Sorry its been so long since my last update! Here's another of the last few weeks! Last weekend was really really fun. The other exchange student in my town (Greta from Germany) came over to my house, and we were supposed to go sailing but there was a wind warning so we unfortunately couldn't. Instead she spent the night at my house, then we slept in the next morning and had a relaxing day playing some card games with Lauri. In the afternoon we packed up again and headed to the boat. Then more card games and sauna, and for dinner we roasted sausages on the fire and made smores! The next day we had about 15 knots of wind so were going between 4-7 all day. The sun was shining and the wind was cold but it was beautiful weather. We stopped for lunch and to walk around at an island called Seili. For a few hundred years it was home to a leper colony and a mental asylum for woman. Now it still has a bunch of the old buildings including the church and the hospital buildings. Most of the rooms have been altered for marine biology for a university. It is a beautiful island regardless of it history. The weekend of the 8th/9th I had my first camping trip with my scout group. There were 7 girls between the ages of 9 and 10, the leader who is also the dad of one of them, and another dad. It was short as it was the first time, but it was really fun. We met on the afternoon of the 8th, hiked about 1 km, then set up camp. We had to cut stakes of the right length and sharpen them so we could set up the tents. There were piles of precut wood that we could adjust the length of and use so we weren't breaking any of the rules of the Everyman's right, which I will explain later. The type of tent was a 'laavu'. There are 3 sided, fairly low tents. The first picture is of one of them. We made dinner on camp stoves called a 'trangia' because of the brand name. They are pretty easy to use and feel more stable than small camp stoves I have used in the past when hiking. That night we also made 'lettu' on pans over the fire. They are like Finnish crepes and then eaten with sugar or (often strawberry) jam. They are impossible to flip but taste great! The weekend of the 14th-16th I was in Pori (a town about 2 hours North of Naantali) with my (host) brother. We were doing a scout camp on wilderness skills. There were about 30 people altogether, kids aged 13-18 and some adults, and then a few leaders. I got to try some totally new things, like sleeping in a huge tent (it looks like a circus tent kind of) and there was a stove inside, with logs keeping it up. We fit a bit over 12 people in it. The second day we did some orienteering and spent most of the day in the forest. Dinner was really good, we had salmon. It was already gutted but we had to cut it open ourselves. Then we removed some of the bones, salted it, and pinned it to boards. Then they were all put next to the fire and cooked for a while there! Lauri cut ours up and even though the knife blade was too short he did a very good job! Two weeks ago now (on the 12th of September) I gave my Rotary presentation along with the rebound student who had gone to Argentina. I think it went very well. I was interrupted a little bit by an unexpected rumble of thunder when there was blue sky, but it wasn't an issue. Greta and my parents were at the meeting as well which was nice to have some moral support watching. Everyman's Rights
The Everyman's right basically means that you can go anywhere as long as it is not into people's yards or private properties like that. People own forest but the forest is always open to everyone. When in the forest you must be respectful and you may not cut down any branches or trees, or start a fire without permission of the landowner, or pick rare flowers or any lichen and moss. You are allowed to pick mushrooms and berries and walk around freely. For more information you can go to Nationalparks.fi. More pictures are in the photos section, and I will try to update in a week or so! |
AuthorHi! My name is Katerina, and I am on exchange in Finland for a year! Archives
April 2019
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