Joulukuu

Hello again! As the holiday season comes upon us, I want to wish you all a Hyvää Joulua (Merry Christmas) and an Hyvää Uutta Vuotta (Happy New Year) !

Lenni in a seasonal outfit

Minun Perhe / My Family

Anyways, WAAAAAAAAAY back in the beginning of November, I switched over to my second host family, the Virolainen* family.  They live outside of town, on the edge of the farmland, and next to forests, which makes for a nice view. Considering that it's about 3 kilometers to school (roughly 1.8 miles) I'm quite happy for the scenery. I have a bedroom on the second floor, which is separated from my host sister Annuka's room by a common room. Annukka (16) is in the first grade of lukio as well, and I hang out with her at school. She's really sweet, and it's nice having someone to bike with to and from school. They have two male dogs, Lenni, a white fuzzball who loves nothing more than to be snuggled, and Otto, a sweet and (in comparison to Lenni) solemn hunting dog. I believe the two are a bichon frise and a Swedish (?) beagle.

My host parents are Marja and Heikki Virolainen. They have both really taken me under taken me under their wings, and it's wonderful having someone to teach you how to knit (Kiitos, Äiti!). Marja is a child therapist in Kauhajoki, and Heikki is an elementary teacher in one of the small towns about 30 minutes away from Kauhajoki. I'm really glad that I've had the chance to stay with them. During November, I had the chance to meet suku (extended family) from both sides: Heikki's mother and sister on Isänpäivä (Father's Day)** and Marja's sister, nephew and oldest son on a weekend trip to Helsinki (I forgot to bring my camera, oops! But I got to spend an entire day running around historical sites and museums, I really enjoyed it). Annu is actually the youngest of three children, and has two older brothers, one who is about thirty and lives in Helsinki, and one who is in his mid-twenties and goes to TU (Tampere University). I met Tuomas (the eldest) briefly in Helsinki, but I'll get to know them more over Christmas, when everyone comes here for the holidays!

*Viro is the Finnish word for Estonia, and Lainen means person or citizen. Despite this, my host family is not from Estonia - it traces back through their lineage from when my host father's family lived in Karelia, a south-eastern part of Finland that is now split between Finland and Russia.
**Father's Day is held on the second Sunday of November each year in Finland.

Marja in NYC over autumn break

(courtesy of  Annu) 

Otto

Saturday Morning Breakfast - With American Pancakes!

Noora (left) and Annu (right) sitting behind me in history class

This was taken sometime in mid-November, before the snow came. The driveway goes a ways before reaching the main road, so the whole house is in its own little world. On the second story, you can see Annu's window, mine is on the opposite end of the house.

Our upstairs hangout room! 

PikkuJoulu / Christmas Party

On the Friday before last, the 9th of December, my Rotary club had their Christmas Party. So I went. Christmas are really popular here, and everyone seems to go to multiple parties once December starts! I enjoyed myself there, and it was nice to see my first host family. Also, I won a gift basket! 

Here's me, all dolled-up and in my stockings! I actually did my hair as two braids, then layered them over the top and pinned them up Scandinavian style! 

Notice the posters. They are only one of multiple boards of Rotary club flags from around the world,

 many of which come from exchange students. 

The party was held in a renovated country house from the Turn of the Century. 

This year's club president and others speaking about... Rotary things, I suppose...

 

Syntymapäivä / Birthday

I had my birthday party on December 2nd, which happened to be the day before I went to Lapland. It was really nice, Annu inviting some of her friends over and my friends coming together. Nothing big, just lots of candy and hanging out. Also, we watched Henkien Kätkemä (Spirited Away) which I am proud to say was in Japanese with only Finnish subtitles. ( I'm not saying this proves that much, considering that Japanese is my most practiced foreign language - but I did rely on the Finnish subtitles from time to time, and it helped me to understand what the dialogue was.)

Hanging out in the kitchen with my friends on my birthday!

From left to right: Bence, Reetta, and Lassi

Everyone who came watching Mythbusters, playing telephone, and hopefully enjoying themselves! 

Lukio

		Mon 14.11.	Tue 15.11.	Wed 16.11.		Thu 17.11.	Fri 18.11.
		1. European Culture history	1. English	1. Advanced Math			2-3. World Religion
8 am
		1C. European Culture history	1C. European Culture history	2-3. World Religion		1. Advanced Math	2-3. World Religion
9 am
10 am		1C. English	2-3. World Religion
11 am							1. Advanced Math
		1. Advanced Math				2-3. World Religion
12 am
			1. Advanced Math	Finnish lesson for exchange students	1B. English	1C. European Culture history	1C. European Culture history
1 pm			1. Advanced Math
		2-3. World Religion			1C. European Culture history	1B. English	1B. English
2 pm
		1. Sports	1-3. Cinema	1. Art			1B. English
		1. Sports	1-3. Cinema	1. Art
3pm

This is my third period schedule, of which I am currently taking the koeviikko (test week). It's crazy to think that I'm already half done with the school year, but that's life for you. I have really enjoyed being able to switch courses often and it makes for a good study of numerous topics. But I do miss being able to do big research projects and to be able to fully understand all the material. Not just because my classes are in Finnish (obviously), but because we have to rush through so much material. Of course, it depends upon the class, in particular my history and English classes, where the teacher has given us various out of class projects to work on. Outside of that, the only real graded assignments I seem to get are the final exams, which doesn't boost anyone's confidence much.  

The first year advanced math class, in which students ponder the mysteries of mathematics and stare into the lenses of cameras.  (Iida on the left, myself in the center)

After who knows how many hours of school, you would be falling asleep on history class too! 

(Despite what it looks like, she's actually awake) 

So, again, sorry for the delay, and I'l do my best to write another article soon, probably involving my trip to Lapland with the Rotary Club and Christmas stuff! 

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me. 

Having a Grand Old Time

(American Food in Seinäjoki )    

(American, Asian, and Tex-Mex in Seinäjoki Shop)

Yesterday was a wonderful day. Made even better by the fact it was a Monday, and that Friday will be my birthday, and on Saturday I leave for a week-long trip to Lapland with all (140 or so) the Rotary exchange students in Finland. And on the sixth of December it will be Finland's Independence Day (going strong since 1917).

It started off as a normal Monday, and became progressively better as the day went on. I was able to understand much of what was going on in class, and in my World Religions class we watched a movie on Japanese culture, so I knew exactly what they were talking about.

After school we had gym, a class I usually fail miserably at, but today I was able to impress everyone in swimming! I felt so proud of myself! I was the top swimmer in the Swim Cooper Test, a 12 minute endurance test, and I managed 575 meters. Not too bad, considering I haven't been in swim team in over a year!

As a present to myself, while waiting to be picked up, I bought myself sukla (chocolate) ice cream to eat on my walk from the swim center to the library in the snow. While the few Finns I passed on my way looked at me a bit oddly, using a spoon clenched tightly in my gloves to eat my prize, I was happy under the falling snowflakes, warm even.

And I was really happy when I got to the library because, well, it's a library, one of my favorite places to be, regardless of what languages the books may be in.

All in all, a splendid pre-birthday afternoon.

                                       

Though this may not seem all too relevant to my main blog posts, I just felt like posting something short that describes what I'm feeling right now.  So, to all who read this, I wish a very happy (almost) Joulukuu (December).

Today marks a starting point of my life in Finland : Ensilumi - The first snow.  But more importantly, I had my first cup of coffee. Just a plain black coffee. I've been able to manage without it so far thanks to a healthy diet of tea. Lots of tea. And ruisleipä ( dark rye bread). It's the core of the Finnish diet, I think, along with some added toppings of voi (butter), juusto (cheese), and kurkku (cucumber).

( Maasa taking a walk in the Finnish countryside)

Although I still feel a bit guilty about updating so infrequently, I am using my time to its fullest extent, trying out new activities and adventures. Thinking back on it, there's always so much I want to tell, but by the time it gets up on my blog it's so edited that the original sentiments get lost. But enough melancholy! I really am enjoying myself in Finland, and I am my best to fulfill my duties as an American representative to Finland as an individual to everyone I meet. My Finnish is slowly improving, and I have had quite an experience, coming to terms with learning a language that is most definitely in a class of its own.

I've done several things of worth in the time since I last updated, not least of which is changing host families. I've also gone abroad (from going abroad!), begun my third period at school, and grown up (if just a little).

Estonia was amazing. Last month I was able to go there for my fall break, and I absolutely loved it. I was researching the country over a long term project last year in school, and it was such a rewarding feeling to be able to see what I had studied for so long. Of course, I still prefer Finland, but it was such a fantastic feeling, taking my first extended ferry ride and seeing both the new and the old of the city. It was a mixture of medieval architecture and Soviet apartments, of huge music halls and hidden beaches tucked away between near empty docks.

So, to give you a better idea of what went on, here's a ridiculous amount of pictures. 

That's all for now. 

I just wanted to post a short blog entry to let all who read this know that this account is still active, and that I'm doing well. I'll continue the rest soon. Hyvä Yöta! (Good night!)