My Summer in Finland

F.innish U.s. Senate. Y.outh E.xchange

2007-08-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Over the past summer, my other FUSYE companions and I actually had a little bit of homework to do while living abroad. Our assignment was simply one of observation and documentation (which was something I was coincidentally doing already all summer!) Afterwards, we were to produce something like a three page essay written about our experiences and what we had learned living in Finland. I am choosing to post my reflections of my summer that I had written even before the end was near. My ideas are still very much the same, yet it is also unique to now view Finland from a foreign perspective having once again traveled safely back home to America.
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Looking back now, it is amazing to think about how my entire summer in Finland evolved and only then be able to see the beginnings of the countless things I have experienced and learned along the journey. Just months ago, I filled out the application for the FUSYE scholarship with an inclination that I wanted to go somewhere that I never thought I would go. When I found the opportunities for Finland I thought exactly what my friends and family would later say when I applied – “Finland!?? What is there?” That is how I knew that I had to learn about the country. I had done some background research and that inspired me, if not solidified my compassion to truly understand what this nation has to offer. I was impressed with the staggering superlatives of the nation and intrigued by the idea of a lone nation with only 5.5 million people that could affect our world so much – yet also be so humble to largely go along with its hard work under the radar of the rest of the world’s superpowers. I felt the drive to find out how the nation worked and what made it achieve its exemplary statistics and significantly high standard of living. I knew that living there was the only way I could satisfy my desire and curiosity to learn about the nation.

At my YFU interview, filled with questioning about my lifestyle in America and what I looked for in traveling overseas, I was confident in my idea that I wanted a challenge. That is why I wanted to go to Finland. I wanted to learn about this nation that I largely never knew much about and submerge myself in this foreign culture that I had little preparations for prior to departure. I wanted to be actively learning amongst a nation with a language I have never heard along with the warnings that it was one of the world’s most difficult languages due to its lack of linguistic relatives anywhere in the world. I wanted to prove it to myself that I could make many friends and experience and learn about teenage lifestyle in a nation that is stereotypically known for being extremely shy and "silent in more than three languages". I had my lists and I had mentally prepared myself to step out of this "comfort" zone and really put myself in a situation more foreign than I had ever imagined yet. My expectations for myself were high, and I was ready for the experience of a lifetime.

Arriving in Finland was a whirlwind. Everything happened very fast and I bonded quickly with the other American scholarship students as they became my support and home away from home. Our orientations were very structured, yet, as we had learned a lot, the true experience hadn’t truly begun. Right away after moving in with my host family, I realized I had received my challenge. My host siblings were young, 8 years old and two 3 year old twins. They were as cute as can be, but past that "tip of the iceberg"I learned just how much care, attention, and patience is required for young girls.

I remained very proactive and optimistic and even through testing times, I really made the effort in myself to make every experience a learning one. The fact was that I was having the normal struggles of simply living in a foreign environment including experiencing the culture shock also with the addition of this immense lifestyle change. I was a 17 year old male teenager with a natural brother aged 16, now living in a household with girls less than half my age. I found it in myself to make the most of these challenges and I was able to pick up some Finnish as well as some newfound maturity as I figured out my role in the family. I made the choice early on that I was not going to stand to be an outsider or a guest, so I became the big brother instantaneously.

Surpassing my expectations of a challenge, I was given a true test of patience and will power to find the positive aspects in my newfound lifestyle and as the weeks went on I found the benefits to be very rewarding. I learned Finnish words, matured as a teenager and also mastered body language to communicate with my young siblings. I feel that I took my experiences in an optimistic light and in the end I came to have a love and compassion for my new lifestyle, host family, and siblings.

In terms of other expectations, I was ready for Finland to have everything close by and near – for being a small country, everything must have been only a bike trip away, right? From my Mapquest searches of my house before I traveled, I saw that I was only a few kilometers away from the city of Turku, and my grand plan was to just ride my bike and experience the life of the city! Not that it was a pessimistic realization, but I lacked the realistic idea that Finland was a spacious nation with a lot of area in between its communities. This mistake that is now laughable didn’t affect me much since I found so many great things in my own city including scenic nature routs, friends, neat places, and even historical venues – all still by bike. I was so happy to be able to learn about my own city, and even though I did travel to the city often, I made my own journeys in my own island and nearby towns just as memorable with experiences.

Before coming to Finland I was under the impression that since Finland was known for successes in English proficiency amongst its citizens that I would be able to freely go around speaking normally as if back home. Even though many friends I had met in Finland had years of experience through school, I didn’t take into consideration the fact that while Finns learn a lot of English, they rarely are able to use the language. This challenge presented me with the difficulties of breaking down my own speech (and thus realizing how difficult it is to express a thought with as little words as possible!) while also understanding a different form of English responding to me. Living in America, our culture tends to make us hide the truth, or possibly soften things. The Finns on the other hand tend to be more blunt and to the point, and this does come across with their English as well. Many instances took me by surprise when my own native language was making me barrier in a defensive since some things came across stronger than possibly the speaker perceived, or more than likely, out of the norm of ‘American’ English. The concept is difficult to fully describe, but over all, while learning Finnish, I even learned about my own language in what is meant by the words and phrases we say, and how different cultures can use them in the same way, but mean many different things. I ultimately learned the versatility of a word, and the meanings universally of complex thoughts through hearing my native language from foreign tongues.

One of the greatest impacts of my experience in Finland was the great friends that I had made in the country. I knew coming that I would have to ‘break out of my shell’ and be the outgoing one if I wanted to make friends. Although I may have had darker features than the ‘average’ Finn, I may have not have been pointed out immediately as a foreigner. I was however noticed for being different when I would walk up to a group of teens and say ‘Hi, I am Chris, and I am from Michigan in America!’ while simultaneously pointing at my city on the map of Michigan on my hand (a little trick all Michiganders use!). Many of the times the teens I met would look either petrified or just stare blankly like I was mad. It was only after a bit more talking that they really became comfortable and began asking many questions about myself and my country. This expectation from what I learned was that Finns are shy in the outset of an introduction. However, a little bit of charisma goes a long way, and conversation and friendship was then found easily. This became so true, since the friends that I made in Finland really became true friends and wanted to show me their country and introduce me to their friends and hobbies. This was one of my prominent goals and through a little effort, which, being honest, was mentally exhausting, in the end provided me with so many lasting friendships and memories that I desired when coming to Finland. Like my other challenges, I took this one with a determind mindset as well, and in the end experienced the satisfaction of accomplishment.

Finland surprised me by having so much to offer. For all of my family members and friends I will proudly emphasize how great the scenic landscapes are in the nation – from the bustling cities with impressive architecture and market squares, to the silent but overwhelming beauty of the northern Lapland regions which I was also able to discover. Through my travels by boat and train around the heart of Finland to the North, and also around the coast of the archipelago region I was able to see just how diverse this nation really is. Along with this, the weather, with its promising four seasons of beauty as well as summertimes filled with long nights, campfires, boat trips, saunas, coffee parties and berry picking shows how much cultural experiences await. Aside from the amazing physical elements of the nation, the people of Finland are also something major in which I would note. The hospitality and friendship that I received was excellent and truly provided a very positive impact on me about how the citizens in Finland take pride in their nation and their neighbours. I feel it is this reason that the country of Finland has so many impressive statistics in the world and has a high standard of living. I would advertise these great memories and experiences so that my family and friends can experience and discover the same great thing!

The FUSYE program allowed me to discover far more than I ever thought possible while pondering my initial goals for international travel. Initially, I wanted to learn of a culture that I did not know much about, yet, along with this, I gained so much more. Along side tackling the obstacles of language barriers and small cultural misunderstandings in both sides of a situation, I discovered myself analyzing the world around me, constantly creating an understanding through comparison and contrast, and ultimately gaining the skill of appreciating my world community through the observations I was able to make through the care of a new family, and many newly founded friends. The hospitality of Finland welcomed me with caring family members to true friendships that really provided me with excellent opportunities to see so many facets of the Finnish cultural spectrum. Starting from a nation that caught my eye from staggering superlatives - Even more impressive characteristics and details of the nation were revealed by living and experiencing the nation alongside real Finnish citizens who wanted me to experience the great parts of their nation along with them. Thinking back, I feel that means I had achieved my goals since a country that sounded so grand in statistics proved that they are not just by any coincidence; Finland has grown to be what it is today because of its patriotism, pride, and hospitality, all of which fully embody and symbolize what the FUSYE program has given me and many other Americans in the present and past.

Writing a three page essay on Finland (... thus turning to seven... to emphasize my point) is quite a challenge since it is quite impossible to capture the true feelings and all of the knowledge, charisma, and confidence gained while living in such a situation, environment, and country. I tried my best for myself personally to keep my new life up to date with a daily online journal and even there, with hundreds of photos and stories, I do not feel that every detailed has been served the justice of its potential. Over all, I have learned so much and it proves that the only way that I can express what I learned while living abroad is sharing my stories to others and spreading the excitement of world travel. With this realization, I feel that is the true meaning and goal of the FUSYE program in the first place.

Coming Home

2007-08-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

Early - Very Early - Saturday morning felt like the end of a long day and the beginning of another long day. Over the previous few hours - it would be lying to say "the previous night" since that hadn't finished - I was able to enjoy every moment of my last hours in Finland hanging out with my host sister and new friends all around Helsinki. I don't generally sleep well on planes, so I was probably setting myself up for some dramatic jet lag, but I had no regrets. Once home after venturing the city, Anna and I enjoyed some coffee and looked at pictures while chatting the last remaining time away. I got the last of my luggage together and before long, it was early in the morning, yet, time to head to the airport for my long journey back home. My luggage checked in successfully - no stressful dejavu's this summer - yet, rushed like always, it was time to say goodbye to the Kiukkonen's.

Even in a short week's time they had truly welcomed me with excitement and so much planned and that made my final travels in Finland very special. Anna was an especially important part of my summer and her enthusiasm to show me her home city was reflected in our exciting tours. We always had great things to talk about and she has given me many inspirations to experience and learn new things around the world.

Anna, and my other family members from the Kiukkonens, had made my summer extremely memorable as well, and I have a deep gratitude for what they provided me with as well as a great satisfaction that I have another connection, family, and trust, in yet another part of Finland, and part of the world. Saying goodbye was special because I knew that the special bonds that were created in the week past were not always easy to come by, and I had acquired another international family that meant so much to me.

The planes rides themselves were a little dizzying and left us feeling delirious. Our flight to Frankfurt came quickly in only a mere few hours and once again we were overwhelmed by the expansiveness of the International airport abounding us. Herding as a group we all arrived through and made our next flight which would have us crossing the Atlantic during a never ending morning ( as we would arrive in D.C. still early on in the same day).

The flight was really a lot of fun, since the really close friendships that were made throughout the whole summer between us American travelers gave us hours of talking and laughs.

We had been able to do really so much together and shared some great experiences at each others sides.

Although stated many times, it was really so unique that we all came from different backgrounds from around the country, yet we had the special unity of being Americans. One of the embassy workers applauded that are group was exactly what the embassy tried to explain and instill in their foreign visitors : 'Americans' defines groups of all types with such a proud diversity of all different backgrounds, and our group exemplified that.

Once back in D.C. many of us had long layovers before going home and we were able to spend our first hours back in America appreciating our last hours together. For many of us we planned to keep in touch and even visit each other, but it was depressing having so many goodbyes in one week, let alone, one day. Throughout the afternoon we clustered around the airport wishing everyone farewells and enjoying each others company.

We had to laugh since we had the reverse feeling coming back that we were like foreigners - around the airport feeling like ' those American kids that lived in Finland'. We were almost in a state of denial, since we had challenged ourselves all summer to blend in with the Finnish lifestyle, and now back in the comforts of our own home - there was nothing more comfortable than laughing as a group of 'adopted Finns' with all of our culture clashing jokes that would only make sense to us, along with our random Finnish words and phrases that unanimously flowed into our average speech.

Our little group had really become tight knit largely to the fact that we felt and pronounced each other nonverbally: Our homes away from home.

Coming back to Michigan I had the great thoughts of my associations around the globe and even in my own country with so many really close friends that I had experienced so much with. We all shared the same struggles and bonds and that immediately connected us in ways that others couldn't comprehend. That comprehension being what it really felt to live in Finland, and ultimately abroad in a foreign situation, that is largely difficult to even begin to express in words. Finland had impacted me immensely and I had gained so much out of the experience - even new friends and 'family' in my own home country. It is that what had really made the final moments of my YFU FUSYE experience incredible. The day had been long - and I had been even longer with out sleep - but the excessively long day had been filled with so much emotion, excitement, fun, and compassion and the only thing ahead of me was the readjustment to the my 'normal life' aside from my connections to my home, friends, and families abroad --- and probably a lot of jetlag.

Helsinki Parks

2007-08-26T07:18:00.001-07:00

There was no time to lose. After the factory it was already early afternoon and, since we had very early flights the next morning, we had less than 12 hours left being in Finland. We all took one last trip to the YFU offices to say goodbye to a few of our group leaders who would not be seeing us later on in the evening for our flights, so we had one last chance to say thank yous. It was really nice in Helsinki since I was able to see Johanna again who was my YFU area representative in Turku, as well as Mirjam, who had a very large role in making our FUSYE activities in Finland so incredible.

It felt strange leaving the YFU office since everything for the very busy week was done, and then, since there was only hours until our next flight, there was a sense of limbo filling the void.

Anna, my host sister in Helsinki, and I had become very close in just a short weeks time since we really had a lot in common and so much to talk about. As Anna seemingly always had something fun planned, she wasn't going to let our last night be any different. Just a few blocks away I met her in the early afternoon at the Havis Amanda statue near the market square ( another great meeting place in Helsinki).

Anna had aranged with some of her friends to all meet at Esplanadi park across the street so the they could hang out but also have a chance to meet me as well. As I have noted, Esplanadi park really may have been one of my most favorite parts of Helsinki; The park was a narrow strip down the busy streets to the market square, and it was beautiful with sprawling flats of green lawns and park benches. There were statues along the open walkways, in counterbalance to the dense city life in peripheral vision to the right and left.

The coolest part was that it was full of people simply enjoying an excellent summer's day relaxing in the park. It was so European and so exciting to me.

Once we met up with Anna's friends we got some ice cream, grabbed a bench, and followed suit with the hundreds of other relaxing park-goers around us.

The atmosphere was so nice and in accordance to my stray thoughts of my last moments in Finland, this happy memory pronounced itself as one of the projected perfect first moments back in Finland as well, one day. After a long sunny chat, something that was so fitting for the social culture here, we all split our separate ways, even though I would see some of the girls later in the evening since Anna was planning to get together with more friends again ( It was their last Friday evening before school started as well - Teens were enjoying summer everywhere.)
For the late afternoon, Anna and I were going to go her her mother's house to have my last dinner there. Everything was able to slow down a little bit and we had a nice relaxing meal while being able to talk about some of the things I had seen during the day. The Kiukkonen's are big fans of the Iitala products and really liked the factory as well. I was able to see some of their collections at the house. Saila, my Helsinki host mother, was really so kind and along with everyone in my host family for the week, I was going to look forward in keeping in touch with everyone. The completion to my final meal in Finland was very fitting since there really wasn't anything more perfect in Finland for deserts than the berries, and a bowl of fresh blueberries was extremely satisfying.
That evening, as planned, Anna and I met friends in downtown Helsinki for my last hours in Finland, and their last Friday evening before school - overall, it was worth the festivities.

As a matter of fact, the park in which we met everyone at to hang out for the evening was the very first park that Anna showed me near her school on our Helsinki tour earlier in the week ( which already felt like ages had past with all of the events and experiences). The coolest thing was that the park was filled with teenagers and young adults all enjoying an absolutely gorgeous summer night which was one of their last before busy school years began once more.

Chatting on a blanket spread out in a park into the night, and then getting up to stroll the brightly lit streets when it was ( on a very rare instance for being out at night in the summer for me) truly dark out was incredible. On my last evening in Finland I was really enjoying the Helsinki city life and the downtown night experience in Europe with the sounds and the lights was really exhilarating.

It was really so much fun talking and hanging out with many new friends that I had met and filled my last hours with dozens of memorable moments.

Everything had gone so fast since, before we knew it, Anna and I had to go and catch the final bus for the early hours in the morning to get back home for me to pack and catch my plane. Time was not even an issue anymore - At the brisk rate everything was happening, an all-nighter was only appropriate so that I could truly value every moment with my host sister and new friends overall making my last experiences in Finland incredibly fun and exciting.

Iitala Factory of Helsinki

2007-08-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

In every Finnish home you will most likely find a large assortment of high quality glass products with a little 'Iitala' emblem on the side. Finns take pride in their own country, and this is reflected in there love and appreciation of glassware products made by the Finnish company of Iitala. I had seen many products over the summer in homes that I had visited, as well as in department stores I browsed through, and for a great opportunity for a closer look into the art, design, and craftsmanship behind the products our last event for the FUSYE Helsinki program was a special trip and guided tour to the Iitala factory in the city of Arabica, neighboring Helsinki.
Iitala followed suit with with many companies in Finland with an outlook into modern style and design. The general offices and entrance areas were very modern, specially designed to emphasize simplicity and the glassware itself ( which led my observations to the fact that many of the office cubicles were like glass cases - interesting).

With our tour guide we were taken further than the front of the headquarters and were able to see all the steps to the final Iitala products behind the scenes. Inside the back floors we were led to many machines rotating with wet ceramics being filed and shaped down to size.

For glasses and mugs, handles were put on sub-manually with each one having to be assisted by a manhandled machine. Albeit expensive, you could tell that you were paying for quality, care, and precision when buying an Iitala product when seeing how much effort was put into the production in the factory.

From the background knowledge of the tour guide we learned about the philosophies of efficiency and top quality of Iitala. They make many precautions to not waste materials and also have high standards when selecting which products are acceptable for sales.

Another floor consisted of the kiln which was an enormous oven that baked the products into their final states. It was definitely a little warmer on that floor. Outside on the cooling racks were crates upon crates of thousands of plates, glasses and mugs. It was incredible.

We also learned how images were screened onto the mugs which was the same set up for the famous Muumi mugs which are one of the most popular products of the company.

After the tour of the back factory area of the home-goods quarters we were led to the presentation room for the remainder of the tour. The room was very large and well lit, modern of course, and really presented the whole collection of Iitala products very well.

While looking around we learned about the history of the company and the thought process around the product's designs.

Many of the glass products came in a variety of colors, and for that reason, a variety of prices, since different colors required more precision and time to get it just right ( deep red was the most difficult to create apparently, making it a much higher price than, say, clear or blue). There was also a whole table dedicated to the timeless Aalto vase which is the classic design by architect Alvar Aalto.

The design may seem a little weird, but once you see it in its element in a well furnished, modern Finnish home, it really looks spectacular - and you do see these in pretty much every Finnish house!

Many of us really enjoyed viewing the collections put together since they all complemented each other very well. After touring around we had an opportunity to shop at the factory's store and pick out some Iitala classics for ourselves as last minute souvenirs since we were already past being in Finland for less than 24 hours.

After our tour and shopping excursion, we all were very excited and adrenalin rushed since we only had hours remaining in our summer living in Finland.

The U.S. Embassy of Finland

2007-08-25T07:20:00.001-07:00

Throughout the summer I have been declaring quite a few events as being "one of the most incredible things I have done in my entire life". Seemingly redundant, it can't go unmentioned that each experience has been incredible and it is hard to even comprehend myself on how so many influential experiences could follow each other in one summer. Each event and experience has impacted me with awe and excitement, but my experience on the Friday of the Helsinki program was possibly the most influential, and truly unified the overwhelming amounts that I was learning and maturing over that past weeks.
Friday morning provided me with another little adventure through Helsinki since I now had a new location to find on my own - the Embassy of the United States. Passports in hand, we arrived sporadically as a group at the entrance to the embassy which, in all honesty, did not present itself as a very welcoming foundation ( at least in retrospect to the consoling blush pink of Great Britain across the street). Everything was very orderly and secure; passports were checked, all bags, cameras and personal belongings had to be left behind ( my camera!!....) and metal screenings were part of policy. At that rate none of us really knew what to expect while only nervously laughing at what was going on.
Everything changed very quickly when we were all through the front entrances and were greeted by a representative of the embassy who was a cheerful woman with a very calm, approachable persona. Once inside the embassy was when everything was at ease and at that point we were led to the Ambassador's residence where we would meet for our morning agenda. Walking inside the house, the entrance way was ornamented with very American or 'New England Colonial' style decor, along with a carpet adorned with stars. It was as if we were in D.C. again, and like our visit to the Finnish Ambassador's home for his hosted gathering, this invitation created the same form of nervous anxiety within all of us; We were still collecting our thoughts on where we really were. As we clustered in the vestibule, the Ambassador herself, Mrs. Marilyn Ware, came out of her office from the right and proceeded to greet us all individually with a handshake and welcome. As we were ushered into her home we signed in her guestbook and viewed her homes furnishings ( complete with pictures of the Ambassador with high American officials including President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Vice President Dick Cheney, and others). Along the walls was a collection of American art which was revealed as part of the "Art in Embassies" program in which an ambassador selects American art pieces to bring to their new home abroad to further enhance their guest's experience with American culture in the arts. This detail alone in the very impressive room had us all very intrigued by what we were going to be learning throughout the morning. Further in we were then escorted outside to a very nice courtyard aligned with patio tables and a display of refreshments. For the morning we were going to enjoy listening to the Ambassador and her fellow American representatives outside in the scenic courtyard during an enjoyable coffee. The experience was already extremely amazing as we sat, devotedly awaiting the speeches ahead for us.
Starting off, each representative gave a brief introduction and one even welcomed us 'back home'; we were on American soil. However cliche it may sound, I did feel back home. Each representative was so very passionate about their position and dedication to their country and that was reflected in the very comfortable, friendly community that made us teenagers find a new reason to make us proud to be Americans. Myself calling all of us teenagers here brings about another motivational detail at the embassy. Ambassador Ware never referred to us as teenagers as she spoke to us; we were Ambassadors to Finland. Before helping ourselves to coffee, as we stood up to take a photo as a group, Ambassador Ware had us grouped in a circle almost huddled as a team. This was a surreal feeling. As she spoke to us in the center of our tightly knit circle, she referred to the connections in the world, with a specification on Finland and the U.S., that made us feel as if we had a mission. We were the next generation and the next step in leadership and the words that she spoke to us were extremely motivational. She gave us a determination and drive to return to America and take the step in connecting our communities with not only the lessons gained by learning about Finland, but also those of experiencing and understanding a new culture. Specifically on Finland she spoke how there is an important connection between the nation and the U.S. that must be realized. Finland has shared a very similar history, as she mentioned, being denied independence from a number of neighbors in its past. She commented how the motives of the countries are similar in terms of citizen's rights as well as equal suffrage and this led to her concluding message: It doesn't matter how small or how populated a nation is to take notice of it globally and politically. What is important is that we keep close and associate with global partners pertaining to our connections in history and values. History was a major vision of Ambassador Ware and she was a firm believer in the values we could learn from history as well as the positive connections and understandings we can make about a nation and culture through our pasts. Breaking from our huddle, I could only turn and see everyone's expressions replicating my own. We were amazed. We had just received such an intimate connection with a truly elite leader in our world - Ambassador Ware's position did present her as the representative of President George W. Bush directly while delegating overseas. Everything that was said to us was so personal and deep and we really felt as if we were recognized as well as given a purpose and motive to achieve with our futures.
As we sat down at our elegant tables with our coffee we were moving on to hear a little bit about the embassy itself as well as the U.S. foreign service from the representatives in Helsinki who were all directly affiliated with its purpose. I sat there ringing my finger around the gold 'Embassy of the United States of America' emblem on our napkins encircling our symbolic eagle, smiling - I still couldn't believe where I was. The representatives spoke very conversationally and really connected to our group. Even in the relaxed atmosphere, their positions and backgrounds were incredibly impressive. The representatives had an array of top degrees at a number of famous universities, a mastery of dozens of languages ( each person knowing 5, 7 or more!), backgrounds of assignments in all corners of the globe, and for one, high honors within our air force assembly. We all were all enthralled by the prestige of their pasts, and also their futures, since they all shed light that their assignment in Finland for a few years was by far not their last. In affiliation with futures, while socializing with my friends from all different states and backgrounds of America in the FUSYE program, we all had role models and newfound aspirations from the exceptional experience at the U.S. embassy. With are summer almost entirely focusing on Finland, many of us had not made large associations back to our home country. However, having the American-specific memorandum, all of us received new outlooks on our roles in our global communities, and new perspectives and determinations to take with us through our educational careers and futures.
Unfortunately since we were not permitted to bring cameras, many of the great moments that occurred within this 'community' of the embassy were left uncaptured. However, many of us had a great chance to recount our favorite quotes and messages and discuss how we felt about every detail from career positions to our roles as ambassadors as we had a nice sunlit lunch at a seaside restaurant patio.

Just down the street from the cluster of international embassies, we all were able to recollect, possibly just like real ambassadors would do during their breaks, down the road at the beautiful site of Cafe Ursula.

In addition- To our surprises while searching online, us FUSYE students found ourselves on the front page of the embassy's headlines in accounts of our visit with Ambassador Ware:

Ambassador Ware Hosts Youth for Understanding (YFU) Finland-U.S. Senate Youth Exchange Program Participants

On August 10, a group of thirteen American YFU exchange students visited the American Embassy to meet Ambassador Ware, receive a briefing about the Embassy's operations, and learn more about the U.S. Foreign Service. The group spent seven weeks in Finland touring the country, establishing friendships, and promoting mutual understanding between Finland and the U.S. Finnish host families introduced the students to Finland's society, history and culture.

Ambassador Ware with Youth for Understanding (YFU) Finland-U.S. Senate Youth Exchange Program Participants

Meet Me Under the Stockmann Clock

2007-08-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

Free time in the afternoon equated into everyone going different directions to check out what they wanted to see in Helsinki. Conveniently, in such a large city ( and with a large group of Americans with no working cell phones) there was one easy solution - The Stockmann Clock. Possibly one of the most famous sites in Finland, this simple department store entrance way with a rather quaint rotating clock provides one of the most unique, and ultimately photogenic, venues in the entire city. Located seemingly in the heart of everything downtown in Helsinki, the Stockmann department store is easy to find and the best central point of all travels throughout the city.

The custom of meeting under the Stockmann clock is not only true, but it is a practice efficiently used by the Finns. (As a matter of fact, from conversations with Jarno - he utilized the clock for a couple of dates back in his day!) As are group of FUSYE friends detoured around, a simple planned time and one place made everything easy. What was amazing was that when I actually did get to the clock it was full of people, some chatting, some anxiously waiting ( Finns ARE prompt... and there is a clock over your head ready to instigate any form impatience!). Initially I met my friend Kim under the clock, and since we were so excited for doing things "The Finnish Way", a picture was in order.

Throughout the afternoon I met up with people all over the city getting to exhibit areas all around. From the many floors of the Stockmann department store, to the the market square, to modern streets with bright lights still dotted with historical motifs and churches. Venturing around was thrilling and something was able to catch our attention at every stop.
In connection to our means of assemblage, Anna and I actually planned ourselves to also meet under the clock once she was off work to hang out for the evening. Strolling down the street to meet at the Stockmann clock was another nostalgic moment ; " I AM in Finland!". At the entrance to the bustling store I stood content being part of the great mix of the brisk Helsinki streets around me. While daydreaming, Anna came crossing the street at a hurried pace and then greeted me apologetically. I took a quick glimpse at the clock overhead ; 5:02. An apology? I knew the Finns were keen on time but it still deserved a smile. Our conversations while heading down the streets together involved a little introspect on America, or in the least teenagers in America, and the great philosophy of being 'fashionably late' - Anna was a little taken aback or culture shocked to say the least. In and out of different shops Anna was once again in her element and was able to show me all around Helsinki, through the shortcuts and all. Some interesting sites included an American overseas food mart ( which was entertaining since the prices were outrageously marked. After currency rates - $4 for a regular Reese's cups anyone?) as well as the largest H&M I have ever seen ( being close to Sweden, IKEA and H&M come standard in every city!).

-Don't blink... those are the real prices you see there ( In Euros to say the least! {and the exchange rate all summer was 1.4x!! painful!}) . I think this is the "American" cake that my host family was referring to... now I know why most Finns haven't tried it!-
After a great evening of webbing in all different paths through the downtown streets, Anna and I stopped for something really unique and special which was a Helsinki classic. Fazer chocolate has largely gone under the radar here on my blog but is a favorite endeared by foreigners to Finland and Finns alike. Fazer is a chocolate brand ( as well as baked goods) based in Finland and truly makes excellent products. Many Finns I spoke to over the summer that had traveled abroad said that one of their most missed Finnish foods was the Fazer blue ( the classic milk chocolate bar in a metallic blue wrapper). Right in Helsinki was the one and only Fazer cafe and that was where Anna and I were going to stop for some special Fazer chocolate ice cream sundaes.

The inside was almost fictional like a movie with a oldstyle vintage factory candy parlor, and with the terraces outside, a perfect European experience.

Sitting outside, Anna and I enjoyed the great environment, as we socialized with streetside musicians fiddling in the background noise.

Eavesdropping around I heard broken English being spoken at a number of tables. This exemplified the notion of broken English really being the European second language ( a joke I have heard from various Finns and Europeans) and it also proved that not only was English the connection of foreigners from all around - this Fazer cafe seemed the place to be ( and show off) to your guests to Finland. Anna had taken me to a great place and I felt that it was the perfect was to start slowing down our evening for the night. But to my misjudgment, the cafe was not the planned ending to our day's activities - Anna had one more Helsinki must-see to fit in while the night was still young.

Linnanmäki is Helsinki's answer to large amusement parks and that was where Anna had planned to take me.

Linnanmäki allows you to pay per ride instead of admissions and both of us were going for one ride in particular before the park closed: the Vuoristorata.

Of all the rides in the park - this was the one to ride. It wasn't the biggest or the fastest, but it was definitely the most unique. The ride itself is the oldest in all of Europe, being built in 1951! Being an old fashioned coaster the ride relies entirely on physics to ride - Once the chain pulls the cart up, it technically is a free-for-all drop. To make this more exciting, there are no automatic brakes. This is what made the ride wild. There were actually manual workers that rode the ride countless times over the park's season manhandling the brake-stick ( As shown below).

This technically provided a guarantee that no two rides were ever alike in breaking or in speed. These little history specs made the ride sound so daring and I was so glad that Anna had taken me to just see this ride - It was so worth it. Up the rickety ride I wasn't sure what to expect but what ever it was, I had my camera ready ( I had become pretty infamous about that with everyone! ) and had it strapped around my wrist.

Before even going down our first hill, at the highest point of the ride you were able to catch a magnificent view of Helsinki downtown in the distance - but the beauty was only for a blinding second since ride around the turn was the reckless tracks ahead!

The ride was bumpy and so much fun- tunneling inside and out of itself like a winding, wooden knot. Laughing and screaming while coming off, Anna and I both were smiling and full of energy. During that last minutes before the park closed we walked around to check some other stuff out. The park was really cool mixing old style carnival with some reincarnations of famous Helsinki sightseeing spots.

The park was so much fun and I couldn't have asked for a better evening. I had experienced some of the best parts of Helsinki with my friends and especially my host sister, who always had great ideas of where to show me around, all of which had little ties back to that keystone of Helsinki: The Stockmann Clock.

Ministry of Education / Ministry of Foreign Affairs

2007-08-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

Experience after experience, we all were learning about new parts of Finnish culture along with customs and modern issues that pieced it all together. Thursday morning we would discover more about our host country with a new in-depth view into both its future and stand in world affairs. Providing the new insight were programs and presentations held at both the Finnish Ministry of Education and then the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday morning. With both buildings on our schedule we had a very full and informational day ahead of us.
The Ministry of Education promoted much interest within our group since it proposed and outlined not only the educations and lifestyles of students our age studying in Finland - but also the potential for foreigners studying abroad in Finland. The subject of the presentation was largely on the topic of Finland's emphasis on education and how that provides a positive outlook for a successful Finnish nation still in the future. Along with this subject of the future - our own futures were discussed since there were many promising and impressive opportunities awaiting us if we ever felt the drive for adventure to study in Scandinavia. The meeting was very neat since we were seated around a very large conference table in which we had coffee with the minister of education herself, along with another Representative of the ministry, both of whom were going to share with us the goals and guidelines on education in Finland. The minister welcomed us and shared her excitement of being able to share the morning along with us American students. I had the great opportunity to represent our group and formally thank the minister for the hospitality and information provided by the ministry and it employees. Standing up and shaking hands with the minister after sharing a few words of appreciation really set the tone that I was doing some incredible things over the week's time and I was meeting some very important people as well while learning so much.
The meeting itself was filled with many statistics and impressive facts pertaining to Finland's great emphasis on education in its country and its strong successes. In discussion about colleges many of us were very surprised by one detail that was actually in direct accordance to us. Finland takes pride in offering education for free all the way through college. This is no exception for foreigners, and although it is still rather undiscovered now, there are many great opportunities and possibilities to receive an education in Finland coming from anywhere in the world. Major Finnish universities including Helsinki University, Helsinki school of Economics, and Turku University offer full curriculum in English are are already prominent in the European education scene, and are constantly gaining more positive credibility as time passes as well. The idea to us high school students of a free education overseas was phenomenal and made all of our imaginations start pondering how neat the experience could be. Many of us were very excited about the idea of a semester or two along with a few credits in a Finnish school to not only utilize the opportunities available to us, but also have a solid chance to come back to Finland with a definite purpose ( and all of us really were already planning on when we were coming back!). The Ministry of Education opened our eyes to not only the growing and positive future of Finland through education, but also the futures of ourselves and how Finland can once again be a great part in our academic journeys.

What was so amazing about Thursday was that the next step in our daily agenda was just as exciting. For another morning meeting followed by a hosted lunch, we traveled to another Finnish governmental facility which was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There we were going to gain some very Finland-specific knowledge in regards to some topics that we were all very curious about. Many of us had asked questions throughout the summer pertaining to Finland's involvement in the world as well as how it functioned in the European political scene, and to the benefits of our curiosities, we had a whole presentation during the late morning which was going to answer all of our questions. Throughout the morning we were greeted by many important Representatives and workers of the ministry and each had a little something different to share with us. Beginning our meeting, all of the American students were led to a viewing office with a large screen to preview slide shows and movies. The first subject of discussion was Finnish tourism, and in connection with this one of the ministries large projects : their web page - http://virtual.finland.fi/. From this we had a great direct view into the nature, architecture, culture, design, and festivities of Finland - a large collage of everything that we had been experiencing all summer bundled up nicely together. For me at least, it was comforting to see everything so organized there, because at the rapid rate in which I had learned about the nation and Finnish culture and then to document any form of chronology or order of it, in my head even, felt overwhelming - whereas there on the site, everything was presented concisely and articulately. Further presentations included videos about the regions of Finland and what special things they offered as well as a crash course on the History of Finland's international diplomacy. This was especially interesting because we went over so much important material in such a quick amount of time, yet, everything was very interesting. The information included wars and relations with Finland's neighbors, Russia and Sweden, and later on Independence and, even more recently, European Union inclusion. This sparked my interest since I honestly did not know much about any political matters in the E.U., and after hearing about Finland's history, its views on Foreign Policy, as well as the knowledge I gained from the parliament the day prior, I realized that there was a lot of important world issues that I was naively overlooking in my everyday life.

Following the presentations, the ministry itself was actually hosting us for a very nice lunch inside of the very building. It was in a way surreal sitting at tables in the ministry having lunch along side very important diplomats while being engaged in some very interesting conversation dabbling into Finnish culture, recent news, and global politics. As our very exciting lunch wrapped up we still had one presentation awaiting us in the ministry. The final subject to preview was that of Finland/U.S. relations specifically. This was a very neat and unique subject because it was the most directly related to the challenge of observation that us American teenagers followed through while living abroad in Finland. The premises of the discussion were based around the history of political matters between Finland and the U.S. and in this presentation moreover, the economics and trade between the two nations. It was quite amazing to think that the nation of was very small and relatively overlooked when reviewing international issues to then simply see just how many items in our everyday lives come out of Finland! Nokia, Kone ( many of the escalators we ride on everyday are from Finland!), Fiskars ( I was amazed ! - the scissors I used everyday in elementary school were from Finland the whole time!) and many others were some of the major ones, to just name a few. As everything concluded, all of us were still very surprised and amazed at not only the knowledge we gained, but also the vast amount of incredible events we were taking part in and the people that we were meeting. The excitement of the morning left us extremely motivated since we had an entire afternoon ahead of us to pioneer new areas of Helsinki, which was a city constantly revealing its staggering opportunities, and to discover all the intricacies that make it outstanding.

Late Night Crepes

2007-08-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night was extremely fun. After the parliament trip, tram tours, and Suomenlinna fortress visit, the excitement wasn't over. While being near the Helsinki harbors, Ari, my host dad for the week, wanted to show us something unique about the area.

Just around the corner to another port was where very large vessels were docked at the harbor. The ships were at bay for the warm months, since they were used as ice breakers in the winter.

I was amazed since for three months the crew of the ships trace the Baltic and smash ice in their paths. It was definitely something new for me to see and it obviously was very important to Finnish trade and economics making it very neat to see!
Back at the Kiukkonen's house, Anna had another really fun night planned out. At home in the back yard the family set up a projector to view all of the pictures of their trips in which we had been discussing. While we were going to be outside viewing pictures, we were going to be cooking as well.

On a big skillet over a gas lit BBQ in the back yard Anna had planned that we were going to make Finnish style crepes for the evening. The batter was made ( the only major difference was that the "Lattyja" were of a thicker and less crispy consistency of crepes. They were still very delicious) and once the skillet was hot we started cooking and flipping our deserts outside. It was really so much fun. I had been enjoying every moment with the Kiukkonen family for they were offering me so many great experiences in our short week together. From the very beginning I enjoyed how cultured the family was. Ari, Emma, and especially Anna had a passion for art and many of their final creations decorated the house. Along with this and their travels, they enjoyed integrating influences of international cuisine into their foods including Asian and in this case French. There was so much to talk about and in addition to my excitement about all of their hobbies and interests, through talking with Anna I gained a new drive and passion to study more languages. I was really learning and discovering a lot at my new home in Finland!

I attempted to make my own crepes, but succeeded in ripping them each time in the process, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

To go along with our deserts we had fresh whipped cream, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and a variety of Jams ( oh, how I love Finnish deserts!).

Everything was so relaxing as we sat in lawn chairs eating our creations while viewing pictures of my host family's trips to France as well as their summer cottage in central Finland.

-Emma and her friend relaxing -
It was such an amazing night and once again I went to bed so happy, satisfied, and exhausted which was a good sign to me that every moment had been adventure filled with new things to see and do.

Suomenlinna

2007-08-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

One of my first images after researching Finland was of the island fortress of Suomenlinna. Since viewing the beautiful images that I found, I knew that it was a place that I truly wanted to see when I went to Finland. This is why I was so excited and eager to tour the island on Wednesday afternoon after the already impressive scheduled morning that had passed. After our tram tour we stopped back near the Havis Amanda statue and the market square which was where all large docks were in Helsinki.

From these docks we were able to take a 15 minute ferry over to the Suomenlinna fortress which was visible from the dock shores.

It was very exciting since from the ferry, we grabbed some upper deck seats and while the wind was blowing through our hair, we had an exceptional view of both the Helsinki skyline and the Suomenlinna border.

Suomenlinna is an island fortress off the coast of Helsinki that has now turned into a great tourist area as well as picnic and recreation area for Finnish citizens.

Once we were on the island we had a little time before our tour and followed suit with the relaxing atmosphere and bought some ice cream and sat at the coastal docks to view Helsinki from a distance.

Before starting our tour, we received a little history lesson which shed insight into the background of the island.

My initial assumption of Suomenlinna being founded to protect Helsinki was entirely incorrect. The history of the island fortress actually predated the entire settlement of Helsinki.

Under Swedish rule, the island on which Suomenlinna was built was chosen since it geographically was exactly inbetween St. Petersburg and Stockholm in the Baltic sea. This detail was so surprising to me and revealed so much importance and inquisitive facts about the history and prominence of the fortress' location.

Being in the center of the Baltic, as well as directly North of Tallinn, the prime landmarking of the fortress allowed the Swedes to have full knowledge over who was traveling where and why. This domination was crucial in history inbetween Scandinavian and Russian relations.

However, in the early 1800's Russia gained the territory of Finland going through Suomenlinna after beating Sweden in war.
The history was fascinating and walking through the fortress everything pieced together and made the connections more vivid and tangible.

The fortress had hills and tunnels, stone walls and a canal. As a matter of fact, the canal was especially interesting to see since it was so old, but the technologies used to operate it were still functional today.

One training area of the Finnish marines actually were based on the island itself ( even though the fortress has ceased to be used as any location for warfare or defense).

Walking around, many of us really enjoyed viewing the construction of the fortress barriers and walls ( which were mainly built by Finns through uncontested devotion to the Swedish king). One of the most gorgeous parts of the island was the southern beaches which were lined with large, weathered flat rocks along the coast which provided great places for picnics, sunbathing and swimming.

It was fully obvious why the area was so popular with the Finns.

After our tour through many areas of the fortress, we met up at a restaurant near the front entrances of the island. Here we met up with many YFU Finland staff members as well as a few host families including mine, the Kiukkonen's, who were coming since we all were going to have a special meal together.

It was very nice to be able to meet everyone else's host families as well as sit down and enjoy some time with my own.

The day had been long with a lot of walking, but it was entirely worth it since we were able to experience so much, and being later in the afternoon I was looking forward to heading back home to spend time with my host family and sisters.

Siteseeing

2007-08-20T06:05:00.000-07:00

Inbetween our lunch and our afternoon trip to the island fortress of Suomenlinna, we took a tram all the way around the city to catch some great sites of some new areas of Finland as well as some areas that deserve to be viewed time and time again. This post will serve as a collage of the impressive views that Helsinki has to offer.

- Helsinki is very cosmopolitan. You can play "where is Waldo" with this picture and see for yourself! -

- Everywhere we went in Helsinki there was something to discover! Even things of nostalgia that link my past two summers together!-

The Parliament of Finland

2007-08-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

Once everyone was together after our breakfast at the YFU office ( well, it can be rephrased as ... after were were ready since I finally arrived... haha) we went as a group on a tram to another part of the city, for, that morning we all had scheduled tours and meetings at the parliament of Finland. For the upcoming few days there was going to be a trend of realizations of how truly small Finland is ( with a population of only 5.3 million people) but yet, how truly powerful and important the nation is.

The parliament was no exception, and before even entering, there was a profound message sent, from the grand stature of the building that the central government of Finland was not to be taken lightly.

After being greeted inside, the first part of our agenda was to watch a background informational video about the structure of the Finnish government as well as what its motives were in terms of functioning for the nation and its people. Members of parliament represent their areas of Finland and thus are the quintessential voice of the people. There are 200 members in the parliament and it is this governing force that makes all major decisions for the country. One of the points of pride largely discussed throughout the parliament was the great equality amongst males and females in the government. Along with Tarja Halonen holding the position of presidency, over one third of the parliament seats are occupied by female members.

After our video we were led by one of the Parliament members to tour through many of the floors of the parliament. The staircases and hallways of the building were very impressive ( along with an elevator system that had no doors! That was very neat to see). The main hallway where the actual entrance to the delegation room of parliament was located was especially beautiful.

We actually weren't allowed to enter the main floor of the parliament hall ( only elected members are allowed there under all circumstances) but we were able to go up one more floor and view it from the guests balconies.

It was very neat seeing the structure of government from a very close perspective ( since many of us largely did not know in much detail about other governments than our own.). At this time of our tour we all had a seat in these balconies of the grand hall and were able to ask many questions.

Other questions of ours included topics of campaigning for Finnish elections, the roles of Finnish governmental committees, politics throughout Europe, and just the daily role of a parliament member in office. The answers to our questions were some of the most interesting throughout the day, since hearing about pan-European issues as well as domestic ones in Finland were very new and foreign to us. This opened our eyes to many other political debates occurring around our globe today.
The tour was extremely nice, and while being able to view one of the many beautiful buildings of Finland, we were able to learn so much about Finland as well as other governments around the globe as well.

After leaving, a short tram ride and walk away from the parliament building was where our next stop was for the afternoon. Up to the top floor of a tall building ( In Helsinki perspectives) to the 13th floor we arrived to dine for a special lunch at the Ravintola Loiste, a classy restaurant that had an excellent view of the surrounding downtown all around us.

Along with everyone's excitement about being in a place such as that, going to the parliament, and also viewing the city around us, we were having a great time.

To think that this was only the first day of our Helsinki program and we were already so amazed with what we had already been able to experience.

Morning Traffic : Helsinki

2007-08-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

Wednesday marked a big day for me and would ultimately go down as one of the most unique and exhilarating experiences of my life. I was going to go down town to Helsinki to meet at the YFU headquarters all by my self. I first rode the bus to Anna's work with her ( she works at a produce stand at a grocery story this summer) and then I was on my own to take a train to Helsinki with myself and my map of Helsinki... in Estonian ( did I get that in Estonia? I don't even remember... but from the get go my travels were awkward.) .

In all honesty I received such an excitement and adrenalin rush - I was in Finland traveling for a meeting in downtown Helsinki on my own. I was just in a stupor as my imagination was running wild with my energy and eagerness. I watched the people around me and everyone picked up the free daily newspaper before riding the train ( they are paid for by the advertisements inside) and even though I couldn't read the Finnish, I really enjoyed looking at the pictures and just blending in - as you can see I was really just enjoying myself in my little fantastical daze of being in a big city amongst a lot of people. Once in Helsinki - I will admit - I was lost.

Anna drew me a map... but I didn't know what direction it went... and the Finnish street names didn't match up with the Estonian translations, haha. I was not worried at all. It was perfect. There was honestly nothing better than walking amongst the morning rush and taking it all in. It was me, my map, and my aviators ( a gift from Joni before I left! He said I needed a pair before leaving Europe, and I really liked them!) and it turned into a little adventure.

- The very famous statues in front of the train station, right in the heart of Helsinki. I could have been getting nervous about being lost, but... I was just enjoying the day, the walk, the scenery... taking pictures. I was having fun! -

The people of Helsinki were really nice ( I had to ask 5... well 4 Finns for directions... the fifth was a Japanese person at an office building waving a sign in Japanese probably for her traveling clientele. I know I am a nerd, but I was really having fun and felt like speaking some Japanese! ) Somehow I made it all the way to the senatintori... NOT where I was supposed to be, but by backtracking, in some way managed to get to the YFU office ( I made the biggest circle imaginable - scenic, though, nonetheless!). Everybody was already inside eating breakfast ( I was late... well in Finnish time... 12 minutes... REALLY late!). I am not endorsing getting lost, but it was so worth it. Being out and about communicating, exploring, tracking, and ultimately getting lost was such an experience. So influential and memorable to me that I decided a post was necessary on how cool it is to stroll Helsinki. And the plan for the day was a tour and presentation at the Finnish parliament, so I knew that I would get a chance to do it a few times more!

The Iron Mines

2007-08-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

As the cruise pulled back into Helsinki all of us traveled our separate ways back to our host families for the evening. Anna was excitedly waiting for me and I was really happy to see her. That evening we were going to have dinner with Saila, Anna's mother and my new host mom, at her apartment. After stopping in to just set our stuff down, Anna wanted to take me on a walk to show me around the area.

Very near by was a neat woods that actually had a little historic background on Finland behind it. The area used to be a mining zone and the unique landscapes left behind were scenic. The large crevasses and craters each went down several dozen meters and now looked like holes in the ground revealed as if they were wells.

Once the mining in the area was complete years ago, the holes were left with fences around them, and now pedestrians can stroll through the woods and park and experience their own special beauty. As time passed, many filled with water, and they appear as deep lakes or pools. The walk through the park was really nice, and I was impressed by the great surroundings to simply go for a social walk much like Anna and I did.

Dinner was very nice and there was much to say about Tallinn as well as just my family background. ( This was technically my second time doing something with my new host family, but they were such kind people and I felt at home immediately). I was able to learn a little more about their family as well as we discussed while making a favorite dessert that traced back to grandparents and ancestors of the family which consisted of blueberries and yogurt amongst other ingredients. Along with this I was also honored to partake in another family tradition. Many Finnish families enjoy the practice of a guest book, especially for their summer cottages, and the Kiukkonen family followed suit - except with their own special spin.

A few generations back a grandfather in the family started a table cloth where guests signed in pencil and then the signature would then be stitched in with the color of that particular year. The result generations later was a fantastic mural of colors and signatures. Anna had started one herself in which she will continue throughout her life, and I had great opportunity to add my signature to her guest book - and along with Finnish guests there were Chinese and many other international connections - very multi cultural! I was so happy to be part of this family's tradition, and it made me feel that I was associated and experienced in a Finnish custom in yet another way!

The evening was very nice and after the two day trip to Estonia, it was very relaxing. I definitely slept well that night since Wednesday started the continuation of the FUSYE scholar program!

Museums; Open Air / Under Ground

2007-08-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

The excitement of traveling around to another country for two days probably made everyone not get too much sleep. It didn't stop anybody, however, from being ready for a day's full of activities to come starting early Tuesday morning. The Adrenalin rush had everybody social and eager, for we not only had another chance to get to go into downtown Tallinn as well as old town again, but also a few new places to explore.

Our first major trip required a bus trip a short distance outside of the city to the Estonian open air museum which displayed the communities and lifestyles of historical settlements of the Tallinn area. From our first views there were already stark contrasts to where we had visited the day prior. Unlike the close, narrow quarters of old town, the open air museum filled with historic "log-cabin" communities was spacious with many trees, lush patches of grass, and fresh air. It was very neat to see the medieval Tallinn in a different form.

The farmlands were a major part of the nation, and being so close to the sea, it was not only beautiful, but educational to analyze the geography and lifestyles of the inhabitants living there only centuries before. The buildings were made of wood, and were garnished by thick moss that had grown over the years.

Throughout the park many workers were assuming the roles of making handicrafts while wearing the clothing of the period and relaxing at their "homes". The scenery was so pretty with the ocean in the background, hilly plains, humble houses, and even surprises such as horse carriages riding through the park.

The morning was filled with many things to look at and we were fortunate the weather was so beautiful.

Later on in the day, back in town, many of us decided together that we wanted to see another museum. There was information that caught our attention the previous day and it was for tours through the underground tunnels of Tallinn. The idea sounded very intriguing so a large group of us went together to find out what it was all about.

The Estonian bastions were first construed in the early 1600's by the Swedes for the purpose of having protected barriers while firing ammunition. Webbed between these bastions were passageways and tunnels the provided shelter, safety, storage, and mobility. It was fascinating to hear about this even before entering the tunnels to just ponder the idea, while looking over to the old town, that underneath everything was a sprawling underground connection system. Guests on the tour were offered lambs wool blankets since beneath the surface the temperature was below 40F. Much chillier than the sunny outdoors, we were able to see our breath condensating as we traveled lower into the musty abyss. Deep beneath the surface it was damp, and from all of the limestone around us the air was stale, but it was so cool walking single file through tunnels that were used hundreds of years over.

The progression and history of the tunnels was very interesting as well. The tunnels were used less frequently for warfare as time went on. In the 1700's they were used more for storage, and then less even in the 1800's. It wasn't until the early 1900's where the tunnels were used to their full potential once more. When the U.S.S.R. began forming, the Soviets used the tunnels once again for warfare storage, hiding, troop bases and more. Inside the tunnels there is a unique combination of centuries old construction along side decades old bed frames, lights and furnaces. History side by side like this is fascinating. In the 90's when the U.S.S.R. broke apart and Estonia was once again free ( although it is worth mentioning that the influence is still found all over Tallinn) the bastions were once again unused.

The sprawling mass of tunnels became a haven for the homeless of this European region ( for the summer it was very cool at 40F, but the temperature barely changes underground, so that is much safer and comfortable when temperatures above ground drop below zero in the winter!) . I was amazed that it wasn't until just a few years ago when the government reclaimed and renovated their historic land and turned it into a national historical site ( now for tours!). The cool, damp tunnels had so much information to reveal and I was drawn in by not only is long, ever changing history, but also how relatively recent our world has changed to turn this into the historical site that it is - we technically were in territories that had been revolutionized and reorganized only within less than two decades. This is what truly fascinated me. History, along with times of Revolution and Change was a lot closer than many of us pondered or perceived.

Our final hours in Tallinn were filled with getting around to as many places as we could with our remaining time. We checked out shops down the narrow old town streets, market squares, modern shopping centers, as well as just enjoyed strolling the unique atmosphere. We filled two days up with so many events that all of us left, traveling back home satisfied ( it was only commented on after the fact by someone after all of us were calling Finland home! It really had become that way for all of us.) The two days were truly exciting, but nothing was near slowing down since the upcoming few days had a huge amount of events still planned for us all around Helsinki!

Tallinn Old Town

2007-08-17T10:16:00.000-07:00

Tallinn was picture-perfect. Every turn in the city was filled with beautiful buildings, statues, art, and so much history.

The narrow, cobble stoned streets made the old town area dense and thus having so much to venture and see.

For many of us, it was incredible to be walking around architecture and design of the medieval periods that we only see in pictures and guides.

Being up close to these preserved quarters of an era that has been captured by so much literature and media of the world was so impressive to be able to walk around.

All of us were taking pictures of everything since there was so much to be awe inspired by from our surroundings and we took pride being our touristy selves. As a matter of fact, this laughing matter made us make a pretty startling realization. For many of us, this was our first "tourism"-like travel around the world. For all of us now having lived abroad, it was understood as just that - Living. This was our first time as a group of Americans enjoying the history and the atmosphere as tourists.

It was nothing we were ashamed about - It was so exciting - but at the same time it made us take notice and appreciation of our travels abroad while having the chance to live and experience a country by being part of a society and family. It was this first notion of being a tourist that made us realize how fortunate we really were to have the opportunity to experience living in Finland. The differences were staggering, and from this we received a little more insight into just how much we really learned and grew this summer.

The central square of Tallinn tied everything together. Right in the heart of the old town region, this square was lined with churches, shoppes, cafes, and so many other little details that allowed your imagination to take you back in time.

- You did not want to be a felon in medieval Tallin! This basic form of humiliation and punishment was to be chained up in the market square for all to see! -
While everything seemed quaint and small - in the perception of being a medieval city, this area was dense and lively. You could visualize the life that had once thrived in this amazing criss-crossed capital. From the square there were seemingly so many places to turn and even more narrow streets to adventure.

The challenge was to find which way to go. Every building down the streets was a different color - many in aged earth tones, but also a few faded pastels as well.

The diversity was incredible, and aside from architecture and colors that brought these buildings together molding into a street, the windows, statues, and artistic embellishments added more majestic presence to the overall canvas of this old town.

These details left a visual representation of the history that swept through this capital including Scandinavian settlement, Dutch over rule, as well as influence from the times of being part of the U.S.S.R. .

Down one street, one very prominent and beautiful building caught our attention. This was St. Olav's Church, and this building itself provided a famous image for the entirety of Tallinn and Estonia. This church, complete with ( uniquely for the time and area) a Gothic facade, has a proud history behind it.

The building, once standing at 159 meters was not only the tallest building in Europe, but the world for parts of the 1500's and 1600's! The building has suffered from fires and the spire at the top was damaged at one point in history ( now making the building 123 meters) but is nonetheless still incredible.

Like many European nations - there was a long period where this church was ordered to remain the highest building in the city to emphasize its importance and pride it brought to Tallinn.

The Estonian skyline still looks illustrious with this distinguished building dotting the top of its horizon.

Other buildings that we past included market places, Parliaments, embassies, churches, taverns and other venues, all seemingly condensed and nestled into this incredible mecca coming together to be Tallinn.

From up one hill we were able to get an excellent look around us over the old town quarters and even further to the new modern sections of Tallinn.

The afternoon went by so quickly since we were constantly captivated by our surroundings about us.

For the rest of the late afternoon we managed to run around some more and revisit our favorite spots, check out the modern part of the city, and also plan out what venues and stops we needed more time to fully appreciate for our next full day awaiting for us.

Overall, every where we ventured in old town was an adventure and there was always something awe-inspiring to capture our imaginations of this historic medieval site.

The Olde Hansa

2007-08-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

Our very first stop in Tallinn was exciting from the very beginning. With no to spare, we immediately started our cultural adventures to experience as much of Estonia and Tallinn as we could in two days. Hungry after the busy morning of traveling, we were all looking forward to our trip to the restaurant on our plans, The Olde Hansa, almost centralized in the old town of Tallinn itself! This restaurant was very unique and, from all the info that many of us had looked up on about Tallinn, one of the "Must do's" in the city.

As mentioned, Tallinn is one of the most complete and well preserved medieval cities in modern Europe and to go along with this proud treasure of the nation, the Olde Hansa takes pride in preserving the medieval era by presenting appropriate dress, traditions, cuisine and style.

Even before entering, we were able to enjoy the imagination of going back in time as workers dressed in medieval garb were outside serving to the guests on the patio as well as other's dressed as maids selling old style candied almonds ( this corner of the old town smelled excellent).

Taking all of this in amongst the buildings hundreds of years old in narrow streets lined around you was incredible!

The surprises and feelings of awe continued as we entered into the restaurant. It was extremely dark as it was only lit by candle light!

As our eyes adjusted, we walked past wooden furniture and tables to the staircase where we were led to our grand sized table upstairs as if this were a medieval feast ( which, in a sense, it was!). We weren't able to sit down just yet however. Estonian customs and beliefs of the period were that all guests must cleanse and wash their hands at a designated pitcher and basin before sitting down to dine.

This was very neat since each one of us individually walked up and had water poured onto our hands for us by a worker and then also dried them at the basin below before continuing. While waiting in line up the stairs many of us found fascination from the wall of candle wax from years of candles dripping down the walls. It was art created by the passing of history and time; A reminder to many of us how unique and special this experience was for all of us.

In our seats at dense, hard wooden tables along with large goblets and earthen ware pottery, we were ready to begin our meal which continued with the exquisitely traditional details of the restaurant.

Our group was large, and along the center of the table were large loaves of bread with many old style toppings to go on ( berry preserves, olives, pickled fishes and vegetables, herb and garlic butters) - The appetizers alone impressed us with its presentation.

As a custom, to start the meal, each person passed the loaves of bread around, ripping their share off. For being so traditional, however, the meal was very "hands on" and involved a lot of grabbing, ripping and passing - It was all really fun for feeling so casual at a meal with many little medieval customs. As a matter of fact, our table even picked a 'king' of the table who's role was to communicate for the table to the servers. It was a neat concept, but even at our table, it wasn't something that we were used to ( or even the modern waiters who put in so much effort to be of their medieval era!).

dishes came out numerously and the entire meal consisted of passing them around and grabbing bite sized portions of everything. Breads, herb and wine baked cheeses, sausages, kraut, stuffings and more - It was truly a feast. Many of us were literally shocked when potatoes failed to come out as part of the course - we all had eaten SO much of them this past summer that it just became standard and expected! We came to find out that for the era in which we were eating for this particular meal, potatoes were still a few hundred years away from being introduced to the Baltic area! We were very impressed with how detailed this restaurant was with not only the traditional building, furniture, murals and artwork, candle light, plate ware, silverware ( and sometime lack-thereof!), and costume of the servers, but also a historically accurate menu!

It was definitely not an attempt at medieval dining - it was a true revival of the heritage and customs of this city's incredible history! Finishing our meal was an excellent baked apple type pastry along with an almond sauce - possible the most historical version of apple pie any of us had ever had. The meal was truly enjoyable, and really got all of us in the mindset for touring, discovering, and experiencing the old town of Tallinn as well as the medieval life that shines from every corner of the city.

Cruising to Tallin

2007-08-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

Very early Monday morning, I was up, ready and packed for the big trip ahead to Estonia. Since I was still so new to the area, to get to the city center, Anna traveled with me by bus that morning. This trip, with the many bus stops for the morning rush, took about 40 minutes and was once again a nice time to talk as well as catch the sites.
Many YFU summer programs offer additional trips, and for the students traveling to Finland, an optional excursion to the capital city of the nation of Estonia, Tallin, just south of Helsinki through the Baltic sea was our opportunity. Even from America, before traveling this summer at all, I was curious and anxious for this trip to see this unique capital that is known as being one of the best kept medieval old towns in all of Europe.
Arriving at the port station was great. I was able to meet up with all of my YFU friends that I had become very close to in D.C. and the Turku orientation after traveling to Finland during our first days on program. It was so nice to catch up on everything and capture everyone's excitement from their great stories and adventures from the summer that had just passed by so quickly. The station was silent - except for our loud American group - but we only noticed it sporadically since there was just too much to say and cover with everyone. For technically just knowing each other for a few days while coming to Finland, we all became very close traveling, being exhausted together, and pretty much moving as a team through international travel connections and terminals. We had a big week of huge events planned out for us and we were so excited to be able to see each other even more and experience all of the big plans together!

Going to Tallin was very similar to how I traveled to Åland earlier this summer. We were going to take another cruise ( lucky me!) and it was scheduled to take a little over 2 hours to travel over the Baltic.

On the ship we had a great time catching up and socializing, meeting random groups of young Finns also traveling to Tallin ( they were curious about us large group of Americans... they probably heard us from the other side of the boat!), enjoying the docks, and also skimming through the tax free shops on the cruise. Time passed by so fast.

Arriving in Estonia, we went through passport checks ( another stamp!) and that made us realize how cool it was that we actually were in another country ( and thus, even another culture, new currency... and a new language!). From the window we had a great view of the old town in the distance and that sparked our excitement for the eventful trip planned ahead of us.

We were going to stay in a hotel, visit renowned medieval style restaurants, tour the old town, go to museums, and even have free time to shop and enjoy our incredible historical surroundings. A lot was going to happen and we knew we had no time to waste, so after quickly dropping off our luggage in our hotel rooms, we were on our way to experience the new adventures that awaited us in Estonia!

Night in Helsinki

2007-08-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

Once the party festivities began to come to an end, Anna and I, as planned, got ready to travel downtown to check out the city together, and really just catch up on as much as we could. We only had one week together, so we knew that we had to spend every moment we could with things to do. I was so excited.

Helsinki had been in the back of my mind all summer - It was to be my first 'European city' and I was so anxious to see this modern city that immediately coincides with the idea of Finland.

I was not sure what to expect. Helsinki was much younger than other European cities, and even Turku for that matter, and it also was known for having much more architectural influence from Russia with a large amount of neoclassical styled buildings. Nonetheless, the city still boasted an extremely interesting history, as well as importance in global matters today.

Helsinki is the connecting city between western Europe and the east - especially Russia - as well as one of Europe's largest hubs for international travel to Asia. Aside from even travel, the placement of this city has allowed Helsinki to be a middle ground for much activity in the Baltic sea throughout time and it has also hosted as a neutral ground for countless important international diplomatic meetings, treaties and debates.

The notions of this city's importance to Europe and ultimately the world were overwhelming to me, and that is exactly how I felt traveling to the city.
With out any precursors or slow lead-ins, we arrived right into the heart of Helsinki where the people and buildings swirled around in an overbearing excitement. Anna had quite a tour planned and I was so fortunate to have a local take me to all of the great places from the beginning to show me around; Everywhere I looked was fascinating and an amazing experience. My camera shutter was going off nonstop.

From the first few blocks we walked past shopping centers and streets filled with busy street crossings and packed cafes.

The whole image was too fitting and thus perfect. One of our first stops was Anna's school which was also in the heart of Helsinki. I couldn't imagine how exciting it must be to go to school in a building well over a century old, with a huge bustling city around you.

I was amazed by the fact that Anna mentioned that during lunch periods, on certain days, students use their break period to head out to a store, museum, park, cafe, restaurant... the list goes on!... for a quick shop, snack, or social period. I found this fascinating. The park nearest the school ( actually partially a cemetery with a few memorial stones around a church) was small, yet sprawling across a city block corner. People with picnic blankets spread around and it was a beautiful social scene. I was already captivated by this European pastime and theme of relaxing in a park in the city and I was intrigued to see the more famous and larger parks still yet to see in the city!

The next stop was truly a special event for me. Spoiled by my fortune to have my host sister being a local to take me to the best little corners of the city, I was taken to one of the best viewing spaces in the Helsinki area. Up a building to one of its highest floors ( I never would have pondered this in this particular building!) the lobby of a high rise building gave one of the most breathtaking and impressive views of the incredible area around us. Anna was extremely informed and efficient on the history of art, architecture, and growth of Helsinki, and was able to point out to the countless checkerboards of buildings with facts about each one. I was so impressed.

It was so neat to look at the land mark buildings of Helsinki and be able to visually see in the moment their differences which proclaimed their unique history in time.
Anna was able to share so much with me about Helsinki while we were touring and I was able to learn so much, so fast as we walked the streets. Along with these discussions we were able to share and hear about each other. We immediately had much in common since Anna herself has lived abroad for short term periods herself for various programs and reasons. I was very interested and intrigued by her foreign travels to China, Italy and France and how she viewed the lifestyle of living with a family there ( this is where I found that I enjoyed the views from hearing foreigners opinions of traveling abroad - It may largely not be thought of, but it is quite interesting to hear a Finnish person's perspective, for example, on living in in southern Europe or Asia in comparison to my American views of living in Scandinavia and Asia - these outlooks on the world have also provided great conversation, insight, and perspective for me.).

The night was not near complete since there was still so much to see. After these blocks of sightseeing, we were getting closer to the harbor center of Helsinki - one of the most photogenic and scenic areas of the entire region. The first pathway was another park with a long walkway - Esplanadi park. From my first panoramic observation of the strip of park land, I was convinced; This was one of my favorite places of not only Helsinki, but also Finland. It was beautiful and captured what I had imagined Helsinki, Finland and even Europe would be like. The long park had a statue in the middle with a walk way filled with benches.

The strips of grass along the park were lush and green, and spread across the beautiful center where many people enjoyed the bustling - yet relaxing and tranquil in its own sense - energy of the park.

Through out the walk way were large statues replicating Spanish dancers which were given to the park by a Spanish artist. Although somewhat controversial, I found them to add to the uniqueness of the park and were extremely interesting to view as they became decreasingly smaller from the center of vision.

At the other side of the park was a historical, classic, classy cafe which was located perfectly and looked beautiful adding to the overall feel of this European park.

The park itself being a central part of the city made me know that I would be able to see my 'love at first sight' attraction of the city many times to come in the week.
The park led up to a street crossing which divided itself from the Helsinki market square. Since it was well past market hours, the square was empty, but the quarters were still impressive. It was all cobblestone and lined up right against the harbors and docks of the Helsinki coast.

Bordering the market square were some very important buildings including the government of Helsinki, the Swedish Embassy ( humorously criticized by Finns for its 'tasteless' brown facade) as well as the offices of current president, Mrs. Tarja Halonen ( She has many buildings! A summer cottage in Nantali, a living quarters in Helsinki, Her offices at the Market square, as well as the Parliament near the modern business centers of the Helsinki downtown! Quite impressive!). Right in the middle of the market square was a statue marking the acknowledgment of Helsinki as a city and port with its date from the ruler of Russia.

It is these details of the city with these building, statues and landmarks that make the history so exciting and interesting to learn - as well as be immersed directly within it all.
Neighboring the Harbor, governmental buildings and the market square was one of the most famous of all Helsinki monuments. This was the fountain "The Havis Amanda". Its prominent message is what makes it so important to the Helsinki harbor's image since in the middle of the fountain is the statue of a 'forever' youthful girl.

This symbolized Helsinki's nickname as being the 'daughter of the Baltic' and how this young city has such an important stature in this European region due to its positive and youthful outlook towards progression and success. It is not only a beautiful fountain, but it also hold great meaning.
As if all of these landmarks were impressive enough for one evening, looming over the streets of brightly colored, neatly decor'ed buildings, through an image of the spider-web of tram cables of the city's transportation, was Helsinki's most notable building : The Senatintori.

This striking white Lutheran church gorgeously dots the Helsinki coastal skyline and stands in a stature of both grace and boldness making it the image of Helsinki. I was so excited to see this square.

When looking up Helsinki anywhere, this building forefronts all researched images, but seeing it in person provided a look at how grand it really was.

Up the stairs ( another famous place in Helsinki) with the view of the church behind you, as well as the square wrapped around you, a sense of amazement overtakes you.

I have only been to a handful of major cities in my lifetime, and even from these only a few have captivated my amazement and fascination; Standing on the Senatintori steps, pondering the modern streets, historical squares, block corner parks, artwork and architectures abounding me that evening- I was caught spellbound with a dazed smile.

I took the chance to utilize my timed flash on my camera, and attempted to capture Anna and I together as we stood by this incredible area of the city.

Anna noted that it was amazing to be at the church stairs during the Eurovision contest when the area was packed as people watched the contest from a full screened TV. ( along with experiencing this great moment in the city, a world record was set here as well when 80,000 people joined in a large karaoke singing of Lordi's winning song for Finland 'Hard Rock Hallelujah'!). After a view around the church and in the church - as I took every moment to capture the setting surrounding me - we continued on with our adventures through the city. What was truly impressive was catching glimpses of the incredible Senatintori building as it poked through other corners of sight with even more great architecture and scenery of the surrounding visuals.

The evening was turning into night, and it also became one of the first times this Summer where I actually experienced being around as my surroundings turned to dusk and then night. Together with Anna, we walked further down other main streets of Helsinki to areas where many shopping centers were located.

The narrow streets filled with color and brightly lit buildings were lined with stores and cafes that captured and mesmerized in the same way but in perfect contrast with its historic neighbors.

Many of the shops were closed ( in the same accordance to many shops and stores in Scandinavia - that means early), but the area was still filled with nightlife that was just beginning late at night ( ... or in the European sense... is that early?).

To finish off our very exciting evening, Anna and I found a nice cafe and sat down to relax and chat some more since there was seemingly so much we had to talk about - getting to know each other, as well as discovering just how much in common we really had!

I was so incredibly satisfied; I had just - I can't just say 'experienced' - fell in love with my first major European city along side my host sister who not only knew the area, but was able to provide insight into living in the area, and was now enjoying coffee at a very European cafe' to chat away into late into the night. It was too perfect.

Our discussions were filled with much about world travel and world languages, each of our favorite things to talk about, and what we found so much in common through. I loved hearing about Anna's stories of living in Italy and China ( she went to China for a week and a half as a government connection between the countries since China has found interest in the Finnish education systems. Many Chinese students had traveled to Finland first, and then the hosts were able to have the favor returned.). Along with her travels living abroad, I was able to hear about just her travels for enjoyment to areas such as Budapest, Hungary and Southern France. Her passions about architecture, culture, art, and other aspects of world exploration were excellent to hear about - and the perfect discussions over a 'sophisticated' feel of being in a cafe' in Europe! Our discussions became detailed and long, and were far from over, since during the upcoming week we were planning to share pictures and other mementos from her travels as well, whenever we had the chance - something that I was really looking forward to!
On the bus back home, I was awestruck in thought.

How had I possibly done all the things that I just did in one evening! It was almost too good to be true, and imagining myself standing in different areas of the city - the parks, market squares, modern downtown centers, cafes, monuments... It all projected in my head like scenes of a movie - that is how I felt through out the night. Too good to be true; I was so excited and happy as well as overwhelmed in thought over the past day. Much had happened - I left the comforts of my new found life in Kuusisto in the morning, met a new family and had international conversations with guests at a party during the afternoon, and experienced one of the most inspirational and captivating tours and evenings of my life in the evening to late night. I was emotionally exhausted and brimming with a smile. I was so happy to have Anna as my host sister since she shared the equal excitement as I did to experience her home city. The upcoming week was going to be incredible. When home, I slept extremely well for good reason which was good since in only a few short hours after the late night, I was going to meet my close YFU friends from America as a large group again since the beginning of the summer at the central station since it marked the beginning of our two day, one night trip to experience the capital of Estonia, Tallinn!

Meeting the Kiukkonen Family

2007-08-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

Getting off the train I was met down the station walkway to meet Ari Kiukkonen who was going to be my new host father as I lived with a new host family during my final week in Finland during the Helsinki program. Since the FUSYE scholarship is thorough the Finnish senate it is filled with many great events and meetings in Helsinki during the final week. All of the American students were to come to meet a new host family if they lived outside of the greater Helsinki region, and with me living in Turku, I was informed that I would also be transitioning to an new household. My information was limited once again, but it was so neat that I once again had the anxious excitement of meeting a new host family and wondering what they were going to be like.
The Kiukkonen family was going to host me for one week and they lived in Vantaa, a city part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. I had two new host sisters, Anna, who was 18, and Emma, who was 16. I was so excited to be coming to a family where I was going to be aged perfectly in the middle of my host sisters who were also excited to meet me.
Once meeting Ari who was holding a sign with my name on it, we grabbed my luggage and headed for his car to head home. We weren't going to head strait home, however, since this was my first time in Helsinki, and we were going to take a few detours to see some of the initial landmarks of the city. Just outside of the train station I saw the Parliament building ( that I would get to visit in the upcoming days), as well as Finlandia hall and other large buildings that I would get to know as the week would progress. One of the buildings took my full attention quickly as we drove by and that was the Finnish Olympic tower. I had seen this building before in pictures about Finland, but in person I was quite surprised by how prominent it stood over the Olympic center's horizon line. In all honesty, I admitted that I truly did not like the building - and in my head I attributed it to the fact that the design was modern and ahead of its time ( like many Finnish things) and I was just not used to seeing that type of style or design. My opinion changed drastically when I found out that this building was not modern at all - it was built in 1938 ( and due to WW2) was used for the 1952 Olympics.

I was amazed. I was naive enough to think that this building was too modern for THIS time and age, and to think that this marvel of architecture was built well over half a century ago. I then truly appreciated how forward minded and unique this building was and what it stood for and still stands for today. During the periods after WW2 Helsinki and Finland along with many other areas of Europe were in large disarray after the catastrophic warfares. Finland stepped up to be a bonding force in the revival of the continent and also wanted to prove as a nation that it had the will and determination to display its proud country as well as it impressive architects and capital city. Much of these values are very much still part of the Finnish culture today and I knew they would be a part of the upcoming discussions at Parliaments, embassies, and foreign service offices later in the week!
After the Olympic stadium I was reminded to keep my mind open once again and appreciate everything around me for there was going to be many new learning experiences coming up in the next week. At this time I was learning and experiencing many things at a very fast pace including the fact that I was going to meet a new family. Once at the Kiukkonen's house I was greeted by the family with a toast.

To make the day more special ( or in some instances more awkward in a positive sense) my first meeting with the Kiukkonen family was with the WHOLE family. On this particular Sunday Anna and Emma were celebrating their birthdays which occurred over the summer. Since many Finns travel to cottages over the summer, saving the party for a combined later date was more convenient. Therefore, I was introduced amongst many warm hearted people very happy to shake my hand and introduce me to their country and family. The toast was something that I have noticed is quite practiced in Finland. When there is a big event with guest, many toasts with speeches are common. Here with the Kiukkonens, each new guest that arrived, including myself, received another toast! I thought it was so special and cool and I was happy from the very beginning with where I was going to live for the upcoming week to come!

After putting my bags into my room, I was ready to socialize. Much like the confirmation party ( coincidence?! my first meetings in Finland both involved large, awkward parties ... which both resulted to be extremely enjoyable!) I felt a little bit stranded walking around and even feeling foreign to my own host family. I was just " that American" walking around, but from what I have really come to get the hang of this summer is the art of small talk ( How ironic!!! Finland is the country that is "too shy to small talk", yet being here I have perfected MY 'American' skill of small sided chat to really get to know people. This still baffles me!) In the beginning I was able to chat with Anna who was very, very excited for my travels to her home. She was a little busy with hosting the party, but she told me that she would be talking to me through out the afternoon and also planned to go with me to the city for my first big tour at night. She was just as excited as me to fill the week with many memorable events. As Anna went back to hosting, I was able to talk with Emma. Emma, being two years younger, thus had two years less experience with English. She was a little shy and apologized many times for her lack of proficiency in the language - but like many, many Finns - in the act of apologizing and claiming they can't speak English... I am never the one talking - they continue to chat. It is one of the ways to get a shy Finnish person to talk. You find that they begin doing it themselves without realizing it. Through our conversations ( with Emma talking majority of the time!) I learned about her hobby of rhythmic gymnastics and how her team has traveled to many places around Europe. I was very interested in all the places she had traveled, including Italy and Russia to name a few!
Throughout the rest of the afternoon I was able to talk to many relatives of the extended Kiukkonen family, all of which had excellent stories of their travels ( some including America!) as well as their questions and comments about traveling to Finland. Everyone, regardless of their proficiencies in English, made the most of their efforts to share their stories, and it was quite enjoyable. I was able to have some excellent conversations about Finland, perceptions of Finland, Relations of Finland to the world, and ultimately America with everyone. I really loved talking about and hearing everyone's stories and opinions. Finnish people do have a sense of humor with their own culture as a pun, and I even got a few laughs about some instances that they actually were true during my own experiences ( -Finns are silent in 3 languages, -Finns only socialize on a cell phone, -Finns instantly assume your are either drunk or American if you pursue into a conversation of small talk... all things that really were funny and in many cases true!). What I was happy to hear was some very enjoyable travels of some family members to Florida and Western national parks including Yellowstone. I was happy to hear positive remarks about my home country as well. After an awkward beginning, the evening eventually flew by with good conversation, coffee ( of course!) and excellent pastries and hor'derves made by Anna, Emma and their mother. I also was able to meet Emma's friends who stopped by later in the afternoon and they also provided very nice talk about European travels, International school systems, and thoughts on learning languages around the world. The afternoon was filled with many nice new relationships and connections formed, and I was very happy and satisfied with an excellent transition to my new home in Helsinki. I knew that I was going to have a lot of fun. As promised, once evening was near, Anna and I were going to go together to downtown Helsinki, tour the great sites, and also finally get a good chance to catch up on everything. Based off of the very enjoyable party, a warm welcoming from my new host family, and my host sisters great excitement, I knew the upcoming week was going to be fun and full of great times and memories!

HeiHei

2007-08-14T09:59:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning started fast and early. I hadn't slept much that night before since I was tending to my stubborn picture files ( thousands of them - I captured SO many events this summer) as well as just packing alone. The morning was the same as any for the family, which I appreciated, but I felt the anxiousness of having only hours remaining in the town that I had become so comfortable in a few weeks time. In and out of packing and cleaning in my room I had breakfast with the girls, watched cartoons with Sanni, and enjoyed the small details of living in Piiskukatu 4 as much I could.
Lunch time was our final meal together, and although we ate outside like many times in the summer, the only occasion that this matched up with was my first time sitting at the patio table having strawberry cake as I was welcomed into the home. There was that same awkward anxiety in the air - but every one was all smiles just like it had been during my first introduction.
I remember just smiling at the three girls excitement and the fact that just that unspoken trade of emotions said so much. The only thing different now was that instead of the curiosity of what would happen during the summer with them, I was able to look at their glowing faces and reflect upon their personalities I had the chance to get to know as well of as all of the times we spent together - happy times filled with the spontaneity of young girls as well as the times that truly tested me as a teenage boy living in a very new lifestyle. It was all laughable then since as much as my lifestyle changed living with the girls, I had grown up a lot with them- and looking at their cute faces, I knew the experience - with my little sisters - had positively impacted us all. Sanni is especially notable since I have found her experimenting with many English words this summer that she has picked up from my slow communications - something that I was very pleased to see.

During the lunch - resembling our first meal together so much - I was able to reflect on everything that had impacted me so much in Finland - the best ( ... and not so much the best) foods, the places, the people; The memories. My memories that seem implausible to fit in the extremely fast summer that has flown by past my very eyes.
Like my summer, the meal happened in a blink of an eye and we had already began pressing into the time of getting to my train. Before leaving, Sanni came and brought me a present - something that I truly was so happily surprised about and not expecting - She brought me some homemade artwork, a goodbye note and a bar of chocolate; A gift that had so much endearing value to me - Kiitos Paljon! Thank you SO much!

At that time I had to say my final HeiHei's and thank you's to Anna and the twins. With hugs that were rushed yet satisfying, I couldn't say how thankful I was enough for what they had provided to me throughout the summer.

Saying goodbye I noted how I was so excited to see the girls grow up!

The rest was a blur; Running and cramming the last minute packing and taking my stuff out to the car. - In the process of running, waving, and loading, I had forgotten the fact that I packed away all my socks... thus continuing the rushed journey to the station barefoot in shoes.
My own outstanding awkwardness was able to override the awkward somber feelings of goodbye throughout the morning. As a complete deja vu and reflection, Jarno was driving me to the station with Sanni in the backseat with a full smile - Just like how I was picked up in Turku in the beginning.

This did not feel like a goodbye - It was just another day... with the burden of a lot of luggage.

The less than 20 minutes to drive, purchase the ticket, drag luggage and board the train seemed impossible - but it happened - and that explains the rushed feeling of departing from Turku exceptionally better than other expressions. Final pictures, hugs, and thank you's with Jarno and Sanni were fast yet special.

On the train I was able to wave - but once again it did not feel like a goodbye - It was only " just a little trip" ( making me reflect upon Aada's comments from the previous evening). The Salminen's along with their close family and friends provided me with a summer filled with innumerable cherished memories. The struggle is that the previous sentence sounds too finite - This IS family now and I now have a home in Europe.

Sorting out the concept of ' What just happened?' is only counterbalanced with the equally overwhelming realization of stepping off a train alone and noting - " I am in Helsinki ".
Goodbyes leading to new beginnings, fitting in with those perfect Finnish contradictions, led me to the new journey of my summer that I knew wouldn't seize to amaze me more.

Berries, the Beach, and GoodByes

2007-08-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning started early since Anna, myself and the girls were going to go to Anna's father's home to pick berries in the back gardens.

Finland is an amazing place to pick berries. There are everywhere! - I already mentioned the wild blueberries in our backyard and in Lapland for instance. Along with this there are so many different types. Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Bilberries, Lingonberries, Cloudberries... The list goes on! The best part is that along with the mass abundance of berries, they are so sweet all the way through.

Strawberries especially, along with all the other berries, find themselves in countless Finnish dishes and deserts - yes, that's right, sweet & savory!

The berries we were picking in particular were for juice which Anna's father actually boils and bottles right at home. Berries are also preserved for the winter frozen or in Jams as well. It wasn't the first time I picked berries in Finland, but in the gardens on this Saturday we picked a lot! It was really good.

I was enjoying myself because technically this was my last full day in Turku and I was happy that everything was low key and I had time to spend with my host family. Along with the easy going day, later on the family took a drive to another part of Kuusisto to a nice beach area to swim and also have a nice picnic snack together. I really enjoyed that and along with the berries, it was the perfect way to spend time with each other.

At dinner time we ate outside and enjoyed a nice family weekend meal with a BBQ. We were all able to talk about the past weeks and how they had flown by. It was true, I was amazed at how fast time had went. Sitting at the table reflecting, I was just happy everyone was together and we were enjoying our last dinner together. Anna had told the girls that ' Risto is leaving tomorrow ' ( wow, my final moments with my family and I have yet to formally address my name in Finland - yes my name for my family, the girls, and friends here is Risto. It is the phonetic version of my name in Finnish and easier for many to say, especially the girls. Just remember to roll your Finnish R's!). When Aada heard this she told her mom that I wasn't leaving and that I was of course going to come back! I was happy. The twins were really a major part of my summer - not only living with me but also a major learning experience. Being in a household with host sisters so young was truly a lifestyle change for me. Along with any culture shock that would come along, I also had the challenges of living in a lifestyle that greatly changed what I was used to.

Yes, challenges is the word since living with twin three year olds, I choose to be honest, is a challenge. I really was optimistic about everything because I was amazed at what I learned from three year olds - patience, body language, more patience, and how to sing twinkle twinkle little star in Finnish. Way back at my YFU interview I said that I wanted to go to Finland to challenge myself. I wanted a challenge with being outgoing and making friends, a very complex and foreign language and to live in a culture I didn't know much about. Well, the challenge was handed to me. It seems awkward calling living with toddlers a challenge but I learned so much and I feel I grew up a lot this summer. And even when times were testing those girls were too cute to resist! When Aada said this I was very happy. I really care so much about all three girls and I promised to Anna and Jarno that when they go to Disney World in America when the girls are older that I want to visit. Along with this, when the girls are old enough to learn English, I want to be their pen pal. Who knows - in 14 years I could be in a family position and be a host dad for some teenage Finnish twins who want to learn about America. Who knows where life will take you. The bottom line was that the girls along with my host family impacted me a lot. I was able to receive so many positive and maturing lessons and experiences from living with them. Along with this they provided me with so many excellent memories. After dinner I helped cleaned up and it was just like a regular day - I liked that. Later in the evening I was greeted at the front door by Joni and Nongbu who had come by to visit! They came since they wanted to say goodbye before I left and we talked for like a half hour. It was so nice that they came. The rest of the evening consisted of my final sauna at the Salminens house and getting stuff packed. Writing this late on Saturday night I still have work to do - you know I always make it difficult for myself with luggage! My last day with the Salminens at Piiskukatu 4 was perfect and I was so happy with how my final hours were going with my host family in Finland. Now I have to go and get everything ready for the Helsinki program which starts tomorrow! It all came so fast!

Movies!

2007-08-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

I got quite a surprise on the drive back home from Muumi Land on Friday night. In the car Anna received a phone call from Jarno asking how close we were from home because I had visitors waiting in the driveway. When I got home Joni and Nongbu were in the car with Joni's older brother and they were going to the movies for the evening. I got out of the car and Joni said that they were going to see the Simpsons Movie and that I had no choice because they wanted me to go with them. I was so excited - this was awesome! We drove to the theaters and just made it in time for the show- quite the adrenaline rush with the surprise visit and running to the show. While in the car we were talking and Nongbu asked me if I knew a girl named Elina who sells strawberries. I was so surprised because I did know her and she was my friend who worked at the Kaarina super market. Nongbu said that they were friends and one day they were talking to each other and Nongbu mentioned about her boyfriend's new friend who was from America named Chris. Apparently Elina also got excited because she knew me as well and described our funny and awkward meeting. I was so surprised that they were talking about me and to hear this story. Nongbu called it a small world - which is true, because just a few cities around and I have all these connections and associations! The movie itself was really good and extremely funny. What was more funny was how some jokes were definitely more oriented towards Americans ... thus making me the only one laugh in the theater ... kind of like Ralphie. HAWHAW... oh man. hahah.

After the movie we were laughing about all of the funny parts of the movie as we were walking out and then someone squeezed my shoulder. It was a girl I had become friends with two evenings earlier while hanging out with Kim and Amanda. She was really nice and we talked a lot and I was so surprised that she was there leaving the same movie that after my big 'MOI!!!' I did the candid - *I need to take a picture of us to remember this* - type of thing, haha.

We talked for a minute about how crazy it was to meet up again in the city and she said goodbye and good luck for my trip to Helsinki on Sunday. While walking down the street Joni asked me why I became quiet and smiling. I snapped out of my day dreaming reflecting the past week. It had been amazing. I had done something so exciting with so many people every day. On top of that, just the Friday alone was incredible. In the morning I visited Emma and met her friend who had wanted to meet me, then was muumi land, and then the events of the evening! It was a crazy night for sure. All of these little surprises with the spontaneous movie plans, then the story of the Elina the strawberry girl, and then seeing Judith at the movies! No wonder I blanked out into a daydream - that was a lot to think about! I just smiled at the fact that on my last weekend here in Finland this week, let alone just this evening, proved to me that I had accomplished my goal : To be outgoing and go out and meet teenage friends to learn about their lives and have many connections back to Finland. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I was just so happy - being outgoing was hard work, having to break out of my 'shell' and comfort zone and it did become mentally exhausting this summer, but walking down the street then I knew it had all paid off and the benefits were immense. After snapping back to reality and fighting off the joke that ' I am picking up all the ladies in Turku' we were back to conversation and walked over to the corner Hesburger ( One of many in the city, haha) and got something to drink with a snack.

It had been an awesome night and I knew that everything was wrapping up very nicely with my last few days here in the city - I had made some excellent, true friends, and I had many great experiences!

Muumimaailma!

2007-08-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

The title of this post is none other than one of the largest attractions of south western Finland : The one and only Muumin Land! Friday afternoon, Anna got off work early and together with the girls we drove to Naantali to enjoy the park until the evening. The girls were extremely excited since they have been waiting and talking about going for all summer. I was very happy to see them so thrilled - and also curious to see what these muumins were all about.

The muumins are everywhere in Finland and in a way are like the national characters. They are from a Finnish cartoon strip and now part of a multitude of different venues of entertainment from toys to a TV show. The characters of this show are loved by both children and adults alike, and as said, they appear all over the country from books, to advertisements, to even plane artwork ( yes, one of the Finnair jets has muumins on it - and that Jet travels from Finland to Japan! It is worth mentioning that of many places in the world where muumins are popular, Japan is one of the greatest and many tourists from Japan come to Naantali, Finland every summer just for the Muumi memorabilia! I was very interested in this!) Once in Naantali, we parked a few streets away and got to walk through the coastal town filled with boat docks. It was the same places that I had walked with Fanny and her friends and I really loved it. It is beautiful and definitely one of my favorite places of Finland. Muumi Land is actually an island ( from the island you see Naantali harbor AND the island with the presidents summer quarters) and you walk along a bridge to get to the park.

Muumi park itself is filled with many playgrounds, theaters, and muumi themed fun for the kids and it definitely looked like a child' paradise.

The girls were having so much fun playing on everything. We got a chance to see a play and it starred four characters of the muumi clan.

A little more walking into the park we arrived at the 'cinderella's castle' of muumi land : the Muumi house.

This big blue building had many floors and everything inside was interactive just like the home made famous by the muumi's story.

I was even enjoying myself being put into the muumi's world as I climbed the stairs of their house.

All around the house the muumi characters are walking around greeting children and it definitely is the central area of the park.

Other places that we visited included the muumi's ship as well as a magical forest that had many characters and interactive mazes and puzzles for the kids to challenge themselves with.

-Even I got to interact with the playground fun!-
Over all I thought the muumi world was really cool and now that I know that it is huge in not only Finland, but also Japan, I am very happy to be joying the muumi craze and that I got to experience muumi world with my host sisters who had such a fun time adventuring the fantasy park.

Last Chance to See Turku

2007-08-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

After the show on Wednesday I was actually dropped off at some friends house to visit and stay for the evening and the following afternoon. Ever since I had met Amanda, who was Kim's ( another YFU friend) host sister, and was introduced to their friends in Turku, I had been wanting to make the effort to get out to the city again to meet up with them and also meet more friends. Since they live in the city and it is a bit of a drive I was invited to stay with another YFU family and thus hang out with Kim and Amanda for a day and a half at their house. That night we hung out with friends and I was able to catch up with people that I had already met and meet many more people. I was really enjoying it. Since I arrived after the play, the night got late fast so it just consisted of hanging out with friends. The next day the three of us decided to go to the city center and technically spend our last chance to really tour the city together. Time flew by as we checked out stores, walked through places we never saw, and also just took in the sites one last time of our home city.

Coming to think about it, I had been visited the city everyday this past week ( which I am most definitely not complaining about - I was loving it) all with different people. I was so happy that I was getting to spend my last days in Turku meeting up with so many people that I had met this past summer. Along with this, each outing to the city was different and special since we saw different things and spent time doing things between our interests in common.

Together with Amanda and Kim we stopped at the popular gelato shop and got our last scoops of the great ice cream that makes the shoppe such a great place to hang out. gelato is Italian of course -- but it can't be stressed enough how Finns love their ice cream! ( and I doubt of all the flavors that salmiaki licorice gelato is in Italy, haha). Surprisingly we found it very enjoyable to just sit on a bench outside on the street and just watch the city bustle around us. Turku is a unique city in that it has a small town feel in a big city environment. That observation was hard to explain, but was one thing the three of us found in common about the area. For instance - there is this one man that plays this old fashioned mechanical music box on the streets and we all laughed how we knew EXACTLY what each other was talking about - and to make it better, we turned down the one street he was playing for the day!

On another street we also had some great music since an orchestra quartet was playing in the streets. Being a city it is always neat to see street performers, but there is also something unique about hearing it in Europe. Hearing the classical tunes amongst the European atmosphere and old buildings is so fitting and satisfying.

While just enjoying the music we watched people walk by - many with very wild urban style clothes and hair cuts. We laughed and apologized to Amanda since she probably thought we were crazy for enjoying just sitting and watching people - but she shrugged her shoulders and said that she didn't even notice it was weird since Finnish teens do the same! Look at us, already hanging out like Finnish kids. The day was very fun and we were happy to have been able to really walk through and enjoy Turku one last time - nothing planned, just venturing around - and like every time, it was extremely enjoyable and very fun. This is a city - and metropolitan area for that matter- that is a place many people should visit ( and I should add that Turku is running for the 2011 Cultural Capital of Europe to host many events that display culture and the arts and I fully see why!).

Peter Pan

2007-08-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

Wednesday evening had a very nice surprise because I was going to go along with Anna, Sanni and a few neighbors of the Salminens to see a summer theater production of Peter Pan. Even though the play was entirely in Finnish, I reassured my host family that I really do enjoy seeing theater and that I would still really enjoy it even without the understanding of the language. The show was in Turku and going to be from around 7 - 9 which was perfect since it was outdoors and at that time of the night there wouldn't even be hints of the sun setting.

I was very surprised that for a Wednesday night of summer theater, the place was packed! It was very nice to see many, many families going out for the evening to enjoy the show together. As a matter of fact, Emma and her family were actually one row ahead of us by complete coincidence. It was very nice to see her there as well.

Along with the cool environment of being outdoors, the set of the production itself was very neat. There was actually full sized boat replicas as the stage and even pools of water on the ground. Once the show began the stage really came to life as it transformed from the bedroom scene to the ships to Neverland.

Even though I didn't understand the Finnish, I found myself forgetting the fact that there was a language barrier since I understood what was happening through the actors body language and tone of voice ( theater or not... I really just think that is a skill any exchange student picks up after listening to a foreign language all summer. Especially with Sanni and the twins - I can title myself a body language master, haha) The show was very enjoyable and I really enjoyed the production. I was very glad that I was able to see some theater here in Finland since it was something I wasn't expecting on doing, but after the fact, really glad that I was able to view and experience since it was all part of the chance of seeing what the city of Turku has to offer. After this and my trip with Johanna, I have come to notice how much the city dedicates to the arts making it an extremely unique and fun cosmopolitan city.

An Outing with my YFU Rep

2007-08-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

Every YFU student studying and living abroad has a local area representative to provide aid for any reason throughout a student's stay. I was very fortunate since my area rep not only kept in touch with me - which was all that was expected of her - but wanted to meet me and take a trip to the city together as well. My area rep was Mrs. Johanna Aalto who I actually previously met in the Turku orientation ( she was a YFU assistant as well as our tour guide for the historical sites. She is part of the Finnish tour guide association so she is very skilled with her history and touring abilities.) On Tuesday Johanna picked me up in the morning and together we drove out to the city to walk around together. Unfortunately it was one of the rainiest days of the summer and thus couldn't go to a particular outdoor museum Johanna wanted to take me to, but instead we went to a different museum. The museum was the Turku modern art museum and it turned out to be very cool and had quite a unique history behind it. Johanna told me that when she was a child, there was a mansion on the land by the Aura river that was actually hidden by a large gate and wall around the quarters. She said that there was always a bit of mystery about the building. When the last living family member passed away, the house was property of the city and it was sold off to then be used as the new center for modern arts. The construction plans were greatly delayed since a staggering discovery was made. while excavating the site a buried city was found. Century old layers of Turku city was lying beneath this very plot of land. I came to find out that the city of Turku burned down well over 30 times ( lots of wood in Finland... as well as cold dry temperatures...) and every time the city burned down, a layer of dirt and ash covered the layer for the next addition of the city to be built. This evolved into an underground crypt of the city of Turku - the oldest city in Finland. The construction for the museum was then delayed over ten years as the area was researched. This pushed aside the opening date of the museum by a long time but now the museum has become unique in itself. It doubles up as a historical museum as well as the modern art museum - side by side, the perfect contrast. Walking into the museum is so neat since some large glass panels on the ground let you see right through to the medieval town quarters built right beneath you.

The tour the museum started with the history and finished with a second portion in the modern arts section. For the historical museum you had to take a flight of stairs 80 meters below the surface to actually be on ground level of this medieval city - it is so incredible to actually be in a medieval city, amongst everything set up just like it was hundreds of years ago... yet all being under ground.

The tour was extremely interesting and I was able to learn a lot. It was very neat to see how the generations, or layers, of the city fused together - for instance one layer that was already buried, later became an 'underground' room for coal storage for a a certain blacksmith later on, and other connections connections like these. I was able to see churches, stores, homes ( much of the quarters here were of wealthy merchants by the river) and it was amazing to really see the buildings in which this all happened. As a matter of fact, some of the buildings had major fissures in their walls since the city underground is slowly moving towards the river!!!

Artifacts such as wooden ice skates along with boards filled with beeswax for schoolboys to practice their writing calligraphy all amazed me. There was also a tribute to Mikael Agricola who is known as the father of the Finnish language since he phoneticized and also published the first biblical writings in Finnish. One of the coolest parts of the museum was a large map that scaled how the city was projected to have looked in the past, posted right along side a cobble stone road. We were actually standing on the main street of the old town that also lead right up to the cathedral back in the times!

I was very impressed. Along with the buildings, tools and instruments were on display and I was able to hear the musical sounds of the time which consisted of fiddle and flute tunes made of wood and animal bone. Another interesting fact was on the beautiful glass wear used by the civilians. The glass had intricate art of beads or glass knobs on the handles since the expensive cup was passed around a dinner table where guests - who didn't use utensils - would pass it with greasy hands. I was amazed at the details of this museum. To make everything come together, the last stop of the tour was one of the three wells of the medieval city that was actually still working even today!

I was intrigued by the fact that the wells were actually hidden in buildings since, for outside enemies, poisoning a town in the medieval times was as easy as placing a dead animal in the water source! I really enjoyed this part of the museum so much since I truly enjoy history and medieval times. The next part of the museum was the modern art museum. This section contained pieces from renowned Finnish and Spanish artists - they formed a collaboration here. The theme of this year was 'a moment in time' so all of the pieces portrayed some idea of time movement or memories and their complexities. Of course it is hard to explain the pieces, let alone allow you to appreciate them here, but many were wild! I would even say that some were plain ugly - but what was amazing ( and Johanna and I agreed on this) was that once you heard the underlying meaning of the piece, it all made sense and you appreciated it however strange or odd it looked. Just a small recap included one room which played a movie of a man 'working' but also 'wasting time'. The man was paid to be filmed sitting on the ground 'wasting time' for 8 hours which is a typical work day, to express the point of what we consider wasting time. The question of wasting time was - is it the paid worker for doing nothing? The artist for filming it? or the viewer for using their time to watch it? ... and yes, you are allowed to sit on a bean bag chair and watch all 8 hours of the footage of a man sitting in the grass!

Another interesting one was a wall completely covered in foil wrappings - but the catch was that was the artists way of journal keeping. Each food item that had the wrapping also had an etched date or story for the artist to remember an event. The artist wanted to bring together garbage that was visually pleasing and then tie it into the concept of unforgettable, priceless memories. The museum was filled with murals, movies, sculptures... and aluminum foil and was definitely crazy.

I actually enjoyed it a lot and truly had a lot to think about after seeing some of the deep pieces.

-This piece combined many pieces made of the plastic wrapping of bread. The 'time' showed the consumption and waste of a time period - as well as how the colors, words, and taste of a brand of food can take to you a country for a moment ( as depicted by the country maps which were part of the large collection of plastic art)-
The museum all together was incredible since the building was so modern, yet you had glimpses of the medieval city underground as well - it was an amazing place!

After the great museum tour, my day with my YFU rep wasn't near over. We went to a shopping center and walked around and also had a very nice lunch together. Johanna was a YFU student to America for a whole year when she was younger, and even with the time difference, there is still such an amazing bond between international exchange students. We had a lot to talk about with living abroad as well as what is crazy about Finland and America, as well as what we missed - funny enough Johanna thought that the sweet American breakfasts was such a crazy foreign concept... and that is one thing on my list of what I missed, haha. It was things like these that I loved talking about. Along with this, Johanna is now an English and German teacher for middle schoolers. I was very interested in hearing about language education in Finland. I got a laugh from the joke here that Finns are very good at learning languages, but often times being so shy, they are known to be silent in two or three of them since they learn Finnish, Swedish and English in schools. The lunch was very nice and afterwards Johanna took me to her home since her sons were very eager to meet me.

Johanna had two sons, ages 10 and 6, and together with them I got to play some PlayStation and some airhocky.

For the whole family and myself, Johanna also made an excellent blueberry pie for desert ( along with coffee of course! Johanna calls it 'a fact' about Finland, not a stereotype, haha), She was spoiling me SO much!

Once again we had some great conversation and I got to practice a little bit of English with her oldest son who has one years experience from school. He is also very interested in sports with Soccer, Hockey and Track so I got to see his medals collection and also spark conversation with those interests. Well into the late afternoon I stayed with the Aalto family and I had an excellent time.

Johanna provided me with such an excellent day and I truly had an incredible time. Even for being a day with some of the worst weather of the summer, it turned out to be one of the best experiences in Finland. I will get to see Johanna again in Helsinki next week and I am very excited to be able to have her be a YFU leader for our many planned activities for the FUSYE scholarship in the city! (And I am totally getting that blueberry pie recipe to take back with me to America!!!)

Kuusisto

2007-08-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

After getting a chance to go for a ride and see more of the island with Emma, I realized that I have neglected the fact the I haven't really discussed the area in which I live. Kuusisto is and Island right outside of Kaarina city, which is part of the Turku metropolitan area. The island is a few miles large, so there is quite a bit happening on it. The suburban area in which I live is actually very new with many houses, including the one I am living in now, only being a few years old. Along with this many new houses are being built - including my host families new house being constructed just a few streets away. I personally have really come to love looking at the architecture and design of many of the new Finnish homes.

-Just a random house that I liked-
They are very modern and stylish with the build, colors, and materials they use. Along with all of the new houses, there are other parts of the island that have older homes in which families have been living in for a long time. Along with just the houses, there is really a lot to see on the island as well.

Of course there is the castle which was awesome, but there are also sprawling grasslands where horses are bred and some farms as well. I personally love the coastline where I have been swimming a few times with friends.

During runs I have also liked all of the rolling hills as well as the two bridges from side to side that I visit and just stop to take in the great views of the water.

I have really liked living on this island since it has shown me not only suburban Finland, but also being in a metropolitan area, connections to many other great places around the area that I live!

A Day with Fanny

2007-08-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

I received a phone call on Sunday evening from Fanny. She wanted to get together the next afternoon on Monday and spend the day together. I was very excited and happy by the invitation and on Monday in the early afternoon I met her at a meeting corner in the Turku Market Square. I think I may have petrified her when I waved my hands over my head to catch her attention when I saw her walking down the street - I don't know if she wanted to associate with that crazy American over there, haha. It was so nice to see her and we started our afternoon together by having lunch at a restaurant. The restaurant was very neat since it was in a building complex on a higher floor, so from the window next to your table you received a great view of the bustling market place below. I thought that was an excellent experience.

The rest of our afternoon consisted of lots of shopping, walking, and talking. Fanny has been my source for some insight into Euro style and fashion, so it was very fun looking through clothes together and going through stores. Being in Europe, Finland's style, especially with the teenage and young adult group, can get very wild and I had a great time checking all of it out.

Since meeting me, Fanny's interest in traveling abroad has grown, right now especially to America, and she was happy when I invited her to experience Michigan at any time. She was very happy with the offer and just made me promise that we go to New York together whenever she comes. The afternoon was very fun and filled with many laughs. I found out that the reason she wanted to go out together on that particular afternoon was because she was leaving for the Czech Republic the next day until Sunday. Even though Sunday was my last day, she said that we had to be SURE to see each other just in case. I had a great time with her and I was so glad I was able to see her and have such a nice outing together. Jarno came to pick us up and also to drive Fanny back to Naantali, and in the car she made it very awkward by turning from the front seat and saying - 'well it was very nice to meet you'. I shot back that I wasn't going to let it happen just like that - she knew me and of course I needed a picture! At the bus stop where Fanny's moped was, we got out together and got a picture (quickly since it was starting to rain) and then finally a formal hug as our 'just in case' goodbye. It was very special because even though Fanny was my host cousin, we really spent quite a bit of time together this summer and we befriended each other easily - She can be considered adopted as my teenage host sister since so many days out of this summer she either was living at my house, or me at hers, if not just me visiting her.

Overall she was a major part of this summer experience for me and was a great friend to talk to. Not only was Fanny a good friend, but she provided me with connections to gain an outlook about one of my first, and main curiosities, being the comparison of Finnish and American teenage lives. It was funny (.... Funny Fanny.... hahah, that has kind of been a joke this summer with Jarno and her!) because after we took a picture we hugged each other, and both then saw another flash. We looked to see if another picture was taken .... Craaackbooooom. A big bolt of lightning struck really loud very near us. It was humorous that Fanny screamed and both of us were looking for a split second if there was another picture. This particular saying goodbye kind of hit me with the realization of how fast closure is coming on this summer. Of course I have quite a bit of time still here in Finland, but as for living in Kuusisto, my stay ends in one week. It is depressing, since, with many friends, it has taken until this late in the summer to become very close and now it is all ending as well. All in all, the afternoon was excellent and I do owe a lot to Fanny because my friendship with her has really made a major and lasting impact on how excellent my experiences in Finland have been this summer!

Sauna

2007-08-01T01:44:00.000-07:00

I couldn't imagine a blog entirely on Finland without dedicating an entire post to the essence of the sauna. The sauna ( here in Finland you actually pronounce all the syllables... SOWna) is a Finnish invention and is one of the things that, even if people don't realize it, has brought a little bit of Finland into the spas and homes of around the world. It is difficult to explain, but in simplicity the sauna isn't just a part of Finnish culture - it IS Finnish culture. Sauna are found everywhere in the country and a staggering fact of Finland is that it boasts a sauna in virtually every household, summer home, spa and hotel thus making one sauna for every three Finns. It is amazing and they really are everywhere and are regularly utilized. As I have mentioned previously the sauna experience consists of pouring ladles of water over hot stones to create a heavy steam in the room that dramatically raises the temperature.

- Bench. Hot stones. Ladle. Water. = Sauna! -
In the beginning you start slow to develop a good sweat and then more ladles of water to fully cleanse the body. I should note that I have noticed and questioned the fact that most Finns don't have bathtubs in their homes. Apparently these are only new additions to larger homes, and even then they are more of a jacuzzi tub type. Finns find their preference of bathing in a good sweat from a sauna and then a shower. Along with just the steam, whipping the body with a branch of birch leaves is also considered to benefit the skin while in a sauna.

-The sauna in the cottage in Ruka-
Finns like their saunas hot as well, and I have definitely experienced some very high temperatures and thick, heavy steam. The hot steam becoming so dense where it actually begins to hinder your breathing and itches your skin from the burning discomfort is actually the relaxing phenomenon here called löyly. As crazy as it sounds, this oxymoron of a form of relaxation is quite excellent and something that I have not only learned to bare - but also enjoy. Here in Finland I have experienced a lot of sauna ( thus experiencing a lot of nudity - When in Rome...) inside spas as well as in my own home here. In the summer we have used the sauna in the house at least once a week ( and from what I have asked, at least 2-3 times in the winter). On some occasions there is this heated... i don't even know what to call it... large fire heated barrel of water... outside on our porch that you go into in between sauna turns.

Hot water in this soaking tub is actually heated by a wood lit fire in a stove on the side. I have seen many of these in Finland, and they are actually quite relaxing while feeling very natural. Of course my favorite sauna form of relaxation is the transitioning from hot sauna to a dip in a cold lake. The combination of hot and cold along with swimming and relaxing is excellent and really just makes you feel at ease for the remainder of the evening. There are groups in Finland that travel to Lapland in the winter and cut holes into the frozen lakes and then after this they enjoy the sauna and running into frigid arctic water. The sensations are supposedly very extreme and relaxing ( hmm... another Finnish oxymoron) and I really think it is something I must put on my life goals checklist for another day - it sounds really quite daring and fun actually! Of course a small post like this cannot serve justice to a topic as broad and in depth as the relationships of the sauna and Finnish culture.

-The sauna in my house here in Finland-
There are etiquettes and even passed down tactics to truly enjoy the best possible sauna experience and reap many benefits from the practice. One thing is for sure that the sauna is most definitely intertwined deeply into modern Finnish lifestyle and even culture passed down through generations. Even though it may be difficult to find an authentic Finnish sauna elsewhere in the world - at least when you visit some form of sauna, know that you are experiencing a little bit of Finland.

Kuusisto Ruins

2007-07-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon was very free so I decided to take a bike ride only a short few minutes away to visit, technically, my host cousin, and friend Emma. She has been over a few times this summer to watch the twins and that is how I was able to meet her. She is good at speaking English, enjoys reading, and in fact reads very many things in English which probably largely accounts for her very proficient usage of the language. Since she is very good at speaking English and we have a few things in common we got along very well. Sunday I went over to her house with no plans really, but just to do something for the afternoon. We first just sat and talked but then she said that she want to take me to some places to show me around. Emma is 18 so she just recently passed to receive her drivers licence here in Finland. She drives a jeep with a stick shift, for that matter, so I give her a lot of credit for that since it looks challenging. Our first stop was going to be actually just on the island itself but driving to the other side where there was a very cool historical site.

The island of Kuusisto is actually rather large so there is quite a bit to see - and therefor much I haven't seen - so I was excited to drive through. I was actually amazed since I have been all over Finland already, but in comparison to the island that I live on, I really haven't seen too much. It was a very scenic drive - a couple kilometers - and I was enjoying the fact that I was seeing much of the untouched areas of the island. At the other end of the island from where I live is a castle ruins.

I though this was so neat since I really like history like this and the fact that it was this close made it even more exciting. Kuusito ruins are over 700 years old and had a direct history with the Turku cathedral and castle during the time when Finland was under Swedish rule.

The ruins were actually demolished by the Swedish king over disputes with the bishops of the castle. Today the skeletal stone walls of this medieval castle are still erect and it now provides a scenic look over to the sea that divides the Island from mainland Finland with Kaarina and Turku.

It is really cool and you are able to walk through everything so you are completely able to get the feel of where the entrance was, the rooms, the courtyard etc. With a little imagination everything could be visualized together and you felt of the period or at least of some tale or fable emulating the time period.

Emma said she has been here many times and through her elementary school it was a field trip, often for class pictures, once or twice a year. I found it amazing that students here had such a close connection to this kind of history that was this old! - Not to many people were even THINKING about America yet when this was a thriving castle! I was so happy that Emma took me hear since I had so much enjoyment climbing the ruinous rubble steps to get better glimpses of the shell of this - at one point in time - staggering achievement of architecture.

After the visit to the historical site, Emma said that she wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon in the city, so of course I was very excited. Being a Sunday, I knew it was going to be a little slower with shops closing early and such but the city was almost deserted. The market square was empty and - if possible! - it was even more quiet. Emma disclosed that the city comes to life on Friday and Saturday evenings ( which is very true, I have been there on those days and it is amazing!) and Sunday the city almost shuts down since everyone is now at home. The low key atmosphere didn't suppress any of our eagerness to check stuff out, so we went in and out of shops checking out was was for sale.
Both of us had a really cool time in the book store - which had a very large selection of English books - and checked out the travel guides of all the places we wanted to visit in the world, some Japanese books, as well as others that the covers just caught our attention, amongst many other things that we shared common interests over.

Of course the newest edition of Harry Potter was there and actually it was my first time seeing the book. The Finnish translation will not be out for a while by the British edition is definitely for sale ( and once again - for the die hard fans here - reading the novel in English almost unintentionally equips the reader with a useful study guide for English practice!). I guess I was very intrigued by the fact the I was viewing the British novel for some reason - it was the REAL novel - and I liked noting the differences. First the novel is sold in two separate styles. There is a youth version with a more bright cover and then an adult version with a more subdued cover... other than that I don't know any other differences between them - Maybe the British just like to look a little more sophisticated with their reading ( say it with an accent for the ultimate effect!).

I know that the British novels change certain words from their American counterparts to make the English more fitting, but the other major difference was that the chapters have no pictures at the chapter heading - I love those!! I think those may only be in the American books. Other than this, I am definitely excited to getting to read this book - and even though it was still English, it was still a culture lesson in a sense!
After quite a bit of walking around, Emma and I decided to get a snack so we stopped at the Hesburger in the shopping center.

- OK, so consider this like a post within a post-
Hesburger is Finland's answer to the fast food industry. This chain actually started here in Turku and has spread through Finland, Scandinavia and now even parts of Europe. There is nothing really that different about it ( other than the fact that Finnish people must love tex mex since it is an ongoing trend I see with many styles of food for flavors) but what is notable is how it is perceived by Finns. The way Finnish people talk about it is as if they have a special pride about the chain - since it IS Finnish and all. Like many other things Finnish - Marimekko, aalto vases, salmiaki, sauna... Hesburger seems to get just as much cred with the people. As a matter of fact in the market square area of Turku there are THREE of the restaurants! I didn't see a McDonalds in Finland until our drive to lapland - but I hear they are around ( just a note about that and rovaniemi... that city claims the most northern McDonalds franchise in the world! I didn't see it though, but I read about it.) I found everything about the Hesburger chain pretty interesting and I guess was even glad that I was getting to try it out. Emma was saying how Finnish people choose Hesburger not only because they feel the service is better, but also JUST because it IS Finnish. That is true patriotism and dedication, haha.
Anyways, after our snack we walked around for a while longer and checked out some other stuff. I was back home for dinner time and was very happy with the afternoon that I was able to spend with Emma. She made the afternoon very spontaneous and fun for an otherwise free Sunday.

Random

2007-07-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

Being in a foreign country, there are many things that can be found funny through cultural misunderstandings and things just lost in translation. This post is dedicated to just a few things that have made me just stop and have a good laugh here in Finland. I apologize for my immaturity, but it does deserve a laugh! I could have captions... but there are so many that the lists could go on forever - so I am just going to present them for what they are.

and many products are labeled to be ' American'

I am still trying to learn what American bacon and American muffins are myself amongst other 'American' products. A little culture lesson haha.

Train Ride

2007-07-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

The plan for the trip to Ruka included the drive up by car and the return home by train. In Rovaniemi, we arrived at the northern train station that was going to connect us all the way to back home. It was actually really neat since the last two carriers on the train were specially designed to transport cars for passengers. I was pretty excited since this trip was also going to be a first for me - it was going to be my first time riding in an actual personal passenger cabin on a train ( wow, so many 'firsts' here in Finland with cruises, trains, reindeer...)! The trip itself was 14 hours and was going to go over night ( 6 pm departure and 8 am arrival).

The train was noisy, shaky and hot, but my excitement suppressed these minor cons of train travel - it all seemed so old fashioned and nostalgic for some reason ( even though I reminded myself that there is nothing really outdated or for that matter obsolete about train travel). We made a long walk to the front of the train, crossing the train cars one by one, where there was a whole cafe cabin and we enjoyed some ice cream. It was beautiful looking out the windows and seeing forests, and then lakes and farms spotted in between if you caught a lucky glance.

This truly made you get a chance to see the heart of Finland ( and since it would be false to say 'and how much it had to offer', but yet -) and see how humbly minimal, untouched and preserved it actually was. It was largely unpopulated ( two thirds of the nation lives in southern cities) and this provided very natural sightseeing. I found it very comforting and peaceful. Back in the cabin there was a triple bunk bed in the narrow room and we all got as comfortable as we could and relaxed.

I got a chance to read and it was a very nice trip. The train made a few stops and I was able to step out and say that I had seen Oulu, the major city of the mid-western coast... well the train station sign that is, but it was still cool. The rest of the night we slept and in the morning awoke to get ready to exit back at home in Turku.

Once at the train station, Jarno picked up the car and we were on our way back home. Even after a nights sleep on the train, we were exhausted. It had been an adventure-packed, excellent trip way up to Lapland which still amazes me with how far north I had actually traveled in the world. The trip was filled with so many great experiences and offered me glimpses of so many great qualities about Finland's cities and nature - two components in stark contrast that are both uniquely amazing in this nation.

Rovaniemi

2007-07-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

Departing from Ruka, we were on our way for another few hours worth of driving to the city of Rovaniemi. Rovaniemi is directly on the arctic circle line of latitude - thus making it the farthest north I would travel here in Finland. I was amazed while pondering on the idea of just how 'on top of the world' I was! As a matter of fact - after looking at some maps - I was on a line of latitude that was above the entire nation of Iceland! I really have no idea how that connects, but for some reason this association fascinated me. I was just that far north! Rovaniemi city is considered the 'heart of Lapland' and was a proud city displaying the great wonders of its placement in this northern, pristine placement on the globe. Along with being the heart of Lapland and providing insight into the cultures, artifacts, and lifestyles of the Sami ( the indigenous Lappish peoples of the north in Scandinavia) and Lapland - Rovaniemi is also the home to Santa Claus. This town from a glance obviously treasured Christmas year round and had many attractions dedicated to the magical myths of Santa ( we did drive by hotel Santa Claus on our way through!). Before heading to the train station to catch our travel back we had one place that we were going to stop. Just for quick looks and a walk through, we had to step inside Lordi's Rocktaraunt - a monster themed restaurant and landmark of the area... Okay - this needs some explanation.

rocking away with heavy guitar chords and grunting chants. This odd submission not only sparked major interest in the heavy metal scene largely present in Finland, but also many viewers around Europe. Every year, as it has been going on for many decades in Europe, is a inter-European song contest called Eurovision. Each year each participating nation submits a musical representative to compete in a competition as voted on by citizens of Europe ( and as far as my understanding has been so far, citizens must vote for a nation other than their own). It is a major entertainment event for the continent still and has many followers and high profiled coverage. For the past several decades Finland has participated and has pretty much never really made the cut - that is, except for last year. In the previous Eurovision, Finland's submission to the contest was a heavy metal band named 'Lordi' that consisted of monster costumed Finns from Rovaniemi. Lordi had won the Eurovision contest by a landslide and not only made history since it was the first Finnish submission to ever win, but also with the fact that it received more points than any other musical number in Eurovision history! Because of this title, Eurovision was passed on traditionally to the winner, and Finland hosted the 2007 Eurovision in Helsinki this past year - A proud moment for the nation welcoming thousands of visitors. Back to Rovaniemi, the city embraced their native bands successes and thus appointed many honorable titles and memorials to proudly display how the band had brought the city to the forefront of continental - and in some cases - international attention. In the city there is a market square named after the band as well as, including the entire nation, postage stamps and soda pop on the market also bearing their name. The most unique tribute I noticed was the 'Lordi special' kebab plate at a local pizzakebab poignantly displayed in the window. With all the attention and high praise, Rovaniemi in association with the band itself worked to make this connection a great tourist lure - and it is proving hugely successful. In Rovaniemi city is Lordi's Rocktaraunt, a restaurant and rock karaoke bar that is disguised in its appearance as a horror house with monster costumes, Gothic furniture, and band members items shown museum style decorating the interior.

It was quite unreal and, even for me who had no idea of much that was going on, kind of interesting. The whole concept behind the Lordi band's claim to fame and immense popularity and tribute, along with how the nation of Finland and the city of Rovaniemi embraced the success of the monster rock band is definitely one of the more odd and curious parts of Finnish modern and popular culture.

I was actually glad that I was able to experience the tour through while visiting Rovaniemi and enjoyed how it added even more excitement into the fact that I was checking out not only the most northern place I have ever been in the world, but also one of the most unique cities of Finland - in terms of location, culture, tourism and of course - popculture. It is also funny to note - providing more insight into the oxymoronic city of Rovaniemi- that Lordi's Rocktaraunt is snugly neighboring 'Santa's Hair Salon' right next door! After a quick tour it was on the way to the train station for us - but I knew that this part of Finland was definitely a place to return to for enjoying Christmas year round, Lappish culture, Northern Exploring, or simply feeling the need to Rock on.

Bridges, Rapids, Lakes and Reindeer

2007-07-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

Friday's morning excursions started the same quick, early way Thursday's had. We got dressed into some hiking-wear and were off to see some new territory. Once again we drove out of the city to another hiking spot to venture inside. To get into these woods, you had to cross a bridge over the river connecting to the lake.

The lake stretching into the horizon was a pretty spectacular view from the wobbly bridge.

Walking further, the fresh air and beautiful sights from the trails displayed the fact that this forest was just as gorgeous as the last. It was simply beautiful way up in the north in this part of the world.

A few kilometers later we found an old building in the middle of the woods that was now used as a rest area for campers and hikers on the trails - and it was definitely being utilized to its potential. Tents were set up and camp fires smoking as families and hiking groups sat around the building taking a well deserved rest in the scenic atmosphere. It was really cool seeing so many people enjoying the nature and summer up here ( and along with Finnish, all over the area you heard Russian, German, French, and Polish as well!). What was coolest of all was this was that the wood cabin edged right up to the river where a very powerful rapids had formed in its path.

Gushing water splashed violently as the river continued through its destined path and was quite mesmerizing to watch.

We stayed at this point for quite a while just enjoying it for what it was - and even later we watched an adventurous group of thrill seekers take the challenging rout of rafting through the rapids!

Once again our adventures had been very exciting and provided many opportunities to see some fantastic Finnish natural scenes. After our journey on the way back out we stopped for coffee at a little resting cabin near the entrance of the hiking trails where many hikers finishing and starting were found relaxing. The cabin\store was very cool with a fireplace and even a patio\dock that was built right out over the lake for a panoramic viewing experience while enjoying some coffee.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of relaxing, checking out shops in the stores - Jarno tried persuading me that a reindeer skin would be a cool souvenir... I just like taking pictures of them! - and swimming.

-These were some Lappish cups, *kuksa*, which were hand carved all and sold all over the area. The carved items, amongst many other utensils, jewelry and tools, were albeit expensive, but amazingly intricate and nice to look at. -
It had been a very fun few days but time was already running short since in the evening we had to take another drive further north to a train station to catch our train home ( this was all part of the traveling plans). We did some packing up and cleaning in the cottage to have it ready for the next trip, but before leaving, we had one more stop for our stay in Ruka. We went to a restaurant that was right at the base of the Ruka ski slopes and had a specialty of not only the northern area - but Finland itself. Reindeer was the course of choice for the afternoon and this restaurant served it for lunch buffet style. It was actually really good and you enjoyed it with mashed potatoes, lingonberries ( the sweetness here made it all come together really nicely) and salad.

I think it was the perfect way to end our stay in northern Finland and start our way back home. Everything was extremely fun in Ruka and I had been able to see and experience so many great sites, adventures, and new things ( including foods!).

The Cottage

2007-07-28T23:20:00.000-07:00

The cottage up in Ruka is very nice and is is seemingly a great mini home to retreat to. Just to give a brief tour of the quarters, the cottage is actually connected to 3 other cottages - what does that make it... a quaplex? - and is on the bottom level of the building. Inside, after walking past the mini porch and then the shoe room ( a must all over Finland it seems - take those shoes off and keep them out of the house!) there is the kitchen and living area fit even with a fireplace for the wintertime.

It is very cozy, and along with the small house, the appliances are all suitably miniaturized as well. To the other side of the cottage is the bedrooms. One is the master bedroom - that is where Jarno and Sanni slept - and that also had a window out the front of the building. The room next door, which had bunk beds and was for me during the stay ( I thought it was kind of cool!). I had my eye mask ready since here, being so northern, I knew the sun was going to be reluctant to set early - if at all. To my surprise ( and actually satisfaction! haha) my room had no windows.

It was the first time this summer I got to fall asleep in natural pure darkness ( saying that sounds like it is a strange luxury - but I guess it is being away from things that make you realize how to appreciate them and what you take for granted!). The last room in the back of the cottage was the bathroom, with the very Finnish wall-less, ledge-less shower that made you quite paranoid that water was flooding everywhere in the bathroom while you were showering ( although the drain was strategically placed not to make a big mess - there is a squeegee as well , haha).

To make it the ultimate Finnish cottage ( or maybe that should be 'only suitable to BE a Finnish' cottage) was the inclusion of a small sauna room in the bathroom ( which of course we used twice over our stay in Ruka.) Overall, the cottage was so nice and definitely a nice luxury of Finland that truly lets you experience and appreciate the natural areas of the country, and live life slow and quiet for a while. If anyone ever comes to Finland, I strongly recommend renting one to experience the country- ( When I bring people back I sure will - and will be found running in between the sauna and the lake to then finish the evening with coffee, pulla, and a burning fire... ok, now I am just relishing in a little paradise - but I guess that does show that I am enjoying myself here!)

Kiutaköngäs Waterfall

2007-07-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Early the next morning, after a quick breakfast, we were back out to trek some new territories - bedhead and all. Today we actually drove a few kilometers to the point where we were going to start. There was actually a small nature museum in front with stations describing the habitats in the forests behind, and after that the entrance to the trail ( the trail itself, along with many others in the area, were structured for intense backpackers and were several dozen kilometers long and projected to last over one weeks time) ... we were just going in a few kilometers to check things out!

Directly inside the woods were some hut cabin shelters built into the ground that were actually from wartime periods ( there is a pretty lengthy history with Russia here!) and it was interesting to see. Another cool thing about the woods was some of the mushrooms growing on the trees. Jarno pointed out that this was a sign that the environment was very clean.

A while longer walking in, you could hear the faint sound of running water... Waterfalls! I was excited - I really do love waterfalls. Just as I had heard, and after a few minutes more of walking, waterfall kiutaköngäs mightily showed it amazing stature in the cliffs.

You could see how clean the water was as the sparkling water passed through with only a earthy tint from the minerals it was passing through - but being able to see through a waterfall is staggering nonetheless! I loved just watching it.

The waterfall itself was in a few separate parts, and along with this, from years of passing water, small creeks emerged at the sides with beautiful standstill water bowls in rock that reflected the morning sun.

The whole image was stunning and I was surprised that the nature of the area was impressing me with surprises still.

Close to the waterfall area was a community fire pit where many were taking a break and grilling. We also took the time to stop and enjoy the environment by slowly cooking Finnish sausages, Makkara, over the fire with the waterfall's streaming sounds in the background.

After the pleasant outing we also met a few surprises on the way back. First I must mention that the grounds are covered with blueberry brush. There are fresh blueberries that you can pick everywhere and I found that quite enticing. It was looking at the mass amounts of blueberry brush, however, that made me spot a reindeer also munching away in the woods. Photo-op!

( Sorry for the bed head!). Overall the adventures in the woods were very exciting, especially with seeing the waterfalls, but little did I know it wasn't the last I would see this week!

Hiking

2007-07-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

The same after noon that we arrived was not going to end uneventfully. We still went out and explored the areas in the small city. I have already mentioned my liking for how the city was structured, but walking through it made everything much better as well. There were many restaurants and shops that usually served skiers in the winter but remained open. As a matter of fact, much of Ruka is set up for skiers in the winter, but that doesn't prevent many people from visiting in the summer. It is still beautiful there ( Jarno did mention that it looks completely different in the winter with over a meter of snow everywhere). Dressed in long sleeved attire and a coating of mosquito repellent ( they are supposed to largely be gone at this time of year, but some were still out) we were ready to march up the steps of the ski hill to the top. It was a ways up, but the trip was by far worth it.

The view from the top was awe inspiring. Trees as far as you could see along with reflective lakes far off into the horizons where ever you looked. It was amazing and something you would only see in a painting

(... what a moronic thing to say when that is WHY paintings are made in the first place; this form of inspiration...). Aside from my poor explanatory skills, the only way better to put it is that it was impressive.

It showed what Finland so strongly and proudly was able to provide to the world. To make everything a little more Finnish, on top of this tall ski hill was nothing other than an ice cream stand and even a family of resting reindeer.

All together though, it made the whole image very Finnish and comforting. I had enjoyed every moment of it.

To get down the hill was another fun adventure. The Ruka ski slopes were used in full advantage in the summer when there was no snow for skiing. Built on the slopes themselves was a long, winding metal slide that went all the way down. On this, passengers riding a toboggan style sled were able to slide all the way down. From appearance it looked kind of crazy, but in fact it was very fun. The rickety slide had many turns, and although it didn't always go too fast, it was pretty scary!

I had so much fun, and overall it had made the first evening of exploring and enjoying Ruka an awesome experience. After that we went back to the cottage for of course, some sauna, and then some well needed sleep.

Kuopio

2007-07-28T04:04:00.000-07:00

The next morning continued with more driving - which was actually quite enjoyable. Central Finland had sprawling hills of simply green forests stretched far off into the horizon with small blue lakes dotted in. It sounds like it could be boring, but it was quite beautiful. Also, thanks to the long hours of driving, I finally made a nice dent into my summer reading for school - and here 'getting lost in a book' takes new meaning when you actually get 'lost in English' and once, so far into a story with dialogue, forget that the atmosphere around you is Finland and are rudely awakened with the challenge of Finnish being spoken everywhere. Even so, the road trip was quite nice. Our first stop of the day was in the city of Kuopio, one of the major cities in the heart of Finland.

Like Turku, and seemingly every other Finnish major city, Kuopio had a really lively and large market square in the middle of the city. It was so cool to just walk through stand after stand of berries and vegetables to cafes and clothes stands. The market places were mesmerizing and I always loved checking them out. For the road we purchased some pea pods ( the ones where you actually have to split open the pod to get to the peas!) for a snack.

Along with this we picked up a local specialty for dinner a few hours later at the cabin. The dish was Kalakukko and is - as stated on the flyer that comes with the dish! - a delicacy of Kuopio. It is a large, round loaf of rye and oat bread - very dark, sour and crusty - stuffed with perch and pork stuffing. I didn't quite know what to expect, but I guess I was interested in the fact that I was going to be trying something uniquely Finnish. Walking around a little more we came across a very old, long market tavern, much like I had seen in Turku, that held countless stations selling meats, cheeses, pastries, cafes and other goods.

The building was well over a hundred years old and was really cool to walk through. To make the excursion even more exciting was the fact that there was a full live student brass band playing in the square for entertainment. They played very well and it made the environment so much neater.

Back to driving - and snacking on the pea pods ( and salmiaki licorice... what else in Finland!) - we were back on our way north. Driving through, everything was much the same except that as we got more north, everything became a bit more hilly. I received my first major shock that I was indeed in northern Finland near Lapland as we drove through the northern city of Kuusamo. Right up ahead of us, on the road itself, were reindeer!

I could not believe it. I knew they were a big deal in northern Finland, but I figured that you would have to at least search deep into the woods a little first. That was not the case, as I would quickly learn from many, many sightings over the weekend.

The reindeer - poro in Finnish - lackadaisically just walked the streets with out a care in the world about cars. I guess it can be said that they DO own the roads up here! Nonetheless, every time I saw reindeer, even whole families, with male leaders with HUGE antlers leading the pack with little furry babies hobbling behind, I was amazed.

It was truly remarkable to see so many of them wild roaming the streets. As we were in Kuusamo - probably only a half hours drive from the cabin in Ruka - we stopped at a grocery store to pick up food for the rest of the week. Kuusamo was really neat. The stores were regular sized - yet the city ( I want to call it a town!) was still small. Almost seemingly in the middle of nowhere, one would surely figure it would be deserted, but it was still bustling. I apologize for the controdictions - but I think the best way to put it is that being so northern it was small, but still had large shopping complexes, and even though it seemed it should still be sparsely populated, the fact that EVERYONE was outside walking or on bikes made it seem so alive. I think it just intrigued me, haha - it is hard to explain and I am just digging a hole. Anyways, we finally arrived at the cabin. Driving through Ruka was cool. I expected it to be spread out and a rather 'nowhere-land' but it turned out to be small, yet quite condensed. The center of the city was the large ski slopes and the city attractions and cabins all surrounded around that. I read a small sign that was proclaiming the projected plans of having Ruka be one of the first northern cities in Scandinavia where cars were not of need - where everything was easily accessible by foot. I saw this plan coming into action and found the area to be quite unique and actually a perfect place for not only a private cottage, but also a nice tourist attraction as well - and it does seem impossibly hard to mix the two, but for some reason it seemed ok here. The cabin itself was nestled amongst a grouping of other cottages and was not as deserted as I first imagined. The cottage was beautiful and cozy; tiny and just right for a home away from home.

Once situated inside, Jarno put the Kalakukko into the oven to cook. An hour later we sat around and were ready to eat it - and in my case, try it for the first time.

To be quite honest, I can't say that it was my *favorite* Finnish dish - kind of dry - but it was unique and definitely something I was glad to experience since it was traditionally Finnish. Being notable in Kuopio, the ingredients were very Finnish with the dark sour rye bread and definitely the fish. Overall I was enjoying every moment of the cottage and living way up north, and the journey up had been very enjoyable as well. I was now ready for the days to follow to really see what Northern Finland had to offer!

Driving (Jyväskylä)

2007-07-28T01:38:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning, Jarno, Sanni and myself packed up the car ready to take the long drive up to northern Finland to the city of Ruka where the Salminen's cottage is located. Ruka is located just under the Arctic Circle and Scandinavian Lapland as well as just off the Russian border to the east. I was really excited to be taking this trek to go this far north and experience living at the top of the world - almost quite literally. The drive was going to be well over 10 hours, but we had many stops planned out for breaks. My host family wasn't going to go through just about the entire nation of Finland and just pass up the sites and cities along the way! We had quite a few interesting break points planned out for the travels.

A few miles up, we actually stopped to see some family friends of Jarno's in the city of Juvaskylä at their summer cottage. It was really neat because this summer cottage was quite a ways into the woods through a narrow dirt road and nestled deep inside next to a lake, seemingly away from everything. The family had twin 15 year old sons (lots of twins this summer, huh) and it was cool to hang out with them. Even though with them, English was a very large barrier, but we had a really good time playing badminton in the yard. The family provided us with a really good dinner and afterwards some swimming was planned. Sanni, the two boys, and myself got our swim suits on and first enjoyed a quick sauna. From the sauna, much like my first experience with my YFU friends, we ran out to the lake just behind their house and jumped it. It was so cold! We swam around a while and while swimming (or paddling really fast to keep warm) I realized how clear and pristine the water was. I then had the realization that this was my first time swimming in a lake in Finland (one of almost 200,000!) since every other swimming experience had been in the sea.

Being in the middle of silent woods, the lake was beautiful, and along with being clear and clean - it also seemed to be free of that 'lake smell' (and in terms of jumping in - 'taste'). I was also intrigued about the fact that this was only central Finland and as we would go more north, the lakes would become more pristine and crystal clear - aside from Lappish lakes being cold, they are known for having the qualities of being drinkable straight from the source as well as notably clear! Continuing with our swimming - we returned to the sauna to warm back up with a satisfying relief - only to repeat the swimming - and temperature changing - feat a few times more. There is something that makes the sauna run\jump into cold water so satisfying and one of the best parts about the sauna experience. Being hot and then refreshingly cold - then to be slowly warmed back up is very soothing and hard to describe - a long with it being a lot of fun. After a few trips back and forth to the sauna and lake we had pulla, fresh strawberries and coffee - nothing could quite make it better.

This was a very nice stop during a long road trip. After a few hours of driving, the company, as well as the truly relaxed feeling couldn't have been better. After saying goodbye, we were on our way for a few hours before stopping for the night at a hotel to get a good nights sleep before another morning full of driving.

Golfing Lessons

2007-07-28T01:06:00.000-07:00

With everyone back together, on Monday, Jarno took Sanni and me to show Sanni the rest of her birthday present. That afternoon we returned to Archipelagia golf course and driving range where Sanni would receive a one hour lesson once a week for the next few weeks of summer. It was really exciting to see Sanni walk up with her new golf bag and clubs and start to test them out. The golf instructor showed her tactics including the positioning of her feet, as well as how to hold a club ( you know that I was riding the coattails of this instructors teachings and learning as much as I could as well!). After Sanni practiced on the putting greens, we all moved to the driving range.

Here, the instructor gave Jarno some buckets of golf balls to swing at while Sanni was practicing. This also gave me an opportunity to really actually try some of the clubs and swings out. After a few dozen hits, even I was getting the hang of it. The instructor also gave some pointers to Jarno and even myself ( he spoke a bit of English) so the one hour lesson was beneficial for everyone. I got in quite a few decent swings

( a nice confidence boost for the golfing range, haha!) and Sanni was very happy, looking pretty spiffy walking out with her own golf bag!

That night, one of Jarno's friends came over to visit ( is it a surprise anymore?... yes, coffee and pastries were there! haha). He was from Helsinki and came with his son who was Sanni's age. He spoke English rather well and had some very good points of conversation with me in regards to comparing\contrasting America and Finland. Some questions, although simple on the surface, really made you realize that it was a challenge to answer since it is not too often that you look back at your home, country, or culture in that 'outside' perspective. The questions pertained to basic things part of culture in Finland such as public nudity as well as family privacy with nudity - or lack there of ( yes, this subject was on the sauna!) thus making one ponder what evolved into Americans being so private in this matter - yet on the contrary, being so open with things such as discussion and side conversation as Finns tended to be more reserved. Aside from all the thinking, I also had packing to do. Early in the morning Jarno, Sanni and I were taking a big drive up far north to the city of Ruka to stay at the summer cottage for a few days.

Mölkky

2007-07-24T01:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday was once again just a very laid back, relaxing day at the summer cottage. I went shopping with Mari (Mrs. Impilä) and got stuff ready for lunch. While at the grocery store, I noticed something very interesting. In Finland, apparently all shopping carts are locked up, and the only way to unlock one to use it is to fit a 1€ coin into a slot in the handle. This coin is then reimbursed to you only when you pop the lock back into place while parking your buggy in the front of the store.

I found this to be very neat, while Mrs. Impilä found it very interesting to hear that in America, part of someone's job was to get the carts from the parking lot cart corrals and retrieve those left around the parking lots!

At the store we bought some fresh fish since we were going to smoke some for lunch. When we returned, Mr. Impilä showed me the process involved to smoke fish. I watched how he put together the fire and the wood chips and then prepared the fish.

After about an hour or so, the lunch was ready and we ate it on the patio, enjoying the scenery.

Later on in the day, the Salminen family came to pick me up. We weren't leaving just yet, since we were going to spend the afternoon together. The girls swam and the adults had coffee outside. Later on, for dinner, some sausages were grilled and we had a BBQ for the evening - So Finnish, being on the seaside and all!

After we ate, the adults pulled out a game that we were going to play. The game was Mölkky, and I came to find out through the rules that this was like the ultimate outdoor combination of bowling and , say, bocchi ball, haha! Everyone played together and it was a lot of fun. The rules of the game consisted of 12 pins being set up and a large 'log' object to toss at the pins. The pins are numbered between 1 -12 and the object was to hit them. Simple enough, but there was more. If you hit just ONE pin you got the points your pin says, but if you hit multiple pins, you get the amount of points as the number of the pins you knocked down. Along with this, where the pin falls down is where it must be set back up for the next turn. The simplistic game was easy enough for the little kids, but actually required quite a bit of skill and strategy to keep the adults competitive - and they were!

The game was over when one player reached 50 points - but then another rule was thrown at me. If you miss the pins - meaning 0 points - 3 times in a row (which is very possible when they get separated and the log just bounces around!) you are out! The game was getting intense and it was very fun watching everyone getting into the game. I was head to head with Juha in the end, and we were both near 50 points! Then - at THIS time - one of the most important rules was revealed to me - you must get EXACTLY 50 points - if not, you go back to 25!. I needed four more. I decided to try and hit four pins for a better chance - toss * bounce * hit* 1-2-3-4 *bounce * 5 pins! NoooOOO! hahah.

It was funny. Right after me, Juha did the same thing! Neither of us were in the running anymore! A few turns later Mari came along and with a skilled toss stole the game! It was a lot of fun and definitely something I enjoyed doing - a very Finnish backyard game during the summer, at a summer cottage with the whole family .

-The Champion!-

It was so nice! The evening ended very well and before long, I got my stuff together with the Salminen's and we were on our way back home. Sanni had been picked up earlier in the day before visiting the Impilä family and now the family was all back together. It was definitely an excellent weekend and I appreciated what the Impilä family shared me so much!

-The summer cottage's coast at midnight on Saturday evening-

Hanging out on a Saturday Night

2007-07-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening, Fanny and I got ready to go by moped to meet up with her friends in the town again. Like the day before, it was all rather spontaneous in terms of finding friends and we first met up with some at one friend's house and just started walking around meeting up with others. Socializing became even easier since I was no longer too much of a foreign stranger and many of the teens gained a little more confidence to use more English.

After going around for a while everybody decided that that wanted something to eat, so, you can take a guess at where we went - yes, a pizzakebob. Even inside the restaurant we met up with more friends. After some eating we went across the street and rented a movie to watch at someones else's house. Even though much of the surroundings of the night's events still felt foreign and new to me, all of this had a very comforting feel of what I would like to do back home as well. About 10 of us met at someones house to watch the movie ( they chose the grudge 2) and we started watching it. It is funny, because normally you would watch a movie, especially a scary one for that matter, in the dark - but at 8:30 it was nothing but light outside - however after the realization that when the movie was done, and it was going to still be broad daylight out... it really didn't matter. And that is actually what sort of happened. At 10:30 it was still perfectly light outside and our night was not near drawing to a close. Like before, we just went out side and found our way to the beach to just hang out there.

While we were walking on the dock, a very large group of 15 and 16 year olds were hanging out at the pavilion on the beach. They all had their mopeds and someones radio was on full volume. They were just socializing and dancing on the beach. Fanny's group of friends was cracking jokes about them - probably just because they were younger - but I thought that form of hanging out on a Saturday night was awesome as well. Moving from the beach we were back at the harbor\town area and walked up a viewing tower and got some spectacular views of the bay, the moon being out, yet the sun just starting to set on the horizon ( the sun sets for seemingly forever, and even after it 'sets' it is still very light out for a long time... like an extended period of dusk).

Talking and laughing was extremely fun with the amazing scenery around us and I thought it was such a cool place for these teenagers of Naantali to hang out during the summer time. I was really happy since every one was so nice and I had really enjoyed both nights of hanging out with many new friends. After a very fun night, Fanny and I said goodbye and went on the moped back home with the cold, fast winds blowing by as we looked at everything midsummer's nights in Finland have to offer.

Relaxing at the Summer Cottage

2007-07-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning was also nice and lazy. The morning and early afternoon had nothing planned and was so nice to just be outside. Sunbathing, swimming, reading and other activities filled everyone's time. I actually had many nice opportunities to do stuff with Oliver, the youngest of the Impilä family, and see what he liked to do at the summer cottage. We tried different things, moving from fishing, to trying his BB gun, to experimenting with his bow and homemade arrows.

Oliver doesn't speak any English yet. He is still younger than the age Finnish students begin English language in school, but similarly to doing things with Sanni, it is amazing how body language, a smile, and simple 'yes' (Joo!), 'no' (Ei!), and 'good (Hyvää!) can communicate so much. It was in the middle of the day so we didn't catch any fish, but even after many attempts it was still fun. The cottage has a great shore of solid rock to fish on and also had quite a bit of history on it. This summer cottage, which is about 50 years old, has been kept in the Impilä family, which is how it was passed down. (The Impilä's live in another part of Naantali, which is how I was able to meet so many of Fanny's friends, but this summer cottage still is a great way to escape for a while). Even before the summer cottage though, this site was always good for fishing and you could see evidence of that by the etchings in the stone. There were signatures, scratched-in art of flowers, as well as even clocks that could be used as a sundial by fishermen.

It was really cool to see this. Juha - Mr. Impilä- had his name etched in from when he was a boy, and even Fiia took the time to put her name into the historic canvas of the rock. I was really amused by all of this.

Trying out the BB gun and bow and arrows with targets was also a very fun time to enjoy the great weather.

Later in the afternoon, we went for a drive and I was able to see some other parts of Naantali. Mr. Impilä's job is actually in the field of cruise line construction, which has its plants in some bays of Naantali. It was really cool driving by the machinery making the skeletons of the huge vessels. The next stop was a hotel in Naantali. Now, it may seem odd that we stop at a hotel to just look around, but this was a 5-star hotel and definitely quite a sight to see. The hotel was beautiful (remember that many tourists come to this area for the various sights and attractions) and it also had one really cool feature.

Connected to the the building was a stationary cruise ship that had no engines. It was just another wing of the hotel jutting into the bay to enjoy the hospitality and resort in another way. I totally understand why, because the feel of the grand staircase

in the ship and the views of the harbor were very exclusive. This seems like it may be a new trend. Mr. Impilä informed me that after this hotel's construction, a similar style was built in Britain that is now very high class and popular, and this year another is being built on the coast of southern Spain. I think this is a really cool, new style of vacationing and relaxation. (I should also add that Naantali has a history of spa treatments that I read about and it still holds many of its titles of excellent spa facilities - including this hotel.)

This was also the site where Mr. and Mrs. Impilä had their wedding reception and the hall was gorgeous with the bay scenery (the feel of a cruise ship - yet also with the feel of a resort ballroom). I really enjoyed the trip and it was definitely something worth seeing. After a very easy going day, Fanny and I were going to go out again and hang out together with her friends for our Saturday evening.

Friday Night in Naantali

2007-07-23T07:42:00.000-07:00

After our nice walk through the gardens of the president's summer cottage, I was going to go with Fanny and meet up with her friends. We were going to use Fanny's moped to get around and I had my helmet and was ready!

The mopeds don't go too quick, (maybe a max of 35 mph going regular speed) but just holding on to the handles on the back ledge of the moped with the wind going by was really actually scary and fun at the same time. (I put a lot of trust into Fanny there, haha!)

Getting the view of the sea and amazing landscapes while driving backseat on a moped with cold wind whipping by, and going over a bridge was amazing and made me just smile and enjoy the feeling that *Yes, I am in Europe*.

We met the first group of Fanny's friends at the park by the church and started walking around. While walking, we saw many more friends and ultimately met up with even more by the beach. All we really did was simply walked around and talked - back in America I had met some European exchange students and when asked about hanging out they proudly declared that European teens, while hanging out, just love walking, talking... walking and just doing nothing - and that is exactly what we did and I was loving every moment of it! I was amazed at the fact that wherever it seemed that you went, more friends were walking around - everyone knew everybody and everybody seemed to be out! The streets were lined with mopeds and filled with teens walking around. It is hard to explain the scene, but the small streets of the town had teens wherever you went and that was very exciting.

For the whole evening I simply went around with Fanny's friends and just met up with various people while randomly walking around. It was really cool to have extra long evenings since the sun set much later, so even though we were out past 10:30pm, it was still bright daylight. It was an exhilarating feeling. We ended up meeting at one girl's house for a while to hang out some more and near midnight got ready to head home before our curfew - just when there was a hint of a sunset. Overall, it was really fun talking to so many different teenagers and just being able to chat with many new people. It was a great night and definitely a fun, new experience for me.

The President's Summer Cottage

2007-07-23T06:32:00.000-07:00

Every Friday night in Naantali from 6 - 8 pm during the summer season, the garden in front of the president's summer cottage is open to the public for viewing. Well, guess who was in Naantali on Friday evening between 6 and 8 pm! As planned, in the evening, I went with the Impilä family to tour the cottage grounds. We also met up with other relatives and Sanni there as well, since they met us first by boat at the Impilä's summer cottage and went with us for the tour. Seeing the president's cottage from a distance, it seemed funny to call it a cottage since the building is more like a castle from appearance, (the outdoor sauna on the coast is the size of a cottage!) but it was beautiful and on a sprawling coastline land.

On top of the tower of the cottage is a flagpole, and when the Finnish flag is flying above, it indicates that the president is currently residing there. The president now in Finland is Mrs. Tarja Halonen, and she is the first female president in Finland. She is exemplary in that position since the nation of Finland takes pride in offering gender equality to its citizens. (New Zealand may have been the first nation to allow female suffrage, but Finland was the first European nation to provide full equality to both men and women as a nation.)

As I saw earlier in the day, the flag was flying high meaning that at the moment while I was on the grounds, the president of Finland was in her summer home. It is kind of a neat thought! Of course there was security in regards to how far you were allowed to explore the grounds, but the garden itself was massive and enough to see. Within the garden grounds there was a large fountain as well, and all of this edged along a beautiful stone sidewalk coastline looking over to the Naantali harbor. It was quite a sight and something I was definitely happy to have been able to see!

Naantali

2007-07-23T02:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday was a very busy day and everyone was pretty exhausted. On my drive to Naantali, I was treated to see the view by way of the 'scenic route' and I was able to see how beautiful the city really was. Naantali is on the other side of Turku and is also a coastal city. Naantali is very famous for its picturesque harbors, many summer cottages, and also Muumi-land (the amusement park based off of the Muumi characters - those white hippo-like troll creatures that are very, very popular here in Finland. I will get to go there with Fanny and the girls in a few weeks!). Naantali is a very big tourist destination due to its location and great sightseeing and I perfectly understand why! After our drive to the summer cottage and my quick view of the city, we were all just ready for relaxing and bed. I watched some TV with Fanny and then got ready to sleep for a big Friday that was going to follow.

- The cottage is behind those boats and trees. The small coastline was so nice. I took this picture from the bridge. I was just so impressed by the whole area! -

Friday morning started nice and slow. We slept in, had breakfast, an just sort of enjoyed being at the summer cottage. That is what I loved about it. It was just very relaxed there. I was amazed at the Impilä family's cottage. It was so beautiful inside and outside. Right at the edge of the house and deck there was the inlet to the sea, and the cottage had windows inside that made the view outside look like moving murals. It was that gorgeous. I loved eating breakfast with the awe inspiring view of the sea with boats cruising by.

On subject of boats, that is exactly what the plan was for the afternoon. We all got into the Impilä family's boat and were going to head over to the harbor.

Boating through the sea with the harbor and other islands nearby offered amazing sites that have really made me once again stop and realize how much beauty Finland has to offer. With the wind blowing fast, it was quite an experience. We docked right at Naantali harbor and were going to walk around. The main landmark of Naantali harbor (of many) is the same historic church that I actually went to for the confirmation a few weeks ago.

It is an impressive building on the horizon of the harbor.

While walking around we stopped for lunch at a seaside restaurant that was very similar to the boat-lunch experience that I had during my first week in Turku. The food was all very Finnish and the view of the boats and harbor while eating outside right on the pavilion docks was spectacular. The harbor was bustling with many people walking around with ice cream and such, just enjoying the area and the beautiful day. I definitely was as well.

Across the harbor I saw the island which was Muuminland, as well as the large island that had a prominent building that I had seen before. It was the president's summer cottage! I had seen it earlier this summer and was eager to get a better look at it. Come to find out, our plans for the evening were to tour through the presidents summer cottage gardens! I suppose since the president's summer cottage is on the historic harbor of Naantali, you might conclude that it is not only historic, but beautiful and well-preserved as well! It truly is one of my favorite places of Finland so far!

Sanni's 8th Birthday

2007-07-23T01:39:00.001-07:00

Aside from going out with friends for one afternoon, the past week had been very busy. There were many preparations that had to take place since Thursday was Sanni's 8th birthday party. We cleaned the house, built the new bbq, fixed some siding on the garage, and did some shopping all to get ready for relatives arriving Thursday evening. On Thursdaymorning, Sanni was woken up early for a special breakfast in bed to start off her day. She received her gifts from her parents (one of them being a really nice beginners golf club set and bag!) and was enjoying every moment of the start of her special day.

After everything was ready in the morning, Jarno took Sanni and her friend Ella ( who's birthday was also Thursday!) to the Caribia indoor water park\spa to celebrate during the afternoon. I got to go too and once again enjoyed the very nice pool facilities, fun water slides, and relaxing, HOT saunas. By early afternoon it was time to go home to get everything together for the night's festivities including the baking. Yes, that was my job - a few days prior, there was a request by my host parents to have an 'American' cake at the party. They were making the evening an American BBQ so they wanted me to include the cake. I honestly had no idea what an 'American' cake was (I figured just stereotypically sweet - chocolate was my safest bet!) let alone how to make something good... so I was nervous. That morning I had bought the ingredients I needed and in a way, had a half blinded attempt at baking the cake - the ultimate risk, haha. A funny story at the store, however, was when we were buying strawberries. Jarno and I went to the stand in the front of the supermarket ( yes, where I had met some friends the one week!) and we were going to buy 3 cartons of strawberries. Well, the total came out to €11, but we only had 10. The girl who was selling, who I hat met and befriended only a weeks time earlier, had noticed me earlier when I waved while entering the store. She smiled and said that because she knew me, we could have the strawberries for €10. I was really happy with the situation because it not only landmarked the good friends I was making in Finland, but also a situation that in the long run even effected my host family in a sense - small, but still kind of cool.

Along with this, it was quite the challenge since many ingredients were different - if not available at all - and I also had to do a lot of converting... and math has never been my forte. It may have been a longer process, but the cake - *thank goodness* - turned out and was somewhat nice and presentable for the evening (dark chocolate cake with strawberries inside and a chocolate whipped frosting ... I think the frosting is what makes it *American* haha). Table cloths were set up, coffee sets put out, desserts plated, and the BBQ grill heated, because just as relatives arrived, the party began!

*Welcome to Sanni's 8th Birthday*

It was very nice to see people that I had previously met at the confirmation party, or like Anna's mom who had stayed at our house for a few days. I also got to see Jarno's parents again, as well as Fanny and the rest of the Impilä family, too. It was really nice.

The 'American' BBQ consisted of hamburgers on the grill and Coca Cola to drink (everything else was pretty Finnish), but it was nice to eat outside for the party and enjoy my first non-American, 'American' BBQ, haha.

-The Grill Master-

After a while of eating and socializing, it was time for cake. Everybody came inside and sang Happy Birthday (I am learning it in Finnish now!) and watched Sanni blow out her candle. At this time I gave Sanni a small gift from myself, which actually is funny in itself. I noticed that as all the guests came to the house, they gave Sanni her gift at the door and she opened it there... so I didn't know quite what to do. I just figured to do what I was accustomed to and give her the gift during cake. It was a little awkward since I was the only one presenting a gift at that moment. Of course, everyone was excited and happy for Sanni, but for a split moment in my head I wondered* Is this more like a public display rather than a private interaction ?* (Little cultural things like this cross through your mind all the time comparing cultures and ultimately understanding how a family, thinks and treats a situation. This one for sure had differences between American and Finnish traditions!)

Overall, the coffee with the desserts were delicious and for me, it was nice to see that my cake went fast (and to my relief, some asked for the recipe which left me with a better feeling than thinking that it wasn't just them being nice choking down my attempt at being a 'pastry chef'!)

The evening was very nice and of most importance it was nice to see Sanni happy. As guests were leaving, I took the opportunity to give some relatives small Michigan gifts from myself and say goodbye - although I should still see many again.

-my host grandparents on Anna's side of the family-

The evening wasn't over for me yet, because I still had to pack since I also was going away for the weekend. I was going to be staying with the Impilä family at their summer cottage in Naantali for the weekend, so I was leaving with them. Fiia (Fanny's younger sister) was going to be staying with the Salminen's and Sanni was going with her aunt and uncle on a boat for the weekend. It was a big trade-off. I was really looking forward to getting to stay with the Impilä family and was really excited for the upcoming weekend at the summer cottage, as well as hanging out with Fanny and meeting her friends. As we all left our separate ways, I got a chance to give Sanni one more hug to wish her a happy 8th birthday. It was a really exciting day for her.

Gone for the Weekend

2007-07-19T10:36:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be gone for a few days since I am going to Naantali for the weekend.

I am going to stay with the Impilä family for a few days ( Fanny's family) so I am really excited. Fanny is going to reintroduce me to many of her friends that I met at her confirmation. I am very happy about this upcoming weekend! By the time I am back I hope to have many stories, pictures and new posts!

Until then - heihei - Bye!

Out on the Town and Movie Night!

2007-07-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

A few times this summer I have been getting to go on my morning runs with one of my friends here, Joni. He is the friend I have met who is working for Jarno this summer with the house construction. Aside from the job of working for Jarno, Joni doesn't really have any other connections with the Salminen family. He lives here on Kuusisto as well and got a job with Jarno through other people. Regardless of how he is associated with the Salminen family, I have had many chances to see him at the construction jobs, and by getting to talk we have become good friends. After one time meeting up for swimming a while a go, Joni said he wanted to go running with me in the mornings and also promised me to let me know about taking trips to the city or other events with his friends. Well, this past week we finally got around to running with each other ( like he said, we moved the time to 9 a.m. so that he could wake up in the summer!). He said that his motivation to come out and run was that his mom always claims she will jog and never gets around to it. He said he looked at his 3 alarm clocks ( yes, he was that determined to wake up!) and urged himself that he wanted to have more will power than his mom. I had to laugh at this one. The whole scenario doesn't sound to foreign to situations with American kids as well!
Our first trip running we talked about sports and stuff ( he is running to stay in shape for taekwondo which he has been doing for a long time) and he also mentioned his plans for seeing the new Harry Potter movie with his cousins coming in from France. He invited me to come along a few days later and I was so excited about the plans.
Wednesday we went running again in the morning and he told me everything that was going to happen later on that day. He was going to meet me at 2 ( yes, that is 14 o'clock!) and we were going to go by bus.

*The view of the movie theater from the cafe window - indoors - kind of cool!

Right on the dot, at 2 on Wednesday we met at the street corner to catch the 2:15 bus ( Finnish bus systems are prompt!). Along with him was his girlfriend, Nongbu, whom I had met swimming the one day and her friend Meri. Together we all took the relatively short bus trip to Turku city together ( It was a little slow since there were so many stops, but I was impressed with how convenient it was. I should also note, for whoever is curious, the price of the bus. There is a lot of politics going around now of making both bus and train transportation more economical. The fare was €3.20 which is like $4.50 in American Dollars which is a little steep, but nothing was burdening my exciting trip for an all afternoon outing with teenage friends!). Once in Turku, we first bought the movie tickets for the movie in advance for the 6:30 show ( Joni's cousins and parents were going to meet up with us later to see the movie as well). Since we bought a large amount of tickets the price went down a bit ( regularly it would be €10 which is like $14, but instead we got them for €7.50 which is roughly $10 - A little more than America for sure, but the deal was still good). Another cool thing to note is that it was assigned seating on the ticket. When you purchased your tickets you reserved where you wanted to sit on a screen to hold your seats. This allowed us to get great seating and also have the luxury and freedom of arriving to the movie right on time without having to arrive early to save seats for a big group! After tickets were taken care of, us four decided to just go hang out at a cafe for a while. We each ordered something and had a seat. I tried something new and got jäätelökahvi, literally ice cream coffee. It was very simple actually with 2 scoops of ice cream in a mug with hot coffee poured over it, but the concept was cool and new to me. I like my coffee sweet with lots of milk, so I can tell you that it was more than perfect! After relaxing and talking, we had quite a few hours to walk around Turku downtown - something I was so happy to do. We went into stores and malls ( sorry, in Finland - 'shopping centers') and got to look around. Many of the places we visited I had already seen during our orientation tours of the city, as well as with Jarno. It is neat to note however that all 3 experiences have given me new outlooks on the city. With my YFU friends for our first time through during orientation in the city, everything was expansive and overwhelmingly foreign and very exciting - a foreigner's perspective. With Jarno I got to see the downtown in a different light with more of an insider's perspective. Now, with the teens, once again I had a totally new perspective with everything feeling very modern and trendy with the close and buildings - yet all very comfortable to be walking around it with friends - much like teens would do in America or anywhere for that matter. And that is exactly what we did.

We just had a great time walking around window shopping, and going into certain stores browsing, purchasing, or just plain trying on crazy things for fun ( This IS Europe so some fashion is 'edgier' than most!). Time flew by and it was a blast. A while later Joni got an SMS ( a text message... I don't know what it stands for yet, but that is what they call them here) from his cousins and we were going to meet up with them for dinner. At the bus stop I met Joni's cousins who are in the country from France and are 16 and 18. Both were very nice and had remarkable linguistic backgrounds since they knew Finnish and French, enough English for basic conversation, and were studying Spanish as well!

Together everyone decided on pizzakebab for dinner. They are everywhere in Finland and this time I got a little more in depth look at the products. The main dishes of course are kebab and pizza. I was mistaken last time and the wrap dish that Jarno brought home was a RullaKebab which is the kebab meat and toppings wrapped in pizza dough ( I have no idea what kind of pizza dough that was though since I am holding true to my initial observations that it was more like a tortilla haha). Kebab itself is just the meat with sauce served alongside potatoes and salad. Of course after this Pizza is always available ( with some unique toppings including kebab meat and for some reason eggs on the pizza titled 'pizza Americana'... I don't get that one!). We all had kebab plates and ate before heading to the theaters. It was a really fun meal and very down to earth - seemingly a common place for teens to go to on an outing since the restaurant was filled with various other teens. I enjoyed that atmosphere. We arrived at the movie theaters conveniently right on time ( After buying some candy at a nearby store. I also had American candy to share!) and sat in our assigned seats. We met up with Joni's parents and watched to movie.

Harry Potter 5 was an excellent movie and one of my favorites of the series. I have seen a few Finnish movies here, but it was nice to see a movie in English that I was familiar with as well. It is also neat to note that movies are not dubbed here in Finland. Rather they are all subtitled - I liked that. This is also commonplace for TV shows as well. The subtitles on shows are often associated with Finland's high literacy rate since they constantly read subtitles from a young age, but also with the nation's more progressive proficiency with English since they hear it along with their written language most of the time. Today's film was subtitled with two lines at the bottom of the screen, one in Finnish and one in Swedish. I found that interesting ( and it is entertaining seeing Finnish phrases and words I now know at the bottom of the screen matching up with the English as well as similar Swedish spelling and grammatical structure to English since it is also a Germanic language - I know - I am a nerd). Overall the whole afternoon was excellent. I had SO much fun - It was really what I had wanted to do coming to Finland with making friends and venturing the downtown together with them- and I am definitely going to hang out with Joni again this summer as well as get a chance to meet more of his friends. I am really looking forward to that!!!

The Silja Europa

2007-07-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning started the same way as Saturday morning with sauna, swimming and breakfast (I cannot complain!). After the previous day having so much packed in, ( thinking back I was amazed at how much had happened!) Sunday was a day for winding down. After some last passes through the city we got all of our luggage together and were ready to head home. At the boat I said goodbye to the Impilä family and thanked them so much for the great weekend on the boat. I also said good bye to Fanny too, whom I had been with now for over a week. We had a lot of fun being together and she kind of became my teenage host sister for the time that she stayed over! I will see the family again soon later this week which I am looking forward to!

After saying goodbye, I was back with the Salminens as they left the hotel and we walked several blocks to the ship harbor with the cruise lines. Like our trip here we were going to take the Silja line back to Turku. The only difference with this trip was the ship was different. Instead of the 9 floor Silja Festival, we were now riding the 12 floor Silja Europa. I was so excited to now see the new floors to explore.

Once on the boat we walked to the restaurant floor for our scheduled meal. The Europa Buffet was extravagant! It was full of so many Scandinavian dishes it was unbelievable. The rows of countless cold fish platters and seafood salads was immense!! Of course by all of this was classic Swedish meatballs! ( my favorite of course was the great selection of Scandinavian deserts, all loaded with lots of berries and chocolate!!). After an excellent meal, we were able to tour the ship. Much like last time we checked out the decks outside as well as the Tax Free shopping centers. The theme of this ship for the little kids was pirates so I saw a lot of treasure seeking fun planned out around the ship. The twins had an excellent time playing in the play center. Later on inside the ball room lounge area, live music was being played. The perfect cheeziness of a cruise line European band butchering American classics provided great fun and entertainment. I even got a chance to dance with Venla on the dance floor. She was the only one not too bashful at the time to have a little fun! After the dancing, two pirate-attired MC's came out to introduce the day's entertainment.

Various pirate-themed entertainers came out with balancing stunts, whips, lame rum drinking joke gigs, and live parrots that kept the kids laughing the whole time. At least everything was mimed so language barrier didn't pose any difficulty for my enjoyment ( although sometimes I don't think I was laughing WITH the entertainers). All in all, the girls had a great time watching, and I had a nice time seeing them enjoying the crazy trick show that had ensued. Of course to end things perfectly, muumi came out in a pirate hat and eye patch to greet all the kids. The girls were ecstatic.

Close to home, on deck I got some really awesome views of the Turku ports, many summer cottages on nearby coasts, and also a perfect glimpse of the Turku city skyline with the cathedral and castle in clear view! The cruise home was very nice and once again a lot of fun. Albeit, the exiting with a mad rush of passengers was a little hectic with three girls now to watch, but everything went smoothly. The weekend in Åland had been very amazing with beautiful sites, lots of new information and experiences, and many new 'firsts' with my first cruise ride and my first time sleeping overnight on a boat which I did with the Impilä family. It was all extremely fun and definitely a highlight of this summer so far providing me with a great view and perspective ( in some cases Swedish speaking!) on Finnish culture and travels!

The Pommern

2007-07-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday started mid morning after a good sleep. Being in the boat for the night was actually so nice. The gentle sway of the sea was comforting. I am still very amused how boats utilize space so well, and have many little compartments. My bed was through a small door in the back end of the boat, which technically was also the bench for the outdoor eating table (I know that is confusing), but regardless it was like being nestled in a compact ... well, for lack of a more positive word... coffin. But it was nice and I enjoyed it! The Salminen family was in a hotel just a short walk away on the harbor so we walked there to meet up with them. Before eating breakfast at the hotel we went to the hotel pool and sauna facility (apparently for Finns it helps put them to sleep AND wake them up!) with a steam, swim and shower I was pretty relaxed and ready for the day.

Our first stop was a ship museum called the Pommern.
After a lengthy walk through the scenic island city we arrived at the docked museum (it actually was the ship itself!). The Pommern was and Ålandic ship that traveled carrying wheat and goods in between Australia and Scandinavia in the 1930's. It was so neat to walk and see the small compact rooms and work spaces on this large ship and see the living conditions of these travelers. It was remarkable to also see the amount of hardships and work that went into being a sailor. In the basement compartment of the ship, we watched a video with actual footage of the workers and about their travels. The video showed the routes that were taken to reach Australia and then back to Scandinavia and it was impressive to visually see the map of ocean currents and how the ship used them to ultimately cover the oceans all the way around the world, and going north and south. Walking on the actual decks of the ship made the realization so much more powerful and realistic.

I really enjoyed the museum and everything that it had to offer. After the museum we all headed back into the town to have lunch on the outdoor patio of a cafe. That was also a very cool experience! A few tables away a few groups of people were rather loud with their conversation and laughter. The response from the adults at the table with me was that they were Swedish. I had to laugh.

As for the afternoon plans, the younger kids wanted to go back and swim, so Fanny and I took the chance to go out to the town by ourselves and walk around town together. We checked out many shops and tried on clothes as well. We also got some ice cream and just strolled the streets for the afternoon. Saturday was absolutely gorgeous, one of the nicest days this summer, with bright, warm sunlight and clear blue skies. This made the sea also display various shades of blues which was a beautiful site. After some touring around, we both met up with everyone swimming and relaxed on the beach and enjoyed the sun. After some time to relax, we all got ready to take a walk up a hill to get a very scenic view of the island.

The walk was nice and well worth it for atop the hill, and from up the road, the view was amazing. The sun reflected off the water and you received a spectacular site of the islands forests, city, boats, and sea. It was a perfect time for lots of pictures.

Me with the Impilä family.

The afternoon was very nice and the evening also continued on with more relaxation of walking around the small town and spending time on the boat. I had definitely enjoyed taking in the beautiful sites of the island throughout the day.