Language Camp in Karkku

This morning I was one of the, if no the, first person to wake up and take a shower. Then I recorded the events for yesterday in my blog. At breakfast I ate rice crispies with a little sandwich. They didn’t have any hot chocolate which is my staple breakfast back home. We were informed of all the rules for the week and were introduced to the tutors and teachers. Most people here are learning Finnish, like me, but there are a few learning each Swedish and Estonian. Something I meant to say was that the camp here is basically tailored for Anglophones. There are so many people from North America and English is spoken widely amongst anybody who already speaks a second language. All the lectures and instruction are about Finland and the Finnish language but are in English.

Our first lecture was on schooling in Finland. Compulsory school is from 7 years old until 16. Then upper secondary (or vocational) school is from 16-20, followed by university or polytechnic education. You will probably hear me talk more about Finnish education throughout the year.

Lunch is the big meal here in Finland. Everyone eats a free hot lunch at school and it is the biggest meal of the day. Today we had meatballs, potatoes, and assorted veggies followed by a delicious chocolate mousse for desert.

In our first Finnish lesson, we were broken down into smaller groups: about 120 people broken into 4 groups with a teacher and 3 tutors for each group. Our lesson today was basic phrases, the alphabet, and a couple of poems about a house, some owls, and a mole. My tutor laughs at me when I speak; she says I sound like a young Swedish child learning Finnish.

Our afternoon lecture was about the Finnish way of life (basically we were informed about what a stereotypical Finn is like). Finnish people in general are polite, respect everyone’s personal bubble, and only speak when spoken to. I had flashbacks to my orientation session when they said “if it is to be, it is up to me” because the Finns don’t initiate conversation with strangers. Our lecturer suggested that we carry around a misspelled sentence in Finnish so that to start a conversation we can ask for some help.

Next we had a sauna information session about the sauna. For your information, “sauna” is the only Finnish word in the English language and there is approximately one sauna for every three Finns. We were informed of general etiquette including what to wear, or should I say what not to wear…luckily the sauna here at the Karkku Evangelical Folk High School, where the camp is taking place, welcomes people wearing bathing suits, unlike many others in the country.

Dinner was vegetable and hot dog soup with bread and butter (which is served with every meal).

After dinner I took a row boat out to a little island in the lake near the camp with some other Canadians and one American. We then went swimming followed by our first real Finnish sauna. It is customary to sit in the hot sauna for a few minutes then jump in the cold lake for a few minutes. I alternated between the two three times before I decided I had done enough cleansing for the night. Then I wrote this blog and went to bed.