happiness is

a walk in the woods along the joining of lake Saimaa and lake Kuolimo, picking mushrooms on the cliffs and admiring the ruska in a language that has a word for fall colors.

 

this is Finland, folks. (thanks to Tuuli for this picture)

 

puppy frolicking in the reindeer lichen,

 

and posing for a christmas card picture.

 

we were on the lookout the whole time for edible mushrooms. we did find a lot, though these aren't them.

iskä admiring the view.

 

a loud whistle carries a long way here and echoes back at you from the hills.

 

ruska!

 

lakes and trees and lakes and trees. this place is magical, I'm telling you.

 

speaking of magical, we soon entered a descent into a misty valley where was to be found a quantity of mushrooms.

 

"this is where the trolls live" ~iskä. I just may join them one of these days.

 

as we exited the mist and came again upon the lake shore, it began to rain.

 

as the rain intensified we found the laavu and iskä used his puukko (!!) to split wood for a fire by which we sat until the rain lessened and we started heading home.

arrival orientation

the orange has started to come to Finland. the trees have already started to look as they do around the beginning of October at home.

these were taken through the car window as we droveon the drive to Mikkeli (whence I took a train to Kuopio, whither came a bus to take us to the orientation site in Maaninka, about 40 minutes away).

this is what Finland looks like, folks. around here, anyway. rolling hills and forests and farms and lakes.

 

when I got to the Kuopio train station, I was a bit lost (we were supposed to meet the AFS volunteers at the Kuopio bus station), and I saw another girl about my age who also looked a bit lost, so I figured she was probably an exchange student as well. I followed her for a little while before realizing that she was more than a bit lost, and thus realizing that she was definitely an exhange student. she turned out to be one very lovely Marie from Belgium, who is living in Mikkeli. we found the bus station together and from there began to meet the other exchange students and the AFS volunteers.

 

there turned out to be 17 exchange students in all (some of whom I met on the bus, some of whom had already arrived at the orientation site). from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, USA, Japan, Thailand, Turkey, on the bus, talking to a girl from Alaska, a Finnish girl who went to Arkansas on exchange last year, a boy from the Netherlands, and a boy from Germany.

 

the actual exercises and organized by AFS were entertaining, but the most magical part of the camp was the feeling of having an instant connection with people from all over the world--something I got to appreciate muchly over the course of the orientation. we mostly just chatted about Finland and our home countries and languages, sauna'ed (girls got to go in second, and we were probably in there for about two hours), and talked more about Finland and our host countries and languages. and ate. there was much salmiakki and chocolate and salmiakki chocolate and chocolate salmiakki.

 

the front yard of the orientation site.

 

the backyard and trellace of the orientation site. since everyone thought it was a bit far to the lake (I wanted to swim, but not even the Finns were up for it) we went there in the chilly, rainy night between getting out of the sauna and getting back into the suana. it was beautiful.

the dining room, where we ate, ate, ate, ate, talked till 3 am, ate, ate, and ate again.

and the lovely kantale. c:

these were taken around 7 am on sunday morning. I was the first to rise, and took a few pictures before Kübüşrara from Turkey woke up and taught me some Turkish words until we went to breakfast).

after breakfast, lunch, and coffee (the pulla was not nearly as good as äiti's pulla), I got back on the bus and back on the train and back in the car and back to the house. saying goodbye to the people you just met and heading back home to a house you have been living in for three weeks... it is such a surreal and complete and wonderful exhaustion. and coming back to my host family's house and being licktackled by the puppy really did feel like coming home.

aamulla

this morning, before school, there was a heavy fog that begged to be photographed. I had little choice but to oblige. these were taken near the pond Paakkolampi, after which my street is named and by which I walk every day to and from school.

 

 

koulu

here's a post to say that I have survived my first week of Finnish school!

highschool here (lukio) is three years long, and I am technically in the second year. before lukio there is elementary school, which consists of nine grades. in Savitaipale, all the shools are in the same building, with lukio classes mainly on the third floor. also, the year is separated into jaksos--six-week terms, at the beginning of which everyone chooses new classes and at the end of which everyone has exams. because I came after a week had already gone by, there are now four weeks until the second jakso starts.

äiti, who teaches at the school, is my contact teacher, so when we were figuring out my schedule it turned out to be pretty flexible. this jakso I am just focusing on getting used to how things work and getting a better understanding of Finnish, so I'm jumping around between grades, taking whatever I think will help me. this jakso, I'm taking Swedish with the 7th graders, Finnish (which they call äidenkieli, or mothertongue) with both 8th and 9th graders, and art and some religion with the second year lukio kids, or my "real" grade. also, one of the English teachers has invited me to come into his classes whenever I can, so I go to those for 7th grade, and first and third year lukio.

it's actually interesting for me to go to the English classes--and it helps me learn Finnish as well. they learn a mixture of American and British English. some of the idioms the first year lukio class was learning were either antiquated or very British because I had never heard of them. and the third year lukio kids, who are graduating this year and preparing for big exams, had a listening comprehension test which I took and got 21/25. rather embarrassing, considering I speak the language.

the religion class I only go to twice a week because those are the only times I could fit it in. it's interesting to me, but a little hard to follow, though it's nice to be with my grade, which my host sister Tuuli and most of her frieds are in. and I've only been to one so far, since the other time is on Mondays and last Monday I was still figuring out my schedule.

the art class, too, is with my grade. Tuuli's not in it because it's at the same time as music, which she is taking (it was hard for me to chose between the two). but several of her friends are in that, and I have only just started getting to know them, but they are all very nice and welcoming and helpful to me.

the Finnish classes are very helpful for my learning the language, even though they are of course way above my level. it's so much fun to hear the teachers talking in Finnish about different literary genres, and how to structure an essay. there have been a few in-class essay assignments which I try to do too, and sometimes get some feedback. both the Finnish teachers have been very kind and helpful. they will periodically come over and explain things to me in slow, simple Finnish to make sure I understand.

the Swedish classes are my favorite, though I feel like I shouldn't say so too loudly because everyone here seems to hate Swedish. but I think it is so much fun--it's similar to English, and my history of Old English and Icelandic forrays help a lot. also, I am taking it with kids who just started, so it is very basic and all the things we are learning (numbers, simple introductions) are things I can translate fairly easily into Finnish. a very satisfying feeling.

it's funny at school, because everyone knows who I am--it's a small town, and a small school. some people have been very shy, but not nearly as shy as the Finnish stereotype, I think. and everyone I have talked to has been so welcoming and warm. because I don't really have one grade or class that I'm following, I think it might take a little longer to get to know people, but I'm pretty much getting to know everyone in the school some way or another. next jakso I will stick with my grade and take everything that Tuuli is taking. I look forward to that, even though the way it's going now is a lot of fun and I think it is teaching me a lot.

well, that's all for now, folks.