One of the most interesting types of experiences that I can have while traveling is participating in normal, everyday activities that are part of the local routine in a place that I visit. Doing this gets me a bit farther away from the tourist experience, which is mostly about seeing and trying things, and closer to the native experience, which is about understanding what it’s like to live in a place.

The first picture is of a club-level handball game in France, and the second is a view of my Finno-Russian friend Esme preparing breakfast with her mother in their house in Finland