Pauliina and I were born on the exact same day in 1988, only countries, miles, and oceans apart! My senior year of high school, Pauliina was our foreign exchange student from Finland, ending up in our tiny Finnish town in Minnesota. She found herself in Esko, population 5,000 with a lot of dirt roads and one blinking stop light! This girl was love and light the minute she stepped foot into Minnesota. She captivated everyone with her sweet accent, beautiful blonde hair, and her memorable laugh.
When I knew I would be going to Finland, I reached out to Pauliina though years had passed. Ten years without seeing one another didn’t make any difference, we picked up right where we left off sharing a cider on a Helsinki rooftop! Once wasn’t enough, so the morning I flew out, I rolled out of bed (groggy, in sweat pants, with bedhead) and got breakfast with her and her wonderful boyfriend, Kristian! It wouldn’t be a complete trip without documenting these sweet Finns, so we spent a little time exploring Helsinki and capturing their love, playfulness, and beautiful smiles.
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