This month has been about integrating in to Finland, so I have now gone to school for the first time. It is absolutely lovely and I am really enjoying how free it is. I have also been to one of the more popular ski slopes in Southern Finland, where I had a great day of skiing. Other than that I have just been exploring my local suburb of Raisio and also the city of Turku.
This month I have caught up a lot with another Australian exchange student in the area called Charlotte England. She’s from a small town near Melbourne and is quite fun to hang
out with.
This month at school has been fun. My first week at school was actually costume week, where every day was a different theme. I wasn’t ready or aware of it so sadly I couldn’t participate, but I did get to see everybody going to class in silly dress.
The next week was the week where all of the final year students finished normal schooling to go and study for the exams in the coming weeks. So naturally the entire week was a party laid out with activities set by the final years. It was Olympic themed so there were running events, a cross country skiing event on comically small skis, and loads of other events where the losing team had to drink vinegar as punishment. We then went to watch the seniors parade around town in a bunch of trucks throwing lollies at little kids.
The next day was when the second oldest year (my year) became the oldest, so the whole day was directed around a ball that was held both at the school and at a conference centre. I wasn’t allowed to participate because I didn’t know any of the dances and all of the students had been practicing for months.
Before I attended my dance, another Australian exchange student invited me to her school dance, and afterward we both attended my schools performance for the students, and at the end we got to have a dance. Later in the night my school’s official dance was held at a local conference centre. They looked stunning.
This month I have spent a lot of time with my club, as I have had to do my introductory speech. Its quite a small club, and has recently held a food stall. I was sadly not able to attend. I’ve also spent a fair amount of time with my club counselor, and have visited her workplace at the pharmaceutical company Bayer.
It seems I am starting to develop a few friends. I met a guy named Darren and he basically integrated me into the group. It’s really great.
All in all, it’s been a pretty great month. Thank you for supporting me being here. This is one of the greatest experiences of my life.