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Dear London,

What Kajsa loves about you/the UK/England

Warm to a rainy mild weather, service economy, shops, music and culture (plays, theatre, radio), languages, history, experiences like gardens, planetariums, aquariums, sets of famous movies, scandalous newspapers, libraries and books, walking to places, driving on the left, being surrounded by sea, carpet floors, British chocolate, women's magazines, RSPCA, NHS, self-checkouts, no monopoly on alcohol products, school uniforms, bad coffee replaced by strong tea, well what I usually like but, just with flair… savoury flavourful cuisine and most things have already made their way to Finland. Pre-packaged salads, triangular sandwiches etc ready-to-go food, my first Teriyaki chicken sub, British chocolate, Tesco partnership with S group, and more.

You might’ve guessed the best year of my life was spent in England in 2006. I am always in awe of you, but I have to pretend you are not to be gaped at, of your historical grandeur. I reminisce about my travels and keep my souvenirs. Exhibit about the exhibition that does not exist. What was before London? I always wanted my foreign language to be easy to learn, never forgetting new words. The words I learned from books and TV. “My name is” can be intuitively learnt. Parrot, volcano, duck after duck in a Where’s the duck. I bought a book about Tigger so I could read it when my English was good enough. When I found the book again it was too easy of a read.

A whole life can stretch between the limits of the area where you live. Don’t judge London by its jellied eels. Take a lot of pictures, even if you help train AI when you share your everyday photography. Progress goes on in the tech world, politics, medicine and equality – even if we all decide to opt-out of being decent sacks of skin. I learned cunt and crazy aren’t offensive words. I learned not to get offended. I’d never get lost in London. The underground map makes too much damn sense. You make other people's lives easier by choosing to exist politely and with humour, think of others, queue, chat with the person on the bus. It’s lively and lovely and makes lasting connections, or acquaintances who make life worth bumming around in London.
Keep calm and mind things. Teach your nursery rhymes and don’t fall down like London Bridge. Act like Shakespeare and make eloquent rhetorical written or verbal accidents. Mean something like the Romans did when they built you on. This place is an icon, a brand. I’d love to learn how everything makes sense, with a bell tolling in the distance. I miss your city life and forever Londoner climate. Always looking with hope for my own gentleman still, to leave me in my secluded homeland during war unscathed.

Not senile yet but perhaps a bit nostalgic

To an Old Friend

I don't expect you to ever read this. The internet is vast, people change names, email addresses disappear, and it's been a long time.
But if, by some impossible coincidence, you do... I've wondered? How you've been.
I still remember my exchange year in England. Lessons, breaks, getting coffees. Me being a weirdo and adding sugar in my cola. Going to see Brokeback Mountain I barely actually saw anything. I left, we wrote letters, exchanged parcels, and sent emails that have probably long since vanished into whatever digital archaeology aol.co.uk has.
We met again in London years later. Then we met once more when I was in London. And then life happened.
I've spent a long time thinking about our friendship. It wasn't perfect. I know I could be awkward. I remember things you said that made me realise I sometimes made you uncomfortable. I've thought about that more than you probably know.
What I remember most, though, is that despite those moments, you still chose to stay in touch for years afterward. That means something to me.
I don't know where life took you. I remember you talking about archaeology in Uni. I remember the Isle of Wight. I remember your sense of humour, our conversations, and a chapter of my life that has never really disappeared, even if the people in it have.
This isn't an attempt to invade your privacy or drag the past back into the present.
It's simply gratitude. Thank you for being part of my life when we were young enough to believe friendships could survive on stamps, envelopes, and the occasional email.
If you're happy, that's all I could really hope for.
And if, by some extraordinary accident, you happen to recognise yourself in this post and would like to say hello, you know where to find me. If not, then I hope life has been kind to you.
Some people only walk beside us for a little while.That doesn't make the journey any less real.
Quotes from you: "Some day I'm afraid you'll start quoting me." -Nemo
We talked about love. I think you said it was obsession, lust, and paranoia. On my last evening in England, you offered me beverages and strawberries with heavy whipped cream. I'm sorry your mum passed and you sold the house. It was lucky you received my card I was coming to London. Now I'd have no way to contact you. Unless you still use that email.
I know you can't pronounce my blog's name "kitujainen" and it doesn't even mean anything: I was just playing with anagrams.
I know you also know I had Twitter, cause you said reading tweets about being on a stationary bike. Rebundant, I know. I only have one picture of you, and you told me off for taking that so you did notice.
I really did want to come to your wedding if you ever had one. It was up there on my dreams with getting a dog if I quit smoking. I have of course quit now and started seeing some IoW content on TikTok and never really quit trying to learn English better. I'm an amateur, I never got to study languages in Uni.
Thanks for telling me crazy doesn't have a negative meaning in English. I'm not insane even if I feel weird or strangely embarrassing or difficult at times. I like puns and call-back humour for example or so I heard. I appreciate your friendship forever. Cannot thank enough. Curious whatever happened to you. Hoping it wasn't my fault that we lost touch. I am not really close to anyone. You met my best friend from Finland. Her family owns this flat. Sent you an email tonight about having to move. Them old nightmares, getting therapy.
I have to move though. Lots of crap to go through. You still wear leather jackets?