The Weekend

So this weekend went by very quickly! But it will continue until tomorrow (Tuesday) because I have my English exam, then after, I will make a new schedule. Anyways, Friday evening didn't do

much. Maiju and I hung around at the skatepark and then I recieved the package from my parents!! :) It was SOO GOOD to get things from home :) They even smelled like home. All of the candy in Finland is either chocolate or salty liqourice (no joke). So when I got Skittles and Starbust, etc. I was so happy. I even got things that I completely forgot I would need. My parents used plastic bags as filler and that is good because you have to pay for them here! I use them in my garbage can and unless I go shopping, I don't have a bag...Anyways, that was a really nice thing :) Especially the old clothes I left at home because I need warm clothes!

Urho appreciates my old clothes being sent here, too :)

         Then on Saturday, I went to my friend Jennna's for a Finland party! Everyone wore white and blue and we had one helluva good time! :) All of the girls are so warm and friendly and are genuinely interested in you. It is not like small talk in America, it is like, "Hey I want to get to know you!" Haha. But it really was very fun. Usually people bring snacks when they go to parties. Like I brought a can of Pringles (yes they have pringles here), and some other people brought candy or a bag of chips. It is very smart, actually...That way everyone gets to eat anything if they brought something! Thats how it goes for most parties you go to.I met so many new girls and they are all awesome people! Very kind and real people. But going to the party, all fun aside, made me homesick for my friends. Then Alina made everyone in the family cupcakes, which were delicious. She is a sweetheart!
But I think I will go to Turku today to walk around, etc. Until next time! Hyvää pääivä!

The Finnish flag came in handy, thanks mom and dad!! Just in time :)

My "C" cupcake :)

Moi!

Sorry I have not been writing much, lately. But this week is test week so I will not be doing very much except on Tuesday I have the English exam and have to write an essay then eat lunch and make my schedule for next period.
 I had my little sister's 11th birthday party yesterday. They had an "Amazing Race" and went in pairs to various parts of town and in the field behind the house to complete tasks and get clues to the next station. At mine and Gaby's station (in the forest behind the house) they had to translate three sentences from Finnish to English. "I am Finnish", "I am 11 years old", "I have a green monkey". It is hard for Finns to remember "I am", "I have", etc. because they put those words at the end. I.E. Tallossa (in the house). Or minulla (I have). But it was very fun. I gave them a bag of Jelly Bellies and Gaby gave them some Mexican candy and it was so cute! They loved them. Finnish people have chocolate and salty candy. So it was quite a change for them! Today I went for a run around town. Going on bikes, runs, and walks helps me to learn where things are and different routes, because, like my dad, I never like to take the same route everyday. Like to spice it up! Hence, why I am in Finland ;)
I got a package from my parents today! It was so awesome to recieve. Since it was so big- it weighed 14 kilos (roughly 20ish pounds). They had to send it through Helsinki customs and then to Turku customs, which was a blessing because Helsinki is about an hour and a half away. Turku-15 minutes. At the post office customs place they had to send it to because they did not know what the candy was. And if it was medicine, it costs around £400 just to have customs look through it! Fortunately, since I am a student I didn't have to pay for the things in my package! YAY! It can cost up to 50 euros- I don't understand- If someone pays to ship it here, why do you pay to recieve it? Just my opinion.
Anyways, inside my box was American candy, clothes, and random things of the sort that are too expensive to buy in Europe- ex. Makeup! Mascara costs 10 Euros! Ah! But I got Pop Rocks, Dots, Sour Patch Kids, Tootsie Rolls, etc. Lots of American things! It was so good to recieve things from home, but it was also very strange. It was like new things, but they aren't new. I don't know! Just lots of mixed emotions, but definetely made me very happy. I had been looking forward to it forever!!! I am trying to get Urho (the dog) used to being in my bedroom because when Fanni is here, he likes to sit and watch out the window, so I let him in my room and he decided to thank me by peeing on my sheets! Haha, your welcome, Urho.
 I have a chalkboard in my room and I put different Finnish things on there to help learn the words. I am beginning to slowly understand Finnish language concepts and different words. For example, last week I drew a stick figure and marked all the body parts. This week I put up opposites (Big, small; Fat, thin; Up, down) Things of that nature.
After this weekend I will put up pictures from the party! I am also going to a Finnish party tomorrow at my friend Jenna's (pronounced Yennnnna) and we have to wear blue and white. I am going to bring my Finnish flag that my parents sent me! Just in time! Thanks mom and dad! :) Much love and God bless! <3

Wow!

So much has happened since my last blog post. I try to keep it updated but it is getting more and more difficult. So let's see, where to begin. I will just go from Friday. So Friday night we had a girl's night at a friend's grandfather's home who passed away. It was lots of fun! It was a nice house, too. Everyone brought different food and I brought my Jelly Bellies to share :) I stayed there until about 12 and Maiju's dad came and got us. Even though they all speak in Finnish, it is fun to be surrounded by girls my age and it's funny because I understand the swear words (normally a good 99% of a Finnish sentence) and I laugh when they swear, then they laugh because they know what I am laughing about! Haha!  But I really do appreciate when people even try to speak English because I know how intimidating it can be trying to speak Spanish to a Mexican. Usually, I can understand their English, although it's broken. Sitting in English class and listening to my friends talk makes me realize how lucky I am to already know English because it seems so hard to learn when not in the U.S.!







girls night!

Saturday during the day I went to a beach in Ruissalo with all of the kids in my exchange distrct 1410. Which, of course, is garaunteed to be a good time. It was kind of rainy to begin with, but then it started clearing up. So much for doing my hair, though! The fall in Finland is similar to the spring in Illinois. Rainy, cold, and wet. Although some days, it is beautiful. Anyways, when we got there we went to a pavillion where two drunk Finns screamed at us in Finnish basically threatening to kill us because we were being too loud. So after that little encounter, we found a place by the beach and  grilled some makkara (sausage) and played games as well as enjoyed the beauty of the Baltic Sea. Being with my Finnish friends is fun, but being with my exchange friends we instantly have a connection and can all talk about our experiences. Especially those of us from the states. At Ruissalo, many of my friends were telling me about the problems they were having with their family. I cannot imagine having major problems because you have to live with them for the next 2 months! Most of my friends said that they go to their house to eat, sleep, and shower and the rest of the time, are not home.

Not all of us, but some rebounds and inbounds from 1410!

After the beach, my friend Christine, from Canada, went to Turku to hang around. Some other exchange students were there including a kid from Colorado, Alec, and we went back to his place, which is about 15 minutes from Turku, and went fishing until about 10:30 then we went home around 11:40 that night. It was not too chilly, but the nightlife in Turku is quite different from the daytime. On Sunday, Christine and I just hung around my house and talked about how different everything is and about all the aspects of Finland vs. America ja Kanada.



Christine and I in Ruissalo

I am beginning to learn more Finnish as time goes on. Listening to music has helped as well as my Finnish lessons. There are only 6 of us in the class so it is very personal and I have realized that I learn by repetition. I have not learned yet how to form verbs, but hopefully I will soon because that is the key component to a sentence. Some of my friends are doing fundraising for trips and they sell all of the above: socks, detergents, candies, and toilet paper ja paper towels. Haha! How fitting for a economically fit country. This Thursday I will go to Turku with Enppu (my next host sister) and Maiju for an ice hockey game!! Yay!!! It costs about 20 Euro. Then on Friday, Enppu will be having a party. Other than that, who knows what I will be doing! Until next time :)



i want cheez its!

Yummy!

Grandmas table :)

There is not really any good junk food here, it is all healthy! I just want some greasy Taco Bell or Doritos...mmm...Doritos...Anyways the days go by very quickly here which will make up for when they go very slow in the winter :( Anyways, have not really been up to much. I met up with an exchange student who went to Mexico 2 years ago with Gaby and we shopped around and had some cafe treats! The weather has slowly been heating up, but I know it will go back down again...just waiting now...anyways, every Wednesday I go to my grandparents house for dinner and it is absolutely delicious! I end school at 2:30 on those days, but the inbound students also go and get coffee in Turku so maybe I will have to switch off! Today we had an italian thing with bacon and noodles and then we had bread with berries and vanilla ice cream. Yummy! And of course, rye bread with butter. At school, they have rye crackers, and oddly enough, they slather them with butter and I am completely okay with that! The school lunches are good compared to the lunches in America, well at least at Lakes...I miss the classes at Lakes, or moreso, how the classes were taught. Here it is strictly for exams and is directly from the books...which I understand now why they have the most prestigous schools in the world...and we sit around and play games. But seriously, I am so used to being loud and running around at school and despite how much I hated Lakes, I truly miss it now when I see how other schools are. I will have one exam during our exam week. And guess which one! Yes an English one. But other than that, I will be free for those 7 days while everyone has tests! And then we all switch classes. Gotta go do laundry and have evening snack!

Pictures for 9.2.10-9.3.10

the boats that they used. the seats go back and forth so it is easier to row.

the HUGE ferries going to sweden. (notice the helsinki boat!)

my host mom, hanna and I waiting for my dad to get back from rowing!

My ate's pizza! €7.50 for the whole thing that could feed a family.

the school decorated! main floor

This is the vending machine they decorate. "You will not eat today...lol"

Rock of love! My friends Veera and Roosa, they are third years.

I felt it necessary to make another post just for pictures. This is just SOME of them.

My family waiting for Esko to arrive!

Another week goes by

Time flies when you are on exchange really. I feel like just yesterday was my first day of school! So on Friday the 3rd years (last years) had 100 mornings left day. They dressed up as Rock of Love (on VH1, yet another American channel) characters. Basically they dressed like punk rock people. Then during the 15 minute breaks they had "Shows" in the auditorium where girls competed and danced for "Brett" the main character in the show. It was a very American thing. At Lakes, we always dressed up on different days, which I miss! But it looked like they all had a lot of fun. The school was decorated, as well. Then after school, Maiju and I went to Ates- a kebab and pizzeria place. I had a pizza with tuna, green peppers, and pepperoni...delicious!! Today I woke up at 8 to go to Helsinki at 9. It is so funny because I will go to sleep talking to some people on Facebook, wake up, and they are still on Facebook except I slept within the time that they were awake so strange. Anyways, we went to Helsinki for my dad's rowing competition. The boats were pretty good sized and there were about 14 men in each boat. They went down a river, rowed around an island, and came back within about 45 minutes or less. While my dad rowed we walked around. I saw a Pizza Hut! And the President's house, well, one of them. There was also an art museum where Van Gogh's paintings were being exhibited. There are HUGEE ferries there that transport people to Sweden as well. When we go to Stockholm, we will take one of those. Anyways, it was quite windy, but unlike Lake Michigan, the Baltic stays warm for a while and warms up the city, rather than cools it down. It was very fun, though! We ate at a Mexican restaraunt yayyy! I had a quesadilla. Pretty similar to America's. Tomorrow I am definetely going to relax and sleep in, if Urho (the dog) lets me! Hyää yötä! (Good night)

Football games!

One of the football fields. Two were gravel, 4 were turf and 1 was grass.

Today I went to a school in Ruissalo to play 3 football games. We biked to school and rode a bus there (30 minute drive) at aout 830 this morning and got back aout 230.  I had a couple of shots on goal, but I am really starting to feel sore now, after not having played for so long, it really caught up to me....but the games were so much fun. 25 minutes each with no replacements during the game. I miss playing so much. After stopping my sophomore year in high school, I wish I could have done theatre and soccer, but our schools make it basically impossible since EVERY practice is after school. The first game was 0-0. The second game the other team had a no show. And the third game...we lost..and I lost count by how many. It also started to rain pretty hard so we took shelter under some big fur trees. Luckily none of my things got too wet! Where did I find football equipment, you ask? Well I borrowed my host brother's shoes and socks, and a friend on the team lent me shinguards and pants and shorts! How sweet, right? After my football games, I went to my host grandparents apartment in Lieto for a dinner they have every Wednesday night. Meatballs, mashed potatoes, and a sort of apple cream pie! Delicious!! I have a head cold right now and get bad sinus headaches at night. But hopefully it will pass. I have found it very difficult to communicate with people back at home due to the time change and with all of my friends at college, classes seem to be more important than talking to me! :( Hmph! But it is okay because it is good for me. I can't say that I have hit a climax of true homesickness yet, but more so missing people. I.E. parents, boyfriend, dog...especially dog...she is always happy when I come home! :) I will be going to Helsinki (the capital) on Saturday for my host dad's rowing competition and my mom and I will walk around Helsinki to view some historical things and hopefully some shopping! Gotta get some sleep! Being an exchange student is tiring.

Jeje! My friend Jasmin and I waiting...before it started pouring (notice the dry ground)