On December 1st I switched host families. Leaving my first family was harder than I expected. They were really really nice and I was close with them. I may have only lived with them for 4 months but I first "met" them about 4 months before coming to Finland. I got an email from them introducing themselves and telling me about my town on April 18th, so almost a full 4 months before meeting in person. So we were in email contact and also we skyped twice. I met my second host family about 2 weeks after arriving, but it wasn't settled that they would be my family yet.
Packing to move was really hard. I was leaving a family where I was really happy, and even if I went back to visit it will never be quite the same. It also made me really aware of just how much time had passed. It didn't feel like very long but I am over 1/3rd of the way. Four months went by in the blink of an eye. They were amazing and I did so many really fun things but it was shocking realizing how long I had been here for. I am now with my new family, and have been for a month (sorry this is really late). The family is different for sure, but they are really nice and I am happy here. I have three younger sisters, ages 3, 4, and 7. One really good thing is that I am forced to use my Finnish. My host dad speaks good English, but my mom doesn't have a lot and my sisters have practically none. The oldest of my sisters I can communicate the best with as she is pretty good at helping me to understand what she means, and she will speak slower or one word at a time. The younger two just think that saying it again and again will eventually lead to my understanding, which is often not the case. I have noticed that my Finnish has improve though which I am very happy about. It still has a very long way to go but I have made progress. My new family is really nice and I like them and am happy here. |
AuthorHi! My name is Katerina, and I am on exchange in Finland for a year! Archives
April 2019
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