School started well on wednesday because as i had no idea what i was doing i rocked up 2 hours before i had any classes so i was just so that meant i was just sitting around getting funny looks from passers by. The day improved a lot from there though and by the end of the day i had quite a few friends.
On saturday we went to my host aunty and uncles house where i had an epic snowball fight with their kids..the fact that i'm 5/10 years older than any of them was little help to me and soon enough i was covered in snow and freezing. From there i went to a girl from school's party which was surprisingly quite similar to an Australian party...
On sunday we went to have some makkara (sausages) cooked on an open fire at my host families summer cottage. The sausages were awesome but it was hard to sit in the kotta (little hut with the fire) because the chimney didn't work all that well :P
School the next week was fun despite being able to understand next to nothing the teachers were saying. The parts that i could understand were in english, were the students are so good that they speak only english in class and in art (pretty pictures are an international language i think).
The end of the week was action packed with the abi (final year) students leaving on thursday and the second years (my years) formal dance on Friday. On Thursday we got watched a show that the abi students had made to celebrate them leaving then stood there while they through candy at us (hard!) after that they officially left the school by sliding down the hill at the front of the school in poorly made sleds. Needless to say many of the sleds didnt make it down the hill in one piece. On friday i watched the second year student's dance where they performed folk dances they had been practicing and then went with them to the afters to celebrate.
The weekend was was also lots of fun as on Satuday my host parents took me into Helsinki where i had a photo in front of every statue and significant building we could find. We also thought that it would be a good idea to check out the modern art museum... well it seemed like a good idea at the time anyway, we walked out of half of the rooms in histerical laughter getting evil looking glares from all the arty people walking around. Before going home we went to an oriental food store to buy a whole lot of chili products (i think i live with the only people in Finland who like spicy food) and some Mi goreng, my one true love.
On sunday we went to my host aunty and uncles place again for some cross country skiing around a nearby field. This was great fun and after having a taste for it i wanted more. We spotted a big hill just down the road and i thought it would be a good idea to try going down that...it wasn't. Soon enough i was landing face first in the snow with my legs twisted in ways i never could have imagined possible.
I've got this whole next week off school for winter holidays so i look forward to a good one :D
Here are some pictures of the ~500 year old church in Lohja, my host families summer cottage, my host dad's curling practice, the school dance, our trip to Helsinki and my attempt at cross country skiing.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Karkku Camp
So after a grueling 30ish hours of flying Sarah and i arrived at Helsinki airport only to have to wait another 5 hours for the eastern states and South Africans to get in. Once they arrived it was straight on the bus to Karkku language camp which was about a 3 hour trip.
On Sunday morning we met the Finnish teacher for the week, Mimmu and got some info about the week and the sauna: "Where else can you get hot, sweaty and wet all at once?" ;) hahaha.
That evening we went to the sauna for the first time and i have to say that i am quite in love with it. We heated the sauna up to over 100C and then ran down to the frozen lake for a quick dip, then it was back to the sauna to repeat this process another 3 or so times.
After that it was time for the "evening snack" (just another excuse to eat really, we were eating about 5 meals a day at the camp).
Classes started for real on Monday and they were pretty full on but they seem to have worked quite well. We also listened to some Finnish music including some awesome Finnish reggae and the Finnish version of heads, shoulders, knees and toes. That evening it was time for more sauna and frozen lake swiming :D
On Tuesday night we went to a forest camp to cook pancakes and makkara (sausages) on an open fire which was not only fun but tasty. Then we chatted with Uncle Pena, who ran the camp and watched him wittle some flowers out of bits of wood.
We went into Tampere, the 3rd biggest city in Finland on Wednesday for some shopping and sightseeing. We saw around the town which was beautiful but the shopping didn't yield much except for us accidentally stealing some gloves (don't worry we went back and paid for them) and wandering around several womens stores wondering where the mens section was and why we were getting funny stares from everyone (it's probably not the best idea for two guys to hang around the underwear section in womens shops).
Thursday night we walked to Karkku town to attend candle church and then back for a night with the Finnish students of the Karkku school. There me, the other Australian guys and the New Zealander had a competition for who could Finnish a bowl of the foul tasting Finnish easter delicacy, mämmi ... i lost. Then it was time for our last sauna at Karkku camp :'(
After more classes and lectures, on Friday night we had a "cosy night" which consisted of people falling over chairs and a projector, Joona getting a little too friendly with the foreign exchangees, Jae stripping almost completely naked, Jim and Stacy's informative talks about herpes and lots of games.
On Saturday we packed and took a bus to Vammala to meet our host families and some of the people from Rotary. It was sad saying goodbye to everyone, almost like leaving our best friends again. Later i met both my host brothers who are really nice but do not live at home anymore. I really like my family and home here and i think that i will really enjoy my time here.
On Sunday i met my host dad Risto's mum (my mummi) and also his sisters family. My host aunty and uncle have young kids and they lent me some books for learning Finnish, they're meant for young kids so they have lots of colourful pictures to help me learn :P
Today i went in to school to get some papers and stuff to choose my subjects and i don't actually need to go to school until Wednesday because the students at my school are sitting exams until tommorow.
Thats all for now, i'm sure i'll have more to talk about once i've been to school on Wednesday.
Some pictures from Karkku camp, the trip here and the view out of my window at home.
On Sunday morning we met the Finnish teacher for the week, Mimmu and got some info about the week and the sauna: "Where else can you get hot, sweaty and wet all at once?" ;) hahaha.
That evening we went to the sauna for the first time and i have to say that i am quite in love with it. We heated the sauna up to over 100C and then ran down to the frozen lake for a quick dip, then it was back to the sauna to repeat this process another 3 or so times.
After that it was time for the "evening snack" (just another excuse to eat really, we were eating about 5 meals a day at the camp).
Classes started for real on Monday and they were pretty full on but they seem to have worked quite well. We also listened to some Finnish music including some awesome Finnish reggae and the Finnish version of heads, shoulders, knees and toes. That evening it was time for more sauna and frozen lake swiming :D
On Tuesday night we went to a forest camp to cook pancakes and makkara (sausages) on an open fire which was not only fun but tasty. Then we chatted with Uncle Pena, who ran the camp and watched him wittle some flowers out of bits of wood.
We went into Tampere, the 3rd biggest city in Finland on Wednesday for some shopping and sightseeing. We saw around the town which was beautiful but the shopping didn't yield much except for us accidentally stealing some gloves (don't worry we went back and paid for them) and wandering around several womens stores wondering where the mens section was and why we were getting funny stares from everyone (it's probably not the best idea for two guys to hang around the underwear section in womens shops).
Thursday night we walked to Karkku town to attend candle church and then back for a night with the Finnish students of the Karkku school. There me, the other Australian guys and the New Zealander had a competition for who could Finnish a bowl of the foul tasting Finnish easter delicacy, mämmi ... i lost. Then it was time for our last sauna at Karkku camp :'(
After more classes and lectures, on Friday night we had a "cosy night" which consisted of people falling over chairs and a projector, Joona getting a little too friendly with the foreign exchangees, Jae stripping almost completely naked, Jim and Stacy's informative talks about herpes and lots of games.
On Saturday we packed and took a bus to Vammala to meet our host families and some of the people from Rotary. It was sad saying goodbye to everyone, almost like leaving our best friends again. Later i met both my host brothers who are really nice but do not live at home anymore. I really like my family and home here and i think that i will really enjoy my time here.
On Sunday i met my host dad Risto's mum (my mummi) and also his sisters family. My host aunty and uncle have young kids and they lent me some books for learning Finnish, they're meant for young kids so they have lots of colourful pictures to help me learn :P
Today i went in to school to get some papers and stuff to choose my subjects and i don't actually need to go to school until Wednesday because the students at my school are sitting exams until tommorow.
Thats all for now, i'm sure i'll have more to talk about once i've been to school on Wednesday.
Some pictures from Karkku camp, the trip here and the view out of my window at home.
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