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January 15, 2011
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My time here has flown by. I have been in Finland
for over five months now, and it hasn’t felt anywhere near that long. I am
starting to wonder where the time went, and if the rest of the year will
go by this fast. Weeks are starting to feel like days, and I have heard
people say that time goes by even faster after New Years.
The Lapland trip was amazing! The bus ride took way too long though (18
hours up and 23 hours back). We got to go snowboarding/skiing, feed
reindeer, go on a dogsled ride, and a lot more. It was the one and only
time when all the exchange students in Finland will be all together.
There already is more than knee deep snow in Helsinki. I didn’t think it
was possible to have too much snow to go sledding, but it is. I might not
be able to go sledding anymore, but I have spent quite a bit of time
snowboarding. There is a decent sized ski slope about 10 minutes from my
house, and one of my friends and I go there a few times a week. I have
invested in a snowboard, boots, and a season pass.
Christmas was definitely a little different from what I used to. A few
days before Christmas my host family and I went into the forest behind our
house and chopped down our Christmas tree. The tree then had to thaw in
the shed for a couple days. I wasn’t expecting the Christmas tree and
decorations to be put up so late in December.
This has been my third Christmas in a row that I haven’t been at home for,
so it didn’t feel that weird being away from home during the holidays.
Finland celebrates Christmas Dec. 24th instead Dec. 25th. It felt strange
opening presents at night and felt kind of wrong like Christmas Day lost
all of its fun. Santa Claus, or Joulupukki, came to our house on Christmas
Eve. He talked with us and handed us our presents. I got mostly candy,
gift certificates, and clothes from Joulupukki.
My family back at home went to Peru for about ten days over Christmas
without me, and I wanted them to wait until I got back to go. They were
kind of mean to me on Christmas too. They sent me a box for Christmas and
inside it was 4 SAT and ACT books, which were each 900+ pages long and
wrapped in wrapping paper. I am more annoyed that I now have to find a
place in my room for the books then I was opening them. The next day
another box came, and had presents other than books inside (it was a
remote controlled helicopter).
Less than one week ago I changed families...again. I am starting to hate
moving host families. Just when I start feeling completely comfortable in
a house and with a host family I have to move. Moving houses also makes me
realize just how much stuff I have accumulated. It is amazing how much
junk you can have, and how quickly winter clothes can fill a suitcase.
I am amazed at how different all of my host families locations are even
though they are within ten kilometers of each other. My first family was
living in a neighborhood in a small town. My second was a few kilometers
out of a small town and in the countryside. My third and current host
family lives in an apartment, which is in the center of a slightly larger
town. It is hard to decide which family I like best. Each family has
things that I love and things that I don’t like so much.
I have had amazing days in Finland and days that haven’t been completely
perfect (like the day I took the wrong bus), but since I arrived here
there has not been one moment where I wished I had stayed in Florida. I
have been having an absolutely amazing time here, and none of this would
have been possible without Rotary! Thank you for everything.
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Feeding reindeer |
Myself and Santa’s Elves
ON the Arctic Circle |
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October 22, 2010
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I cannot
believe that a month ago I said goodbye to my dad and little sister and
left for Finland. I feels like I have been here for a little over a week.
Getting to Finland was an adventure. I had 29 hours of flights and
layovers and went through 4 airports. Besides getting lost numerous times
and realizing that I had someone else’s plane ticket who’s last name is
Mirea not Mire, getting here wasn’t that bad.
Once I arrived In Finland, I was put on a very full bus filled with other
exchange students, who were all going to the same orientation course. The
bus was very difficult to stay awake on, and I don’t remember much of this
so called 3 hour bus ride.
Soon we arrived in Karkku, where our orientation course was. This week
long orientation course consisted of language lesions, lectures on the
Finnish culture, saunas, free time, a trip to Tampere, and Finnish food.
My language class was taught by a teacher named Mimmu, and she also gave
lectures on The Finnish Way of Life. We played games to help us learn
signs, clothes, the days of the week, and more.
The food in Finland is different from what I am used to. Common food is
salad, potatoes, rye bread, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Cucumbers and
tomatoes are served with many meals and are unavoidable. Other than the
cucumbers and tomatoes, the food here is really good. My favorite food
here is the dessert that is served with coffee.
On the final day of our orientation camp we got to finally meet our
families. When I met my family, it hit me that I am here for a year, and
it all started to became real. My new family took me to get my bags, and
we headed off for home.
Three days later I was given a bus card and driven to school. I met one of
the other exchange students from Canada, and assigned a student to follow
around for the day. My first class was English, and the substitute teacher
was interesting to say the least. He had dreads, a tattoo, quite a few
piercings, and gauges. Every one assured me that he was just a substitute,
but I didn’t care. I was happy.
I didn’t understand much of the classes, but the first day of school went
by quickly. After school, the student that I was following around found
someone, who lived near me, to help me get on the correct bus home and
find my house. She soon became one of my friends here. I have discovered
that a good way to make friends is to just sit down with random people at
lunch. They normally figure out that you are an exchange student within a
minute or two.
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My jacket |
My pins |
The school were the
orientation course was |
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