In English ....and in Finnish?

I got asked on Facebook if I'm really a Finn and could I maybe write in Finnish as well.
So here's the answer:

1. I am a Finn, but only half so, my other half, from dad's side, is from Switzerland, you know the country with the national votes, the mountains and the chocolate. I'm at heart Swiss, rather than Finnish, but let's not get into that now.

2. I write in English because I'm so used to using English in everyday life since many many years now. I think in English so why not write in it? However, I can write Finnish and if it makes you guys happy, I can add a little something in Finnish after every post. I won't write the entire post in Finnish as well, because the sheer workload would make me want to kill myself, not quite literally, so yeah...
I grew up with two languages, Finnish and Swiss German. I can speak five languages. I can write in any of them, though my written High German ssuuuucccks.

Sain kysymyksen Facessa, että voisinko kirjoittaa postaukseni myös suomeksi, koska kaikki eivät osaa englantia niin hyvin. Tottakai voin, mutta en aio kirjoittaa kaikkia postauksiani läpi myös suomeksi, koska se on kauhea määrä työtä ja koska ajattelen sekä kirjoitan luonnollisemmin englanniksi kuin suomeksi (vaikka se äidinkieleni onkin) niin en aio muuttaa tätä tapaa kokonaan. Minulta myös kysyttiin syntyperästäni ja siihenkin on yksinkertainen vastaus - minulla kaksoiskansalaisuus Suomen ja Sveitsin kanssa. Olen isän puolelta puoleksi sveitsiläinen ja sydän onkin sielläpäin vaikka koti täällä Suomessa onkin. 

Ilari Lehtinen

All photos from Tumblr

Learning Sami

Today was my quick and intensive course in Sami, or more like general Sami or Northern Sami (most spoken today), as there are ten different types of Sami and all are different enough from each other not to be understood by other Sami speakers and there are also various regional dialects inside those ten different Sami. But I've wanted to learn the language (Northern Sami) ever since I was little but much more so after I stumbled across  the music of a certain Norwegian Sami singer - Mari Boine.

Sami are the indigenous people of Northern Europe, most likely descending from tribes from Russia. They've been, as many indigenous people, oppressed, used and denied rights, but have now finally received acknowledgement. They are allowed to teach in Sami and learn Sami and speak Sami and live their lives as Sami (some are still reindeer herders) and practice their own beliefs if they still believe in the old religion (which today isn't very prevalent at all).

Mari Boine, Norwegian Sami

If you're interested in learning Sami there is a great website to help with that. They also have exercises and listening practice. You can find them here: http://kursa.oahpa.no/2012/02/03/1-1-buorre-beaivi-hu/

All photos from Tumblr.