Typically Finnish: Coffee and the Blues

Just back from a trip to Vaasa in Western Finland to visit my other aunt and my amazing cousins. My two aunts are so different and each so very delightful and full of good cheer and loving kindness. One aunt is in her early eighties, is a world traveler (trips to Estonia and Egypt planned before the year is out), is adorned with the coolest designer glasses (Dior), has a rather new computer hooked up to the internet (hence my ability to keep blogging) and still speeds around town in her sporty little red Renault. My other aunt is Finnish-Swedish, has deep blue eyes and is a mother of four, grandmother to eight and great grandmother to two! She confessed that she doesn't care much for travel, tends to like classical Scandinavian culture and has a home adorned with antiques, family heirlooms and Finnish glass and crystal items.
She emanates grandmotherly love, warmth and always has some kind of good food available to urge you to be eating--potato and vegetable casseroles for example (just like my mother used to make).



Which brings me to this post's installment on Finnish cuisine. I will surely have put on a lot of weight by the end of this two weeks what with all the mandatory afternoon Finnish coffee and cakes that I am served when visiting each new family member and friend. Finnish coffee is certainly a cultural institution.









But I was mentioning my trip to Vaasa. I got to meet three of my cousins. How I admire and adore each one of them. It is quite sad that I have been so out of touch, but on the other hand it has been SUCH fun to discover so many new things about my family and learn more about Finland in the process. There are large groups of Swedish minorities in Western Finland and my cousins are half Swedish-Finnish and half Finnish so they are all fluent in Swedish as well as Finnish-- and English for that matter. They all went to Swedish schools and even Swedish university--all in Finland. Much to be researched there by those interested in bilingualism and language and education. So I have some relationship to Sweden too it seems :-)


All three cousins have lovely families and they are all working on gradually completing the construction on new houses.
One cousin has an important position in the municipal government of Vaasa working for the mayor. Another is a music composer, lyricist, guitarist and vocalist in a Finnish blues band! Hard rock and the blues are very popular in Finland I hear. I love to hear my cousin talk about his passion for the blues and how African Americans in the southern US have somehow been able to speak to his heart and soul and express his feelings with such beauty, shape and form. Through the blues this tall Scandinavian man has found a language to express his own emotions and find solace and comfort as he confronts life's inevitable tests and trials. He is a walking encylopaedia on all things American blues. I just find it so touching and beautiful and intriguing. And he is a very good musician indeed. I am so hoping one day he will be able to visit the US and take me on a tour of Mississippi. I was fortunate enough to be able to go and watch him and his band--The Cotton Blues-- playing in downtown Vaasa. Here is a video (not sure if this an original composition or not but much of what they play is.)



He is also a music therapist in his day job where he uses music to work with mostly young people with severe psychological challenges such as autism and other troubles. Music therapy is a cutting edge field and he is continuing his studies at the best program in the world at the university at Oulu.


His beautiful daughter is also a fan of American musical culture--Elvis to be specific :-)




It was also such a delight to meet my cousin Tuija who is also a psychologist. On our visit to her we dined on the freshest salad I may have ever tasted (salad is NOT traditional Finnish fare) and a couple of different kinds of Finnish cheeses and fish pie and ice cream. I did not have a chance to meet her husband and son as they were on their annual summer fishing trip to Inari, in the far north of Finland near the arctic circle in Lapland where the Sami people have traditionally farmed reindeer and that is the legendary home of Santa Claus. This is the place where you can really experience the midnight sun and truly pristine forests, lakes and rivers. Sigh... I will have to make it up there one day in summer or winter. So much left of this beautiful country to see and explore.