Uudet Harrastukset (New Hobbies)

First of all, I have to apologise to myself and everyone who is a loyal follower of my blog. For some unknown reason, I have been refraining from writing a new blog for three or so weeks. anyways… Because it’s been such a long time, I’m just going to write about some activities I’ve been up to. This post won’t necessarily be written in chronological order. For your information, I am already past the halfway point of my time in Finland.

The bowlers: Cindy, Anna, Vincius, and me

On the fourteenth of January, there was an exchange student get together in Seinäjoki for all of the exchange students in my Rotary district, 1380. It was the day after all of the “oldies” had gone back home to the Land Down Under. So this left only eight students in my district, of whom four came for this event. I caught the train and Vinicius, a brazilian, was on the same train. When we arrived in Seinäjoki, Cindy, a Californian, was waiting at the train station. We went out for coffee. Both Vinicius and Cindy live in Swedish speaking areas so I did a little bit of translation of the menu which was completely in Finnish. Then we went to the bowling alley where we met up with Anna, a German. We waited until two Rotex students (rebounds, both of whom went to Australia last year) because Rotary was paying. None of us were very good at bowling, but it was still fun. We then out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant (Los Gringos Locos).

In January, I have started a couple more hobbies in Kauhava. Every Tuesday night, a Rotarian name Reijo drives me to Ylihärmä to play in a wind orchestra so I can play my oboe. There are about 12 or so players every week. I play flute music most of the time because there is no oboe part. My first rehearsal was so painful. It was the first time in about six months that I had really played an oboe and my lips felt like they were going to fall off of my face. In subsequent rehearsals and practices at home I have improved and I feel like I can actually play again. Interesting fact: in the Finnish language you don’t “play” (pelata = to play) an instruments but instead “call” (soittaa = to call) an instrument. The music we play isn’t very advanced. I would compare it to maybe the music my concert band played in grade 9, but at least I’m playing again. I have also on my own time started learning an oboe concerto.

After an afternoon of skiing. (my gloves are in my pocket)

I have taken up cross-country skiing as a new hobby. For the past few weeks I have gone at least once per week. In my PE class on Wednesday mornings, I go skiing with a small group on a track near the school. Most of the other people in our class spend the time playing hockey (ice hockey or floor hockey). I am getting a lot better at Nordic skiing; I can go up the biggest hill on the track without stopping and without walking up like a duck (having the skis as a big V). On the weekends, I have gone on a couple longer ski trips. I have been told that I make the best hot chocolate and I am on cocoa duty for the rest of my year here.

I have also joined a musical theatre performance group. We have started rehearsing a musical that is very locally themed. Here in Etelä-Pohjanmaa (Southern Ostrobothnia), the locals speak with a very funny dialect. All of the dialogue and lyrics use this strange accent to its fullest extent which means I have a very hard time understanding anything. Sometimes, the cast argues about what should be said: the choice between two words that are non-existent in proper Finnish. I play the very small role of an “angry man” with no speaking part, but I sing in the large group numbers. The “ensi-ilta” (premiere) of the show will be in May. Then during June the show will perform in Helsinki and then in the fall it will have more shows locally. I can only be in the May show because during June I travel on a Euro Tour with rotary (9 countries, 19 days) and then I go home at the end of June. The director insisted that I stay in the show for the time that I can because I am on a cultural exchange and being in it will give me a real taste of the culture of this area.

The final board

I played a game of scrabble in Finnish with my host parents and my friend Kalle. I’ve never really been a great scrabble player in English. I think that Finnish scrabble is a bazillion times harder, not only because I don’t yet speak it well, but the rules state that only perussanat (basic words) can be used… so even though I can make a real word I can’t put it on the board unless it is in its most simple form, and as some of you remember there are something like 16 different cases of nouns and adjectives but you can only play the nominative case and for verbs only the infinitive. But I’m probably boring you with this rant…I got third place of four; I got more points than my host father.

Me as a high school graduate.

One day a couple weeks ago all of the second graders went to an upper education institutions information fair in Seinäjoki. There were several different university and trade school booths to help the students decide their futures. Because high school is optional, there was a booth set up for the lukios in the area. When students graduate from lukio, they get receive a hat which is worn every labour day (May first). All in all, I walked away with a full stomach from all the fee candy, and a bag filled with other freebies like pencils, pens, pins, et cetera.

Henri's birthday dinner. Fyi, I have the only smile with teeth.

On another weekend, I went to Seinäjoki with my friends for a birthday dinner for Henri. We ate at the other Mexican restaurant (Amarillo). Most of my friends this year will be celebrating (or have already celebrated) their eighteenth birthday which is the big one here in Finland. At eighteen you can get your drivers license, you can buy alcohol (<21%), you can buy cigarettes (hyi!), and you can vote.

Pretty much the only campaign signs in Kauhava

Speaking of voting…Finland is in the midst of a presidential election. There is also a Prime Minister here, and they are like Canada’s Prime Minister meaning they are the leader of the equivalent of the House of Commons. The President however is the head of state. I’m not completely sure how duties are divided between the two politicians but I think the Prime Minister is more internal affairs and the President is more international affairs. In regards to the presidential election, all eight of the official political parties select a candidate to run for the presidency of the country. If after the first round of voting, no single candidate received more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates advance to a second round of voting. The first vote took place and Niinistö of the National Coalition Party and Haavisto of the Green Party are advancing to the second round after receiving approximately 35% and 18% respectively of the first vote. Interesting fact, Haavisto could become Finland’s first gay president. I’ve noticed that there have been almost no signs, flyers, and other election paraphernalia trying to convince Finns who they should vote for.

So, if you have any questions remember you can always comment below and I’ll try to answer them in my next post (which I promise will not be another three weeks away!)

Uusivuosi ja Syntymäpäiväni (New Year's and My Birthday)

At home in Canada, December 24th to January 2 is a pretty busy time for most people, but especially my family: Christmas Eve (24.12), Christmas (12.25), Boxing Day (26.12), my parents’ wedding anniversary (27.12), New Year’s Eve (31.12), New Year’s Day and my birthday (1.1). With all of this being said, this time is normally the hardest part of anyone’s exchange abroad and I definitely felt some homesickness. It wasn’t “wah! I miss my family, Finland sucks, I want to go home” homesickness but more like “gee, I wonder what my family is doing now” or “I miss how <insert holiday tradition> is done at home”.

Niko, Henri, ja Kalle syövät sushia

On December 27^th, I had a nice phone call with my parents to congratulate them on 25 happy years of marriage. They spent it in Uclulet and Tofino on Vancouver Island. (I just received a post card from them today, Jan. 9) Also on this day I had a sushi party with my friends. Kalle invited us to his house for some homemade sushi. I have never really liked sushi. In my Rotary letter under things I don’t like, sushi was one of them. But Kalle’s sushi was “ihan ok”…it was probably the best I’ve ever had and I ate a few pieces but I didn’t love it. Afterward we went to see the second Sherlock Holmes movie in the theatre (yay! for free movie tickets for a year, thanks Kauhava Rotary).

Minä luistelen

I went jäähalliin luistelemaan (to the “ice hall” to go skating) on both the 28^th and 29^th of December. I am not a very good skater but I was able to put one foot in front of the other (pun intended) and I only fell once during the time that I skated. It was an agonizing fall, though, because I broke my fall with my hand but my watch was in an awkward position and painfully dug into my wrist. My host brothers and father in my current family all play hockey so they were skilled skaters, but I enjoyed my time nonetheless.

Peter on paras pilotti.

Perheeni ja lentokone

On December 30^th I was given the privilege of a private tour of the Finnish Air Force base in my town. Both of my host fathers work there: Jarmo my first host father is a plane mechanic and Petri my current host father is a teacher at the flight school. My current host family spent the day at the base and Petri gave us instructions on flying two different simulators used to train the students. One was in a classroom and was a bunch of computer screens. The other was really high-tech: it came complete with a control centre with all the screens, knobs, lights, etcetera. The actual simulator was a real cockpit with some big screens in front but the windshield of the plane distorted the images to look just like it really would (well, all the images were easily identified as computer generated, but close enough to the real world). Unfortunately the headset wasn’t working very well so I couldn’t hear the commands from the control centre even though they could hear me clearly. Eventually I ended up crashing the plane a few metres from the runway, but I considered it to be pretty successful for my first “flight”.
Petri gave us a tour of the two hangars which house the planes which are part of the Finnish version of the Snowbirds called the Midnight Hawks. In June, when there is the midnight sun, the Midnight Hawks have a performance in the middle of the night. Majori Kettunen also brought us to a classroom where he showed us a really neat computer reconstruction of one of their practices. After this we went to the officers’ lounge and relaxed in the awesome massage chairs. It was a really cool day.

Minä ja tina

On New Year’s Eve I went back to Kalle’s house for a party with our friends. We played a game of what is basically Balderdash but in Finnish. Forget about playing it in a second language that I’m not very good at, balderdash is a really difficult game to play. I had a strategy that got me pretty far in the game. I was allowed to use my dictionary, but none of the words were ever in it. I would look up each word, select a similar word from that page in the dictionary, and then try to write something strange that could be sort of associated with that word in some way. One of my favourites was “a postbox which has been scratched by cats” but it was written Finnish. I was also pretty good at guessing the correct definition. Also on the 31^st before the clock struck twelve we had a sauna and, in the manner of true Finns, rolled around in the snow. For midnight, we went outside and there were lots of fireworks going off everywhere. Our group didn’t have any, but there were several displays that we could see from the yard. I had happy birthday sung to me in three languages: “Paljon onnea vaan”, “Cumpleaños feliz”, and “Happy Birthday”. We spent a bit more time lounging around the house before deciding to go to a party in Hirvijoki (Moose River) which is technically still in Kauhava. There were lots of people from our school who were there celebrating the New Year. We went back to Kalle’s house (at 4:30) and people started heading home. Niko, Kalle, and I conversed with Kalle’s older siblings Emma and Mikko until 6 before finally giving our eyes the privilege of closing for a few hours. I woke up at around 1 in the afternoon and ate some yoghurt. We played a game of cribbage (probably my favourite card game from home) before I left for my host family’s house.

Minun kakku

It is a common New Year’s tradition to predict the future with tin here. So we each heated to small tin horseshoes over the fire and dumped the melted metal into a bucket of water. Then we examine our trinkets and decide what they mean. Apparently mine has the texture that signifies money (fingers crossed for scholarship $$ this year!)
That evening we had spaghetti for my birthday dinner and my first host family came over for cake. The delicious chocolate cake was baked by Sanna, decorated by Saila, and had the candles from my former host brother Ilari’s 19^th birthday in September. For my present from my families I got a bracelet which has the Finnish and Canadian flags on it. I finished the day with a birthday phone call from mom and dad in Canada.
School started on January 3^rd and I got my new schedule

	Maanantai	Tiistai	Keskiviikko	Torstai	Perjantai
8-10	Physics 6	Math 9	Phys. Ed. 2	Math 9	English 9
10-11:35	Math 17	English 10	Math 17	Physics 6	Math 17
12:20-14		Physics 6		English 10
14-15:30	Math 9	English 9 (only 1 hour)	Music 7	Phys. Ed. 2

The blanks are hyppytunteja (jump hours) or spare periods during which I have no class. Last jakso I took English 9, which is a speaking course, but only 3-5 people came to each class, so I offered to the teacher that I can come this jakso as well to help (I think I’m pretty good at speaking English, even though my skills in my mother language have drastically declined since being here in Finland).

On January 6^th there was no school because it is the twelfth day of Christmas (or something like that). Because there was no school Kimmo hosted a saunailta (sauna evening) the night before. I basically slept the day away. I got sick this week and I have been medicating myself with some good Canadian Buckley’s: “It tastes awful. But it works”.
January 7th marked my 5th month-aversary in Finland. Wow! Almost half way through the year!

Yesterday, Sunday the 8^th, I went skiing. No, not downhill skiing on the (read with sarcasm) oh so tall mountains nearby…I went Nordic skiing (aka cross-country skiing) with my host brothers. Later, I went to see the movie Vares at the theatre (another free movie!) with some of my friends. It was a Finnish murder mystery. I understood some of the conversation but sometimes I found that I had stopped listening. It was a really easy mystery to figure out but the movie was pretty good. Although I didn’t understand every word, I understood the movie which is an accomplishment.

Today, January 9^th, I want to wish my Grannie happy 75^th birthday. An interesting fact, my Grannie was the New Year’s Baby of Wells, British Columbia, in 1937. I was born on the first of January, but I wasn’t the New Year’s Baby because I was the second baby born in my town.

Joulu Suomessa! (Christmas in Finland!)

Hyvää Joulua!

Saila is in the middle.

This post is going to be all about Christmas, as the title would suggest.
A pikkujoulu is literally a “little Christmas” party. A couple of weeks before Christmas, the daycare of Saila (my host sister) had a little pageant for their pikkujoulu. They sang songs and did some dances. Crowd participation was encouraged; luckily they had a couple sheets of the lyrics. During one number, some of the little kids dressed as the Moomin, a really famous book and TV phenomenon in Finland. Saila was the infamous Pikku Myy. About a week later, Konsta, my younger host brother had a pikkujoulu outside at his ala-aste (elementary school).

My school's g pageant.

Each class put on a little performance. I think that Konsta’s class’ performance was about the three wise men. Konsta was the Christmas star. During a couple of the other classes’ performances I tried taking pictures. When I focus my camera a little red light turns on. As I tried to take photos of the pikkujoulu bright red lines appeared on all the little kids because their snow suits all have reflective strips. It was kind of heart-warming to see all of these little kids trying to sing Christmas songs. On the last day of school our school had a Christmas pageant at the church with a play and several musical performances. A few of my friends were actors and musicians. Afterwards there was an unofficial party for the kids from the Lukio.

Paappa cutting the tree down.

The weekend before Christmas, I went with my host mother Sanna, her parents (my host grandparents), and my siblings Saila and Konsta. We drove to the grandparents’ house in Untamala the village where Sanna grew up, which is part of the larger community of Ylistaro. It has since been annexed by Seinäjoki. We drove along some back road and then just stopped the car and starting looking around the forest for the perfect Christmas tree. It was the first time I have chopped down my Christmas tree in the forest. Normally at home in Canada my family goes to a Christmas tree farm in October to pick out our tree and then we come back in December to cut it down. After we found the tree, the largest I have ever had at about 10 or 11 feet, we made a little fire, cooked some makkara, ate some pulla, and drank juice. Sanna needed to drive Konsta to a hockey pikkujoulu so I spent the afternoon with Saila and her grandparents who speak limited English. It was successful to me because I communicated with only a few struggles due to the language barrier. We brought the tree inside and decorated it a few days on the 21^st. I missed having the ornaments that have been on my tree every year since I can remember but it was nice to see some of the ones made by my host siblings. At home, my family puts a lot more decorations on the tree then we did here.

I have always been a terrible procrastinator when it comes to Christmas shopping. This year, when I received a package from home, I was happy because I had gifts for both of my host mothers: a maple scented candle and a set of Canadian flag dish towels. A couple of days before Christmas I went shopping with Kalle and his sister Emma in Seinäjoki, but I only bought something for each of the two sets of host parents. I did the majority of my shopping (as per usual) on Christmas Eve. I got boxes of candy for each of my host brothers. For my host sister, I had already acquired a purse and a little change purse which I proceeded to fill with a small package of salmiakki. For each of my host fathers I bought a “flame thrower”; every year at home I get my dad a BBQ lighter so I thought I would do the same thing this year.

Christmas (Eve) Dinner

On Christmas Eve, Finns celebrate Christmas. We ate an early, but delicious dinner. The joulukinkku (Christmas ham) was cooked overnight and was served with a selection of laatikot (literally boxes) of cooked pâté-like food: one of each potatoes, carrots, liver, and rutabaga.

That evening at about 5 o’clock after mummi and paappa arrived, Joulupukki walked up the driveway to the front door with sacks of toys. We graciously welcomed him into our home and Saila presented him with a wrapped gift. We proceeded to sing him two songs: “Tuiki tuiki tähtönen” (twinkle twinkle little star) and “Joulupuu on rakennettu” (no English equivalent; something like “the Christmas tree is decorated”)

L to R: Sampo, Saila, Joulupukki, me, Konsta

Then he handed out all of the presents and posed for some pictures before taking the 5 dozen eggs we gave him. I don’t know what he and Mrs. Claus will do with them because they don’t drink egg nog here in Finland. We all went around the circle in a semi-organized manner and opened all of our presents. I was not expecting any gifts but I was very surprised with my “haul”: five boxes of candy, a hand painted mug from one host grandmother, a CD from my other host grandmother’s choir, two books in Finnish (a children’s book called “Joulupukki” and a book of photos of this region of Finland), a pair of Reinos which a popular brand of slippers/indoor shoes, a box set of all the Big Bang Theory from my parents in Canada, and a lovely hand written letter from my grandma back home. All the boys in the house got a pair of these shoes. Some other notable gifts include a TV for Sampo, some hockey shoulder pads for Konsta, an electric dog for Saila. Petri received a guitar; I feel like everyone in the house knows how to play Smoke on the Water as I have heard it seemingly non-stop since December 24. In the evening the other Kettunen family (my first host family) came for a visit.

Guess who?

(It's me!)

Ilari showed off his present which is this crazy camouflage suit that looks like some interpretation of Sasquatch. Jaana and I made a trip to the graveyard to place a candle. Because it was very dark and we entered the graveyard from the opposite side which Jaana normally uses, we accidentally place the candle on the wrong grave, but she quickly spotted the mistake and we proceeded to find the correct grave and re-lay the candle. The cemetery looked really nice with all the candles but Jaana said it was the first time she ever remembers going there at Christmas with no snow. Late into the night we played a game of Pohjanmaa Tähti (Ostrobothnia Star) which is an adaptation of the popular children’s game Afrikan Tähti (African Star).

The next day, December 25, Christmas Day, we went to mummi and paappa’s house (Sanna’s parent’s house) with all of the cousins. We ate another full, early Christmas dinner almost identical to the previous night, except this one had a turkey roast (not a full turkey) in addition to the ham. I noticed there that Konsta looks so much like his uncle Mikko. The proud grandparents have a really nice picture take a couple of years ago of all seven of their grandkids. That night, I had a nice Skype conversation with my family (Mom, Dad, and sister Roslyn), my mom’s parents, one of my cousins and his wife, and my Auntie Sandy.

December 26 is basically like a second day of Christmas here in Finland. Most stores are still closed and the “boxing day” sales aren’t until the 27^th. I went with my family (minus Sanna because she was working) to mummi and ukki’s house (Petri’s parents) for yet another full Christmas dinner. Three consecutive days had the same meal, each day at a different house. My first host family came as well as mummi and ukki and Jarmo’s parents as well.

My Finnish families

Christmas was really good. I did miss some things from home but I am very grateful to have such wonderful family here in Finland. Some things I am definitely going to add to my personal holiday traditions. I want to add joulutorttu and piparkakku to my Christmas baking list. I also want to have some of the laatikot with dinner.
Hyvää uutta vuotta kaikille! Happy New Year to everyone!

Joulukuu asiat (December things)

Saila, minun pikkusiskoni, ja minä (Saila, my little sister, and I)

The day after my Lapland trip, I intended on going to school even though I was most definitely sleep deprived. Apparently my lack of sleep caught up with me and I slept through my alarm Thursday morning. That afternoon I made pippurikakku (gingerbread cookies) with my two younger host siblings Saila and Konsta. When we rolled out the dough my host mother grabbed some stuff from a cupboard and gave me cookie cutter: the shape of Finland! Thursday evening I rode my bicycle to Rotary, just to find out that they weren’t having a meeting.

The next day, surprise surprise, I slept in again, but this time it wasn’t too late and I made it to the second half of my geography lesson. I had a free period from 10 o’clock until after lunch with a few of my friends so we went to Rolls to eat lunch. After that, we went to a café for some warm beverages before heading to my last class of the day.

Sampo with the puck.

On Saturday I supported my brothers’ hockey games. First Sampo had a game in Vaasa. After my Finnish class (my last one of 2011), Sampo and Petri picked me up at the school and we drove to the ice rink in Vaasa. Sampo’s team won (I think it was something like 8 to 5). Also while we were there, my Rotary counsellor was there because he has some high rank in the hockey referees’ association. After the game, we ate dinner and headed off to meet Konsta at his game. His team also won (8 to 6 I think). I watched more hockey that one day (two full games) then I think I ever have in a single day.

L to R: Kalle, Henri, Kimmo (joulupukki), Niko, ja minä

Sunday, a bunch of exchange students met up in Seinäjoki. I caught the train! My first time! (excluding the TGV in France). I realized when I bought my ticket that I really needed to get a student card because the ticket fare was double what I thought it would be. My friend Hanna was on the same train so we chatted. After I got off the train I realized I left my phone on the seat. Way to go me. I immediately went to the ticket sales desk and managed to tell the vender what happened, where I thought I left my phone, and what my phone looked like (all in Finnish). She called the conductor of the train, but unfortunately my phone would be going to the train company’s lost and found centre in Helsinki anyways, if it was found. So here I am in Seinäjoki, a town I don’t know very well, without my only communication link. All I knew was the name of the coffee place we were meeting and the approximate time. So I wandered around, walked into a mall, and looked at the mall map to find the coffee place was in the same building! Lucky! But I was about 30 minutes early so I read my book. An hour later, some exchange students snuck up on me. We all went for Chinese food and a little Christmas shopping. Those present were me, the three Aussies in Seinäjoki, an American who was an exchange student to this area last year and decided to move back to work and go to school here, and another Aussie from a more northern city. We had some coffee, did a little more shopping (I bought 2 new sweaters for myself), and played cards. To finish it off, one of the exchange student’s former host moms drove me to the ice rink where Sampo had another hockey game.

Pippurikakkutalomme (our gingerbread house)

The upcoming week at school was test week. For most exchange students this means an early start to Christmas vacation…but I wrote two tests. My chemistry test was about stoichiometry, reaction kinetics, and energy. Even though it was all in Finnish and my teacher spoke no English, I received a respectable mark of a 9 (a low A). I also wrote my second grade math test which seemed fairly easy but I haven’t received my number yet. The day of my chemistry test, my friend Kimmo dressed up as joulupukki (Santa Claus) and handed out candy as people left the cafeteria. Some days, even when I wasn’t writing a test, I would go to school just to eat lunch and hang out with my friends. During the week I did some more gingerbread baking and decorating and we made a pippurikakkutalo (gingerbread house) which we decorated with some Smarties from Canada. I also received a Christmas card from my Grannie and Grandad. Thank you so much, it really brightened up my day when my host mom delivered it to me.

The full choir (I am right beneath Jesus)

Last Sunday, the church choir had their annual Christmas concert, which I was fortunate enough to perform in. Some of the songs were familiar but with new words, and some were completely new to me (that is they were new to me before the rehearsals). I really enjoy singing in the choir and the concert was very enjoyable.

This week I finally started getting into the Christmas mood. I made some of my favourite cookies from home: the “Best” Davidson Shortbread and Candy Cane cookies. I watched some Christmas movies: The Polar Express and The Grinch (animated version of course).

The other day my phone was returned to me through the mail. I never want to leave anything on the train ever again; it is too expensive to get it back! I recently received my first package from home, which has seemed like it has been in the mail forever. I was packed full of candy, Canada paraphernalia, and maple syrup. My room still smells like maple!

Stay tuned for my post next week which will be all about my Christmas and the accompanying celebrations here in Finland.
Hyvää Joulua Kaikille! Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Lappi! (Lapland)

Sarah (Canada), me, and Angela (South Africa)

Last week I went to Lapland (the northern part of Finland) with all of the Rotary exchange students currently in Finland and Estonia; there were about 140 of us. First, we all had to get to Muonio by bus. My bus picked me up in Lapua, a 20 minute drive from where I live, just after midnight on Saturday (Sunday morning). Most people were already on the bus. I spent lots of time talking with some Aussies. Steph, an Aussie, and I learned the Pledge of Allegence (the American one, I don’t think there is a Finnish one). We stopped for breakfast at four o’clock and another of the buses filled with exchange students stopped by. Unfortunately our bus had to get back on the road. We picked up six more students at two different stops. We arrived at Muonio at around 11 in the morning, so that was about eleven hours on the bus for me, and I was one of the last people on…

Eva (Germany), and me

On Sunday, we got our rooms and then multitasked as we ate lunch and caught up with other exchange students: some were familiar from our orientation camp, some I should have remember but I didn’t, and some were brand new as they were the kids from the southern hemisphere (mostly Australia but some from New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina too). After everyone had arrived and eaten, we had a quick orientation meeting about our schedule and about the rules. Our Rotarians brought a breathalyser which they have named “Petteri” (I think I have told you about this a couple of times but Petteri is like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer). Shortly after the meeting, we all got on the buses and headed to the ski hill. We had all booked in advance whether we wanted to rent skis (downhill or cross-country) or a snowboard. I got downhill skis. The “hill” was not very big at all. There wasn’t much snow, only about 25 cm, so most of the skiing terrain wasn’t open. The “big lift” was a T-bar that we were had to get off of only half way up. Also it was snowing and the rental didn’t include ski goggles, so I bought a pair of them. I spent most of the afternoon (well, it was already dark, so most of the early evening) skiing with a German named Eva who was in my language class at orientation camp. For dinner, we went to an interesting wood cabin with dirt floors where we ate soup by the fire. Berries and whipped cream were for dessert. That evening we had an early curfew because almost no one got any good sleep on the buses. I couldn’t fall asleep right away so I started reading a book: “The Runaway Jury” by John Grisham.

The Canadians at our rehearsal.

Monday was a ski day. We went back to the hill and skied the day away. There were some people who decided that they no longer wanted to take on the slopes so they stayed behind at the hotel for ice sculpting. I however really enjoyed my skiing the day before, even though it was a small hill, so I decided to spend to whole day there. For part of the day, another Canadian (Sarah from Ontario) and I helped a 6 week short term exchange student from South Africa named Angela learn how to ski. For lunch we had makkara grilled over the fire at the bottom of the lift. After we returned from skiing, we had sauna. I waited until near the end of the time allotted for sauna-ing so that there would be fewer people. Although I probably should have, I didn’t roll around in the snow…I am sure I will have plenty more times to do that this year (provided of course that we get snow). That evening we were all invited to the local Lukio (high school) for a presentation by the students. There were fire jugglers and a couple of bands. Then the exchange students treated the Finnish students to performances; we Canadians did a cover of “Baby” by everyone’s *favourite* artist, Justin Bieber. Later that evening I played a game of cribbage with some exchange students (I bring my crib board almost everywhere with me…it stays in my bag until I get an opportunity to play). Our curfew was a little bit later, but I still had to read my book for a bit before I could actually fall asleep.

Me and the the reindeer farmer

Tuesday, December 6th was Suomen Itsenäisyyspäivä (Finnish Independence Day) and it celebrated ninety-four years of Finnish Independence. We exchange students had a jam packed day. There were four activities, and four buses, so we rotated throughout the day. The first stop was at a reindeer farm. Reindeer are livestock; they are not wild. However, they are free to roam the forests of Lapland so we didn’t actually see any reindeer at the farm. We had a presentation given to us in Finnish by a farmer. She showed us a slideshow (with old-fashioned slides) and explained reindeer farming to me. I was very proud of myself for understanding most of what she told us before the Rotex (former exchange students acting as chaperones) translated it. I asked what her favourite part of reindeer farming was and she said when they calves are born. After her presentation, we got to test our reindeer lassoing skills. I roped it on my first try (but it wasn’t real, basically a sawhorse with antlers). Our next stop was at the oldest national park of Finland: Pallas-Yllästunturi. We watched a video presentation on the unique flora and fauna of the area. Afterwards we went back to the hotel to eat lunch. 

My "dog sled team" (I am sitting at the back)

Then we went to a “dogsled safari”. Our hotel offers wilderness adventures so they have a couple of hundred huskies who pull sleds. We walked through the “farm” (I don’t want to call it a farm because the dogs were all well treated and aren’t for sale) and got to see all of the dogs housed there. We each had a short, maybe three minute long, ride on a dog pulled sled around a track. Then a dog caretaker told us about the two different types of huskies they had, Siberian and Alaskan. Our last station of the day was the one I have awaited most, our chance to ride reindeer. Similar to the dogs, we didn’t actually ride them; we sat in a sled pulled by them. The reindeer, however, didn’t have a driver…there were three reindeer in a straight line, each pulling their own sleigh. The reindeer pulling my sleigh was in the lead, and decided about half way through that she (or he) didn’t want to run anymore. After the reindeer ride we had some warm juice and walked back to the hotel in snowshoes, which were quite unnecessary as the route was a road with snow already packed down. 

Me and a reindeer. This one was completely white.

Since it was Independence Day, many exchange students dressed up a little bit for dinner. We had the official meal of Lapland: sautéed reindeer with potatoes and lingonberries. That evening we had a guest performer: a Sami (the official aboriginal population of Finland) man did a special type of singing for us which was like a cross between singing, storytelling, and yodelling. I later found out that he had appeared of Talent Suomi (Finland’s Got Talent). The Rotex performed for us a depiction of what many Finns do on December 6; watch the red carpet of the President’s ball in Helsinki. They also shared some skits of things that other exchange students had done on past Lapland trips. The next item on the agenda was a presentation by the “oldies” (the students who arrived in January) to the “newbies” (the students who arrived in August). They bestowed unto us a song to remember the year by. The remainder of the night was passed by with flag and book signing, general conversation, and a dance party.

Me standing on the arctic circle.

The next day we all packed everything up and got on the buses to come home. First, though, we had a stop at Santa Claus Land in Rovaniemi. It was basically like a Christmas mall with every shop selling the same stuff, but I managed to find some Christmas tree ornaments that I liked. I sent Christmas cards to my parents and sister for there. Normally, one would see Joulupukki (Santa) at Joulupukkimaa (Santa Claus Land) but because there were so many of us exchange students, they said we could go see him. We ate our last meal together at a culinary school in Rovaniemi before we had to say final goodbyes. Then back onto the bus for another eight hours. We had a little talent show on our bus (songs and jokes) to help pass the time. We also watch Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in Portuguese with no subtitles (I’m pretty sure it was a “pirated” film). We got to my town an hour ahead of schedule and I convinced the driver (through one of the chaperones) to stop in my town instead of the next one over so that my host family wouldn’t have to drive as far to pick me up in the middle of the night.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip. I think it’s cool that almost a year apart I go south of the equator (in Ecuador last Christmas) to north of the Arctic Circle.

Pari Kiireistä Viikkoa (A Couple of Busy Weeks)

So I’ve been pretty busy the past couple of weeks and I’ve done lots of different things. Some little things that I have done on no particular day include starting to listen to Christmas music, and writing Christmas cards.

Iguana'd to show you all this picture (pun intended!)

One day I saw a sign on the side of the road for a travel reptiles exhibit coming to town. I checked it out online and asked some of my friends if they wanted to go. There were quite a number of different lizards, snakes, and spiders. I always like playing the “find the reptile” game because of how good their camouflage can be. It really wasn’t too exciting though. I’m glad I spent time with friends, but it was a bit pricey.

Joulutortu

At scouts we did some cooking. We made joulutortu (Christmas pastry) and pippurikakku (gingerbread). When I came home that evening, Jaana was making joulutortu as well. I think I ate 4 pastries in the one night.

A few weeks ago, my host mother Jaana’s mother passed away in the hospital of the neighbouring town. Although I never met her, I expressed my deepest sentiments to support the family. I attended her funeral last week. Jaana insisted that I walk in with the close family. I was very honoured to be at the ceremony because so many people to celebrate the life of Mrs. Passi.

Last weekend I went to Seinäjoki (the nearby “big city” of 50,000) with my host mom and some of her friends to see a musical called “Dance of the Vampires”. Before hand we went out for dinner and I actually had some conversations in Finnish; I think it was easy for me because the topics were normally me and Canada. The musical was entirely in Finnish, except the title. The costumes and set pieces were incredible; I wish they had better fake snow though. And I was disappointed that the leading actress had a “dance double”. Anyways, I will give you a quick synopsis of what I think happened, which may in fact differ from what actually happened. A vampire hunter’s assistant falls in love with the innkeeper’s daughter in a vampire ridden area in Germany. However, there is a high ranking vampire who is also in love with the innkeeper’s daughter, so his henchmen bring her to the vampire mansion. The love stricken assistant and the vampire hunter make their way to the mansion. Spoiler alert! In the end, everyone becomes a vampire and the assistant and innkeeper’s daughter are together. The major music theme was the song “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in Finnish. The whole thing reminded me a lot of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was a great show and I am super glad that I went.

Last Sunday I had my first performance with the Church choir. It was the first advent so all of our music is beginning to centre on Christmas. I really enjoyed performing. I missed being involved in a music ensemble, after being so involved in the music department of KSS for the last three years. Later the same day, I went to see a piano recital of the students of a local piano teacher at the art gallery. Most of the songs were Chritmasy and I got me really into the holiday season (even though it wasn’t quite December yet).

Our house.

After dinner on the same Sunday, I changed host families. My family consists of the Sanna and Petri the mother and father, Sampo (13) and Konsta (11) the two sons, Saila (4) the daughter, and Viiru the cat. They live a quaint house a little bit further from my school than my last family. Petri and my last host father, Jarmo, are brothers. That night it snowed here in Kauhava. The snow lasted on the ground for all of Monday, but Tuesday’s rain melted it all.

At scouts the other day we had pikkujoulu (little Christmas) which was a Christmas party. There was a gift exchange: my gift consisted of a Canada Frisbee, a Canada handkerchief, a Vancouver 2010 note pad, and some candy. The present I received was a 5€ gift certificate to the only fast food restaurant in town.

Yesterday I had my first really learning Finnish opportunity with Saila. We flipped through a picture book together and asked each other some questions. Neither of us could actually read the book though.

Today, Saturday, I went to my Finnish course. The past couple of weeks we have written two tests to see where we stand. I have gotten my teachers highest classification on each of them. The tests were very very difficult. They consisted of lots of pieces of the language we have never talked about in class. I had read about some of them in my own time and others I choose just because I thought they sounded right. I am the best student in the beginners group, but the students in the more advanced half of the class I am sure got better marks than me. My teacher says that I am on the right track to do well in the Finnish Language test the Rotary organizes through a Finnish university. I had to leave today’s class early because we had a choir rehearsal. 

The Wind Orchestra.

There was a “Thank You Party” at the church today because the head priest Seppo is retiring. The local wind orchestra performed, and I plan on joining them come January. Our choir sang three songs, two of which were with the choirs of several other local parishes. We ended the celebration with Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, which is very difficult but very satisfying.

Now as soon as I finish this blog entry, I am going to pack my bag for the Rotary organized Lapland tour with all of the exchange students in Finland. My bus picks me up in the neighbouring town at midnight tonight and we will arrive tomorrow at 11:00 am.

Lukion Gaala (High School Gala)

Last weekend my school hosted a gala to celebrate ninety years as a school.

Poikentanssi, the second time through

Leading up to the gala, we learned how to dance…or more truthfully we learned some choreography. Every year, the second grade boys do a Poikentanssi (Boy’s Dance). It is organized by some of the second grade girls in the dance program. I was invited to participate and we started rehearsing over a month in advance. Some days, we (second grade boys) would find out about a rehearsal just five or so minutes before it began. Or maybe it was just me because I’m the exchange student and I don’t really understand every conversation. Also, every grade has a choreographed grade dance. I asked the counsellor which rehearsal I should go to and he just said go to the second graders and if that doesn’t work try the third graders. In the second grade, everyone was supposed to dance with the same partner they had last year…I was paired with a girl name Mira who hadn’t been at the gala last year. After the second grade rehearsal (which was kind of like a glorified line dance) I asked the dance teacher if I should come to the third grade rehearsal too and she said that of course I should, especially because it would be very easy. For your information, this conversation with the teacher was entirely in Finnish. In the afternoon I went to the third graders rehearsal and as soon as I walked I heard “Peter will you be my partner” from Hanna, who happened to go to Canada last summer and stay with the best friend of another Rotary Exchange Student here in Finland. The third graders’ “dance” was a march. We promenaded around the stage in circles, lines, and curlicues.

Sort of dark, but this is the Kolmosen Tansi (3rd graders)

Also leading up to the open house portion of the day, I rehearsed with the koulunbändi (school band). Originally I had been asked to perform a solo oboe piece. But I don’t have an oboe to play, nor music, nor have I practiced since June. The band is composed of a guitarist, bass guitarist, percussionist, pianist, several singers, and the teacher who plays guitar and sings. I sang. We prepared “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” originally by U2. My “job” was to make sure that everyone was pronouncing the words correctly. On the day of the gala, I had my Finnish lesson at school first thing in the morning. Then I left it early for a dress rehearsal with the bändi. I thought that after it was done I would have an hour to come home and get ready for the open house….I was wrong. I left the rehearsal early (12:10), raced home and got all prettied up before arriving back at school for 12:30.

Kalle the Pianist

The afternoon was the celebratory ceremony. The first thing was an amazing piano performance by my friend Kalle, who is an aspiring classical pianist. Next, the school principal welcomed everyone. Then the cast of the drama production presented a preview of their play “Jääkärit” which would be performed in its entiretly at the gala in the evening. Paula, the minister of the church gave quite a lengthy speech; once she was finished, the person beside me said “and that was the bible according to Paula”. There was a Bollywood dance performed by the girls in the dance program at school and then our bändi performed. Afterwards there were more speeches: the town leader (not the mayor, because there is no mayor), a representative from the Finnish High Schools organization. The closing remarks were by a member of the European Parliament. Finally, we all sang the national anthem “Maamme” (Our Land). In preparation for coming to Finland, I learned the lyrics and how to play the national anthem on the piano and this was my first opportunity to sing it. I needed the words for the second verse, but so did all of the Finns. After the open house, we had coffee and cake and then the first graders (with my help) moved all of the tables and chairs from the cafeteria into the gymnasium.

In the evening, the real gala began. This is very similar to Prom except all of the students attended it. There is another such event in February, but it is only for the second graders. All of the girls had beautiful evening gowns and all of the guys looked like penguins (by that I mean wearing suit and tie). We were welcomed into the gymnasium and were gazed upon by the many parents and friends in the bleachers. As we walked in the main doors, we were offered champagne (non-alcoholic of course). Kalle was the first act on the agenda yet again, and he treated us to another marvellous performance. Then after a welcome by the principal we ate several appetizers, the special guests first, and then everyone else. In a joking manner, I thought that I should be considered as special guest, but alas I was not. 

The Curtain Call of Jääkärit

Then the real show began. Jääkärit was a fantastic show about Finland fighting for its independence. It had several musical numbers and dance interludes. On my first day in Kauhava, the counsellor asked if I wanted to be in the play but I said I should learn Finnish first; I regret saying that and I wish I had been part of it. At the end of the play, all of the second grade guys got changed into our performance outfits: cut off jean shorts and white t-shirts. A couple days earlier I went to the second hand store right around the corner from the school and bought the jeans for only 2 euros! Our dance was to a compilation of Moves like Jagger, Little Bad Girl, and I’m Sexy and I Know. I had a “solo”; after the introduction music faded out and we blamed the school counsellor for cutting of the music I shouted “Hey DJ, turn the music up”. After our performance the crowd liked it so much that we did it again! 

Kakosen Tanssi (2nd graders). Sorry again that it's dark.

The next thing on the agenda was the first graders’ class dance which I didn’t get a chance to see because I was changing back into my formal wear. Then the second graders had our dance which was simple but nice. Then immediately after, the third graders performed our march. Afterwards, there was a short break while the Kauhava Big Band set-up. This ball was not like prom back at home: students danced instead of fist pumped. Even though I have never waltzed before in my life, I took the plunge and my first dance was with Paula (one of the few that comes to my English class). It took me a few songs with a few different girls, but I was able to keep one foot ahead of the other without hitting too many others. It is exhausting being the man in a dancing couple, because you have to navigate through the dance floor and everyone is spinning…Anyways, I also tried to tango, which is sort of like the two step that we learned in middle school. I wanted the big band to play a fast swing tune because I still remember how to jive dance, but regrettably they did not play one.

After the gala came to an end, I went home, changed, and then went to the after party (which I had to buy a ticket for in advance). The after party was for first and second graders who are not yet of legal drinking age, because all (well, most) of the third graders caught a bus to the bar in Seinäjoki. There was some dancing (the fist pumping genre) and lots of conversation. Lots of people who previously haven’t spoken to me, but added me as a facebook friend, got the courage to talk with me for a bit. And what would a Nordic party be without ABBA karaoke?

Sorry this post was a bit lengthy, but I wanted to make sure that I will remember the whole day!