Tampere at last!

For my last day in Helsinki, my temporary host family took me to my little brother Niilo's football game. And by football, I mean soccer. Thanks to Niilo, they won the game against Porvoo's team! However, the end of the game meant the end of my stay with my temporary host family. It didn't feel like a "forever" good-bye and I didn't start crying. I'm sure I will meet them again either during this summer or when if I come back to Finland! I walked through Kiasma, the Finnish museum of contemporary art. I've recently become obsessed with art and paintings, but I hate to say that modern art is not my cup of tea. However, I did have my cup of tea - bubble tea! Claire, Carrie, her host sister, and I went walking through the streets of Helsinki before settling down in a small cafe that served delicious bubble tea. We drank and talked about how strange it would be to not see each other for the next five weeks. Going away with a host family seemed so surreal and far away until I was hugging my fellow American students good-bye. I almost started crying as I said good-bye to some very good friends that I hope to keep even when we go our seperate ways.

I finally met Anne and Mikko, my permanent host parents who I will be living with in Tampere, the second largest city in Finland. I also met 14 year old Olivia, their niece from Sweden who is staying with us for a week. She is helping baby-sit Lassi, their 5 year old son while the parents are away at work. It was so nice to finally meet them in person instead of just emails asking about the weather! Tampere is two hours north of Helsinki, so we would have a lot of time to get to know each other in the car. The family is nice, but it didn't take long to find out that they're quieter than I am! Fins are known for speaking only when they have something to say. This sounds straight-forward, but Americans are always talking - and the talk isn't always meaningful. Finnish people usually don't engage in small-talk, so I guess I have to get used to the small pockets of silence. It's a noticable change from my temporary host family is Espoo who talked to me about video games and internet memes over dinner. However, the car ride to Tampere wasn't bad at all! I told them all about my miserable but fun boat ride to Porvoo and everything I've done in Helsinki in the last week. They are amazing listeners, which is something that I hope to become before I leave Finland. I met Lassi and it was love at first sight. Lassi is the most adorable little boy in Finland, but I can't understand a word he says. He can only speak Finnish and I can only speak English, so there's not much communication between us (yet). We're hoping that I can teach him English while he teaches me Finnish. Even with the language barrier, playing with him will be very different for me. As the youngest child, I've never had to go through the trouble of looking after a younger sibling. Hopefully I'll become an expert Finnish speaker and baby-sitter by the time I come back! Later in the day, I met my 19 year old brother Jesse (pronounced yes-ie) and his girlfriend! They both seem very nice and they're lovely to talk to. Unfortunately, I haven't had much of a chance to talk to Jesse since he's busy with work, but I'm not worried since we have five weeks to get to know each other!

 Olivia, Mikko, and Anne!

 The adorable Lassi with my adorable gift, sock monkey!

Jesse and his girlfriend! They're so nice together!

When I first saw their house, I was expecting a cute little traditional house. But when I walked in - oh my. It was everything but traditional. Their house is very modern, which is not what you'd think if you were to look at it from the street. I think that their whole house came straight out of an Ikea display room.

 Cute, right? (Oh man, look at the sky. It's a beautiful blue. No editing.)

 

 BAM. So modern. (And so dark. I'm sorry!)

We went to Amuri, the worker's museum where we walked through workers' houses through the 1930s to the 1980s. It was a great way to jump right into the history of Finnish culture. I was in disbelief when we saw small rooms with two beds and learned that six people lived there! We came across stilts and jump ropes that the children would play with. Anne walked a few feet with them and made it seem so easy! I tried to walk on the stilts. Key word - tried.

 It looks good in the picture, but I fell off right after.

Just like trying out the stilts, I tried out salmiaki. It's a type of black licorice, but it's a black package of salt. Everyone in Finland loves it, but sadly, I can't say that same. I couldn't even finish (eyy! Finnish! There'll be a lot more of those) a small piece of salmiaki. The Finnish students back in Washington D.C. told us that salmiaki tastes horrible when you try it the first time, but it gets better once you eat more of it. Mikko said that a Japanese article said that salmiaki is "the worst taste in the world!" Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But I'm sure that if the 5 million people in Finland love it, there's gotta be something in that salty salmiaki that keeps them coming back!

 Lassi loves salmiaki!

We ate lunch at the table outside in perfect weather. We ate under the sun while Mikko, American history expert, quizzed me on the types of birds flying around and American presidents. We had salad, potatoes, and meatballs followed by a delicious dessert of vanilla icecream and strawberries. The icecream and strawberries sound basic, but holy moly, it was the best icecream and strawberries I've ever had. The icecream had the perfect amount of vanilla flavor and creaminess, and the strawberries tasted just like what strawberries are supposed to taste like. Everyone has told me that the fruits here are much sweeter here than in the US and that's great news for me! I love fruits and I hope that I can go berry picking with the family one day!

Minna is my YFU area representative, and she is who I go to if I'm having trouble here in Finland. I went to her house and to get to know her as we begin our five week program together. Her house is right by a lake called Pyhäjärvi and everything around it is beautiful! Her husband buys and sells decor as a hobby, so their house is filled with elegant furniture and wall decor. I went crazy over the paintings on the walls and she showed me her library of Finnish art books. We talked as we made lunch, bread with some raw salmon cream spread and rhubarb pie. Her husband and their son, Leo are very nice people and I truly enjoyed talking to them. Thank you for taking care of me Minna! I hope to spend more time with you and your family!

Anne took me to Ideapark, a mall near Tampere. It's easy to see how similar malls are in Finland and America. Many of the brands are the same, save for the distinct European style in the clothes. There was an art store filled with paintings and I went crazy for the second time of the day. However, the cheapest painting I saw was 100 euros, so no paintings for me yet! Lassi went riding around in a small track in the mall and it was the cutest thing ever.

Future formula 1 driver's humble beginnings.

I think my host family got tired of me saying "Wow, that's so beautiful!" every ten seconds these past two days. But Tampere is truly beautiful and I've barely seen the city. Even in a big city, the streets are lined with plenty of trees that it looks like a forest to me. The family's backyard is so beautiful that I laid down on the soft green grass and watched the clouds today. The sky is such a beautiful blue that I want to cry. The lake sparkles and is a gorgeous reflection of the rich blue sky. Everything here is beautiful.

I gave my family gifts as thanks for taking care of me this summer. For Lassi, I gave him my beloved Michigan sock monkey. Sock monkey is now Lassi's latest sleeping buddy, so I know he's in good hands. I gave Jesse a University of Michigan shirt which fit him perfectly! For Anne and Mikko, I gave them a painting I bought from Mika Obayashi, a future artist! They loved it and are excited to hang it in their house. After just two days, I can tell I'll love my time here with my host family! Everyone is so nice and they've been taking great care of me. We made a wish list of things to do in Finland, so I know that we'll be busy once my parents' summer vacation comes around. I've had so much fun so far and a lot has happened in just a few days. I have more time to update my blog now, so expect some more posts! Thank you for reading!

Holding hands with Lassi for the first time was a momentus occasion for us!