Advertisement
Published: October 11th 2014
Edit Blog Post
Hello friends!
I bet you thought I had let my blog slip but I promise I haven't. It's really just that my life has slowed down quite a bit and I had to build up some material before I sat myself in front of the keyboard again.
These last few weeks, I have been discovering Finland. A couple of weekends ago, I went to Helsinki with my friend Audrey. She is from Washington (state) and so it was nice to get to know her, and also to talk with her about some of the cultural differences we have both been experiencing here. I would say that none of it has been negative, but it is still different and makes for some great conversation. These are not things that I can appropriately list out here, but I promise to talk all about it when I come home. One thing though, is that there is a general feeling to this country which is completely unlike the United States. I call it, a small country mentality versus a large country mentality and it's just not something you can properly explain because it is something you have to experience.
Anyways, Helsinki was amazing! It's a beautiful city. It's so clean and small and it's full of Finns, so the people are wonderful. We were also lucky enough to go on a sunny day so it was the perfect day to explore. We stayed on the island Suomenlinna in a hostel. The island is basically just for tourists now but it was originally a military island with a fort. The best part of Helsinki was the Karl Fazer cafe. Chocolate and coffee: the best things in life. My favorite thing in Helsinki though is without a doubt, the peeing man at the harbor. I just can't get over it. What is he doing there?! Whose idea was he? I like to imagine the artist coming to the Helsinki city board and suggesting this idea. Who approved this? I love it.
Before going to Helsinki, I also went to my first hockey game. It is impossible to keep track of the puck and there is quite a bit of aggression but I am still holding my breath for an all out brawl. Something interesting about hockey is that the players switch out every two minutes
maximum because the game is so tiring from all the skating and all of the padding they have to wear. This is different because it basically means that there are four groups of "first string" players so all of the players need to be good. For the most part, I really like Hockey and I plan on going to another game next week with Arja from my friendship family. Since paddling, I have also gotten to visit my family's home and Arja and I spent last Friday checking out a few of the museums in Jyvaskyla. My favorite part was an exhibit of a family's home in Finland in the 1960s. I love the 60s so it was really cool.
Last week, I participated in a drinking party where you are issued a diploma and have to consume a certain amount of drinks before graduating. When you graduate, you go to your final party desination which is assigned by a wrist band you are given before you start. It was a really fun night and a great way to see some of the different bars in Jyvaskyla. It is popular here to have special booths in bars,
so far I have seen a ski lift for people to sit in and drink, a sauna, and a beach with some hammocks. On Saturday, I went to Tampere, one of the larger cities in Finland, with a fairly big group of international students. It was great to meet some more people and we traveled fairly well together. We arrived in Tampere a bit early so we started with going to the Market Hall. It was an indoor area full of cafes and meat and pastries. We sat and got a cup of coffee there while we waited for everything to open up. After finishing out coffee, we went to a lookout tower. Right now, fall is in full swing in Finland, and Tampere, like everywhere in Finland, it it surroundied by large lakes so it was really beautiful to see. After that, we went to a Spy museum and a Moomin museum. Moomin are these famous little white hippos that appear in children's books. They're so cute! And they're everywhere here! They are so popular. Taylor Cooksy tried to tell me about them before I left, but I did not fully grasp how much I would see of them
when I got here.
For the most part, my life has really slowed down these last few weeks and I have stayed close to home. When I'm not in school or out with friends, I'm in my room watching Mad Men. Which reminds me, I need to talk to someone who has seen it so if you have, please step forward! Message me! We have so much to talk about! When things slow down, I find myself missing my friends and family quite a bit so even though I am not nearly ready to go home, I just want you all to know that I think of you often.
I hope you think of me too!
Love me,
Hannah
Also, shout out to Sarah Fuller for fulfilling my requests for love and sending me a letter! I was so excited to recieve it!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.071s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 9; qc: 35; dbt: 0.0473s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb