughter she could choose 15 pieces, and we hadn't said anything to Smallsteps at all. It hadn't even crossed our minds, as we have never had to say anything like that. Sometimes, I have convinced her to take a few extra than she has, just in case.
She doesn't have her father's sweet teeth.
Oh, and the opening line? It is because Finns seem to love salty and sour candy, that is packed with all the same sugars, but has additives to destroy any sweetness and instead make it into a savoury meal. Okay, I might be exaggerating a little, as I like some sour sweets too, but the sheer number of lip-pursing "sweets" here is mindboggling. In my opinion, if you are in the mood for something sugary, make sure it is sweet.
Tonight, I am going to try and get into bed early and cross my fingers that I will fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. For the first time in a long while, I will be taking an early train out to a customer premises in another city, and due to the location and timetables, I might not be able to get a seat home until later in the evening. Looks like it is going to be a long day, on minimal sleep, but I am kind of looking forward to it.
I used to make this trip years ago a couple times a month, but the timetable was a little better then. What I like about the trip though is that it gives me a chance to write on the train, and I used to have a "series" that started with an article while on the trip there, sometimes one from lunch, and then another as I was waiting in the only place open while I waited a couple hours for the train - a fast food place. But I just checked the map, and it isn't there anymore - what am I going to do, and rain is forecast!
Sit around on the street under a shelter like a homeless person.
I always like writing in different locations, because my mind goes into different spaces when I change the scenery. I am not the only one of course, and when I was teaching business English way back in the day, as the spring came I would get my clients out of the classroom and into the park across the road for a walk and sit on a park bench to talk. Once out in nature, the conversations become more personal and reflective, and I got to know the clients much better. And this was the case with group classes too, where once outside the confines of the four walls, whatever hierarchy might have existed mostly dropped away and everyone became human again - instead of their business role.
Not that it is always possible to get out of the building, as it won't be at the location I am at tomorrow, but changing that scenery helps. So what I try to do in many of my sessions is to help the conversation paint a picture that is a bit more personal, in the hope that they will open up more. This is is easier in English for them, because it isn't their first (and usually not second either) language, which means that they don't have the emotive baggage attached to the words. It allows them to speak more freely, because there isn't the same warning filter on that usually would stop them from sharing.
Plus, I am a foreign stranger.
A bit like a bartender or hairdresser, where people feel comfortable sharing parts of their lives with me, because I am not in their immediate circle. And, because people often feel restricted in what they say these days, or that they don't have many people close to talk with, or they are just lonely, many really get into the conversation and it becomes a cathartic process, much like my writing. It is because of this that I am able to get so many interesting stories that I can work around in my head to explore further in my own articles. So yeah, a long day ahead, but hopefully it will be a rewarding one, where there is lots to make me think, coming from people who are professionals in their field, and each can be quite different in their personal lives.
I think it helps them too.
Especially since like the selection of candy in Finland, not all the stories are sweet.
Taraz
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