And time goes on..

It's so hard to keep this blog updated when I feel like time is just flying by!
It's already been over 6 weeks since I left Canada!

I started my first Spanish class this evening and I have to say that I am now so grateful for my somewhat adequate French skills. Yay for related languages. But it's all in the name of learning I guess and hopefully I can learn some words and phrases by the end of the year.

Anyway, day-to-day life...The rose-coloured glasses have come off! I've definitely passed the peak of the 'honeymoon' phase (the end of month 1) and I'm pretty sure I'm passing into the stage of true culture shock, though it doesn't feel like culture shock. I'm finding that I'm settled into a routine but it's really really hard when I have free time and nothing to do to occupy myself (this explains the Spanish classes and Finnish classes and dance classes). Experiencing Finland is absolutely wonderful when I'm busy, but I'm starting to miss home too, simply because life seemed easier. I'm definitely still having a great time, but I'm sure ready for the AHA! moment when I just get what's going on in conversations. :) Not sure when that's coming though...or if...

To be honest, though, even though this part of the exchange is the hardest, I do think I'll end up learning the most (cliche, no?) from the end of September to November. Here we go, roller coaster.

I'm not sure what else to add. On Saturday, we went for a hike through one of the National Parks and cooked makkaraa (not sure about the grammar/spelling on that one). Cranberries grow in the swampland that is part of the walk and it's really common to go for sauna and a swim in the swamp-water lake that is close by. The water looks.. interesting.. because it's actually brown from the swampland but it's good for the skin and feels pretty good to swim in. :)

I visited Turku Castle (Turunlinna) with Eija and Amar Jit on the weekend too! This place was absolutely phenomenal and I wish we could have had more time to see it (even though we spent almost three hours there!). Construction of the castle began in the year 1280, while Finland was under Swedish rule, and it was intended to be a military fortress. Originally, the castle was built on an island, but over time, the land has risen and the castle is now a part of the mainland.

Turunlinna

School is decent I guess. In English class, I almost passed a test. Almost, with a score of 4.5 out of 10... Oh well, I'm working on it. Believe it or not, I tried to make Finnish cheat sheets for myself with vocabulary and verb conjugation. Needless to say, I made them and haven't looked at them since. They are now sitting on a shelf..I think I'm going to start trying the 'say it in Finnish and if they don't understand ask for the translation in English' route. It's easier to learn by speaking.

I also had pizza with pepperoni! It was fantastic. Enough said. :) 

The exams for this period are starting this Thursday too. French is first, Thursday morning, then history on Friday. I have Monday off, then math, English and health. I'm writing my history exam in English but considering I haven't actually studied any history since 10th grade, it might be interesting. And I can't wait to see what's on the health exam! My health knowledge is poor even in English! My goal is to understand the questions, not to be able to answer them. I can't believe I'm not even expecting to pass this period. My standards sure have dropped ;)

Who knows what I'll be taking next period...

It's funny because sometimes I'm grateful I don't actually look like a foreigner and sometimes I'm not. I was told that some Finns are uncomfortable around foreigners because they are worried about conversing perfectly in the foreigner's language. I can understand that; it's why I'm so shy to speak Finnish. Also, there are situations in which it is perfectly normal to talk to strangers. It's true! For instance, it is ok to speak to a family that comes to use the same grill that you are using to grill sausages when you are walking in the National Park. The conversation starts with the weather (because it's usually nice weather when you are out walking) and continues to the food and then on from there (generalized of course). I love Finns. :) 

My thoughts are all over the place (sorry!) but I guess that's pretty much it for now. I have to brush up on my WWII history.

Month 1, complete!

It's been exactly one month since I arrived. August 8th... That seems so long ago now, but I'm not sure exactly what I've been doing in the last two weeks to fill up the time...

I sort of have a daily schedule, which pretty much consists of school. Rotary meetings are held on Tuesdays, I have language classes on Wednesdays, possibly followed by coffee with the exchange students, and another language class is going to start up on Monday. There is also dance on Sundays.

I had the flu for a couple of days, which was not so much fun but my host parents were wonderful taking care of me and I'm feeling much better :)

I also had my first Indian cooking lesson, which was pretty cool. Yes, I am in Finland and learning how to cook Indian food. It's fantastic :) I can tell that I'll be cooking a lot more when I get back to Canada....And I'm pretty sure that mom is enthusiastic about this. Also, Amar Jit said he'd try to teach me Punjabi too, which means that this year I will be learning how to speak Finnish, Spanish, better French, possibly Swedish (though probably not) and Punjabi.... Good think I like languages??? I don't think it's going to happen though. I'll probably lose my English, knowing my luck! :)

Last Friday marked only 100 days of school left for the 3rd year students (I'm pretty sure they get time to study for their final exams or something like that). Every year in Finland, the 3rd years celebrate by dressing up and basically terrorizing the school. There were about a hundred pirates screaming and running around with lipsticks, drawing on students' and teachers' faces, interrupting classes, the whole bit... It was funny until I had to leave the school to go to the bus stop in the absolute middle of the city, with people everywhere.... haha at least I wasn't the only one with lipstick all over my face. It happens in every high school (lukio) apparently and again, even bigger and louder in the spring when there are just 10 days left.

I also tried lettu on the weekend which is a thin crepe-like pancake (I think we might have had them at Karkku too, actually) that you eat with jam or berries. I brought down my maple syrup for everyone to try, but to be honest, it tastes better with the jam! Maybe I'll have to find waffles or make pancakes Canadian-style for everyone to fully appreciate the maple syrup.

I got out the shell for my winter coat the other day too. It's getting to be near the freezing point at night and I'm noticing that the days are already getting shorter. I now understand what everyone means about enjoying the sunshine while you can! Good thing I like winter :)

I'm pretty sure I'm going to miss the 3 month mark for being fluent in the language but I think it's all right... Maybe by Christmas...Actually, I'm hoping to be able to understand the Harry Potter movie when it comes out in November. That's the goal ;) But I'm noticing that sometimes I can pick up the gist of sentences, depending on the subject. Don't ask me to tell anybody what we're learning in history class, for example... I hear Hitler or Mussolini or Stalin and I say WWII. That's pretty much the extent of it.

Other than that, though, it feels like I'm pretty settled in. Life is definitely good!