Back to Alajärvi

Today was my last day at Emilia's house. She was in work most of the day at a candy shop in town, so I worked on updating my blog and getting caught up on emails and the like. It was pretty chill. That evening, Emilia drove me back to Alajärvi, to the Peltomäkis, my third host family, who I stayed with for a few days. It was nice to see everyone again and get all caught up.

The week with them went by pretty quickly. I hope this is in the correct order, but I don't remember exactly when what happened, so bear with me. This week I got to bike around town with my host brother Antton. We stopped by his grandparents house and then showed me the newly renovated health center, because otherwise there is nothing new in Alajärvi. We also went to Vimpeli to watch my host brother Eemil's pesäpallo game, which Alajärvi won. Antton, my host brother, and I had lunch and ice cream and coffee with Reija's dad and Reija's sister and her daughter Lilia came by to visit. Lilia, who is now currently four has grown a lot in the time I've been away, so it was nice to see her again, although she didn't remember me. We stopped by Reija's parents house and had some coffee and treats. Also, one day, Teppo's mom came over and made lunch for Antton and me which was really nice.

On Thursday, I got a chance to bike around Alajärvi. I biked by my old lukio, near the Alajärvi church, along the lake, to the downtown "mall," through places I used to live and I stopped by Halpa-Halli at the end to get some Geisha (Finnish chocolate) and Jaffa (Finnish Fanta). It was very nice to sit and look out over the lake after the long bike ride.

On Friday, my host mom, Reija, Lilia, Reija's neice and I took a trip to the Ähtäri Zoo, a large zoo in the middle of nowhere and Keskinen, a  large shopping mall in the middle of nowhere. Before our long car ride began, we first stopped by the Alajärvi health center because Reija had to pick up a cake, or something of the sort because she helped someone out with something. We brought it back home, and Reija had a hard time fitting it in the fridge (it was a very large box), but once she did, we headed out.

First, we stopped by the Ähtäri Zoo where we went to see Lumi and Pyry, two pandas that arrived in Finland in January. We actually had to buy special tickets just to see the pandas. We only ended up seeing Lumi because Pyry was hiding somewhere and probably sleeping, but we had fun watching Lumi eat bamboo. Then we began the 3 kilometer journey around the zoo. We saw lots of different animals including but not limited to: a snow leopard, a bison, bears, deer, and some swans. Halfway through the 3 km long path, we stopped and got some ice cream, because there was a place to do so, and I got to have some Finnish pehmis ice cream, which I haven't had since I was in Finland the first time. We finished the whole loop and ended up at a farm area with horses, cows, sheep and chickens. It was funny when we heard the sheep baaing and Reija told Lilia to ask the sheep what hurt. (Mitä sulla on kipeä?) The sheep would respond with baa, which sounds a lot like pää (head) in Finnish.

After our visit to the zoo, we then made the drive over to Keskinen. It was only about 20-30 km away, so by the time we got there, Lilia hadn't woken up from sleeping. While Reija went shopping for shoes, I stayed with her in the car so that she could sleep. After waking Lilia up, we went and had some lunch before going around Keskinen and getting a few things and stopping by the play place in the mall. They had done some renovations, so it was fun to see what was new and what had changed (one of these changes was a mural of a giant unicorn at one of the entrances in case you were curious). On our way out, we ran into Reija's grandparents and talked to them for a bit.

Finally we began the long journey back. Upon our arrival, I finished up some packing and we all sat around for a while because we were all tired. Before I left to go and stay with my fourth host family for the next few days, I gave my third host dad, Teppo, a Father's Day card because Father's Day is tomorrow in the US (it's in November in Finland). Then we packed up my bags in the car and quickly stopped by the store to do some shopping. As we did, I saw Jaska outside and stopped and talked with him. Jaska was one of my hockey coaches from when I played hockey on JPK. It was nice to catch up and hear about what his kids, Elmeri and Heidi, who I played hockey with, are up to. Teppo finished his shopping and came out to talk for a bit before we headed out. He had bought me two Fazer bars during his shopping run, so I've gotten to enjoy those since then.

We arrived at my fourth host family's house, which is further outside of town and I got to see my host parents and host brother. I got chance to settle in and then go to sauna that evening. My fourth host family has an outdoor sauna which is just great. It was actually the first time that I got to go to sauna since my return to Finland, so it was awesome.

Today is Saturday and so far we've watched some soccer and went out on a shopping run where we got ice cream. On the way home, we took the long way and went around the Alajärvi lake. I went to sauna again and it was fantastic. Just another week before I head over to Sweden. 

Long Time No See

On Friday, Emilia had laser eye surgery in Seinäjoki so that she no longer needs to use glasses. She wants to be a police officer and she doesn't like contacts, so she decided that this was the way to go.

Because of that, we took the hour long drive down to Seinäjoki for her surgery. Emilia and her dad dropped me off at the train station because I was going to meet a friend there. However, we were there an hour early, so I went and walked around downtown Seinäjoki for a little bit before heading back to the train station. With my giant Finnish flag wrapped around me, I patiently waited for a familiar face to appear out of the crowd of people getting off the train from Tampere. And then I saw him. Jeran Paris, an old friend of mine. Jeran is an American who had been on exchange with Rotary in Forssa, Finland while I was on exchange in Finland. He is also visiting Finland this June and so we arranged to meet up. He was nice enough to take the journey from Forssa all the way up to Seinäjoki. It was really nice to see him after two years and catch up.

First, we went out to lunch at the pizza buffet which I had been to once with my Finnish hockey team when we had a hockey game in Seinäjoki and which was one of the places that my Australian friend Lydia, who was on exchange in Seinäjoki when I was in Alajärvi, suggested. Then, we got some free stuff from an electronics store because we spun a wheel. After that, we walked a bit around Seinäjoki. I got us a little lost, but after seeing the Lakeuden Risti we made our way to the Seinäjoki library. There, we sat in one of the cozy reading places in the wall of the library (they are actually in the walls - look it up) and talked. It was nice to know that I was not the only one who absolutely loves the main Seinäjoki library. We eventually had to head back to the train station where I bid Jeran farewell for now as he heads off to another week in Finland before heading off to Spain and Mexico, which I am definitely jealous of.

Just as I said goodbye to Jeran, Emilia called and let me know that she was ready. I walked to the Seinäjoki Silmäasema from the train station and then we all headed back. We stopped by Alajärvi where we got Parmesan cheese, milk and ice cream before we headed back home. That evening, Emilia's brother and I, Matias made some bow tie hot dish, or something like it, and it turned out pretty well for it being my first time making it on my own.

The day after Emilia's surgery (Saturday), we had a pretty chill day since Emilia couldn't really do much. We went to her mom's house and had lunch before we returned home and played cards. That evening we went out for a walk in the woods by Emilia's house (they are literally right next to her house) to get outside. Aside from the mosquitoes it was nice to get out and about. Then, Pauliina, one of my friends that I went to class with when I was on exchange, stopped by for a bit and we made letut, Finnish pancakes. Then Emmi came by for a visit with her dog and I gave her some more last pieces of advice and said goodbye before she heads off to the US in just a couple of days.

And now here I am, writing this blog post. Thinking about the many hellos and goodbyes that have been said between friends within the space of a couple of days. Thinking about how lucky I am to have such wonderful friends and that I have the opportunity to visit them and see them again.

Hanging out with Jeran, someone else who went through the exchange experience in Finland at the same time that I did, was something that I've definitely missed. Don't get me wrong, I love my fellow Rotex and rebounds in Minnesota - they're really awesome - but it was really nice to talk to a fellow American about Finland, Finns and our exchange experience. I'm really lucky to have a group of people back in Minnesota that I can talk to about being an exchange student that really get it and that I am able to give advice to inbounds and outbounds alike about being an exchange student. Honestly, I love it and I think it is great, after all, that's why I dedicate so much of my time to it. However, being the only Rotex that went to Finland can get a little lonely sometimes and so being with Jeran and talking about Finland in a way that only we get was refreshing and made very happy.

It also made me think about how lucky I am. Coming back to Minnesota from Finland provided me with opportunities that not many rebounds from Finland can easily get. Being in Minnesota allowed me to be involved in a very strong Rotex program and give back to the organization that helped me get to where I am today. It allowed me to take Finnish courses and go to Finnish conversation hour to retain my Finnish. It allowed me to get involved with the Finnish American community in Minnesota and find other people like me that have such a passion for Finland. Most rebounds aren't that lucky. Most rebounds don't get the kinds of opportunities that I did. But at the same time, I have to remember that I sought out those opportunities and made the most of them. I put myself out there and took advantage of the opportunities that were out there for me. I just had to find them.

In short, I really enjoyed hanging out with Jeran not only because Jeran's awesome and we had a fun day in Seinäjoki, but also because our time together made me reflect and for that I am grateful. Although it may not seem like it now, this summer will be short and soon enough I will be back in Minnesota. Once I back there, I plan to continue to continue to take advantage of the many wonderful opportunities that I have been lucky enough to receive and worked hard to find.

One Week in Finland

Hei everyone!

It's already been a week since I've arrived in Finland! I'm sure you are all wondering what I have done between graduation and today. Well...

On the Sunday after graduation I went out for a walk around the neighborhood where my first host family lived, which was fun. Along the way, I ran into a Rotarian from the Alajärven Rotary club and his wife and we talked a little bit which was nice. That evening I went over to my friend Kristiina's house who I stayed with until Wednesday.

The next day, we watched the cows get their hooves trimmed (Kristiina's family has cows), which was something I had never seen before. We also took out one of the cows, which I had met two years ago, for a walk. It was a bit chilly outside, but it was still cool.

Tuesday was an exciting day. Why, you ask? My bag finally made it to Alajärvi! Plus, we went to Seinäjoki and did some shopping with another friend of mine, Anne-Marie. It was really fun to go around Seinäjoki and see all of the different places I had been to either with my friend Lydia, who was one exchange in Seinäjoki the same time I was, or with my hockey team when we had games down there. On our way back, we stopped by the Alajärvi ABC and picked up my bag. That evening we then went out and got the supplies to make mokkapalat, and they turned out really well.

On Wednesday Kristiina's mom showed me how to make leipäjuusto. Later that evening, Kristiina dropped me off in Alajärvi with my luggage, leipäjuusto and mokkapalat in tow at Roosa's and Raisa's apartment. Roosa was on exchange in Michigan while I was in Finland and Raisa my host sister is my first family. They drove me to their mökki, summer cottage, where Rotarians from the Alajärvi Rotary Club were having a kalailta, a get together in place of their regular meeting and ate fish. It was fun to see them again after two years. They wanted to know what I was doing and what was new and they said that they enjoyed when they got the letters that I sent them about what I was up to. One of the Rotarians, who would give me rides to hockey practice, said that they still talk about me in the realm of hockey in Alajärvi, which I was very happy to hear. After that, we headed back to Alajärvi where my friend Emilia from Kyyjärvi came and picked me up before we headed back to her place. We went out for bit, she jogged and I rode her bike, to the lake near their house.

Then on Thursday, we stopped by and saw Emilia's horses. We talked with a man who helps run the place and he was very interested in talking with me because I was an American. It was pretty fun. After that, we went into town and bought the supplies needed for bowtie hotdish which we are going to make tomorrow. We stopped by and said hi to Emilia's mom, who is a hairdresser, at work before Emilia showed me a bit around Kyyjärvi. We stopped by Emmi's house, another friend of mine who is going to be an au pair in New York for a whole year starting this summer. I got to give her some advice about the US and American culture and answered questions she had about the US. Hopefull my advice was helpful. :) Then, we went to Emmi's grandparents place because they wanted to meet Emmi's American friend. Although we had just eaten, they gave us some juice boxes and a big box of chocolates. After that, we stopped by a retired Finnish woman's house because she had American relatives and they thought it would be fun if we stopped by. We were fed ice cream and talked about all of the different places that her relatives are from in the US. Later that day, we made American chocolate chips cookies and they turned out very well.

One week in Finland has already gone by. Just about two more to go before it's off to Sweden for me.

For the love of translation

In case you have not seen it, Alajärven Lukio has posted pictures from my friends' graduation on
Saturday. One of those pictures is of me. The Facebook translated version is as follows:

Surprise! The American Emma I held a speech to the students of their classmates. Two years ago, he spent an exchange student in the high school of the lower lake, and went off course with the students who were passed on Saturday. Emma's visit to the lake was a surprise to the party. Emma's speech also dealt with surprises that fit her exchange student bed a lot. As a surprise to the party people, the fact that Emma's Finnish language has become even more advanced in the last few years. At The University of university of University, he is studying the Finnish language and culture.




Now, for those of you that don't speak Finnish, which is most of you, here is a better translation of what the Facebook post says:

Surprise! American Emma Mulhern gave a speech to the graduates, her former classmates. She spent a year abroad as an exchange student at Alajärven Lukio two years ago and took classes with the newly graduated class. Emma's visit to Alajärvi remained a secret until graduation day. Emma's speech also talked about surprises, which she experienced many of during her exchange year. It was a surprise for those attending how Emma's Finnish language abilities had improved even more during the past two years. She is majoring in International Business and minorning in Finnish at the University of Minnesota.

Here We Go Again

Hei everybody! Guess who's back in Finland?

It's crazy to be back. It's been almost two years since I've been here. 

So much has happened in those two years. For one, I graduated from high school and started studying at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. I'm studying business, and although I don't know what I want to major in, I have already declared a Finnish minor that I will have completed by the end of this summer. I am very involved with the Rotex in Minnesota because I love being with all of the exchange students and the Rotex. This last year I also lived with international students in one of the dorms on campus, which was very fun and now I have friends from even more places around the world.

It's honestly crazy to think that it has already been two years since my exchange ended. It's crazy to think that in that time, I haven't left the US. That is, until now. I boarded my plane that took me across the world, and now here I am. I'm back in Finland. 

Now, some of you are probably thinking, why are you posting this? This blog was meant for my exchange year, but that ended a couple of years ago. Well, my reasoning is that this blog is called "Emma's Adventures in Finland" and I'm back in Finland.

Honestly, I just want to share my experiences of what it is like to be back in a country that I love. I've been back in Finland only for a few days now and it has been exciting, fantastic, and exhilarating to be back. It has been an eventful few days.

For one, I took two planes to get me around the world from Minnesota to Finland. They were both delayed, and my bag didn't come to Finland with me. It finally came today meaning it'll still be another few days before I get it. Anyway, once I arrived in Helsinki, I took a few hour long train ride up to Seinäjoki where I was picked up by a former English teacher of mine that had taught me Finnish when I was on exchange. I had arranged to stay with him for a few days because I was going to surprise my friends at their graduation. Then we drove for another hour up to Alajärvi where I ate before I crashed that night.

The next day I wrote my speech for graduation. I hadn't really written much so I had to write most of it then. Since I didn't want anyone to know that was in town, I just stayed inside the whole day and relaxed.

Then the big day came: my friends' graduation. I borrowed a dress and some shoes since I still don't have my bag before we headed out to the event. I then walked around in my old lukio (high school) where the first and second year lukio students were getting their report cards for that year. I saw someone that I knew and she was very surprised and very excited to see me. We talked for a while before I headed to the gym where the graduation ceremony was going to be held. As my friends started trickling in I said hi to them and they were all very surprised to see me. None of them had any idea that I was coming to their graduation ceremony because I told them that I wouldn't be arriving in Finland until tomorrow. It was very excited and everyone was very happy to see me and I them. It was pretty funny when they started to realize that the surprise graduate speech that was on the program was going to be given by me. I got a change to say hi to some former teachers of mine which was fun.

After that, the ceremony started. Soon thereafter I gave my speech. Although we had to get the microphone working, it all went well otherwise. There were some musical performances along with some circus performances and of course, my classmates got their graduation caps and their diplomas and graduated from lukio. It was very fun.

Once the ceremony ended, I got a chance to talk with the current AFS exchange student in Alajärvi from Japan along with someone that was in the same year as me in high school who spent a year abroad in Indiana the year after I was an exchange student in Alajärvi. It was fun to talk with them both and compare our exchange student experiences since not many go on exchange to/from Alajärvi.

That afternoon I stopped by two of my friends' graduation parties in Alajärvi. It was very fun, especially since one of my friends who wasn't at graduation came and he was very surprised to see me as well. I ate lots of good food and had a good time. 

While it has only been a few days, I still have a very eventful summer ahead of me in Finland and in Sweden. I won't be returning to the US until late August, so stay tuned for more posts to come! 

Санкт-Петербург

On Sunday, I made cookies and brownies in the morning and celebrated my birthday in the afternoon. We ate lots of great cake and I got lots of presents including four chocolate bars, some shirts and shoes and more. It was nice to see everyone.

Syntämäpäivänäni I received "lots of luck" in school because it was my birthday. In other words, they don't usually say happy birthday in Finland, but rather, lots of luck. Then in the evening I quickly said goodbye to my Finnish teacher who said it was nice having me in her class and how it was fun for her to see how quickly I learned Finnish. Then I headed to my hockey game. I tried to score a goal throughout the entire game, as it was our last game of the season. I played as a wing because of that. We took a timeout with three minutes left in the game and my teammates asked why. My coach said because it was time to get Emma a goal. I was close a lot of times, but I didn't get a goal before the buzzer went off. The puck may not have ended up in the net, but I did. Earlier in the game, I almost got a goal as I took the puck away from a defender coming out from behind the net and I kept poking the goalie to try and get it in. They pushed me into the net and my teammates all said I did a good job when I did that.

After the game, I said I had an announcement to make and I held up my backpack which that hadn't really noticed I had since I hid it under the bench. They saw that and they got quite pretty fast. I told them although I didn't get a goal, I had had a great time playing on JPK, so I made them some cookies. They each took one and decided they had to sing. They sang "Paljon Onnea" to me before they took some more cookies and brownies. Overall, it had been a pretty awesome birthday.

The Hermitage

The throne room

On Tuesday, I tried mämmi with vanilla sauce and I thought it was pretty good. In the afternoon, I had my hockey class and some women from the for fun women's team came by. It was fun to talk to them, and it especially fun when they realized I wasn't Finnish (well, we kind of told them). They said they didn't realize I wasn't Finnish because of my accent and said that I spoke better Finnish than some Finnish people do. After that, I got some nail polish, lipstick and hair binders from my host aunt and some muumi measuring spoons and a cooking scraper from my neighbor/hockey teammate since I am known for baking cookies and they will help me bake more. :)

Statue of Peter the Great

Keskiviikkona, I had a pretty normal school day. Then, in the evening, we headed to Seinäjoki. There, I stayed the night with one of my newbies and another exchange student from the district. It was really funny because in my newbies host family, there are two boys in elementary school and the youngest was really confused because he thought I was a Finnish person and not the second American girl he heard was coming. After I finally convinced him, he ended up asking a few hours later if I was an American because he just couldn't believe it with my great Finnish accent.


On Thursday, we left from Seinäjoki by bus at 4:30 am and we headed to Tampere. There, many of my friends got on and it was fun to talk with them about what has happened since we last met. I even spoke Finnish with my friend from Wisconsin as he spoke it pretty well, although he had a pretty strong American accent. It took us five more hours before we reached the border and we picked up lots of people along the way, including a few newbies. A newbie from Australia spoke Japanese which was cool. Then we had lunch and met up with the other bus at the border Crossing the border went smoothly and then we took the long drive to the hotel.

St. Isaac's Cathedral

Perjantaina, we stopped by the Hermitage where we were given a guided tour through some of the rooms. Because the tour was in English, I helped translate into Finnish what was being said for a Japanese girl who doesn't speak much English.

It was very interesting to see all of the different things that were on display at the museum such as paintings by famous artists and a vase that was so big and weighed so much that they built the room around it. The architecture and designs of the different rooms and the throne room were very beautiful.

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

In the afternoon, we stopped by the Kunstkamera. The Kunstkamera was the first museum completed in Russia and now holds the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. It was fun to learn about all of the ancient civilizations from around the world. Again, I was a translator for the Japanese girl, but it was fun, especially when we got to the Japanese ancient dolls and she said they still have dolls like that at her house. We also saw collections of body parts and dead human siamese twins preserved in fluid and on display, as Peter the Great wanted people to learn more about humans.

The inside of the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

Then on Saturday we had a city tour where we visited many great sites, such as the statue of Peter the Great, St. Isaac's Cathedral, a church during service and the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

We had a few hours in the city on our own, so we went shopping on the streets and my newbie managed to bargain for the first time without knowing it and it was really funny to watch her. We ate in an Russian restaurant and visited the inside of Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, which was very beautiful.

In short: a pretty fantastic week. :)

Are y'all sure I'm American?

On Sunday we had another game in Kurikka (an hour and a half away from Alajärvi) where a Japanese exchange student lives. I invited him to come but his parents were skiing so he couldn't which is too bad. We played a pretty good game. We got the first goal but also a four minute penalty. A ten minute penalty was called for a player on the other team. However, the referees were not very good. Kurikka got a goal when they should have gotten a penalty and they let them hit our goalie and it wasn't that great. I got some of their players mad though so I was at least satisfied with that. We ended up losing the game 3-2. We will play them again in a tournament coming up at the end of the month. Hopefully we will have some better referees and I think we can beat them. One of my hockey skate laces also broke but I tied them in a knot to keep them together.

Maanataina I brought my Rotary jacket to school. I showed it to my friends who were impressed by the 94 pins and hopefully more to come. English and history were normal but Finnish class was fun. We spoke in Finnish about our weekends and my teacher was impressed that I could even be sarcastic in Finnish. After that, instead of going to English I went to the junior high with Emma (she was an exchange student in Hong Kong last year) where we did presentations for an English class about being an exchange student. It was fun. After class, we talked with the teacher and she said she hoped to recruit lots of future exchange students as she was an exchange student in Ohio and it changed her life. She also gave us some presents. I got some Finnish candy as well as a laser pointer and a pen with the school's name on it since the principal wanted me to be able to remember their school when I got back and since they are small and can go in my suitcase when I go back. I had Finnish lessons in the evening where we learned about the i plural before hockey practice. I had new laces since my others were broken. They are the same color as my dress for the dance... :)

Tiistaina I had dance in the morning. I finally remembered to bring my shoes in and I practiced in those. My partner his shoes also (I told him he needed to buy some over the weekend or else). We learned how to dance the grand square dance. In history we answered some questions about the Romans, in English we went over grammar and in math class we went over the homework and did some more. 

On Wednesday my host dad decided it was a chocolate day. What does that mean? It means he bought me chocolate in the morning on the way to school. I did some listening comprehension in English class (side note: listening comprehension for English is pretty hard here, especially because you have to interpret what they are saying and not just pick the answer that says exactly what they said. It's hard man). Then I had history, math and English before I had free periods. My host dad's work doesn't end until three so I stay at school.My friends and I discussed the fact that kinder eggs are banned in the US. They were very surprised. In the evening I went to a Rotary meeting where I found out the meeting I would attend in the next few months that involve ice fishing and bowling, for example.

Torstaina we had dance where we practiced everything we had learned so far. It was fun but hard for everyone to remember everything. In the evening I had hockey practice before I returned home to find a letter- a letter about EuroTour. I was very excited and sent an email to my parents right away asking if I could go.

On Friday, I received an email from my mom saying I couldn't go on EuroTour. I was determined to go on EuroTour so I talked to my host dad about it and he called some people and said that I might be able to earn some money translating websites so I could pay for EuroTour. Then I had a normal school day and I gave another presentation. Before my presentation, one of the students in my English class asked me about my jacket as class was ending. He asked if I had been all of those places which I said no and explained about all the pins and he said it was a nice jacket. At lunch we saw the foreigners eat their last Finnish lunch before they return. I suppose I haven't mentioned them already, have I? Well, basically a bunch of foreign teachers from around the world came to Alajärvi to participate in some program in the junior high school before the return home. It was funny to watch them throughout the week and how some of them reacted to the cold (some were very bundled up for winter as they were not used to it). I gave my presentation in the afternoon and one of them asked at the end if I really was American if I spoke Finnish so well. He wanted to know how they could be sure. After that we had dance practice where we had time to practice our own dances and it was pretty fun and the dances the boys were doing were pretty funny.

In the evening my host mom, host sister, my music teacher (his son plays on my team) and I worked at the ice rink's concession stand. Basically we just had to make a bunch of coffee and sell it for the people who came for it. Finnish people drink a lot of coffee, so we sold quite a lot as well as some candy to some kids. I saw one of my friends come in, so I went and said hi to her. She had a women's/girl's hockey practice so that's why she was there. I watched from above, that's where the concessions stand is, and I found out that my coach helps out with it. Then we had to clean up the upstairs area of the arena where the concessions stand is. We vacuumed and moped and cleaned off the tables. I was the boss and I probably did most of the work, but it was fine since we were there for three hours and I was bored. After that, I found out from my dad that it was all a joke and that I could go on EuroTour and to Russia. My mom was joking and she had just wanted to see my reaction. Tough love, huh? ;)

Today we got to watch my host dad and his team race. Basically there is a car racing simulator and people have teams and they practice racing before they compete today. All I know is that my host dad's team did well and I think there is another round tomorrow. In the evening, I made my host dad clean his work room with my help and it turned out quite lovely, as can be seen in the above four pictures. (It's too bad I don't have a before picture- you should've seen this place.)

Grades and Olli

My week started with a trip to the observation tower located just up the hill from where I live now. It was -30C but we went anyways because I have no time on the weekends since I have so many games and it is too dark to take pictures when I get back from school #blackfriday #everyfriday. It was cold (the mouth piece on my water bottle that I had brought with me froze and my hands were really cold when I took off my mittens to take pictures) but I got some cool pictures out of it.

Then on Monday I was back to school. First I had English 2 (English with my class) before history and then my Finnish lessons. Then in my English class (not English 2, the other English class with the third class) we went over the meanings of idioms. In the afternoon I had two free periods so I worked on Finnish. In the evening I went back to Finnish lessons after a long break where we went over how to say dates and discussed when the course would end. It ends on my birthday, so Vera, the Russian girl said we should throw a party. We'll see. Hockey practice after that.

The next day I had my dance class. We did a large circle dance and some waltzing. In history we learned about Ancient Greek architecture and art. English was English and math was math (well, geometry to be more specific).

Wednesday was interesting. In English 2 we compared American and Finnish cultures since there was text about it. It was interesting to see what the book said and what I said and what my classmates thought. Before history class the mother tongue walked by me talking to my friends. She told me she walked by and then walked back after she heard me speaking Finnish. She said I spoke very well. +5 points for Emma. History was just Greek to me, math was math, English was English and hockey was hockey.

Torstaina we worked on the entrance to the gym for our dances and talked about the dances we were planning to do. In English we translated a chapter and a new student joined our class from Vimpeli. The rest of the day was pretty ordinary: school and hockey. In the evening though, I found out that my third host mom (who I will be moving to soon) has schedules me an appointment for the hairdresser the day of the dance.

On Friday I had English where we went over grammar and gym where we played floor ball. We got our grades back from the third grading period. Just a reminder: in the third grading period I had English, math, biology, chemistry and physics. (I had gym too but we don't get the grade for that yet since the class is still going on during this grading period.) This was definitely the hardest jakso I've had (and will have) this year. English and math were fine and I got an S and a 9 but the others were hard. I was taking the second chemistry and physics classes, meaning they were advanced classes and I have never taking physics and hadn't know anything about what we learning already and they were learning many things I hadn't learned before in chemistry class. I had biology and that was okay but there was still a lot there were learning that I hadn't learned before. Remember, this is Finland, you know, the place with one of the best education systems in the world. So anyways, I got a 7 in biology and in chemistry while in physics I got a 5. Of course it isn't that great, but remember that I am only human (and that I've never learned any of it before and that it was all in Finnish). I am just happy I passed that course. :)

In English class we had a disagreement about adverbs and what their test says and what we say in America. In dance we did the fireman's dance and in the evening my host dad worked on putting two more computer screens on his computer car racing simulator since the big races are coming up next week. Stayed tuned for more.

Lauantaina we had a hockey game near Jyväskylä. We didn't win (11-1 was the score) and my teammates invented me an imaginary boyfriend named Olli on the bus ride. Why? Hyvää kysymys.

School returns

On Sunday I put the rest of my pins of my jacket. I wonder if I'll have any space for the newbies' pins... ;) My first host family also came over and got pieces of an old bed from my second host family for their youngest daughter Malla.

On Monday, we watched Finland play against Sweden game. Finland won! Why? Because Finland is awesome and better than Sweden of course! After hockey practice we watched the Russia versus USA game and USA lost sadly...

Tiistaina we watched the bronze medal game of USA versus Sweden. USA won the bronze! USA! USA! After that came the Finland versus Russia game. It was very close and the game went into overtime after the Russian tied up the game in the last ten second (after their captain got a pretty bad penalty may I add). But then in overtime Finland scored the final goal!! SUOMI! SUOMI! It was funny to watch the replay too because after the goal had been scored, all the Finns took their helmets off and one slid in front of the Russian goalie. You know, just a happy accident that rubbed it in their face even more. The interviews with the Finns were also pretty great because they were just so happy and so energetic about it. They sprayed a bottle of champagne at each other and were taking selfies and gave their head coach a quick shower.

Keskivikkona my host mom made some pancakes in the morning using a "Minnesota" pancake mix they found in the store (no really, it said Minnesota on it) along with some Minnesota syrup on it. It was good, but she hadn't asked to use some of my vanilla extract and that would have made it even better. At hockey practice we had practice of course, but then one of my coaches gave me a book called "Sights in Finland" which has a bunch of picture of Finland and descriptions in English. He said he found it (I don't know where) and that I could have it although the pictures may be old since it was published in 2006. We also had a discussion about all of the different uses of the word okay in English (it started since I kept saying it in response to my coach giving me the book). I figured out three uses of the word okay: as a question/to show confusion, as an another word for sure and as another word for yes.

Then back to school I went on Thursday. First I had my dance class and we learned how to dance the waltz. My partner wasn't there since he was at home with food poisoning his friend told me so I danced with his friend since his friends' partner wasn't there. Then I had English class with my class (first years) and geometry class. English was English and math was math.  Then I had my English class with the third years (my class is taking Swedish and I am not at their level of Swedish so I am taking this class) before I had my European history class. My history teacher talked to me and she heard I understood a decent amount of Finnish so I can do whatever I feel comfortable with in Finnish (I answered questions in English before in history class. Hockey practice that night but this time with the younger kids and the goalies since our practice time got changed.

Perjantaina was an easy day. First I had a double period of English with my class and we learned the passive tense. Then I had a double period of gym with the first year girls and we played hand ball. After that was my English class with the third years  where we reviewed grammer before I had a double period of dance class. My partner was there and we danced some circle dance thing.

Today we had a game. We lost but we got two goals and I knocked some people over so it was okay. :)

2016

The week started out meeting up with my first and third host families who I will be moving to in February. My first and third families came to my second host family's house where we had coffee and talked. It was nice to get to see everyone. I had already met everyone before, but I had only interacted with my third host family one or two times before. Side note: earlier that day I had been working on writing thank you cards to the Finnish hockey players on the Minnesota Wild for their signatures and gifts. I was reading what my teammates had written and it was funny because one of my teammates wrote to Mikko Koivu that if they win the Stanley cup, then come to sauna with us at Laineentie 5. Well, my third host family lives on the same street just a few houses up. When they were over they mentioned how one of my teammates lives on their street which I had just learned earlier that day. We talked about hockey and the dance coming up in February.

Wanhat dance picture from last year

All of my first host families were very excited for the dance since it is a big deal and since I am like their daughter and I am the first daughter in each of the host families to do the dance. In my first host family, their oldest daughter will do the dance next year, in my second host family, their daughter is nine so she still has a few years to go if she decides to go to the high school and my third host family doesn't have any daughters.

For you Americans, that don't know what I am talking about, let me tell you. Basically this dance is the Finnish version of prom, only it's not. People are assigned partners and they have to take a class for it to learn the dance. Then of course everyone gets all fancied up and then they have the dance... only it is in front of the parents and teachers. I asked if I could join and they said yes. One of the English teachers helped me get a partner and I will start the class on Thursday.

Then that evening, after everyone had left, we figured out when we could do shopping for my dress and when I can change host families. I have a very busy schedule this month as I have eight hockey games this month. Hopefully I can get a goal!

Then on Monday I finally pinned most of the pins to my Rotary jacket. I had been too lazy to sit down and do it all before but I finally put most of them on. I needed a few safety pins, so I didn't put them all on yet, but I got most of them on. It took about four/five hours. In the evening I had hockey practice and I told my teammate that I will be his neighbor soon. He was happy and said that I could make him lots of American cookies which he really liked (he didn't want to try the peanut butter ones though since he doesn't like peanut butter).

Tiistaina I did some chores and chilled.

Keskivikkona we went to Seinäjoki and found me a dress for the dance. My host dad was saying that I'll have to try on fifty dresses, but it only ended up being three. I'm renting a dress and you can find out more about it as the dance approaches. That evening I had hockey practice and we scrimmaged. My coach was our second goalie. It was fun.

Torstaina we ran some errands and visited my first host family. I have got to say: their little puppy from a few months ago is almost as big as their other dog. We bought some fireworks an went home and watched Sweden play against Canada in the U20 world championships. We melted tin horseshoes we bought and dumped them in water to see what shape we got. Then we looked up what the shapes meant and I got boat twice which means happy and lots of travel. Then we lit some fireworks as the new year came. Happy New Years everyone!

Perjantaina I helped my host dad clean up his garage. To give you some perspective, he races and fixes cars, so he has a lot of stuff and it was really messy. I helped him clean it up for a few hours and it was still messy in there but it was better.

Tänään we went to Alavus to the large shopping mall there and we got me some shoes to match with my dress as well as some safety pins for my jacket. That evening we watched the Finland versus Canada game. It was very close but in the end Finland won. After that it was USA versus the Czech Republic and USA crushed them.

Finnish Christmas

Winter break is coming! But first I've got to finish exam week...

My week started out with studying for the next day's test. Then on Monday I took my chemistry test (all in Finnish may I add). Since so many people had signed up for that class, it been divided into two groups. On testing day, we all took the test at the same time since it was the same class. The room had thirty people and was very full. This is very unusual in Finnish schools since classes sizes are never more then thirty people, unlike in America where they are always more than thirty students. Anyway, the test went okay even though it was all in Finnish. Then in the afternoon I had rehearsal for the middle school's Christmas performance.

On Tuesday, I was supposed to have an English test, but my English teacher said I didn't have to take it so I could go to the Christmas performance. He was going to so he got another teacher to supervise the test for him. The Christmas performance in the middle school started a little after eight in the morning and ended at nine thirty. We were one of the first groups to perform and I thought it went well. After it had ended, I helped clean up the instruments and chairs. Outside there were lots of people waiting for the buses since you can leave from your test at nine thirty in the high school. Because it was the last day of testing, that means no review and you can go home. The middle schoolers didn't have school after the Christmas performance, so many people were waiting for the buses to come and bring them home. After we finished cleaning, we had some coffee and deserts in the school cafeteria before we headed home for the day.

Wednesday was my first day of winter break! We went Christmas shopping for some last minute gifts, got some ice cream, went to my first host family's house where I gave them their school books that I had been borrowing for the grading period and grabbed the books for the new grading period as well as give my third host family some gifts I had from Minnesota. Lennu (my first host family's dog) has grown quite a lot and is now a very large dog, almost as big as my first host family's other dog Jalo.

Then on Thursday Christmas Eve came. Just to let the people that don't know know, Christmas Eve is when the Fins celebrate their Christmas. First we went to sauna at their cabin. Then we went to the cemetery and placed candles at their family member's graves. We returned home for a traditional Finnish Christmas dinner which consisted of a large ham, potatoes, salad and bread. They had started cooking the ham the night before it was so large. My first host family came over and then Santa did. He handed out presents from a sack to all of us and we took some pictures and talked with him for a little while before he headed out. Then we opened our presents. I got Finnish candy and American candy (which my grandma had sent me) as well as some Finnish things from my parents. My favorite gift was from my second host family saying that I can pick a professional hockey game and they will take me to it in January. Then we had some deserts and coffee. I taught my younger host sister how to make bracelets on her new bracelet maker since the instructions were all in English.

Yesterday, I started working on applications for PSEO in America as I need to complete them while I am here in Finland as well as make thank you cards for the Christmas presents I received.

Today I worked some more on things for America and I wrote thank you notes for all of my Christmas gifts. In the evening I made taco salad for dinner for my host family. They liked it.

Exam week #3

Sunday was a busy day. In the morning I wrapped presents for my hockey team and for my host family. After that, I made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and M & M cookies for my hockey team and for my host family. Then in the evening we went to my host family's church where we listened to Christmas songs.

Monday was the last regular school day before exam week. In biology we taught our classmates things we had research and in English we did some practice exercises and talked about culture differences between Finland and other places (random note: my English teacher decided to wear red contacts for the fun of it. Everyone thought it looked so weird.) Then in math we worked on old tests for review for the test and did the same thing in chemistry. In the afternoon I had two free periods so I talked with my friends. I told them what I would be giving my teammates for presents that night at practice. One of my friends who used to play hockey and is a big fan of the NHL was very jealous.

That evening, I packed up my suitcase with all of the presents for my hockey team (yes I had that many). I went right to practice since I didn't have any Finnish lessons in the evening and wouldn't have them until January. I was early and waited for everyone to arrive. As they did, they were impressed by the number of presents I had and they kept saying I should give them a large present. Then my coach came and we decided that we would play some soccer and then open the gifts. We locked the locker room just in case. When we came back, I gave them their gifts. 

First I placed the large box for everyone in the middle of the locker room and said it was for all of them so open it. They did and they were very excited to get an American football. I gave out some Minnesota Wild Schedules (but I said they couldn't open them yet so they didn't know what they were). One of my coaches who was there opened the present I said he could open. It was a calendar I had made and he liked it.  Then I gave out the eight large presents to the people I thought deserved them the most (i.e., the ones who showed up to practice the most, etc). They didn't know what they were and I said they could pick the one they wanted. I said which Wild player they could pick and then they picked one. The people with the large presents guessed that maybe they were pictures. After that I gave the small gifts out to the rest and told them to open them. They were very happy and surprised to be getting t-shirts from the Minnesota Wild. One of my teammates gave me a gift that they said was from all of them. I opened it and saw a JPK hat and towel. I really liked it. Then my coach opened his present (which was a picture signed by Mikael Grandlund) and they were all very impressed that I had managed to get that. Then we took a picture since I said we needed to since I didn't pay for the stuff. I said that this picture would be going to the Minnesota Wild and possibly on to some of their social media and they were really surprised and some didn't even believe me. After practice I gave them cookies I had made and made them sign thank you cards for everyone involved. And after all of that, my host brother picked me up and he showed me how Finnish people drive (let's just say it was fast and furious).

After an exciting day, a new one started and I had to take my physics test. This was in English and I have no idea how I did. It was nice though because my teacher gave me one of the school's graphing calculators that I could use for the rest of the year (I hadn't had one since I didn't want to buy one). Then I went to my music teacher's room where the saxophone players (the trumpet players couldn't make it) practiced the song they had picked (joulupukki matkaan jo käy). It wasn't too hard and I played it well after a few times. I gave my music teacher a calendar as a present since he also helps out with my hockey team and I gave them all left over cookies from the night before. Then I went to Finnish lessons with one of the English teachers and I gave him some cookies too. Then we had biology review before I went back to the music room for more practice, this time with the trumpet players. Then at home I studied for biology and made some thank you cards for the Minnesota Wild Gifts.

Keskivikkona (on Wednesday) I had my biology test. It was also in English and it went okay. Then I had Finnish lessons before I didn't have any review because I didn't have a test the next day. I had music practice though and did that. In the evening I had practice as usual. We had practice and then after practice we kept our gear on and played football with the American football I had given them. It was pretty fun. Then I gave my other coach who was there (and wasn't at practice on Monday) his presents. He got a calendar and a puck signed by Mikko Koivu which they all thought was cool (I hadn't told my teammates what it was but they had been guessing that it was a signature/signatures from the Wild. We went shopping for food and I saw my third host dad and one of my third host brothers. Then we went home and made another batch of cookies for the music event the next day.

On Thursday I had two regular hours of gym where we did Zumba. I gave my teacher a cookie before I had Finnish lessons, but we didn't do anything related to Finnish. Instead I explained to my teacher what PSEO was and what I needed from the school so I could apply for it. Then I had math review and music practice. That evening I went to a music celebration. Basically students who were performing at the Christmas performance performed their song or songs and some people who were not coming to the Christmas performance performed some songs then since they were not coming on Tuesday. Then the parents left and we dumped the candy that everyone had brought on to the table (everyone had to bring candy by the way. I brought cookies). Then we dug in and no one really touched the cookies until I told some of the Finnish girls to try them. They did and they said they were very good. There ended up being a signing battle using only Christmas songs as well as some games before the night ended.

Perjantaina I had my math test which I thought went pretty well (mostly) and chemistry review in the afternoon. In the evening we cleaned up the house.

Tänään I made Christmas presents for my host families and helped decorate the Christmas tree before we went to sauna in the evening.

A Really Big Truck

The week started with a visit to an observation tower. Where I live, the landscape is pretty flat so we could see for kilometers out. I of course signed the guest book while I was there.

The next day was a normal school day. The afternoon was another story though.  As I biked away from school, there is crosswalk that I can cross or I can go a little further down the road and there is a crosswalk there. There were two cars coming and since I didn't want to wait, I turned left and turned at the next crosswalk. There is a little piece of sidewalk before a large driveway for entrances to the shops there. A truck came out of the driveway so I stopped on the piece of sidewalk. It was a large truck, as in it was twice the size of a normal truck, which of course makes it harder to turn with it being so large. It ended up digging in a little on the sidewalk and I could have reached out and touched it if I had wanted to. I didn't and it drove by and turned left and drove away. As it drove away, I heard a clank behind me. I turned and saw that the pedestrian crossing sign which had been on a pole above my head had been knocked off it's post by the truck. I ended up setting the sign by the base of the pole before I biked home. At Finnish lessons we went over the body parts and family members before I had hockey practice.

The circled sign is no longer there

Tiistaina there was frost. There was even some on my bike seat. School was school. Psychology was fun because we did a game with a partner where a sheet with numbers was colored in (one number had one color). They were randomized around the sheet and we had to find the number and then we had to say the number.

On Wednesday I worked on my paper for history class. I worked on my research paper about the Sami people (in English). It was very interesting. Then we drew something to do with perspective in art class before I had hockey. I learned about Girl's Hockey Day which will be on Saturday before we played soccer. As we did, jets flew over us. My coach said they were tour jets from Jyväskylä. Later that evening, we went outside and watched the northern lights. They were beautiful and they were the first time I had ever seen them. I was also in the newspaper!

Torstaina school was normal except at lunch... there were desserts. I don't know why but they were good. In history class we played African Star to learn about imperialism. It was very fun. I won once. In the evening I had hockey practice and my teammates tried to describe mämmi to me.

Then it was the last day before fall break! We had normal classes but our double period of art was cut short since we had homeroom where we got our grades.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog for this important news update:
Jim, the news reporter: We have breaking news coming into the newsroom just now: American people do not know how Finnish grades work. We go to our field reporter Diane for an update and see what information she can give us about the current situation
Diane: Well Jim from what I understand so far, it's that American people do not know how the Finnish grading system works. Well from the information we have learned so far, I can tell you that it is certainly not the same. Here is what we know so far: grades in Finland range from 4-10. A four is a fail and a ten is the highest grade someone can get. A ten is not like an A in America as it is extremely difficult to have all tens compared to America where it is difficult to get straight As but not impossible. As I said before, grades in Finland range from 4-10. These are the word representations of the possible grades in a Finnish high school:
10: Commendable
9: Excellent
8: Very good
7: Satisfactory
6: Moderate
5: Passable
4: Fail
S: Pass
We also know that students will always receive an S as a grade for a review class no matter if they got a 5 or a 10 on the final test
These are all of the details that we know so far Jim.
Jim: Thank you Diane. We promise to keep you viewers updated on this story as more information becomes available to us. We apologize for the interruption and we now return to your regularly scheduled programing.

As I was saying, we got our grades back during homeroom. Here's what I got:
Music: 9
Philosophy: 9
History: 9
Math (review class): S
Mother tong-

Breaking news:
Jim: We apologize again for the interruption, but we have just learned more information about this new and breaking news story. We have just learned more about the individual involved. Her name is Emma Mulhern and she attends Alajärven Lukio in Alajärvi Finland. We have learned more about this person's grade report. Because she is an exchange student, some of her teachers didn't want to give her a number for a grade, so they gave her an S. From what we understand so far, Emma did not receive a number in English class because her teacher did not want to grade her as it was her mother tongue. That is all we have for now.
What is that I'm hearing now?
We have just learned that Emma's mother tongue teacher did not want to give her a number because it is not her mother tongue. I repeat, Emma did not receive a number in English and mother tongue because English is her mother tongue and Finnish is not. We will keep you up to date on the latest information which I am hearing we will find out after the next exam week. We promise to give you another update then.

Well as you already heard, I received an S in mother tongue and in English class because my teachers didn't want to give me a number because I am an exchange student, basically. That afternoon, I went and bought a bunch of chocolate and salmiakki to send for the country fair.

http://www.torstai-lehti.fi/2015/10/07/girls-hockey-day-tulee-taas/

Tänään Girls Hockey Day tuli! (Today Girls Hockey Day came) Silja, Heidi (two girls who play on my hockey team) and myself went to the ice rink where we did different activities with the younger girls that had come. Did I mention I had been in the paper earlier in the week because of Girls Hockey Day? Then I did some packing when I returned home since I am changing host families soon. Then in the afternoon we had a hockey game. We didn't win, but it was fun to hang out with my teammates on the way back to Alajärvi. They are all really awesome. Then one of my coaches gave me the banner from the team we played against since he said they had plenty of them already and because I played well.

Fall Storm

On Sunday I wrote answers to questions that the local newspaper had written for me.

Maanataina my chemistry teacher destroyed a coin (to be fair he just put it in a liquid, so I guess you could say the liquid destroyed it) and school ended early (I think the teachers had a thing or something). In the evening I worked with another student on spoken Finnish (adding -ks to end questions versus adding the -ko/kö) before I went to hockey. We had a scrimmage against the "Old Boys" which was fun. I don't know who won.

The next day we had regular classes except we had student council elections during psychology. We voted for people from the first grade and two people from my class were running. They both got in.

Keskiviikkona I did my presentation about women's position in Islam with my partner in Finnish. In psychology we did an activity where five people went out of the room. One person came in and they had to draw an image that we shown to us through the document camera. It was only shown for a second and then they had to draw it. Then the next person came in and we did the same thing to them but this time they saw the picture that the first person had drawn. It was like telephone but with drawing and it was fun to see how it changed over time. Hockey was in the evening and I tried to get my teammates to say thirty three.

On Thursday, I saw on Facebook a post that my host dad wrote about me moving into my second host family. It was really sweet. Then we had a fire drill in the morning. We all went out onto the fields and we lined up by our homeroom and they counted us all before we returned to our normal classes. Later that afternoon my friends taught me the Finnish body parts and then I had hockey that evening. One of my teammates got picked up from practice in a very large tractor. That's Alajärvi for ya.

Perjantaina it sprinkled in the morning and everyone was concerned about the storm that was supposed to happen in the afternoon. Classes continued as normal until last period. Everything was normal until the lights started flickering about twenty minutes before class ended and we could hear the roar of the wind outside. Ten minutes later, the lights went out and people asked if we could go home but the teacher said we had to wait until three. When I got outside, the wind was blowing hard and all of the bikes had been knocked over from the wind. It was harder to bike home since it was so windy. I noticed more cars were out than usual, probably getting supplies for the storm (there is usually a big storm in the spring and in the fall so everyone knew what to do). As I got home, I saw that the neighbor's trampoline had been blown into the forest nearby. At home, my host parents gave me a flashlight in case the power went out.

On Saturday, we headed out to my hockey game in Alajärvi. There were a few large branches that had been knocked down and maybe a tree or two that we saw on the way. We didn't win the game but I got a penalty and they had to ask me the pronunciation of my last name. Then I went home and did some coloring with my host family.

Finnish History

Alajärvi Cemetery

My week started out learning about the Winter War and how it affected the Finns. I got to see an airfield that was used in the war as well as replicas of the defenses that the Finns used against the Russians during the war. Our car might have gotten stuck in the dirt along the way... but we pushed it out.

Then we headed to the cemetery in Alajärvi where I got to see the gravestones of those who died in the war as well as memorials for those who fought the war in their own way, such as the women who stayed back while their husbands, brothers and sons were fighting on the front lines.

Memorial in Alajärvi

We even drove by a memorial (so I couldn't take any pictures of it) that was for men from Alajärvi that had to walk 14 km to get to the train station to be sent off to war.

On Monday, I took my math test before I headed home for the day because I wasn't taking a test for my mother tongue class. I had my usual Finnish lessons and hockey practice.

On Tuesday, I didn't have a test so I stayed home and worked on my Finnish and cleaned my room.

On Wednesday, I started my new classes. I had math first thing, but I didn't know which class I was in (there were two long math classes and I wasn't sure which one I was in) so I went to the one that had my classmates in it. I was wrong so we talked to the teacher and he switched me into that class. Then I had my history class which was a culture class where we will be learning about different cultures around the world. Then I had chemistry where we went over what we will be learning for the year. After that I had psychology where we went over what we were going to do for the year before I missed my art class and had Finnish lessons. I also had my usual hockey practice.

On Thursday, I went to the school's library and got the textbooks I needed for school as well as a library card since I didn't have one. I had the classes that I had the day before (except I had physics this time instead of art). The only difference was that instead of having psychology for the whole 55 minutes, we left about half way through to take pictures. First we took a class picture before we took the individual pictures. I have no idea what the photographer was telling me to do, but I figured it out. Then instead of having hockey practice, I went to Härmä. Two Rotarians from Alajärvi drove me there. It took about an hour. When we got there, we met up with other Rotarians, exchange students, rebounds and Rotex while we have coffee time. We headed to a lecture room where we introduced ourselves before we split off into groups. I went into a room with the other exchange students and a few Rotex where we had candy and hung out. Then we headed upstairs and watched people sing karaoke and dance before we headed home for the night.

On Friday, I went to school and had math, art, psychology and physics. My friends taught me how to say psychology in Finnish: psykologia. It may not seem that hard, but they say the p. So if you want to know how to say it then say pss (like you are trying to get someone's attention), then su-ko-lo-ge-ah. The pss sound was honestly the hardest part for me, but I got it down now. :)

Today, I hung out with Raisa's friends. We made pizza and sang Finnish karaoke. We ate chips and candy while we looked up songs on YouTube and Spotify. It was very fun.

Exam Week and Mölkky

On Monday I had normal classes. My exam week started on Tuesday. I had my first test: history. We had to put our bags in the front of the classroom and our phones on a desk in the front. We had four hours to complete the test. It took me about two hours to write two essays (in English).

The next day I had my philosophy test where I did the same thing. This time, I defined a few vocabulary terms and wrote an essay (again in my mother tongue).

Then I had my music test which was fun. It was basically a game of battleship where you had to answer questions about music.

Then I had my English test. I didn't do so well on the translating from Finnish part, but the reading comprehension and the essay went well.

On Friday evening, I met my "aunt" Niina. She is currently studying in Helsinki, but she came up for the weekend. She gave me a bunch of gifts, from candy to a marimenko fabric. We played games from card games to board games to Mölkky. Mölkky is basically a game where you throw a wooden block to knock down other blocks. There is a picture of me and Raisa in the upper left. 

Then today, we went shopping! We went to a small little town with a population of about 1,000 people. What do you find in a town of that many people? A large shopping mall of course! I got to see that horseshoe sculpture (the second picture) as well as the largest shoe store in Finland. We did some shopping before we returned home.

Next week I will finish my exam week and start new classes! :)

There's a Chill in the Air...

On Sunday, we baked a bunch of awesome Finnish desserts. They were awesome. The temperature has started to get cooler here, so it's time for the jackets to come out.

On Monday, I had to go to school at the normal time since my half math class and the half Swedish class switched places this week (but that meant I got to come to school later on Friday, so I was okay with it). The third year students were doing testing this week, so we had to be quiet during break. I had the usual classes before I headed to my Finnish lessons after school. (One note: we learned about indefinite pronouns in English. To any non-English speakers that want to learn English: indefinite pronouns are hard.)

At my Finnish lesson, the Tunisian student showed up again and two Thai women also showed up and we went over some more Finnish. Then I went to hockey practice. The next day I had school again and I had Finnish lessons. I had been studying my book and I asked a lot of grammar questions. I think my teacher learned more Finnish from me. After school, my host mom, Raisa (one of my host sisters) and I went to a spinning lesson. It was fun.

Wednesday was the very fun day. In music class, we went over how to read rhythms. In America, we read them like this:
A whole note: 1-2-3-4
Two half notes: 1-2 3-4
Four quarter notes: 1 2 3 4
Four eighth notes: 1& 2& 3& 4&
Four sixteenth notes; 1E&A 2E&A 3E&A 4E&A

In Finland, they read rhythms like this:
A whole note: ta-a-a-a
Two half notes: ta-a ta-a
Four quarter notes: ta ta ta ta
Four eighth notes: ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti
Four sixteenth notes; ta-ka-ta-ka ta-ka-ta-ka ta-ka-ta-ka ta-ka-ta-ka

(A note: also, in Finland, they use the letter H instead of the letter B when it come to note reading, For example: A H C D E F G. However, B is used as H♭)

After school I had hockey practice. We practiced on the ice for a while before we took off only our skates, put some shoes on and went out to the soccer field. Wearing full gear, we played American football-with a soccer ball. I got to teach them how to play and it was very fun (and very funny). We ended up with a tie game.

The rest of my week consisted of school, hockey and tongue twisters. On Friday, during a free period I sat with my friends and we talked about different tongue twisters. One of them was able to say "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" by the end of the day.

Today my host dad is working on the dog house (as pictured to the left) while I study for next week because next week is exam week. In other words, starting on Tuesday and going until next Tuesday, we have one exam everyday. Each day is for one class. After the exam, we study for the next test in the afternoon. After exam week is over, our classes change.

Exam week here I come! :)