Connecting Past with Present

Huomautus Susi:
Vickie käyttää paljon amerikan slangia. Ei käännä hyvin Google. Virpi ja Salla lukea Englanti? Joten Hannu ymmärtää?

Yes, I am still in my non-descript dark cave in my undisclosed forest in Finn-ville, Finn-fornia, Finn-merica.  

      For the first time ever I am enclosing a photo of my cave. Only Hannu and Simo know where it is......it's a hard climb to get to the entrance but think of how safe I am!

Reasons to read my blog:
I laugh at my own jokes so you don’t have to. Sometimes I think that things are best left unsaid but my brain to mouth filter has never worked right.  People are lucky they can’t hear what I’m thinking while I'm writing. Well, actually I don’t think as I write. I like to be just as surprised as everyone else by what comes out of my mouth.  I’m just like everyone else, after all,  I put my straight jacket on one buckle at a time.

April was a great month for me!

Hannu Susi and myself - 2nd cousins who grew up 5000+ miles and oceans apart met for the first time. Second cousins - that is grandchildren of your own grandparent's siblings. My cousin, Hannu, owns and lives on the very same property that my Grandmother Hilda lived on in Ikaalinen, Finland.  The very place she had resided until she married my Grandfather, August, who came from Kuru, Finland. She was born and raised there, walked the very same ground, swam in the very same lake. Unfortunately for me I never got to meet the Grandparents who are responsible for my "Finnishness" as Hilda died in 1934 and August died in 1947, before I was born. 

I will never forget how my father spoke of them as I was growing up. With such love and respect. He would smile that little Finnish smile of his when he spoke of them. He would often  say words in Finnish, in such a low whisper, that I knew in my heart he was expressing his love to them, or how much he missed them. Words that only they could hear. My father did not display emotions often. He was a pretty stoic man, as I am a pretty stoic woman at times. My father taught me by example very early on that showing anger, passion or emotion suggest you’re not in control. My father didn't often raise his voice. This by no means I am suggesting Finns to be gentle people. Gentle people don’t play ice hockey. Hard sport. He believed if you raised your voice, you would immediately lose authority and credibility.  If you lost respect you lost the argument. My Dad was not a big talker either.  He didn't bore you with bull shit talk.   When he did talk, I would pay attention because he would choose his words very carefully, and what he did say was incredibly loaded. He would mean absolutely every word he said. A different word here or there would be very significant. I was quick to learn to listen very carefully and try to pick up on any possible subtleties or nuances.   You need to pay attention. If they, the Finns, say someone is sick, they are probably dying.  In general I have found that Finns do not enter into conversation with strangers, their  words are chosen very  carefully and small talk is really considered suspect. "Sacred silence" has meaning, it really does. 

I love Hannu's last name. Susi. Switch those letters around and it spells Sisu also. Anyone who knows me knows what Sisu is. I think I refer to it often enough that my friends  googled the word just to find out what the hell it means. Here's a quick defintion:
Sisu is a Finnish term that combines inner strength, determination, perseverance in the face of adversity, and a strong work ethic. There is really no direct English translation, as it isn't in the English language. It is strictly a Finnish word, but the concept can be somewhat expressed as “being tough as nails”, “hard-nosed”, or "stubborn ass".  I particularly like "stubborn-ass" because I have heard friends, family, co-workers, and even bosses call me that all the time. That is giving me one of the best compliments you could possible give me - so kiitos for that.  Sisu is a necessary thing for the Finns. They live in a cold northern land, sliced by thousands of beautiful yet cold lakes, and long under threat of being overwhelmed, militarily, linguistically and otherwise, by more powerful (asshole) neighbors. From the Middle Ages until the 20th century, my grandparents homeland was occupied by Sweden and Russia. This is why my grandfather and his family left. They were not going to be "Russified".  "Swedes no more, Russians we will never be, Finns we will always be." 

 
The only problem I have ever had with my Finnish identity is that sometimes I cannot control my laughing. Finns laughing out loud isn't very common. I laugh out loud often. I can't help myself. I suppose it is the Irish/Welsh blood in me? 

Hannu is the grandson of my Grandmother's younger brother Arvid. "I'm coming to California and I want to meet you," he announced in an email. No need to ask me twice, we immediately set about making plans to meet. He  would be traveling along with two friends, Simo and Jaakko.  How cool is that? I thought. I have always had a long held desire to be able to make 'in-person' contact with my kin in Finland and it finally reached a point to "do something about it".  I was a little nervous about the language issue.  It turns out I was worried for no reason. Neither one of us had to speak the others language in order to communicate and enjoy ourselves.

I have had years and years of written contact with my 3rd cousin, Margit, but never have met anyone from Finland in person. (Well, besides one of my father's brother's who was  born in Finland ) The key player in this drama was  Margit Lumia, a gifted genealogist who helped me piece together my Järvinen and Muurasniemi ancestry, many years ago. This ultimately lead me to discover that I actually have more relatives in Finland then I do in the United States. I became hooked on genealogy - it’s like an addiction. I had became a “genealogical obsessive.”  People are fascinated with who they are, they want to know where they came from.  I had corresponded with another cousin, Kosti,  (1st cousin 1x removed)  who actually fought in Finland's Winter Wars (to get independence from Russia)  and even though he recently passed away  I will cherish his letters with all of my heart and will always regret never having met him in person. 

It was the first time I’ve met Hannu in real life, though we’ve chatted via email numerous times.  Being from Finland, he seemed pretty damn cool, as did his friend, Simo. Jaakko didn't come to my house, he was participating in a parachuting competition in Lodi.
Hannu  entered my heart immediately. I had one of those inexplicable moments where I felt I had known him always, forever.  Two cousins from different parts of the world but connected by a blood-line -  forming a new bond. I felt an immediate chemistry with Hannu,  there was no denying the blood in our gene-pool. He was my cousin, a  family member who flew across countries and oceans and then drove across the State of California  to reach my place in order to meet me. I am a  family member from that family tree that had branched itself out to plant the Järvinen orchard in a far-away land. His car trip to reach my place had been only a 3 hour drive, but think about it - his journey spanned several generations and traversed  countries and oceans.
He'd found a home in a foreign country, my home.  Cousins meeting for the first time, yet still bound together and both of us feeling deeply connected. More than we'd ever expected, this family connection carried us along, almost like a magic carpet ride, to a most wonderful experience and gave both of us the gift of new familial ties. Could this really  be happening? So surreal were the occurrences of this "cousins meeting for the first time"  that it still seems dream-like.

Simo and Hannu

Me and Hannu

When I first saw Hannu, I recognized him immediately from the family resemblance. It was amazing, it was extraordinary. He reminded me of one of my father's brothers when he was at Hannu's age. Hannu's wife, Virpi, remarked  that she could see a resemblance between Hannu and I when we would Skype together, Hannu and I sitting side by side. She said we had the same sense of humor. That was very evident when we attended a classic car show during his visit and we did the exact same thing and said the exact same thing at the exact same moment, and then we both looked at one another and laughed. You don't need to know the other person's language to communicate. We did just fine.
But if we did speak each others language, just imagine the stories we might well have had which would have  added  to our understanding of those now long-departed family members. I did not speak Finnish and Hannu did not speak English, yet we survived. We had the assistance of Google Translate and also the assistance of his wife and daughter translating through Skype (both women being so genuinely awesome) We also effectively used body language to the best of our abilities. 

We said our goodbyes - promising to stay in touch, issuing invitations to one another, and I felt sadness when Hannu and Simo drove away. And so there I was, walking back to my house in quiet reflection, looking at the vastness of my beautiful blue northern California cloudless sky, simply amazed at the beauty of where I live and the happiness this last weekend had brought me. Yet - longing to visit Finland. Longing to meet as many of my Finnish cousins as I can. Longing to return to my grandparents homeland, their birth homes.  I am not ashamed to admit I had a tear in my eye and that despite our language obstacles I did not want Hannu to leave for fear we may never meet again. A couple days visit was not long enough.
Almost immediately after Hannu and Simo left here, I began searching for good airfares to Finland for me to go visit and meet the rest of the family. One of the motivations for me going to Finland is for me to learn more about my heritage, to retrace my ancestor’s footsteps. Hopefully I will be able to make the trip. I don't know, finances may be the biggest obstacle. The only obstacle actually.  It would be a very long journey - flight-wise. I'm not the best flyer in the world, but I do admit I have gotten better over the past few years with a lot of trips to Washington State. I certainly feel a lot more comfortable about going now that I have met Hannu and  his wife and daughter. I could finally meet Margit, her son Ville and her parents. Meet ALL of my family. There would be so many  places I would love to visit.  Ikaalinen being the foremost, Helsinki, and then Kuru, my grandfather's birthplace. The castles. The last glimpse of Finland when they sailed away. The graveyards. And of course sauna and swim in the lake my grandmother swam in. There's an inside joke between Hannu and I.......so maybe I should just say "walk into the same lake with my leather boots on".  While Hannu, Simo and I were at Lassen Volcanic Park I had wanted a better view of the mountain.  A tree was in the way. I walked into the lake water with my leather boots on -  but I got the photo I wanted. I do believe that Hannu and Simo think I am one "crazy Finn".   I am a true believer in "Don't let little things stand in your way".   

 Getting a little wet for this photo was worth it!

                                                                     
So many relatives in Finland, so little time.  I'd feel like a true Finn if I could sleep under bright lights (Midsummer) after downing  seven to nine cups of coffee and three or four desserts. Time to prepare myself, with the first step being able to  drink plenty of coffee. The Finns lead the world in coffee consumption, averaging numerous cups per person per day, and decaffeinated is probably a sin to the coffee gods.  I will  also need to eat baked goods, because the Finns enjoy their sweets. No problem there!
 
I would love to see the Seitseminen National Park, Ikaalinen Church (where my grandparents married), the Mannerheim Museum, the Häme Castle, the Fortress of Suomenlinna. Many places would be too far away.  I would be just as happy to  sit in a chair looking out at the lake my Grandmother viewed every day. I could sit there and imagine my grandfather August coming through the forest, to the property where the love of his life lived. 

I could envision my grandmother looking outside a window anxiously awaiting his arrival. I could breathe in the clean Finnish air and maybe all those stories my father told me about his parents would magically come to life.

I wish to meet as many of my relatives as possible. Share some Salmiakki????
For weeks afterwards Hannu and Simo's Finnish conversations echoed in my ears. I would find myself smiling. It would warm my heart just remembering what the three of us did, where we went - everything. His trip to visit and meet me was truly a gift from the Finnish God's themselves. It was amazing, the whole thing, absolutely amazing.  A once in a lifetime opportunity I will never forget. 



Before I go I thought of something that may be fun. It's almost County Fair time! My suggestion is that next time you go on a roller coaster, take some spare bolts with you and tell the person in front of you “Dude, these just came out of your…
 

Ending my blog as always, with my usual joke  -

Obama
 
He is destroying the "American Dream" by turning a once free country into a socialist nightmare

P.S. And this is for you Hannu, Jaakko and Simo

Suomen mafian tulee Kaliforniaan