Hei!
Wow! Guess who sucks at keeping a blog...
I figured a blog would be less taxing than keeping a diary and also less laborious than recounting every single detail of my experience to family and friends, but, apparently, I seem to have managed to find a way to bollocks it all up. Jippii! Go me!
Well, well, well. There has been SO much happening in my life since my last post. I have to say, I really cannot believe that it has been three months already. Mistä kaikki aika menee?
Easter was so much fun. Hyvää Pääsiäistä! Sorry that my wishes are belated, but, due to my evident lack of keeping-a-blog ability, it's just going to have to suffice. Easter in Finland involved eating chocolate, painting eggs, playing SingStar and meeting my baby host-niece for the first time. Jippii... minä olen vaihto-täti nyt! Yippee... I am an exchange aunty now!
I was also invited to my host niece's christening, or kaste, which was lovely. I didn't really expect to be invited, because I am a guest, so it really meant a lot to me that I was asked to go. I was practising my virsit (hymns) with my host Mum for days, so that I would be able to sing along. It was a very special occasion and Frida Elsa Viilinen, my host niece, as she shall now be known, was so beautiful. She didn't even cry. What a little champion!
Last weekend was the Rotary District Conference for my district in Finland. It was really great to meet all of the other exchange students and get to know everyone. All of our 'oldies' were very accommodating, especially when I brought ANZAC biscuits into play, ha ha. We all had so much fun with our tutors, who were really lovely. Lotta, one of our tutors who went to Newcastle, actually turned out to be the former host sister of a guy from my hometown, so she actually knew of my hometown (which is pretty amazing, when you consider the fact that it has an astonishingly thriving population of 5,000). On the weekend, we also enjoyed "Nordic walking" through the Finnish forest, which pretty much is identical to ordinary walking, just with sticks. We also attempted to conquer an extreme forest obstacle course, which proved entertaining. I had a great time playing melkkö, a traditional Finnish throwing game. The only fault of the weekend was the fact that there seemed to be so little time. I tried to get to know all of the oldies and socialise, but it was difficult to spend time with everyone. It seems so unfair that I have only just met these fantastic people, only to find that they will be returning home soon.
In other news, my life is only becoming increasingly superb, at the moment. I met up with two of the older exchange students in my area yesterday and another girl from AFS, which was so fun. It was great to hang out and I just felt so happy to be with people who can assimilate with me and understand my position. School is great... I have made more new friends and am trying hard to be more sociable. I feel like everyone has been so accepting of me and I really could not be more grateful for all the kindness that everyone has bestowed upon me. I have been speaking more and more Finnish, wherever possible, which is genuinely appreciated by my peers. It is so nice to have their encouragement and support... it really helps me to keep motivated to continue learning the language. Yesterday, there was a music concert performed by students at our school and a girl from my class sang. She had the most amazingly beautiful voice... it just made me see how there is so much much to people that you'll never know unless you take the time to get to know them. In less profound news, the Power Rangers theme song was performed by some guys from my year level. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face for the rest of the day. Go, go Power Rangers!
Well, I can't really think of all that much else. I will try and update this more regularly, so that there's not such a visual assualt.
Until then, I look forward to visiting the Fazer headquarters in Helsinki and celebrating my eighteenth birthday in Russia! Jippii!
Heippa!
