Many Months later...

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Hello everyone. I just got back from my trip above the arctic circle. And for those who don't know, it is called lapland. Lapland was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. The people i was with were amazing and so fun to be around. The first bus ride was a little long but we finally made it to Muonio after a long 18 hours in the bus. Right from there we went skiing at a nearby ski center. There was only one slope open at the resort. Let me say, it was pretty boring for me and my friend from France, who was a professional skier. After skiing we all went back and ate something we all relaxed and went to sleep early. (let me mention that the sun rose at 9 and it was down at 2) The next day we woke up and went skiing again. Except I went Cross-Country skiing. It was actually pretty difficult, but I managed. I took some pictures with my best friends up there, but too bad there wasn't a picture immediately after that, because i was on my but half way down a hill. The next event was gong to a local school for some presentations. We then got to meet a real Sami man who sang to us beautiful songs and wore traditional clothing. (You will here more about the Sami people later) It was incredible. Wondering what next to take place, was a nice long sleep. BUT. Waking up from a long sleep felt refreshing, but not as refreshing as it was being out in -35 C (AKA -31 F) getting pulled by huskies on a dog sled. Yeah, it was cold… But we warmed up in the kota which is the lapland version of the Tipi tent used by the plains indians. The original settlers of lapland were known as the Sami people, who had very traditional and warm clothing. But unfortunately they were treated like the Native Americans and were forced from the southern and central parts of Finland, into Lapland of Russia, Sweden, and Norway. The bison for them is the rain deer. The rain deer is the most important part of lapland. Without it, life would cease. Speaking of the rain deer, I got to get a sleigh ride from one and get a nice picture too. Next we went to a nearby town and got to explore around the area and see all of the snow and mountains and pet some rain deer at a farm… Oh, I have a new experience I would like to share maybe… It was the last night and we all went partying and some friends said to me, "hey lets go sauna!" I said yes and tagged along. First we killed time doing stupid stuff in the hotel while the sauna heated. Then when the sauna was hot we went and sweated. The usual thing to do in sauna in lapland is to go snow swimming. (I did this the night before) We went out on a smoking balcony because this sauna was upstairs, and started throwing snow on each other. Little did we realize that the balcony door was locked and everyone had went to another part of the hotel. So locked outside, naked, you might realize how quickly the cold can come to your toes. Luckily someone was in a near by room and heard our constant banging on the door, after five minutes. Needless to say we were alright. Early next morning we waved goodbye to lapland. It was such an enjoyable trip. The best Ive ever had. The bus ride back wasn't so bad either. I learned Croatian and got no sleep at all. I really hope that I can go back one day. It was truly the best!

Evan

PS I did see the northern lights and the picture is what we saw that night.

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