Discovering London: The Notting Hill Carnival 2019

Warm sunshine, hot beats and cool people: that’s our Notting Hill Carnival 2019 in a nutshell. This past weekend marked the 4th time we’ve participated in the world-famous festival of Caribbean culture, and we had a blast. And yet, while dancing on the streets and admiring the passing sound systems, the social scientist in me… Continue reading Discovering London: The Notting Hill Carnival 2019

The best books I’ve read in recent years

Reading has been one of my favourite hobbies since I was six years old. Back then, I never had any problems finding interesting, entertaining and educating books: my mum would pick them up for me, everything from classics to nonfiction to good-quality children’s reads. All I had to do was enjoy them (and make notes… Continue reading The best books I’ve read in recent years

Monthly Roundup: January 2018

I’m sitting on a park bench. It’s 4pm and sun has just set behind the hills of San Francisco, yet it’s still warm enough for me to chill outside wearing nothing but a short summer dress that I got this afternoon for 3 dollars (we didn’t pack summer clothes as we definitely did not expect… Continue reading Monthly Roundup: January 2018

Monthly roundup: December 2017

Amsterdam in December

December was a month of celebrations, beginning with Finland’s independence festivities and culminating in Christmas. It started in Helsinki with ten days filled with fieldwork and fun, continued in Amsterdam where I got to admire the picture-perfect city in its winter plumage, and concluded in London with a glorious firework display that we managed to… Continue reading Monthly roundup: December 2017

Monthly roundup: September 2017

Colourful leaves, chilly mornings, hot chocolate and chestnuts? Not quite. September was still a full-on summer month: I got to experience some of the hottest days of the year and wear the sundresses that had remained in the closet during the colder-than-expected Northern summer. It was a busy month both for me and for the… Continue reading Monthly roundup: September 2017