Tianna's September Update

What everyone says about the Finns is true: they are so shy!  They won't come up and talk to you, so I go and introduce myself, but they won't respond unless I ask a direct question.  Despite this, I have made some great friends!  I am taking a Finnish course every Monday and Wednesday evening and I can understand a surprising amount of what I read, as long as it's about vocab or everyday things.  When people speak to me though, I haveno idea what they're saying, because everyone speaks really fast....

School here is different from Canada and it's so great.  Next week I will have new courses, therefore new people for me to meet.  There are also free school lunches, potatoes, meat, salad, a guaranteed warm meal every day!  I am of course taking English courses, but also Photography (so fun, we made our own cameras!), Music (playing the guitar and bass for the first time!), French (I can't believe how much I've forgotten since last January) and History (We are studying the World Wars and the Cold War, but I have no idea what the teacher says, even when she talks about Star Wars and Han Solo in the middle of class.  Or about her 3 boyfriends all named Mike in the 80s...).

I have been to many different events with my host family, hockey games, historical museums, art museums.  I saw the King and Queen of Sweden!  It was for an event of the Scouts, of which the King is a member or someone high up. 

My Rotary club here is very supportive and the Rotex are very active, we plan to do something each month.  I thankfully got my residence permit, it was so easy to go to the Police Station here, and a week later it arrived in the mail. 

Yes, I have heard that it is very warm and nice there.  Here, it is now officially autumn.  It's dark when I wake up in the morning!  I will have to start searching for winter boots soon.

I do have a blog, but I don't update it, but I will send you emails.

I have met so many amazing people here and had many great memories!

 

Best regards! (I would say warm, but you've got that covered),