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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EYP, New Classes, and the Vanhojen..

Well, things have been slightly hectic! Just slightly. A little over a week ago I attended the 16th National Session of European Youth Parliament Finland. It took place on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. It was long, and we did a lot of work. There were around 150 participants, from all over Europe (but mostly Finnish), and we stayed in a school in Tampere. All the participants were split up into ten committees (I believe it was ten), and we were with our committees the entire weekend. My committee was the committee on foreign affairs. Then each committee had a topic to discuss during the weekend and come up with a resolution to the problems that dealt with their topic. My committee's topic was about how the European Union can decrease the instability and security lapses in the AFPAK resgion (Afghanistan and Pakistan) with the Taliban on the rise. It was a really interesting topic.

So we discussed our topic on Saturday and Sunday. We discussed the problems and the solutions. Then we presented our resolution on Monday in the General Assemly. I got to give the summation speech. Our resolution passed. It was a pretty good resolution, if I may say so myself!! But other than working the whole weekend, we did get time to hang out. They always arranged some evening programs for us. It was really fun.. Even though I only got eleven hours of sleep the whole weekend! And we drank sooo much coffee. I think I had eight cups on Saturday. I am staying away from coffee for the moment..

The week after the EYP session (last week) I started a new period in school. So I have all new classes again. This is the fourth period, and there is only one more after this one. This period I have English, Math, History, Religion, Sports, and Psychology. I won't have the dance class anymore because the ball, the Vanhojen Tanssit, is this week! We have our last rehearsals today, and then on Thursday we have the school Vanhojen. On Friday there is the bigger dance, and it has schools from all over Lahti there, I believe. I don't think I can dance in the Friday one, because I don't exactly have a partner.. Haha. I can dance in the school one though, because we dance in two groups and someone will just dance twice with me. Oh well. Doesn't matter, as long as I get to dance once. Then parents and family members come and watch. I am sure I will mess up! My last host family, as well as my current host family, are coming to watch.

Nothing else is really that new. Just trying to keep busy. Yesterday was Valentine's Day. I don't really think it is a romantic holiday in Finland. It is called Ystävänpäivä, which translates directly to "Friend Day." So I guess it is more about friendship. That's good too.

I ate some really good pulla yesterday. One at my house with jam and cream in the middle, and one at my first host family's house. Mmm I love pulla. I had badminton practice yesterday with my first host mom and sister, and then I went to their house afterwards. We had some sandwiches, and I always choose the dark rye bread that Finland is known for. My first host mom said that I will miss it, ruisleipä, when I leave Finland.. And I know I will! They said they will send me some! So I just spent the evening with them, and they said they might take me to Porvoo next weekend. It is a small, old city near Helsinki. That would be really nice. I miss seeing my first host family. Then the first week of March we have a skiing holiday, or winter break, which is a week long and I might go and spend some time with my first host family. I will do stuff with my current host family, and probably my second host family as well. It is hard sometimes to move so much, but I really love having so many host families. They are all so nice.

Well, I suppose I will put this to a close. I probably need to do my Finnish homework..

Moikka!

PS. Oh and thanks to everyone that voted for my blog!!

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Vote For My Blog!

My blog has been nominated for The Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs 2010 on lexiophiles.com! There is a voting period from February 1st to the 14th, to see which blogs are the favorites. I think they choose three. But click on the button below if you would like to vote for my blog :)

Kiitos :)



My photo uploader is working again! Here is just one of the many photos I have taken of Finnish winter:



Moikka!

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Time Flies..

Wow, it has almost been a month since my last post, but it seems like just the other day. Time has been flying by so quickly. The New Year was good. We did the traditional, Finnish iron in the fire thing. Haha, well you make the iron hot to melt it (by putting it in the fireplace).. Then you throw it into a bucket of water to quickly cool it. You take it out to see what shape it has made, and by that shape you know what your year is going to be like. I got many little pieces, which means lots of money, and one piece that sort of looked like a turtle. I am not sure what that means. And after the New Year we got to eat the gingerbread house my host brother and I made before Christmas.

I have mainly been busy with school, being with my host family (my second one), and Finnish lessons this past month. I started my new Finnish lessons in the beginning of January. I go on Tuesdays and Wednesday.. Two and a half hours each lesson. Ohh sooo long! But it is nice, because I learn a lot and it gives me something to do. Then I still have badminton practice every Sunday with my first host mom and sister. Anddd I have been skiing a lot during the last month.. Cross-country of course. I have actually learned how to do it properly.. My host family taught me (my second one.. haha). So it's not as hard as it was the first time I did it in Lapland.. Haha. I love cross-country skiing through the Finnish forest. It is so beautiful, and there are never many people so it is very peaceful. I just love the feeling of being in the forest. But wow, I feel so much more active here in Finland. I walk everywhere as well. I think I am probably the healthiest I have ever been.

Well, something big, I have moved to my third host family. I am living literally in the center of the city now, it is so weird! Since I am used to the country.. Haha. But I really like it. I miss my last host family of course, because they were so amazing to me, but this family is really nice and I will still see my last family. There is a son my age, so that is pretty nice as well. Oh, and I am living in an apartment, which is also very different for me. It is hard to move, but change is good and I get to meet more people this way and see the Finnish lifestyle better.. Since I have so many families!

A new period in school starts pretty soon. I am not sure what I am taking yet. Next week I am going to another session of the European Youth Parliament. I am excited about that. I have a really awesome topic. It is foreign affairs, and it deals with Afghanistan and Pakistan (I believe) and the Taliban.. I will write more about it later. I do not have the paper by me.

But.. I guess I don't really have much else to say! I am just really enjoying Finland.. That is the simplest way to say how I am feeling right now. In the last month I have become really comfortable here.. I really love Finland. And I have gained a little more confidence in speaking Finnish.. I guess I just can't care about making mistakes or sounding stupid.. Haha.

Oh! The formal ball is soon! Like in three weeks, I think.. So during practices at school now we actually go through the whole ball and do all the dances. I actually like doing the dances. If it wasn't so expensive, I would have taken some sort of dance class here in Finland.

Well.. I think I will go read some Aku Ankka.. haha. It is Donald Duck cartoons, but in Finnish of course. It is the most popular magazine in Finland. This is the truth..

And oh, this is irrelevant, but Egyptian oranges are the best thing I have ever tasted. Yum, I love them..

Moikka!

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A Finnish Christmas

Well, I wasn't going to make this post until after New Year's... So that I could just write about them both at the same time, but I am a bit sick and I have some time. So I can write about New Year's later! Anyway. I really don't know where to start, it seems like so much has happened! This might be a bit long. Well here goes...

I shall start off by saying how much snow we have had latey! I'm not good at measurements exactly, but I can say that it's a lot. I was thrilled to have a white Christmas... It was beautiful. The weekend before Christmas my host family and I went to Turku, a city on the coast of Finland in the southwest. My host dad's parents live there. In Turku we went to many little market places with handicrafts and fresh foods, we saw the Turku Cathedral and the Turku Castle, and we went to the harbour. It's a really nice city..

In a few days time Christmas Eve came, the big celebration day for Finland. A short while after waking up we watched some traditional television programs on tv, including the Declaration of Christmas Peace from Turku. Then we had brunch together. We had riisipuuro, or rice porridge (traditional Christmas breakfast), and bread and really good cheeses. Riisipuuro is really delicious. You can put just sugar and cinnamon on top, which is what I did, or you can put this kind of date sauce/soup on top that has actual dates in it as well. I have tried it both ways. Anyway. There is a tradition in Finland where a small almond is hidden in the big pot of riisipuuro, and whoever finds the almond in their bowl is said to have luck for the new year. They also get to make a wish. So usually people keep eating and eating until they find the almond. Well. On my smaller, second serving of riisipuuro I found the little almond! I got to make a wish, and now I suppose I am lucky.

Then we just hung around for a bit and relaxed until it was time for dinner. We had three courses, a cold course with lots of cold fish, a warm course with ham and the three traditional casseroles (potato, carrot, and rutabega), and then dessert. And then... While waiting for dessert... Santa Claus showed up! With one of his elves and a bag of presents.. My host family sang some Finnish Christmas songs to him, then after we had dessert we opened all of our presents. I got really cool things.. Including a Finnish CD, some Marimekko things (Finnish designer), and this little Russian jewellery box. :)

On Christmas day everyone just relaxed basically. We had dinner in the evening, about the same as Christmas Eve, except we had reindeer too. Later we went sled riding later down their massive hill, and then had glögi and played a game. The day after Christmas, Boxing Day, is pretty important in Finland as well. It is Tapaninpäivä in Finnish. People usually visit their relatives or spend time with their friends. We went to Turku to see my host dad's parents. Then during the evening we traveled to Lohja (a small town) to see friends of my host family. That was fun. We went in their hot tub. Finnish hot tubs are pretty different than the hot tubs I have seen back home. They are wooden, round, and have a sort of fire pit and chimney in the back... And it was outside. When the hot tub got too hot we took a dip in the whole cut out in the frozen over pool or we ran around in the snow. Then we went to the sauna as well, and I saw my first vihta. A vihta, defined by wikipedia is "a kind of whisk made of birch twigs and used in the sauna to enhance the effect of heat by gently beating oneself with it." Yup. I used it to. It doesn't hurt or anything.

Lohja was nice. The next day we did some more relaxing. The family we stayed with was really nice. In the evening we headed home. Thennn the next day, which was yesterday, we went to Estonia for the day. To Tallinn, the capital city. It was really beautiful. Very medieval looking. There were so many colorful buildings and I saw a really awesome looking Orthodox church. We walked around, saw the old city, shopped at many handicraft stores, and came home. It was funny though because all though the Estonian language sounds SO much like Finnish, I couldn't hardly understand a word of it.

Now, I am just relaxing... Again. I actually wanted to put a good amount of photos in this blog... But my the blogger thing won't allow me upload any. So sorry about that.

Oh, and I got accepted into American University in Washington DC! So I am definitely going there next fall! I am going to major in International Studies..along with another major or minor as well. I am so excited!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.
Happy New Year's!

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Lapland and Finland's Independence Day

I got back from my trip to Lapland two days ago. It was so much fun! Mostly because all of the exchange students were together...all 150 of us. We arrived in Lapland on Saturday, after a 13 hour bus ride.. We had lunch at the lodge we were staying at, which was really nice by the way, then headed straight towards the ski slopes. I decided to start with downhill skiing. First I tried the bunny slope, fell once, then moved on to the bigger slope, and never fell. I was surprised to find out that I actually like skiing! We had a candlelight dinner in the evening with fish soup and amazing blueberry pie. On Sunday we went to ski again. I decided to try cross country skiing that time... I thought it would be easier, but it was actually harder for me than down hill skiing! It was fun anyways.... It was just nice to see the nature of Lapland while skiing. It was so beautiful there. Everything was completely white and it reminded me of the movie The Chronicals of Narnia!

We had winter programs in the evening (after sauna and going out in the snow in our bathing suits!), which included some entertainment and a little show that the exchange students participated in. Mostly everyone put on a small skit or something about their country. Monday, our last full day, was definitely the busiest day. We visited reindeer and huskies, rode on reindeer sleighs and dog sleds, visited a Sami woman's old house, walked in snow shoes, ate reindeer for dinner (yum), and saw a Lapland nature museum. We even crossed the border to Sweden...just to say we were there! We had a little program during the night...which consisted of a Sami man singing traditional songs, the Rotex putting on skits, and the oldies giving away gifts to the newbies (us).

We left Tuesday morning. We drove about three hours and then stopped in Rovaniemi to visit Santa's village. Just incase someone did not know, the real Santa lives in Finland! In Santa's village we did a little shopping, took some pictures, and saw Santa (of course!). Then we headed back on the bus. Overall, I really enjoyed the trip. It was so nice to just be with exchange students for a while. Exchange students just understand eachother... Since we are all going through the same thing. Plus, I just loved Lapland. It was cold, mystic, and beautiful. Did I mention the coldest day was -15 Celcius? Burrr. Oh! And the darkness! That was the only thing I didn't like as much. The sun came up around 10:30 am...and then set at about 2:00. So it was dark most of the time..haha. But, I really hope that I get another chance to go to Lapland during my exchange! It was amazing.

Other than my trip to Lapland, I started new classes at school, which are going very well so far, and I got my Christmas package from my parents! Pancake mix, maple syrup, pop-tarts, my new amazing camera, and a few other things! I am so grateful. Then, this Sunday, December 6th is Finland's independence day, or itsenäisyyspäivä in Finnish. There was a ball last night at my school to imitate the ball President Tarja Halonen has at her house to celebrate the independence day. I could not go though, because I had Finnish lessons. We did have another small celebration at school though today. They celebrate their indepence day a little differently than in the US. It is more of a gloomy and depressing holiday here. At the assembly sad sounding music was played, speeches were given, and the Finland flag was held up. They do not have the Finland flag up everyday of the year like in the US.. The Finnish flag is only raised on special holidays... I am sure that on Sunday I will see many Finnish flags. There was also a traditional polka dance performed in the assembly, which I though was really interesting, and then a small skit/song performed by a group of guys. I think the skit was about some sort of battle, but I am not sure since I can't quite understand Finnish 100% when it is sung... Lastly, Finland's national anthem was played, and everyone sung along. It is a really pretty song, I think.

I am interested to see if anything else will happen on the actual independence day. It is nice to see the patriotism Finns have for their country. People are patriotic for their country here, but it is in a different way than I am used to. I guess in the US we are just more outwardly patriotic I suppose. I don't know... It is really hard to explain. All I know is that the Finns are very proud of their country, even though they do not always show it.

Now, the Christmas holidays are coming soon. I only have two full weeks of school left until Christmas break. Their Christmas break here is much longer than mine back home! I have almost three weeks off here! Ahh, I love Christmas. It is such a wonderful time of the year, and I am excited to experience it here.

Well that is enough for now...actually quite a lot...
I will post more probably during the holidays!

Moikka!

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Thanksgiving

Today I celebrated Thanksgiving with my host family, and even though it was a little different it was still quite similar! We had everything that I would normally eat with my family at Thanksgiving.. Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and so forth! We did have a bit of a hard time finding the cranberry sauce and the canned pumpkin, but we did find them...in a small American food shop in Helsinki. After eating the main meal we had pumpkin pie and coffee. Mmm the pie was so good...and the coffee was really good too. Maybe the best I have had.

I think that my host family enjoyed having Thanksgiving. They all thought it was so weird that there were marshmellows on top of the sweet potatoes...but they liked it! Especially my host mom! So.. I spent the whole day preparing for Thanksgiving... I actually cooked a lot. I made stuffing, my grandma`s salad, and mashed potatoes, then I helped with the rest. It was really nice though because I got to teach my host family about a holiday that they do not celebrate... I explained why we have Thanksgiving, and why it is so important to us.

After eating (and a bit of resting, I ate so much!), I headed off to badminton. I really like my badminton lessons. Mainly because I like to play, but also because I get to see Veera and Marjo(my host sister and mom from my first host family)! Then I came home, went to sauna, and now I am just relaxing.

This coming week will be a little hectic. First off, it is exam week. I will be taking my English exam and my Geography exam. I told my Geography teacher that I would take the test in Finnish (since all the notes are in Finnish), but I think I am going to ask her if I can take it in English. So tomorrow I am going to start working on translating the seventeen pages of Geography notes I have... That will be a challenge! Then... Next Friday I am leaving for Lapland! I am so excited!! I will get to ski, which I have never done before. I will leave Friday and come back on Tuesday.

After I return from Lapland a new period starts at school...with new classes. In that period I will be taking History, English, Philosophy, Math, Sports, and the Dance course for the ball in February.

I do not think anything else is new... Other than the fact that it is so dark here! The sun rises around 8:30 am, and then it sets at 3:30 pm. It is so crazy! It feels like the sun never really comes up...

Well... I should go and maybe start translating my Geography notes? Haha, I have a feeling that it is going to take a while.. and my test is on Wednesday.

Christmas is coming :)
Lahti has all of its Christmas lights up already, and all the stores have all of their Christmas goods out...
Now all we need is snow...since it all melted.

But, ahh.. I love Christmas time.. :)

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Sataa Lunta...

Well, I just wanted to write a quick and short post. Everything is still going well. My second host family is really nice! They speak to me only in Finnish, because I asked them to, and that is really great! That will really help me to learn. It is getting pretty cold here! It is snowing right now and it is so beautiful! But I think I will have to find a warmer coat somewhere, because I was so cold walking home from school today!!

I made pulla the other day with my host mom... That was a lot of fun! So now I know how to make pulla! It was really good pulla too.. Last weekend I went to Helsinki to see the Picasso gallery. Then it was Fathers Day on Sunday (which is why we made pulla!). Sunday night we just had a bunch of food to celebrate Fathers Day. Along with the pulla we had amazing mustikkapiirakka (blueberry pie). YUM.

This week will be pretty uneventful I believe. I might go to watch a hockey game on Friday with my friends from school. That will be fun! I have heard though that their team (the Pelicans) are no where near as good as the Pittsburgh Penguins...haha.

Well. I should study some Finnish now :D
ahh I love snow...

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Moving and a Relaxing Sunday...

First off, my holiday in Spain was very nice! It was so warm (around 80 degrees Fahreinheit everyday!) and sunny. We spent a lot of time at the beach and at the pool, and going shopping of course. It was nice to hear Spanish too! It is spoken so much faster than Finnish. But Spain (at least where we were... Tenerife) reminded me a lot of living in Florida. It has a lot of similarites. Of course Florida is a little cleaner and safer probably. But all in all, I had a really nice time, and would definitely want to go to Spain in the future for a longer period of time.

Recently... I have moved! I moved yesterday to my second host family`s home. It is a very nice home. It sits on a hill, and overlooks the whole city of Lahti. The view is beautiful. I have my own room... and kind of my own bathroom.. I don`t think that they use it very often. But I am living with my host mom, Marja, my host dad, Lasse, and my 9 or 10 year old host brother, Viljam. They also have a daughter and another son, but they are studying in college and do not live at home. They seem like really nice people though! The mom is a really good cook too...from what I have aten so far!

Today has been a really nice day though. I will go through my day! Well, most of it... So. I woke up and ate breakfast with Viljam, did some homework, went to the store with my host mom, and then came back and had lunch. Hannes, my older host brother, and his girlfriend came for lunch. We had shrimp, chicken, these really good potatoes, salad, bread, and two berry pies. Yum. Then I went to my badminton lessons. I have those with my first host mom and host sister, so it is nice that I get to see them every week! I really loved my first host family, so I still want to see them! Anyway... I came home after badminton and went to sauna. Ah, I love sauna... I am determined to have one in my home when I actually have my own house. Then we had iltapala. Hot tea, bread, fruit, and yogurt. So good. Such a good day :)

Last week was pretty good too. It was funny because after we came back from Spain it seemed so cold and dark here in Finland. It is crazy though how dark it is! The sun starts to set before 4:00 pm and it is fully dark by 5:00. Ooh! To change the subject... Lately, like all of a sudden, I have been able to understand so much Finnish. It kind of clicked. I can listen to people speak and understand a lot of what they say. I am still working on my speaking though. I am no where near being fluent. I just need to speak more. I am gaining a little more confidence in speaking, but I am always still a little nervous! I told my host family that I want to speak a lot of Finnish so that I will be able to learn! I want to be able to get to the point where I could survive soley on Finnish...but that will take some time!

So, I think this coming school week will be fairly uneventful. The main thing is that I need to buy winter clothes. It is starting to get really cold here. I just got boots the other day! I think that next weekend will be really fun though. On Friday evening I am going to a show with my host family. It is a show that Hannes is in for his school. He is in a theatre school. Then on Saturday or Sunday we might go to Helsinki to see the Picasso gallery. There are original Picasso paintings in the gallery. That would be amazing to see. So, needless to say, I am excited for next weekend.

This is pretty long, so I think I will end it now. I should get to bed soon.
Good night!
(I can`t say it in Finnish because I dont` have the characters on my computer)
:(

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Dancing and the First Sight of Snow

Well. A good amount has happened lately actually! I must mention first, that this might be the last blog that I will write for a little while, because next week is Syysloma, or Fall Break. I am going with my family to the Canary Islands! I am so excited. It will be nice to be somewhere that is warm! Speaking of weather... I was sitting in my room today and I looked out my window and I saw that it was snowing! Not like a blizzard or anything, but it was lightly snowing. I think the temperature is about thirty-five degrees fahrenheit today. I was so excited though! I love the snow. Only bad thing is, is that in an hour from now I have to walk to my Finnish lessons in this cold weather!

School has been really good lately. I like the classes that I have. I am taking this dance course (I think I might have mentioned this before) to learn the traditional dances for the ball in February. The dances are fun, and actually a little hard to learn considering that I have never formally danced before. Haha. But I am really looking forward to the ball in February. I just have to find a dance partner first. There are literally a shortage of guys in Finland...

Also in February, I will be attending a national session of the European Youth Parliament! I just found out today. The delegation I am in from my school got chosen to go to nationals! That is really amazing.

Wow. Maybe not as much is going on as I thought previously... Haha. Well I got accepted into college! University of Pittsburgh. But I think do not think I want to go there. I am going to apply to the college I really want to go to, and that is the American University. And at least if I do not get accepted at AU, I still have Pitt to fall back on!

Ahh.
Syysloma on kohta!!
Fall Break is soon!!

:D

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European Youth Parliament

This past weekend I attended a Finnish session of the European Youth Parliament. These sessions are to simulate what happens in the European Parliament, and to discuss and learn about the issues the European Union faces today. I went through my school, Lahden Yhteiskoulu, along with seven others. The session was held in Tampere, which is about a two hour train ride from Lahti. We arrived on Friday, and after the opening ceremony we met with our committees for the first time. Before going to the session everyone had an assigned committee, and each committee had a topic. There were eight committees total. My committee was the Committee on Human Rights. There were also the Committee on Constitution Affairs, and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs, just to name a couple of others.

So, we got into our committees, and got to know everyone. I had a really nice committee. All girls! There were probably between ten and fifteen people in each committee. We got to know people in other committees too, of course. There were a little over one hundred students there, which consisted of about fifteen different nationalities! The majority was Finnish though of course. Everyone there was so nice!

Then, Saturday was the work day. We woke up at 7:00 am, had breakfast, and met with our committees. Each committee also had two chair members, to help the committee form a resolution. So, like I said, our topic was about human rights. The problem dealt with minorities in the European Union and equality. We had to come up with a resolution to this problem. We brainstormed and debated all day Saturday with our committee, and after about eight hours, and numerous coffee breaks, we had come up with a resolution. I won't type it here, that would be extremely long. Basically we wanted to guarantee more rights to minorities, and we thought of ways to do so in our resolution.

Next came the time to assign roles for the General Assembly (GA). The GA was held on Sunday. I will try to describe the GA as quick and clear as I can. Hopefully I can do that! Well... All of the committees met in a large room, with the president and vice president at the head of the room. The main point of the GA is for the committees to present their resolution, and have it either pass or fail by voting. So, we have a committee. Someone in that committee begins by reading the operative clauses. These are the ways which the committee believes the problem can be solved. Then a defense speech is made by the committee, then an attack speech from another committee (if someone has an attack speech), and then the floor is open for debate. The debating lasts about twenty minutes. After the debate, one or two people from the presenting committee give their sum-up speech. This speech contains answers to open questions from the debate and then some emotion to persuade people to vote for their resolution. Next, people vote, and the resolution is either passed or failed...

I had the job of giving the emotional part of the sum-up speech. I thought that would be difficult, but it actually wasn't. I was a little nervous because our committee had to go first (this was decided at the last minute!) and no one knew what to expect. We did very well, I believe. Our resolution passed. Of course! The GA was very long. It lasted around seven hours. So, all in all, this past weekend was very hard work. Lots of politics, brainstorming, and debating. But I also made many friends and learned A LOT about the European Union. It was exhausting, but it was completely worth it and I feel like I gained so much.

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Tänään on keskiviikko...

Well this week has been good so far. I had my Math exam yesterday, and my English exam today. Math was a little frustrating, mostly because it was in Finnish. I had an easier version of the test, a version that didn't have all the word problems. But it did have one word problem, and I did not understand it at all. Then English was pretty good today. It was mainly reading comprehension... So I had to really think. Tomorrow I don't have any classes or exams, but I have to go to school anyway to meet with the other students that are going to the Finnish Youth Parliament this weekend. We are going to prepare for our topics.

So, I don't know if I have mentioned this or not, but it is getting so cold here! Yesterday morning it was around 35 degrees Fahrenheit. When I came out of school at 2:00, it was hailing slightly. Today I wore heavier clothing, because I knew it would be cold. I left early this morning to walk with Saara, my little host sister, to her school. Then I stopped by the book store and went to a café for a little while before my exam started. I love that there are actual places I can go to. Like back home the only place I could really walk to was a gas station...

Last evening after mostly everyone was home, I played this word game with my host family. You have a card with a noun on it, then you have to describe it to your partner and your partner has to guess it. My host mom, Marjo, described the words to me in Finnish, to Veera in Swedish (she was studying for a Swedish test), and to Saara in English since she is learning English. It was fun though, and actually helped me with Finnish! It is cool that Finland has two official languages. I guess the U.S. kind of does, like English and Spanish... But at the same time that isn't really true. Anyway. It is interesting to see all the Finnish products in Finnish and Swedish. So I know a few words in Swedish, just because I see them all the time!

Well.

Nähdään!

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Viikonloppu

This past week, and weekend, has been pretty good. On Thursday I went to the Sibelius Hall for the first time, which is a famous concert hall in Finland... It is in my city. I went and listened to a really good violin and cello concert. Then during a break in the concert, I ate some really amazing pulla! I had my first exam on Friday. It was French. I studied for it, so I think it went rather well. Some things I did not know, since I was learning French through Finnish. But I did my best! It is funny though, because we had two hours to take the exam, and it only took me one! I have the rest of my exams next week. I have English and Math. Then I have to start studying and researching more about my topic for the Finnish Youth Parliament.

I had my Rotary District Camp yesterday and today. That was fun. It was really nice to see people again. There are about twenty-five inbound exchange students in my district. Yesterday we hung out for a while, ate dinner, played games, had sauna, and then went to a campfire. The sauna was nice. We went swimming too, and it was so dark and the water was sooo cold! When I went underwater it took my breath away! Then I would run back to the sauna! The campfire was really nice too. The view of the lake at night was so beautiful...and the starry sky! It was cold though... Haha, I am in serious need of warm clothes. I actually was in need of some wool socks! But anyway... At the camp fire we made these Finnish pancake/crepe things. They are so good. You put like a load of butter in this little pan with a long handle, then put in the batter, then cook it over the fire. Once it is done, put the crepe/pancake thing on a plate and put some jelly on it. SO good. Then today, we just hung out with everyone mainly. So, the Rotary weekend was fun. I cannot wait until Lapland. That will be ALL of the exchange students!!

This evening, I am going to a musical at the theatre in my town with my youth exchange officer. We will be seeing Oliver! the musical. I am excited! It will be fun and interesting because it will be in Finnish!

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Minua ilahduttaa, koska puhun suomea.

So, I am taking a harder Finnish course, and I am so glad! I will learn so much more this way. I do have to catch up a little, so I have been studying really hard! But I feel myself learning more. I am actually thinking in Finnish a lot. Not things that are too complicated though, of course. I do need to speak more Finnish though. I can understand it quite well, I just need the confidence to speak it more! I am always afraid to make a mistake. But, I think I am speaking way more now than I did when I got here. People are always surprised at how much I know. A lot of Finns think Finnish is impossible for foreigners to learn. I don`t think so!

Ah! Tomorrow I am leaving for Sweden! I am going with my host mom and host sister on a weekend cruise to Stockholm. I am so excited. First though, we have to take a train to Helsinki. I can`t wait for that, because I have never been on a train before! I am so weirdly excited for the train ride! Haha...

So, I have not been up to too much lately. Studying mainly. A lot of Finnish, but some school stuff too. We have exam week the week after next week. Then we will start the new period, and have totally new classes. I think I will be taking English, Geography, Math, Religion, Photography, Cooking, and Sports. I am excited for the next period because I have some really interesting classes. It is really different because religion can be taught in schools here. I thought I would take it to see how it is, like how they learn about that. I just thought that would be interesting. Oh! And photography... Ah! I am really excited for that class.

Something that is really awesome... I get to go to a Finnish Regional Session of the European Youth Parliament. I got involved with it at school through a friend. This session takes place in Tampere and it is basically a weekend of debating European Union issues and trying to solve them. I will have a topic (which I do not know quite yet) that I will research before the session, and that will be my topic to debate. There will be 90 people my age, from all around Finland I guess (I am not sure if it is other countries too, but maybe), and there will be eight groups to represent the eight topics. Then each group will debate and come to a resolution... Then present it at some point. I am looking forward to this. Also, it is nice because everything will be in English!

Well, I need to go and get to bed. I have to get up early.
Ah! Ruotsi huomenna!
Sweden tomorrow!
:)

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