Malaga, Spain through the eyes of Anu, a Finnish expat
My (New York born) boyfriend strongly believes he lived in his previous life in Spain – he totally loves Spain. I have been once to Malaga myself but it was only an hour or so. However, my friend Marcia Raff spent a few months there as a sculptor (her work is displayed in Malaga). To me Malaga sounds more interesting than some of the more touristy cities along Costa del Sol. I was very happy to run into Anu online and find out about her Malaga project. Let’s hear in Anu’s own words what she has accomplished – and how she ended in Malaga.
Hey there, I’m Anu, a Finnish expat living since almost 30 years in Malaga, Spain.
Yes, that’s long time you must are thinking. Well, the thing is that already when I was a teenager my father always used to say that I wasn’t going to live in Finland. It’s something that my parents had present ever since I was very young, that one day I was going to spread my wings and fly away from my birth country. Luckily they were ok with that!
I was only 10 years old when I travelled alone for the first time to spend a month with a family in Devon in UK. No English lessons nor other students, just me living with a totally unknown family in a farm house and helping to take care of the sheep, horses and dogs. I have to admit that I did cry myself to sleep every night because I missed so much my mom (by the way she has kept all my heart breaking letters from that summer). However, this didn’t stop me wanting to repeat this same experience the following two summers.
During the high school I spent a year as a senior student in a US high school in Michigan. Weren`t those different times without social media, Skype or WhatsApp. We sent letters back and forth and I recorded voice messages on cassettes, which reached my family days or even weeks later… and I survived!
After finishing the high school in Finland I went to Vienna to work as au-pair. This was great for my German skills and afterwards I spend a couple of months in Germany to learn even more this difficult language.
I studied tourism in Finland and after finishing my studies I thought that it would be a good idea to learn a new language…why not Spanish?
And this is how I landed in Malaga and have lived here ever since. I fell in love with this beautiful city, its cosmopolitan yet laid back vibe and its lovely people. I married a Spaniard and I’m a mother of two teenage girls. I work at the administration in a language school and during my free time I do what I love most (besides my family of course J)…which is travelling and taking pictures. My camera is my faithful companion and I carry it along in my bag everywhere I go, which finally brings me to tell you about the digital guide I have made of my beloved Malaga.
I’m so honored to have been invited to join this amazing project called Pathport which has as a mission to give instant access to the paths of the most inspiring travelers from around the world. Pathport redefines travel content to craft guides that are visual, up-to-date and personal giving you the hotspots you’d spend hours looking for on Instragram. You can instantly purchase and download the guide to you mobile devise.
In my guide I am giving you insider tips of Malaga hotspots that normally would pass undiscovered to most of the visitors. Malaga is so much more than beautiful beaches, it is culture, art, gastronomy, history and most of all that enjoyable Spanish way of life!
If you are thinking of visiting Malaga or just wish to find out more about my guide please go to my Pathport page or to Pathport store. On the Pathport site you can find many more interesting destinations all around the world.
At the moment I am working on my next guide taking you to discover the white villages, the beautiful nature and lovely beaches around the Malaga area.
I am also a big instragram user and my handle is anu_vee, should you wish to take a look.
Thanks and wish you all a very happy summer… hopefully some of you will come and visit my beautiful Malaga!
Anu
CONNECT WITH ANU:
Instagram: instagram.com/anu_vee/
Anu’s guide – Malaga The Great Unknown
