About the author

I, Alina, half-Finnish half-Armenian female who’s currently living in Helsinki, Finland, in a desperate need to explore the furthest corners of the world (which by the way, measured from Finland, is Tonga).

About me… Some would desribe me as adventurous, caring, extrovert and somewhat witty, others as attention-needy, irritatingly talkative, disturbingly geeky, highly aggressive and rather shallow.

I’m a 100 % filmoholic and it’s my firm belief that one’s favorite movies tell a lot about the person. I’m a lover of Spanish and French cinema, but I openly like many Hollywood blockbusters as well (such as Dark Knight, Fight Club, Snatch,.. even Transformers!). Directors like Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodovar, Klaus Härö and Tim Burton are just a few of my favorites. A true auteur can break through ordinary conventions and represent the world in a different light and the work of these directors has influenced me a lot.

Some of my favorite films are: A Fish Called Wanda, High Fidelity, Before Sunset, Moulin Rouge, Pulp Fiction, Pan’s Labyrinth, Amélie, Mulholland Drive, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Todo Sobre Mi Madre, Martyrs, Volver, There Will be Blood, etc.

Also, here’s 25 random things about me.

1. The american version of “The Ring” scared the shit out of me. For several weeks I slept with lights on and a towel covering the TV (you know, to protect me from the girl coming out of the TV). Later on, I had to switch the channel everytime they were showing a trailer of the sequel on TV (never saw it).

2. Career-wise I think I’ve been drifting my whole life without a clear path. I’m not sure what I want to do with my life (hence going on this trip…) but it’s starting to be clearer… I’m interested in mass-communication analysis and the effects of it on politics and identities. On the other hand my dream is to be screenwriter or a director, but unfortunately I don’t consider myself gifted in that area, so I would need to study it but as it happens, film schools either take 2 people a year to study film making, or they cost a fortune. Waiting for Quentin Tarantino to take me as his young padawan…

3. Nothing makes me feel more alive and refreshed than a good conversation with friends. Talking is under-estimated! I know I have a tendency to.. well, to be quite aggressive when debating and discussing, but I’m working on it

4. I love nostalgy and reminiscing.

5. My future apartment/house will hopefully have a french country-style kitchen with lots of tin boxes, dented mugs and a wine cabin. I want it to look slightly old and vintage-y, not to be one of those modern kitches.

6. I can’t stand people with “happy feet”. You know, moving your toes and feet while watching a movie or when going to bed. I also hate it when people munch, laugh, cough or scratch their candyboxes too loudly at the cinema. It’s not a restaurant, ya’ll! Also, I think you should be able to NOT check your phone for the 1,5-3 hours you spend in the dark (supposedly) watching a film. At least cover the screen with your hand! If you can cope with this, you’re very welcome to come to the movies with me.

7. When I was younger I used to feel really sorry for the people who dined alone at McDonald’s. To me, it was a feast as my dad took me there once every two months or so, so I couldn’t understand why someone would want to be alone at the “happiest place in the world”. Now I do, he he he…

8. I often think about the time I was in high school. Somehow it was a very happy time for me, as I was already on the verge of adulthood, could make my own choices and go wherever I wanted to, but still be responsibility-free from all difficult decisions and the only goal was to graduate from there.

9. Spanish culture with the language and the food and the music is something I find very interesting and attractive. I don’t have the pleasure of knowing too many spanish people, and my impression is strongly affected by Almodovar, but still, the muuusiiiiic…. the wine…. Central-European culture in overall is very close to my heart (closer than the American lifestyle at least).

10. Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl is my ultimate style icon. I don’t dress up like her that often (if you see me wearing my Abercrombies and American Apparel purple leggins…) but my closet is full of “Blorf”-clothes. I also think she and Chuck should get it on, dammit!

11.I feel that I’m too indecisive regarding many things. I don’t think I was always like that, and I want it to change. A dear friend wrote on my High school year book that she admired me for always pursuing my dreams and making them come true. I realized I wasn’t that person any more, and I decided to change it. Hence, again, doing this trip.

12. I hate going to the doctor (yeah, big surprise, who doesn’t, right?). The first time they drew blood from me was when I was 15 or so, and I cried before and during it. A visit to the gynecology is also something that gets my blood pressure rise weeks ahead.

13. Exercising makes me amazingly happy. However I have a tendency to have periods of time when I train like crazy and then when I’m more lazy (hey that rhymes…). I ALWAYS feel so bad when I miss a session and often make a call to someone to talk some sense into me.

14. There probably isn’t a TV show I couldn’t be addicted to. My latest discoveries are Little Britain and How I met your mother. But I can watch anything from Dexter and Lost to The Hills and The Real Housewives of Orange County. People always ask me how I have to time to watch everything and do all the other stuff in my life. I don’t know… Guess I prioritize these things (geek alert)! Fortunately I’ve been blessed with geeky friends, too.

15. I’ve never really had to deal with death, and there was a time when I was wondering almost daily if I would fall apart if someone I loved died. I’m still a bit scared of that. Also thinking about the afterlife is something that scares and fascinates me at the same time.

16. I loathe it when people in American Idol/Top Model/etc tell their oh-so-tragic sob-stories about family being dead, raped, and whatnot on TV and fish for compassion. I mean, what ever hell you’ve been through, it won’t help you sing/look better to rantle around with it. No offence. I just feel I would never share my most tragic moment on TV.

17. Sometimes I feel that I’m numb from all feelings, that I cope with bad shit by protecting myself and build fences around me. Then I hear a piece of music or watch a movie that moves me in ways I can’t desribe. That feeling is indescribable.

18. If I get married one day, I will laminate a card (like Ross in Friends) to have all the names of the people I’m allowed to kiss (nothing more!) even when married. My card will have only one name, David Duchovny.

19. I’m very influenced by other people’s taste when it comes to music. I can’t remember the last time I found an artist or a song by accident or by myself.

20. My cats are my babies. I love them to pieces. And if you call my bigger cat (roughly 10 kg) fat, I actually get a bit offended. He is not fat! He’s big-boned and probably related to wild cats…

21. Cooking is not one of my many, many virtues. However, baking a cheese cake is! And, I still feel a lift in my heart everytime my friends praise it. So proud! But back in the days when I moved on my own I phoned a friend to tell me how to boil the water (!!!), cook potatoes, make pancakes and spaghetti.

22. Whenever I’m happy, I have dreams about horseback riding. I think it’s because I spent all my early teenage summers on a riding camp in eastern Finland with great friends. The dreams always take place at this particular stable.

23. I went to see Lord of the rings dressed as an elf wearing elf ears and whatnot… Props to my friends who came along and were dressed as well (that’s you Lumi and Linda!). Did the same with Star Wars. We stole the costumes from my school’s costume wardrobe and I think we never returned them. Good times!!!

24. I’m still very proud to be the biggest X-files fan in Finland and even prouder about the newspaper article they wrote about me (I was 12)! And yes I bring it up at every possible occasion!

25. I bought Crocs from Bangkok. Yes, they are fucking ugly and un-fashionable but I honestly needed comfortable shoes for a few hours and they cost 2 euros. I know, unbelievable…