About 10 years ago at primary school (year 2 maybe) there was a girl from Finland, called Anna in my class at school. Well she went back home a few years later but i thought since i was here it would a good chance to see her.
So on the 4Th of April i went up to Pori to see her. It's about a 3 hour drive northwest(ish) on the and it sits on the beautiful west coast. When i got there, after a nice long catch-up chat we went for a look around town. Pori is about twice the size of my town but still not overly big. The city however is very beautiful and i got the full tour of it. We did most of the sightseeing by car though because the weather was terrible. This included doing what is apparently a common passtime in Pori, the 'neste round'. Well neste is a brand of petrol station and neste round, you guessed it, consists of driving around the petrol station (slowly of course).
After that we took a short drive to the frozen beach of Pori. Frozen and beach, not two words you often hear in the same sentence. It was an amazing thing to see because it looked almost like an Australian beach except for the snow and ice all along the shore where the waves should be lapping in. From there we went further along the coast to see a lighthouse and a nice spot on the rocks.
That night we went into the centre of town to check out some places. Pori has a big market square right in the centre of town so it is easy to take in a lot without much walking.
It was great to see Anna again, she is just as awesome as i remember her.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Tytyri Mine
Well I'm sure when it's on in Australia but in this season of 'The Amazing Race' they go not only to Finland but to my little town (it has about 50,000 people). The episode was just on TV in Finland last week. In the show they came to Helsinki and then had to drive to Lohja and find Tytyri mine to complete a challenge.
The Tytyri mine museum is situated in the original site of the mine which opened in 1956 and still in operation. At the moment about 20 men work, 350 metres down mining limestone.
We needed a group to go so i went with my parents, my brother Teemu and his girlfriend Jenni, Mamma (my grandmother) and her boyfriend Eikka. When we got there we donned hard hats and got into a van for an exciting (and slightly scary) drive down a steep and winding road to where the mine is, 110 metres below see level. In the museum there is a display of many mining vehicles and machines as well as a huge open cavern about 100 metres wide and deep.
The Tytyri mine museum is situated in the original site of the mine which opened in 1956 and still in operation. At the moment about 20 men work, 350 metres down mining limestone.
We needed a group to go so i went with my parents, my brother Teemu and his girlfriend Jenni, Mamma (my grandmother) and her boyfriend Eikka. When we got there we donned hard hats and got into a van for an exciting (and slightly scary) drive down a steep and winding road to where the mine is, 110 metres below see level. In the museum there is a display of many mining vehicles and machines as well as a huge open cavern about 100 metres wide and deep.
Tallinn - Just a Ferry Away
On the 21st of march a man from rotary, Simo Laurila, his wife and two of there grandsons, Miika and Santeri took me over to Estonia on the ferry.
It took only 3 hours to get there, which i thought was pretty amazing because to get to another country from Perth takes about 5 hours in a plane!
So before i knew it (partly because i slept for most of the journey) we were there and after working our way through their 'honesty system' customs... ie. a sign that said exit we headed for the 'old town'.
The old town is where old buildings have been left to stand, mostly from the Russian empire in the 18th century but some of the oldest have been there since the 16th century. It is an amazing place to see, with so many old and historical buildings in one place. When Simo's wife saw me taking a picture of the amazing Russian Orthodox church there she told me that i shouldn't and quickly led me to an equally as impressive 'non-Russian' church up the road (a lot of Finns aren't so keen on the Russians). We spent most of the day looking around the old town and visiting old churches and buildings. For lunch we went to a little cafe in an alley of the old town and there i got this awwwesome hot chocolate which was basically just melted chocolate.
After that we left the old town and went to check out some markets. Simo had told me to be careful about my wallet because there are many pick-pockets in the markets. Luckily i still had it when we left.
At about 5 in the afternoon it was time to head back to the ferry. Once we were on the boat we took advantage of the duty free shop to buy some energy drinks and candy (because we're so cool :P).
I really liked Estonia which is a good thing because i'll be back there in a couple of weeks with my host parents :D
It took only 3 hours to get there, which i thought was pretty amazing because to get to another country from Perth takes about 5 hours in a plane!
So before i knew it (partly because i slept for most of the journey) we were there and after working our way through their 'honesty system' customs... ie. a sign that said exit we headed for the 'old town'.
The old town is where old buildings have been left to stand, mostly from the Russian empire in the 18th century but some of the oldest have been there since the 16th century. It is an amazing place to see, with so many old and historical buildings in one place. When Simo's wife saw me taking a picture of the amazing Russian Orthodox church there she told me that i shouldn't and quickly led me to an equally as impressive 'non-Russian' church up the road (a lot of Finns aren't so keen on the Russians). We spent most of the day looking around the old town and visiting old churches and buildings. For lunch we went to a little cafe in an alley of the old town and there i got this awwwesome hot chocolate which was basically just melted chocolate.
After that we left the old town and went to check out some markets. Simo had told me to be careful about my wallet because there are many pick-pockets in the markets. Luckily i still had it when we left.
At about 5 in the afternoon it was time to head back to the ferry. Once we were on the boat we took advantage of the duty free shop to buy some energy drinks and candy (because we're so cool :P).
I really liked Estonia which is a good thing because i'll be back there in a couple of weeks with my host parents :D
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Helsinki Day
On the 28th of Feb all of the Rotary youth exchange students from district 1420 met in Helsinki. This is all the exchange students in southern Finland and Estonia. It was to be a fun filled day at Sea Life, an aquarium but we instead went to the Finnish museum of natural history which had an entire room devoted to different animals crap. It is a good thing that museums are so much fun otherwise it might have been boring.
The day as a whole was awesome though. It was the first time i had seen most of the exchange students and there were people from Mexico, USA, France, Germany and more.
The day as a whole was awesome though. It was the first time i had seen most of the exchange students and there were people from Mexico, USA, France, Germany and more.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Winter Holidays
After less than two weeks of school it was about time for a well deserved break :P My parents were still working so i spent a lot of the week with my host auntie and uncles family.
On Tuesday i went cross country skiing with them again. I must be improving because this time was a whole lot less painful. That evening i went to the Rotary meeting where an Australian exchange student from 3 years ago had come to talk to the club. It was good just to here another person with an Australian accent.
They were going to a local ski slope the next day and so i went with them to give my brothers old snowboard a try. It was a bit difficult at first because none of them had snowboarded before and so didn't have any idea how to do it either. In a couple of hours i looked like a pro...by that i mean that i wasn't falling on my ass every 10 meters any more. It was so awesome that i'll definitely be back there for more soon.
On Thursday i drove with them an hour west to Turku, the fifth largest city in Finland. There we went to a swimming pool where you could swim in a warm outside pool where the air temperature was well below zero. I could barely see a meter away because there was so much steam.
I went bowling with my host parents on Sunday which ended with all of us having terrible scores (they're as bad as me at bowling). There was however some good pictures of my host mum who would make funny faces every time she turned around after a bad bowl.
On Tuesday i went cross country skiing with them again. I must be improving because this time was a whole lot less painful. That evening i went to the Rotary meeting where an Australian exchange student from 3 years ago had come to talk to the club. It was good just to here another person with an Australian accent.
They were going to a local ski slope the next day and so i went with them to give my brothers old snowboard a try. It was a bit difficult at first because none of them had snowboarded before and so didn't have any idea how to do it either. In a couple of hours i looked like a pro...by that i mean that i wasn't falling on my ass every 10 meters any more. It was so awesome that i'll definitely be back there for more soon.
On Thursday i drove with them an hour west to Turku, the fifth largest city in Finland. There we went to a swimming pool where you could swim in a warm outside pool where the air temperature was well below zero. I could barely see a meter away because there was so much steam.
I went bowling with my host parents on Sunday which ended with all of us having terrible scores (they're as bad as me at bowling). There was however some good pictures of my host mum who would make funny faces every time she turned around after a bad bowl.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Back to School...Yay!
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.
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 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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