Dispatch from JFK, Terminal 8
I believe this is the longest travel day I’ve ever experienced — and it’s only halfway done. I won’t go into the specifics, only because it’s boring, but suffice it to say I am excited to stretch out on Finnair flight AY016 (I packed both an eyemask and earplugs for this one, thank you very much). But for now, I am munching on a pistachio macaron (with a cannoli chaser) in the airport lounge, waiting to take advantage of the shower while I’m here, and trying — but failing — to eavesdrop on the Spanish family next to me.
There seems to be family drama with a son in Argentina and a sick dog. I am, naturally, intrigued.
I plan on finishing Muriel Spark’s The Bachelors tonight. And then I downloaded an Italian film by Alice Rohrwacher to watch, but I’ll surely be asleep before I even hit “play”. I have a few stock phrases to learn in the hopes of impressing my hosts with while I’m in Helsinki, not least of them “Otatko välilehden?” (Will you be picking up the tab?) and “Jätin lompakoni hotelliin.” (I left my wallet at the hotel).
Speaking of hosts, this trip was planned for me by the Helsinki tourism bureau, working closely with Finnair. I’ll visit the local university to meet their fashion design students. I’ll meet the global heads of Marimekko at their factory. I’ll do a bit of vintage shopping and strip down to my nothings to enjoy the sauna culture, to boot. My hope is to provide you with a few updates along the way; but, if I’m just too tired, then do follow me on Instagram, where I’ll surely be rattling off Stories there throughout the week.
You’ll also, of course, be getting proper debriefs here (because I can never shut the fuck up about myself), as well as stories planned for Huckberry, Forbes, Cool Material, and Robb Report.
Well, for now I have to go. I can no longer concentrate because the woman next to me is smacking her lips while she eats a pile of carrot sticks (is this, along with watching TikTok videos without headphones, a New York pastime I have been uninformed about all these years?). So, I will leave you with a few photos I took of the TWA Hotel, just for the hell of it.
Oh, and a photo of my new haircut. The long hair is gone and I lost a few pounds , so feeling very vain lately.
Enjoy. Chat soon. Hei sitten.
