I thought now would be a good moment to officially say that I finally gave in and bought my first pair of skinny jeans since the 6th grade...
I kept on telling myself that I wasn't going to do it...but I eventually gave in.
Oh, the things you do to fit in. :P
I thought that since I went shopping today, it would be a good time to write about the fashion in Finland, and what people usually wear to school.
At my school, I am literally the ONLY girl who doesn't wear skinny jeans...and im not exaggerating.( To tell you the truth, I actually haven't worn skinny jeans since I was in the 6th grade...which was a good 5 years ago.) I just dont like the way that they look, and feel...but since I am the only girl at school who doesn't wear them, it is pretty obvious that im the foreign exchange student; and not wearing them is making me stick out like a sore thumb! (Which isn't a bad thing...but I figure that I should follow at least a few of the fashion trends here in Finland.) So, for me its a pretty big deal that I finally gave in and bought myself a pair of skinny jeans. Who doesn't want to fit in, right? ;)
In Finland, people dress much more maturely, and for the most part much more modestly at school. You almost never see people wearing sweat pants or yoga pants at school, and its not uncommon to see girls wearing heels or nice shoes with a fashionable leather or jean jacket.
In the United States, I always dressed pretty nice (for the most part) when I went to school...and so its not too hard for me to dress appropriately when I get ready for the school in the morning. Unfortunately though, I do stand out from everyone else because I haven't owned skinny jeans until today...unless you counted the last time, when I was 12 years old. :P
In Finland both boys and girls wear a lot of scarves with their outfits. Girls normally wear nice blouses with a fashionable jacket, skinny jeans and scarf to school; while boys wear a lot of plaid shirts or sweaters and sometimes nice jackets or scarfs to school.Wearing PUMA branded sweatshirts, shirts, shoes or even having PUMA bags is about as popular as Nike in the USA. Vans and Converse shoes are always popular, and both girls and boys wear them a lot to school. A lot of people also have Marimekko bags or jackets. (Marimekko is a Finnish designer...napkins, curtains, jackets, bags; you name it!)
Im actually really happy that kids dress so nice at school...I mean, who doesn't want to dress nice?! I like to dress nice for a lot of different occasions, and in the United States I always got weird looks when I would dress nice for school. In Finland, and Europe in general, it is just expected to dress nice and more fashionable. It just comes naturally. The first thing people see is your appearance, and the way you dress can tell someone a lot about your personality. I like clothes that reflect my personality, and so I like funky patterns and bright colored blouses that I can pair with shoes and other accessories...its just fun!
Anyways,
Yes, I admit that I indeed bought a pair of jeans and a scarf (or two) to try to "blend in" a bit more at school...But even though I am trying to look a bit more, "Finnish", I still want to share with people the place that I come from, and create a mix of the two cultures that I am living. In other words, I think I will end up dressing like a Finn with an Americanized twist. ;)
Today I actually went shopping with another RYE (Rotary Youth Exchange) Student from the Southern District in Oregon, and we went around the Oulu center and went on a total shopping spree!
We both agreed that it was finally time we gave in to the Finnish fashion trends...
We looked at everything from jeans, to shirts, to shoes and to accessories...and afterwards we celebrated by buying a couple Fazer chocolate bars and sharing them in the park.
Hey, shopping is hard work for exchange students! ;)
“What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today, when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is instant language.” —Miuccia Prada
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Week #3 At School
I know that ive been posting a lot these past few days, but I thought I should write about how these past few weeks at school have been like.
I actually dont do much in school, so there isnt much to tell. (And I know what youre thinking, "That's a classic exchange student excuse!" but I literally dont understand anything in either of my history classes; so I really dont have much of a choice when it comes to not doing anything.)
I even found out the other day that some of my teachers assign homework to every student in the class, but me. (Which I guess the saddest part about this, is that I didnt even know homework was assigned, because I dont understand anything the teacher says.)
During this whole first month of my exchange, I cant help but feel like Frankenstein, walking around barely able to say anything in this language that I am learning...sometimes I feel as though people mistake my lack of fluency for complete stupidity. :P (Which can actually be hilarious sometimes.)
I am beginning to understand enough Finnish to get the general idea of what people are saying to me, when its a One-On-One conversation; and that makes me super happy. I find it kind of funny sometimes; because the reaction I get from people most of the time, when they realize that I actually understand what they are saying, ALWAYS reminds me of a movie scene from the second Harry Potter movie...
"Why are you wearing glasses?"
"Oh, uh... reading."
"Reading? ...I didn't know you could read."
I get really excited when I know what people are talking about, and for the most part I can understand a few words and sometimes whole phrases if the person talks slow. I STILL cant express myself though, and that is VERY frustrating sometimes because I want people to speak to me in Finnish, and it doesn't help if I have to switch into English. Its just really hard because I cant continue the conversation yet!
Unfortunately, I still cant understand groups of people speaking Finnish. I cant understand unless only ONE person is talking at once; because right now I have to have all of my attention on that one person, and the words that they are saying, in order to hear it and attempt to translate it correctly in my head. And because of this, my idea of socializing at school only involves listening to other people´s conversations. :P
To tell you the truth, I am actually starting to get really bad headaches at school...
I am constantly trying to study Finnish, and listen really carefully to other people's conversations and see what I can translate. Its really hard for me because while I am trying to translate words in my head, they then switch into English to say something else.
I cant think in two different languages!
Imagine a train on its tracks, quickly going forward...and then imagine it all of a sudden pulling backward and trying to go in reverse at the same speed. The train hits a quick stop as the gears change; and all of the passengers inside jolt forward, as the train almost immediately pulls backwards, sending everyone flying out of their seats...
This is how my brain feels.
I may not do a lot of academic work at school, but I am constantly having to switch gears in my mind to force myself to think in two VERY different languages... and by the time school gets out, my brain is literally fried to death!
I think I know what you're thinking, "But English is your first language; it shouldn't be hard for you to switch from Finnish to English!"
But since im around Finnish all the time, and my host family speaks to me in Finnish most of the time; it actually IS hard to bounce around two different languages.
I wish I could make a transition to only hearing 100% Finnish, just to give my brain a rest...but I know that this isn't really an option I can have, unfortunately.
Hopefully just getting enough sleep at night will give my brain enough of a rest in order to continue working the next day...
But, school is good for the most part.
At least I have an interesting story about last week:
In my music class, we just had a folk music lesson; which was interesting to say in the least. We watched these videos that showed various instruments and very...interesting performances? Im not sure really how to explain it. But after the videos were over, we were separated into groups by our teacher.
We then had to create our own folk song using drums and rocks as our instruments. My group came up with this chant; and each group had to preform our songs in front of the class.
My group preformed first, and since I didnt have any rocks to bang around, and I didnt have a drum to beat...I decided I would just wave my hands around and dance in order to participate. I was horrified when I realized halfway through that no one in my group was doing this...and I was the only one who was really getting into the chant.
Needless to say, I automatically stopped what I was doing...I think that might have been my most embarrassing moment at school so far. :P
Today at school we had something called, Iltakoulu. (Evening School.) After school was over, we met in our "homeroom" classroom with our tutors (who are students at the school who are in a higher year than us.). We basically just got to know each other by playing silly games and stuff. It was actually a lot of fun, because I got to talk to my classmates more One-On-One; and it was nice to finally talk to some of them. (Unfortunately I still cant remember too many names...)
We played this one game where we had to sit in groups on the floor, and the tutors played the beginning of a song; and the group who knew what the song was first got a point.
Sadly...the only song that I recognized and got a point for knowing it first was, "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake. Needless to say, people laughed and thought it was pretty funny that THIS was the song the American Exchange Student could recognize. :P
My school here in Finland is SUPER old; its amazing! And our tutors actually took us through these underground tunnels that are under my school. They are pitch black, and really narrow tunnels! It was so cool! A few random people got to have flashlights, because it was SO dark. There were pipes along the walls, and sometimes pipes in the middle of the tunnel, so you had to bend down to not hit your head. Every once in a while, there would be a student from an older year at school who would jump out at us, and try to scare us. At one point, I slowed down...and I couldn't see the person who was in front of me! So, needless to say it freaked me out pretty bad, since I couldn't see a SINGLE thing in front of me!
They were really cool tunnels though...Its pretty amazing to be able to say that I have really old tunnels located underneath my school. ;)
I think today might have been the best day at school that I have ever had. The first week or so was rough, because I didn't know what to expect and I didn't have very many people to talk to...but now that things are settling in, I am really starting to love it here. :)
I actually dont do much in school, so there isnt much to tell. (And I know what youre thinking, "That's a classic exchange student excuse!" but I literally dont understand anything in either of my history classes; so I really dont have much of a choice when it comes to not doing anything.)
I even found out the other day that some of my teachers assign homework to every student in the class, but me. (Which I guess the saddest part about this, is that I didnt even know homework was assigned, because I dont understand anything the teacher says.)
During this whole first month of my exchange, I cant help but feel like Frankenstein, walking around barely able to say anything in this language that I am learning...sometimes I feel as though people mistake my lack of fluency for complete stupidity. :P (Which can actually be hilarious sometimes.)
I am beginning to understand enough Finnish to get the general idea of what people are saying to me, when its a One-On-One conversation; and that makes me super happy. I find it kind of funny sometimes; because the reaction I get from people most of the time, when they realize that I actually understand what they are saying, ALWAYS reminds me of a movie scene from the second Harry Potter movie...
"Why are you wearing glasses?"
"Oh, uh... reading."
"Reading? ...I didn't know you could read."
I get really excited when I know what people are talking about, and for the most part I can understand a few words and sometimes whole phrases if the person talks slow. I STILL cant express myself though, and that is VERY frustrating sometimes because I want people to speak to me in Finnish, and it doesn't help if I have to switch into English. Its just really hard because I cant continue the conversation yet!
Unfortunately, I still cant understand groups of people speaking Finnish. I cant understand unless only ONE person is talking at once; because right now I have to have all of my attention on that one person, and the words that they are saying, in order to hear it and attempt to translate it correctly in my head. And because of this, my idea of socializing at school only involves listening to other people´s conversations. :P
To tell you the truth, I am actually starting to get really bad headaches at school...
I am constantly trying to study Finnish, and listen really carefully to other people's conversations and see what I can translate. Its really hard for me because while I am trying to translate words in my head, they then switch into English to say something else.
I cant think in two different languages!
Imagine a train on its tracks, quickly going forward...and then imagine it all of a sudden pulling backward and trying to go in reverse at the same speed. The train hits a quick stop as the gears change; and all of the passengers inside jolt forward, as the train almost immediately pulls backwards, sending everyone flying out of their seats...
This is how my brain feels.
I may not do a lot of academic work at school, but I am constantly having to switch gears in my mind to force myself to think in two VERY different languages... and by the time school gets out, my brain is literally fried to death!
I think I know what you're thinking, "But English is your first language; it shouldn't be hard for you to switch from Finnish to English!"
But since im around Finnish all the time, and my host family speaks to me in Finnish most of the time; it actually IS hard to bounce around two different languages.
I wish I could make a transition to only hearing 100% Finnish, just to give my brain a rest...but I know that this isn't really an option I can have, unfortunately.
Hopefully just getting enough sleep at night will give my brain enough of a rest in order to continue working the next day...
But, school is good for the most part.
At least I have an interesting story about last week:
In my music class, we just had a folk music lesson; which was interesting to say in the least. We watched these videos that showed various instruments and very...interesting performances? Im not sure really how to explain it. But after the videos were over, we were separated into groups by our teacher.
We then had to create our own folk song using drums and rocks as our instruments. My group came up with this chant; and each group had to preform our songs in front of the class.
My group preformed first, and since I didnt have any rocks to bang around, and I didnt have a drum to beat...I decided I would just wave my hands around and dance in order to participate. I was horrified when I realized halfway through that no one in my group was doing this...and I was the only one who was really getting into the chant.
Needless to say, I automatically stopped what I was doing...I think that might have been my most embarrassing moment at school so far. :P
Today at school we had something called, Iltakoulu. (Evening School.) After school was over, we met in our "homeroom" classroom with our tutors (who are students at the school who are in a higher year than us.). We basically just got to know each other by playing silly games and stuff. It was actually a lot of fun, because I got to talk to my classmates more One-On-One; and it was nice to finally talk to some of them. (Unfortunately I still cant remember too many names...)
We played this one game where we had to sit in groups on the floor, and the tutors played the beginning of a song; and the group who knew what the song was first got a point.
Sadly...the only song that I recognized and got a point for knowing it first was, "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake. Needless to say, people laughed and thought it was pretty funny that THIS was the song the American Exchange Student could recognize. :P
My school here in Finland is SUPER old; its amazing! And our tutors actually took us through these underground tunnels that are under my school. They are pitch black, and really narrow tunnels! It was so cool! A few random people got to have flashlights, because it was SO dark. There were pipes along the walls, and sometimes pipes in the middle of the tunnel, so you had to bend down to not hit your head. Every once in a while, there would be a student from an older year at school who would jump out at us, and try to scare us. At one point, I slowed down...and I couldn't see the person who was in front of me! So, needless to say it freaked me out pretty bad, since I couldn't see a SINGLE thing in front of me!
They were really cool tunnels though...Its pretty amazing to be able to say that I have really old tunnels located underneath my school. ;)
I think today might have been the best day at school that I have ever had. The first week or so was rough, because I didn't know what to expect and I didn't have very many people to talk to...but now that things are settling in, I am really starting to love it here. :)
Monday, August 26, 2013
Food in Suomi
I have gotten a lot of questions about what Finnish food is like, and im sure more an a few people are curious as to what kind of food we have here in Suomi. ;)
I think the best way to do this is to take you through my day and introduce the various foods I eat in Finland.
Aamiainen (breakfast.):
Almost every day I eat open-faced sandwiches for breakfast. (Open-faced sandwiches are basically sandwiches without another piece of bread on top.) Sometimes I toast the bread, sometimes I don't...whatever floats my boat for the day. Some days I eat puuro, which is hot porridge. (I would explain it as a little like oatmeal, but its nothing like oatmeal.) Its not sweetened, so I add a bit of sugar to it, and jam to give it a bit of flavor. Theres always maito (milk) and mehu (juice) to drink...but if you like you can always have vesi (water.) You can also have this cocoa powder that you can add to milk and water if you like...I use it for hot chocolate sometimes in the evenings- but its not as sweet as it is in the USA. Its a little bit bitter, and I actually like it a lot.
Lounas (Lunch):
I eat lunch everyday at school, along with all of the other students. Lunch in Finland is paid by taxes, so it is free for every student to take lunch at school. I normally get in the big line with everyone else to wait to get my tray and plate. (They use real plates and silverware!) The main meal usually has something to do with potatoes and some sort of sauce that you can choose to put on it. (For example today we had potatoes and a meat sauce.) Everyday kind of varies on what the main meal is. But for the most part its something to do with potatoes, rice or soup...sometime like that. (The rice here isn't like the white rice you have in the USA. Its more of a brown rice type.). But you get your main dish and then you can always have salad with it and brown bread. (The salads here are mainly just one type of shredded vegetables- like carrots, cabbage, or lettuce. Stuff like that.)
Snack After School:
I normally have a snack after school, because I have such long days at school. But I normally have another open-face sandwich; or a piece of toast with jam on it and a glass of maito or mehu.
Päivällinen (Dinner):
Generally, dinner is eaten around 5pm. (At least in my host family...). We eat potatoes a lot, and have a butter/onion sauce with it made out of melted butter and onions. We also sometimes have chicken, or rice with a sauce that goes on top. (Its not like a curry, but its sorta something like that.) Theres a lot of casseroles and stuff like that. We also have salad with it, and of course bread. (My host family really, really likes ruisleipä.) (Which is rye bread.)
Iltapala (Evening Snack.):
At night at around 8, 9...sometimes 10; theres usually an evening snack. This normally one or maybe even two of any of the following: Open-Faced Sandwich, Fruit, Yogurt...that kind of stuff.
Kahvi (Coffee.):
Finns actually sometimes have specific times for coffee. (I actually don't drink coffee...but I call this time, "Kahvi" because I don't have any other name for it.) Finns LOVE coffee, and whenever we go to someone elses house or invite someone over, we ALWAYS have Kahvi. (I drink mehu or kaakao.) We just sit together at a table and have our drinks. Pulla is a really popular and very Finnish treat to have during Kahvi. Pulla is a sweet bread that they have here in Finland. Its hard to explain but ill try my best; pulla is any kind of bun, basically...however there is one a specific bun that is the main pulla...if that makes sense?
When it comes to food, they defiantly eat a lot more than im used to at home. I eat 5 times a day if you include After School Snack and Iltapala; but the meals are smaller and more frequent than in the USA. I feel as though when I come back home, I am going to be like Pippin in Lord of The Rings and ask about second breakfast...
I actually really enjoy Finnish food! I was told by a lot of people that the food all tastes the same and has no flavor...but to tell you the truth, it all tastes so fresh and organic that you don't have to season it to taste good. Especially meat; it just has a natural taste to it; and its good. Food in Finland is super healthy!
I think the best way to do this is to take you through my day and introduce the various foods I eat in Finland.
Aamiainen (breakfast.):
Almost every day I eat open-faced sandwiches for breakfast. (Open-faced sandwiches are basically sandwiches without another piece of bread on top.) Sometimes I toast the bread, sometimes I don't...whatever floats my boat for the day. Some days I eat puuro, which is hot porridge. (I would explain it as a little like oatmeal, but its nothing like oatmeal.) Its not sweetened, so I add a bit of sugar to it, and jam to give it a bit of flavor. Theres always maito (milk) and mehu (juice) to drink...but if you like you can always have vesi (water.) You can also have this cocoa powder that you can add to milk and water if you like...I use it for hot chocolate sometimes in the evenings- but its not as sweet as it is in the USA. Its a little bit bitter, and I actually like it a lot.
Lounas (Lunch):
I eat lunch everyday at school, along with all of the other students. Lunch in Finland is paid by taxes, so it is free for every student to take lunch at school. I normally get in the big line with everyone else to wait to get my tray and plate. (They use real plates and silverware!) The main meal usually has something to do with potatoes and some sort of sauce that you can choose to put on it. (For example today we had potatoes and a meat sauce.) Everyday kind of varies on what the main meal is. But for the most part its something to do with potatoes, rice or soup...sometime like that. (The rice here isn't like the white rice you have in the USA. Its more of a brown rice type.). But you get your main dish and then you can always have salad with it and brown bread. (The salads here are mainly just one type of shredded vegetables- like carrots, cabbage, or lettuce. Stuff like that.)
Snack After School:
I normally have a snack after school, because I have such long days at school. But I normally have another open-face sandwich; or a piece of toast with jam on it and a glass of maito or mehu.
Päivällinen (Dinner):
Generally, dinner is eaten around 5pm. (At least in my host family...). We eat potatoes a lot, and have a butter/onion sauce with it made out of melted butter and onions. We also sometimes have chicken, or rice with a sauce that goes on top. (Its not like a curry, but its sorta something like that.) Theres a lot of casseroles and stuff like that. We also have salad with it, and of course bread. (My host family really, really likes ruisleipä.) (Which is rye bread.)
Iltapala (Evening Snack.):
At night at around 8, 9...sometimes 10; theres usually an evening snack. This normally one or maybe even two of any of the following: Open-Faced Sandwich, Fruit, Yogurt...that kind of stuff.
Kahvi (Coffee.):
Finns actually sometimes have specific times for coffee. (I actually don't drink coffee...but I call this time, "Kahvi" because I don't have any other name for it.) Finns LOVE coffee, and whenever we go to someone elses house or invite someone over, we ALWAYS have Kahvi. (I drink mehu or kaakao.) We just sit together at a table and have our drinks. Pulla is a really popular and very Finnish treat to have during Kahvi. Pulla is a sweet bread that they have here in Finland. Its hard to explain but ill try my best; pulla is any kind of bun, basically...however there is one a specific bun that is the main pulla...if that makes sense?
When it comes to food, they defiantly eat a lot more than im used to at home. I eat 5 times a day if you include After School Snack and Iltapala; but the meals are smaller and more frequent than in the USA. I feel as though when I come back home, I am going to be like Pippin in Lord of The Rings and ask about second breakfast...
I actually really enjoy Finnish food! I was told by a lot of people that the food all tastes the same and has no flavor...but to tell you the truth, it all tastes so fresh and organic that you don't have to season it to taste good. Especially meat; it just has a natural taste to it; and its good. Food in Finland is super healthy!
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Learning the Finnish language
Im sure a lot of people in the States are wondering how im doing learning the Finnish language, so I thought I would make a post about the Finnish language and how im doing with it 3 weeks into my exchange.
First ill start out a little bit by introducing the language I am learning, and introduce a bit of the basics when it comes to Finnish:
1.) Finnish is in the Finno-Ugrian language family. (Most European languages happen to be in the Indo-European family.) And the only other languages that are related to Finnish are Estonian, Hungarian and possibly Sami. (Which is the language spoken by the Sami people living in the very Northern Locations in Lapland.)
First ill start out a little bit by introducing the language I am learning, and introduce a bit of the basics when it comes to Finnish:
1.) Finnish is in the Finno-Ugrian language family. (Most European languages happen to be in the Indo-European family.) And the only other languages that are related to Finnish are Estonian, Hungarian and possibly Sami. (Which is the language spoken by the Sami people living in the very Northern Locations in Lapland.)
For example:
English- Winter
Finnish- Talvi
Estonian- Talv
Sami- Dal've
Hungarian- Tél
2.) There are NO articles in the Finnish language.
For example: A Car OR The Car doesn't exist...its just Auto.
3.) There is NO gender in the Finnish language.
4.) There is a lot of Free Word Order. (Which is both helpful, and confusing...I never know just where to put my words.)
For Example:
Panu lyö Jannea- Panu hits Janne
Jannea lyö Panu- Panu hits Janne
Lyö Panu Jannea- Panu hits Janne
5.) There are LOTS of endings and suffixes in the Finnish language!!!! (Ill just list a few to give you an idea of just how many endings there are in the Finnish language.)
A few Examples:
Autossa- in a/the car.
Autossani- in my car.
Autosta- out of a car.
Autoon- into a car.
Autolla- by/at a car.
Autolta- from a car.
Autotta- without a car.
Autoineen- with one's car.
Autot- the cars
Autoiksi- into cars. (transformation)
Autoihin- into cars.
6.) New words are created with endings and compounding. (Which is actually SUPER helpful.)
Examples:
Kirja- book Kirjasto- library
Sana- word Sanasto- vocabulary
Sanakirja- dictionary (word + book)
Tietosanakirja- encyclopedia (knowledge + word + book)
7.) Witten Finnish and Spoken Finnish ARE different. (It gets confusing.)
Examples:
Minä olen- written
Mä oon- spoken
Sinä menet- written
Sä meet- spoken
Minä- written
(dialects: Mä, Mää, Mie)
Sinulla- written
(dialects: Sul, Sulla, Siul, Siulla)
8.) Finnish is a phonetic language, (But you MUST pronounce ALL of the letters in each word, or else you will be saying a different word!!!)
Examples:
Tuli- Fire
Tuuli- wind
Tulli- customs office
Tapaan sinut illalla- Ill meet you in the evening.
Tapan sinut illalla- Ill KILL you in the evening.
9.) The letters A and Ä ARE different!
Examples:
Minä valitan hänestä- I complain about him/her
Minä välitän hänestä- I care about him/her
Minä näin hänet- I saw him/her
Minä nain hänet- I married him/her
10.) Finnish has NO prepositions...and the word for "He" and "She" is the same.
So, congratulations! Now you know more about the Finnish language than you did before! (Unless you are one of my Finnish friends who read my blog.) ;)
I thought it would be a good idea to write about how my Finnish is coming along, and introduce the Finnish language into my blog; because learning the language is a HUGE part of my exchange.
Studies have actually shown that Finnish is the hardest European Language for an English speaker to learn...but I have found that the Finnish language is not DIFFICULT, but that it is DIFFERENT. If you tell yourself that something is going to be hard, it will automatically become a challenge to you. However, if you tell yourself that things are only Different, then doors are open to you to find and create opportunities. Learning Finnish is one of those opportunities that I have to open for myself while on my exchange in Finland.
I have actually done research, and according to the Foreign Services Institute in the US State Department, it will take me 44 Weeks or 1100 hours to feel confident in the language I am learning. Although I study everyday, and work on my language skills during class time with flashcards or worksheets- I don't understand as much as I would like to. Its hard for me because in Finland they learn English at a very young age.
Almost everyone speaks English to me. Which actually frustrates me sometimes, because I don't expect people to speak to me in English. Its nice sometimes because then I have someone to talk to, but it makes me kind of sad that everyone automatically comes up to me and starts speaking English. A lot of kids in Finland don't expect me to learn Finnish; which is sad because I feel as though if I am going to be living in someone else's country, I should be respectful and at least try my very best to learn and speak their language.
It makes me kind of sad when kids at school teach me how to say very simple things like, "hi" in Finnish. Its very, very nice of them to teach me! ...But I wish that they knew that I had been studying Finnish 6 months prior to my exchange, so that I could attempt to have conversations with them in their own language. I may not understand a lot of Finnish, and I may not be able to speak a whole lot...but I just wish that sometimes kids at school would understand that I am here to learn their language and that I actually WANT to learn it. Its very, very kind of them to speak to me in my own language...but I am not here to speak my own language.
I actually wish that people would speak to me only in Finnish, even if I didn't understand. I wish that they would just say it over and over again until I understood what they said. It might be frustrating in the beginning...especially not being able to express myself at all; but I feel as though that would really help me learn the language.
I am really motivated to learn the language, and in a way, having kids at school mostly only speaking to me in English motivates me even MORE to learn the language. Eventually being able to surprise kids at school would be amazing! But it makes it hard to learn if kids at school don't speak to me in Finnish...I just wish that they knew that I want to learn!
However, its only been 3 weeks; and its rough to get a hang of ANY different language after only 3 short weeks in a different country. Hopefully in the next month or so ill be able to get the ball rolling and slowly be able to keep up with conversations instead of only picking a word or two out and getting the general idea of what people are talking about.
I'm actually really proud of the small amount of Finnish that I know so far though. (Which, is sad because I can barely have a conversation with someone.) But I do believe that all of the studying I did prior to my exchange paid off, because I can understand others a lot more that I would have without doing so.
So I guess in the end I shouldn't be TOO upset about the language. No matter which language I would be immersed in, 3 weeks isn't enough time to be able to understand conversations at full speed. (Especially in a language you barely know.) I plan to just continue studying, and in time let things fall into place. :)
❝If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.❞
Thursday, August 22, 2013
School in Finland/ School as an Exchange Student
Since I have almost completed my second week of school, I thought it was time to finally post about what school is like.
My schedule at school looks like this:
Maanantai:
8:15-9:30 History 7
9:45-11:00 History 1
11:45-12:30 English 1
13:15-14:30 Photography
Tiistai:
8:15-9:30 Art
9:45-11:00 Music
13:15-14:30 History 7
14:45-16:00 History 1
Keskiviikko:
8:15-9:30 English
9:45-11:00 Photography
11:45-12:30 Music
13:15-14:30 Art
Torstai:
9:45-11:00 History 7
11:15-12:30 History 1
13:15-14:30 English
14:45-16:00 Photography
Perjantai:
9:45-11:00 Photography
11:45-13:00 Music
I take the city bus to school every day, and it was about a 10 minute walk through the neighborhood and through a trail in a forest...its kinda a cool walk. :)
It takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes on the bus to go to school, and once I get off of at my stop, I walk the rest of the way to my school. Most kids either take the bus, ride their bike, or have a motorized bike that they ride to school. I still cant get over how many kids ride their bikes to school; and I have learned that public transportation is actually REALLY nice. In the USA, things are so spread out that generally we don't have much public transportation unless you are in the bigger cities. So its really nice that here I can have a monthly bus pass, where I can take the bus as many times as I want. Its actually a great way to get around.
In Finland, school is much more like college. School starts and ends depending on the classes you are taking. For me, some days school starts at 8:15, and others it doesn't start until 9:45; and then school either gets out at 2:30 or 4pm. It all depends on the day. :)
Since school starts and ends depending on your classes, you also sometimes have time in between classes (which I guess are called, "Jump periods"?). I only have Jump Periods on Tiistai, when I have 2 hours in between classes. During your free periods, you are actually allowed to leave school and go walk around town, or do whatever you like. I usually just study my Finnish, but maybe ill go out into the city sometime soon and take a look around.
There actually aren't school bells, and you don't have teachers yelling at you to get to class on time. It is your own responsibility to get to your class on time; and people go to their classes because they WANT to, not because they HAVE to. I have seen that the learning environment is very different here.
You actually have to apply to the High School you want to attend, and it is not mandatory to have to go. (Which is why you apply to the different high schools.) They also have Vocational High Schools where you can learn to be a hairdresser or even a baker. Its very interesting; and because you have the choice for your own path, all of the kids in my class WANT to learn and wish to be there. I really like it a lot. Its so different than being mixed in a big classroom with kids who all have different opinions of school.
At school you also have free school lunch. Its actually on REAL plates, and you get to serve it yourself and its free for everyone. Its normally something like soup, rice, chicken...that kind of stuff; and theres also salad and of course bread that you can have with it as well. Its free, its hot, its healthy- and everyone eats it. The food isn't always the greatest, but its a LOT better than school lunch in the USA, and Im actually really thankful that I get to have a free lunch at school everyday. Its really really nice.
As for my own personal experiences at school:
I REALLY need to learn how to start conversations with people at my school. Small talk doesn't really exist in Finland, and people are rather shy. Im actually AMAZED when kids at school come up to me; it doesn't happen very often. But its hard going up to people as an exchange student and starting the conversation with people you don't know; especially if they are shy.
Finland is actually not as easy of an exchange as one would think. I knew that it would be a little hard to make friends and talk to people at first, and I really didnt know how long it would take to make friends. It was a little hard for me in the first week of school, because everyone was so shy and no one came up to me. But I have learned that it is hard in ANY situation to be the person to walk up to others and talk to them. (Especially if you are a foreign exchange student, who doesn't speak the language very well.)
But Finland is one of those exchange countries where YOU have to be the one to take the wheel and create friends for yourself. And I think that this is something rather special about an exchange year in Finland, and a very good thing to learn. I didn't think going to Finland was as brave as people from home told me it was, but I am now learning that it actually isn't as easy as I thought it would be.
An exchange year is hard anywhere you go: You are living in a different country with different customs, different language, and a different family; and trying to learn to adopt the culture into your life, and learn to speak a new language and adapt to new changes.
I am so glad that I chose Finland as my host country, because I am not only having to learn all of these new things; but I am learning how to be even MORE independent by having the chance to create opportunities myself to create friendships with those from my host country. During my first week of school, I found myself slightly expecting people to walk up to me, however that isn't Finnish culture. I actually now see it as something special, because it is teaching me to give myself different opportunities to be the one to walk up to people and start the conversation. (Which would be a little scary for me, even in English.)
I am actually really loving my exchange in Finland, and I feel as though there couldn't have been a more perfect country for me to come to on this exchange. I have learned far more in these past three weeks than I would have learned if I decided to stay within my comfort zone and not take this amazing opportunity. :)
My schedule at school looks like this:
Maanantai:
8:15-9:30 History 7
9:45-11:00 History 1
11:45-12:30 English 1
13:15-14:30 Photography
Tiistai:
8:15-9:30 Art
9:45-11:00 Music
13:15-14:30 History 7
14:45-16:00 History 1
Keskiviikko:
8:15-9:30 English
9:45-11:00 Photography
11:45-12:30 Music
13:15-14:30 Art
Torstai:
9:45-11:00 History 7
11:15-12:30 History 1
13:15-14:30 English
14:45-16:00 Photography
Perjantai:
9:45-11:00 Photography
11:45-13:00 Music
I take the city bus to school every day, and it was about a 10 minute walk through the neighborhood and through a trail in a forest...its kinda a cool walk. :)
It takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes on the bus to go to school, and once I get off of at my stop, I walk the rest of the way to my school. Most kids either take the bus, ride their bike, or have a motorized bike that they ride to school. I still cant get over how many kids ride their bikes to school; and I have learned that public transportation is actually REALLY nice. In the USA, things are so spread out that generally we don't have much public transportation unless you are in the bigger cities. So its really nice that here I can have a monthly bus pass, where I can take the bus as many times as I want. Its actually a great way to get around.
In Finland, school is much more like college. School starts and ends depending on the classes you are taking. For me, some days school starts at 8:15, and others it doesn't start until 9:45; and then school either gets out at 2:30 or 4pm. It all depends on the day. :)
Since school starts and ends depending on your classes, you also sometimes have time in between classes (which I guess are called, "Jump periods"?). I only have Jump Periods on Tiistai, when I have 2 hours in between classes. During your free periods, you are actually allowed to leave school and go walk around town, or do whatever you like. I usually just study my Finnish, but maybe ill go out into the city sometime soon and take a look around.
There actually aren't school bells, and you don't have teachers yelling at you to get to class on time. It is your own responsibility to get to your class on time; and people go to their classes because they WANT to, not because they HAVE to. I have seen that the learning environment is very different here.
You actually have to apply to the High School you want to attend, and it is not mandatory to have to go. (Which is why you apply to the different high schools.) They also have Vocational High Schools where you can learn to be a hairdresser or even a baker. Its very interesting; and because you have the choice for your own path, all of the kids in my class WANT to learn and wish to be there. I really like it a lot. Its so different than being mixed in a big classroom with kids who all have different opinions of school.
At school you also have free school lunch. Its actually on REAL plates, and you get to serve it yourself and its free for everyone. Its normally something like soup, rice, chicken...that kind of stuff; and theres also salad and of course bread that you can have with it as well. Its free, its hot, its healthy- and everyone eats it. The food isn't always the greatest, but its a LOT better than school lunch in the USA, and Im actually really thankful that I get to have a free lunch at school everyday. Its really really nice.
As for my own personal experiences at school:
I REALLY need to learn how to start conversations with people at my school. Small talk doesn't really exist in Finland, and people are rather shy. Im actually AMAZED when kids at school come up to me; it doesn't happen very often. But its hard going up to people as an exchange student and starting the conversation with people you don't know; especially if they are shy.
Finland is actually not as easy of an exchange as one would think. I knew that it would be a little hard to make friends and talk to people at first, and I really didnt know how long it would take to make friends. It was a little hard for me in the first week of school, because everyone was so shy and no one came up to me. But I have learned that it is hard in ANY situation to be the person to walk up to others and talk to them. (Especially if you are a foreign exchange student, who doesn't speak the language very well.)
But Finland is one of those exchange countries where YOU have to be the one to take the wheel and create friends for yourself. And I think that this is something rather special about an exchange year in Finland, and a very good thing to learn. I didn't think going to Finland was as brave as people from home told me it was, but I am now learning that it actually isn't as easy as I thought it would be.
An exchange year is hard anywhere you go: You are living in a different country with different customs, different language, and a different family; and trying to learn to adopt the culture into your life, and learn to speak a new language and adapt to new changes.
I am so glad that I chose Finland as my host country, because I am not only having to learn all of these new things; but I am learning how to be even MORE independent by having the chance to create opportunities myself to create friendships with those from my host country. During my first week of school, I found myself slightly expecting people to walk up to me, however that isn't Finnish culture. I actually now see it as something special, because it is teaching me to give myself different opportunities to be the one to walk up to people and start the conversation. (Which would be a little scary for me, even in English.)
I am actually really loving my exchange in Finland, and I feel as though there couldn't have been a more perfect country for me to come to on this exchange. I have learned far more in these past three weeks than I would have learned if I decided to stay within my comfort zone and not take this amazing opportunity. :)
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
First time in Lapland!
This past weekend, my host family took me to Sweden and Lapland!
We went to a little village in Northern Finland, and on the way we drove through Sweden. It was about a 4 hour drive to the village in Lapland, and we stopped after a couple hours to go looking around in Sweden for a bit.
I went with my host mom to some different Kirppis (which is like a little market for used, but nice things.). After that we took a few pictures, and then we went to go eat Swedish meatballs at Ikea.
Ill go ahead and post some pictures:
We went to a little village in Northern Finland, and on the way we drove through Sweden. It was about a 4 hour drive to the village in Lapland, and we stopped after a couple hours to go looking around in Sweden for a bit.
I went with my host mom to some different Kirppis (which is like a little market for used, but nice things.). After that we took a few pictures, and then we went to go eat Swedish meatballs at Ikea.
Ill go ahead and post some pictures:
My first look at Sweden
Swedish meatballs at Ikea!
After our little stop in Sweden, we kept on driving North. We actually passed the Arctic Circle, and I got to take a few pictures.
Oh hey, im at the Arctic Circle! :D
Once we got to the little village, we made a fire to make our evening snack in, and then we all went at different times to go sauna and then we had Finnish Makkara (sausage) for an evening snack.
The next morning, I picked berries with my host parents. We went out to the garden and there were SO many berries! We are actually going back this weekend to finish picking them all when we go back to Lapland this weekend.
Picking berries.
The berries before we turned them into juice!
We made the berries into juice; and it was actually super tart! I didn't like it at first, because it was so sour and tart; but after you drink a glass or two its good. :) I think ill get used to it.
I also went Finnish Folk dancing! My host mom likes the old Finnish dances, and so they took me to go dancing at this little place near the village we were staying in. It was so much fun! My host parents taught me a few of the dances, and there was a live band and singer...it was a lot of fun! (despite the fact that I had the opportunity to folk dance with a drunk guy...that was an interesting experience.)
I am super excited go to back to Lapland this next weekend, and I am loving this Nordic life of mine in Finland! :)
First week in Oulu!
I survived my first week in Oulu, and my first week at a Finnish school!
During my first week I finally got my classes for school and I learned how to actually ride the public bus by myself...all I have to do now is learn which bus to get on by myself. ;)
At school I am taking: two history classes, art, music, photography, and English.
I KNOW what youre thinking about English...but it actually helps me learn Finnish because they are translating from Finnish into English!
I really don't have much interesting news from my first week...I plan to put them into other blog posts. But ill go ahead and post a couple pictures from my first week here as an exchange student in Oulu! :)
During my first week I finally got my classes for school and I learned how to actually ride the public bus by myself...all I have to do now is learn which bus to get on by myself. ;)
At school I am taking: two history classes, art, music, photography, and English.
I KNOW what youre thinking about English...but it actually helps me learn Finnish because they are translating from Finnish into English!
I really don't have much interesting news from my first week...I plan to put them into other blog posts. But ill go ahead and post a couple pictures from my first week here as an exchange student in Oulu! :)
My host dad and I in the city center
The main entrance of my school
I haven't gotten a chance to walk around and explore the city much yet...but hopefully in the next week or two ill have more interesting things to post about!
Saturday, August 17, 2013
First Week of School
This past week was my first week in a Finnish High School at Oulun Lyseon Lukio.
It was better than what I thought it would be; but to tell you the truth, I didnt have any expectations. I think that its best not to have expectations about things that you do not know about. (Especially school in a different country.) ;)
My first day was a little...interesting, but on my second day I got my school schedual, and classes officially started. My classes consisted of: music, arts, photography, history, economics and philiosophy.
I actually switched out of my economics and philosophy class; because I was pretty much hopeless for having a chance of understanding Finnish Economics and analizing philosophers in a language I barely know...
Instead I am taking a second history class with the first years (first years are basically Freshman at the high school, but instead it is the equivilant of 10th grade.), and an English class with the first years. (I KNOW what youre thinking...but it actually helps me learn Finnish, because they are translating from Finnish into English.)
I actually really like that class, because my English teacher is the only teacher who can understand me when I speak English. Its interesting that my teachers actually cant understand the way I speak English...and its kinda sad because its hard not being able to communicate in English or Finnish.
I have kinda a funny story though from this week! My photography/art teacher couldnt tell what my drawing was in class, and so I tried my best to tell him in Finnish what it was...but he couldnt understand me. So, of course I expalined it then in English...but I guess he still didnt understand because all he said was, "Good...Job?" and gave me an awkward thumbs up, and then told me to go hang in up on his door...
It was halarious and sad at the same time, because we cant really communicate with each other, and yet we try so hard to understand what the other is saying!
Anyways...back to my classes.
I really like my music class, because my teacher pays attention to me, and lets me participate with everything the class does. We play guitars in that class, and drums, and bass guitars, and we sing...its great!
I really dont understand anything in either of my history classes...im kind of just left alone to do my own thing, and I actually try to listen to what the teacher is saying; however I really understand nothing. So I either doodle a little, or study Finnish...whatever floats my boat for the day. :)
Its funny because it took some of my teachers awhile to figure out I was an exchange student. I would listen to them talk during the entire class, and look at them. But then they would ask me a question, and I would just sit there and look at them blankly, because I would have no clue what was going on. Im sure they thought something was wrong with me, until they realized the fact im an exchange student!
With some of my teachers, they know right away that im an exchange student, because some of them cant pronounce my name on the roll list...I enjoy it sometimes. ;)
My photography class is...intersting. Since I cant communicate with the teacher, I never really know whats going on. He talked for the first few minutes of class, and then all of a sudden everyone got up and left! I awkwardly walked up to my teacher and asked what was going on, and he handed me a camera and told me to keep it until our next class on Tuesday, and then go around the city for the remainder of class and take pictures.
I left the classroom like he said to do for the assignment he gave us...but I honestly wasnt sure about going around the city and taking pictures for the rest of class. I had never been around Oulu city before, and having an assignment to leave school campus and take pictures around the city is so different for me! Its actually a really cool assignment, but I was scared because im used to not being allowed to leave campus during school hours. Even though the teacher told us to, I wasnt sure if I was actually allowed to leave. Its hard to expalin I guess...
I actually walked around the whole block of my school to try to find other students to follow...but they were all already gone! (My school is almost in the heart of the city in Oulu.). So, I ended up just walking back to the school, and sitting on a bench inside and waiting for school to end...I didnt want to get lost my first time wandering around the city.
I guess ill tell you a bit about my school, and some facts about Oulun Lyseon Lukio. My school was built in 1831; so its a REALLY old school! (Which is really cool!) It actually looks like a museum, and its gorgeous! The doors are huge, and the staircases wrap around, and theres a lot of paintings in the school.
Its also an International IB school, but im only taking classes in Finnish instead of going to the English IB side of the school. (I am here to learn Finnish.) :)
Its amazing because three Finnish presidents have gone to Oulun Lyseon Lukio, as well as a Nobel Peace Prize winner. I have been told countless times that the school is actually known as the, "nerd school".
Finnish High School is VERY different in Finland. You actually are not required to go, and you have to apply to the school you want to attend. School is free in Finland, even university; and school lunch in Finland is also free. (Its paid through taxes.) Its very interesting. :)
So, now you know a few little facts about school in Finland. ;)
Hopefully ill start making some friends at school, and of course im also hoping that I start getting a hang of the language!
I guess we will have to wait and see. ;)
It was better than what I thought it would be; but to tell you the truth, I didnt have any expectations. I think that its best not to have expectations about things that you do not know about. (Especially school in a different country.) ;)
My first day was a little...interesting, but on my second day I got my school schedual, and classes officially started. My classes consisted of: music, arts, photography, history, economics and philiosophy.
I actually switched out of my economics and philosophy class; because I was pretty much hopeless for having a chance of understanding Finnish Economics and analizing philosophers in a language I barely know...
Instead I am taking a second history class with the first years (first years are basically Freshman at the high school, but instead it is the equivilant of 10th grade.), and an English class with the first years. (I KNOW what youre thinking...but it actually helps me learn Finnish, because they are translating from Finnish into English.)
I actually really like that class, because my English teacher is the only teacher who can understand me when I speak English. Its interesting that my teachers actually cant understand the way I speak English...and its kinda sad because its hard not being able to communicate in English or Finnish.
I have kinda a funny story though from this week! My photography/art teacher couldnt tell what my drawing was in class, and so I tried my best to tell him in Finnish what it was...but he couldnt understand me. So, of course I expalined it then in English...but I guess he still didnt understand because all he said was, "Good...Job?" and gave me an awkward thumbs up, and then told me to go hang in up on his door...
It was halarious and sad at the same time, because we cant really communicate with each other, and yet we try so hard to understand what the other is saying!
Anyways...back to my classes.
I really like my music class, because my teacher pays attention to me, and lets me participate with everything the class does. We play guitars in that class, and drums, and bass guitars, and we sing...its great!
I really dont understand anything in either of my history classes...im kind of just left alone to do my own thing, and I actually try to listen to what the teacher is saying; however I really understand nothing. So I either doodle a little, or study Finnish...whatever floats my boat for the day. :)
Its funny because it took some of my teachers awhile to figure out I was an exchange student. I would listen to them talk during the entire class, and look at them. But then they would ask me a question, and I would just sit there and look at them blankly, because I would have no clue what was going on. Im sure they thought something was wrong with me, until they realized the fact im an exchange student!
With some of my teachers, they know right away that im an exchange student, because some of them cant pronounce my name on the roll list...I enjoy it sometimes. ;)
My photography class is...intersting. Since I cant communicate with the teacher, I never really know whats going on. He talked for the first few minutes of class, and then all of a sudden everyone got up and left! I awkwardly walked up to my teacher and asked what was going on, and he handed me a camera and told me to keep it until our next class on Tuesday, and then go around the city for the remainder of class and take pictures.
I left the classroom like he said to do for the assignment he gave us...but I honestly wasnt sure about going around the city and taking pictures for the rest of class. I had never been around Oulu city before, and having an assignment to leave school campus and take pictures around the city is so different for me! Its actually a really cool assignment, but I was scared because im used to not being allowed to leave campus during school hours. Even though the teacher told us to, I wasnt sure if I was actually allowed to leave. Its hard to expalin I guess...
I actually walked around the whole block of my school to try to find other students to follow...but they were all already gone! (My school is almost in the heart of the city in Oulu.). So, I ended up just walking back to the school, and sitting on a bench inside and waiting for school to end...I didnt want to get lost my first time wandering around the city.
I guess ill tell you a bit about my school, and some facts about Oulun Lyseon Lukio. My school was built in 1831; so its a REALLY old school! (Which is really cool!) It actually looks like a museum, and its gorgeous! The doors are huge, and the staircases wrap around, and theres a lot of paintings in the school.
Its also an International IB school, but im only taking classes in Finnish instead of going to the English IB side of the school. (I am here to learn Finnish.) :)
Its amazing because three Finnish presidents have gone to Oulun Lyseon Lukio, as well as a Nobel Peace Prize winner. I have been told countless times that the school is actually known as the, "nerd school".
Finnish High School is VERY different in Finland. You actually are not required to go, and you have to apply to the school you want to attend. School is free in Finland, even university; and school lunch in Finland is also free. (Its paid through taxes.) Its very interesting. :)
So, now you know a few little facts about school in Finland. ;)
Hopefully ill start making some friends at school, and of course im also hoping that I start getting a hang of the language!
I guess we will have to wait and see. ;)
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
First Day at a Finnish School
Yesterday was my first day at Oulun Lyseon Lukio; and to be honest...it was terrifying.
My host dad dropped my older host sister and I off at the school, and my host sister took me to find out where I needed to be. We went upstairs, to this hall- which literally looked like a museum!
There were all these students sitting in chairs, and I randomly stood in the back, since I didn't want to sit next to someone who was already sitting with all of their friends.
I have no idea how long we stood there...I didn't understand the orientation or anything they were saying. But, eventually they called us into groups, and my host sister told me to go with my group when it was called. We went to this old classroom, and my host sister went with me to tell my teacher I was an exchange student.
After we explained it to the teacher, my host sister left; and I turned around and everyone was completely silent and staring at me...
I randomly sat in the closest desk, next to someone; and the teacher started talking. I think she called roll, and then she counted us off into groups.
Everyone started randomly turning around and talking, and so I turned around too. (I didn't talk, because I didn't know what they were saying.) The teacher went around and asked everyone what the other person said. I was the last person she called on, and I just plainly said in English that I didn't understand.
It was pretty embarrassing.
And yes...everyone was silent and looking at me.
The teacher started talking again, and everyone got out their notebooks and starting writing the schedule she was telling them. Everyday was different, and I couldn't keep up. We talked about it for a good hour or two, and after awhile, I decided to just make a little doodle on my paper...I didn't know what was going on.
After awhile, everyone randomly left; and so of course, I followed along with them. They went down the stairs, and around the corner into this crazy huge line! I finally realized that we were getting lunch. After I got my food, I really didn't know where to sit...I stood there looking around for a few minutes, and thankfully a girl came up to me and asked in English if she could sit with me, because she didn't want to sit alone.
I think I actually scared her because I was so relieved!
We didn't talk much after we sat down, but im glad that I had someone to sit with!
After lunch, we went back to the classroom, and then we had these older kids who were school guides that came into the classroom. They talked for awhile, and then everyone randomly started pulling their desks to the sides of the classroom...I just followed everyone else.
Everyone got into a huge circle, and of course- I was the last one, and there was no room for me, so I stood awkwardly outside of the circle.
The tutors started talking in Finnish, and I realized only after everyone was staring at me, that they were talking to me.
I don't think ive ever felt so dumb!
I didn't know what to do, so I randomly walked up to them, and cut through the circle...apparently they just wanted me to stand on the other side of the circle.
We were going to play a name game, and everyone said their names SO fast that I couldn't understand! Then, I was called on, and since I couldn't say the other person's name, I was out first.
After the game was over, we were put into groups again; but this time a German exchange student and I were chosen first and put in the same group. We were given a tour of the school, but since I didn't have my schedule yet, I wasn't sure which classes to pay attention to.
After the tour was over, we were able to go home. I called my host dad, and waited in the school yard to be picked up from school.
Overall, it was a pretty okay day. It wasn't bad. Just different. :)
Hopefully I will make friends soon, and things will settle in. What else could you expect for your first day of school in a different country!? :)
My host dad dropped my older host sister and I off at the school, and my host sister took me to find out where I needed to be. We went upstairs, to this hall- which literally looked like a museum!
There were all these students sitting in chairs, and I randomly stood in the back, since I didn't want to sit next to someone who was already sitting with all of their friends.
I have no idea how long we stood there...I didn't understand the orientation or anything they were saying. But, eventually they called us into groups, and my host sister told me to go with my group when it was called. We went to this old classroom, and my host sister went with me to tell my teacher I was an exchange student.
After we explained it to the teacher, my host sister left; and I turned around and everyone was completely silent and staring at me...
I randomly sat in the closest desk, next to someone; and the teacher started talking. I think she called roll, and then she counted us off into groups.
Everyone started randomly turning around and talking, and so I turned around too. (I didn't talk, because I didn't know what they were saying.) The teacher went around and asked everyone what the other person said. I was the last person she called on, and I just plainly said in English that I didn't understand.
It was pretty embarrassing.
And yes...everyone was silent and looking at me.
The teacher started talking again, and everyone got out their notebooks and starting writing the schedule she was telling them. Everyday was different, and I couldn't keep up. We talked about it for a good hour or two, and after awhile, I decided to just make a little doodle on my paper...I didn't know what was going on.
After awhile, everyone randomly left; and so of course, I followed along with them. They went down the stairs, and around the corner into this crazy huge line! I finally realized that we were getting lunch. After I got my food, I really didn't know where to sit...I stood there looking around for a few minutes, and thankfully a girl came up to me and asked in English if she could sit with me, because she didn't want to sit alone.
I think I actually scared her because I was so relieved!
We didn't talk much after we sat down, but im glad that I had someone to sit with!
After lunch, we went back to the classroom, and then we had these older kids who were school guides that came into the classroom. They talked for awhile, and then everyone randomly started pulling their desks to the sides of the classroom...I just followed everyone else.
Everyone got into a huge circle, and of course- I was the last one, and there was no room for me, so I stood awkwardly outside of the circle.
The tutors started talking in Finnish, and I realized only after everyone was staring at me, that they were talking to me.
I don't think ive ever felt so dumb!
I didn't know what to do, so I randomly walked up to them, and cut through the circle...apparently they just wanted me to stand on the other side of the circle.
We were going to play a name game, and everyone said their names SO fast that I couldn't understand! Then, I was called on, and since I couldn't say the other person's name, I was out first.
After the game was over, we were put into groups again; but this time a German exchange student and I were chosen first and put in the same group. We were given a tour of the school, but since I didn't have my schedule yet, I wasn't sure which classes to pay attention to.
After the tour was over, we were able to go home. I called my host dad, and waited in the school yard to be picked up from school.
Overall, it was a pretty okay day. It wasn't bad. Just different. :)
Hopefully I will make friends soon, and things will settle in. What else could you expect for your first day of school in a different country!? :)
Meeting my host family!
I met my first host family at Camp Karkku!
They drove from Oulu to Karkku to pick me up from the camp and meet me! (Which was SUPER nice, because Oulu is a good 7 hours away.)
We ate lunch together at the camp, and talked a little bit, and then we had the closing of the language camp with all of the host families and exchange students together.
One of the exchange students played Finland's national anthem on his violin, while we all sang it. (I think I got some of the words wrong...but I tried my best!)
Someone from Rotary spoke in Finnish, and we had our little closing talks; and afterward we were free to go. I said my last goodbyes to some of my friends, and grabbed my bags; and headed to my host family's car.
My host mom sat in the back seat with me, so that we could talk during the long drive. We went through my Rotary First Night Questions, and we talked about some other stuff. (I cant remember what sadly, but I remember that we talked a lot!)
After a few hours, we stopped at a grocery store. We bought Fazer chocolate to share, a couple of different kinds of breads, Salmiakki (salty liquorice), Raspberry Liquorice gum, and ice cream cones. I actually don't know what kind mine was...but the wrapper had little orange berries that looked like raspberries...it was good! :)
My host parents asked me how much Finnish I knew...and I honestly don't know that much. But my host dad helped me count to 20; and that was a lot of fun. :)
We took a few more breaks, and I wandered around a handy-craft store with my host mom; and we drove some more and stopped at the center of Finland. (Which had a little landmark, and my host dad took some pictures. :) )
We eventually got to Oulu, my host city; and it is absolutely GORGEOUS! Everyone was telling me how small it was...but its HUGE compared to my little town in the states!
We stopped at a grocery store, and picked up some items for dinner, and then we drove to my host family's house. I met my older host sister, Fanni; and we took my bags upstairs.
We had dinner, and then I unpacked my things.
I actually really love my host family! Theyre as awesome as I thought they would be!
I just wish that my Finnish was good enough to hold a conversation... :(
They drove from Oulu to Karkku to pick me up from the camp and meet me! (Which was SUPER nice, because Oulu is a good 7 hours away.)
We ate lunch together at the camp, and talked a little bit, and then we had the closing of the language camp with all of the host families and exchange students together.
One of the exchange students played Finland's national anthem on his violin, while we all sang it. (I think I got some of the words wrong...but I tried my best!)
Someone from Rotary spoke in Finnish, and we had our little closing talks; and afterward we were free to go. I said my last goodbyes to some of my friends, and grabbed my bags; and headed to my host family's car.
My host mom sat in the back seat with me, so that we could talk during the long drive. We went through my Rotary First Night Questions, and we talked about some other stuff. (I cant remember what sadly, but I remember that we talked a lot!)
After a few hours, we stopped at a grocery store. We bought Fazer chocolate to share, a couple of different kinds of breads, Salmiakki (salty liquorice), Raspberry Liquorice gum, and ice cream cones. I actually don't know what kind mine was...but the wrapper had little orange berries that looked like raspberries...it was good! :)
My host parents asked me how much Finnish I knew...and I honestly don't know that much. But my host dad helped me count to 20; and that was a lot of fun. :)
We took a few more breaks, and I wandered around a handy-craft store with my host mom; and we drove some more and stopped at the center of Finland. (Which had a little landmark, and my host dad took some pictures. :) )
We eventually got to Oulu, my host city; and it is absolutely GORGEOUS! Everyone was telling me how small it was...but its HUGE compared to my little town in the states!
We stopped at a grocery store, and picked up some items for dinner, and then we drove to my host family's house. I met my older host sister, Fanni; and we took my bags upstairs.
We had dinner, and then I unpacked my things.
I actually really love my host family! Theyre as awesome as I thought they would be!
I just wish that my Finnish was good enough to hold a conversation... :(
Camp Karkku In a Nutshell.
Well...A LOT has happened since the last time I updated my blog! (And part of that is because they shut off the internet at the language camp- which was actually good, because then we got to enjoy the company of others instead of the internet...)
Anyways, back to Karkku.
We had Finnish lessons with our teacher and tutor each day for 5 hours. (We had breaks of course! ;) ). And these lessons helped A LOT! We got work sheets, and filled them out and stuff- and that will be a huge help when school rolls around.
(Speaking of school, I have my first day tomorrow!!!)
Anyways....
They took us to Tampere, which is I think the 3rd largest city in Finland. It was gorgeous! Everything is so beautiful in Finland. We had a tour with our bus, and we were able to walk around the city a little bit and have free time. It really is a beautiful city.
Anyways, back to Karkku.
We had Finnish lessons with our teacher and tutor each day for 5 hours. (We had breaks of course! ;) ). And these lessons helped A LOT! We got work sheets, and filled them out and stuff- and that will be a huge help when school rolls around.
(Speaking of school, I have my first day tomorrow!!!)
Anyways....
They took us to Tampere, which is I think the 3rd largest city in Finland. It was gorgeous! Everything is so beautiful in Finland. We had a tour with our bus, and we were able to walk around the city a little bit and have free time. It really is a beautiful city.
A view from a park that we went to
Around the city
The cathedral that we went to in Tampere
Everyday at Camp Karkku, we had lectures, and one of the lectures was, "Life in Finland". The tutors explained different Finnish traditions, and one of them involved Santa. (Yes...Santa lives in the Finnish Lapland. :) ). They told us how in Finland, Santa actually comes to your house. And of course, one of the Tutors dressed like Santa and gave out candy.
I wasnt sure if I should take it, because the candy was hard and black...but I looked around, and the Finnish kids seemed to enjoy it. So, I took it and it tasted like black licorice; which was pretty okay when I first put it in my mouth. After a few seconds though it started tasting SUPER salty and NASTY! I started looking around during the lecture to see if other exchange students were having the same reaction...everyone was either scrunching up their faces or secretly spitting it out.
I put mine in a napkin...
I was later told that Finnish people really like this salty black liquorish flavored with ammonium chloride...its called, Salmiakki.
WHICH actually isn't bad. Nothing is bad. It is only different. :)
I actually eat it anyways, because I always tell myself that nothing is bad or weird. It is only different. And different is okay. :)
We had the last of our Finnish lessons, and we had our "Final Quiz" where we had all of these cards mixed together, and we had to separate them into: Food, Body parts, Family members, Drinks, Adjectives...stuff like that. It was fun. :)
During our last night together, we had a "talent showcase". Each country preformed something, and it was really cool! The kids from Taiwan sang, "Ill make a man out of you" in Mandarin Chinese, the kids from Brazil danced, and lots of other stuff. Of course, the American kids did the cha-cha slide...which was actually kinda fun, because we all messed up. It will make for a good video though. ;)
Afterward, we all went outside and took pictures together, and talked and said our Pre-Goodbyes. Which was actually kinda hard because we were all going to different districts, and these kids were our only friends that we had in Finland.
The next day our host families came! And it was actually scary, because none of us knew what to expect or what to do! We were all nervous, and excited at the same time. I didn't want to meet my host family before my things were all packed, and so I went back to my cabin with my friend (who had met her host family on our way to the cabin!), and we were both freaking out while we were packing. (Lets face it...its a little scary meeting the family you have been emailing and finally meeting them!)
Before returning to the main room, we said goodbye to each other, and some of our other friends- because we knew things would get crazy and exciting and unplanned once we met them!
Thankfully I met my host family right after I walked into the main hall of the school. ;)
Monday, August 5, 2013
First day at Karkku
Today was my first official day in Finland!
Yay! :D
We started out with breakfast this morning at 8am. Which was a little weird for me, because they had rye bread, and this salty white bread and then various cheeses, meat, cucumbers, and peppers to put on it. It was like a sandwich; which was interesting. I didnt really eat a whole lot of it, because I wasn't really feeling that well because of my "early" arrival and little sleep.
After that, we went into the main hall, and before we could enter, we all had to take our shoes off to keep the floors clean. There we were introduced to our many tutors; who are all Finnish kids who are our age. (Most of which are Rebound Rotary Exchange Students.) They made us stand up and sing this weird song about bananas...it had some pretty interesting dance moves to it too...but it was entertaining. :)
After the tutors and Finnish teachers (the teachers were adults) introduced themselves, the teachers had a small group of tutors who called our names- and we had to stand up and get into groups that determined who was our Finnish teacher, and tutor. (Our tutors are kinda like "camp leaders". They explain things to us, and sit at the tables in the classroom with us.)
In my classroom, we had 3 long tables that we separated into and had our Finnish tutors sit with us. We started with Finnish basics, listened to some Finnish music, and learned about simple rules with Finnish.
We had a total of 5 hours of Finnish class today. (We of course took breaks though. ;) )
For our breaks, we have a Kahvi (Coffee) break, where we all go downstairs and you can get coffee, tea, water or juice along with pieces of bread and such. Its a short 15 minute break; but its nice. :)
I am actually super excited that we have Finnish classes for us, but I hope that it comes to be super helpful; because its actually sinking in that I really don't know much Finnish...
I feel as though even after my first day in Finland, that I am picking up Finnish. Our tutors and teacher talks to us in English, but they always talk to each other in Finnish. I can pick out a word or two sometimes, and its really cool being surrounded by the Finnish accent all the time!
Speaking of the Finnish accent, its actually really really cool! It makes me wonder what my Finnish accent sounds like. :P
I just hope that I can learn enough this week to be a little bit confident when school starts next Monday. :)
Yay! :D
We started out with breakfast this morning at 8am. Which was a little weird for me, because they had rye bread, and this salty white bread and then various cheeses, meat, cucumbers, and peppers to put on it. It was like a sandwich; which was interesting. I didnt really eat a whole lot of it, because I wasn't really feeling that well because of my "early" arrival and little sleep.
After that, we went into the main hall, and before we could enter, we all had to take our shoes off to keep the floors clean. There we were introduced to our many tutors; who are all Finnish kids who are our age. (Most of which are Rebound Rotary Exchange Students.) They made us stand up and sing this weird song about bananas...it had some pretty interesting dance moves to it too...but it was entertaining. :)
This is the school where we had the main hall and our Finnish classes at the camp.
After the tutors and Finnish teachers (the teachers were adults) introduced themselves, the teachers had a small group of tutors who called our names- and we had to stand up and get into groups that determined who was our Finnish teacher, and tutor. (Our tutors are kinda like "camp leaders". They explain things to us, and sit at the tables in the classroom with us.)
In my classroom, we had 3 long tables that we separated into and had our Finnish tutors sit with us. We started with Finnish basics, listened to some Finnish music, and learned about simple rules with Finnish.
We had a total of 5 hours of Finnish class today. (We of course took breaks though. ;) )
For our breaks, we have a Kahvi (Coffee) break, where we all go downstairs and you can get coffee, tea, water or juice along with pieces of bread and such. Its a short 15 minute break; but its nice. :)
I am actually super excited that we have Finnish classes for us, but I hope that it comes to be super helpful; because its actually sinking in that I really don't know much Finnish...
I feel as though even after my first day in Finland, that I am picking up Finnish. Our tutors and teacher talks to us in English, but they always talk to each other in Finnish. I can pick out a word or two sometimes, and its really cool being surrounded by the Finnish accent all the time!
Speaking of the Finnish accent, its actually really really cool! It makes me wonder what my Finnish accent sounds like. :P
I just hope that I can learn enough this week to be a little bit confident when school starts next Monday. :)
Finally in Finland!
I guess I should start by saying that I am finally in Finland!
I arrived last night at camp Karkku (language camp.) in Finland at around 3am. Its a funny story really, but before I tell it- I guess I should back track.
In London, I met up with two other Rotary exchange students, to the flight to Helsinki (I flew on all of my other flights with another girl from my District.), and we landed in Helsinki at around 6pm Finland time.
We picked up our bags, and eventually we made our way out of the gates and baggage to see where we were supposed to go. Rotary was right on the other side, and we knew exactly where to go because of all of the multicolored Rotary blazers all standing in a corner. (The color of your Rotary blazer chances based on which country you are from.)
It was super cool though, because the previous Finnish Rebound, Stella met Kyla (the other girl going to Finland in my district) and I at the airport! She totally surprised us, and it was so awesome to see her! Her mom and her little sister were there as well, and it was a lot of fun to talk to them.
Unfortunately, I had my first embarrassing encounter with being foreign- as when we all were washing our hands, I had no idea how to use the paper towel dispensers. It was so weird; I just wasn't sure what to do! It had a strip of actual thick towel connected to the dispenser, and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. I cant really describe what it looked like, so hopefully you get an idea. :P
Lets just say that I got a few laughs.
I found out afterward that the last Rotary bus to Karkku wouldn't be until midnight, and so unfortunately, I waited 6 hours in the Helsinki airport with around 30 other exchange students after we had all been awake for over 36 hours...the wait was pretty quiet, and we basically sat around waiting to figure out what was going on.
Stella stayed with us though, which was awesome! She took us through the little grocery store in the airport, and taught us little things in Finnish. I don't remember any of them though. The whole night last night was pretty fuzzy due to all of the travel time, and actually coming to Finland!
After the last few exchange students we were waiting for arrived, we were finally able to get on our way to camp Karkku. We didn't leave the airport until 12:45am, and we did not arrive at the camp until well after 3 in the morning.
I got settled with some of the other girls in my cabin after 4, and after that I wrote a bit in my journal and took a two hour nap, because I wanted to take a shower in the morning before we had to be up for breakfast...
This morning honestly wasn't that great at first. I had been traveling for the past two days, and did not arrive at my destination at camp Karkku until 3am. I ended up feeling super sick because of jetlag and lack of sleep, and so I went outside for a bit to get some fresh air. Unfortunately, I actually ended up getting sick; but it was surprising because afterward I felt great!
Its odd how that happens sometimes...
I still cant believe that im actually in Finland...and that im officially an exchange student! :D
I arrived last night at camp Karkku (language camp.) in Finland at around 3am. Its a funny story really, but before I tell it- I guess I should back track.
In London, I met up with two other Rotary exchange students, to the flight to Helsinki (I flew on all of my other flights with another girl from my District.), and we landed in Helsinki at around 6pm Finland time.
We picked up our bags, and eventually we made our way out of the gates and baggage to see where we were supposed to go. Rotary was right on the other side, and we knew exactly where to go because of all of the multicolored Rotary blazers all standing in a corner. (The color of your Rotary blazer chances based on which country you are from.)
It was super cool though, because the previous Finnish Rebound, Stella met Kyla (the other girl going to Finland in my district) and I at the airport! She totally surprised us, and it was so awesome to see her! Her mom and her little sister were there as well, and it was a lot of fun to talk to them.
Unfortunately, I had my first embarrassing encounter with being foreign- as when we all were washing our hands, I had no idea how to use the paper towel dispensers. It was so weird; I just wasn't sure what to do! It had a strip of actual thick towel connected to the dispenser, and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. I cant really describe what it looked like, so hopefully you get an idea. :P
Lets just say that I got a few laughs.
I found out afterward that the last Rotary bus to Karkku wouldn't be until midnight, and so unfortunately, I waited 6 hours in the Helsinki airport with around 30 other exchange students after we had all been awake for over 36 hours...the wait was pretty quiet, and we basically sat around waiting to figure out what was going on.
Stella stayed with us though, which was awesome! She took us through the little grocery store in the airport, and taught us little things in Finnish. I don't remember any of them though. The whole night last night was pretty fuzzy due to all of the travel time, and actually coming to Finland!
After the last few exchange students we were waiting for arrived, we were finally able to get on our way to camp Karkku. We didn't leave the airport until 12:45am, and we did not arrive at the camp until well after 3 in the morning.
I got settled with some of the other girls in my cabin after 4, and after that I wrote a bit in my journal and took a two hour nap, because I wanted to take a shower in the morning before we had to be up for breakfast...
This morning honestly wasn't that great at first. I had been traveling for the past two days, and did not arrive at my destination at camp Karkku until 3am. I ended up feeling super sick because of jetlag and lack of sleep, and so I went outside for a bit to get some fresh air. Unfortunately, I actually ended up getting sick; but it was surprising because afterward I felt great!
Its odd how that happens sometimes...
I still cant believe that im actually in Finland...and that im officially an exchange student! :D
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Final Countdown!
I officially have less than 48 hours here left in the States before I leave on my exchange!
I am ALMOST done packing, and all that's left is washing a few jackets to pack (and making room for them), and packing my carry-on bag. (Which im just packing with my Finnish notes, and District Rotary Binder; since I don't have any room left for them in either of my two suitcases...)
Unfortunately, my lay-out for packing didn't go as planned...I thought I would be going to Finland with basically nothing but empty suitcases, but instead im arriving with my suitcases totally full...Oops.
Don't take my advice when it comes to packing. :P
Over packing is my weakness...
Anyways,
Last night I had a couple of friends stay the night with me for one last time before I leave; which was fun. The only down side was that I had my last Rotary Meeting this morning that I had to wake up at 6am for. (Unfortunately, guess who only got 4 hours of sleep before the meeting?)
But over-all Id say it was worth it, because I got to see my friends; and it was fun seeing my club's Exchange Officer one last time before I left!
Tonight I have another friend who is coming over and helping me get the last minute things packed away into my bags, and to hang out one last time before I leave; and that will be fun. :)
Things at my house are SUPER insane at the moment; since I have my grandparents and my uncle in town, who are all here to visit and say goodbye to me. In a way, im hoping that the next 48 hours go by fast, because everything has been non-stop and going all this week...but at the same time I kinda want them to go by slowly.
Time is a funny thing though, and I know that it has a mind of its own. ;)
Less than 2 days, Finland! :D
I am ALMOST done packing, and all that's left is washing a few jackets to pack (and making room for them), and packing my carry-on bag. (Which im just packing with my Finnish notes, and District Rotary Binder; since I don't have any room left for them in either of my two suitcases...)
Unfortunately, my lay-out for packing didn't go as planned...I thought I would be going to Finland with basically nothing but empty suitcases, but instead im arriving with my suitcases totally full...Oops.
Don't take my advice when it comes to packing. :P
Over packing is my weakness...
Anyways,
Last night I had a couple of friends stay the night with me for one last time before I leave; which was fun. The only down side was that I had my last Rotary Meeting this morning that I had to wake up at 6am for. (Unfortunately, guess who only got 4 hours of sleep before the meeting?)
But over-all Id say it was worth it, because I got to see my friends; and it was fun seeing my club's Exchange Officer one last time before I left!
Tonight I have another friend who is coming over and helping me get the last minute things packed away into my bags, and to hang out one last time before I leave; and that will be fun. :)
Things at my house are SUPER insane at the moment; since I have my grandparents and my uncle in town, who are all here to visit and say goodbye to me. In a way, im hoping that the next 48 hours go by fast, because everything has been non-stop and going all this week...but at the same time I kinda want them to go by slowly.
Time is a funny thing though, and I know that it has a mind of its own. ;)
Less than 2 days, Finland! :D
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