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Place: Mellunmäki-Itäkeskus-VuosaariActivity: Metrotrip
Key words: Longing
We met at TEAK from where we moved Hakaniemen metro station. Today's aim was to make a trip to Itähelsinki (East Helsinki) metro suburbs. First, we took the metro to Mellunmäki, where none of us had previously visited. On the way we discussed among many other things about the prejudices that we associate to the suburbs. Themes such as poverty, substance abuse problems and exclusion appeared in our talks. We talked as well about the longing and the need for long-distance travel. Somehow it seemed that this trip to "unknown" should satisfied this longing for a while.The Mellunmäki suburb surprised us, it was quite close to reification of silence. No drunk people appeared here, yet the place was neither for children or pensioners. The atmosphere in Mellunmäki was almost eerie. We walked around making observations and taking photographs feeling like tourists. We left Mellunmäki in a confused state of mind.
Next stop was Itäkeskus. Here we ate lunch in front of the big shopping center. We found that this place is an important meeting point for many people. And also a place where people spend everyday life. When Mellunmäki suburb seemed deserted, Itäkeskus was the opposite, full of life, and everyday phenomena.
Finally, we went to Vuosaari metro station. In Vuosaari the proximity of the sea inspired us. We walked to the beach and thought of places where we traveled, and the places we missed. We were amused when we realized that there were other tourists visiting the spot. We also found that the level of living here was quite expensive. Finally, we reached a quiet cafe, which was full of interesting books. We had a deep discussion about longing and the themes in Anton Chekhov's play "The Seagull; What a man needs and why? What do I miss? What Moscow represents to me? Why once current life in itself does not feel sufficient? Are we afraid to get lost in the middle of our own lives? To be buried by our lives ? We also discussed how important it is to belong somewhere.
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