Week two

Monday: School again and I had History and religion and we finished the Da Vinci Code. After School Jarmo took me to watch my volleyball team play so I could see if I want to join. It was really good and I am definitely joining! They train three times a week, Monday Tuesday and Friday. Afterwards I went swimming and I did quite a few laps! 

Tuesday: Religion, History and English again; I read for most of the day. I had my rotary meeting that night and it went really well. They have it at a small restaurant and we have dinner which was some sort of fish and mash potatoes. I did a small speech in Finnish thanks to Sophie. It was pretty basic sentences but I was really nervous saying it so I think I said it really badly but they all seemed to like it. Then I talked about my family in English and Kalevi (my counsellor) translated. It was weird being translated; do you speak to the audience, or to whoever’s translating? I finished the book I was reading which was ‘The Hunger Games’ it was a really great book and I would highly recommend it. I’ve ordered the other two in the series from The Book Depository, which I also recommend. Who doesn’t love cheap books shipped free?

Wednesday: I stayed home sick today so I didn’t really do much except watch a movie. 

The amazing scene outside my window that I couldn't resist capturing

Thursday: Again really sick today so I did nothing all day again, I managed to do a fair bit of blogging though so be grateful faithful readers! I also got to talk to Lisa on skype and then definitely improved my mood 

Friday: Still really sick today but I didn’t have school anyway so I was glad I wasn’t missing any more. I went into town with Katariina and Väinö and we went to a special cow supermarket were you can buy anything you need for cows! Who'd have known you can get bras for cows? Afterwards we went to the Post Office to get stamps for my postcards and then did some grocery shopping with Tiina and her friend. Liisa, Antti and Pauli came home at about 10.30 and Antti and Liisa told me all about their cows and also about the special traditions that are coming up at school.

We got heaps of snow today! 

Saturday: After breakfast Pauli drove Liisa, Antti and I to Iisalmi which is our nearest “big” city. It’s about two times the population of Kiurvusei and there are a few more shopping opportunities. Liisa and I went to the shoe shop first and we found one pair that were ok just not very warm so we decided to come back later. I found a cheap top at one store and a nice pair of jeans at another where we also ran into Liisa’s best friend. We took a break from shopping and went to an op shop for a bit and also a book store. It was a really nice big bookstore and I did feel a bit sad standing in such a big book store knowing I couldn’t read any of the books in it. They even had the Cyanide and Happiness book in Finnish! I got a present for one of my friends who is having a birthday soon and also a book called The Little Prince that Liisa said was one of her favourites as a child. We went to another clothes shop and I found a nice cardigan, we went back to the shoe shop but it was closed so we decided to go the big supermarket to see if they had shoes and for donuts! No luck on the shoe front so we had donuts at a place called Arnolds which my siblings tell me is very famous in Finland. The donuts were very yummy! We went to another big supermarket that had even less shoes than the last place to we just looked around and I pointed out every single Moomin thing I could find and Liisa gave me a Moomin character lesson. We bought some lollies and then it was time to go home. When we got home we played Cluedo in Finnish and Antti won. We had sauna just before dinner which was you guessed it, Makkara and Chips! :) We watched the semi final for Eurovision and apparently they were all rather awful. We all played Disney Trivia after that, split into two teams and Liisa and Pauli won.

Sunday: It was insanely cold today so we just played guitar hero for most of the morning because no one wanted to go outside. Eventually I tricked them all into coming outside and by golly it was cold! Just standing still makes you feel like your running because the air is so uncomfortable to breathe. We took turns pulling each other in the sled and then Liisa, Pauli and I walked down the road to get the newspaper. It seems the sun always shines brightest when its coldest so there I was in -25 degrees wishing I had my sunglasses! Crazy! We all played cards after lunch, this cool card game that they all taught me and then I taught Antti how to play speed. Liisa showed me all her photos from school and we talked about the cool traditions they have a little more. We also tried glögi which is a special wine that the Finns drink at Christmas. It wasn't my cup of tea but it was nice to be able to taste it. 

Go Tiina!

Antti about to throw a snowball at Tiina

The sun was very intense today!

Glögi

Overall another great week besides being really sick but one thing I realised while I was sick was that although I was sore and tired, I was still Happy because I love my life here and can’t wait to see what Finland throws at me next! P.S If you haven't already you should check out my 365 Project here.