Update Week 13

Like I promised, I WILL eventually get to doing the second part of that last post...but im a lazy sack, and I decided that today I wanted to write about something else. (Sorry!)

Today I thought that I would write about how things are going so far and a little about what ive been up to lately. I don't think ive ACTUALLY made a post about what my own personal life is like yet, (and that might be because I like to rant a lot about random stuff.) and im sure as "interesting" as I am, that maybe it might be worth writing a little bit about. :)

Everything is kind of in a regular routine now, and things have really started settling in, which is good!

I go to school, I actually DO some of the work in class now. (Keep in mind though, that by "some", I mean I have the smallest idea of what we are supposed to be doing.) I can participate more in class, and hold basic conversations with people, and I have settled in to finding things to do with people, and well...basically things have settled in. :)

 

I guess ill start by talking about how school is going, and then go on from there:

This past week, I gave a presentation in my Geography class about Thermal and Geothermal Engergy...IN FINNISH! I didn't give the WHOLE presentation myself, and to completely honest, I really didn't give much of the presentation in the first place. BUT I did it in Finnish! I was kind of expecting it to go wrong, but I KNEW that I couldn't just chicken out...To tell you the truth, I actually wish that I would have given MORE of the presentation instead of only reading just 2 of the slides in the presentation.It went pretty well actually!

Unfortunately though, my teacher called in me during the next class to answer a question...asked in Finnish. (I think that me speaking in front of my class in Finnish, made her think that I actually understand a lot more in Class than I ACTUALLY do.)

It was embarrassing because I REALLY had no idea what we were talking about, so I sat there awkwardly, and then just decided to look down at my paper and just say a random word.

All she said was my answer was wrong, and then called on the next person.

It was pretty embarrassing, and I STILL don't know what she asked...but at least I tried, right? :)

I take all of my notes for all of my classes in Finnish, and then I come home and just google translate all of them as "homework."

I ended up switching out of my business class a few weeks ago, and getting into an art class. (Too bad I didn't know that my art class would be about drawing people!)

And for any of you who know me, I am a TERRIBLE artist! I cant even draw a ROCK!

This actually makes this class REALLY entertaining for me though.

I am taking the class with another exchange student, and we just spend the whole class laughing at how terrible our drawings are.

Everyone in the class is REALLY good at art, and it makes me super embarrassed when my drawings just look like sad circus clowns, or moldy pieces of bread...

The teacher once actually came up to me after I had finished my drawing, and told me that I was supposed to draw the person in my class who was modeling for the drawing...THAT is how bad my drawing was!

I have actually been taking pictures of all of the drawings that I have done at the end of every class, so that I can remember just how BAD my drawings were!


I am only taking a total of 5 classes, so I have at least 2 hours to waste everyday in between some of my classes. Fortunately, some of the other exchange students at my school have a 2 hour break at the same time as mine, so we have gotten to know each other pretty well by spending a lot of time together!

Every Tuesday and Thursday ive been taking Finnish classes at another school in Oulu, and next Wednesday I have my first exam! Which really shouldn't be all that difficult, but it DOES mean I will have a 10-11 hour school day, because the exam is 3 hours and it is RIGHT after my school day until around 8pm!

Im not really stressed about the test because it should be pretty easy for me, but I am worried about just how LONG the day will be! But I think that because the exam is in the evening, that it means that ill be able to listen to Finnish for the entire day before I take it, which will be good practice. :)

I have actually been tutoring one of my exchange student friends who goes to my school for our exam. All of the Exchange Students who go to my school are all in the same Finnish class, and I am pretty good friends with most of them; and we help each other with our Finnish, even though our Finnish is not very good.

We have also gotten into teaching each other our own languages during our free time at school, so this past week I have been learning Spanish, Thai AND Finnish. ;)

They teach me some of their native language, while I help them learn the basics of Finnish.

My Finnish isn't much better than theirs, but since my native language is English, they know that I only speak Finnish with my host family and I am only learning one language instead of learning both English AND Finnish at the same time, like they are.

Its really nice that I can help them with their Finnish, although I feel a bit unfit to do the job, because I am no where NEAR fluent, and I just barely conversational! But it makes me happy that I can help them with the things that I do know about the language.


And now I am SURE that this post is getting boring, so I will switch it up and talk a little bit about the more current things that have been happening, and add a few pictures from this past week to go along with them. (Because pictures make everything better.):

This was the sky last Tuesday when I was walking to Finnish class.

 

I couldn't help but take a picture!

 

This might sound stupid...but for some reason, there is gravel ALL over all of the sidewalks!

 

I have asked other exchange students, and NONE of us know why there is gravel all over them! We have come up with different ideas as to why, but they are just ideas that are full of nonsense...we don't really want to ask anyone about it though, because we know that we will probably sound ridiculous if we did. :)

 

I have wonderful and amazing friends who give me one of their jars of peanut butter from their package from home...

 

This week was my FIRST TIME in 3 MONTHS to have peanut butter!

 

I have a friend who is another Exchange Student from the USA, and he gave me one of his jars of peanut butter that he got from his package from home!

 

I literally almost died of excitement! :D

 

Unfortunately, everyone who I have gotten to try it hasn't liked it at all. :(

 

I apologize for the horrible picture quality...but YES, this is indeed one of my HORRIBLE drawings from art class!  Sadly, this is actually one of the BETTER drawings I have done. (And yes, this is super embarrassing to post, but I thought that if I mentioned it, I HAD to eventually post a picture of proof.) :D

 

 

 

 

 

I have some good news though!

 

.............................................

 

Tonight I am actually going to my FIRST EVER hockey game!!!

 

I am going with one of my RYE (Rotary Youth Exchange) friends from Chile, and it is her first ever hockey game too. :)

 

I am actually SUPER excited, because hockey is a pretty big deal in Finland, (My host dad really loves it.) and now I get to finally go to a REAL hockey game! So that is SUPER exciting! :D

 

 

 

I am not really sure what else to post about from this week to update about, but hopefully this was a good enough update about the types things that have been going on this past week, and how everything is going so far.

 

I know that I need to get better at updating about the kinds of things that im doing instead of just ranting about all of the good things, or the bad things or just RANDOM things in general.

 

So hopefully in my next few blog posts that I write, ill be able to add more pictures and talk more about the things that im up to. But HEY, this is a start, right? :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Makes Perfect (Part 1)

So, I haven't updated in awhile; and I guess now might be a good time to do so. (Sorry its going to be in Finnish, but the next part of this post will be in English.)

Mutta ensin kirjoitan suomeksi:

Tämä viime viikolla oli syysloma. Mä menin lapissa kanssa mun host-perhe ja sitten myös me menimme Ruotsiin viikonloppuna. Se oli hauska, mutta satoi paljon lunta. Mutta mä vain puhui suomeksi, ja se oli hyvä! Mutta mun suomea on ei hyvä...mutta mä yritän paljon puhua. Joskus mä puhun paljon, mutta paljon ihmiset puhuvat minulle Englaneksi mutta mä en pidä sen koska mä haluan puhua suomeksi...mutta he ei puhu minua Suomeksi. Mielestäni ehkä he ajattelevat mä en ymmärrän, mutta mä ymmärrän paljon. Mä vain en puhu hyvin. Ehkä pian ihmiset puhuvat minulle suomea...Mä tiedan mun suomea on ei hyvä mutta mä haluan puhua, vaikka sen on ei hyvä. Mä vain haluan puhua suomea haha! :(

Tämä viime viikolla oli hyvä. Satoi paljon lunta, ja me kävelimme lumessa paljon. Se ei ollut kylmä koska olin pukeutunut paljon takit haha. Mutta se oli hyvä! Tapasimme paljon ihmisiä, ja me puhuimme paljon Suomeksi. He nauraoivat vähän minun suomea, koska minun suomea on ei hyvä, mutta mä yritin. Ruotsissa, me menimme kaupungin ja sitten menimme kirppis. En osta mitään, mutta se oli okei koska en yleensä pidä ostaa asioita. Sitten tänään meillä olipitkä ajomatka kotiin ruotsista.

Olin Ruotsissa! :D

 

Siellä oli paljon lunta Lapissa

 

Minun host-koira lumessa

 

Huomenna annan esityksen maantiedessa suomeksi! (Ehkä te ymmärrätte minua koska minun suomea on ei hyvä.) Mulla on myös historia ja sitten englantia. (Mutta englantia on helppo haha.) En tiedä jos minun esityks olla hyvä koska mä en voi puhun hyvin ja sanat ovat vaikea sanoa koska se on Aurinkoenergia ja geoterminen energia. Mutta minun täytyy antaa se suomeksi koska jos mä haluan puhua suomea, minun täytyy puhua ihmisten kanssa niin he näkevät voin puhua ja ymmärtää. Ehkä ei hyvin, mutta mä yritän paljon.

Ensi Viikolla mulla on minun suomen kieli koe. Se on helppoa koska mä tiedan ja ymmärrän paljon. Mä tiedan mä puhun ja ymmärrän enemmän kuin muut ihmiset minun luokassa, mutta joka on koska mä aina puhun suomea kanssa minun host-perhe joka päivää ja minun koulu on suomeksi myös. Niin mä kuulla suomea joka päivää koko ajan. Se on hyvä koska minun täytyy oppia suomea...mutta joskus se on vaikea koska paljon ihmiset puhuvat minua englaneksi koska minun suomea on ei hyvä. (Mä voin kirjoitan suomeksi paremmin kuin mä voi puhua.). :D


GEEZ...writing in Finnish takes a heck of a lot more time than I thought it would! My Finnish REALLY isn't that good, so to any Finns who read my blog, im really sorry if you cant understand me! I know that I don't use the right endings, and that its probably hard to read...but im trying as best as I can!

(And to anyone from home, im sorry if google translate is bad, because like I said, my Finnish isn't all that great either, and so the translation may be really bad as well!)

But hey, my first successful blog post all in Finnish! (Minus the little English conclusion to the post.) ;)

Awkward Phases

Everyone knows what an awkward phase is. Its basically that time period between when youre 12 or 14, and you do all of these weird things to try to figure out, "who you are" and "what youre about."

Im not really sure how else to describe it...

I realize that I always talk about the good parts of Exchange, and all of the wonderful things about it; and ALL of it is true, down to every single word! But I also realize that I need to also talk about the difficulties of Exchange, if I really want you to understand what Exchange is like, and what MY Exchange is like in Finland. 

Exchange is NOT easy.

and 

Exchange is NOT a vacation. 

 My grades from Finland are not transfering over to my school in the USA, I am only getting credits. When I tell people that, they generally react by telling me that im so lucky because, "I dont have to do anything in school", and that im "Lucky I get a year off from school." 

Ill give you a little back story, and tell you how I am able to get my School Credits:

For me to get enough School credits go to on this Exchange, I actually had to take 3 Math classes on top of ALL of my other school subjects, and I could not take any electives for the whole year. (Electives are classes like Music, Art, Photography, PE...basically any of the "fun" classes.) I had 10 hours of tutoring a week during the last few months of school, where I studied for a Nationwide Standardized Test ( And I had to take this test a YEAR before I was supposed to, because I would be on Exchange when my grade would take the test.) AND on top of that, I woke up at 5am EVERY day.

I literally had NO social life for the ENTIRE last semester of the school year.

Now, dont get me wrong, I am NOT complaning. I am just trying to explain that I had to be TOTALLY dedicated to becoming an Exchange Student and earning those credits I would be missing during my year abroad. 

Most people tend to think that Exchange Students just do no school work while they are on exchange...But to tell you the truth, I worked REALLY, REALLY hard to become an Exchange Student, and I am working REALLY, REALLY hard AS an Exchange Student. 

Its hard to sit through school all day, and not understand a SINGLE word anybody is saying. Its hard to sit through class, and take notes, not understanding a SINGLE sentence on your paper. Its hard to sit there during group activities, and not be able to contribute at all in the activity. Its hard to give a group presentation, and just awkwardly stand in front of the entire class while your group is doing all of the work and giving the presentation without you...and you cant do anything about it, no matter HOW badly you want to participate. 

Normally in school, I would be the first to start taking notes. I would do all of my work in class, and turn it in early. I would answer the questions the teacher asked, and I would already have my homework done before the class was even over...I just simplily ENJOYED school. I found joy in learning about new things, and I liked to learn everything I could about certain subjects.

HERE, in school I cant do anything. I cant participate. I cant speak. I cant listen. I cant understand. 

And it is SO frusterating, and it makes me feel stupid!

It makes me feel so LIMITED. This is the best word that describes it. 

Ive NEVER felt so LIMITED in my LIFE!

 Its like im a little kid all over again. I cant speak, I cant understand, and I dont really know whats going on most of the time. 

Do you know how embarassing it is to be 17 years old, and not be able to understand simple directions, or conversation?!

Exchange is hard because it isnt like after having a bad day at school, you can just go home and forget about it. You have the same issues of not understanding and not being able to speak ALL the time, EVERY day, ANYWHERE you go! I can NEVER get a break from it! EVEN IN MY SLEEP!!! ...I even DREAM in Finnish!!! 

Do you know what its like to understand NOTHING ALL THE TIME!? ...EVEN IN YOUR SLEEP!?

Dont get me wrong, I LOVE my Exchange, and I LOVE everything about Finland. Nothing is going wrong, and I know that I have absolutly NOTHING to complain about...But Exchange is just hard. 

One of the hardest parts for me right now is actually finding things to talk about with people back home. (And I am honestly sorry if this comes out wrong, but I think I really need to write this because you need to understand.) Its hard because they dont understand what youre going through. They cant relate to your experience of never undersanding anything around you, or always hearing and speaking another language. You cant relate to it unless you have experienced it, and I experience it every single day. Its not that I dont want to message anyone from home, or that I purposfully forget to email anyone...It just feels a bit awkward for me, because I dont know what we can talk about. Its been so long since the last time we talked, that catching up just feels...awkward.  I dont know how else to explain it, and I REALLY hope that came out right.

(Ill explain this a little better...My Rotary District back home has a "90 Day" rule, where we are not allowed to instant message or skype anyone from home for the first 3 months of our Exchanges. I actually abided by this rule, and now I just find it a little difficult, and even awkward to message people from home that I used to message a lot...having a conversation catching up on EVERYTHING from the past 3 months is a little awkward...especially when you arent even the same person anymore.) :P

Now heres where I tie all this in with the, "Awkward Phase" haha. Being an Exchange Student is great. I love every single minute of it, and I love the decision I made to become a Rotary Exchange Student. I just feel like right now is the "Awkward Phase" of my Exchange. I feel like its just a transition phase from still figuring out how things work, and sepperating myself from home more. Its the phase in your Exchange when youre still having struggles understanding anything, and struggles with the language and getting to know how things work. I thought this was a post that I needed to make, because it seems to be a phase that most exchagne students go through...well...at least the current exchange students that I know. :) 

 “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” – Robert H Schuller

 

Awkward and Embarrassing Moments (part 1)

I knew that becoming an exchange student would be hard...but NO one ever told be about all of the awkward and embarrassing moments I would have EVERY single day.

Life as the Foreign Exchange Student is REALLY awkward. I may not enjoy all of the awkward moments very much while they are happening to me...but when I think about it, I cant help but wonder how hilarious these moments look to everyone else around me; and I always laugh when I look back at everything that happens to me day by day.

For those of you that have known me before my exchange, you all know that I am REALLY good at laughing at myself; and I don't get upset very easily...Which is honestly the perfect mindset to have as an exchange student. Sometimes it IS hard to laugh at yourself in these situations...but in the end you just have to do it, because they happen, and that's just life. :)

 I decided to make another little list and talk about just a FEW of all of the awkward moments I have every single day. There isn't really any order...but all of these happen to me pretty frequently:

1.) Walking into the WRONG classroom.

I CANT tell you HOW many times this happens, even though I know my way around the school pretty well. I often find myself randomly walking into a classroom, and just standing in the doorway as everyone in the class is looking at me. I think to myself, "Who ARE these people?!" And then I realize that I am in the wrong room, so I slowly back away out of the classroom, and shut the door and leave...

This one generally isn't TOO awkward, more as it is just plain embarrassing.

2.) Getting on the WRONG bus.

Luckily for me, this one doesn't happen too often anymore...But I never realize I am on the wrong bus until towards the end of the bus route when I have NO idea where I am. Its pretty obvious as well, because im randomly looking everywhere with a super confused facial expression while everyone around is just staring at me, trying to figure out whats wrong with this girl who has been on the bus for almost the ENTIRE route, and is now randomly looking all over place trying to figure out whats going on.

Its nice to know im not alone with this one when I see another exchange student chasing down a bus, only to realize that when the bus stops, and after they walk up to it that its the wrong bus; so they awkwardly try to play it cool like nothing ever happened, as they walk away from the bus, and the bus starts driving off again...Sadly, this is actually halarious (when it DOESNT happen to you.).

Of course I have been guilty of this as well, and it is VERY embarrassing because not only EVERYONE on the bus can see you...but EVERYONE else in the general area can see you! You cant pretend it just didnt happen, because its pretty obvious to everyone that you just ran after a bus waving your hands around, and you DIDNT get on it after it stopped...

3.) Not understanding what someone said even after they already repeated themselves several times...

I have given myself a limit of getting 3 chances to understand what someone has said to me. I feel as though saying, "What?" ANY more than 3 times is just WAY too many. But unfortunately, sometimes even after 3 times, I STILL don't understand what people are saying!

So...what do I do?!

I honestly pretend to know what they said, and just reply with something and hope that my answer is passable.

However, sometimes it gets even MORE awkward if my answer DOESNT make sense, because its VERY obvious that what I said didn't make ANY sense based on someone's facial expression.

But the MOST awkward thing that can happen in this situation is when my answer doesn't make sense, and they don't say ANYTHING  about the nonsence that I just said...They just nod and smile, and look SUPER confused.

This makes me want to just hide under a blanket every time, because I know that they are trying to be polite and nice to me for trying, because my Finnish is SO terrible...But I cant help but wonder if the conversation sounds anything like this:

"What did you do today?"
"Yes...I like that."

or even:

"Hey, what did you do last weekend?"
"No, I haven't eaten that before..."


Of course when I speak, I sound MUCH more like a caveman...but in some ways im glad that I cant hear what I sound like when the conversation goes completely wrong. :P

 

 

4.) When I don't realize when someone asks me a question.

Finnish is a very monotone language, and your tone of voice doesn't go up when someone asks you a question like it does in English; and if anything the tone of voice actually goes down when asking a question.

It was VERY hard for me to understand at first when someone was asking me a question, because it sounds just like any other sentence. Sometimes when people talk fast, I don't catch that they asked me a question...

This can be an awkward situation, because while they are waiting for an answer; im standing there trying to figure out why they all of a sudden they stopped talking and why they are just looking at me!

In some ways, I guess its actually even MORE awkward when I cant tell wether or not someone asked me a question, so I honestly just reply with, "Oh yeah...hehe." and hope with ALL of my might and strength that it wasn't a question!

This can also go either way, because if it WASNT a question, then you are VERY, VERY lucky...but if it WAS a question, generally people always say to me, "Uhmm...did you understand?"

That's when the conversation goes south and it gets very awkward...

5.) When people don't understand a word I say to them.

My Finnish REALLY isn't very good, but I try my best. I try to speak Finnish most of the time when people talk to me; but sometimes it doesn't exactly go as planned...

There are always situations at LEAST once a day when NO ONE understands what I say, but everyone is either too afraid to correct me or no one tells me that they didn't understand anything. Everyone I was talking to just all looks at me with blank faces and replies with, "Yeah haha..." or they just awkwardly laugh and nod.

This situation is SUPER embarrassing and it happens literally at least ONCE a day!

I KNOW when they are pretending to understand what I said, because thats what I do at least 80% of the time...its pretty embarassing when no one can understand what you say, but they dont tell you, so instead they just pretend to understand in order to be nice to for your horrible langauge skills!

6.) When I dont understand a joke, and I am the only one not laughing.

This situation is ALSO super awkward, and it happens A LOT.

Someone tells a joke, and everyone I am sitting by all of a sudden starts cracking up laughing, and I am just sitting there with a straight face because I had NO idea what was going on, and I didnt even know someone said something funny.

I always feel like an emotionless robot in this situation; and while everyone else is laughing, I just sit there like this, ".......".

It probably makes the situation awkward for everyone else around me as well, because then they look over at me, and realize that I probably didn't understand ANY of it and it kind of kills the whole joke, and just makes It awkward for everyone. :(

7.) When someone repeates directions to me English, and I still don't understand.

This one HAS to be one of the MOST embarrassing of all!

When I speak in Finnish or listen to other people speaking in Finnish for a long period of time, I cant just automatically switch back into English. I cant really explain it...

I guess its like my brain is in a different mode, and it just doesn't work like a light switch where you can just switch between English and Finnish. So a lot of the time I actually cant understand what someone is saying if they just start speaking English after I have been speaking or hearing nothing but Finnish for a long or continuous period of time.

This makes for some awkward moments...

Here's a story that happened last week as an Example:

It was the first day of my music class, and the teacher counted us off into groups. I had been speaking Finnish all morning prior to my music class, and I didn't hear where my group was. After everyone got into their groups, I went up and asked the teacher where my group was. I turn around, and not only is everyone looking at me, but I have to walk to the BACK of the room where my group was, and on the way to my group, I trip over a chair!

(That was the back story...Now comes the embarrassing part.)

One of the members in my group tried to explain to me in English what we were supposed to do, and I couldn't understand what he was saying so I kept on saying, "What?" and he repeated himself, and then handed me our group's laptop.

EVERYONE just stared at me, as I kind of looked at the laptop, and then again at everyone else in my group. I sat there waiting for my group to tell me what to do, but we all just sat in awkward silence... Eventually, the boy who explained the assignment to me in English, just slowly took the laptop away from me, and my group just did the whole assignement without me...

Needless to say, I was SUPER embarrassed.

8.) When you cant tell if someone is talking to you, because you dont understand what they are saying.

Every once in awhile, I hear someone on the street, or in the hallway talking SUPER loud in my general direction; and I literally cant tell what is going on, or who the person is talking to...

I generally stop walking, and look super confused and a little creeped out; until I finally realize that they indeed were NOT talking to me...

Sometimes its a bit scary depending on the situation, and I look pretty stupid, because im walking and im just doing my own thing, and then all of a sudden, out of the blue, I just stop and I look SUPER confused for awhile, and then I start walking again.

I dont even want to know what I look like from someone else´s point of view in this situation...

9.) When you finally understand the teacher....but she is talking about YOU. 

 

I get REALLY excited when I can understand what the teacher is saying! ...But unfortunatly, sometimes what I understand isnt what I had in mind!

One situation I have been in several times, is when the teacher asks the class if anyone wants to sit next to me, but EVERYONE just stays where they are and looks at me...

This one is REALLY, REALLY embarassing because usually the teacher also says to the class, "She doesnt speak any Finnish" or, "Does anyone speak English?" or, "Who wants to sit by the Exchange Student?"

I CAN understand what the teacher just said...and its SUPER embarassing!

I really dont know what to do in this situation while everyone in the class is just looking at me...and a lot of the time I honestly find myself just pretending not to understand what the teacher says when she asks this, because its just TOO embarrassing...

10.) When you mishear what someone said, and you end up looking like an idiot.

This situation happens at least ONCE everyday, and to best explain it, ill give you a two examples:

Example 1:

My host dad was asking me if what we were eating was the same ("Sama". But if you add the ending, "ko" to the end of the word, it makes it a question.) as it was back home in the USA, and I thought he said the Finnish word for "Frog" (Sammakko).

So I thought I heard the words, "Food" "Eat" and "FROG!"

You can tell where this conversation went...And I have to say that my host family STILL laughs about this! :(


Example 2:

I was with my host family in Lapland, sitting in a house, and my host dad tried asking me a question. I didn't hear him, so I said, "What?" and he repeated it for me, but I still couldn't understand. I said, "What?" AGAIN, and he repeated it for me for a third time, but I STILL didn't understand.

EVERYONE in the room was looking at me, and I didn't know what to do...

My first thought for some reason was to point at the ceiling...DONT ask me why; for some reason it was my best comeback for not understanding what he was asking me!

Not a moment later, the WHOLE room starts laughing at me!!!!

How embarrassing....

I cant even tell you WHY I did that...EVERYONE was just looking at me, waiting for a reply, and I didn't know what to do!!!

Gahhhh...I guess we all have our moments. :(

11.) Not knowing if doors are "PUSH" or "PULL"

 

Let me just say, that this happens EVERY.SINGLE.DAY!!!!!

 I can NEVER tell if I am supposed to PUSH the door or PULL it to open it...its HORRIBLE! 

Its horrible because all of the doors at my school are this way, and its pretty embarassing when people look at me weird because I cant figure out how to open the stupid door! To tell you the truth...I actually can NEVER open the restroom door at the library, because I CANT remember wether the door is a PUSH or PULL...and so I stand there for a few seconds until I finally realize which one it is...

I guess we all have our embarassing moments...

It makes me feel a lot better about myself when I see the other exchange students at my school have the same daily struggle of not knowing if the door is PUSH or PULL; but its pretty embarassing because everyone stares at you.

12.) When people dont realize you´re the foreign exchange student. 

 

 

Lets just say, this would be a GREAT compliment if I could speak Finnish...

 But unfortunatly, its SUPER embarassing because when people dont realize that im the Foreign Exchange Student, they often times confuse my lack of language skills with complete stupidity. 

AND...This actually happened today!!! 

I was in my class, and we had to get into groups. There were only 3 other people in my class, and the teacher told us to go sit in a group. I wasnt sure how the groups were working, so I just kind of sat and watied...

The other kids in the class were already in a group on the otherside of the room awkardly waiting, and the teacher told me again in Finnish to go over and sit with the group; and so I did. 

When I got there, they went right into doing the assignement, and I just kind of sat there awkwardly not understanding ANYTHING that was going on. 

I didnt know that the assignment was, and I had NO idea what they were saying...I didnt know what to do, so I just kind of sat there facing everyone and tried my best to listen. 

Sometimes they would pause, stop talking, and then kind of look at me...and then they would start talking again about the assignement.

Eventually I guess they finished the assingment or something, because they started talking to the teahcer. I didnt understand much of what they said, but I understood this part of the conversation:

"Uhmmm...shes the Foreign Exchange Student." 

AND then everyone in the group reacted like this: 

"WHAT!? SHES A FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENT!? ....oh."

 I actually wanted to die of embarassment RIGHT then and there because it was SO embarassing! 

I cant help but wonder what people think when they dont know that im the Exchange Student, and im just sitting there with a blank facial expression and not knowing whats going on...

I dont think I want to know...

Although NONE of these moments are very enjoyable while they are happening, I know that they are all a part of being an exchange student. (At least for me...) They make great memories, and funny stories- and I wouldnt take back ANY of these moments for the world! (Which may be hard to believe, because some of these situations are VERY, VERY embarassing!!!!) 

Hopefully other exchange students dont have as many embarassing moments as I do everyday, but I have to say that they are the best memory makers I have right now on my exchange. :) 

Everyone is like a butterfly, they start out ugly and awkward and then morph into beautiful graceful butterflies that everyone loves.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/awkward.html#XHZJ3UsTmLRH2VIy.99

Everyone is like a butterfly, they start out ugly and awkward and then morph into beautiful graceful butterflies that everyone loves.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/awkward.html#mWxA0GLJSfKFhPVV.99

Everyone is like a butterfly, they start out ugly and awkward and then morph into beautiful graceful butterflies that everyone loves.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/awkward.html#XHZJ3UsTmLRH2VIy.99

Everyone is like a butterfly, they start out ugly and awkward and then morph into beautiful graceful butterflies that everyone loves.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/awkward.html#mWxA0GLJSfKFhPVV.99

"Everyone is like a butterfly, they start out ugly and awkward and then they morph into beautiful graceful butterflies that everyone loves."

Learning How To Speak

I know that I have made A LOT of blog posts about learning Finnish...but that is because this is one of my main goals on my exchange, and it is a VERY important part of an Exchange Student's exchange!

I have been studying Finnish literally everyday, and I attend Finnish classes twice a week. Its not something that comes naturally for me AT ALL, and it takes A LOT of work for me, because nothing is the same as it is in English. It is really a difficult language for me to learn it, because it is so different!

But I have some very exciting news!!!

My host family has told me that I have officially, "graduated" from English!

They no longer have to explain things to me in English, and they can understand my Finnish enough to understand what I am trying to say. (MOST of the time...)

However, this does NOT mean that they don't have to talk super slow and use simple words all the time...I still have to always say, "Mitä?" (What) and "En ymmärrän" (I don't understand); and I always speak Finnish like a caveman.

BUT, It makes me SO happy that they can understand me enough to know what I am TRYING to say, and I can understand the general idea of what almost everyone is saying now; which is HUGE progress for me!

You have NO idea how JUST how GOOD it feels after spending two months not knowing a WORD that ANYONE is saying, or being able to express yourself with words. You are CONSTANTLY confused, and you are ALWAYS the last to know what is going on...and there are even times when you simply cant tell what so ever what is going on.

This past week, during one of the Exam days, I tried a little experiment with two other exchange students, and we decided to time with my cell phone how long we could go with only speaking 100% Finnish.

4 minutes and 38 seconds

 

 

Today my American Exchange Student friend, Patrick and I decided to repeat the SAME experiment, and decided to test JUST how long we could speak in 100% Finnish for. 

 

1 hour and 08 seconds!!!

Can you believe that?! Two American Exchange students had an HOUR long conversation in FINNISH!

 

Which is AMAZING because just 3 days earlier we could only talk for 4 MINUTES and 38 SECONDS...Is it even possible to make THAT much progress in only three days?!

 

What we said wasn't grammatically correct, and we had to bring out google translate a few times...but I have to say that I have never felt so accomplished and proud of my Finnish Language Skills!

 

We got A LOT of weird looks and stares from EVERYONE in the café we were sitting in...But to tell you the truth, I don't think they were all staring because we were speaking so hilariously incorrect grammar. (Which we were...) I think it was mostly because we were both American and instead of communicating in our native language, we decided to try our very best to communicate in Finnish.

 

We probably sounded really funny, but I am really proud at the fact that we both TRIED, and that we both understood each other. It was really hard in the first 10-15 minutes or so, but after that we just kind of got into the rhythm and flow of it; even though it was technically incorrect.

 

It actually literally felt like a game we were playing, and that we had some sort of secret language that we both could almost understand. It felt so WEIRD and AMAZING to ACTUALLY speak Finnish, and I have NEVER gone that long before with ONLY speaking in FINNISH; and not saying a SINGLE word in English!

 

An hour might not be an "amazing" amount of time...but to spend an HOUR speaking in FINNISH with an ANOTHER exchange student is CRAZY!

 

I don't think you can understand JUST how amazing today was!

 

 

This week I told my host family that I am hoping to finally cut the rope with English in the next few weeks or so. My Finnish REALLY isn't good enough to speak it correctly, but people can get the general idea of what I am TRYING to say. My host mom made sticky notes for me, and put them all over the kitchen for me, and that helps a lot.

 

Its hard coming on exchange to a country where you have never heard the language before...and I don't think I can actually tell you the Finnish words for, "fork", "spoon", "knife", "street", "sign" or other daily things yet...Its REALLY difficult because you REALLY are just like a little toddler again. You cant understand ANYONE, and you can barely speak ANYTHING.

 

Although my host family and I speak Finnish all the time, I get embarrassed to speak it at school because of the reason I just explained. I feel like a little kid ALL the time, and its embarrassing being 17 years old, and speaking such broken language that you sound like a complete idiot!

 

I can only say a few phrases grammatically correct, but I have begun to force myself to try to think in Finnish and talk to myself in Finnish; which helps a lot for my Language Skills.

 

A LOT more people at school are talking to me in Finnish now, which makes me REALLY, REALLY happy; and I really DO think that it can be possible to stop speaking English in the next few weeks.

 

I KNOW I will sound silly and hard to understand for the next few months...but I really DO want to learn, and this is the only way it can be done.

 

It is actually hard for me to always switch between English and Finnish! The languages are SO different that I literally feel like the wires in my brain are being crossed the wrong way; and sometimes it actually literally hurts my head a lot to always switch between them. This sounds silly because I barely speak Finnish, but I am always speaking it with my host family and listening to it; and I am trying hard to soon speak it 100% of the time.

 

I feel bad when people come up to me and talk to me in English, and I actually have a hard time understanding and replying to them! Its NOT because of their accent OR that they are speaking it incorrectly...but its because when I spend a whole day listening to my family speak Finnish, I cant just switch to English easily.

 

I literally have to change the way I think and the way I speak; and its hard!

 

Its hard to explain...

 

My host family is trying REALLY, REALLY hard to teach me some of the endings in Finnish so that I can start speaking Grammatically correct, and less like a Caveman.

 

Its hard though, and I still cant really get many of the endings right...

 

But I have hope, and I really AM proud of the amount of Finnish that I can understand and speak! :D

 

In these next few weeks maybe will be able to study more in school and speak more with my school mates in Finnish. I am hopeful that I will soon be able to learn some of the endings and REALLY make that transition into only speaking Finnish! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

End of the First Jakso!

This last Monday was the last day of the first jakso at my school. (Jaksos are kind of like mini-semesters; and about every 6 weeks classes change. So Monday was the last day of my first 6 weeks of classes.)

I had a meeting Monday with the school counselor along with the other exchange students that go to my school about the Exam week and the Second Jakso. We got our Exam Schedules (Which were honestly pretty much almost completely empty) and got to choose our next classes we would take for the Second Jakso, which will last until December.

So, my school schedule for the Second Jakso looks like this:

maanantai:

9:45-11:00 History

13:15-14:30 Geography

14:45-16:00 English

tiistai:

9:45-11:00 Music

12:30-13:00 Business?

14:45-16:00 History

17:00-18:40 Finnish Lessons

keskiviikko:

9:45-11:00 Geography

11:45-13:00 Music

14:45-16:00 English

torstai:

8:15-9:30 Business?

11:15-12:30 History

14:45-16:00 Geography

17:00-18:40 Finnish Lessons

perjantai:

8:15-9:30 English

11:45-13:00 Music

13:15-14:30 Business?




As you can see, I have A LOT of free time during my school days. :(

(We actually call that time in between classes where you DONT have class, "hypätä tuntia"; which means, "Jump hour".)

Let me explain why I have SO much free time:

I am taking one less class than I was before, and I am not taking any art classes like last time. I am taking harder classes than I was before, and this is sort of an experiment for me! I want to see how much I will be able to understand and REALLY learn in the next few weeks, when it comes to my Language skills.  I ALWAYS have a bad habit of giving myself REALLY unrealistic goals...but I am hoping to soon be speaking Finnish all the time; even if it isn't at all grammatically correct.

Hopefully by taking more serious classes, I will be able to LISTEN in class rather than just take pictures all day or make art. (Don't get me wrong, I like those things; but my main priority is to learn Finnish.). I feel like by being able to listen in class and take REAL notes this time instead of just sitting there like a dead bird, ill be able to learn the language more.

Another reason why I decided to do this was because it gives me at LEAST a solid 2 hours to study Finnish, EVERY day. So instead of just cramming it in during the 15 minute passing periods, or during my jump period on Tuesday; I now have solid uninterrupted studying time at school to just sit and REALLY study Finnish.

This decision that I made could go either BAD or GOOD...its really a 50/50 chance here...But hopefully by taking the risk, it will end up being an okay next 6 weeks of school! I guess we will see after my first day of the new jasko on Thursday!


After we discussed the next Jakso, we were given our Exam Schedules; which were literally almost COMPLETELY EMPTY! I did not have to go to school last Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, and I only went to the first 15 minutes of one of the history class finals on Friday to give a presentation about where I come from and the USA.

So, for the rest of the week I went out to the city center with some other Exchange Students, who did not have Exams at their schools either.

Ill post some pictures from this past week, and tell a little about what I did.

Another American AFS Exchange Student, Patrick and I sat on the city stage and bought ice cream, while we practiced our Finnish.

 

 

 

I went out to the city with some of my Exchange Student friends, and one of the days I went to the city library with Patrick. We went to the children's section, and we decided to take turns reading each other Finnish children's books. 

 

It was SO embarrassing because ALL of the little kids could read SO much better than us, and we had to whisper the words we were reading SO quietly because the library was absolutely SILENT! We probably sounded really funny, but it was good practice for our pronunciation...even if we didn't understand most of what we were reading!

 

I baked banana bread for my host family! ...too bad my host dog ATE IT!

 

 

My host mom wanted to me make a recipe from home, and so I decided to make my mom's banana bread. Its a family recipe, and I thought that I would try and make it. Despite the confusing with how to measure everything; it actually turned out really good!

 

...unfortunately my host dog ATE it!

 

My AFS friend, Patrick and I bought muffins at the grocery store...but on our 10 minute walk to the park, the muffins literally FROZE, and we literally couldn't FEEL our hands! It was SO cold outside!

 

Oh boy...its not even Winter yet, and its FREEZING!  

 

 

 

 

I made my host family their first EVER chocolate chip cookies! Unfortunately, they turned out terrible because I didn't know how to measure the ingredients correctly. (I learned the hard way that guessing and checking does NOT always work!)

 

I was actually pretty sad that the cookies turned out really gross...my host mom said that she liked them, but I thought they were awful! Hopefully I will be able to try again soon...

 

 

 I decorated a cake with my Finnish friends! (The cake was supposed to be butterfly.)

 

The final product. :)

 

My friend, Dawnya (Another Rotary Exchange Student from Oregon) came to hang out with me for the day! We decided to go out in the city for some pizza and dessert. :)

 

My friend, Dawnya's host mom had a Rotary meeting in Oulu, and so she got to hang out with me for the day! She lives about an hour south of Oulu, so we don't get to see each other very often...But it was a lot of fun! She is from the VERY South of Oregon, so we hadn't met each other until we flew down to L.A to get our visas for Finland together. I later learned after we met again in Karkku Language Camp that she was also in my Rotary District! :)

 

We went shopping for warm jackets and gloves, and I also bought a few more scarfs. You can for SURE tell that it is beginning to get REALLY cold!

 

It is AMAZING because its not even winter yet! This weather for sure fells like almost middle of winter for  me...and its funny to think that this is only the beginning of Fall in Finland. The trees have already changed to Orange and Red and the leaves have already begun to fall...it will be interesting to see JUST how cold and snowy Winter gets!

 

Winter will be A LOT different than home. :)

 

 

 

And that was my past week and weekend!

 

 

Today I had to go to school for my other history final, and this time I was actually given an alternative assignment. I had to write an essay from an article, and unfortunately...it did NOT go as planned.

 

I wanted to show my teacher that I actually CAN be a good student, and that I actually AM smart, instead of just sitting in class like a brainless dead bird all the time...And so I wrote AND wrote AND wrote...

 

My essay ended up being 5 pages long, front and back!

 

It was embarrassing though, because I realized that as I was writing it just how BAD it ACTUALLY was...I cant remember how to spell things in English very well, and to tell you the truth... this blog post would be horrible if it didn't automatically correct my grammar and spelling mistakes...

 

My English is beginning to be HORRIBLE, and its embarrassing because I barely speak Finnish still! I speak incorrect grammar all the time, (even to other American exchange students!), and sometimes I even have to google how to spell a word!

 

But...unfortunately that wasn't the embarassing part of my history final.

 

I realized AFTER I wrote my essay that there were questions on the BACK of the article that I had to answer in my essay...So needless to say I did the assignment wrong, and had to write ANOTHER essay! I ended up being the LAST student in the classroom for the final, AND my essay ended up being not only 5...but 8 PAGES LONG!

 

It was pretty embarrassing being the last one in the classroom, AND to be the Foreign Exchange Student with the alternative assignment that was to ONLY write a simple essay...in a way I wish that the teacher would have known what happened instead of me looking like a total idiot who takes 2 hours to write a simple essay...

 

So much for trying to make a good impression, when I finally got to do an assignment in my native language. :P

 

Tomorrow I have another "final" to go to, but fortunately for me it is only English. I know what you're thinking, and this is when I mention that I am not actually TAKING the English final. I offered to my English teacher to come in for the first hour of the final, when the students are all reviewing their work; so that I could help answer questions and help the students review.

 

Wednesday is the last day of the Exams, and then the 2ed jakso officially begins on Thursday! Hopefully things will go as planned, and that my risk of taking harder classes will go the way I am hoping they will! :)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starting To Feel At Home

(I AM STARTING THIS BLOG POST WITH A BACKSTORY.)

I hate admitting this...but I was kind of having a hard time this past week. I wasn't homesick...but I did want friends.

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE Finland.

I love everything about this place.

But it does get a little lonely when you don't have very many friends.

Its not that people don't want to talk to me, or that they don't want to be my friend, it is just that Fins are just shy and they are afraid to talk to you. It is just the culture, and you absolutely CAN NOT take it the wrong way, or think that people just don't want to talk to you. Just because people don't talk to you, it does NOT mean they don't want to and that they don't want to be your friend... But it IS hard sometimes when you don't have anyone to really talk with day after day at school.

So as a wrap up from the backstory, this last week was kind of hard for me... but this past weekend I had my 17th birthday, and I went with some of my friends on a road trip to Helsinki; and it was REALLY nice to be around them and get to know them better...especially after feeling kind of alone this last week at school. :)

And THIS is why I am making this post. For some reason I have been in a bit of a "list" mood, as you can tell from my previous posts; and so this post will be about some of the things I have learned while being in Finland, and shenanigans like that.

(END OF THE BACKSTORY TO THIS POST.)


Now to start the main point of this post,


I am FINALLY starting to settle into my life here in Finland, and I am starting to really get into the swing of things.

This week is MUCH different than last week...

I am finally starting to feel at home.

(I mean, I felt like I was at home at my host family's house, but at school I just kind of felt a little lonely and I was confused CONSTANTLY...)

I realized I am starting to feel at home today when I had an exchange student meeting with the school counselor about the exam week this next week and about the second jasko. (So we got new classes and such...which I will write about in another post). I realized I am starting to feel at home today  when I got to show the new exchange student from Thailand around the school.

While we walked around the school, I realized that I knew where most of the classrooms in the school were, and how things sort of worked.

It was great!

I also realized I am starting to feel at home today when a group of kids from my class invited me to sit with them and help them with their English homework. This probably doesn't seem like a big deal to you...but for the Foreign Exchange Student who has been standing alone in a hallway day after day, being invited to sit at a table full of my Finnish classmates ...is a HUGE deal! I felt like I was being accepted, and that I was no longer "The Weird Foreign Kid."

(So, to any of the kids from my class who read my blog: Thank you SO much for inviting me to sit with you today! It might have been something small, but it seriously meant the world to me!) :)

I feel like I am really FINALLY starting to make friends and really feel at home; which is seriously AWESOME because it has taken me SO long to make friends. (Which is NOT a bad thing at all, and I know that the meaning of friendship is a lot, because once you make a friend; they're your friend for life.)

So, now I want to make a miniature list about two important things that I have learned during my 7 weeks in Finland:

1.) You do NOT have to speak the same language to be friends with someone:

I have learned that just because you speak a different language, it does NOT mean that you cant be friends with someone...I have made some friends who NEVER speak English to me; and I think that our friendship is something really special.

You can speak a totally different language, and still be friends...you just find other ways to communicate with each other. We laugh together, and have fun together; and even though we have a hard time communicating using words- but it doesn't matter because we can STILL be friends.

Almost every Finn can speak English VERY well, and so when someone ONLY uses Finnish to communicate with me, it makes me REALLY happy and excited inside! :)

It takes a LOT of patients to talk to me only using Finnish.

You have to speak REALLY slow, and you have to try REALLY hard to understand what I am trying to say. It takes me awhile to say the words that I am trying to say to you, and they NEVER come out right, and the are usually NEVER grammatically correct.

BUT it makes my day EVERYTIME someone ONLY uses Finnish to communicate with me.

Even though you know that English would be faster and easier for the both of us, instead you take the time to be patient with me and teach me, because you know that I want to learn Finnish.

It really DOES mean the world to me; and I wish that more people would only speak to me only using Finnish.

2.) People respect the fact that you try:

I KNOW that I sound silly and REALLY unintelligent when I speak Finnish...but I try anyway. I KNOW what I say usually isn't ever grammatically correct, but I say it anyways because if I want to learn, I CANT be afraid to make huge mistakes.

BUT I have found that people will usually NEVER treat you like an idiot, no matter how much of one you sound like.

People really respect the fact that I am trying my very best to speak Finnish, and even though I make really silly mistakes ALL the time; people simply correct me and teach me the right way to say and pronounce things.

It really makes my day because I KNOW I sound stupid, and yet people NEVER treat me like the idiot I really sound like.

It is still really embarrassing for me to speak Finnish because I know before I even start speaking that what I am about to say is NOT correct and that I will sound silly...but I am always really surprised when I find that people never, ever treat me as if I am really stupid and cant communicate when I speak Finnish. They understand that I cant speak very well, and yet they are always willing to let me try to communicate in Finnish and they are always happy to help me.

I am no longer afraid to speak Finnish, and if someone speaks to me in Finnish I dont switch into English, and I will try my best to speak to them only in Finnish. I am REALLY hoping that eventually everyone just speaks to me in Finnish so that I can then REALLY start learning and speaking and communicating in the language.


The BEST compliment by far that I have ever gotten was from one of my friends when they told that I had some real Finnish Sisu in me.

Which meant a HUGE deal to me.

"Sisu" is a hard word for me to translate...

But I guess it means determination, perseverance and strength.

It is something that comes from inside of you I guess, and its is a part of the Finns. Its kind of the like the ability to stay the same, and the word, "sisu" has a very big cultural significance.


 I am REALLY starting to feel at home here in Finland and I am FINALLY settling into life here. I feel as though I actually LIVE here, and in a way I REALLY do. I have my own bedroom, I actually LIVE at my host family's house, I am a real student in school, and I legally LIVE in Finland for a year.

I have chores that I do at my house, I have my own house key, I know where the bus routes go (for the most part), and I know my way around the city, and I even take my host dog for walks.

Being on an exchange is NOT the same as being on vacation or a long holiday...I actually have friends here, and I feel as though I really do have family here. I go to school here, and I LIVE here.

I have a life in Finland, complete with my own little world.

This may sound silly, but I seriously feel like Hannah Montana, because I live two completely different and totally lives... and Oulu, Finland really DOES feel like my second home now.

Things are really starting to fall into place, and I am really starting to love my life here in Finland. :)


“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.”
 – Robert Louis Stevenson