Mökki and Euro-Tour..

Lately I have just been spending time at my host family's mökki, or summer cottage. I went to my second host family's summer cottage last weekend. It was a few hours away near Turku. It was on a decent sized island on the Baltic Sea. It was really nice... Even though it rained a bit. But I went to sauna a couple of times, took walks through the forest, layed by the sea, and went to the Finnish hot tub. It was so nice though to just be surrounded by nature... Without any technology. (We had electricity of course!)

This week I have been preparing for Euro-Tour.. Which starts next Sunday!! I will leave Sunday morning.. On the tour we will visit Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Monaco, Italy, Austria, and Germany. Ahh! I am so excited. I have most of my stuff packed.. Trying not to take too much, because I am sure I will want to buy some souveniers :)

So, school is basically over.. Which is nice. Tomorrow we have a sports day, and then Friday is the day when we get our exams back... And that's it. :)

It's crazy to think about how little time I have left on my exchange. It's really quite depressing actually. This whole experience has been so great, and it'll be hard to see it come to an end. I know that I will miss Finland and the people I've met.. I'll really miss all of the exchange students too. And I'll be really sad when I don't have anyone to speak Finnish with when I get home.. Thank goodness for Skype.

Ah. I'm just not going to think about leaving anymore.. Haha.

Well, sorry this post wasn't very eventful. Next time I post it will probably be after Euro-Tour.. Or when I am back in the US.. :O

Yay Euro-Tour here I come!! (In four days anyway!)

Moikka!

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Vappu!

Last weekend was Vappu! ..Or the Finnish May Day. It celebrates the warmer weather and the soon to come summer. Vappu is kind of a mix of Halloween and Mardi Gras. People were dressed in wacky clothes, and wore crazy hair and make-up. Friday I went to a concert with my host sister, and then on Saturday we went to the market square in town. The market square had all kinds of booths selling goods, jewelry, food, and lots of balloons. I also saw many people wearing their old graduation hats… I’m not really sure why though… Haha. Then the traditional Vappu food was sima and munkit, or mead (a lemonade type of drink) and doughnuts. The doughnuts looked really good, but I never got one :(

This is going to be quite a short post, since I don’t have too much else to say. It is pretty major that I have been in Finland for nine months though. NINE MONTHS! I can’t even believe it. And I only have two months left… May and June. I don’t really count June though, since it is consumed by three weeks of Euro-Tour and one crazy week of packing and saying goodbye. Sad.. But May is going to be a great month. It’s just going to be really strange to leave and return to the US. Everything here I am so used to, that I have trouble remembering what my everyday life was back home.

It’s been great living with my first host family again! I really love them, and I am so close to my host sister Veera. I’m going to watch Finland’s Next Top Model with her and her friend tonight :) Haha.

Well.. That’s it for now. It’s so beautiful outside today. Warm, sunny, breezy. It’s amazing what great weather can do for your mood :D Especially after about five months of winter… Haha. I'm glad I'll be in Finland for a bit of summer. The Finnish summer is the best. Summer cottage, lake, sauna, makkaraa (sausage), picking berries in the forest.. Haha, I'm excited :)

Moikka!

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It's Finally Spring...

Well, everything has been really great lately... Quite busy too. Last weekend (well, the weekend before last weekend) my host family took me with them to Porvoo. Porvoo is a small, old city situated on a river, and is quite near to Helsinki. We walked around, visited old shops, cafés, and churches, and then saw an art museum in another city near Lahti. Porvoo was a really nice city. All of the city's buildings are really old and made of wood. It was pretty.

This past weekend I changed host families. I am back with my first host family, because my fourth host family couldn't host me. It is really nice though since I already know them and I don't have to start all over again with a new family. This host family is really great. They are super nice, and I like having three younger host siblings. I think it would have been better if the Rotary would have given me only three host families, instead of four. Three families is really the perfect amount in my opinion. You get to see three ways of life and you still become really close to your families... And it is always nice to change after a few months and experience something different. I am really lucky and thankful for the families I have had. They have shown me so much of Finland and have treated me so kindly.

Also, I took my Finnish language test a couple of weeks ago. It was held in the ''college'' where I take my Finnish lessons. I think it went rather well. There were five parts: reading, writing, grammar, listening, and speaking. We get the results in a couple of months.. But I think I did well :) It was fairly easy.

I also had a Rotary District Conference this past weekend. Rotary events are always so much fun! It's a shame that we really don't have them that often. The conference was in a little town near Tampere. On Saturday us exchange students visited Iittala (where they make glass), a small chocolate shop, some gift shops, then we had an evening program type of thing at the place where we were staying... On Sunday we listened to presentations by Rotary members, ate lunch, and then headed home. I was so tired when I got home, only running on 3 hours of sleep :P It was a really great weekend though. Rotary exchange students are the best.

I started my new classes in school. They have been pretty good so far... Pretty challenging sometimes. This period in school, which is also the last period, I am taking English, Math, Geography, Religion, and Psychology. I remember starting the first period in school... And now I have started the last. It's funny to think of how much has changed since then.. How confused and slightly afraid I was..haha. Now I know my city and I finally understand my school. Everything is just good at this point of time.

Spring is also here.. Which is an amazing thing. It's been sunny and beautiful outside. It even reached 60 degrees Fahrenheit one day!

Well. I think I will end this here. I am really looking forward to the rest of my exchange, and am hoping each day that time will slow down..

Moikka! :)

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Pääsiänen

Well today is the last official day of Easter break. It's been a really nice break.. On Friday I went with my host family to their summer cottage. There was still snow, but it was warm enough (thanks to a little sunshine) to sit outside. I relaxed, enjoyed the sun, and read. It was so peaceful. Their summer cottage is situated on a really beautiful river. I'm going to put in a couple of pictures I took of the river in here somewhere. We ate lunch together (a really good lunch too)... Baked potatoes, veggies, and fish and shrimp sauces.. Then we had some sort of mousse/almond thing for dessert. I forget it's name, but it's Russian and typical during Easter. We headed home shortly after, and in the evening I went and saw Alice in Wonderland for the second time. I really liked it better the first time I saw it... I don't know why.

Then Sunday (yesterday) was Easter. Relatives came over, and we had a big lunch together. We had lamb, potatoes, salad, bread, and then mämmi for dessert. I'm including a picture of mämmi.. It's not my own though, I found it off the internet... But it looks just like that. It looks quite unapetizing, but it's not that bad with sugar and cream on top. Everyone told me that if I like ruisleipä (Finnish rye bread), which I so happen to love, then I would possibly like mämmi. It definitely wasn't as bad as everyone made it sound.. Even though it looks quite discusting. Anyway... Then a while later we hid Easter eggs, ate some chocolate cake, looked at old photos, and watched Finland's X-Factor. It was a nice Easter.

Today we went to the summer cottage again.. Just relaxed (that's me sitting by the river on the left) and read.. And had yummy salmon for lunch :) I really love the summer cottage. Such a nice escape from the city.. The quietness is really relaxing. It was nice too, because a lot of the ice had melted away from the river.. Spring is definitely coming. I thought it would never come!

Ooh.. On Thursday night I went and visited my second host family. I went to sauna, then we ate iltapala (evening snack) together. Bread, salad, fruits, karjalanpiirakat (yum!), and tea. It was really nice.. We just sat, watched tv together, and talked. They're so nice.

I think I've been having a minor headache lately from all the Finnish I've been hearing... Haha it's true that the language headaches really never do go away... It is quite draining though. Hearing a language that's not your own basically all the time, and trying your hardest to pay attention and learn. I'm so glad though that I can understand it now.. It's funny to think about when I first came to Finland, and Finnish sounded like the craziest thing ever. I've really learned a lot in eight months.

Well, I'll end this with one final picture.. I was really fascinated with this dead flower bush type of thing at my host family's summer cottage.

Moikka!

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March Update...

Well, I figured it was about time I wrote another post.. It has been a few weeks. Nothing too exciting has happened, other than the fact that it is basically spring. It is so nice to be able to see the sidewalks again! Not all the snow and ice have melted, but a majority of it. And the sun has been shinging a lot too recently. Ahh good weather equals a very good mood. Right now I am on a break from school, so I decided to come home for a bit. :)

Hmm.. So I have been meeting with my Fin-Tandem partners a good amount lately. Fin-Tandem is a program where two people meet and help to teach each other their mother language. I have two partners, since I have time on my hands. But it's a pretty good program. It helps me with Finnish, and it's nice to help someone else with their English. Ooh, my Finnish has been improving lately, if I may say so myself. I'm not fluent, that would definitely take more time, but I feel that I could survive on only speaking Finnish if I had to.

I went to Helsinki yesterday! I went with my Religion class.. It was a field trip. We visited four different types of churches: Jewish, Islam, Hindu, and Buddhist. It was really different, especially since we saw four very different religions all in the same day, but it was really interesting. Plus, the weather in Helsinki was beautiful. It was sunny, and we did a lot of walking around Helsinki's center. Helsinki is really pretty, especially with all the old buildings (older than Lahti's buildings anyway). I kept saying how I wanted to live there :) Haha.

Oh, so how about I will be changing host families in the middle of April.. Well, I was going to go back with my second host family, but now I will be going back with my first host family. I love all of my host families, but I am really excited to go back with my first one since I am really close to them. They have three kids and there is always something to do and it was just so fun living there. And they are super nice. I will be with them for a bit during summer, so hopefully we'll go to the summer cottage a few times. I love the summer cottage.

I think that this is definitely the time in my exchange where I am the most comfortable. I am familiar with everything now.. How they live, what they eat, how to get around, the language, etc. Like I have said before, I don't want to talk about leaving... BUT it is going to be really hard. I have really enjoyed the lifestyle here. In my opinion, it is a really comfortable and simple lifestyle. And nature is also very important. Like the summer cottage for example.. A little cottage in the woods, on a lake. It is the most relaxing place.
Ah, a part of me definitely won't want to leave..

Well, I have to stop writing because I need to go back to school pretty soon. I am going back to eat lunch (yeah I know, I am crazy!). Even though school lunch is free, it is not the best thing ever. Atleast there is bread and salad every day.. But today we are having fish I think, let's hope for the best!! Then I have psychology class, and then back home!

Oh! Easter is next weekend.. That should be exciting. I'm sure I'll make a post after that.

Moikka!!

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Seven Months In...

Well today is the last day of my winter/skiing holiday. I have been pretty busy during the break; I did something basically everyday! A couple of days I went to Helsinki. The one day we went to the Helsinki Art Museum where there was a really great photography exhibition, and then the other day I went and saw Helsinki's Contemporary Art Museum and then did some shopping. It's really nice to go to Helsinki. Sometimes Lahti begins to feel pretty small! Anyway. I also spent a lot of time with my first host family over the break. One day I went with them downhill skiing, and another day I went with them to a small indoor water park. Both days were really fun. I love skiing, but those ski lifts are so dangerous!

This weekend in Lahti there are these Salpausselän kisat, Lahti Ski Games. They have them every year. I went all day yesterday. We watched cross-country skiing and then the ski jumps. It was pretty cold... Just sitting outside for hours. Even though it was only -3 Celsius or something, but I think I had enough clothes on! The whole ski games’ happening was kind of like a fair, because although there weren’t rides or anything, there was food and different clothing and souvenir booths (and skiing). I ate some makkara, Finnish sausage, and some licorice (yum). Then after all the skiing events were over for the day we watched the fireworks. It was a nice day.

Other than all of that, not too much is new. I have been in Finland for roughly seven months, which I can hardly believe... Meaning that I only have four months left. It's going to be so hard to leave the life I have here. Time is really going by too fast, but I am trying to enjoy every moment.

On a happy note, I am so excited for spring in Finland. I am ready for the snow to melt! It has been here for four months! Hopefully soon!

Moikka!

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The Vanhojen Tanssit...

Well the Vanhojen Tanssit, or the ball for the 'oldest students' in school, is officially over. Before I go into that, I will go a few days back...to Thursday. Thursday was the day that the second years (or "juniors" which is what I am here) were going to dance the traditional dances at school for parents and family members. Thursday was also the last day of school for the third years ("seniors"). They are done with school so early because they have to study for their matriculation exams, which are in the spring. Anyway. The third years were all dressed in a Harry Potter theme that day to celebrate their last day of school. I don't know how they chose the Harry Potter theme, but it was pretty entertaining.

During my first class, the seniors took over the loud speaker for about a half an hour, then we had a small assembly with them doing crazy, Harry Potter related things with students and teachers. The third years could basically do anything they wanted to that day. We went back to class after that, and soon the third years were preparing to be in the parade. All of the third years from Lahti's various schools were going to be in the parade.. It's tradition. Everyone went outside to see the third years standing in the beds of big trucks, throwing candy to the elementary students. There were even Harry Potter posters decorating the sides of the trucks.. Some making fun of the other schools.. Hah.

We had to go back to class, again, after that. But not for long. The day was short so that everyone could get ready for the formal dance. When I left school the parade was going on, since it hadn't been that much time since it started. There were people, chanting students, and candy everywhere. It was crazy.

So we had our first dance in front of a crowd Thursday evening. I borrowed a dress from my first host mom. It was pretty. The dances went well though, I didn't fall or anything. I can name some of the dances... We danced the Bolognese, Cicapo, Pas d'Espagne, Pas de Quatre, Salty Dog Rag, Lambeth Walk, and the Weiner Waltz. There were a couple others, but I'm not sure of their names. It was really fun though. But, it wasn't over Thursday! The big day was Friday. We had to dance again Friday morning for the 5th and 6th graders. We had lunch and wandered around the school. We went into different classrooms (since younger students had class that day) and made them do silly things... Since we, the second years, are now the oldest in the school. After a bit we headed to a big hall in Lahti, where all of the schools in Lahti would dance together. There were a lot of people there! It was fun as well, but nice when it was over because my feet were killing me!

Then Friday night various schools, including mine, had a party at some hall. It was fun, and nice to hang out with people outside of school. Overall, the whole Vanhojen experience was really great. It is such a big Finnish tradition.

Other than that, not much else is new. We are supposed to be getting some big snow storm soon, or so I've heard. We also have talviloma, or winter break/ski break, soon. Not this coming week, but the week after. I'm excited!

Well that's enough for now..

Moikka!

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