Matti wears this round little kalotti-hat with blue stripes. Most of you have probably realized that it resembles Finnish national flag. The others who are a bit more familiar with Finnish national art might recognize that the hat is similar to the one Väinämöinen, the main character of Finnish folklore Kalevala, wears in some paintings. The others might know the hat from scouting activities.
These are all true but the main reason I picked this hat for Matti comes from my own childhood. My father used to wear this kind of hat every time we were travelling abroad. The farther we were, the more public places we'd visit, the more he'd wear it.I was so ashamed. SO ashamed. How dare he reveal our nationality to other people. What if other
Finns saw us and get mad at us? What if someone would laugh at us and think that we or my father looks ridiculous? Needless to say, my father didn't care. And I think he secretly enjoyed that he made us children so embarrassed.
Matti has my father's hat and his attitude.
I love you iskä.
EDIT: I added my father's photo here because he wanted it so bad. He even wanted to do his own face-censoring.
Love the story! My Dad, who is French, used to walk around the small town where we lived wearing a beret. They may considered typically French abroad, but actually berets are basically only worn by people of a certain age in the countryside, i.e. very uncool. Sooooo embarrassing to have my Dad wearing one!
ReplyDeleteDid he also carry around a baguette and wear a striped shirt? :P
DeleteA baguette some times. No stripey t-shirt or onions or bicycle. I would have DIED!!!
DeleteA packet of Galoise?
DeleteMy father just speaks: his accent reveals where are we from: Colombians as Gloria from Modern Family! Btw lovely story
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute story. Love your blog! :)
ReplyDeleteI have same kind of hat. Only it's green and white :D
ReplyDeleteIf you like to look like a moron, it´s ok and typical finnish. Another funny thing is that finnisch women don´t realize how ridiculous they look like. Ok kalevalamyssy is also ridiculos, but women go further.
ReplyDeleteGreat work Mr. Unknown. People will surely appreciate your feedback.
DeleteFinnisch women? Do I spot an angry German here? If you like to act like a moron, it's ok and typical German. Another funny thing is that German people don't realize how ridiculous they act like. Ok, no real line of argumentation is also ridiculous, but some people go further.
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DeleteOne of dads mains jobs is to make their children embarrassed.
ReplyDeleteTrue, so true. 😄
DeleteThat kind of hat makes it easier to aim if you happen use an axe.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a sweet story! My dad used to make me embarrased by being interested in joga and vegetarianism while me and my sister where small, he wasn't a regular peruvian dad, later on in life i understood how advanced his way of thinking was.
ReplyDeleteWhere did your Dad get the hat? I would love to find done to wear too, it would embarrass my kids sooooo much! It would be great!
ReplyDeleteThat dad story is hilarious (and somehow cute) and I must say that the photo of your dad is gold! I'm really loving the "The Iskä" shirt, it really puts the icing on the cake. XD
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