Tianna's March Madness
Posted by John Robertson
on Mar 14, 2013
Moi moi,
The weather is constantly changing. When I go to school in the morning, there’s actually light in the sky! The days are getting longer and it feels like spring is not far away. There can be cold days, with the morning being below -10, or a huge fall of snow, or long sunny days.
School gets easier now that I understand more. I am hanging out with my Finnish friends more, whether it’s at cafes, or a museum or a movie. Also during PE class we have done skating, ringette, running and volleyball. We are planning to do some sort of dances lessons, Finnish baseball, laser tag and different kinds of sports. The teacher is so energetic, and I always look forward to the classes.
There was a winter day with Rotary, where we went skiing or snowboarding with the exchange students in the district, and the host families were also welcome to come. Before Finland I hadn’t skied for 5 years, and now I am remembering the joy of it, but I think this is the last skiing for the year.
And Easter is coming! There are Easter candies on sale now, like Angry Birds chocolate eggs (like a Kinder Surprise, but Bird style!), and Fazer Mignons. Fazer is an old Finnish chocolate brand and the Mignon is a real eggshell with chocolate nougat filling. I was so astounded when my friends told me about it! And another, more traditional Finnish Easter food is mämmi. It is a rye thing…if you look it up, and as I’ve been told, it doesn’t look that appetizing, but with cream and sugar it is supposed to be good. I always want to try new foods, so bring it on!
There are 2 Australians in Turku, one of whom, Elliot, is in my school. It is so strange to be an oldie, and I don’t quite know how to be one. These 7 months in Finland have been so great, I have learned so much about myself and the world, there have been the great points, and the low points, sadness, joy, confusion. I can be on top of the world, but then I might feel like it’s my first month here. I want to share all of these feelings and knowledge, but I know that the newbies have to experience all these things for themselves. And their exchange is so much different than mine, everyone’s is different. Thank you for allowing me this extraordinary opportunity. Some people say that exchange is the best year of your life, and I somewhat agree. Right now, this year has been the best, but it’s taught me how to live life more fully so that next year can be the best, and then the year after that.
I hope everyone is doing well!
From Russia Finland with love