mihin ihmeeseen syksy meni?

oops, haven't blogged in a while.

winter has come to Savitaipale, I think. yesterday we got our first snowstorm (we got snow in late October, and a sizely amounts of it, but it was much gentler), but more on that in a bit. today is the first day of December and my 99th day in Finland and I honestly have never before witnessed an autumn that was either as incredibly mindbogglingly beautiful nor as evasively short as this one. and my sense of syntax is leaving me, I think. I spent over two minutes trying to decide whether that should be 'either' or 'neither' in the sentence two sentences before this one, and am still not entirely pleased with my decision. though I suppose I should save language-related rambling for a language-related post I hope to make in the near future.

but I digress.

I should probably tell about Thanksgiving. it's never really been my favorite of holidays, and I have always liked it mainly for the downtime at home with family (and the break from Nutcracker dress rehearsals... but I shan't speak of that). here, without the day off nor promise of a long weekend, Thursday was its usual hectic self and didn't bring the promise of a long weekend. but after school and visiting with a friend, I came home, cooked for three and a half hours, and served my host family some semblance of a Thanksgiving meal around 8 o'clock (very late for dinner here). I even managed to make an apple pie, with the last-minute emergency help of mama. it was rather stressful as I have never made one alone before... I couldn't shake the feeling that the statue of liberty was watching over one shoulder and Uncle Sam over the other, and plotting in Texan accents what they would do to me if I made a mess of such an American icon as apple pie. I comforted myself that if worst came to worst Finland wouldn't be a bad place to start my career as a refugee.

at any rate, it ended up looking alright (see photo below). my host family enjoyed it, and I admit the texture was rather nice, but I couldn't taste it at all due to a headcold.

the pie

yesterday came the kind of stinging, minuscule snow that comes on furious winds and doesn't fall but flies, antiquating fresh footprints and filling the cracks between layers of clothing. the lights were flickering all day.

I think perhaps now is the time to begin my telling of the prechristmas atmosphere in this country. or this village, I suppose I should say, for fear of undue generalization. even before our first snow (October 26), people could be heard singing Christmas carols in the hallways at school and talk of Christmas has only grown. as if out of inability to wait, Finns hold parties called pikkujoulut (lit. "little Christmas"), at which Christmas pastries are eaten, glöggi is drunk (with raisins and almonds mmm), saunas are saunad in, tonttu hats are worn, songs are sung... the reporter who came to school on Black Friday to interview me for the local paper explained pikkujoulut as a way to have Christmas celebrations with friends and extended family, as Christmas itself is more of a family affair.

pikkujoulut have been happening since October, but I went to my first last weekend (with my AFS chapter) and my second was yesterday. all the cousins came over. there were seven small children in Santa hats singing Finnish carols. while snow-smattered wind glazed the windows. the power went out while the cousins were in the sauna (that's also when joulupukki (Santa Claus (lit. Christmas goat), who looked a lot like me, Tiina and the oldest cousin Eveliina) came and hid presents in the living room for them to find). there was much tickling and red hats and one of the major bonuses that has accompanied the bettering of my Finnish skills (and the lessening of my shyness to make language mistakes) is my ability to play with my Finnish cousins. yes, you can play with small children without words (I mostly do...) but understanding when they say something like "tickle Katsu while I distract her with this little Santa Claus" is a convenient ability to have.

 

that is a photo of Savitaipale at about 4 o'clock today, as I approached the center square (where the light-hung tree is) from home. last night there was a joulutori (Christmas market) there, where handmade baked- and woolengoods, hot glöggi, and sausages were vended. there was singing of carols and a Santa giving out candy, and I think the whole village probably came there in the five o'clock darkness and flickering streetlights of a biting snowstorm.

on the theme of Thanksgiving, I must say that I am  truly and deeply thankful to have ended up in such a lovely host community. I can't imagine a warmer group at school (my grade and otherwise) or a more fantastic host family. I rather wonder what I did to deserve it all. and sometimes it worries me how perfect this has all been...

and I shall leave you all with a photo I took today while walking with Eddie and a friend. shortly before we cut into the woods. it was very dark, and there was a glittering snowfall.

happy December to you all!