Changing addresses

I have moved into my new family's house - I moved yesterday.  Its really quite a nice house I described it earlier and I'm really truly happy to find a piano at last.  Also - whats realy fun is having a keyboard.  Lotta also has some earphones that go with it so I can practice without annoying anybody.  My new host family is wonderful - they speak to me in Finnish first always and if I don't understand something than they translate to English.  But the point is that they give me the opportunity to learn.

The past two weeks have gone by incredibly fast.  Maybe its because before leaving I've been trying to profit of every moment spent with my first host family and in the first house.  They have been a very good host family although they are not the most traditional Finns.  So I think I might learn more about the Finnish culture itself in this host family but I guess it made a nice transition.  My host sisters never hesitated to speak to me which is uncommon in Finland.  Also my first family had a sort of busy and bustelling lifestyle - never really ordered.  This meant that there was always something going on - someone coming to visit or us going to visit someone or a tennis match here and a movie night there.  It was nice.  However it reminded me very much of the Canadian lifestyle.  People too busy to eat together or to just sit together and talk.  Its not a reproach and I don't wish my host family had been any different than it was - its just an observation.  I don't know what this host family will be like because I've only been here one night.  Whatever lifestyle they have,  I'm sure I can adjust and I'll be happy to see a different way of life in Finland.

It seems that so much has happened in the past weeks that I can't even remember.. I learned how to make rissipirakka like I explained earlier.  Its actually not as dificult as I expected.  The ingredients are simple its just making the shape of the bread properly is hard.  You have to use a sort of wooden thing like we use to flatten the paste to make cookies and such.  However this "roller" is thick in the middle and gets smaller on the ends and you have to roll it in a circular motion of the dough to make it round - its really quite difficult.  This motion is called "ajaa" which means "driving".  SO I was driving last weekend against the rules of rotary haha.  We made about a ton and in a week they were all gone.  That same weekend I went to play tennis with my hosat sisters and my host father.  I'm definitely improving but tennis is alot more complex then I thought.  No wonder they ask the audience to be silent.

School has been okay also.  Music is definitely my favourite class.  We're playing a concert for Christmas on the 21st of december (it a saturday but in Finland rather than having weekends that last three days - they sometimes have weekend that last one day) although that particular weekend is the beginning of Christmas holiday so it doesn't matter much.  I love playing to keyboard in this little "band" its really fun.  I remember playing in an orchestra in middleschool and I didn't like it because I played the "bells" which is like a xylophone because pianists don't really have a role to play in a school band. Anyway - as most percutionists in shool bands - I was treated like the extra weight that no one really wanted in the band.  I didn't have anything to do with the melody (exepct when we played Carrol of the Bells) so I wasn't important.  ANyway - this is much better because the sound I make actually makes a difference in the band.  In dance class we've improved too.  Last Friday was the last day in this term so next term my schedule will change again.  My evenings have been really buys aswell with Finnish on Mondays and Thursdays ,  Kantele on Thursdays,  Rotary meetings on Tuesdays,  Scout meetings on Wednesday.  In scouts we've been selling calenders for advent or adventikaletterit.  Its really nice to go to the scout meetings because all the scouts are younger and they aren't afraid to speak to me in Finnish.  They are all really great kids and they seem to like speaking to someone from another place - they don't get lots of foreigners in Ristiina.  oO at school when I walk in the elementary part o the school I always have to say "moi!" about fifty times.  They will have a "pikkujoulu" soon.  This translates into "little Christmas" which is basically a Christmas party.  I will have such a party with my friends aswell.  Its a very popular thing in FInland to have Pikkujoulu.

Last Friday my kantele teacher Elli Sunkanen (I think) had a concert because it is her thirtieth year of teaching kantele in the Kansalaisopisto (literally "National School").  SO I went there of course to see her play.  The kantele is associated with the Finnish legends compiled in the Kalevala - a sort of Finnish Iliad.  For centuries and perhaps even millenia - these legends were sung to a very simple tune which has stayed in Finnish tradition.  Lönnrot is the author who put all of these legends from oratory to written language.  I bought a copy of the translated version.  Every line as seven syllables and - even in English,  the language is rich and the song just flows.  Its wonderful and now that I play this tune on the kantele and I know what the sotries are - it really gives an idea of what Finland was and why it is the way it is.  People have wondered about the Finns' fiereceness in the Winter War and such - I think that it is shown just as strongly in the Kalevala.  The concert was great.  The kalevala was sung in Finnish of course and just hearing it was so amazing.  It sounded so strong and imperishable - it was,  in a word,  impressive.  The only thing that was kind of strange was that they had an old student of Elli's who now has a doctorate in music and he and a modern dancer made a show of from the kantele in honor of Elli.  It was cool to see the electric kantele but I didn't get the dance.

We also went to see the new Batman in theaters - it was not so good I thoug  Then again I never really liked James Bond.  All in all I think that Pearce Brosnan made a better James Bond than this new guy.  The title didn't mean anything to me and I thought - when I see the movie I'll get it but I didn't.  It seems they just picked a title to make it sound cool.  The whole movie was just a show of TV magic and a sequence of action scenes that didn't help the plot.

On a better note we got lots and lots of snow!  Its so beautiful - Finland is already a beatiful place but its definitely most beautiful in winter with all the snow.  Evrywhere you go whether its in nature or in the city,  it feels like your in a Christmas card.

My last few days with the Partios were great.  On Friday after school I went to Mikkeli with my host sister Melii.  Isa and Marjanna were already in Mikkeli.  First Isa and Melli went to see Harri play tennis.  I'd sort of had enough of watching people play tennis (the week before when we came back from Quantum of Solace we went to a match between Isa and a young girl (12) who is like the best tennis player in Finland(she won but it was a tough match Isa is really good she ranks at something like 9th in Finland in her age group.  Actually she could have been the best in Finland and have gone to international competitions if she hadn't gone on exchange.  I think she was glad to go on exchange though but Harri would have liked her to have a tennis career).  ANyhow,  the match lasted until midnight and I was slightly sick of it a the end - its such a long game especially when both players are so good.  The little girl was a really good sports"woman" and she just seemed really happy to play whether she was playing well or not.  So,  instead of going to the tennis match I went with Marjanna to take a walk with her dogs Rodi and Sara.  They are such nice dogs and Marjanna is so good with them.  They respect her and they listen to her (most of the time).  Dog training is her hobby as well as dog competitions.  We went to a skiing place in Mikkeli so we were in the woods and it was the first time that Rodi saw snow.  It was so funny - he was playing with Sara (who is a little older) and annoying her and they were just running everywhere.  The only down side was that my shoes were soaked after.  When Isa and Melii returned from the match we went to a Chinese restaurant and I had the greasiest sweet and sour pork ever.  But it was a once in a while thing so it didn'ät matter so much.  It was quite good actually but I as cold from my wet feet.  Oh yeah and coming back from our walk,  Marjanna and I saw fireworks - the Chirstmas season has officially openned in Finland.  It was so perfect.  After the restaurant we went to rent a movie and buy some candy and we just watched it.  I don't exactly have the same taste in movies as my host sisters.  They like comedies alot and I get tired of them.  I prefer drama and movies that make you think or that are sort of emotional.  Oh well,  it didn't bother me so much.  The point was that I was spending time with my host sisters who have so helped me along in the beginning of the exchange - definitely the hardest part for me.  The homesickness was quite bad at the beginning but its been gone for a while now and I'm just enjoying as much of this beautiful country as I can.  My host sisters really helped me to get through it though (but they probably didn't even realize it - I'm pretty good at hiding stuff like that).  So I had to show them my appreciation. Yesterday we had Melii's birthday party aswell as my goodbye party.  I spent the whole morning packing - very last minute. It surprised me how much new stuff I have ut there is also alot of things that I think <i'll leave behind in the end.  CLothing that I don't wear for example.  I have alot of new books though and DVDs,  I can't help myself - most of the stuff that I buy is Finnish and I can't get it anywhere else.  Like I bought some Finnish DVDs and the Kalevala which weighs a ton.  ANyhow,  I left Melii's oom exactly the way that it was when I got there in August (so long ago?) yeesh.

After that I helped Marjanna make a room for her dogs in the old sauna.  We just had to somehow seperate the small room in two so that the dogs wouldn't be able to fight.  Marjanna is planning to keep them there at night in the winter when she visits home because Harri hates animals so he won't let them in the house.  So we spent a few hours making a fence out of wood.  Our engineering skills are not magnificent but , it'll do I think.

At about 14.00 the guests started arriving.  There were the grandparents which I visited quite often so I know them well now.  They gave Melii a bracelet made of three different kinds of gold.  I didn't expect anything but they got me an Arrika necklace.  Arrika is a very famous Finnish company that usually makes colourful jewelry out of wood.  Its such a beautiful necklace.  They seemed very proud to give it to me.

AFterwards we had tea and coffee and I talked alot with Marjanna,  Melii and Janne - a friend of Marjanna's.  He travels alot and wants to go to the Canadian Rockies with his cousin next summer so,  since I know quite a bit about the Rockies,  I thought I could help out.

Finally at about 18.30,  it was time to say our goodbyes and move to the next family.  I gave my host sisters some Dreamcatcher necklaces and I think they really liked them - its a good present idea for all my future host sisters I think.  It wasn't a tearful goodbye thankfully but it was a little hard to leave.  I've had so much fun with this family - my host mother often took me places and to meet people and my host sisters often took me along with them when they wnet places and we talked alot.  However I'm so excited to see new things and meet new people that it could hardly be a very sad goodbye - no matter how good they were to me.

When I arrived in my new host family,  it wasn't long before I felt quite comfortable.  My room is smaller but better for studying and reading than my old room.  I tried painting in my old room but the light isn't very good and it gets dark really early now.  This room has a nice lamp and I think that Lotta Vidman studied alot when she was here.   My host mother loves to knit and sew and I want to learn to knit socks and possibly a sweater before I leave.  I also want to learn to bake and cook Finnish dishes - anything I can bring back to Canada to share my experience.

I unpacked and we had dinner.  Afterwards there was a movie on TV and we watched it.  It was The Day After Tomorrow.  Based on my experience last night - my next few months are very promising.  Tomorrow I'm going to Joensuu since its koeviikko(examweek) at school.  Then its the Lapland tour on Thursday.  After that I'm going to visit some of my new relatives and we'll make ginger bread houses (they have small children).  Alot of stuff is planned for the next few weeks already and also,  when I get back to school,  I'll start a new term with new subjects.  Very exciting!

PS:I'll add pictures when I download them on the computer.