Here we are- I am, one month into my exchange. You know how to spot the exchange student: dictionary glued to the palm of the hand, wary looks across the cafeteria, hesitation before flushing the toilet ("Now, how exactly does this one work again?"). Of course, I've fulfilled every stereotype. And, as you might guess, exhaustion has taken over. Despite my ten hours of sleep last night (class didn't start till 10AM), I was still struggling to keep my eyes open during a history class of which I understood mostly just the names of countries and stutter words. Oh, and due to my insufficient education in history, I was made a bit of a fool. No, I did not know that the main difference between a monarchy and a republic was a president; there must be more to it than that, right?! But anyway, it has been a learning experience- not just my history class but the entire month I've spent here. So busy, in fact, that I have failed to write regularly on my blog! But maybe that's a good sign. Not only is my family most accommodating, but they have been so kind to me and I feel like a daughter to them already. I'm dreading the change of family, but I am sure my next family will be just as wonderful, if only in different ways.
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Now, a bit about what I have done so far. My first week was spent in the Kurkku Language Camp (on the left) where I met dozens of other exchange students from the four corners of the world. I can't wait to see them again during the Lapland trip (early December), but I know that I shouldn't focus only on the tours, but on every day life as well! We were at the camp for 5 days, and the sixth day we met our host families and went home with them. That was so nerve racking! I was so nervous about making a good impression that I didn't want to ask to stop to go to the bathroom on the four hour drive home and I didn't tell them that I felt very carsick after trying my first piece of salmiaki... Well, you live and you learn! Next time: don't eat salmiaki in the car. Or maybe just in general... I don't even like normal licorice! But, when we arrived in Leppävirta, we stopped at the grandparents' house, where Olivia and Loviisa, my two youngest sisters were spending the day, and was greeted very warmly. After having said "Terve!" (Hello!) to Olivia, the first thing she did was drag me by the hand to her toys, and immediately start naming each of them, while I in turn repeated the name of the toy. Quite a good teacher! Here's a picture of a lake near my house:
On Monday, I started school, and a girl named Hanne, one of Amanda's friends (Amanda is my host sister currently doing a year exchange in New York while I am here), gave me a tour of the school and took me to her classes. When I got my schedule, I went to my own classes, but since the school is so small (a hundred students, I believe) I still had class with Hanne and the other students she had introduced me to. And even though the Lukio (high school) is only one fifth the size of my high school in the States, I still got lost... Till I realized all my classes were in the same room.
As for the social aspect, that has been the most difficult. The Finns are shy- I was warned of that, but what I found was a deeply engrained sense of respect for one another's space- space including not only physical room but noise and eye contact as well. It's a world away from the theatrical company that I kept at home, where everyone hugs and shouts and jokes and mocks. The biggest lesson I have learned is that people are not the same everywhere. Based on the principle that there are nice people and bad people, religious people and atheists, and criminals as well as volunteer workers everywhere in the world I had assumed that I would easily find my kind here, and surely there would be a handful of people who would approach me in the hallways, asking me obscure questions about my home, and maybe even inviting me to coffee or a party. It was quite the opposite. I found it hard to approach people for fear of disrupting their "personal space". I've found in some ways I am very Finnish; I feel like I can't talk to someone without a reason to talk to them, I have little desire for petty small talk, and I have zero to little desire to hug someone when I first meet them. Good luck to the Finns coming to America. You'll never go back...
As for family life, I get along splendidly with all of my family members and enjoy dinner and coffee with them. I have to say, the highlight of my day is sitting next to Loviisa and making faces across the dinner table. When she tries to look angry at me, but can't keep a straight face, the sense of joy and love that I feel fills me to the brim, and in that moment I know exactly why I want to be a mother. That may seem an exaggeration, but I do feel a love for this family that is unique; different from the love I bear for my own family, but love all the same. On the weekends, they take me various places. For example, one weekend we went camping in Punkaharju, where I met my first reindeer (picture below!), with a stop in Sovnlina on the way. Another time, we went boating at my grandparents summer cottage, where there is an original smoke sauna (and countless mosquitoes). Just last weekend, we went shopping in Kuopio. They have been more than generous, letting me cook my favorite deserts, buying me cereal, and grandma even made apple jelly for me since she knows how often I eat toast with butter and jelly! Today, me and Emmi are making cupcakes, too!
