Rachel, I also agree with Virgil. You and Hasia look just like you stepped out of a piece of iconography. :) Lovely.
Don't worry, I cry easily, too—and I'm of almost completely Celtic and German ancestry. But I know what you mean; it seems to be in the Northern European culture to encourage the stifling of emotion, and swallowing them all can be dangerous to your health. It's a difficult line to tread, to be stoic yet not desensitized. I think overshot attempts to mask emotion are what cause a lot of people to behave meanly. That you do not (attempt to mask it, that is) is only further proof of what a caring and open heart you have.
