This weekend was our rotary trip to Lapland. Almost all of the exchange students from across Finland met up near a town called Muonio. We had four buses that started across the south and took different routes north until we had picked up everyone. It was a very very long trip. I got on a bus in Turku at 18.30 on Friday, and we didn't get there until 11.00 or so on Saturday. We did have a few breaks on our way up, but not many and not super long. The first day we then had a chance to meet our roommates, and we went to the ski hill to get our gear and go sledding! There wasn't very much snow up there so they had fake snow on the hill. It was pretty steep and hard to stop at the bottom, but tonnes of fun! We had free time that evening, and it was really nice to see everyone in other districts again. For dinner we went to a place they called 'wintercamp' which was basically some firepits with a shelter, but we were warm and we got a hot berry juice and salmon soup and cookies.
The next morning we set off and my group (everyone who was on my bus) went to a place where they had some huskies, and we got to take a husky sleigh ride! There were three of us on the sleighs, and one person standing driving the sleigh. We only did a loop around a field, but it was amazing. They are so strong and fast. After that we went to a husky farm, the largest in Europe with 420 dogs. We were only in one part of it, and a lot of the dogs were behind fences, but some weren't and they were all really friendly. The dogs are so beautiful! They also had a pen with three-month-old puppies which they let us pet. When we were on our way to the nature center we stopped by a bridge that crossed the river into Sweden. We could walk right across. Then we went to a nature center where we could look out over the landscape a lot at all the trees. It was really pretty, we were up on a hill a bit and we had two other hills behind us that were about as close to mountains as it gets in Finland. We also got a presentation about Lapland and how it changes throughout the seasons. It would be really cool to go up there again when there is more snow or in the spring or summer. To finish off the day we went back to where we had done the husky rides and instead had reindeer sleigh rides because it was a reindeer farm! We could also feed them through the fence. They are really majestic animals, and also really strong. One was able to pull two of us in a sleigh without a problem. It was a really fun day! In the evening we went to a nearby school where there was a local church band that played two songs and a dance group that preformed. Then it was our turn, we had 40 minutes to preform. It was kind of like cozy night the last night at Karkku (the weeklong camp at the beginning) but we had a lot less time and less people did stuff with their countries. I didn't do anything, but it was fun to watch. The next day was our ski day. We had the choice between cross country, downhill, or snowboarding. I chose cross country, and I am glad I did because it was a lot of fun and there were only 11 of us doing it which meant there was over 100 people on the ski hill. There was a path through the forest that we took. I fell a few times trying to go up or down smaller hills, but I wasn't too bruised and it was definitely worth it. That evening was our last evening all together. The time went by so fast. We all went over to this little building with a fireplace in the middle. It was a tight fit. We had a Sami person (native to the north of Finland, Sweden, and Norway) sing us a few joiks (traditional Sami songs), and he explained the meaning of his outfit, what different positioning of the hat meant and how his clothes helped keep him warm. Then we had the rotex (people who have been on exchange before) act out a few skits of funny things that have happened before on the lapland tour. Our oldies, students from Australia (mainly), South Africa (only one), and New Zealand (also only one) gave us a few gifts, some of which have been passed down through many generations of oldies and newbies. For example, there was a boomerang that went from the French to Aussies in a certain district, a Canadian flag for "whoever needs it the most" in one district, a guitar for the kindest and nicest person, a backpack for the most adventurous, and more. It wasn't any sort of competition, we actually had no idea that it was happening. And I think the oldies did a very good job with choosing the recipients, especially because there were about 100 of us to choose from. After they sang 3 songs, which we will then sing for our newbies at the end of the Eurotour in June. There was a party afterwards which was very crowded because the room wasn't super big. But I went outside briefly with a few of my friends, and we may have seen the Northern lights. It was very small, but it was greenish and there were no other clouds nearby, and it disappeared after not very long so we are hopeful that it was. Then on our way back the next morning we stopped for about 2 hours at Rovaniemi, or Christmas Village. There we could walk around and my friends and I got some pictures with Santa Claus (the real one). We also got a full group photo in front of the Christmas tree with all the exchange students, and the tree was decorated with flags from around the world so it was perfect. After a stop for lunch at what I think was a university we continued for another 13 hours back to our hometowns. I finally got back to Naantali around 5.30 am and it was colder then than it had been all the time in Lapland, hitting -15°C. In Lapland it didn't really get below -8° during the time we were up. And Naantali had a little bit of snow! It didn't last long, by Friday it was gone, but there was a little for a few days. I didn't get out of bed until around 16.00 on Wednesday, and went straight back to bed at like 22.00, and I was in so much pain from the combination of sore muscles and a few bruises from skiing and then sitting on a bus for 16 hours. But it was 100% worth it. Once again, I will put more pictures in the photos section so I don't completely spam here. I cannot believe that I have been here for over 3 months already. This post was meant to be a 3 month post but I had some issues with my computer (all fixed now), so it is a bit late. Sorry about that!
These three months have been completely amazing. I have done so many new and fun things and met so many people. Everything has been really good and I don't have anything really negative to say. We were warned before we left in our orientation that there was this homesickness wave. In the first few months everything is going really well, you're in a new place and it will take a while for the excitement and novelty to wear off. But it will, and maybe around the 3 or 4 month mark the homesickness will set in. Everything will feel weird and different, and wrong, and you may want to just go home and give up. But then after a bit of time things will start to seem better, and after not long everything is amazing again until you leave. I think I have been doing pretty well. There have been a few times that have been hard, there always will be, but I have gotten through them. I can't say I have been super homesick, I have been calling my parents less and even texting them much less, but there have been a few occasions where I just want to be where everything is normal. One of the weirdest things is that sometimes I will see someone very briefly, just out of the corner of my eye or as I ride by on my bike, and they will remind me a lot of someone. It could be anything, a style of clothing, a hair flip, the way they walk or talk, but it is enough for me to really think of someone that I know. And if I look again back at them or look a little bit more it is gone and I can't see it anymore. It can remind me of people that I don't really know very well, or people that I am really close to. It doesn't happen all the time but when it does its really weird. I feel like things are already starting to get a bit better, and they were never really bad, so I am happy about that. I have so many things to look for. For example in only an hour I am leaving to head to Turku to get one of four buses that will take me and many other exchange students up to Lapland (Northern Finland) for a few days. It is a 16 hour drive, through the night. It will be very long, but I am really looking forward to the time we will have up there. There are so many awesome activities planned! In December my family is going to see Lord of the Rings live onstage. I will be switching families on Dec. 1st, so that will be kind of nice to have a completely new start. I am really happy with my current family, but my next one also seems nice. At the same time I have a new period starting, the 3rd one starts on Dec. 3rd. And Christmas is coming up! I am super excited to have a Finnish Christmas, and learn about the traditions here. There are already a bunch of lights up around the town, and there's a tree that I'm sure will be decorated at some point that was recently put up in the old town right near my house. I also went to Stockholm with my family and a few friends in early November. I have one post that is almost done, I just need to add some pictures. I will try to get that one done along with one about our Lapland tour in the next few weeks once I am back. |
AuthorHi! My name is Katerina, and I am on exchange in Finland for a year! Archives
April 2019
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