Monday, September 28

Today I went to Arcada, primarily for a meeting that, in the end, did not happen.

The pandemic rules have changed again because the government has deemed that the epidemic in Helsinki has entered “an acceleration phase”. I therefore wore my mask from start to finish and kept it in when I walked around Arcada’s building. I noticed that some people even kept their’s on when they sat in rooms alone working. I decided not to go that far.

In the afternoon I spoke with both Mark and Luke on Zoom. Both, in their own ways, seemed jolly and on top of things. Mark has recovered well and, his long quarantine hair aside, seems back to normal.

My Finnish test takes place at the end of this week, and I need it for my application for Finnish citizenship. I have spent the last 74 days learning Finnish with Duolingo, while reading various other books and apps. I have now added a final spurt in which Irma gives me written tests every day, and I spend time transcribing useful phrases and words into a notebook.

For this task I have abandoned the digital and gone with a ballpoint pen and an A5 notebook. The process of writing and rewriting seems part of the learning activity.

While I pause with my wrist aching from this unusual activity I look at the front of an old wine box on the desk. I then get up and photograph it.