Gosh, so much has happened since I've posted last. Actually, I'm back in Alaska, but for now I'll just post on what took place during the remainder of my exchange year. Once I've thought more about how I've learned, grown, and shared during this last year, I'll make one final post. But for now:
Stage -
An absolutely mind-blowing experience. Our team of 16 student performers, 3 student media helpers/script writers, 2 local teachers, and one incredibly talented and wonderful celebrity (Eeva Vilkkumaa) had no idea how much we were to learn and grow, musically & otherwise, during the two-month Stage experience. We began with creating our musical.
The 19 students worked together to create a story that appealed to all of us. We spent about a week brainstorming. The final plot sketch: a teenage boy, Kristian, dies in a car crash. He is sent back for one more day on Earth to redeem himself and correct his past mistakes (previously he was somewhat arrogant and selfish). He must learn to respect his friends and family.
An angel and a devil, detectable only by Kristian, complete both Kristian's good side and his evil side. They also serve as narrators for the audience. Other characters include Kristian's little sister, constantly hurt by Kristian's absence and rudeness, Amanda, Kristian's ex-girlfriend and eventually the antagonist of the story, and Tony, a stereotypical cowboy and Texan exchange student and Amanda's new boyfriend. I, the American exchange student in real life, naturally got the role of Tony; it was an incredibly fun role to play.
Before the live performances on television there were two aired episodes with footage of the teams creating story ideas, inventing characters, and rehearsing for the live performances. Going into the first live Stage airing, most of our group thought we would be the first team to be dropped. (At the end of each weekly show [excluding the first show], the three judges [two permanent judges and one guest judge] would decide which team would be dropped between the two lowest-scoring teams in respect to votes. In the final, the judges obviously had no say in determining which team was to win; only the voters did.) In actuality, though, the first live show went incredibly well. And the next went better. And the next even better. In the shows we included songs by Michael Jackson, Katy Perry, and the McCoys, and from musicals such as Rent, Grease, and The Sound of Music. We also wrote one song for a very important scene with the help of a local musician, Luca Gargano. All in all, we ended up making it to the finals and getting second in the competition. The winning team, the team from the city of Tampere, took first place, and therefore got places in a summer theater as actors. They adapted their musical from the Stage program and performed it a total of 17 times that summer in Helsinki's Peacock Theater. Many people from our team were disappointed that we didn't take the first place position, having made it so far at that point, but all of us were also incredibly grateful and contented that we had even made it that far and had had the time of our lives as Finnish TV stars.
By the time Stage had concluded, school was also wrapping up. The weekend after school ended, I partied with friends to celebrate the end of school and the beginning of summer. My parents came to Finland about this time (they made it there to see me in the Stage finals in Helsinki!!), and I showed them a bit of my Finnish life for a bit. Then we popped down for a little traveling in Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. They went back to Alaska at the end of this two-week venture, and I returned to Finland for a week and a half. During that week-point-five I spent time at my second host family's summer cottage in Ylämaa, traveled Finland a bit, and saw friends for the last times before my departure on the 29th of June. Goodbyes with friends were hard. Goodbyes with my host families were harder. I never wanted to leave, though I never felt horrible about it even through the airport stage. Once I got onto the plane and was alone, though, I started thinking about how when I came to Finland I sort-of-knew one person in the whole country... and now I was leaving after creating a whole life there, with a new language, school, and families. I was thinking about how many friends I had made and all the unforgettable experiences I had. It really hit me then, and I burst out crying and I couldn't stop for an hour.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Ski Break + Stage + Wanhojen Tanssit
In early January (now being late February, maybe I should update this blog more often!!) I changed host families. I moved maybe only 750 meters away from my last host family, and I'm still the same distance from the school. But now I'm closer to the old town, and I get to walk through it on my way to and from school. And my host family's awesome too; they're really chill and fun to be around all the time.
So last week was ski break...an official vacation in Finland. Many people stayed in their home cities and studied, relaxed, or skiied there, but not us, oh no. My new host family and I went to Ylläs in Lapland, far above the Artic Circle, where crazy men live, and where crazier men go for vacation. It was about a 11 hour drive one way from Porvoo to Äkäslompolo, the village where we stayed. We rented a cottage for the week. Ylläs is a smallish mountain (fell?) which hosts Finland's largest ski resort. (It was nothing compared to Alyeska, but don't tell a Finn that.) Anyway, the first day there was absolutely gorgeous, I downhill skied and had the time of my life. After that day, it got really cold, and on the mountain there were such strong winds it was too frigid to downhill. So I turned to cross country. I only cross countried two days, but I covered about 25 miles in those two days. Not super impressive - until you consider the fact I skied over another 2,000 ft mountain in the process, WHILE in sub-zero temperatures and WHILE above the Artic Circle. No polar bears, though.
I really liked the nature of Lapland. It was just endless miles of snow-covered spruce trees, broken only by the fells in the north. There was something about the quietness and depth of it that I'd never experienced in Alaska.
Other big news: Stage! This "Stage" thing of which some of you may have heard is in fact a musical. Six schools in Finland were chosen to take part, my school, Linnankosken Lukio, being one of them. Each school creates its own musical (using pre-existing music or writing its own), and performs it. Later in the year there will be a competition with the other schools, and the competition will be aired on Finnish TV. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose too much information about this musical (what our musical is about, what character I'm playing, or anything else exciting) until the TV programs are released...I signed a confidentiality agreement. But you can take my word that it's awesome...and when the time comes I can maybe add a link on here so that you all can watch our live performances.
Wanhojen Tanssit + Penkkarit
In Finland, the school system works such that after 2 and 3/5 years of Lukio (high school / pre-college), the Abís (seniors) graduate. That happened about two weeks ago now. First, all of the Abis dress up in costumes...way more elaborate than halloween. They then have their own show in the school auditorium (it mainly consists of them bragging that they have no more school days left). After that, they get in the beds of large trucks, drive around the city, and throw candy at people to celebrate. These celebrations are called Penkkarit.
When the Abis left school, the second graders had to show that they were at the top of the school. It is done in a much more sophisticated manner than getting in a costume and throwing candy at people. The second graders had a dance course in which they learned about a dozen dances (some are American, some French, some Spanish, but all have been in Finland a long time and "Finnishized"). The same weekend the Abis leave, the second-years (now the "Wanhat", or "oldies") have a dance presentation in which all of these dances are seen. It is a very formal occasion, with tail coats for men and ball gowns for women. I, along with the other exchange students, was fortunate enough to take part. Wicked fun, that.
So last week was ski break...an official vacation in Finland. Many people stayed in their home cities and studied, relaxed, or skiied there, but not us, oh no. My new host family and I went to Ylläs in Lapland, far above the Artic Circle, where crazy men live, and where crazier men go for vacation. It was about a 11 hour drive one way from Porvoo to Äkäslompolo, the village where we stayed. We rented a cottage for the week. Ylläs is a smallish mountain (fell?) which hosts Finland's largest ski resort. (It was nothing compared to Alyeska, but don't tell a Finn that.) Anyway, the first day there was absolutely gorgeous, I downhill skied and had the time of my life. After that day, it got really cold, and on the mountain there were such strong winds it was too frigid to downhill. So I turned to cross country. I only cross countried two days, but I covered about 25 miles in those two days. Not super impressive - until you consider the fact I skied over another 2,000 ft mountain in the process, WHILE in sub-zero temperatures and WHILE above the Artic Circle. No polar bears, though.
I really liked the nature of Lapland. It was just endless miles of snow-covered spruce trees, broken only by the fells in the north. There was something about the quietness and depth of it that I'd never experienced in Alaska.
Other big news: Stage! This "Stage" thing of which some of you may have heard is in fact a musical. Six schools in Finland were chosen to take part, my school, Linnankosken Lukio, being one of them. Each school creates its own musical (using pre-existing music or writing its own), and performs it. Later in the year there will be a competition with the other schools, and the competition will be aired on Finnish TV. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose too much information about this musical (what our musical is about, what character I'm playing, or anything else exciting) until the TV programs are released...I signed a confidentiality agreement. But you can take my word that it's awesome...and when the time comes I can maybe add a link on here so that you all can watch our live performances.
Wanhojen Tanssit + Penkkarit
In Finland, the school system works such that after 2 and 3/5 years of Lukio (high school / pre-college), the Abís (seniors) graduate. That happened about two weeks ago now. First, all of the Abis dress up in costumes...way more elaborate than halloween. They then have their own show in the school auditorium (it mainly consists of them bragging that they have no more school days left). After that, they get in the beds of large trucks, drive around the city, and throw candy at people to celebrate. These celebrations are called Penkkarit.
When the Abis left school, the second graders had to show that they were at the top of the school. It is done in a much more sophisticated manner than getting in a costume and throwing candy at people. The second graders had a dance course in which they learned about a dozen dances (some are American, some French, some Spanish, but all have been in Finland a long time and "Finnishized"). The same weekend the Abis leave, the second-years (now the "Wanhat", or "oldies") have a dance presentation in which all of these dances are seen. It is a very formal occasion, with tail coats for men and ball gowns for women. I, along with the other exchange students, was fortunate enough to take part. Wicked fun, that.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Holladay's Holidays
Christmas was really huge here. The decorations and "spirit" began even before our Thanksgiving, and lasted well into January. I think since every family in America has a different backround and history, we don't have any truly American Christmas traditions (save the tree, presents, stockings, and the general western culture influence). However, most everyone in Finland has a long history there, and traditions have been passed down for a long time. There are also several loan traditions from other cultures, such as Saint Lucy's day (celebrated on December 13, and borrowed from Swedish culture; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy%27s_Day). Being a tradition brought from Sweden, it is more observed in the Swedish speaking areas (such as my town, Porvoo). In my town (as well as in others), a Saint Lucy was elected in a sort of beauty contest. She then travels around the town, visiting hospitals, meetings, and dinner parties to sing and bring happiness. Before my Rotary club was visited by the Saint Lucy of Porvoo, we went to sing Christmas songs in Swedish.
On the 24th, Christmas Eve, the "Christmas Peace" began. During this time is considered bothersome to make too much noise outside or be away from home very much. It is a time for family, eating, and celebrating Christmas. Presents were opened on the evening of the 24th, accompanied by singing, reading poetry, and wearing elf hats. We then visited the church around midnight to sing traditional Christmas songs (many of the same melodies as when I was singing in Swedish). The 25th itself was spent relaxing, eating more, and enjoying presents and company. On the 26th, the Christmas Peace was over, and the day was spent by a visit from family friends.
There is a plethora of Finnish Christmas foods, but the most important is the ham, much like Thanksgiving turkey. There were also many casseroles, different types of fish and caviar, and, as to be expected, potatoes.
New Year's was much like in America, with fireworks and parties. I spent most of New Year's out at a friend's house and in the center of Porvoo celebrating the coming of the new year. New Year's had two traditional foods, sausage and potato salad, but the whole celebration wasn't as intense or important as Christmas. One interesting tradition I observed was the melting and cooling of tin horseshoes to predict your future year. Everyone gets these little tin horseshoes, melts them down in the coals of a fire, and when they are fully melted in a large metal ladle, they dump the hot tin into a bucket of cold water. The tin cools very rapidly and one is left with very intricate shapes. The thus-formed tin is held up against a wall, and candlelight is put behind it. The shadow on the wall can display some image or picture than will determine your future year. I got a dragon. Rawr.
On the 24th, Christmas Eve, the "Christmas Peace" began. During this time is considered bothersome to make too much noise outside or be away from home very much. It is a time for family, eating, and celebrating Christmas. Presents were opened on the evening of the 24th, accompanied by singing, reading poetry, and wearing elf hats. We then visited the church around midnight to sing traditional Christmas songs (many of the same melodies as when I was singing in Swedish). The 25th itself was spent relaxing, eating more, and enjoying presents and company. On the 26th, the Christmas Peace was over, and the day was spent by a visit from family friends.
There is a plethora of Finnish Christmas foods, but the most important is the ham, much like Thanksgiving turkey. There were also many casseroles, different types of fish and caviar, and, as to be expected, potatoes.
New Year's was much like in America, with fireworks and parties. I spent most of New Year's out at a friend's house and in the center of Porvoo celebrating the coming of the new year. New Year's had two traditional foods, sausage and potato salad, but the whole celebration wasn't as intense or important as Christmas. One interesting tradition I observed was the melting and cooling of tin horseshoes to predict your future year. Everyone gets these little tin horseshoes, melts them down in the coals of a fire, and when they are fully melted in a large metal ladle, they dump the hot tin into a bucket of cold water. The tin cools very rapidly and one is left with very intricate shapes. The thus-formed tin is held up against a wall, and candlelight is put behind it. The shadow on the wall can display some image or picture than will determine your future year. I got a dragon. Rawr.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Lapland Tour
From Dec. 4th - 7th, every Rotary exchange student in Finland was in Lapland for our annual "Lapland Tour" there. It all began with the bus ride on December 3rd. There were four buses traveling to Lapland, as there were around 140 students. Ryne (the other American in Porvoo) and I were the first on our bus. It left at 5:30 p.m., but we didn't get there until after 11 the next morning - almost 18 hours on a bus. It wasn't too bad other than the fact that I slept about 2 hours...we had to stop every hour or so to pick people up along the way. But there were lots of friends that I hadn't seen since our orientation camp in Karkku, so it was a really fun trip. When we finally arrived in Muonio, our destination, I got to see all of the other people from the other buses.
We first checked into our hotel, Harriniva (http://www.harriniva.fi/), which was really more than a hotel; it was sort of an outdoor winter sports center. After we got our rooms and unpacked, we headed straight off for the ski place - Olos-tunturi. There, we could cross-country ski or downhill ski/snowboard - I foolishly opted for downhill skiing. For those of you who don't know, Finland is flat - reallllyy flat. So this "big" downhill skiing hill was smaller than Hilltop in Anchorage - bummer, a bit boring. But I helped the people who had never skied before out a bit, so it wasn't too bad. The next day we could either carve ice sculptures or go downhilling again - I went back to Olos-tunturi but this time attempted snowboarding, which I'd never done before. It was a painful experience, but very much more entertaining than the previous day. After skiing we popped over the bridge to Sweden for about 5 minutes, just to say we'd been to Sweden, basically. We then had some free time back at Harriniva to sauna or hang out with friends.
That night we went to the school in Muonio for a program there. The local Muonio students had prepared songs, dances, and stage tricks to show us, so we in turn shared dances and songs and whatever we felt like from our home countries.
The next day the really Lappish things began. We visited a reindeer farm in Torassieppi, learned how the Finns and the Sami (the natives of Lapland) used them as pack and herd animals (learning about Sami traditional dress and culture* along the way), and got to practice lassoing reindeer (using wooden dummies, of course). One thing that was a bit different from Alaska is the fact that almost every reindeer in Lapland is owned by someone - there are no wild reindeer. The reindeer can wander free, but all have ear markings to indicate their owner. We then went back to Harriniva to go on a husky sled dog ride (nothing special there, coming from Alaska). In fact about a third of the dogs at Harriniva were Alaskan Huskies...that was a cool thing to hear. We also went on a snowshoeing adventure through the forest around Harriniva (very beautiful and Christmasy), and hopped in sledges pulled by reindeer for a ride.
(* The Sami culture is considered to be much like the Finnish, with one exception. The Finns are a very prompt and timely people (at least compared to the Americans), but the Sami don't have the same need for haste as the Finns. You can read more about dress and culture here, on the lovely Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_people)
That day was independence day in Finland - so we had an independence day dinner at Harriniva. I was a bit dissapointed though, becuase the Rotary adults with us didn't tell us anything about the independence day. No history or anything - so you probably know as much as I do about it. We basically just had dinner. =(
After dinner we had our own program in Harriniva. The high point of that night was that a Sami man came and sang us four Sami songs...they were really cool. If I had to describe them, I'd say they kind of had a soft whistling sound, like the wind...the whole sound was very natural and somehow beautifully pagan. The told of life in Lapland, and there were some songs about the wind and nature, and some were love stories.
And then we began the bus trip back - with one stop in Rovaniemi. In Rovaniemi (a city on the Arctic Circle) you can find the real Finnish Santa Claus. There was a whole Christmas village there, complete with shops and a post office. We poked around for a bit, then waited in line to meet Santa. We were led into a room where Santa was sitting on a big chair. We sat around him, told him what we wanted for Christmas, and got a photo with him. Then back to the bus, and back to Porvoo. I arrived there at 6 a.m. running on one hour of sleep, so I decided not to go to school.
Overall the Lapland trip was awesome. Some of the things (snow, reindeer, huskies) weren't so exciting for me as for some others, but there was still a lot of cultural things there (not to mention 140 friends) that kept the whole trip interesting. Also, I had never been above the Artic Circle so deep into winter - the sun never rose while we were there; that was something new for me. Amazing trip altogether :D.
We first checked into our hotel, Harriniva (http://www.harriniva.fi/), which was really more than a hotel; it was sort of an outdoor winter sports center. After we got our rooms and unpacked, we headed straight off for the ski place - Olos-tunturi. There, we could cross-country ski or downhill ski/snowboard - I foolishly opted for downhill skiing. For those of you who don't know, Finland is flat - reallllyy flat. So this "big" downhill skiing hill was smaller than Hilltop in Anchorage - bummer, a bit boring. But I helped the people who had never skied before out a bit, so it wasn't too bad. The next day we could either carve ice sculptures or go downhilling again - I went back to Olos-tunturi but this time attempted snowboarding, which I'd never done before. It was a painful experience, but very much more entertaining than the previous day. After skiing we popped over the bridge to Sweden for about 5 minutes, just to say we'd been to Sweden, basically. We then had some free time back at Harriniva to sauna or hang out with friends.
That night we went to the school in Muonio for a program there. The local Muonio students had prepared songs, dances, and stage tricks to show us, so we in turn shared dances and songs and whatever we felt like from our home countries.
The next day the really Lappish things began. We visited a reindeer farm in Torassieppi, learned how the Finns and the Sami (the natives of Lapland) used them as pack and herd animals (learning about Sami traditional dress and culture* along the way), and got to practice lassoing reindeer (using wooden dummies, of course). One thing that was a bit different from Alaska is the fact that almost every reindeer in Lapland is owned by someone - there are no wild reindeer. The reindeer can wander free, but all have ear markings to indicate their owner. We then went back to Harriniva to go on a husky sled dog ride (nothing special there, coming from Alaska). In fact about a third of the dogs at Harriniva were Alaskan Huskies...that was a cool thing to hear. We also went on a snowshoeing adventure through the forest around Harriniva (very beautiful and Christmasy), and hopped in sledges pulled by reindeer for a ride.
(* The Sami culture is considered to be much like the Finnish, with one exception. The Finns are a very prompt and timely people (at least compared to the Americans), but the Sami don't have the same need for haste as the Finns. You can read more about dress and culture here, on the lovely Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_people)
That day was independence day in Finland - so we had an independence day dinner at Harriniva. I was a bit dissapointed though, becuase the Rotary adults with us didn't tell us anything about the independence day. No history or anything - so you probably know as much as I do about it. We basically just had dinner. =(
After dinner we had our own program in Harriniva. The high point of that night was that a Sami man came and sang us four Sami songs...they were really cool. If I had to describe them, I'd say they kind of had a soft whistling sound, like the wind...the whole sound was very natural and somehow beautifully pagan. The told of life in Lapland, and there were some songs about the wind and nature, and some were love stories.
And then we began the bus trip back - with one stop in Rovaniemi. In Rovaniemi (a city on the Arctic Circle) you can find the real Finnish Santa Claus. There was a whole Christmas village there, complete with shops and a post office. We poked around for a bit, then waited in line to meet Santa. We were led into a room where Santa was sitting on a big chair. We sat around him, told him what we wanted for Christmas, and got a photo with him. Then back to the bus, and back to Porvoo. I arrived there at 6 a.m. running on one hour of sleep, so I decided not to go to school.
Overall the Lapland trip was awesome. Some of the things (snow, reindeer, huskies) weren't so exciting for me as for some others, but there was still a lot of cultural things there (not to mention 140 friends) that kept the whole trip interesting. Also, I had never been above the Artic Circle so deep into winter - the sun never rose while we were there; that was something new for me. Amazing trip altogether :D.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thanksgiving!!
Yesterday, Saturday, was one of the first Thanksgivings that Finland has seen. It was quite a largish celebration. I woke up Saturday morning to the sound of Kirsi already preparing the pumpkin pie crust - so I hurried downstairs to help. We cooked most of the day; we stopped at about 4:30. By 5:30 all of the guests were here (almost all the exchange students in Porvoo plus some of my Finnish friends, including: two Italian girls, a Belgian girl, a German girl, a Japanese boy, a Thai girl, plus four Finns). A reporter even came from the local newspaper to ask us questions about Thanksgiving, our exchanges, and life in Porvoo. I started out by asking what people knew about Thanksgiving. The answers were mainly "Kalkkunaa, kiítetään...", "Turkey, people are thankful...". So I gave them a brief history of Thanksgiving and why we celebrate it today. Then we went around again, and everybody said what they were thankful for in their native language. Then, after a few more questions from the reporter, we began to eat. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, lingonberry sauce, salad, and a side of cooked mushrooms. For dessert we had pumpkin pie with whipped cream. I think everyone liked the food; Kirsi and Jari are wonderful cooks. The decorations during the meal were also quite something. Kirsi had gone out a couple of days before to buy special Thanksgiving decorations, so all of the colors during the meal were matching, with many deep reds and browns. After dinner we just chatted away for a couple of hours until everyone had to go home. It was an amazing Thanksgiving, so much more than I ever could have hoped for in a country were pumpkin puree is so difficult to find (we had to get it from Helsinki!). And much of it was due to Jari and Kirsi helping out, so I'm obviously extremely grateful to them. Next stop on the Holiday train: Christmas =D.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
A Heartfelt Apology...sniff sniff. Plus some cool stuff
My family and others have pointed out (and it's entirely true) that I have been writing lots about what I've been doing on weekends (where I've been traveling and so on), but not so much about what life in Porvoo is like. The reason for that, I think, is that I am now so accustomed to life in Porvoo that I don't think about it any more. BUT now I realize that all you followers of my blog don't live here with me, and you still may be interested to learn all these Finnish cultural things that I already take for granted.
So: I will begin to write about (and take pictures of) life in Porvoo more, and will think more about my exchange, and how I felt at the beginning of it as compared to now. For now, here are some interesting facts:
Finnish toilets never have levers to flush them. Most have two buttons on the top: one triggers a large flow of water, the other small.
There are no chocolate chips in Finland.
There are no doorknobs in Finland, only handles.
Finns consume an incredible amount of potatoes, fish, milk, and rye bread.
Pretty much every person here chews Xylitol gum (look it up, it's pretty cool).
Every Finnish home has a sauna.
Most families have two homes - one in the city in which they spent most of their time while working, and another in the country by a lake to spend the summer in.
Salmiakki, a Finnish black liquorice, is really big here.
The Finns have an amazing system for their blankets and comforters. Everyone knows it's a pain to wash them (a pain to wash comforters, not the Finns). That's why we use top sheets. But I personally don't like top sheets - they come untucked quite easily and they always end up jammed down at your feet. So the Finnish system: you have a comforter-case, much like a pillow case. That way you can sleep right against the comforter and not worry about having to wash it - because Voilà! you can just wash the comforter case.
So: I will begin to write about (and take pictures of) life in Porvoo more, and will think more about my exchange, and how I felt at the beginning of it as compared to now. For now, here are some interesting facts:
Finnish toilets never have levers to flush them. Most have two buttons on the top: one triggers a large flow of water, the other small.
There are no chocolate chips in Finland.
There are no doorknobs in Finland, only handles.
Finns consume an incredible amount of potatoes, fish, milk, and rye bread.
Pretty much every person here chews Xylitol gum (look it up, it's pretty cool).
Every Finnish home has a sauna.
Most families have two homes - one in the city in which they spent most of their time while working, and another in the country by a lake to spend the summer in.
Salmiakki, a Finnish black liquorice, is really big here.
The Finns have an amazing system for their blankets and comforters. Everyone knows it's a pain to wash them (a pain to wash comforters, not the Finns). That's why we use top sheets. But I personally don't like top sheets - they come untucked quite easily and they always end up jammed down at your feet. So the Finnish system: you have a comforter-case, much like a pillow case. That way you can sleep right against the comforter and not worry about having to wash it - because Voilà! you can just wash the comforter case.
Moosehunting in the Finnish Wilderness of Ylämaa...bang bang!
So last weekend I went to my second host family's house (conveniently located but 500 meters from my current host family's), from which we drove two hours to the town of Ylämaa in eastern Finland, which is very close to the Russian border. There, we stayed with Taina's (my second host mother's) mother, but Taina's brother and sister were also very near. We got in late at night, so I went practically straight to bed for my beauty sleep. The next morning I woke up to fog and rain (boo!), and I was picked up by Taina's brother (I guess he would be my host uncle) to go hunting. We were in a small group, and we used a dog to try to sniff out the moose. There was another much larger group that lined up horizontally and walked through the woods to try to find them. My group didn't get any moose this weekend, but the larger group got one or two, so I got a largish hunk of moose meat to take back to my host family.
The woods in eastern Finland are quite different than those in Alaska. There was a lot of springy moss and extremely tall pine trees, and not much else.
Anyways, it was wonderful to see what the Finnish country life was like (it's very much like the Alaskan), becuase before this last weekend I had only been in cities.
The woods in eastern Finland are quite different than those in Alaska. There was a lot of springy moss and extremely tall pine trees, and not much else.
Anyways, it was wonderful to see what the Finnish country life was like (it's very much like the Alaskan), becuase before this last weekend I had only been in cities.
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