Dear Readers,
This is my final post. I would like to wrap up and sum up my summer school experience in Finland. It has been a little over a month since I returned to the great United States. It's amazing how fast summers go. I apologize for not posting this sooner and for not updating my blog the last weekend that I was in Finland. Mentioning that, I think that would be a good place to start.
The last weekend in Finland was spectacular. It was so very nice the 14th-17th of June. Friday was the last day of class for my Argumentation and Rhetoric class. We listened to lectures in the morning and then we had an essay test in the afternoon. The essay was long and exhausting. It has been a while since the last time I hand wrote an essay. Below is my essay. I took pictures of it because I thought it was a decently well written essay and I wanted proof that I did participate in school.
Once I was finished writing this piece I decided to walk around Jyväskylä for the last time. I went across the bridge to the third campus. The campus that is across the lake is Chemistry, Engineering and the likes of such smart, scientificy programs. It was drizzling rain which I thought was appropriate for my goodbye of the land. It was just a somber walk by myself to reflect. When I got back to the dorms I packed a little and ate and then I went to a community room at the bottom of Rentukka. Teija had organized one last social event before everyone left. It was nice but not as fun as some of the other events. I enjoyed hanging out with Charlie for the last time and Endre and for some reason I don't think Merle was there. We just talked and ate snack foods and then we played the game "Who am I?" Maria, one of the Russian girls, initiated the game. You are given a sticky note with a famous name on it and you are only allowed to ask yes or no questions to figure out who you are. I was a mumin, a cartoon character famous in Finland and some other parts of Europe. I would also like to let you know that I was the first one to figure out my persona, so I won. The three dutch boys that only came for the last week were not as fun I would have gladly traded them for Sebastian and Robia. Anyway after a while the group decided to migrate to the bar Sebastian's for a drink. Endre was very sweet and bought me a beer. He is going to do a study abroad in Montana this fall and I'm hoping to meet up with him somewhere in the middle. In the bar a few people sang karaoke and we chatted. I said my goodbyes to everyone in the bar and walked back to the dorms with Endre. He is a very nice guy.
Saturday I slept in a little but mostly I packed. I feel very accomplished in my packing skills because I was able to fit everything in without a problem, even the stuff I bought to add to my load I was able to fit in. I thought I grabbed everything and didn't forget anything but unfortunately, when was too late I discovered I left my medicine bag in the closet. I'm still upset and sad the I forgot my bag for several reasons; one, I am human and had a moment of mental weakness, two, the bag was hand sewn and very cute and I used it for a lot of things and now I can't, three, my medicine was in there it isn't crucial medicine that I have to have, just some tylenol and pepto bismol and stuff like that, I'm just sad that I bought that stuff and they were pretty full so now I have to buy more when I had bottles that were nearly full. It's just a shame. Oh well. I'll eventually get over it.
After I packed, cleaned and checked out I met Suvi in the parking lot. She was with her husband and two children. This was a complete shock to me. I did not know she was married and had two children. I found out this rather important nugget of information only in the last week of my stay in Finland. Anyway, I met them, loaded my bags and then we took off to Mättä to go see some horse races. Suvi's father trains horses to for cart trotting races. On this fine Saturday one of his horses was entered to race so Suvi invited me to experience Finnish horse racing. It was incredible. I loved it and soaked it all up. It felt like almost, alomst, like the fair. Very casual, relaxed. People wearing dirty jeans and crocs. Horses everywhere. Kids running and giggling. Old men drinking coffee and leaning on the fence. It was fantastic. I'm so thankful and grateful that Suvi let me tag along.
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| entrance to horse races |
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| Finnish trotting horses just before they take off for the race |
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| Suvi's father's horse driver is the one in the purple and green jacket |
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| They start in circles before taking off, instead of a starting gate |
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| The infield |
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| Suvi's father and husband |
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| The grand stands |
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| Just before the start of a race |
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| The infield |
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| Winner gets a blanket from a sponsor |
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| Sponsor blankets |
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| Even the mounted races are trotting |
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| Large majority of jockeys are women |
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| Winner |
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| Tired ponies |
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| Horses in the trailer ready to go home |
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| Old men leaning on the fence |
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| Announcer's booth |
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| Finish line |
Around 3pm we left the races and went on to Tampere where I met up with Becca for one last final outing together. I was able to snag a picture of Suvi's children Eitto (sp?) and Annie in the back seat of the car on the way there. They are extremely sweet and well behaved children. I really liked them. Annie is 7 and Eitto is 5. I taught them how to thumb wrestle. I think they liked that. It was hard to not be able to talk to them because I don't know Finnish and they don't know English.
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| Eitto, Annie and I are the cool kids with sunglasses. |
I got to Tampere and met up with Becca. We went to this girl's house that Becca had found online for couch surfing. Couch surfing is a free service that travels can apply to and you just meet a stranger and sleep on their couch. Weird, I know, but it works, it is free and I had Becca. I dropped off my stuff then we went grocery shopping to get a few things for Becca's Finnish friends. Then we went a saw them. I can see why she has a crush on her one friend. They were very nice. After that we went to the center of Tampere with the intention of going to a dance club. I remember this moment fondly. Becca and I were eating our very delicious Subway sandwiches and we kinda just look at each other and know that neither one of us really wants to go out to a dance club. She asked me which club I wanted to go to and I just was like well I wouldn't be heart broken if we just didn't go. And then with relief she said she didn't want to go dancing either. We were both just so exhausted. I laughed and sighed with delightful relief that we agreed to NOT go dancing. Instead we went to McDonald's, got an ice cream, found a bench and just talked, relaxed, analyzed and enjoyed our last night together. I miss Becca, what an incredible girl.
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| McDonald's |
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| Our little bench |
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| Becca |
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| my dear friend |
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| Because I can't resist... |
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| weird, strange pictures.... |
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| of naked men's butts, even statues. |
We slept on the couches and then early Sunday morning I made the trek to the bus station in the center of Tampere. I got lost and couldn't figure out the bus system and got frustrated, talked to a flower shop worker to get directions, got lost some more, more frustrated, embarrassed, found the train station, talked to the tourist guide and finally figured out the bus to take me to Sastamala where Suvi would pick me up. I got off at the wrong bus stop but it worked out, Suvi found me and took me home to her parents. It was beautiful. The country will forever hold my heart. It was a quaint, cute, neat farm. There was a barn, house and a sauna/workroom building. There was maybe a dozen or so horses at the place. Not all of them were theirs. Most of them are just being boarded there or Suvi's dad is training them. Suvi's mom fed us a hot lunch of pork chops and potatoes and salad. Then we went back outside and this is the best part, I got to pet the horses. I love horses! I love ponies! I would have been happy just being around them but Suvi translated and talked to her dad and they let me ride in the cart with her dad to take a horse around for its workout. Just her dad and I, riding on the cart, driven by a Finnish horse. Ahhhh! Amazing! I was so thrilled! It was funny because I knew very little Finnish and Suvi's dad knew no English. The ride was quiet but absolutely wonderful. I couldn't help but smile the whole time. I was happy, happy, happy. We went up through the forest and it was very peaceful going through the trees in the light drizzle of rain. It also smelled magical. I'm intoxicated to the smell of horses and rain--it seriously messes with the chemicals in my brain and I'm inexplicably happy. We got back to the barn and I helped them unharness the stead. I thought that was all I was going to get, but no, it gets better. Then Suvi talks to me, "would you like to drive the cart?" I was a little shocked, me? you trust me to drive the cart? YES! I'd love to! and so they got another horse, harnessed and hooked it up and then I was given the reins. So again just an old Finnish speaking man and I take off through the Finnish countryside forest. I was elated with joy. We didn't talk again because we couldn't but it was still fantastic. I even got to let the horse trot. I must admit, I like going fast. Even though we couldn't talk we were still able to communicate through hand gestures and context clues. At one point I was trotting the horse but still holding it back pretty hard. Then Suvi's dad speaks in Finnish and moves his hands and from what I got of it, let 'em go, you can let it trot faster, it's ok. So I released some the slack and into another gear we went. Suvi's dad didn't freak out or panic so I guess I understood what he meant. He would gesture his hand right or left to signify the direction to take and he would say something and pull his hand back when I needed to slow down. There are somethings that are universal and it doesn't matter what language you speak.
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| Riding in the cart |
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| Happiness is horses. |
Suvi's husband Harry (sp?) took these pictures of me when I was riding in the cart with Suvi's dad. It's too bad he didn't take any pictures when I was driving. I'm still smiling while writing this just thinking and remembering.
After the glorious horse outing we went inside for afternoon coffee. We ate homemade pulla--a sweet bread. Suvi's mom is a great cook. Then we went to their neighbors house. Their neighbor is a rich old guy who has American quarter horses and an american, western saddle. He competes in what is the equivalent of ranch horse versatility. When found out that I was a real cowgirl he wanted to meet me. His horses were very nice. His barn was fancy, a little too clean. He was so excited to show me his American, western saddles and even more excited to show me his rope. He inquired if I knew how to lasso and I said yes. He then begged me to rope for him so we dug out a stool and I roped it. Everyone was impressed. I'm glad I didn't miss the first time because it was big time pressure. Suvi, her mom, Annie, Eitto, the nieghbor guy, his wife and their nephew were all watching me. I somewhat taught Suvi and her mom how to swing the rope and then the Nieghbor guy wanted to show me his skills. He did all right. It was amusing. They were just so enthralled that I was a real live cowgirl that actually lassoed and did stuff like they do in the John Wayne movies. When we got back to Suvi's home I showed them pictures of home so they could see American country. They were amazed by how big everything was. A picture of my sister and brother and dad looking out over a hill horseback on a sand hill in Nebraska they commented on that it really does look like something from a movie.
We ate crepes/pancakes for a light dinner and then Suvi and I went to Sauna together. It was nice to chat with her. I'm so lucky that she was my tutor, so very very lucky.
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| Front porch of the house |
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| yard |
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| sauna and work room |
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| barn, it has scaffolding because they were putting on a new roof |
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| sauna and house |
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| barn |
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| training carts |
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| looking out onto the countryside |
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| fields |
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| they even have a kitty |
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| candid, not so good, picture of Suvi |
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| Suvi |
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| Sauna porch |
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| Suvi in the house |
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| toys just like ours |
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| country in the morning |
Early monday morning Suvi took me to the bus stop and then we said goodbye. I loaded up and was on the way to Helsinki. I slept for most of the bus ride. Thankfully the bus driver woke me when I needed to switch buses. I made it to the airport, got through security, flew to Schripol Airport in Amsterdam, loaded the plane there, met a fellow flyer and chatted with him, watched three movies, slept, ate, flew to Minneapolis, texted my family I made it back to U.S. soil, had a short flight back to Denver and found that I had tears in my eyes when I landed. I wasn't sobbing. I just had tears. So many emotions. Happy and relieved I was home. Glad to see my parents. Sad that is was over. Missing my friends. Frustrated that no matter how many pictures I show, stories I tell and explanations I give no one will ever understand because they weren't there. Exhausted from going, going, going and traveling. Excited to be surrounded by familiarity. I guess I was melancholic--happy and sad at exactly the same moment.
And so with that it is over.
That was my excursion to the northern country of Finland. That was my journey to a far away place to learn. That was where I learned about the world, people, myself and life. That was where I participated in summer school classes, made international friends and took nearly 3,000 pictures. That is where I experienced things that I are once in a lifetime. That is where I fully engaged in being a 20 year old. That is where I found adventure and peace, novelty and familiarity. That was my journey.
Thank you to all who supported me. Thank you to my parents. Mom, Dad, I love you and forever will. Thank you for raising me so that I can do the things that I do. Rachel, Jace, Thanks for loving me even through my weirdness and eyebrows. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa McGinley for the money. Thank you Deann, Marshall, Aspen and Talyn for the money. Thank you Ruth Shepard in the Study Abroad Office for all your help and guidance through paperwork. Thank you Donna Brown for your encouragement and academic support. Thank you Anne Lenoard for helping me get the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Beyond the Classroom Scholarship. Thank you readers for following my ramblings. It was a delight to see how many views I got in a day. Thank you all for being a part in shaping me into the person I am today.
If you have further questions, comments or would like to contact me.
970-509-9655
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Love,
McCall
