What we miss the most when living abroad

The other day I asked myself a question. What do I miss the most from Finland? The first thought I had in mind was insane. On the top of my materialistic mind was dry shampoo. I sincerely asked myself whether I am going crazy or am I plainly materialistic. Dry shampoo? It’s not even a Finnish product, but Pirkka Dry shampoo is the thing I had in mind. Actually the Pirkka (white labeled) product is produced in Estonia. So there it is.

Digging deeper into the depths of the mind, I found some things interesting. If I really focus, I can smell the grass of Summer and hear the wind blow through the bed of reeds at my summer cottage. I can even hear the specific birds. I miss the Finnish Summer, I miss my summer cottage which is the greenest of places with its own private beach.  

 What else do I miss? Next thing in mind was the chewy and warm, oven fresh rye bread made by Kanniston Leipomo or ohra rieska (barley flatbread) perhaps?

As Finnish family bonds tend to be less close (not like Southern Europe), I do not miss to be close to my family. I do not need my friends less then 10km away and I do not miss Finland in itself. This plainly means that I am not ready to return to Finland. The things that I miss are material and experiences, which I have when I return for a visit. I load my batteries full of the things I like about Finland, and then return back to Portugal.

As last, I would like to point out that, I do not miss Portugal when I am away. And Portugal is not the place I will stay for the rest of my life. Perhaps I have a nomadic spirit. Many Finns live their lives abroad, switching countries every now and then. Why do we do this?

What is the thing you miss the most?