Estonian and Comparative Folklore

Within the family (1) many stories are told as a part of common reminiscing about the sayings and doings of family members in different times. I decided to do research on this subject, which is familiar to everyone, partly through my own experiences and in my own family. People taking part in my research on family stories (see Vuorinen 2000) have mostly been either members of my own family or my friends with their families.

Drawing mainly on interview material collected among Estonian families living in Finland, the article approaches family mobility as a site for negotiation between children and adults. Individuals are analysed as members of both local and translocal networks, above all families, paying special attention to the ways in which territorial and social spaces connect to each other. The focus of the article is on the ways in which children make sense of relocation and mobility in their everyday lives, and on their understandings of translocal family practices. The article discusses the ways children reflect upon and incorporate experiences of relocation and a translocal way of life into their sense of being-in-place. While exploring the possibilities of feeling close over distances, the article analyses the challenges related to virtual intimacy and modes of communication that are specific to children.