The English Language Doesn't Really Have The Word Arki. It's The Word For Everyday Things, Mundane Ordinary

The english language doesn't really have the word arki. It's the word for everyday things, mundane ordinary life. Turned into an adjective, arkinen, it describes all the things of unadorned, everyday, routine and regular, the things you don't really think of because you do them every day. When combined with the word päivä, day, it becomes arkipäivä, workday, which stands in contrast both to weekends, and to vacations, celebrations and holidays. Arkipäivä is simply a day which is not special, in any particular way.

People who like being poetic may talk about harmaa arki, "the grey everyday", when they talk about the ordinary daily grind, and those who like being even more poetic than that may make remarks like "arki on helmenharmaa", the pearly grey everyday - though not brightly coloured, the ordinary chain of a regular day after a regular day can still be beautiful, and dimly shiny and brilliant in its own ordinary way.

I didn't exactly hit the ground running when my plane landed, only taking a quick perfunctory shower before heading to bed, and I spent most of yesterday just sleeping, only getting up to eat. But now it's thursday, 9:30 am, and I'm back at home and on my feet. I had an appointment with my therapist this morning and I'm on my walk home. I decided to get myself a cardboard cup of coffee on the go, and sat down at the park for a minute before continuing on my way. It's autumn, and the park water fountain has already been turned off. There are kids on their way to school with their backpacks, construction workers in their green-and-black overalls, and no more tourists.

Nevermind, the water fountain just spluttered back into motion as I was typing this. Nonetheless, it's still quiet, cool and cloudy, and the sky and the air are still a splendid, bright pearly grey.

I think I'll do laundry today.