Bonus: Unlike Many Languages, Finnish Has Names For Eight Points Of The Compass Instead Of Four. So Between

Bonus: unlike many languages, Finnish has names for eight points of the compass instead of four. So between cardinal directions (pääilmansuunnat) we call ordinal directions (väli-ilmansuunnat) NE, SE, SW & NW by their very own words.

'Ilma' means 'air' and 'suunta' is 'direction', so literally these are called 'air/wind directions', or 'directions of (the) air'

Some days I will look into the mirror and see a stranger. Or looking back at me might be someone I've been searching desperately on another day, yet now grieve to see. It is not that I'm a stranger to myself, my soul I know, but these expressions, they don't belong on a face I'd read as mine. This form betrays me. These feet can't carry, and this voice can't say.. it frustrates me. And I search. I run these fingertips across it, sometimes enjoying bits of it, sometimes wondering if there's somehow I might mold it to better fit. But the truth is there's nothing much wrong with the body. I might admire it even, were I not trapped in it. But it doesn't feel like it should belong to me, doesn't feel right on me.

People point out the dreadful John/Joan case, (dr. Money did do useful research in his time too, but, ew) and somehow frame it as evidence against trans people. Absurd, since the results are actually proof, that neither sex & biological factors, nor the environment (upbringing, social roles etc.) affect our gender -just the extend to which we're comfortable expressing & discussing it. Poor David was a boy. He didn't turn into a girl, despite the sex reassignment surgeries, and being shoved into the feminine mold by his social surroundings. Which made him extremely uncomfortable. (I won't go into details, the life of the Reimer twins was a tragedy, but do read up, if you're interested.)

I've heard some extreme people claim we're 'making people (think they're) trans', or encouraging children to have surgery. I've never heard this happen, but it exists in these people's minds. I would agree; it's a terrible idea to actively try & change someone's gender experience. We shouldn't be messing with children's healthy genitals. No one should be forced to abide by gender roles. Thing is, that's exactly what the world is currently doing to many trans & intersex (as well as cis) kids. I wish the general public would understand how crucial this is.

He sat at the end of the table in a high chair looking awfully sad. His eyes were gleaming, but he didn't cry, only looked without seeing. He trembled ever so slightly, when I put my hand on his. When no one said anything for a long time, finally I took a seat to his left and poured us both some tea. It smelled mild, swirled with dark herbs, like the brew itself were also sad. Everything looked delicious, but in the end no one had a bite.

After everyone had left, when I'd gathered the dishes and was blowing out the candles, he spoke. Though his voice was quiet as the rustling wind, it startled me. 'I should have noticed' he said. I blinked. A million things rushed through my mind. All wrong things to say. 'I should have noticed, Alice' he repeated, raising his eyes to look at me. He was at the brink of shattering. Suddenly he stood, whisked everything in arms reach off the table, and fell back again. Then, after being closed off for so long, he could finally cry. 'We could have..' His voice broke. The shatters of porcelain crunched under my step. I knelt. I took his hands, and kissed them, but I felt empty.

In the woods near our house everything grows in circles. There's tall trees, but no leaves on the moss and the stars cast shadows like it's daytime. I made a soup one time of the mushrooms I found in each corner of the wood. White mushrooms, with wide hats, that taste like honey and cotton sugar. The recipe was for a soup, everyone had it at my birthday party, but it was titled 'making a savior' and it's a little strange I can't seem to find my way out of our yard, where the people don't look like my friends at all..

Pronouns 101

Finnish personal- & demonstrative pronouns Subject on the left, possessive on the right

English personal pronouns (Reflexive pronouns are a whole thing. More on that later..)

Idk what type of pronoun 'it' is, officially, but it felt natural to include here

English demonstrative pronouns. Nice and simple

I'm no expert on linguistic terms. I'm just here as a bilingual, introducing people to Finnish due to popular demand. Please don't butcher me