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.
No comments:
Post a Comment