NEWS FLASH!

BREAKING NEWS! ALERT! NEWS FLASH!

Hot Finnish boy sighted!  Not to say that Finnish people are not pretty, but Monday I came across a really beautiful man!  Just minding my own business, grocery shopping, picking out some frozen peas I stopped and there he was! The check out boy, in the K-Market grocery store.  

Unfortunately I did not go in his check out line, but never fear, there are plenty of other grocery shopping opportunities.  I would also like to say that I am quite talented in taking creeper shots of people in their natural habitat without them knowing they are being photographed.

*Disclaimer*  This is completely my opinion and I reserve the right to change my mind at a later time.  For example, I think he is hansom but I don't like that he has earrings.  This is partially a joke.

 

Tips

Here are some tips and advice from my experience.

Beach Time, Friend Time, School Time--Finland Time

5-26-13

Hyvää Houmenta,

It is a bright a sunny beautiful Sunday morning in the northern country of Finland.  I’ve been here for a little over a week.  I am happy. The beginning of the trip was a little nerve racking because I had to navigate airports, foreign (very large) cities, and the train system completely by myself.  My anxiety level was near its top levels at some times.  I made it though.  I survived Helsinki, the airports, the city, the hostel and the train.  Once in Jyväskylä I found people.  Suvi, my mentor was able to pick me up from the train station.  She was one of the first people I had a long conversation with in about three days.  Sunday brought in more people to interact with.  They were international students.  We have hardly had any interaction with Finnish people or students.  Monday began class and it was marvelous.  I learned a lot through the week about a country that I never really gave much thought until now.  I can say a few Finnish words and read some signs and briefly understand the culture of Finland.  My teacher was remarkable.  Johanna was an incredible teacher and typical Finnish teaching style.  They are informal and relaxed in their approach to learning.  Through dinners, lunches, and other social things I’ve made friends with the students from the Netherlands.  I must say I really like the Dutch and I may have the itch to go to Amsterdam now.  The weekend came and now its nearly gone too.  Friday night was absolutely lovely.  We went to Naissari, a little island in the middle of a beautiful lake.  There we sauna-ed, swam in the lake, cooked sausages on the grill and had a grand time.  It didn’t end there.  After we got back from the lake a group of us played football (with your feet) until midnight.  The light was still up so we could play so late.  I also got to play a quick game of basketball with the boys.  And then, after that, we rendezvoused in Luuk’s room. Saturday night was more tame but the entire day was more relaxed.  I slept in.  Then at noon we left to go to Laihssari (sp?), a beach a little outside of the city.  The water was cold but the sun felt amazing.  I jumped off the highest diving plank.  We sun bathed and napped soaking up those beautiful sun rays. 

As I said, I mostly spend my time with the Dutch students.  Robia, Sebastian and Merle invited me to eat with them in Sebastian’s room.  Charlie, another American who is a very interesting smart man, also joined us for dinner.  Sebastian and I cooked the chicken and spinach, Robia cooked the rice in her room and Merle split her time in both places.  It was really nice talking to Sebastian, he is a good guy.  European, athletic, he rows for a club in Amsterdam and he also mentioned that he is in a frat.  I’m interested to learn more about how frats work in other places.  The meal wasn’t anything to brag about, I thought it was rather tasteless but the company was excellent.  Charlie got us talking about philosophy so our brains had to work.  Luuk joined us as we were finished our yogurt dessert.  After cleaning up we went to Sebastian’s the bar to watch the last bit of the championship football game. I don’t understand how it works, but I got that it was a big deal.  I wasn’t ready to turn in or say goodnight so I went along with them.  It was nice to continue to share the evening with them. I occasionally feel left out because they all speak Dutch but they are kind and include me. 

This morning I met Robia and Charlie outside our building at ten to go Church.  Amazing how you can find Catholics all over the world.  I mentioned it last night and Sebastian heard so he joined us as well.  He is not Catholic but wanted to see what it is like.  We went to the Finnish mass so I did not understand any of the words.  I had taken a Benadryl before going because the hazelnut spread I had on my toast I think is getting to me.  During the homily I dozed off a little for that reason.  The bike ride there and back was so lovely.  The trees make for such a relaxing environment. 

Back in my apartment/dorm I made some lunch, wrote and then the need for sleep overcame me so I took a nap.  Suvi woke me when she rang my doorbell to introduce a new student and plan a walk to school together in the morning.  Becca rang my doorbell shortly after that and we planned to meet up to go Atilia (sp?) birthday party.  He is from Hungary and has been here longer, his birthday is tomorrow so he wanted to celebrate today since school is Monday.  He’s throwing a beach party I think.  Becca and I are going to go around 6pm.

And now it is now a beautiful lazy Sunday afternoon.  The sun is shinning, the breeze is just tickling the leaves ever so gently.  I’m writing and will soon start reading the material for my emotions in sport performance class tomorrow. 

Finland is great.  I never really imagined being here and occasionally I still find myself surprised that I am actually here.  This isn’t just something I talk about, it is real.  I did this, I am doing this. 

With that, good afternoon,

Hyvää Iltapäiva,

McCall

Friday in Finland

5-25-13

Hey there,

       Yesterday was wonderful, I absolutely had a spectacular day.  It was slightly overcast in the morning so biking was a little cool but the hills keep you warm. Besides, I enjoy an overcast day every now and then.  I got to start my trek to class by walking part of the way with Charlie, then I rode my bike.  Even though I’m not in great shape, and the seat hurts my bum I love my bicycle.  It brings me such joy.  Reminds me of my younger years.  I arrived to class early to start the exam.  I struggled with only a few things.  Most of it I could accomplished without consulting my notes.  The questions I starred because I did not have the answers I found in my notes after looking through them.  I was the second one finished and I know that is never an indicator of who does well but I did not feel rushed, I took my time and went back over it. 

            After the test we walked to the Central Finland museum where we were further informed on the history and development of Jyväskylä.  It started with only seven houses.  It’s also not a very old city, I think they said that is only 135 years old.  It was interesting and I enjoyed the exhibits.  They had the history of Jyväskylä on one floor, a floor of contemporary and landscape paintings, floor of the history of Central Finland and then finally a floor of paintings done by a Jyväskylän artist.  He painted landscape pictures of a park area in Jyväskylä during all different times of the year.  He painted outside in the sun, rain, snow and cold.  It was a nice hour or so in the museum. 

We them walked the short distance back to campus where we dispersed for lunch.  Becca, Robia and I went to the small café in the main building.  They only served cold food but I was content with the offered sandwich and coffee.  We vented for a little about out shared disgust with Lauren.  She was wearing a much too low cut shirt to be appropriate.  Becca also figured out my wifi settings on my phone so when I’m on campus I have access to the wifi.  Hurray!  The afternoon was relaxed and we reviewed the movie we watched Thursday night.  Once class was dismissed Becca and I went to the library to take advantage of the Internet.  We both had to Facebook!  She left before I did and I moseyed back to Kortepohja when I had my fill of Facebook and blogging. 

At five I rendezvoused with most of all the other international students in front of Rentukka to go the island in the middle of the lake closest to Kortepohja.  The lake was so fun!  We had to take row boats to get there.  The main attraction there is the Sauna.  The point was to swim in the chilly water, heat up in the sauna, cool off in the water and then sweat it out in the Sauna.  I fully participated.  I love swimming, the water was cold but nothing I’m not used to.  I swam quite a bit.  It was so peaceful.  The water was really smooth. Sitting in the sauna was hot but nice.  We cooked sausages and enjoyed each other company.  I really enjoyed talking to most everyone.  They made us leave before I was ready to but when you’re having fun that is usually how it goes. 

After that we played a game soccer/football.  I think I kept up pretty well for not really ever playing.  I play a quick 3v3 game with the boys, then a shower then to Luuk's room for a party.  We played Kings Cup.  It was really fun.  So fun! More to tell later. We have another trip today. 

Bye!

One week Fin(n)ished

      It's been one week.  I arrived last Thursday and since then I have been thriving on Finnish soil.  Today was also the last day of the school week for me so I am finished with my Finnish class.  It was a wonderful class and I really enjoyed it.  We primarily learned survival language and the main points in Finnish history along with learning the most prominent things in Finnish culture.
     I can successfully buy things like food, coffee, clothes, train tickets, I can count and greet people in Soumea (Finnish for Finnish).  The class consisted of only eight students and the teacher created an informal learning environment.  There was no pressure to learn and no rigidity of being exactly precise. I never felt uncomfortable asking a question.
     Johanna, was the teacher and she was fantastic.  She was very kind and understanding.  Johanna was an excellent Finnish and English teacher.  If there were an option to take more classes taught by her I would not hesitate to sign up.  I took a few creeper photos of her before class started in the mornings so you could see what the classroom looked like and what she looked like too.

Johanna, my Finnish Language and Culture teacher

     Although my pronunciation is terrible I can read and understand some things.  I can figure out enough to survive.  I also have the luxury of the Finnish education system.  They do not start school until they are seven years old.  When they are about nine years old they start learning English in school.  So by the time they are my age or older they are quite fluent in English.  Luckily, if I ever get super lost or need help buying things, they can switch to English.  What a convenience?  

     This has made me reflect upon the U.S. education system and the issue of learning foreign languages.  Most europeans know another language besides their own and they have traveled to other nations within Europe.  To me, they seem so much more worldly than Americans.  However, I then think to myself, geographically they have the luxury of proximity.  To travel by car from the north of Germany to the south of Germany it takes about eight hours they said.  It takes eight hours if not more to just get across the one state of Wyoming.  Americans may travel just as much going from state to state but they stay with in the U.S.  No language barriers, no major cultural differences and no new countries.  For Europeans they travel perhaps the same distance but they enter into new languages, cultures and countries in similar mileage.  They become versed in other languages because they are closer to those other languages and have more applicable use for them than we do.  

       If you are going to travel to Europe it makes sense to learn French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portgugese.   Dutch, Czech, Estonian, Polish and Russian in school.  If you are going to stay in the U.S. it makes no sense.  It would be a waste of precious time to study things that are not applicable.  So is Spanish the solution? Mexico is our border but how often are we going to use it?  I would love, love, love to learn more languages, I think they are incredible.  I regret that I did not take the time to learn more when I was younger in school.  So on one hand, yes I support learning languages in school, especially elementary school.  I would push and promote it.  My practical, useful tendencies though say what is the point if there is no one using those languages near by?  If a student has no opportunity or reason to learn Dutch, why fill their minds with that when it could be filled with something else?  I like for things to reach their maximum potential so you can't fill a bucket with sand if it is meant to be filled with water.  So on the other hand I would promote and push not studying a foreign language.  Such contradictions.

        Anyway, class is over.  Class was good.  I learned a lot.  Maybe the grades don't say it, but I'm an academic.  I like learning.  I like being with people who also like to learn.  It was so refreshing to be in a class where everyone wanted to be there.  No one was there because they had to be there.

        School is wonderful and great and I'm loving it. BUT I also am tremendously enjoying the social, extra-cirricular activities.  ;) It is a lot of fun to interact with people from all over the world.  I mostly hang out with international students.  Even though I'm in Finland I haven't interacted much with Finnish people.  So far these are my friends:

 Lauren, from San Diego

We played a game of memory for fun

                          Teresea, Robia and Jia

 Sebastian

 Teresea, Sebastian and Jia

 Robia, Anna, Sasha, Sebastian and Jurek

 Robia, Anna, Becca and Sebastian

 Becca and Anna

 The BBQ Tuesday night Robia and Tersea

 Becca from Kansas

 Robia from the Netherlands

 Becca

 Alexandra and Robia

 Robia!

 Becca and Teresea

 Robia and Sebastian from the Netherlands

 The Dutch are bicycle fanatics, they bike everywhere and they are crazy fearless bikers.

                                                   Sebastian in a Viking helmet at dinner

                                    Charlie, from Arkansas also sporting a viking hat

                                                              Sasha from Russia

Some of the social activities that I have done are making mac and cheese dinner with Becca and Teresea (sp?) Monday evening, playing memory with most everyone night, the BBQ Tuesday night, eating reindeer at a viking restaurant Wednesday night, watching a Finnish movie, attending a Finnish soccer/football (played with the feet) game and going to an open mic night Thursday night.  Those are the main ones but of course I spend time with people when walking and biking to and from class, walking/shopping/browsing the city center, eating lunch, coffee breaks and such.
      So far it has been a wonderful experience.  I am glad to be here and thank you again.

Moimoi,
Bye bye,
McCall

No Internet Connection

Hei! Hello! Greetings!

     I am so very sorry that I have deprived you from readings.  I have not had internet connection since I got off the train.  We didn't get out University passwords and usernames until Monday afternoon.  The student dorms do not have wifi in them and campus is a good 30 min walk from the dorms.  I came to class early this morning to see if I could use the campus wifi but it was unsuccessful.  It is so frustrating when technology is in a wicked battle against you.  After class got out at 2, I took my little bike down to the IT building and a very kind man helped me.  He successfully was able to connect my computer to the wifi.  Thank you! I must say, Jyväskylä's IT blows UW's IT out of the water, by a long shot.  It was almost a strange experience to go into IT, greeted by friendly people AND leave with a problem solved!
     Anyway, that was my little rant, back to daily life.  Class is wonderful.  People are amazing.  The weather is perfect.  I am happy.  Finland is peaceful.  They are very connected to nature.  Trees and green everywhere.  Walking paths here and there and everywhere!  There is so much daylight, I feel like I can accomplish a lot in one day because I have so much time in the sun.  I haven't really been able to take complete and full advantage of the sun yet because I've been busy.
     Class starts at 9am and gets out at 2pm.  We have a lunch break from 11:30 to 12:30.  This afternoon some of my classmates/friends I think were going to try to sunbathe or go to the lake or something.  I ventured to IT and now am writing and connecting.  I'm sitting in the main building looking out from the great glass windows.  People are soaking up the sun and enjoying the lazy, summer afternoon.  Oh how I want to join them...

     We went out last night, a group of nine of us, gathered at 8pm and got to know each other.  It was mostly students from my Finnish Language and Culture class but we were joined by Tereza (sp?), Becca's roommate from the Czech Republic, Sebastian, a boy from Holland, and Sasha a boy from Russia.  It was such an enjoyable night.  People are so interesting and we were all so culturally diverse. It was entertaining to interact with everyone and ask questions of each other's countries.  We discussed stereotypes a lot.  I wonder what they all think of American's.  There are three of us here and I feel like we are all different but we're getting lumped together because we are americans.  I don't think I like that so much.  :/  I look forward to getting to know everyone better and to meeting more people.  We have a free time program tonight that is a BBQ.  It is just outside of our dorms and I think many of the international students are attending.  It is at 6pm and will be a good way to eat some yummy food and talk to people.
     Enjoy the pictures!
hei hei,
McCall
 





   

First Day of Classes

5-20-13

Day 1 of classes

The start of the week begins today with my first class, Finnish Language and Culture.  I met my tutor, Suvi and her other tutoree, Becca, another American girl at 8:30 to walk to campus.  We also walked with two other tutors and their students, a total of six of us.  Three with bikes, three without.  The walk took about 30 minutes.  I was able to chat with Becca a little on the way there.  She will be a sophomore at Kansas State University, the purple, anti-JayHawk School.  It was nice to talk.  Once we got to campus, Suvi showed us the room where our class was and we started class. 

            Our teacher is a Finnish lady.  She is maybe thirties, blonde hair, blue eyes—very Finnish.  We learned how to say some Finnish words, like greetings and numbers.  Finnish is a phonetic language, so they pronounce every single letter.  Each letter is also always pronounced the same no matter where it is at or what it is next to.  We briefly went over some history of Finland too.  She told us that it is very rude to be late in Finland.  They are a land of very timely people.  Johanna, our teacher, said that if a person is five minutes late, that is unacceptable.  Good to know.

            There are nine people in the class but only eight were there today.  Another girl from San Diego, California.  I feel like she is typical American.  I will try to get a picture of her.  Example: She asked about where she could buy a hair dryer.  There is a girl from Russia, she is pretty quiet and doesn’t talk much.  I don’t know if that is the culture or if she is shy because her English isn’t very good.  Then there is a girl from Poland, a boy from Germany and a girl from Holland.  A wonderfully diverse class.

            We had lunch and I ate with Becca, Roumi (sp?) the girl from Holland, Jureh (sp ?) the boy from Germany, and Alexandre, the Russian girl.  I think I will like the Dutch girl.  She seems very sweet and fun.  Jureh seems a little quiet.  Becca and I became friends.  We walked back from campus together and then went shopping.  We got some groceries for breakfast and for tonight’s dinner.  She invited me over to eat. 

            We made delicious macaroni and cheese, and mushrooms with tomatoes and cheese and pesto.  However, whatever she did to the mac and cheese it was fantastic.  Absolutely delicious.  Theresa, who is Becca’s roommate also joined us.  She is from the Czech Republic.  I already like her a lot.  She made plans to go out with some friends at 8 tonight and invited us to go with her.  It’s nearly time now so I shall write more later.

Nadan,

See you later,

McCall