It was one of the first words I learned in Finland. Mahtava. Finnish for “awesome”. It worked itself into my daily vocabulary because it does things that “awesome” never can, letting you exhale and simmer on the awesomeness of it all: MAH-ta-vaaaaaa. My one and a half years living in Helsinki have been mahtava in large part to the friends I made at Nokia and beyond, a very global crew from Finland, Italy, Holland, Chile, India, Romania, Ireland, Brazil, Sweden, Australia, Spain, Germany, Singapore, Norway, the UK and the US, who made me feel like I belonged here the moment I touched down. Like Mr. Roger’s neighborhood, we all lived within a few blocks of each other and for that reason and others we hung out with an intensity I’ve only experienced at camp. Many of us worked in the same building. All of us ate and drank at the same places. And most of us danced our hearts out until nothing mattered besides friends, rhythm, and avoiding the broken glass.

By coincidence and for all positive reasons, five of us left the city at the same time. While packing up my apartment I found a can of temporary spray chalk in the back of the closet. I cut out a stencil while stuffing things into suitcases and after friends came over for one last hurrah and we laughed and played and they adopted my chairs and lamps and we slow-danced and hugged, I crept out into the night and left one last message to them in front of their doors and streets and our favorite cafes, something they would see only after I was up in the clouds. There are few feelings greater than leaving a love note in public space, a note that all people will enjoy but certain ones will enjoy even more. Helsinki, you make me feel so mahtava! Thank you for everything. We were all here together at this moment in time in our lives and it was great.