Woo HOO!!! Alright, so I am a Rotary In Bound student, meaning I am INBOUND to Finland! DUH! So this past weekend was the In Bound's first camp! It was held in Laitila, 45 minutes north of Turku! On Saturday morning I woke up early and Marru dropped me off at the Turku Bus Sation on her way to the gym. There I met up with Zoe, Eddy, Max, Danie, Mario, and a bunch of other exchange students from the area, and we caught the 10:30 bus to Laitila. On the way we picked up Eric and Dorothee then we arrived [View Full Entry]

---

---

It's Wednesday, so I got to sleep in today, but when I woke up it was sunny and a beautiful day, much to beautiful to spend in school, so I called Sylvia (kanadalainen) and we decided to go buy some new boots in Turku!!! It was a fabulous idea if I do say so myself, because we each only had 3 periods today and all the stores will be closed this weekend, and boots are imperative for this cold, wet weather, and neither of us had them!!! I ate breakfast with Henkka, then he went to school, and I showered and [View Full Entry]

---

---

My host family went golfing today, so I came along to get some sun....haha actually it was raining. Yes, we were golfing in the rain in Finland, well actually I wasnt golfing, I was the trusty caddy. I carried Henkka's umbrella, and Marru's and Henkka's putters. It was also my job to pick up the flag when they were putting. Marru's friend Raili and her husband were also with us. It was wet and gray, but I had a lot of fun, watching them play, and dancing around. I also went on a couple scavenger hunts with Henkka, when his ball [View Full Entry]

---

---

Pictures explain it all. [View Full Entry]

---

---

Today I joined a 3rd grader (seniors) field trip to Helsinki. I went to school early at 8:45 and tuned in my 5 euros to Monika (our teacher). I got on bus number two, and followed the group to the back of the bus. I had two seats to my self! Woo! I was sitting in front of Jere, and behind Daniel (two of my three third year friends). It was a 3 hours bus ride, but I had my ipod, and they served us some sandwhiches half way through. When we finally arrived I walked around a while with Daniel [View Full Entry]

---

---

The autumn is here. Colorful leaves cover the ground. The foggy mornings show no visibility. It's always raining and windy, yet its beautiful. I am happy -most of the time- but of course I smile even when I'm not...some other exchange students here have called me "unbreakable", and they say I am the perfect person for this adventure, perfect because I am always happy. I dont think they know me. The air outside is crisp and cold, but very refreshing none the less. I broke out my puffy winter coat early this morning and I walked out into the world looking [View Full Entry]

---

---

I'm sure many people are wondering why I am changing host families so soon, and I would like to clear some things up. I LOVED my first host family SO much. They were seriously wonderful people that taught me so much. I am not moving because we had a problem. I am moving so soon because I love living in Old Naantali. Old Naantali is the part of Naantlai near the harbor, with the beautiful old houses, near the city center and my favorite dock. My next family after the Ahti's (Leena and Erkki) was sapposed to be in a part [View Full Entry]

---

---

Today Dorothee and I woke up early and we BOTH got ready for school...yes school, on Saturday. In Finland each school is sapposed to have 190 days and this year the school board at Naantali Lukio messed up and only scheduled 189 days so we have to come to school on Saturday. I had to dress up in a nice outfit with my Rotary blazer because I was scheduled to give 5 foreign exchange presentations to my peers and the public. I was also scheduled to perform in the school play at the same time, 5 performances. AHH! Leena drove us [View Full Entry]

---

---

It is Friday, Finally. So its been test week this past week and everyone has been so stressed. I didn't get to see ANY of my friends the ENTIRE test week because they were all home reading and studying the entire week! They would go into school for one test in the morning, then come home and read the entire text book for the next test! So finally the week is over and everyone is excited and happy and care free! Oh, and thank goodness it is over! I couldn't stand another week without all my friends!!!! So now we have [View Full Entry]

---

---

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN IN FINLAND TOO LONG, WHEN…… 1. You rummage through your plastic bag collection to see which ones you should keep to take to the store and which can be sacrificed to garbage 2. As you walk past the Parliament Building in Helsinki, and see the statue is titled "Svinhufvud" you no longer read it as "Swinehead"… instead you think "What a good Swedish name!" 3. When a stranger on the street smiles at you: a. you assume he's drunk b. he is insane c. he's an American 4. You don't think twice about putting the wet [View Full Entry]

---

---