photoupdate

so, an update. with photos. purely snapshots, of course, but alas. time has not been in excess and has hardly been in access.

Megan, my roommate from the orientation in New York, who is also going to Finland and may be one of the most genuine and adventurous people I have ever met. she made me delicious rhubarb tea in our hotel room. pictured here with our good friend Ferdinand, a future Olympic athlete.

the entire American team Suomi (except me) at the airport in London, just before getting on a bus (with a the steering wheel on the right!) that took us to our plane to Helsinki (!). from left to right: Lena, Alexa, Samuel, Megan. to quote someone wise, 'this would have been a good pic but i had the wrong focus on'.

--here magic happens, including but not limited to me climbing over the stranger next to me to look out of the airplane window at Suomi--

Eddie! the only member of the family whom I have yet to introduce. he is either sleeping (as shown) or rambunctiously energetic. I love him. it is also very helpful for me to hear the family speaking simple, slow Finnish to him. if you want to know how to tell a Finn to sit, stay, come, go, not bite (he's teething) etc., just ask me.

Tuuli with carrots from the garden (much of the fruits and vegetables we eat were grown in the garden).

the cemetery, when Tuuli, Tiina, and Eddie were giving me a tour of the village.

a lookout tower at the top of the hill...

...from which there is a perfect "and this is Finland" view of the lake. (thanks to Tuuli for the picture)

we toured the school (it was saturday, but äiti teaches there so she has a key). it's brand-new and, at the time, empty. this is the dining hall.

 in the music room I got to play a kantele! at least, äiti showed me how to hold it and a few chords and I tried to make sounds that were somewhat pleasant.

the path I take to/from school. with äiti and a bit of Tuuli.

and here the real magic begins. my host family took me to their kesämökki ('summer cabin', apparently everyone has one and everyone who doesn't wants one)! this is the lake right behind the cottage, looking to my right...

...and left.

one of my many new little cousins in the woods (o! the woods!) around the mökki...

where we picked lingonberries (later combined with strawberries and made into delicious traditional Finnish porridge, which half the family loves and the other half hates)...

...and mushrooms (later made into risotto)!!! äiti couldn't believe that I hand't ever picked mushrooms and took this picture (that's isä (or iskä) with whom I am picking). I was barefoot and they all thought (realized for the first time?) that I was insane because of it (that moss is about eight inches deep and heavenly soft, with a layer of luscious mud at its heart--perfect barefoot material).

and here more magic begins! the sauna!!! there is one in the basement at the house, but the kesämökki has an outdoor one in a building of its own. there was a bit of a party at the mökki (I have a lot of family to meet, it seems) and after we ate we went to sauna. first men, then women. not everyone went and Tiina and I both wore bathing suits. I have to say, I'm not crazy about saunaing on its own (your brain fogs up a bit) but getting out of the steam, jumping into the cold lake, swimming, and getting back to the steam is heaven. after everyone else had gone, I went for a long swim around an island in the lake. the water was how I imagine air must be for a bird, on a cool late summer day with the first lines of poems written on the nearly nonexistent breezes. when I got out, I went back into the sauna to wash off. Tiina waited for me the whole time, even though I assured her she didn't have to, which she said she realized. (the language barrier is perhaps largest between us, but she is such a wonderful little sister to me!)

the next day (sunday) was my welcome party. Äiti made lots Finnish pastries, as well as an American flag cake. I made brownies, which were for the most part a fairly big hit.

the laying of the table. left to right: mustikkapulla (blueberry pastries), poulukkapulla (lingonberry pastries), cake, brownies, and cinnamon pulla. with a bit of an uncle in the upper right. I have been fed so many sweets so far that I have hardly had time to open my mouth and demonstrate the tininess of my sweet tooth. also, many people have been giving me presents from Fazer (big Finnish candy company): chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, Muumi gum, and chocolate. also Angry Bird gummies. my my my. all the relatives are so friendly and warm with me, and quick to praise my broken Finnish and to apologize perfectly in English for not speaking English very well.

after the bulk of the party, some cousins (have I mentioned yet that I have many many little Finnish cousins now?) lingered and entertained.

during a walk on sunday evening, Tiina took us to a little bridge in the woods that looks just like the Muumi bridge. äiti pretended to play a harmonica like Nuuskamuikkunen. and apparently my white balance was having culture shock. I like Nuuskamuikkunen.

well, there I shall leave you for now, with a smattering of my Finnish experiences. I hope to blog again this weekend to tell a bit about my school experience, but we'll see.