tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87805720288217207742024-03-05T00:45:35.446-05:00seven tailstales from FinlandAlizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-89224074708266660272013-12-19T14:31:00.003-05:002013-12-19T14:37:57.403-05:00update for iskäI feel bad about having let this blog shuffle off into the dust and die. just for you, iskä, here's an attempt to make up for lost time. if I were to recount everything that happened since my last blogpost, that would include:<br />
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a trip to Stockholm, by boat...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we went through both Turku's and Stockholm's archapelagos.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the sunset melded seamlessly into sunrise.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sverige!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the Vasa, a fantastic old viking ship.</td></tr>
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...and one to St. Petersberg...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we took a boat-tour through the rainy canals of the city.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view from our hotel room. they've got regal palaces for playthings.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the most incredible white-marble-and-chandeliers metro.<br />
I can't believe this is the only photo I have of it. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">muistatko tätä kuvaa, iskä? (:</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">practicing Cyrillic skills with familiar words.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vyborg is a chillingly abandoned city of incredible former grandeur.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on the boat to Russia (which went through the Lappeenranta canal),<br />
we had the playroom all to ourselves. (great for getting some quiet time away<br />
from the group of American bachelor partiers who followed us the entire trip...)</td></tr>
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...plenty of time at the kesämökki, where I've left part of my heart...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">nightless nights over the lake.</td></tr>
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Juhannus spent half on a friend's island...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">never without my most prized possessions.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGrOxM1Cu1MENw_00OpRc5Rvku7kPO3eLjNS_Mdm34eUY8vVwO7TuiuNgwCTS4jtzM4Bh5l2O_1TLaiKfeZhFhCTDD-MfvsKUZRF_PH4NAak_fIa_5IPdgpylrctTaIS5qgakimx17q4/s1600/DSC_1125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGrOxM1Cu1MENw_00OpRc5Rvku7kPO3eLjNS_Mdm34eUY8vVwO7TuiuNgwCTS4jtzM4Bh5l2O_1TLaiKfeZhFhCTDD-MfvsKUZRF_PH4NAak_fIa_5IPdgpylrctTaIS5qgakimx17q4/s320/DSC_1125.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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...and half back at the village to watch the bonfire.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwBLV5QAqlib5k0OnP93FNiaw_2iRv8cdSIG4GD5Zy_R6vfbEnWPkiihzK9TdwtOhxCAZQRFeY7pb5Np8fgRz1c1kK6cUMbvBx0X_REkDxaUnb9rlJ4rB29EmbsSdpfxTo2HHKUk-38Q/s1600/DSC_1218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwBLV5QAqlib5k0OnP93FNiaw_2iRv8cdSIG4GD5Zy_R6vfbEnWPkiihzK9TdwtOhxCAZQRFeY7pb5Np8fgRz1c1kK6cUMbvBx0X_REkDxaUnb9rlJ4rB29EmbsSdpfxTo2HHKUk-38Q/s320/DSC_1218.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7O2lhq6P0PpWHHkT9pgeDd2cVngPQTux1eIvtLmjCLY7Eke-r4VEOMgXTmwfyJSci6gyPMVFJUmCmxRUqQB_TquzgZy5IpUo_qlA-cyzvC8ikaLOulmTn2st9e6bhmH4sq08r-K5yqVA/s1600/DSC_1213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7O2lhq6P0PpWHHkT9pgeDd2cVngPQTux1eIvtLmjCLY7Eke-r4VEOMgXTmwfyJSci6gyPMVFJUmCmxRUqQB_TquzgZy5IpUo_qlA-cyzvC8ikaLOulmTn2st9e6bhmH4sq08r-K5yqVA/s320/DSC_1213.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had to get a picture of my head on fire (thanks to Essi for taking this).</td></tr>
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...the most magical last night in Finland...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgErApyhoiDAgwS-d0uImJNTQg5QEsAXw9jXkI9m6QlMFDjAzGTeD4httd9Ztcd3qvKfyuPu8zaP7W5Pgu8rbejCERliOH8zH8J45R6-RxUeMzC5ldmt_8RKFrcwCy9YB1NAELlvOq-5bY/s1600/DSC_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgErApyhoiDAgwS-d0uImJNTQg5QEsAXw9jXkI9m6QlMFDjAzGTeD4httd9Ztcd3qvKfyuPu8zaP7W5Pgu8rbejCERliOH8zH8J45R6-RxUeMzC5ldmt_8RKFrcwCy9YB1NAELlvOq-5bY/s320/DSC_0084.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">äiti helped me light the candles i had gotten as a gift in the beginning of the year.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-q-VeU4DEJ0Qj526Fz_QLLAGILtXeKkCQV1qHBeBcj-0PE_e5tOsqdG_pYMFlMxr5-t_7kLl07XYeffPalSdjAyXoZOmu2PMdSHVIKtLuRwRQrMt_gbcJI3IoSgOln1Xgrj4WwYhm_jk/s1600/DSC_0088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-q-VeU4DEJ0Qj526Fz_QLLAGILtXeKkCQV1qHBeBcj-0PE_e5tOsqdG_pYMFlMxr5-t_7kLl07XYeffPalSdjAyXoZOmu2PMdSHVIKtLuRwRQrMt_gbcJI3IoSgOln1Xgrj4WwYhm_jk/s320/DSC_0088.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
...the love of my life....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTw36eHlsEdDAKQC12PkFYtzybQR-ed25ITMIeKfuxTGgOaNBOdau9wZkAOhkc6kOzAs_yHYHByEx5orjnoh9Xsubxw55s1XQ-4uUBhCQmytxZZN7I_Ch4z9_LTD8a_gnLX99oU37-jdI/s1600/DSC_1247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTw36eHlsEdDAKQC12PkFYtzybQR-ed25ITMIeKfuxTGgOaNBOdau9wZkAOhkc6kOzAs_yHYHByEx5orjnoh9Xsubxw55s1XQ-4uUBhCQmytxZZN7I_Ch4z9_LTD8a_gnLX99oU37-jdI/s320/DSC_1247.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><3</td></tr>
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...tea and pastries during a layover in London...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVBb23_Q94VBFfteAGju294th38fCBdsxAl1HriAeRrwZMQQb1NKBKK1XpAPWWPCVep-HVMxErO7yxecBZ6YiLWh6NBjORp-kBuX2opg883BWbBsWdX7_d_tJyzP91FZB9CqBrEM45V4/s1600/DSC_0089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVBb23_Q94VBFfteAGju294th38fCBdsxAl1HriAeRrwZMQQb1NKBKK1XpAPWWPCVep-HVMxErO7yxecBZ6YiLWh6NBjORp-kBuX2opg883BWbBsWdX7_d_tJyzP91FZB9CqBrEM45V4/s320/DSC_0089.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
...and then suddenly being back in the US of A.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZVpFEXHBNPtIaMkcqTmV-JP8wPovC3DtQulSGQEH8w4J8UWj9XNyFAEXqeCelSA3oYMOZnETzEjES55nnWfHALPN3lm8m1FY_iYI07x6f_Nff9OFhP8r6F8yzLoH8S5SPFrVgvArSY78/s1600/DSC_0093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZVpFEXHBNPtIaMkcqTmV-JP8wPovC3DtQulSGQEH8w4J8UWj9XNyFAEXqeCelSA3oYMOZnETzEjES55nnWfHALPN3lm8m1FY_iYI07x6f_Nff9OFhP8r6F8yzLoH8S5SPFrVgvArSY78/s320/DSC_0093.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I took a walk in the woods with my little<br />
brother on my first day home and we came across this.<br />
I thought it was the perfect "welcome to America" shot.</td></tr>
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<div>
...and lots and lots of other things of which I don't seem to have photos, including midnight swims, spontaneous weddings, the most nerve-wracking speech, and the most surreal goodbyes. it wasn't until I was on the plane from London to New York, encased in the exact center of a monstrously huge airplane with the huge ocean beneath me that I started to realize all that I was leaving behind.</div>
<div>
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life here since I got back has been... life-ish. sometimes, Finland feels like less than a dream. sometimes I am surprised to wake up here rather then there. when I am asleep, the two homes still blend together in my dreams, but slowly I have gotten more and more used to the idea that even if I am home, there is no way for me not to be a little homesick for my other home. I have gotten used to the beauty of that.<br />
<br />
there is too much to say, too much to show. so here is a photograph of me, now, home. and far away from home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2WqxXu275MJD6jKlB9r_h6fietwTMz6cg-_aezpOm6nxs8829c7Fk3qbP6vmo9Sb4kOYlW_n9iazydbiCQRsusYGsNtYQmRGbMkHE_VCI29P6OGy1qbCOMTMi11WQaVa0czElAZhQpg/s1600/ITT_0509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 13px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2WqxXu275MJD6jKlB9r_h6fietwTMz6cg-_aezpOm6nxs8829c7Fk3qbP6vmo9Sb4kOYlW_n9iazydbiCQRsusYGsNtYQmRGbMkHE_VCI29P6OGy1qbCOMTMi11WQaVa0czElAZhQpg/s320/ITT_0509.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have given up on that whole matching socks thing.</td></tr>
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</div>
Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-3768746857299224132013-05-26T14:08:00.001-04:002013-05-26T14:30:26.115-04:00another springly update<br />
<br />
I shall now shed a bit of light on some things that have happened since my last blogpost.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgRuFpm57562PvtFL98PfvSWJrPdddVl1fAVRV8QVvfjjfhQOiP9s1vH61HuhOI_itybZe1snLnxgNtkFYqOPzbyEBX6l7pslBeWgT-uEV_V4djiR6A1dKiylMUWF4TVfpelchXhgs34/s1600/Kuva+489.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHgRuFpm57562PvtFL98PfvSWJrPdddVl1fAVRV8QVvfjjfhQOiP9s1vH61HuhOI_itybZe1snLnxgNtkFYqOPzbyEBX6l7pslBeWgT-uEV_V4djiR6A1dKiylMUWF4TVfpelchXhgs34/s320/Kuva+489.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
one was the WildCamp.<br />
<br />
this was a four day camping trip near Hyvinkää. it's organized by a lovely hostfamily (really, amazing people. I wish I'd gotten to know them better) with access to some lovely woods. this is only the second year they've held it, and if it continues in future years, I highly recommend it to future Finland exchangers! not only do you get to spend several days straight in the newly-thawed mud of the springtime Finnish woods without showers or electricity, but you get to do so with a truly awesome group of people from all over the world, knowing all the while that this may be the last time you are all together as a group. it was magical.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhObVbiGSNhfTCBg9ddhAGfoxid5LhWDj4HDivhHYnErMP6dkzS0xawV9qh-wsKiaRajTNsmUtjbxkfX_mrVpHs7fPrfebQ7fJzbT0-XTY7jv9qzMjB38D-EiZsMk8S2czwkrMyx6gbw2E/s1600/Kuva+482.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhObVbiGSNhfTCBg9ddhAGfoxid5LhWDj4HDivhHYnErMP6dkzS0xawV9qh-wsKiaRajTNsmUtjbxkfX_mrVpHs7fPrfebQ7fJzbT0-XTY7jv9qzMjB38D-EiZsMk8S2czwkrMyx6gbw2E/s320/Kuva+482.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
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we slept in Swedish army tents (anything that went wrong in them was, of
course, Sweden's fault. this out of focus and terrible picture
represents the atmosphere. imagine twenty girls sleeping pinwheeled
around a woodstove (staying up in shifts during the night to keep the
fire alight) with warm feet and muddy heads, snoring in all the
languages of the world. <a href="http://www.varusteleka.com/pictures/14600.jpg" target="_blank">this </a>is what it looked like from the outside. </div>
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the campsite. behind me are the four Swedish army tents and the teepee (in which the volunteers slept). </div>
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chores included chopping firewood and planting daffodils. </div>
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waist-length hair isn't very practical in a muddy, showerless environment. so we cut mine with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puukko" target="_blank">puukko </a>and
kitchen scissors and tossed it into the campfire. it was a good thing I
had so much hair to start out with because quite a few people wanted to
try their hands at hairdressing. amazed and thankful props to Megan for
skillfully overseeing this all!</div>
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another recent happening was the departure orientation. I don't like to talk about that because the very name terrifies me. we were at Polvijärvi, about a half an hour out of Joensuu. it was the same group as was at our <a href="http://seventails.blogspot.fi/2012/09/arrival-orientation.html" target="_blank">arrival orienation</a>, and it was bittersweetly lovely to compare thoughts and impressions and memories.</div>
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photoed is the dock from which we swam after saunaing. it was cold, but o have I
missed lakeswimming! I stayed in the water perhaps longer than I should
have (though it was hard to convince ourselves that it was actually
getting late because the sky didn't really get dark). that was also the weekend that Finland didn't medal in either Eurovision or the Hockey championship. poor Finland.</div>
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this weekend I went with my host sister Tuuli to Helsinki to stay with her godmother Tarja. this trip is something that we have all been talking about since I came, but autumn went by so speedily that we didn't fit it in and decided to wait until after the snow melted. finally, this weekend was the weekend.</div>
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when we arrived on Friday, Tarja took us to Porvoo. Tuuli photographed me under the scrumptious greenness of an obliging tree. </div>
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we walked along the river and ate icecream as afternoonevening turned to eveningevening. </div>
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on Saturday, my brotherdear Jacob arrived from Estonia and Tuuli, he,
and I explored Helsinki. that day was happening a Maailma Kylässä
('World in a Village') festivalfairevent. we wandered the tents and some
scientists from Saint Petersburg included us in a psychological
experiment (in Russian-accented Finnish). and, it just so happened that
PMMP (a very popular Finnish band) was performing right after we
happened across a stage. so, you know, we stuck around for that too. </div>
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it took us a while to leave the park, due to poor navigation skills
and distractions and the like. in our wanderings, we saw the most
beautiful greenhouse.</div>
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we tried to make it back to Suomenlinna (where I was last time I was
in Helsinki, but I was there in the night). but due to the
aforementioned level of our navigation skills, we ended up somewhere
completely different. but it was also an island, and it was absolutely
gorgeous.</div>
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today, Sunday, we visited Ainola (Jean Sibelius's house, now a
museum). it was a profoundly beautiful place. we also visited Heureka
(science museum) and saw the exhibit of bodies there. a good day.</div>
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other than the muchnesses pictured/described in this post, much has been happening here since my last blogpost. snows have melted, trees have greened (there is nothing like the sound of a birch forest in the wind), and nighttime (and with it the motivation to sleep) is slowly disappearing. dandelions are gloriously prolific, and you know what? Finns appreciate dandelions. I never understood why people back stateside feel the need to humiliate dandelions to the point that they sometimes seem to lose their flowership. but no such bigotry here.<br />
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today I have exactly one month left here.<br />
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happy spring to you all!Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-9419719417144263882013-04-13T10:41:00.004-04:002013-04-14T07:15:59.591-04:00kevätI suppose I could apologize for not blogging in a while. life here has continued to continue in its lovely little way here, still as full of surprises and potentially blog-worthy adventures, I suppose, but it really just feels like life. this isn't an excuse for not blogging, because I know there are people who blog about everyday life, but I'm not one of those people and blogging hasn't occurred to me lately.<br />
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for the beginning of Pääsiäisloma (Easter vacation), I made my way to Helsinki to which Brother Dear Bub came from Estonia. we spent a morning and afternoon wandering the sun-thawing city and talking of this and that and a late afternoon and evening wandering a darkening city with Jula (an exchange student from Argentina, and a lovely young man) as a guide.<br />
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as soon as Jula met us, he took us to the 'best place in Helsinki', a tiny coffeehouse on the sea. an unreal little red wooden cottage. a few people have been wondering how I managed to survive in a Nordic country for seven months without drinking coffee... and to them I have to say: I wonder too, now. I'm still not a coffee addict, but sitting there the sun, outside the impossible red cottage on a frozen inlet of the Baltic Sea, how could I take hot cocoa or tea with the mustikkapiirakka slice we shared? right, I couldn't. I have no idea if that coffee was good or not, but the two cups that I drank there shall remain in my mind forever as the epitome of coffees.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD14RoqIw3RoAsFus6EE2zA5iQBJIOTk10rSqmEEGQw16GOXCyEKohMpyklI_j8UsmkCdlsxdC2-WhtaB26UuOi8EZE2e4uDf4CF3O6HTO2qlLS9_hj5zXfxpXYuLy882m755vJ_Groh0/s1600/Kuva+344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD14RoqIw3RoAsFus6EE2zA5iQBJIOTk10rSqmEEGQw16GOXCyEKohMpyklI_j8UsmkCdlsxdC2-WhtaB26UuOi8EZE2e4uDf4CF3O6HTO2qlLS9_hj5zXfxpXYuLy882m755vJ_Groh0/s320/Kuva+344.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bub and Jula afront the legendary red cottage.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">coffees and mustikkapiirakka.</td></tr>
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on the ice next to the sublime little red cottage was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kicksled" target="_blank">potkukelkka </a>ride. I have slowly fallen in love with potkukelkkas while here (our relationship started out rather bumpily but I shall miss them terribly). Brother Dear and I went for twirls.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it was magical.</td></tr>
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just up the hill from this was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibelius_Monument_%28Helsinki%29" target="_blank">Sibelius Monument </a>which was lovely to visit live after seeing so many photos of it ja silleen.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">would have been nice to be there on a windy day, I hear.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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we climbed to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Torni" target="_blank">top of Helsinki</a> to catch the sunset. I took a picture of the women's bathroom there, but I find my photo only partially catches the allure and, as it would also be something of a spoiler, I shall refrain from posting it. but ladies, if you are ever in Helsinki during sunset, go powder your nose at Hotel Torni. (it's free for the public).<br />
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our original plan to witness sunset at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomenlinna" target="_blank">Suomenlinna </a>was slightly delayed, so we explored the island fort in the dark. recalls <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Island_(Massachusetts)" target="_blank">George's Island</a>. a bit. it was magical in the fresh darkness (stars were only just sprouting), and I would like to revisit it in the day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9a5uvoeHz_NN2-E_0WYW5wNRbRetQJslzDeZZeVfuuBbfbcYsHjWAV8B1dHva7V5CeoUvVzMtj6nyhNLxOzkbGs5v54IcG9LciSdBZ2oDIkimC2QwPsqELcXjxPVvpeSOOfvYP3ugsQ/s1600/Kuva+358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr9a5uvoeHz_NN2-E_0WYW5wNRbRetQJslzDeZZeVfuuBbfbcYsHjWAV8B1dHva7V5CeoUvVzMtj6nyhNLxOzkbGs5v54IcG9LciSdBZ2oDIkimC2QwPsqELcXjxPVvpeSOOfvYP3ugsQ/s320/Kuva+358.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the last of the light as we ferried islandwards.</td></tr>
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I spent the night at Jula's host family's place. his hostmother speaks Finnish and his hostfather Swedish. they speak Finnish to eachother and their mothertongues to the kids. everyone speaks English to Jula, and Jula speaks Spanish on the phone with his Argentinian friends in Helsinki. the English tv program was muted so one had to read the Danish subtitles. it was incredible.<br />
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the next day we met up with Kate (Alaska) and Alexandra (Italy, my roommate from Lapland, whose sister and friends were visiting from Italy) and wandered the city some more before heading home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1eNEI0oCn4OMmmQSfUK0qmzD7Kv_nGHfmR1ObeIqUatdKMr1_e0yjhRpxQVaIgnaKII1ZS4a6ZRwvkIJ9mxuudylqCheuNFZ9BC4KydJZbl7N-OUiW8HFPjxfeUZBtjvy6lmXesXpjH0/s1600/Kuva+366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1eNEI0oCn4OMmmQSfUK0qmzD7Kv_nGHfmR1ObeIqUatdKMr1_e0yjhRpxQVaIgnaKII1ZS4a6ZRwvkIJ9mxuudylqCheuNFZ9BC4KydJZbl7N-OUiW8HFPjxfeUZBtjvy6lmXesXpjH0/s320/Kuva+366.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helsinki's tuning fork of a subway. isn't it adorable?</td></tr>
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at home, on Easter Sunday, I tried <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A4mmi" target="_blank">mämmi</a>. for those of you not familiar with the stuff, it is a traditional Finnish Easter food made of malted rye and molasses and infamous for its excremental looks. having been taunted and prepared for this experience since I arrived, I have to say I was expecting something far more unbearable. I wouldn't want to have to subsist on it, but with milk and sugar (there seems to be a large debate about what kinds of sweet dairy products to smother it with) it was actually quite edible.<br />
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since then, spring's hesitant approach
towards Finland has accelerated remarkably. this week rain started
coming. o, how I have missed the rain! there's nothing quite like coming
out of school one day and smelling rain after a long winter... when everyone talks about looking forward to summer I can't help but nod
and smile and wonder if that mixture of dread and longing that I feel
about leaving here and going home can be called 'looking forward'.<br />
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a few days ago I got an email from AFS with my return flight information. looking at the date of my departure caused a sort of numb panic that (probably) had nothing to do with the fact that it is the day AFTER my visa expires.Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-20395426571813262832013-03-05T01:21:00.000-05:002013-03-05T14:18:01.631-05:00Roma<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLiKMvlNPvZyV30sgmi9_WRN3OXqJ4Ud_7UWuXseVvnvFZxtEPzUgj1iEaYOuOJL7lBXMKbQDBQhTLNoNGdWrvyXS2VmfBoam0uuEdQw9U66y7GiPQFz7YgIlxwtFSYndD9ttcGlIWoQ/s1600/DSC_1206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLiKMvlNPvZyV30sgmi9_WRN3OXqJ4Ud_7UWuXseVvnvFZxtEPzUgj1iEaYOuOJL7lBXMKbQDBQhTLNoNGdWrvyXS2VmfBoam0uuEdQw9U66y7GiPQFz7YgIlxwtFSYndD9ttcGlIWoQ/s320/DSC_1206.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>preface: after so many months of (multiple) mittens, my fingers over vacation reveled in the fact that they could use the camera controls without freezing. as such (and perhaps also because I was in a gorgeous city the likes of which I have never seen before), this blog post contains very many photographs, which I shall insert at every possible paragraph break, with only occasional attempts to correlate the textual and photographic subjects.</i></div>
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there are many things that I have forgotten to blog about (including the luistelutapahtuma (skatingevent) on the lake two weekends ago, which included firedancers and moon-/candlelight skating), but there's no way I could ever blog about everything interesting that happens to me, so I may as well stick to the subjects I have pictures of.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZRMrI4CSTXEPpFgevc79Yq7xp5VrDNW28jspdG5WhvvrstWF0bdHKHdOZqSQzEv_l9-wCxRAuuLRtGaFKskvjnAsktPHHNsTsNB7mn5QXft-lN73U88AAQXOvWmp6exvd2YKipWhzh4/s1600/DSC_1152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZRMrI4CSTXEPpFgevc79Yq7xp5VrDNW28jspdG5WhvvrstWF0bdHKHdOZqSQzEv_l9-wCxRAuuLRtGaFKskvjnAsktPHHNsTsNB7mn5QXft-lN73U88AAQXOvWmp6exvd2YKipWhzh4/s320/DSC_1152.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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so. last week, my part of Finland had hiihtoloma (lit. skiing holiday/vacation). this is when Finns tend to either go north to ski or go south to get some sun. my host family had been thinking of doing the former (we were going to go to Lapland), but about a month ago, the decision was made to go instead to Rome. </div>
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I have to say, with all that has been going on <strike>this</strike> last (it's March already?!) month, I almost didn't have time to be excited. almost.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp1e_IwAfplzAXVVpsjNwwX8U5xML8aF99gAYTcKveyjkxv8BumsU8QQtP7HaU3_2W3p5Qn_p3cPpx4a4qAjtdX4LiXr_12vs2NkR-W14XGee_N_CB-VdLjtQ6c0DJZ1GaBZU2_M2CGFg/s1600/DSC_1247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp1e_IwAfplzAXVVpsjNwwX8U5xML8aF99gAYTcKveyjkxv8BumsU8QQtP7HaU3_2W3p5Qn_p3cPpx4a4qAjtdX4LiXr_12vs2NkR-W14XGee_N_CB-VdLjtQ6c0DJZ1GaBZU2_M2CGFg/s320/DSC_1247.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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we flew from the tiny Lappeenranta airport (and a layover in Riga, Latvia) on Tuesday morning, after the very last-minute realizing that my host sister Tiina's passport had expired and the miraculous achieving of a temporary one for her (it turns out the family has connections in the local police office--good to know?).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOO0P0pzTSJpXTbFXuencsJPEhtsi2VH0DrM8K2ZvumHVuDf8cjcG2DmnDisD5CBID6SVxDK9W1A8a9e6ypJ1K7Fuj765O1n124DJjOpY1KuN0d-3Q5RyLqeWK4KwhCVzmOGpp0M4QTo/s1600/DSC_1234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOO0P0pzTSJpXTbFXuencsJPEhtsi2VH0DrM8K2ZvumHVuDf8cjcG2DmnDisD5CBID6SVxDK9W1A8a9e6ypJ1K7Fuj765O1n124DJjOpY1KuN0d-3Q5RyLqeWK4KwhCVzmOGpp0M4QTo/s320/DSC_1234.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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in Rome, it was beautiful. just driving from the airport (in a shuttle with an unidentifiedly Slavic couple (it was fun to discuss their possible origins with my host father in Finnish and know they didn't understand what I was talking about)) past the suburbs (?) of the city amazed me. having never been to Europe (other than Finland and Estonia), the fact that there really were ancient ruins and very lived-in terracotta-roofed houses on the hillsides impressed me.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdhDFAKEaeljuAolvlsgxIzn1uAqUk4jMGR73d1JZi5r1ZquW2TNu4tTZf_1XBWHyDFdV_nCUUEgfeSOceP_HjFcY8xY5sacot4FybQKY8-z8ncCwmCAHkd8RP_xrc1sBiFge_U9GkeKM/s1600/DSC_1252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdhDFAKEaeljuAolvlsgxIzn1uAqUk4jMGR73d1JZi5r1ZquW2TNu4tTZf_1XBWHyDFdV_nCUUEgfeSOceP_HjFcY8xY5sacot4FybQKY8-z8ncCwmCAHkd8RP_xrc1sBiFge_U9GkeKM/s320/DSC_1252.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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at the apartment building we were staying in (my host parents found a room through InterHome--it was gorgeous and so infinitely much better than a hotel), we waited for about an hour for the gentleman to meet us and give us our key. my host family's punctuality despite all odds and the gentleman's almost oblivious tardiness was a study in comparison of Finnish and Italian culture. at least it seemed that way to me.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigHW3BYjCq01d4W-8VX1IRp9JcOs6RJYwg33MacWrxIFv6EihrutOGzuyzMk_3wW0X9FyyLtT-TKpNpmGuxqu9yZdoBCvYnkmAgMVFmvn1o4PwYLL9lnRXbkTNXSqlTBDTuVQHFatOx4k/s1600/DSC_1255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigHW3BYjCq01d4W-8VX1IRp9JcOs6RJYwg33MacWrxIFv6EihrutOGzuyzMk_3wW0X9FyyLtT-TKpNpmGuxqu9yZdoBCvYnkmAgMVFmvn1o4PwYLL9lnRXbkTNXSqlTBDTuVQHFatOx4k/s320/DSC_1255.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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we had a lovely little balcony that looked out over a courtyard where laundry dangled on lines between windows of all shapes and sizes that had been build over the years. the first night there was a full moon (as shown above). in the morning, there was sun. I had forgotten how much I missed the sun. if someone had told me, say, thirteen months ago, that this February I would find myself on a balcony in Rome (of all places!) reading in Finnish (of all languages!) Twilight (of ALL books!), I would probably have nodded and said "that's nice" and assumed the person was a Harvard Square crazy. but (as shown below), perhaps those Harvard crazies really aren't as crazy as we write them off to be. photo credits to my host father.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEml10GDUOiLoGzLKbLLf8pDRsouGJRJny_dvUVYAuL20zOBGw-u0Hg3yr-zjql2qRXesCGh4XWV9Er3WKyVJuXzKej8_LE8_TWjIPRvukrFSIBSJEN2bplw6AjqhFeNWb4cSywqoue6E/s1600/DSC_1297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEml10GDUOiLoGzLKbLLf8pDRsouGJRJny_dvUVYAuL20zOBGw-u0Hg3yr-zjql2qRXesCGh4XWV9Er3WKyVJuXzKej8_LE8_TWjIPRvukrFSIBSJEN2bplw6AjqhFeNWb4cSywqoue6E/s320/DSC_1297.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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I was impressed, of course, by the ancientness and yet aliveness of the city. buildings and ruins that were ancient a thousand years ago still stand, amid cars and motorcycles and people going about their normal lives.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNwwyUYp1spTn2aSsixsAmb10SWFipSbNFvW1OqVQACSsKlmiGg6SOeknZ8Fsh8F9d6K9SKGUZXWeA6Tjps7aE8a02bMw-1yEYSZVKb5qI4J7oEkW_1ykYHsfRK1gZMuRIeVERE3W29E/s1600/DSC_0026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNwwyUYp1spTn2aSsixsAmb10SWFipSbNFvW1OqVQACSsKlmiGg6SOeknZ8Fsh8F9d6K9SKGUZXWeA6Tjps7aE8a02bMw-1yEYSZVKb5qI4J7oEkW_1ykYHsfRK1gZMuRIeVERE3W29E/s320/DSC_0026.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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though, I have to say, there are so many vacationers in this city that it almost seems as though the "when in Rome..." saying would advise traversing the streets speaking a language nobody else understands, wearing large sunglasses, <b>I <3 Roma</b> shirts, and taking photographs of everything--which is exactly what we did.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2zzuHkvkVPMQVlhMbBi_dCPH3h6OC7rjWlBTCUV3JYGMEayo9AXxH-qioUdp7RdbmJNIbK_Km72YOUCo-iWgYRgB6pQj59XJJl_HUyRb1zsqn6i9eff3QJ4D0vNgeZJKgDKhU2y9L_k/s1600/DSC_1374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2zzuHkvkVPMQVlhMbBi_dCPH3h6OC7rjWlBTCUV3JYGMEayo9AXxH-qioUdp7RdbmJNIbK_Km72YOUCo-iWgYRgB6pQj59XJJl_HUyRb1zsqn6i9eff3QJ4D0vNgeZJKgDKhU2y9L_k/s320/DSC_1374.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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but it was still a little bit surreal to finally be in a real European city and realize that people actually do zip around on motorcycles with Italian flag helmets, say 'allora' as often as Finns say 'no niin', exclaim 'mama mia!' at regular intervals, shout 'ciao bella', and blow friendly kisses at you on the streets. and I doubt I have ever before in my life consumed so much tomato, cheese, and wheat (in one form or another) as I did during our time in Italy. but it was delicious.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3FBOxG5KdSn9fgzDZd0UfB261y8DCRRTt8CJRmIo9g9hwSS4MueaPRqohDlSOeOOngfnnyI4MDUg8IkPI5h3yLfxrIIhwXNbby5qGD4Qst0145Z7oBqqKATp0WsIcM12CPITl_exLOY/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3FBOxG5KdSn9fgzDZd0UfB261y8DCRRTt8CJRmIo9g9hwSS4MueaPRqohDlSOeOOngfnnyI4MDUg8IkPI5h3yLfxrIIhwXNbby5qGD4Qst0145Z7oBqqKATp0WsIcM12CPITl_exLOY/s320/DSC_0010.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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I recognize that this city is touristy, but it also felt, for the most part, very real. showy, yes, but not gimicky.</div>
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also, with all the recent pope-related bustle, this was a rather historic time to visit the Vatican. in a cafe my host father ran in to (not literally) a cardinal who he likes to think will be the next pope. we shall see.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jm7RFxXqoQzRg9o6o6jc6Jo7AN0svLWd9jHp63nsxd49T1nlJeKRMFB_GlhfAnc0pqargJSefyR7zoQeGHStR0U63N1lzmLJwiiU1LwvgNE36JzP1EeDuvaAxGaRyexXYKandCkkbzA/s1600/DSC_1386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jm7RFxXqoQzRg9o6o6jc6Jo7AN0svLWd9jHp63nsxd49T1nlJeKRMFB_GlhfAnc0pqargJSefyR7zoQeGHStR0U63N1lzmLJwiiU1LwvgNE36JzP1EeDuvaAxGaRyexXYKandCkkbzA/s320/DSC_1386.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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we were told that Benedict XVI might make his last papal appearance during the afternoon when we happened to be at the Vatican, but he didn't turn up. we found out later that he had been helicoptered to the hospital.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_QV8qikq-CKad9pefnNKxvnni_WCjLkFnKiHTr4w0c8uOxFgVyhtd5q_QecBaXhq_RzqvsErUUDrrO9oVCb7lLKa1Q50x8N_GSZzQ3T-GH3lVYMOGf9RJ3d7BAZ4x8zVSNjMIF5Bjog/s1600/DSC_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_QV8qikq-CKad9pefnNKxvnni_WCjLkFnKiHTr4w0c8uOxFgVyhtd5q_QecBaXhq_RzqvsErUUDrrO9oVCb7lLKa1Q50x8N_GSZzQ3T-GH3lVYMOGf9RJ3d7BAZ4x8zVSNjMIF5Bjog/s320/DSC_0006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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personally, I wouldn't doubt that he would be spending his last days as leader of the Catholic church wandering the rooftop of the Vatican (from which the below picture was taken).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGO8HUb9J3XN0JqKq4yD5xQjTnPiQKQjxZWYIhotQ67a3eQTr4zoXLU-a7mgDI-I_CiwEvcZItsgQrEk6tpAMeoxg3iyEh4dn9R9O96lCoaFo4FN2lGYuRKBIURO9t9o1OU2hb6bAW71k/s1600/DSC_1466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGO8HUb9J3XN0JqKq4yD5xQjTnPiQKQjxZWYIhotQ67a3eQTr4zoXLU-a7mgDI-I_CiwEvcZItsgQrEk6tpAMeoxg3iyEh4dn9R9O96lCoaFo4FN2lGYuRKBIURO9t9o1OU2hb6bAW71k/s320/DSC_1466.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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if I were in his position, that's what I would do. find a little nook under a spire and settle down with my hat to watch the sun rise over the capitol of the ancient world... maybe that's why I'm not pope.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KLRvVzCPXqo06jxzTwb4scSF7ihxd2IEfvb1TimJpnIVvYEBpGr5DvpFI6xs1dWeFJuozQnstNP2Xk-ZRLYfhyavHbufzj0UkjwNUSEJATnUjmmKT6_O_YZg-t-XJnVAYJOWeDpXUG0/s1600/DSC_1430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0KLRvVzCPXqo06jxzTwb4scSF7ihxd2IEfvb1TimJpnIVvYEBpGr5DvpFI6xs1dWeFJuozQnstNP2Xk-ZRLYfhyavHbufzj0UkjwNUSEJATnUjmmKT6_O_YZg-t-XJnVAYJOWeDpXUG0/s320/DSC_1430.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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the inside-parts of the Vatican (at least the ones I saw) were some of the most majestic places I have ever been. the light was incredible, and wafted in the space like the Latin changing that could be heard--sometimes untraceable, and not quite evenly distributed, but leaving no place entirely untouched.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDVMCOzOuirK3ES2PvYf1vkoFwAPndB1gixM9LQYzDOKdK7c2AhH1k-_kZR2r87dKZPUVtveutaLOv-AP6bn9xcpL_ucNg3Oi0iaihfy-PvK1HMTL3QjOSciOzZK31yv6RdAJAaZonVbI/s1600/DSC_1420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDVMCOzOuirK3ES2PvYf1vkoFwAPndB1gixM9LQYzDOKdK7c2AhH1k-_kZR2r87dKZPUVtveutaLOv-AP6bn9xcpL_ucNg3Oi0iaihfy-PvK1HMTL3QjOSciOzZK31yv6RdAJAaZonVbI/s320/DSC_1420.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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while there (as while in Rome), I had many moments of recognizing a statue or painting or mosaic as one of those things that I had seen pictures of and always considered to belong to that foreign, exotic land of Europe. surreal to experience such icons.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5U1vWjocNnhCmDC3obWuuWokQ_vWLMt6cafxj6OO9eD9j5yq9XxxMflzJ8WJdAgwtKdvIJGq3RYKAL7yBkznCgdFtTGanMPuT-Z3NhLwBOs8LkXGFhESJqoeA8HYZEdwtxvGdmlkL4gw/s1600/DSC_1401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5U1vWjocNnhCmDC3obWuuWokQ_vWLMt6cafxj6OO9eD9j5yq9XxxMflzJ8WJdAgwtKdvIJGq3RYKAL7yBkznCgdFtTGanMPuT-Z3NhLwBOs8LkXGFhESJqoeA8HYZEdwtxvGdmlkL4gw/s320/DSC_1401.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">and speaking of icons,</span> we come now (below)<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> to Pantheon. or rather <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">Giacomo della Portan, in the piazza in front of the Pantheon.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dGRVjzifzCMCr1IDTq5MDGbaG0OeTULUDbwV2J2hoM5r9V-VJJg1N2FHAobKkadFN59pPC6JgXcM2M3poKhaFrUtQj-SU2OK9Lo4uKlaJWNEvs8XD7dYxUeGIVSTn0Hbk8W1831pFQA/s1600/DSC_1368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_dGRVjzifzCMCr1IDTq5MDGbaG0OeTULUDbwV2J2hoM5r9V-VJJg1N2FHAobKkadFN59pPC6JgXcM2M3poKhaFrUtQj-SU2OK9Lo4uKlaJWNEvs8XD7dYxUeGIVSTn0Hbk8W1831pFQA/s320/DSC_1368.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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entering the Pantheon itself was surreal. a place I have heard of so much, seen so many pictures of... when I first saw the famous shadowcatching ceiling, I shivered to realize that it was actually real and I was actually there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZUXoOacO3CZOoLXEhOq23anrIomnFzIJHdupCM-dphdjZ9tpsFsKl9TsW9-bHhQoxFyt5j4iXU2oHzOQj-zdiiBNTWelHewLQIMr5hP9FkCGapYDFFwHCVTLbVsBwhaSWDIcvQb04Rg/s1600/DSC_1349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZUXoOacO3CZOoLXEhOq23anrIomnFzIJHdupCM-dphdjZ9tpsFsKl9TsW9-bHhQoxFyt5j4iXU2oHzOQj-zdiiBNTWelHewLQIMr5hP9FkCGapYDFFwHCVTLbVsBwhaSWDIcvQb04Rg/s320/DSC_1349.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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speaking of the unrealness of being in iconic Roman places, I found that while my fingers itched to take pictures of them all, I knew that they have all been photographed and drawn and painted so many times so infinitely muchly better than I could ever accomplish, that if you all want to see pictures of them (as if you haven't already), you don't need to bother with my inferior ones. thoughts such as these have lead to the series of photographs which I created with my host father and which I now release to you, to let y'all know that I really was at the places. when you're done looking at these, go look for some really good photographs of these places because they're all gorgeous. (and for your information, the raggedness of those green boots aggravated my host father and he wouldn't rest until I bought some new ones, which didn't make it into any photographs as I only got them on the last night--sorry, iskä, for the restless trip on account of this.)</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoZG0beB9qOZW3W_jV-KWpg5Nabiirkp4U-vhEcI2aFy-o0o94fd3Fk45ucciAsIgL6zG5SwslfhoZd00TlXHZW2acjxqUJCOulrplafXOaBHEx5echl1_-yPtG0u48PXwIb65mPvoLk/s1600/DSC_1202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoZG0beB9qOZW3W_jV-KWpg5Nabiirkp4U-vhEcI2aFy-o0o94fd3Fk45ucciAsIgL6zG5SwslfhoZd00TlXHZW2acjxqUJCOulrplafXOaBHEx5echl1_-yPtG0u48PXwIb65mPvoLk/s320/DSC_1202.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">afront the Colosseum </td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCrBR-9OXJ2j7Qds7LzywFEpzpDagRWYpslsxGgcYYnUPjyHybV-v5c5GAvinan1wNSn8LmFvAUmdEZf6m4pR9YB3OcE5KWZDP7PRupv7tEfTUGpTxFpd0AQva4yxSOCbQXD8f5dUjS4/s1600/DSC_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCrBR-9OXJ2j7Qds7LzywFEpzpDagRWYpslsxGgcYYnUPjyHybV-v5c5GAvinan1wNSn8LmFvAUmdEZf6m4pR9YB3OcE5KWZDP7PRupv7tEfTUGpTxFpd0AQva4yxSOCbQXD8f5dUjS4/s320/DSC_0005.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">in the Vatican museum, just outside the incredible Sistine Chapel (in which photos were prohibited)</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQxWN8GCPrirUlYWiNVequlLrJiFRIf0_IbsNZzdN5iAauY-2Y6NdXihIwGCL9ZrT_dTqsUOfBQP9QA-EiDdeUSqekGDKSDlLn7Ibc975uAbbScpAkbxVwJvz06U8OuRIf8oXqCjN7kk/s1600/DSC_1327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQxWN8GCPrirUlYWiNVequlLrJiFRIf0_IbsNZzdN5iAauY-2Y6NdXihIwGCL9ZrT_dTqsUOfBQP9QA-EiDdeUSqekGDKSDlLn7Ibc975uAbbScpAkbxVwJvz06U8OuRIf8oXqCjN7kk/s320/DSC_1327.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Piazza del Popolo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh62OyrLyqovMAIh2dbOMtzed1YerpZNBJWqK6vED0mGDfQ3W268qx9M0qcU7uwxmYdfQT1SR-k-spm3P4QlRahlHY1r9N7wsVw7aGVItcGmrdsogX-g_6XpxhDYL4ydkUuR3zaeEwdWk/s1600/DSC_1422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh62OyrLyqovMAIh2dbOMtzed1YerpZNBJWqK6vED0mGDfQ3W268qx9M0qcU7uwxmYdfQT1SR-k-spm3P4QlRahlHY1r9N7wsVw7aGVItcGmrdsogX-g_6XpxhDYL4ydkUuR3zaeEwdWk/s320/DSC_1422.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the Vatican has quite the floor</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LFSN2P5lF0ovz6ZnRJjTq2rB5-YYxz7MP2_OZzFQPB-qR5WoQaEjq2arRG6S4tIrOcl-daXa1alxqhI_wWM1a9SfhDbO69z7OUiplsZXaNq1TdyH882cXjUtmVzm9Qo2cmCD-W_BeDU/s1600/DSC_1405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LFSN2P5lF0ovz6ZnRJjTq2rB5-YYxz7MP2_OZzFQPB-qR5WoQaEjq2arRG6S4tIrOcl-daXa1alxqhI_wWM1a9SfhDbO69z7OUiplsZXaNq1TdyH882cXjUtmVzm9Qo2cmCD-W_BeDU/s320/DSC_1405.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the north wind and I at the sundial in front of the Vatican</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtegRIYUejjuGStkZfXbdgd6o3vXuQDyd6RQhb2x7CrRL1ng34dvgEc8-H11NRdM1thknwkR-m9cbh-Vf81wFb49wRLzI_TbAFL9kz_h_zxg8GjfIvkeHJMWPrbKLQecCjE38tvtRlb_E/s1600/DSC_1474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtegRIYUejjuGStkZfXbdgd6o3vXuQDyd6RQhb2x7CrRL1ng34dvgEc8-H11NRdM1thknwkR-m9cbh-Vf81wFb49wRLzI_TbAFL9kz_h_zxg8GjfIvkeHJMWPrbKLQecCjE38tvtRlb_E/s320/DSC_1474.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">atop the Vatican's cupola</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAG0TnsET29XMd4et72e-EJAfrZkoD9vwdejCukY5sXprrPztcEKbiCMFmcBzzB0T1d_jvsitviXEwgklIwSA5mVqRSa50fcLVMendaPM0W7NwseeWJhZcB9xex5gbfzmf8M9Q_CkiXrY/s1600/DSC_1323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAG0TnsET29XMd4et72e-EJAfrZkoD9vwdejCukY5sXprrPztcEKbiCMFmcBzzB0T1d_jvsitviXEwgklIwSA5mVqRSa50fcLVMendaPM0W7NwseeWJhZcB9xex5gbfzmf8M9Q_CkiXrY/s320/DSC_1323.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Spanish steps</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrbyDqMPBYLVgYJBz83ylbxBDEk3TPVQ9PB7n37Dg-ap_wZo6jTNcxfCgvHV_V_aDVOQGNgaGw8ACa4Rj9guDESo9uD_qb3BnaeqbCqvZy4qOuMJfYSqCNQGd0B1GhotB0lUlXFT7nhY/s1600/DSC_1342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrbyDqMPBYLVgYJBz83ylbxBDEk3TPVQ9PB7n37Dg-ap_wZo6jTNcxfCgvHV_V_aDVOQGNgaGw8ACa4Rj9guDESo9uD_qb3BnaeqbCqvZy4qOuMJfYSqCNQGd0B1GhotB0lUlXFT7nhY/s320/DSC_1342.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">in the Pantheon</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZC2cf0XJwyAR_7YftrtcnHUHb0CszPbWJ1B6DItS-01CHEkeeg1OW3J98PkpjNW7ML5ABiTAV0zdy3t-K70OXFz0p3xqZxm3wQXchoeRNN_Pqg3KmPoX6SI-g6hyphenhyphenKivFkdWvg3CvhcpY/s1600/DSC_1287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZC2cf0XJwyAR_7YftrtcnHUHb0CszPbWJ1B6DItS-01CHEkeeg1OW3J98PkpjNW7ML5ABiTAV0zdy3t-K70OXFz0p3xqZxm3wQXchoeRNN_Pqg3KmPoX6SI-g6hyphenhyphenKivFkdWvg3CvhcpY/s320/DSC_1287.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">and our balcony, the final must-see Roman destination</td></tr>
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on the trip back, we had a six hour layover in Riga in which we hopped in a taxi and told the driver to take us to where the restaurants are. he took us to the beautiful old town and we ate at a steak house (I ordered everything vegetarian on the menu... it was delicious). as we were eating, it started to snow furiously, transforming the already-picturesque town square into a snowglobe. it was gorgeous. the snow ended up delaying our flight about an hour. I guess I'm back in the North...Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-47119150841432373672013-02-24T13:30:00.001-05:002013-02-24T14:01:18.530-05:00more february antics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">well well well, this is a crazy month, as demonstrated by the uncharacteristically large number of blogposts thereabout.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">my train from Rovaniemi left Tuesday night at 6:20 and got to Lappeenranta Wednesday morning at 9:20. during the time between those two places, I did many things, including trying to learn German and Frisian and exploring layover cities and excluding sleeping. returned to the vapidness of southern Finnish February (gosh it felt steamy after Lapland), had a nosebleed as soon as I got in the car, and by the time I got home, showered, and eaten something it was about 12. äiti called to tell me that we had dance practice from 1 to 3. so I slept for about half an hour and then came to dance practice completely loopy (I hadn't really slept all that much in Lapland either...). got home from practice at 4 (lingering due to loopiness and catching up with people I hadn't seen for a week) and thought I would take a few-hour-long nap before going to the oilpainting class that would start at 6:30... well, I woke up at 7:10 the next (Thursday) morning, just in time to get ready for and go to school. oops.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">but I think my (lack of) sleep schedule is probably not the most interesting thing to read about. apologies.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">on Thursday there were penkkarit (explained below) at school and then I went to get my hair done and slept in curlers for the next morning's 11am vanhojentanssit (also explained below) performance.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">explanation: in Finnish Lukio there are three grades. the third graders leave school in February to study on their own before their university matriculation exams in the spring. there is a tradition for the third graders (called abis) to, on their last day at school, wear costumes, throw candy, play pranks, interrupt ongoing classes, and other such tomfoolery. whee! when the abis leave, the second graders are now the oldest students at school (vanhat (old ones) (or wanhat (olde ones))), and this is celebrated with the v(/w)anhojentanssit (old(e) ones' dances), which is the dance for which we had practices on Wednesday. following so far?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlqyx5be3kqZgEOH3n6rWUD6sP2IuY8L4JO31i1cRc36GxWTRLkb5u0DrtyfMhDiONIMiFAXoZrIsJWUQG3FrZOj7WP9QQ2khHQlxYzm9_KpXNcAkEHnOzG8FkGF17LF90XJjknytBjE/s1600/.jpeg"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlqyx5be3kqZgEOH3n6rWUD6sP2IuY8L4JO31i1cRc36GxWTRLkb5u0DrtyfMhDiONIMiFAXoZrIsJWUQG3FrZOj7WP9QQ2khHQlxYzm9_KpXNcAkEHnOzG8FkGF17LF90XJjknytBjE/s320/.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">apparently Finland got the idea for holding a dance for this occasion (it used to be celebrated differently, 20 or 30 years ago) from America (from whence this country gets many ideas nowadays...) and prom, and never having been to an American prom, I'm not in a position to judge, but I like the way this dance is organized. because it is organized. we started rehearsing for it in October--a course that was taught by my host mother. one of the dances we danced was to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4om1rQKPijI" target="_blank">Ievan Polkka </a>(a.k.a Savitaipaleen Polkka (Savitaipale's (my host town's) polka)), which is, well, a good friend of mine.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMANq3WClZzY70u1OFJYFTP2Ix7eIgHMfOELeWVclVjb06HJBh_EP37e7QGgDrXxjE8ILhRMBSXAHnKjgQhoKMcMrEQdlgILN6xAwHfDT-egswmqR_LCn5No59_Pdt0-bO5fvgOD6MiAM/s320/wanhat2013_0167.JPG" width="320" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> we had the morning performance, then some people went to different venues around the town to perform excerpts (I went with my partner and two other pairs to the old folks home), then we were served a very slow series of yummy foods at Piilipuu (the town's classy restaurant) and then went back for photos and an evening performance.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sunday was my eighteenth birthday, so of course I wanted to go and make a bonfire at midnight. to my surprise and delight, my host family was instantly interested in making this plan come true and coming along. we (host family and some friends) left in three cars for the woods outside town where we hunkered down in a sort of campsite by the lake and... made a fire. it started about ten minutes before midnight and was a full blaze by the time my birthday started.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlqyx5be3kqZgEOH3n6rWUD6sP2IuY8L4JO31i1cRc36GxWTRLkb5u0DrtyfMhDiONIMiFAXoZrIsJWUQG3FrZOj7WP9QQ2khHQlxYzm9_KpXNcAkEHnOzG8FkGF17LF90XJjknytBjE/s1600/.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6zz0Fg9HqwRRb7lAP_i36Sy48dbqZ51y4l2Py7bzUiJjo-Ox5nRSeAiLyT1KC94aixwuV6H4IYkmwq9eiaCSa2g78XDD1PZ0eBer7UKOPNW8TS17XSt1_GY1cmODpcIp868KuEcEUf4/s1600/Kuva+298.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6zz0Fg9HqwRRb7lAP_i36Sy48dbqZ51y4l2Py7bzUiJjo-Ox5nRSeAiLyT1KC94aixwuV6H4IYkmwq9eiaCSa2g78XDD1PZ0eBer7UKOPNW8TS17XSt1_GY1cmODpcIp868KuEcEUf4/s320/Kuva+298.jpg" width="212" /> </a></div><div style="text-align: left;">I took (one of) my puukko(s) along and iskä taught me how to make wood shavings to use as firestarters.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcpUocN82Vq-J8AFGNvqBRzhnK4hKD2o9t1JCYBm_HPpjYm7-IWG0i0Yhyphenhyphen1g8GOvU3maobNJSyI2qtr9jDnoN5-Jt0SK02qwD7pAiu4mjKZYPGs-vMVDR90NqzQviMvFoy1TGWMHzpYY/s1600/Kuva+299.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcpUocN82Vq-J8AFGNvqBRzhnK4hKD2o9t1JCYBm_HPpjYm7-IWG0i0Yhyphenhyphen1g8GOvU3maobNJSyI2qtr9jDnoN5-Jt0SK02qwD7pAiu4mjKZYPGs-vMVDR90NqzQviMvFoy1TGWMHzpYY/s320/Kuva+299.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div style="text-align: left;">my host mother had brought hot juice and cocoa in thermoses, as well as sausages and corn on the cob to roast over the fire. despite my vegetarianism, I was tempted by the spirit of it all to try sausage... I mean, I was an exchange student turning eighteen in the woods of a country that loves sausages. might as well try it, I thought. the Finns were rather wary at my enthusiasm, which only edged my sense of adventure. all fell silent around the fire as I lifted the sausage to my face. only the fire crackled. expectantly.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">at the first breath I took with the sausage at such proximity to my olfactory organ, my courage left me. it smelled absolutely awful! no reason to put myself through such pain, I figured, and continued to munch my corn for the rest of the evening.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4G7d-PkEY826vHq9E9J6X3KYtVyynzGtyeCABUPT8rNKFd1PKiSBHsX1BQNdnNLbC3-C2jypRh3Tk_C4wgarmW7joX8adFyTZy3NWD7htFP4K7S25sgBjzqk0B1usMt3Mfu1Dr2L100I/s1600/Kuva+301.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4G7d-PkEY826vHq9E9J6X3KYtVyynzGtyeCABUPT8rNKFd1PKiSBHsX1BQNdnNLbC3-C2jypRh3Tk_C4wgarmW7joX8adFyTZy3NWD7htFP4K7S25sgBjzqk0B1usMt3Mfu1Dr2L100I/s320/Kuva+301.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Zev, this picture is for you, taken by the light of iskä's headlamp. I know my viking bearded beanie was supposed to be a Hanukkah present, but (because of customs complications) it came in time for my birthday. I inaugurated it by the bonfire and it's beard still smells of smoke. I felt most splendidly barbaric. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVz9ySt3lm4JywSMW3Pdlraw2zkSnlZo4GRVBv4TEbIhJLnONKJF2FoyM4lNWT3zJswtkPBHstD2LobmFtqnkj-w1uFd9y7ntnvpCWUOFKIjb7ura2DQgDaAw_0Qqt4vSkYcFPC3Boouk/s1600/Kuva+341.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVz9ySt3lm4JywSMW3Pdlraw2zkSnlZo4GRVBv4TEbIhJLnONKJF2FoyM4lNWT3zJswtkPBHstD2LobmFtqnkj-w1uFd9y7ntnvpCWUOFKIjb7ura2DQgDaAw_0Qqt4vSkYcFPC3Boouk/s320/Kuva+341.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div>the actual day of my birthday was somewhat less boisterous. aunts and uncles and grandparents and cousins and family friends were at our house for most of the afternoon, in rotating shifts that necessitated us hosts to sit down to coffee (which means cakes and pastries and pies and all the delicious things my äiti had made) several times throughout the day as new guests came. in the Finnish tradition, it seems. I received a lovely package from home and plenty of candy Finnish (lots of salmiakki!) from relatives here.<br />
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after being in Lapland and coming back just in time for penkkarit and tanssit and turning eighteen, the next week at school was the last week of the 4th jakso and therefore examweek. as always, I tried to do nearly all of my grade's exams, with varying amounts of mishap.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhylpEQDqswIpmyS_o1l9MDvYoT3Z10I28rjukYg8vFg1EDNy4uc5cILSTEkk6fl6Pl68AIWL14KkXK01U_53DOvIyou9PScr6MrzejM6qmM4htBCc6Yzw-8QNnvHK9hcy1MRjyLbCpe68/s1600/Kuva+314.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhylpEQDqswIpmyS_o1l9MDvYoT3Z10I28rjukYg8vFg1EDNy4uc5cILSTEkk6fl6Pl68AIWL14KkXK01U_53DOvIyou9PScr6MrzejM6qmM4htBCc6Yzw-8QNnvHK9hcy1MRjyLbCpe68/s320/Kuva+314.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>something I will miss about Finland (or is it just Savitaipale?): handknit woolen mittens on sticks. I see them surprisingly often. at first I wasn't sure what to make of them, but we've reached a silent understanding at this point.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhylpEQDqswIpmyS_o1l9MDvYoT3Z10I28rjukYg8vFg1EDNy4uc5cILSTEkk6fl6Pl68AIWL14KkXK01U_53DOvIyou9PScr6MrzejM6qmM4htBCc6Yzw-8QNnvHK9hcy1MRjyLbCpe68/s1600/Kuva+314.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> <br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNs8oj4mKM1K3EHnSD8JvdGf7d4T-FxEUYGxSpV7JFG9tLTOvyG2cMueT7ACZ_XpgmyLHoKWf4n8Ko-VPZDxj6Go92kNMw1GxO-bHR6EHYHudfKX1t22qONzBRsfKTJ_qHr0S2hMgIUY/s1600/Kuva+342.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNs8oj4mKM1K3EHnSD8JvdGf7d4T-FxEUYGxSpV7JFG9tLTOvyG2cMueT7ACZ_XpgmyLHoKWf4n8Ko-VPZDxj6Go92kNMw1GxO-bHR6EHYHudfKX1t22qONzBRsfKTJ_qHr0S2hMgIUY/s320/Kuva+342.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>free time has, as you may be able to tell, not exactly been in plenitude. but I did find time to go on a photoshoot once (thanks to Kaisa for the tripodloan!). this is a test shot for a photo that I ended up editing into <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ummatiddle/8496713357/in/photostream" target="_blank">this</a>. while it felt good to get back to my photo-editing-experiments (and find ways to outwit the confine of a black and white printer), I thought the test shot was more fitting for blog purposes as it represents how I sometimes like to spend my freetime here, exploring the frozen wonderland with Eddie the pooch.<br />
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and today I have been in Finland for exactly six months. crazy.<br />
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(thank you to Miira and Liina for the vanhojentanssit photos and äiti and Tiina for the birthday photos!)Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-9364659446593654922013-02-21T14:17:00.005-05:002013-02-21T14:23:31.421-05:00Lappiwell, I'm a bit backlogged on blogposts... let me start out with one about the AFS trip to Lapland. it's something that AFS Finland hosts every year, and if any Suomi hopefuls are reading this, I hope it convinces you how worth it this trip is.<br />
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so, shortly after posting my previous post, I headed to the train station and to catch a train to Rovaniemi. well, actually it was to Lahti, from which I got on another train to Riihimäki, from which yet another train brought me to Rovaniemi. at each stop came more lost-looking teenagers with big bags (it's easy to recognize exchange students) until the last train's crowd consisted mainly of high schoolers from around the world, and a few old drunk Finnish men. some of us recognized each other from previous chapter meetings, but there were many new faces--and faces that until now had only existed to me as facebook profile pictures. there's nothing, I think, quite like being on a night train with a group of other exchange students. by the time we got to Rovaniemi, I had already met some incredible people, and didn't even notice the fact that I had only gotten about half an hour of sleep.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoVvdXKq_h2TUs4Qn2EFdw3bNgFEIMCFzoUx471cmxVSB1Yg47YpV1O0PvjtPx1c34v2pcjd_1FRWFKC8xr1EMqJJkYgmo1WwIH3Z8rpnmLKAFerqGIkNtjERsBw8q3hdbRJoRyGFi8E/s1600/Kuva+271.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoVvdXKq_h2TUs4Qn2EFdw3bNgFEIMCFzoUx471cmxVSB1Yg47YpV1O0PvjtPx1c34v2pcjd_1FRWFKC8xr1EMqJJkYgmo1WwIH3Z8rpnmLKAFerqGIkNtjERsBw8q3hdbRJoRyGFi8E/s320/Kuva+271.jpg" /></a> </div>
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sunrise, and one of my first views of Lapland. this must have been near a stop because most of the way there were no electric lines. just trees and snow and trees and snow and trees and snow. it was mesmerizing. when we got to Rovaniemi, we were assigned groups and filed into two buses. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIfgYaDACT8pMS1H4G9jWWRVGV250um2W5w9gogdWCnFgF7USf6ejrrL2dQEIxLMm6IooFXJf3A6F9U6Hrov5D8fp7Yb4ti_Ep04EdEgROD5G_dfavDZHI2x3zs9nDuPChb34db2Rm_0/s1600/Kuva+330.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIfgYaDACT8pMS1H4G9jWWRVGV250um2W5w9gogdWCnFgF7USf6ejrrL2dQEIxLMm6IooFXJf3A6F9U6Hrov5D8fp7Yb4ti_Ep04EdEgROD5G_dfavDZHI2x3zs9nDuPChb34db2Rm_0/s320/Kuva+330.jpg" /></a> </div>
we went to the Arktikum museum where we were served food and received tours. I took, with a few friends, the Finnish-language tour (and had a lovely chat afterwards with the tourguide about Saami languages), and then discussed philosophy with Felix (from Germany)while watching a slideshow of photos of Lapland.
we then went to Kairosmaja, the series of cottages in which we would spend the next five days. I roomed with the lovely Angela (Italy) and Isa (Brazil) in one of the remote cabins by the lakeshore, next to the sauna building.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJWXhmJLLexCiGuqGAEff6y8JG-iVBMs3vFdJe5MEHJtTOdvgEM2HakHalhKO7ELCz3iu9sWH3L5ib0Cp8IlIKu22_l1t045OHV1OxdAhympJDhw9sYOu5pndMQD5nynSTOVcTEF5Y4o/s1600/Kuva+236.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJWXhmJLLexCiGuqGAEff6y8JG-iVBMs3vFdJe5MEHJtTOdvgEM2HakHalhKO7ELCz3iu9sWH3L5ib0Cp8IlIKu22_l1t045OHV1OxdAhympJDhw9sYOu5pndMQD5nynSTOVcTEF5Y4o/s320/Kuva+236.jpg" /></a> </div>
this, folks, is was the view from the porch of the sauna building (and very similar to the view from our room's window). that hole in the ice is called an avanto. it's not just a hole in the ice--it's an experience. and it is one of the loveliest experiences I have experienced. as soon as you step outside of the sauna building into the frigid air, you can feel your sauna-scorched skin stop steaming immediately. hair freezes. you can feel the stars (god, the stars!) staring freezingly down at you as you hop from foot to foot, waiting for your turn in the lake (we went in groups of two or three--going alone was not advised for good reasons). if you stand still too long your feet freeze to the icy walkway. then, it's your turn in the avanto. you climb down the ladder into the water and at first it feels as though your heart will freeze, but you grind your teeth. just between the pain of entering the icewater and the pain of being in the icewater for too long, comes a moment of bliss. if you're brave, you dunk your head. the run back to the sauna is a blind blur of eyelashes freezing together and icy feet trying not to slip. then you get back to the sauna and throw water onto the stones and bask in the steam until you conjure enough courage to go again.<br />
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the feeling afterwards is like nothing I have experienced. invigorating and refreshing and relaxing and exhausting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHZ8uiVABtMfG5GppCevCnnVCpIf_xxDBip2s_75e0kA3ZNle-h_40vzl9fjQccFwo83osBB6n4VhrmXw7bw3jCQVT50sKgIm9MxhCu61chVMsnm0u8GN13yS_NuRnaAu-gmIgb3A5ys/s1600/Kuva+208.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJHZ8uiVABtMfG5GppCevCnnVCpIf_xxDBip2s_75e0kA3ZNle-h_40vzl9fjQccFwo83osBB6n4VhrmXw7bw3jCQVT50sKgIm9MxhCu61chVMsnm0u8GN13yS_NuRnaAu-gmIgb3A5ys/s320/Kuva+208.jpg" /></a> </div>
the first three days, we had the choice of skiing, snowboarding, or snowshoeing.
skiing/snowboarding lessons were available on the first day and
snowfishing was available on the third. in the spirit of trying
everything, I went for snowboarding lessons on the first day. the only
thing I mastered was the art of falling and getting up again, knowing
you will fall again very shortly. but it was fun. I don't think I have
ever received so many bruises so quickly. I still hold to my original
theory that the idea of tying someone's feet to a board and sending them off a cliff probably originated as a form of torture, but I gave it (a bit more than?) my all, and it was fun. but then again, how could one not have fun on slopes with such fantastic views?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVADV8lHocF1QyfwH8ZSn8Q0sXWsCc934r1Or2trRpssqP_HBr-XIabYHINi_L6gbZeAYW-gVNL-WgEmT8YcP0Z4wGmCIyFm-SXS-f9IXgnIrq_UHIOg4rees2b9m_MvcsMRERInW77Q/s1600/Kuva+235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnVADV8lHocF1QyfwH8ZSn8Q0sXWsCc934r1Or2trRpssqP_HBr-XIabYHINi_L6gbZeAYW-gVNL-WgEmT8YcP0Z4wGmCIyFm-SXS-f9IXgnIrq_UHIOg4rees2b9m_MvcsMRERInW77Q/s320/Kuva+235.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
in between falling bouts, I rode the lift up to the top (and back down again). it was utterly fantastic up there, with globby snow coating absolutely everything. it gave the lift equipment an abandoned air, like the disty algae that blankets the ruins of a forgotten ship on the ocean floor.<br />
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on the second day, I opted for the snowshoe hike. we set out shortly after the late-morning sunrise. we started out on a walking trail, complaining about the ski poles we had been given (who needs ski poles while snowshoeing?! we wanted our hands free to take pictures...), but soon our guide took us off the paths and across what turned out to be valleys and slopes.</div>
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it was beautiful. we plopped down in the -23 Celsius snow and ate our frozen sandwiches.</div>
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in one valley, our guide took us to an outdoor theater that is used in the summer, a wooden stage structure in the depths of the valley, with wooden benches lining the slopes. there he lead us in singing Maamme (the Finnish national anthem) before we headed off on our way. 2.5 more kilometers back to Kairosmaja, where we huddled in the kota around the fire and ate the remainders of our now-frozen blueberry soups. </div>
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on the second to last day, we visited an amethyst mine. above is the entrance to the mine. we got there part by bus, part by trolley, and part by foot.</div>
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I have always liked amethysts (being my birthstone and being purple, and having an A initial, I feel we have some things in common), and I was looking forward to visiting the mine. I had been expecting cavernous icy caves that would glisten purple under dusty flashlight beams... well, I suppose I was setting myself up for disappointment. we crawled around in a sort of underground sandbox until we each found a small amethyst crystal (mine is rather pretty, I must admit).</div>
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...but whatever was lacking in the mine experience was made up for many, manyfold by the sunset that graced us on our ~40 minute walk down to our bus. many of us photo-inclined folks transformed into snaphappy shutterbugs.</div>
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it was rather fantastic.<br />
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as we descended, so did the sun and at the bottom of the hill we were surrounded by nothing but snow-coated trees and a fruity-colored sky.<br />
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...speaking of skies. we saw northern lights every night. with Jan-Gerben (the Netherlands), Simone (Italy), Felix (Germany), and a few others (I think we may have been the only faithfuls who went every single night, but I'm not sure...), I snuck out onto the skislopes to watch the sky explode. admittedly, most of the nights it was just a twinge of green that only showed up in longexposures. but on our last night there, I saw the most fantastic revontulet (northern lights... repo=folk name for fox, tuli=flames => revontulet=fox's flames=foxfire). it was after a sort of disco we had at a restaurant on the skis lopes... Benoît ((French) Belgium) and I climbed to the top of a ski jump and basked in the sky. it swirled and clustered and faded just barely too slow to notice, and little sprouts shot off here and there and inched like fantastic, luminescent grubs across the sky. we exchanged a hug of jubilation that gave me nosebleeds for several days. by the time we got back to Kairosmaja (where my camera was) and got back to the slop nearest there, the foxfire had expanded into a gently convulsing green mist that coated nearly the entire sky.<b class="_36"><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/hovercard.php?id=1278590587" href="http://www.facebook.com/benoit.lava" id="js_13"></a></b><br />
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on the last day we visited a reindeer farm and obtained reindeer driving licenses. the grueling driver's-ed process consisted of sitting on a wooden sled with a friend and hanging on to the reigns while the a beautiful animal with fascinating hooves clopped a rapid loop through the snowy forest.<br />
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our (my and Felix's) steed was named Kuuro, which means deaf, because, according to the Lap I asked, it was.<br />
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and then it was back to the trainstation and back to a sleepless nighttrain with friends I had only just made and would have to say goodbye to already. I haven touched upon but a fraction of the trip in this blogpost, as I have focused mostly on our out-of-camp activities. we had several activities at Kairosmaja as well, in the evenings and mornings--dizzy races on the ice and a beauty pageant for gentlemen and group-Sudoku-torture and making pancakes on the fire in the kota, and other such things to keep us from boredom. we also visited Santa Claus and straddled the polar circle, and when we didn't have anything organized for us, we found ways of keeping ourselves from sleep, talking, pingponging, playing cards. I have never met a group of such friendly, interesting, interested people.<br />
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(photo by Jan-Gerben from our evening of pancake-making. in exchange for this I shall learn Frisian.)<br />
and I still have much more to blog about... but I think this is enough for now. hopefully I'll get to the other things before we leave for Rome next week. (oops, spoiler...)Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-70241992439141164872013-02-06T10:35:00.002-05:002013-02-06T11:00:45.972-05:00photoupdate!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
oops, I haven't updated in a while. well, school has been back for about a month and it has been snowy and cold and beautiful here in the land of Fin. I am setting off for Lapland (!) tonight and thought I had better dump all these pictures I have from the past month and a half here before I post Lappish pictures. this blog post is for you, mumpkin, for reminding me to take more pictures.</div>
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at mummola (Mummo's (maternal grandmother's) house), playing Afrikan tähti (the star of Africa) with the cousins. it's a Finnish boardgame from the 50's.</div>
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the view from the porch of mummola. that's my hostaunt's cowshead.</div>
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the hairdo my little hostsister Tiina gave me on a whim.</div>
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the 23rd of January was my halfway-day. 152 days in Finland, 152 left. I went over to my good friend Essi's house and we made a half a cake.</div>
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it was a happy-looking cake, stuffed with Essi's mother's homemade jam, and it tasted much better than the cake that Essi's mother made in an attempt to rescue our first-attempt-batter (we forgot that the wet and dry ingredients and eggs can't just be thrown together at the same time...).
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upclose on the lovely halfness of cake.<br />
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this is the portrait of the great Tove Jansson that Essi and I made at school. viewed from this angle because it's so big that I couldn't get it from straight on. it will be hung in the stairwell of the school building (which is new and is still in the process of decoration).<br />
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I have taken, lately, to enjoying long walks on the frozen lake with Eddie the pooch. a road has been made so that people from the far side of the lake can get to Savitaipale without having to drive all the way around the lake. there is also a ~5km skating loop that is maintained to perfect slippery smoothness. we like to slide around there together.
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there are several islands dotting the lake. in the snow they become sprouts of black trees against the perfectly smooth whiteness of the laketop.</div>
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Eddie enjoys the slippery freedom of running on the vast expanses of snowy ice.<br />
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sunset! they are getting later and later. from October, Finns look forward to Christmas. after Christmas, they look forward to spring.
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a corner in the village. I have nearly no photographs of Savitaipale's inhabited parts, I realized. it's a lovely little town, though, if not particularly inspiring photogenic.</div>
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my host sister Tuuli took me to a concert at Savonlinnan taidelukio (the arts highschool in Savonlinna), where she went to school last year.<br />
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it was really a fantastic show, especially considering it was put together by students. and it was fun to photograph. c:<br />
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and then, last Saturday night, my brother (and surely one of the most fantastic people in the world) came to visit me on his way from Oslo, Norway to Tarttu, Estonia. on Sunday we toured and explored Savitaipale (portrait taken in the window of an abandoned house). on Sunday we also visited all my host grandparents, which (of course) included Pappa playing his haitari (accordion) for us and us trying to play it. it works rather well when I play the right hand and he the left (I wish I had pictures, but y'all can imagine it I think).<br />
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<div style="font-size: 13px;">on Tuesday we only went to school for a few hours (so I could take him to some of my favorite teachers' classes) and then escaped to Lappeenranta where we explored until it was time for ballet class, which we took together (and it looks like I may have an opportunity to perform in the spring! whee! but that's another story). we found a magical little usedbookshop and waited for it to open so we could go in (no pictures from inside, because it was so small and crammed with books that I think if I had made any unnecessary movements (such as necessary to retrieve a camera from a bag) the stacks may have been catastrophically upset).
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and then, today, he left. it was surreal to have him here--a piece of home in this place that has become home over the past five months. it's still hard to be sure I wasn't dreaming.</div>
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the speed of time here feels to have been accelerating constantly since I arrived. ever since school started back up in the second week of January, it has been fairly smooth sailing. I really feel, now, like a part of my host family and my group at school. days are full and I find I am never getting around to all the goals I put on reserve for when I don't have anything to do.</div>
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February promises many great things, and it has only just begun. I leave for Lapland in a few hours.</div>
Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-66637082523561392112013-01-03T14:39:00.001-05:002013-01-03T14:39:33.093-05:00hyvää joulua ja onnellista uutta vuotta!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
with the Christmas break's end looming suddenly nearer, I think I had better blog about what was by far the most-hyped happening in Finish life since I got here: Christmas.</div>
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as one who has grown up Jewish and never really experienced Christmas, I expected to seem a bit like a little kid looking forward to the holiday with wonder and curiosity. but it so turned out that everyone around me was looking forward to it as much (if not more?) than I. I have already mentioned in a previous post the way Finns start celebrating Christmas in October. I think it's a mixture of having something to brighten up the November--many have told me it is the "worst" month of the Finnish year because of the rarity of the sun and the inconsistency of snowcover and its brightening effect. personally, I had a lovely November despite (because of?) the darkness and mud.</div>
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but anyway.</div>
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Christmas is celebrated in Finland on the night of the 24th. and Joulupukki (lit. 'Christmas goat') or Santa Claus comes. compared with the American Santa, the Finnish (like with many things) does not beat about the bush. he doesn't do any sissy sneaking in through the chimney while everyone is asleep... no, he comes shamelessly to the door. in fact, he (again like many Finns) doesn't even wait for Christmas (or rather the Eve thereof). I've been seeing him around at pukkujoulut and such for at least a month. at any rate, when he comes on Christmas Eve, he is serenaded with carols and conveniently brings the presents that we lugged onto the front step into the living room. I sat on his knee and everything (there are pictures somewhere, but not here).</div>
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now if I may sidestep for a moment, this Joulupukki is an interesting character who rather tickled my curiosity. firstly, his name. Christmas goat? when I learned of this, I thought to myself: self, something is fishy. or goaty, really. also, adults are all asking small children (and me) after Christmas if they were afraid of him. afraid of Santa? as a Jew, I can't say I have much experience with Christmas, but still. very fishy. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joulupukki" target="_blank">this article</a> didn't exactly defishify the fishinesses, but it definitely appetized my curiosity. any Santa whose Wikipedia has asection dedicated to his dark side has got to come from a pretty awesome country.</div>
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the above photo was taken by Tuuli of me (in my lovely new Marimekko nightgown from äiti) shortly before I headed to the sauna on Christmas Eve. that is vasta in my hand, a bunch of birch branches that I received from my host-aunt. it is used for beating oneself with in the sauna, and it smells heavenly summerish. I never pictured myself as the type who would enjoy self-flagulation in a dark, overheated room with no windows, but I really did.</div>
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on Christmas morning we went to church at 7am (hearing the Lord's Prayer
in Finnish makes me wish I was more religious) and then went sledding
with the cousins, as photographed by äiti (below). now I can't speak for
all of Finland, but in this family sledding is much more intense than
in mine. the "slope" isn't some wide, open hill, but rather a narrow
walking path that winds between the trees and requires excellent
steering skills (which it seems children here are either born with or
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most of the time between Christmas and New Years I spent sleeping, walking in the snow with the pooch, sleeping, watching my room oscillate between various states of cleanliness, sleeping, visiting with friends, sleeping, shopping in the post-Christmas sales with Tuuli, sleeping, and trying not to sleep through the sunlight. I saw The Hobbit (Hobbitti) with some friends. it was my first time at the movies in Finland. tickets are ten euros. </div>
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ten euros are tickets.</div>
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but it was definitely worth it for the double subtitles (Finnish and Swedish). ah this reminds me of the language-related post that I have still to make... but I'm kinda glad we didn't go to see it 3D because I (of course) was trying to read all the subtitles all the time and had a bit of a fantastic mental overload with the multilingual (albeit two-dimensional) experience.</div>
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on Monday we left for Jyväskylä to spend the turn of the year with some family friends in their house in the woods near said city. New Years Eve was spent between the outdoor hottub, the snow, and the sauna, with the launching of fireworks (above and below) and other such jubilation.</div>
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when we arrived home on Wednesday I was greeted by three large packages from home containing an unearthly amount of goodies. it is difficult to believe that break (which looked so long during the fall) is almost over. in retrospect, when I try to recount what I did, it doesn't sound like I did very much at all, but as it happened it felt that I was always either busy with something or busy procrastinating from something (and I still am... break isn't over yet). that's how it always seems to go here... boredom
is quite honestly something I have yet to experience this side of the
pond.<br />
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a very happy 2013 to you all, and thank you for reading my increasingly syntaxless rambles.Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-91818905035181507392012-12-22T13:28:00.002-05:002012-12-22T16:42:30.611-05:00kuvia!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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as joululoma (Christmas vacation) has just started, I figured it was time for a small photo update. I shall try to muster a blogpost sometime soon that contains actual text, but, after uploading these pictures...</div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">the button accordion that I received as a loan from Pappa (maternal grandfather). he plays it far better than I, but it is immensely fun to play around on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">candles (both wax and electric) are everywhere. they joined forces with the snow and are bravely battling the darkness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">our front yard on the 6th of December (Finnish independence day)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">oops, I guess I was feeling a bit patriotic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">äiti took me skiing on Independence Day. I didn't realize at the time that she was taking a picture, so I am not posing. this is how we ski in America, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">on the way home from skiing, I paid another (my third) visit to the viewtower. the first time I went there, the sun was shining and the world was green. the second time was during the rain and fog of autumn. and this time, climbing the snow-blanketed steps in skiboots, it was definitely winter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">the museum at the top of the hill.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">this is Finland, folks.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #88898a; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">today I went to a friend's house for her birthday. we went snowshoeing in the field and woods behind their house. this is Meri and the field, in the ~14:00 sunset of the day after the winter solstice.</span></div>
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snowshoeing for the first time! the only feeling stranger than putting on snowshoes and feeling like you have enormous feet is taking them off and realizing that you have minuscule feet.</div>
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left to right: Meri, me, Meri and Sara's father Juke</div>
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minä. many thanks to Sara (whose birthday it was) for the pictures in which I am. <:</div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">joulukuusi! kuusi, for the record, means both six and fir/spruce, though they're declined differently, as iskä has been teaching me. we plucked it from the woods last weekend and just brought it inside/decorated it today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;">obligatory Christmas bokeh picture. <:</span></div>
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Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-65034066764101273252012-12-01T14:04:00.003-05:002012-12-02T03:11:00.731-05:00mihin ihmeeseen syksy meni?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
oops, haven't blogged in a while.</div>
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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.</div>
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but I digress.</div>
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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.</div>
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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.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmBEqj1Xzv1W_MThCNQAwJdN6mdSoAwo4KkERZqWrwE0ZVPTWLBS-5gj6YYi7pQ3wadQ4orEhqIUAsLhDrrrXCvvXm6Zvz4qnSNWWX-5-HyCDQZI1uKMcdqEWok5DV8pSeUQfOJzF2iY/s1600/DSC_0442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmBEqj1Xzv1W_MThCNQAwJdN6mdSoAwo4KkERZqWrwE0ZVPTWLBS-5gj6YYi7pQ3wadQ4orEhqIUAsLhDrrrXCvvXm6Zvz4qnSNWWX-5-HyCDQZI1uKMcdqEWok5DV8pSeUQfOJzF2iY/s320/DSC_0442.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the pie</td></tr>
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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.</div>
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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.</div>
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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.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpZRoRa142HYIQB5VMBvMXPSOUWcwb7swyjuRAsp33y1iT1g2VJZFrnAkgVJSYtvL-WEU2wFICeS8hCgkLH80cJO9S20XNlGLEtN-_r2syZMyalShi9QVgmBe7sGp6SY0K1xSr5272wg/s1600/DSC_0443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpZRoRa142HYIQB5VMBvMXPSOUWcwb7swyjuRAsp33y1iT1g2VJZFrnAkgVJSYtvL-WEU2wFICeS8hCgkLH80cJO9S20XNlGLEtN-_r2syZMyalShi9QVgmBe7sGp6SY0K1xSr5272wg/s320/DSC_0443.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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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.</div>
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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...<br />
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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.</div>
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happy December to you all!</div>
Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-25918917232680773822012-11-04T12:46:00.001-05:002012-11-09T09:57:29.208-05:00pyhäinpäivä<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCgqxbDFDUq0pCJWEDP2KWW3k36VykCtWv0V1ULIWOG6Sxg-jCEYHT__WYBskksoplJB40mAM72XYnA2wuOZ3K8fpOKFiRtFPFerUxPh9mJwc7qXxq6-ai1Hss2OsTGmZ7MIm4z2Fkf8/s1600/DSC_0365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCgqxbDFDUq0pCJWEDP2KWW3k36VykCtWv0V1ULIWOG6Sxg-jCEYHT__WYBskksoplJB40mAM72XYnA2wuOZ3K8fpOKFiRtFPFerUxPh9mJwc7qXxq6-ai1Hss2OsTGmZ7MIm4z2Fkf8/s320/DSC_0365.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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halloween isn't a big deal in Finland. actually, (in Savitaipale, anyway) it is hardly a deal at all. trickortreating doesn't seem to happen at all.</div>
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but they do observe Pyhäinpäivä, which I gather is All Saints Day. it is a quiet holiday of memorial for the dead. I went with my host family to each of Savitaipale's three cemeteries place candles on the graves of relatives. I can't really explain the silent, foggy beauty of a cemetery of black stones in the middle of the woods, flickering with constellations of candles. nearly every stone had multiple candles on it. and all real candles. none of the blinking colored electric monstrosities I've grown resigned to back in the old country.</div>
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I didn't take any pictures during the day, but after visiting the grandmother and seeing the graveyard (the one by the church nearest the center of town) in the dark as we were walking back, I realized it was a photographic subject not to be passed up. about an hour later, I returned with a friend Kaisa, a spirited girl who refuses to speak English (not that I have ever asked her to, mind you!), speaks Finnish at 300 km/h (roughly 186mph for those of you still in America), and doesn't mind spontaneous long walks late into cold, rainy nights (the history of our friendship consists mainly of spontaneous long walks late into cold, rainy nights).</div>
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after meandering the graveyard for almost an hour, we visited the näkötorni (view tower), a wooden ~15m high tower atop the hill. from there one gets a splendid view of the lake (Kuolimo) and the Savitaipale village. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">glowing graveyard (from halfway up the hill)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the village lights, reflected in the Kuolimo (from the tower)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">village lights refracted by fog and editless photoediting (from the tower).</td></tr>
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<br />Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-12508196236479076352012-10-24T13:43:00.000-04:002012-10-24T14:02:29.055-04:00on boats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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my dear readers, I shall now embark on the telling of two different adventures that I have had recently, a weekend apart from eachother. except for the fact that they both include boats, they have rather little do to with eachother and should really be in seperate blog posts, but alas.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7pG63OCRU29vR9mLhOGRSq660tovtPIDWd-eX6Tg3GTme9c3qCzDlH2sX2Vj-xhkMUUJYFPSNcDtXdDyuj9jGDByU0BSVCYo05PdoqQPZzc0UH0YusUByxjfo2zujEPaKuwMMkm7eC8/s1600/DSC_0611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7pG63OCRU29vR9mLhOGRSq660tovtPIDWd-eX6Tg3GTme9c3qCzDlH2sX2Vj-xhkMUUJYFPSNcDtXdDyuj9jGDByU0BSVCYo05PdoqQPZzc0UH0YusUByxjfo2zujEPaKuwMMkm7eC8/s320/DSC_0611.JPG" width="320" /></a>as for the first one, two weekends ago, it so happened that Ayla (the only other person in my chapter here, a truly lovely soul from Germany) was to be accompanying her host family on a steamship on which her hostfather works, and they had room for one more, so she invited me. it was marvelous. the ship (S/S Heinävesi) was from 1906. it left from Savonlinna and took us to an island on lake Saimaa, where there was saunaing, lake-swimming, and musicing. there appear to be quite a lot of songs about Saimaa, as many such were sung that night, in the belly of a steamship over cold, black water and below a black, starry sky.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the linna of Savonlinna</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I found a friend in the cabin we slept in onboard.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one has to watch out for accordions in this country. they seem to appear out of nowhere.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ayla and I on the island.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">and now to tell of the second trip. this one was last weekend, during syysloma (autumn vacation), which was friday through monday for our school. we went to Tallinn, Estonia.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHFToYxtBtkahqWexpL-sCKhRSQjxKlKiDVXTCRs0gqvxyvlHCrzKh0Q1Nq2IXzD2tw_niggR5t8sjBf7iui-Vo82dB_GGlrPY6FR3EAZA1JfDshekDC1ploY9iYuDL-OCWot8Pjfcww/s1600/DSC_0786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHFToYxtBtkahqWexpL-sCKhRSQjxKlKiDVXTCRs0gqvxyvlHCrzKh0Q1Nq2IXzD2tw_niggR5t8sjBf7iui-Vo82dB_GGlrPY6FR3EAZA1JfDshekDC1ploY9iYuDL-OCWot8Pjfcww/s200/DSC_0786.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the ship's mirrored stairwells with Tuuli</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgznFVpjuWv24JaXpbKJTAVpbD2mm2q3ED1xXHna48pv6CnHrrm36chcbDQAxuywpPCM-RoT8xRxmeIhZr_1hYSIp4JgR2LGJN-reGp-wYi45B5MyleVyK48CfEZFb6CnbriFaSVWnfDk/s1600/DSC_0808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgznFVpjuWv24JaXpbKJTAVpbD2mm2q3ED1xXHna48pv6CnHrrm36chcbDQAxuywpPCM-RoT8xRxmeIhZr_1hYSIp4JgR2LGJN-reGp-wYi45B5MyleVyK48CfEZFb6CnbriFaSVWnfDk/s200/DSC_0808.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and Tiina.</td></tr>
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our ship left on saturday early evening from Helsinki--a stylish, bustling, wonderland of a city of which I failed to take pictures. we toured a bit of the city and ate lunch at a Fazer café (one hasn't seen chocolate displays until one has seen the windows of this place) before catching our ship. having never been on a cruise ship before, I have to say it was a little overwhelmingly vast. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmDin5UtxBYnrj94xjCKFXsN7PK48q4y0Q06aTz-d4yavty6c8HmVmcJzlr4SXSCyjrunEyCPmSPghENYlTk9qVrRpLwnfbvl2AySGczo_8zpLKaBgKrb3rsSeQEiw0EpkyZ4pyrwdUaY/s1600/DSC_0809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmDin5UtxBYnrj94xjCKFXsN7PK48q4y0Q06aTz-d4yavty6c8HmVmcJzlr4SXSCyjrunEyCPmSPghENYlTk9qVrRpLwnfbvl2AySGczo_8zpLKaBgKrb3rsSeQEiw0EpkyZ4pyrwdUaY/s320/DSC_0809.JPG" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think this boat may have been bigger than Tallinn.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeuQinvAg_4EntrLcyaGlsig5KKyuRltP92u-sBx2_UxuYvPFa2g64u9PkCvKT0aybfqHbERPLbPkMxHBHn-Fu8dx4sfd2gYTEHgAEq3DiZch7_ZjXoRCVKOAKEOMKKIBU6DW3ahe2wU/s1600/DSC_0827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeuQinvAg_4EntrLcyaGlsig5KKyuRltP92u-sBx2_UxuYvPFa2g64u9PkCvKT0aybfqHbERPLbPkMxHBHn-Fu8dx4sfd2gYTEHgAEq3DiZch7_ZjXoRCVKOAKEOMKKIBU6DW3ahe2wU/s200/DSC_0827.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Estonian lights!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzX3ESvnHvH1CIyvVTD3k9XirGK88ayhwEAsXGiFAwYVDlwldDqUII8wM_jOExZjxGJ5CVkkIu9eXG_sdraV6vdTRrLz4PbjQcOvLCsfxetEEBpBtIr_4gIRul-MVmVuDRF6YTluDNt0/s1600/DSC_0832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzX3ESvnHvH1CIyvVTD3k9XirGK88ayhwEAsXGiFAwYVDlwldDqUII8wM_jOExZjxGJ5CVkkIu9eXG_sdraV6vdTRrLz4PbjQcOvLCsfxetEEBpBtIr_4gIRul-MVmVuDRF6YTluDNt0/s200/DSC_0832.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">playing with Baltic rain in the ship's light.</td></tr>
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on board was a buffet (at which we ate an unseemly quantity of food), cosmetic, candy/liquor, and souvenir shops, a sauna, at least two discos, and, of course hundreds of sleeping cabins (we slept on the ship at port in Tallinn). one would not have noticed that one was in the Baltic sea if one didn't consciously remind oneself.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgyhuC3knMpbEyyHegXi325-RJ7iJKVdX0hHNPxNj36v-IXq7QTkA22Npl185LydCoH271sHLVOsuvlq0hh855SKGnFigsAMd0nafYGkH0lerIHlIJF8zxmEV_H8dioH9rxNlCGEBHiU/s1600/DSC_0896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgyhuC3knMpbEyyHegXi325-RJ7iJKVdX0hHNPxNj36v-IXq7QTkA22Npl185LydCoH271sHLVOsuvlq0hh855SKGnFigsAMd0nafYGkH0lerIHlIJF8zxmEV_H8dioH9rxNlCGEBHiU/s320/DSC_0896.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the café at which we breakfasted is the rightmost building here.</td></tr>
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Tallinn, o, Tallinn! for starters, Estonian is an incredible language that I want to learn. it's like Finnish that has taken its silk off in favor of wool. it actually bears many resemblances to the Karelian dialect of Finnish (spoken in my area).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzIMWK2LYR_mGOdHw6TMXOJhsTQHc2zkT90pkTQmmjJK8a312TXHOnwOMf5EYdlnyRbGgxQdPyQpGDujifr0a3VE_f9WYeHZCq6fK5Ws8uglCmnSHAvQxtT2Mj2KNPLBrKlJyZtpLiKs/s1600/DSC_0870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzIMWK2LYR_mGOdHw6TMXOJhsTQHc2zkT90pkTQmmjJK8a312TXHOnwOMf5EYdlnyRbGgxQdPyQpGDujifr0a3VE_f9WYeHZCq6fK5Ws8uglCmnSHAvQxtT2Mj2KNPLBrKlJyZtpLiKs/s320/DSC_0870.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">outside the church.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAIRCrUjms7Ffh4gdmPopwIsGrqgHfu-B7nvU8eYKkUjDj451lHmjstCgfcpDZKzPCOBIWVV8rONo8SuAvHQCRv_n6GPmEqg3kxkvGdt5oQJp4JKzRVj5WJucMvMoBCRaKpgv_c1Q1ac/s1600/DSC_0871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqAIRCrUjms7Ffh4gdmPopwIsGrqgHfu-B7nvU8eYKkUjDj451lHmjstCgfcpDZKzPCOBIWVV8rONo8SuAvHQCRv_n6GPmEqg3kxkvGdt5oQJp4JKzRVj5WJucMvMoBCRaKpgv_c1Q1ac/s320/DSC_0871.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">inside the church.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">atop the church.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8FIFXtv0U8u93rOaGTqYCoRlyjT6Ofl-fT8W5VxOZIBhUJ5_Y1Uwy5o21dIjCnNDzxOo0pM1ceG_jWesgDusIt440BSZFWOlOMWwF3ItL8JQlNBqdxzSUsFAAmNCqw-R94KhiuBXifI/s1600/DSC_0880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8FIFXtv0U8u93rOaGTqYCoRlyjT6Ofl-fT8W5VxOZIBhUJ5_Y1Uwy5o21dIjCnNDzxOo0pM1ceG_jWesgDusIt440BSZFWOlOMWwF3ItL8JQlNBqdxzSUsFAAmNCqw-R94KhiuBXifI/s320/DSC_0880.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">atop the church with Tallinn layed out below.</td></tr>
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the city itself will remain in my memory as a cluster of cobblestone streets, old women selling woolen mittens in accented Finnish, and medieval church spires disappearing into the fog. that is, of course, only the old part of the city (vana linna). we spent pretty much our whole time in Tallinn bouncing between vana linna and the shopping centers on its perimeter (goods are cheeper than in Finland, apparently). it's probably a combination of the remarkable lack of crowds, the general cleanliness, and my never having been in a medieval city before, but I had to keep reminding myself that everything I was seeing was real.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxM63-9RLWqU6P4xVzcThpBMQykj2zl_MpmCfT9AhOSpV9tymR4Xi3nX74XqRbLYHgRghHlvn5FZRaTsfd5qPoboIKrGSX5O-Ec1u3PwBaooxiB2C3zSaFXHr3KJwIihhmMY0keSr84Q/s1600/DSC_0868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxM63-9RLWqU6P4xVzcThpBMQykj2zl_MpmCfT9AhOSpV9tymR4Xi3nX74XqRbLYHgRghHlvn5FZRaTsfd5qPoboIKrGSX5O-Ec1u3PwBaooxiB2C3zSaFXHr3KJwIihhmMY0keSr84Q/s320/DSC_0868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tallinn's got some pretty interesting walls...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhjpIJSugJC19VQCleweL6vGDIwPXydFnmuLd-EcqiaTwW-MhU-fZt5irbJ3Z1l-PDwXMBHIkd30Ef1cGJ2jsJHnPPJOVG51nssWiD_AD6mLfaKDwR1AfHxw4az3X36Wuop5GGCHAn3Y/s1600/DSC_0899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhjpIJSugJC19VQCleweL6vGDIwPXydFnmuLd-EcqiaTwW-MhU-fZt5irbJ3Z1l-PDwXMBHIkd30Ef1cGJ2jsJHnPPJOVG51nssWiD_AD6mLfaKDwR1AfHxw4az3X36Wuop5GGCHAn3Y/s320/DSC_0899.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and doorways...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcshLE-gwe9wKDf5-U7s9K7l8W_8jLGetSzlv4NckZ8w8s2dJILEz2OrBrZOx42VK4wPxHCC_tU34cXAdBH4ODTrGrA4PmzhC07FKF1sRtrev4pzUxQLckX0ZruYF3g70xIJLm1V-i2us/s1600/DSC_0889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcshLE-gwe9wKDf5-U7s9K7l8W_8jLGetSzlv4NckZ8w8s2dJILEz2OrBrZOx42VK4wPxHCC_tU34cXAdBH4ODTrGrA4PmzhC07FKF1sRtrev4pzUxQLckX0ZruYF3g70xIJLm1V-i2us/s320/DSC_0889.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and layers...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0AMaBX4ZoNETrvvUYICC239_Ha79x_gUlnU2NnkRJUfx_JaxoL-66R0zvhiecs3gFvALbXERRIkQ_DYwy1IRML7vs0H9x-JQoL5nJiu3Bphhq6nD-S4LRMQMO9jC0PPw6cHnX6GHVM_I/s1600/DSC_0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0AMaBX4ZoNETrvvUYICC239_Ha79x_gUlnU2NnkRJUfx_JaxoL-66R0zvhiecs3gFvALbXERRIkQ_DYwy1IRML7vs0H9x-JQoL5nJiu3Bphhq6nD-S4LRMQMO9jC0PPw6cHnX6GHVM_I/s200/DSC_0924.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">heippa, Tallinn.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitn2o03y42Zrm05nspwHb41RdwImjEelOl0BapXAUYnaLuBaA7Lo3qZ8qB778U7qgaOZLGT5NC2wh6fJk_VbQpmFWDhgQrG0ErDMK9PZ7zJhd7ZMO-dlyjK3TrAyAcxdTqXCoHjMFUPIg/s1600/DSC_0909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitn2o03y42Zrm05nspwHb41RdwImjEelOl0BapXAUYnaLuBaA7Lo3qZ8qB778U7qgaOZLGT5NC2wh6fJk_VbQpmFWDhgQrG0ErDMK9PZ7zJhd7ZMO-dlyjK3TrAyAcxdTqXCoHjMFUPIg/s320/DSC_0909.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">another ship by our side on the way back.</td></tr>
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it is truly a magical feeling to walk the deck of a ship using the wind as a crutch, and tell yourself: here I am, with Estonia behind me, Finland ahead of me, Russia somewhere over to my right, and the Baltic sea all around me. nobody was outside (probably because of the cold) and I made several loops of the huge, deserted deck, feeling incredibly small and balanced on top of the world. when we got back to Helsinki, the sun was waiting for us, and by the time we got back to Savitaipale, the clear sky had brought us rime on the grass, which crunched under our feet when äiti and I took Eddie for a walk under the white stars and the black sky and the stripes of silver clouds. this week it feels winter is coming to Savitaipale.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEfh-mTASbcLkej8A65OW36L2d1I7FpQe6lyxa-ynzECJh0DXWHWz9gj7G5UeBvaE8vsnlF-8N3MtB9yMEgBSecE4KJC_pBzqrPAb5L-Zr0WZRSDLViC2ge2ey6zuwz5jgTiBwqAswcKc/s1600/CSC_0952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEfh-mTASbcLkej8A65OW36L2d1I7FpQe6lyxa-ynzECJh0DXWHWz9gj7G5UeBvaE8vsnlF-8N3MtB9yMEgBSecE4KJC_pBzqrPAb5L-Zr0WZRSDLViC2ge2ey6zuwz5jgTiBwqAswcKc/s320/CSC_0952.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">selfportrait in the window of the return ship.</td></tr>
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Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-6298584762086813762012-10-01T15:13:00.001-04:002012-10-01T15:32:35.583-04:00tampereis a beautiful city, whither I went saturday and whence I returned sunday.<br />
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to get there I took an InterCity train from Lappeenranta (through birch forests and misty lakes) to Lahti, a commuter train (which has a plush purple interior and on which the announcements are only in Finnish and Swedish, as opposed to the Finnish, Swedish, and English of InterCity trains) from Lahti to Riihimäki. thence I was supposed to take an InterCity train from Riihimäki to Tampere but as I was on said Riihimäki-bound train, watching the landscape (many small (and sometimes abandoned) red farmhouses with white trims in the middle of silver woods and orange fields), I thought I need some extra adventure and as we pulled into the Riihimäki station I remembered my talent for getting lost.<br />
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I hurried up and, after wandering the platforms for a few minutes (as a warm up), hopped on a Helsinki-bound train, rather than my designated Tampere-bound one. since the two left the station at the same time, it would have looked like an honest mistake by a confused foreigner to any observant stranger present.<br />
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this Helsinkiin train was a commuter train, which I hadn't anticipated, but the lack of English announcements made my adventure all the more wonderful. C:<br />
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I showed the conductor my ticket and asked Finnishly if I was on the wrong train, recieved an affirmative answer and a (very friendly and helpful!) shove off the train at the next stop (Hyvinkää) just as the doors were closing. I took the next train back to Riihimäki and easily found another to Tampere. hopefully some of you can relate when I say this: there is nothing more satisfying than getting lost in silence and finding your way back asking (fairly unnecessary, as the train system is very logical) help of everybody you meet just for the fun of asking for help in Finnish. it probably the most relaxing and refreshing getting lost experiences of my career.<br />
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at any rate, I arrived in Tampere an hour after I had originally planned. but Nacho (the Argentinian exchange student who had invited me to Tampere for the weekend) was a gentleman and met me there when I arrived. we set off right away and wandered the city aimlessly at a breakneck speed. it's the biggest Finnish city I've yet visited, with gorgeous old buildings and wide cobbled streets and squares.<br />
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<img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-xMKiwxzGxN-WY2dipBMButppJjJVX9S4ffeVQ9cB91AzdZrdAvIWwmBjqpQS3X7fI5HYVRWT8mUiVoDbUeVJhPTTh3e1hsN87eP7HffD6Gus2yWC-HW9eY63UfiXTbIlbigRApPj0U/s320/DSC_0586.JPG" width="320" /></div>
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the marketplace by the river. there was a puukko stall.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcc7U9Ehiz1cwi3m9K9x9Pg0o9dyF-9148iwktVpYcRISlbTS01WSCZSSFpbdH40EmDOpBeOi1e-SeLhCJk6KOGoCgCatM4HRE-mnOgsBVdHHjK67oXFTo1cLw4_A6K467j4sZZrO4ZLQ/s1600/DSC_0589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcc7U9Ehiz1cwi3m9K9x9Pg0o9dyF-9148iwktVpYcRISlbTS01WSCZSSFpbdH40EmDOpBeOi1e-SeLhCJk6KOGoCgCatM4HRE-mnOgsBVdHHjK67oXFTo1cLw4_A6K467j4sZZrO4ZLQ/s320/DSC_0589.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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an example of what seems like typical Tamperelainen architecture.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5D68eei2Jggd2FPdJngkBVGaZz2c-Xqg-avapfYcqblR6EAq6XnmsEElz66OgLlfDt9YBvTWMH893rfjr537kK9WFhVWLxr_AzPg5hC51m5DIk2eat40p-iYCgOzxNkyEaOTelj89sKY/s1600/DSC_0591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5D68eei2Jggd2FPdJngkBVGaZz2c-Xqg-avapfYcqblR6EAq6XnmsEElz66OgLlfDt9YBvTWMH893rfjr537kK9WFhVWLxr_AzPg5hC51m5DIk2eat40p-iYCgOzxNkyEaOTelj89sKY/s320/DSC_0591.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhu2UMgl9LxAUQoCMPLhTNsUy58BaXL4D_nzPtJXQfMFsuBBgvZDyE19samt5_LjRQLtuzUHe9oWjtV7TH8DzGKB92fafvEsgso4y53KXflX6vLtteEiTnUMmkYpUrYsfHW0MQDG2rTQ/s1600/DSC_0593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhu2UMgl9LxAUQoCMPLhTNsUy58BaXL4D_nzPtJXQfMFsuBBgvZDyE19samt5_LjRQLtuzUHe9oWjtV7TH8DzGKB92fafvEsgso4y53KXflX6vLtteEiTnUMmkYpUrYsfHW0MQDG2rTQ/s320/DSC_0593.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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a city of captivating facades.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFRjfU6E-q3wWXBnNBusOoI5dWEm7TkxOC1ye6mpWyWGSCXaqlWFsoEQPOrunqsdrxBgBsrGmuBbPvUOm6LiHzjFa4hKABD5wsnDruf2K7-b45ABSSO3F7IULXHn9M4RmkL11hTMNx_U/s1600/DSC_0600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFRjfU6E-q3wWXBnNBusOoI5dWEm7TkxOC1ye6mpWyWGSCXaqlWFsoEQPOrunqsdrxBgBsrGmuBbPvUOm6LiHzjFa4hKABD5wsnDruf2K7-b45ABSSO3F7IULXHn9M4RmkL11hTMNx_U/s320/DSC_0600.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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speaking of which, this is the front door of the library, a Howl's Moving Castle-esque creature that I think pays homage to Tampere's history as an industrial city. unfortunately, it wasn't open while I was there, but Nacho and I ate our improvised sandwiches under its awning with our backs to the rain and on I spent nearly all of sunday in its basement with Nacho's host sister Sini (who spent an exchange year in New Zealand which granted her a lovely accent and the nickname of Kiwi) at the Muumi museum there, looking at original (Goreyesque and wonderful) Muumi sketches and original (no-particularly-Goreyesque, but also wonderful) models of the inhabitants of Muumilaakso. they were giving away free posters...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_daDfsePwl6NA571MWehGFqaa6M7voJ4MgVNYColmQl1Ga0eQGljF1cQCI_R-KMEWgEieXrgTKw32NGEmLKXS7_luBEzzHE9r-KU4JIZ1WTQbPmoDj0LLVV71SvY16k4R9xQayEPbMY/s1600/DSC_0601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_daDfsePwl6NA571MWehGFqaa6M7voJ4MgVNYColmQl1Ga0eQGljF1cQCI_R-KMEWgEieXrgTKw32NGEmLKXS7_luBEzzHE9r-KU4JIZ1WTQbPmoDj0LLVV71SvY16k4R9xQayEPbMY/s320/DSC_0601.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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...one of which now graces my bedroom door. c:</div>
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on the trainrides back, the landscapes had changed--haybales that had been lying in the fields before were now wrapped and piled, and trees that had been green only the day before now bloomed fantastic golden yellow. autumn in finland is a quiet explosion of gold and green and silver, like a slow, misty smile.</div>
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a very happy october to you all!</div>
Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-68462115741239803322012-09-23T05:03:00.002-04:002012-10-01T16:31:30.198-04:00happiness is<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBYCjYCLXKCfq9vB1tpel0T9vcOc9Ps7UvRyojUP07xWGlt6EonsaRKt_xT7wpfUgANg7nFZyfCvLi8ckR_KlUNxq0EA8LMZhkoXMo72CWSuZN6YGJd6yRoqlYLSNWK08YVhWQBm4KPQ/s1600/DSC_0442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBYCjYCLXKCfq9vB1tpel0T9vcOc9Ps7UvRyojUP07xWGlt6EonsaRKt_xT7wpfUgANg7nFZyfCvLi8ckR_KlUNxq0EA8LMZhkoXMo72CWSuZN6YGJd6yRoqlYLSNWK08YVhWQBm4KPQ/s320/DSC_0442.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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this is Finland, folks. (thanks to Tuuli for this picture)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDqgtsLhLILXiz8eSLOnFnyppcbbn0Ek1jwsfJTn2IY4SCF1dYVAK_0CybcI6TAZorUlMB1hfJ05FMxO9Vb5YooMRgSyvkBov859wTXa8gLfpwfkAsxA9B60Ji1U_5xbLBOvcGn-rheuA/s1600/DSC_0414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDqgtsLhLILXiz8eSLOnFnyppcbbn0Ek1jwsfJTn2IY4SCF1dYVAK_0CybcI6TAZorUlMB1hfJ05FMxO9Vb5YooMRgSyvkBov859wTXa8gLfpwfkAsxA9B60Ji1U_5xbLBOvcGn-rheuA/s320/DSC_0414.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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puppy frolicking in the reindeer lichen,</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZVz97NbalaZNFAIa3ye7UNmpxI52Dvi8qNvBUq6eNx6SWCXDJYcBDo1xigA_h5bGwL5VxS_Nu1yfFWZDbIjn-6EQOHbnuNJ6tzl_9spFv1dSYDne5izX3RxQtV7zUYpvbVm-25l-Zsw/s1600/DSC_0422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZVz97NbalaZNFAIa3ye7UNmpxI52Dvi8qNvBUq6eNx6SWCXDJYcBDo1xigA_h5bGwL5VxS_Nu1yfFWZDbIjn-6EQOHbnuNJ6tzl_9spFv1dSYDne5izX3RxQtV7zUYpvbVm-25l-Zsw/s320/DSC_0422.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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and posing for a christmas card picture.</div>
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we were on the lookout the whole time for edible mushrooms. we did find a lot, though these aren't them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDj6wD7yFi9muu1AZmtNQk6hAcC9Khrn6Y8ci7WXs_LlqWW8cdOsPTMQwkBhulbk6Vk9OHKMINTl8Bj81ekDthhzprnQXxamnVC5irZBRhAiwYgRJcKrbUqqbGwjBPZeFQTIiszktg9Y/s1600/DSC_0448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDj6wD7yFi9muu1AZmtNQk6hAcC9Khrn6Y8ci7WXs_LlqWW8cdOsPTMQwkBhulbk6Vk9OHKMINTl8Bj81ekDthhzprnQXxamnVC5irZBRhAiwYgRJcKrbUqqbGwjBPZeFQTIiszktg9Y/s320/DSC_0448.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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iskä admiring the view.</div>
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a loud whistle carries a long way here and echoes back at you from the hills.</div>
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ruska!</div>
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lakes and trees and lakes and trees. this place is magical, I'm telling you.</div>
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speaking of magical, we soon entered a descent into a misty valley where was to be found a quantity of mushrooms.</div>
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"this is where the trolls live" ~iskä. I just may join them one of these days.</div>
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as we exited the mist and came again upon the lake shore, it began to rain.</div>
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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.</div>
Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-90908651016135557322012-09-17T13:13:00.000-04:002012-09-17T13:13:09.029-04:00arrival orientation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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.</div>
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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).</div>
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this is what Finland looks like, folks. around here, anyway. rolling hills and forests and farms and lakes.</div>
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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.</div>
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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.</div>
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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.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCt_6s-n6IvS9NlnjzSDA9FVNbn32RTmwM18vlLjBNX2pWmxplKtzeWFzcO5fHiHBXvYwRHOcMRMNQX8Sonpr95zYocSyUY0dUE3Ht5qy_y9EbrmTpbqf0HFZhBgYMy6SFZWLyD3L6z-s/s1600/DSC_0394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCt_6s-n6IvS9NlnjzSDA9FVNbn32RTmwM18vlLjBNX2pWmxplKtzeWFzcO5fHiHBXvYwRHOcMRMNQX8Sonpr95zYocSyUY0dUE3Ht5qy_y9EbrmTpbqf0HFZhBgYMy6SFZWLyD3L6z-s/s320/DSC_0394.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
the front yard of the orientation site.<br />
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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.<br />
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the dining room, where we ate, ate, ate, ate, talked till 3 am, ate, ate, and ate again.<br />
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and the lovely kantale. c:<br />
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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).<br />
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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.Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-39268378099524873572012-09-12T12:14:00.001-04:002012-09-12T12:14:10.899-04:00aamullathis 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.<br />
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Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-9808724088913628142012-09-01T05:05:00.000-04:002012-09-01T05:05:46.218-04:00kouluhere's a post to say that I have survived my first week of Finnish school!<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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well, that's all for now, folks.Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-82355617718256786062012-08-28T15:31:00.000-04:002012-08-28T15:40:11.237-04:00photoupdateso, an update. with photos. purely snapshots, of course, but alas. time has not been in excess and has hardly been in access. <br />
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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.<br />
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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'.<br />
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--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--<br />
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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.<br />
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Tuuli with carrots from the garden (much of the fruits and vegetables we eat were grown in the garden).<br />
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the cemetery, when Tuuli, Tiina, and Eddie were giving me a tour of the village.<br />
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a lookout tower at the top of the hill...<br />
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...from which there is a perfect "and this is Finland" view of the lake. (thanks to Tuuli for the picture)<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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the path I take to/from school. with äiti and a bit of Tuuli.<br />
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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...<br />
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...and left.<br />
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one of my many new little cousins in the woods (o! the woods!) around the mökki...<br />
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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)...<br />
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...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).<br />
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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!)<br />
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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.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZ2dOHEWrCYZzAhyphenhyphenz_agWUpR3a-s_PyIQHt_AcDRrgmJK8WP9sMiaDuBKtNmjKY0xuCaCqLcjXIVUx4Lt7EXeUBQU_lnq_fsuCZmn_ag65IhOika5aZaoShuSnhyknZblB3fWMDfTYX0/s1600/Kuva+127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZ2dOHEWrCYZzAhyphenhyphenz_agWUpR3a-s_PyIQHt_AcDRrgmJK8WP9sMiaDuBKtNmjKY0xuCaCqLcjXIVUx4Lt7EXeUBQU_lnq_fsuCZmn_ag65IhOika5aZaoShuSnhyknZblB3fWMDfTYX0/s320/Kuva+127.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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.<br />
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after the bulk of the party, some cousins (have I mentioned yet that I
have many many little Finnish cousins now?) lingered and entertained.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-27460357628706089062012-08-26T01:51:00.001-04:002012-08-26T01:52:10.832-04:00addendum to perheenithey told me the first day that they plan on taking me to Lappeenranta and Savonlinna (the two cities nearby) as well as a cabin in Lapland this winter, Stockholm, St. Petersburg, somewhere in Estonia, and anywhere in Finland that I want to see.<br />
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äiti, as it turns out, is my contact teacher at school (the one I talk to about what classes I want to take, if I have any problems, etc.).<br />
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also, apparently there is a welcome party for me today!Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-5637684401441138872012-08-25T17:10:00.001-04:002012-08-25T17:10:45.347-04:00perheeniwell today was a magical day, during which magical things took place and were documented by my magical camera in magical pictures. but I'm not going to write about that now because I don't have a laptop yet (the school will give me one on Monday) and am writing on my ipod, and said photos have no access to the internet. I also have yet to post about the orientation in New York for the same reason.<br />
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instead, let me describe my beautiful host family.<br />
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after getting my passport stamped at Helsinki airport (when the officer heard that I was going to Savitaipale he shook his head with a small Finnish laugh and said deadpanly that I may want to run away when winter comes--I restrained from delivering a sisu lecture) I went downstairs with Megan, Alexa, Lena, and Samuel (the other American exchange students in Finland) to where we were to meet the AFS volunteers and sign in.<br />
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my äiti (Finnish mother) had written before that she would meet me at the airport with a sign with my name on it, but in all honesty I can't remember what the sign looked like at all, though I suppose it was probably there. I mostly just remember recognizing äiti's face and seeing that she recognized mine and running to hug her and her saying "I'm crying already!" because she was. I then hugged each of the others in turn--isä (Finnish father), Tuuli (sister, 16), and Tiina (sister, 12). Tommi (brother, 18) wasn't there and I really haven't met him yet (other than for about 30 seconds the first night) because he hasn't been home.<br />
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I was in a daze as we got to the car (isä insisted on taking my suitcase even though he couldn't get it into the trunk by himself because of a back injury he's recovering from). then they took me to a mall in Helsinki for dinner. It felt... very American, actually, but cleaner and with interactive display maps and umlauts and the beautiful sounds of Finnish tongues. when I told isä how magical Finnish is to me, he told me "you're crazy" and I was one of the nicest things I have ever heard. Tiina said it to me again today when I insisted on lingonberry- and mushroom-picking barefoot (oops, I leaked a little of the magic). they say it with such love!<br />
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they took me to a place at the mall called Chico's--a tex-mex restaurant. I was a little worried, I gotta say. American food? mall-food?!?! äiti asked for a menu in English for me (though I was having fun wading through the Finnish one) and I was surprised to see a note at the bottom saying that any burger could be replaced with a veggie burger an any bread with gluten-free bread. I ended up ordering the vegetarian steak (one of two things on the menu that was vegetarian by default). all of the food turned out to be very good quality and fresh. the kind I would expect from a "traditional american food made healthy" type of restaurant in the states, which would probably be called "basil oven" or "the dancing frying pan" and would be heinously overpriced. not, that is to say, from a mall-food joint. I told Antti (isä) that American food was better here han in America and he told me that I was hungry. I was (a day and a half of airplane food can do that to you) but that wasn't the reason.<br />
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it's getting late an my thumbs dislike this convolution called typing on a n iPod so let me just say a fe things about my his family. they all speak very good English and are eager to practice (except for Tiina who speaks better than I do Finnish, but is very shy about speaking English unless I address her in Finnish). it has only been one full day now, and I already feel so at home with them. everyone says Finns are shy and reserved but these people are some of the kindest, openest people I have had the pleasure to meet.<br />
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on the 2.5 hour drive home from Helsinki, while drifting in and out o reluctant sleep, my eyes were fed to the brim with birch tree forests (flying over Finland was looking down at forests upon forests broken by lake-shaped clearings lined with villages). as we neared Savitaipale, the roads got narrower and the fields became more frequent and--they were hugged by fog that glowed white against the now-black trees an residual light of the grey sky.<br />
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oh, while the food was being made at the restaurant, I took a picture (with the iPod, so y'all can see) of these wonderful people whom I will now follow in going to sleep.<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ca7ZBzP-S6ey3amerYtx1gIdmFyX2MXIUx0RUTrlmmGn0VrmDgmYH9weIckzaGd3vuK5ExIVDLhWVXlyHbSuEKIi3fGS8vw5DpNM_zNhyphenhyphenF0G8ReF2Dq1DJp8O4HO3vdNYg-k2ThB9Tw/s640/blogger-image-540850174.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ca7ZBzP-S6ey3amerYtx1gIdmFyX2MXIUx0RUTrlmmGn0VrmDgmYH9weIckzaGd3vuK5ExIVDLhWVXlyHbSuEKIi3fGS8vw5DpNM_zNhyphenhyphenF0G8ReF2Dq1DJp8O4HO3vdNYg-k2ThB9Tw/s640/blogger-image-540850174.jpg" /></a></div>Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-55159841733618767492012-08-24T16:12:00.000-04:002012-08-24T16:19:35.442-04:00until I have time for a real post, here's one simply to say:I am here.<br />
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and it is beautiful.Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-3859710267087183642012-08-22T03:49:00.002-04:002012-08-22T03:50:20.554-04:00all setI am leaving tomorrow morning.<br />
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Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-58100220708739201392012-08-17T09:35:00.000-04:002012-08-17T09:35:09.621-04:00in one weekI will be in Finland.Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-80523100522146199252012-08-03T01:31:00.000-04:002012-08-03T01:31:00.991-04:00becoming realmy flight to New York (for the orientation there on the 22nd) has now been arranged. today things are feeling very real.Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8780572028821720774.post-52667643188814076382012-07-16T13:27:00.001-04:002012-07-16T13:27:39.022-04:00koiranpentumy host family got a puppy today!!! excessive exclamation points cannot capture my excitement. <br />
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his name is Eddie (heh) and he is a Gordon setter!! eeee!!!<br />
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(the picture my host sister posted on facebook from the car-ride home with him)Alizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02601521573588232364noreply@blogger.com1