FLASHBACK #7: Christmas 2001 in England

Less than two months since moving to Finland, I found myself back in the UK, celebrating Christmas with my family. It was a very low-key - the family gathered on Christmas Day for the usual present-opening frenzy. Later came Christmas Dinner, followed by a rummage through the TV Guides to see what the TV stations had planned for this year’s festivities. At the end of the day, stuffed with food, we said our goodbyes and slept soundly in our own beds. I stayed with the younger of my two sisters during the Christmas break.

Fortunately, my boss had granted me permission to work remotely meaning that I could access the necessary office functions by connecting my company's laptop to the company's mobile phone, enabling me to my job from a distance. I was amazed by the technology - until now, I hadn’t used remote technologies and, believe it or not, I thought it was the stuff reserved for the use of those on Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

The Christmas week came and went very quickly and, on New Years Eve, we gathered at my parent's place to see in the New Year; there were my parents, my grandmother, my two sisters and my brother in-law. Every year was the same; I don’t know if it was just me, but at Christmastime you get this massive sense of déjà vu – the same things are done year after year after year after year after year...

Stupidly, part of me had thought that maybe this Christmas would be different, having been away for a period of time. Truth be told, the visit back home helped me to put my dissatisfaction with Finland into perspective – I realised that I would be no happier in the UK than in Finland. I returned to Finland on January 2nd, 2002, with a determination to spice up my life.