As I move back and forth from Vietnam to Finland, to some European countries, and now I am staying in Latvia for 3 months, sometimes a question arose in my mind – “What is the difference between Asian and Europe?!”. Immediately, I was stumped myself for a right answer 😛 To be honest, I did not know a whole lot about Western world, so instead of comparison, I will tell you something I love the most about Europe and what I miss the most about my home country. Living in Europe really turns on my travelling passion. Not only does Schengen Visa allow me to travel easily from one country to another, but also the convenience of transportation facilitates me to take tours around Europe. Indeed, I am so fascinated with the ferries to Tallinn or Stockholm from Finland. Not to mention my university and Erasmus program that support me to easily travel within Europe through internships or study-exchange. As soon as I started my life in Europe, I freakishly felt in love with the freezing weather and frost-coated landscape in the winter. My first snow day really got me gaping: “Aha, snowflakes are like soap bubbles” 🙂 I was super excited since seeing snow used to be my childhood dream. Over the cold season, I also enjoy some winter activities such as sauna, snowman building and adventures on the lake when the degree in Finland is below -20. Those are things I had never experienced in my tropical country.
My first winter
I was even more surprised when the autumn came. In Vietnam we only have 2 seasons: the dry and the rainy. That’s why the colorful and romantic autumn makes me love Europe way more 🙂
me sitting on a carpet of autumn leaves
What else I love about Europe?! Absolutely it is the feeling when Christmas is near. In Vietnam we have neither family-gathering time nor special foods at Christmas since the event is considered as a little exchange of Western culture. When living in Europe, I can fully sense the Christmas spirit everywhere: festive atmosphere, colorful wrapped presents, beautifully decorated trees and the glittering candle lights from every window. My Christmas favorite? Ginger cookies and mulled wine, definitely. Another thing I’d love to do is opening each tiny surprise day by day in the advent calendar, which much heightens my excitement for Christmas 🙂
This is my advent calendar
And now I only have 1 week left in Riga 😦 I should have decided to ask for 5 month-internship from the beginning. 3 months suddenly became too short. Plan for this week must be full of Riga attractions and Lavian foods.
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