Week Eight: Stockholm, Exam, and Koli

My week was started with an exam in my art class. The exam was actually quite easy and I didn’t have much of a problem with it. I was rushed to finish so I could get on a cruise to Stockholm, Sweden with Essi, Elina, Reija, and my host grandmother. It was going to be my first time on a cruise ship. On the boat we ate amazing food and participated in many activities to keep Elina and Essi entertained. The evening consisted of a Moomin disco (with a seal instead of a Moomin), Essi’s shoes getting stolen, Elina running around with Heelys, singing karaoke, me singing a song in Finnish for karaoke, finding Essi’s shoes, and a lot of candy. We were all set after a fun boat ride to end up in Sweden around 10:30 am. Once arriving in Sweden we headed straight to the Vasa Museum. The museum is dedicated to a ship that sank in 1628, less than a mile into it’s maiden voyage. In the museum the ship is there, almost completely the same way it was found when it was brought up from the sea years ago. Certain rooms in the museum actually made it look like you were on the ship, and there were videos explaining the life for people in the time the ship sank. The museum was fascinating but we had to rush through it so we could go to Junibacken for Elina and Essi. Junibacken is a museum/play area based not the books written by the Swedish author of Pippi Longstocking. Junibacken was super cute, it looked like something right out of a story book, and I would have loved it as a kid but there wasn’t much I could do there. Elina and Essi LOVED it, they go almost every time they are in Sweden. We did’t stay long because we had to go to the center of the city so I could meet up with one of my friends who is on exchange in Sweden. My friend and I walked around the old town and other parts of the city during our time together. It was great getting to catch up with her and talk about our exchanges. Stockholm was absolutely beautiful, Reija was scared that I would never come back to Finland after seeing Sweden. After about two and a half hours we met back up with my host family so we could get back on the ship. I was exhausted after walking around the city all day but we still went to karaoke that night. We got back to Helsinki around 10:00 am the next morning. My host grandma took Essi and Elina to school while I stayed with Reija at work. We went to the Helsinki Cathedral for her work. I got to go places tourists don’t get to do and it was SO cool. That evening Eedit, Reija, Mikko, my host grandma, and I all went to a film festival where one of Eedit’s short films was being shown, her film was the best one we saw (in my opinion). Not much else happened other than an English exam and spending time with Laisha until Friday.

Friday morning I was picked up by my second host family to head to Koli. Koli is known as one of the most iconic and beautiful places in Finland. I was so excited to be there. I met my host grandmas, host grandfather, and host aunt. Saturday was spent hiking in the beautiful forest. Even though the extended family doesn’t speak as much English as my first family I loved getting to know them. I got to practice my Finnish more and work on fixing my mistakes. I really like my second host mom (Saana) and I felt comfortable with their family dynamic, even though I didn’t know what they were saying most of the time. Saana, Nea (second host sister, 17), and Iisa (second host sister, 9) went to the Koli Spa Sunday before leaving. The spa was relaxing and the views were amazing. It was all together a great weekend getting to know my second host family.

Next week starts the next school term and all my classes are new, I hope I will meet new people and make new friends in my new classes.

Essi, Elina, and I in Stockholm