Helsinki Orientation

Oh, the jetlag hits. It could be worse, but I still haven't gotten used to the bright nights and the birds chirping at 4 in the morning. Our program consists of a week long orientation at Helsinki before we are swept away by our host families. I'm living with a temporary host family this week since my permanent host family lives in Tampere, a city that is two hours away from Helsinki. To get to the YFU offices, I ride a bus into the city. It's so much fun! Because Michigan is so spread out and we use a car for everything, I've never used public transport in my life until this week. It's getting me excited to ride the buses at the University of Michigan next year!

Helsinki is beautiful! The sky was so blue that day, but it's an ugly blue in the picture. That's my fault. The colors on some of the pictures on this post will be a little dull, but I'll have that figured out by the next post. 

Orientation itself is a little overwhelming. Our day is filled with visits to the most important places in Helsinki, or perhaps Finland. We listened quietly to speeches from secretaries and officers from the Ministry of Education, the US Embassy, the Parliament of Finland, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We learned so much about Finland, the US, and also about how important being a young ambassador is. I was especially interested in Finland's education system and I learned so much about why and how the students here are so successful. What I learned was so inspiring that I had a great idea of studying abroad again in Finland for university. We'll see what happens. I'll tell you all about Finnish education in another post!

A day of our orientation was spent with other YFU exchange students who were finishing their year-long program. It was wonderful to talk to them while exploring the US Embassy and the Fazer chocolate factory. They had so much advice for us who were just starting our exchange. Of course, I was told to sauna and eat black licorice, but I also made some great friends from Germany. Today was our last day of activities and we had a blast. We hopped on a three hour boat ride to Porvoo, the second oldest city in Finland. None of us were prepared for the cold rain and wind in the sea. However, even as we were shivering, we had so much fun laughing about sauna and everything under the sun. It made me realize how close we have all gotten this week and how lucky we all are to have met each other through this trip. I'm going to miss them. Porvoo itself was beautiful. We toured and shopped around the town, but there wasn't enough hours in the day to let us explore the beautiful streets of Porvoo.

Words can't describe how much I love this picture.

The other exhausted exchange students and I spent time after orientation walking and shopping around in Helsinki. There, I discovered my inner Muumi. Muumi is the most adorable and cute thing to exist on this planet. Seeing a Muumi mug or box of candy gets me squealing like a little Finnish kid! Some of the others and I went to the Muumi store and holy moly, I'm glad I didn't bring a lot of euros because I could have spent all my money there. I'm praying that I can go to Muumi paradise at the Muumi museum in Tampere or even Muumi-land in Turku!! Just an hour ago, me and my little brother Niilo watched the first episode of the Muumi television series. SO CUTE. I know exactly what I'll be watching on the plane home.

Muumi mugs! I'll going to bring back lots of those. 

I bought a Muumi puzzle at the local flea market! Only 1 euro!

Half of the fun this week was the time after orientation with our host families. I was so excited to run around in the Finnish grocery with my host parents! I loved talking to our neighbors who helped me make lettu over fire. Lettu is, as I see it, Finnish crepes! They were very simple to make and we ate them with whipped cream and berries. Sooo good.

 The lettu master in her natural habitat.

I loved sitting down after a crazy day and talking to my host family. They are the nicest and sweetest people and I can talk about anything with them. A few days ago, I gave them a wolverine hat as a gift to thank them for taking the time to host me this week. They loved it! I was so happy to hear that they said that they would use it in the cold winters. Today, I came back home and my host family surprised me with a gift! It was such a kind gesture from them and it truly showed how much this family cares about their students. They gave me Muumi tins and a Muumi water bottle! They know me so well! Their gifts are very practical and I'll be sure to use them in Finland and when I get back to the US. Thank you Outi, Pekko, Leila, and Niilo! I loved staying with you all and I'll be sure to visit you if I come back to Finland!

Even though this orientation is jam-packed with activities, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't miss it. I love waking up each morning and riding the quiet bus into the city. I love visiting the government officials of Helsinki with the other exchange students every day. I'm really going to miss all the FUSYE students, but at the same time, I'm excited to start living in Finland instead of this busy (but very fun) tourist routine. Today I had to say my good-byes to some of the students and it broke my heart. Tomorrow will be my last day in Helsinki with the other students... I can't imagine not seeing them every day. We had a lot of laughs and I know we'll all have a great time with our host families in Finland! I'm excited to meet my permanent host family tomorrow! I'll tell you all about them when I get a chance to update this blog! Thank you for reading!

Everyone (except for Elizabeth who had a fever) in front of the Finnish Parliament! I'll miss all of you so much! Have fun with your host families and keep in touch!