August 29, 2011

WOW!

So it's been a pretty long time since I've posted something on here, and I have done so much! So much that its hard to remember all I've done! Anyways, I will try to recall what happened these past days here in Finland for you.

Alright so last blog post I told you all about my school and you saw some pictures of Turku. Since then, however, I have been to Helsinki, went sailing on a HUGE sailboat called Ihana, saw all the Tall ships that were at port here in the Turku River, went to my host families summer cottage in Naure, and went sailing for eight hours in the Archipelago. Busy, busy, busy!

First off I willl tell you all about Helsinki. Upon arrival my host family and I walked around the capitol and I took lots of pictures. Its a much bigger city than Turku and it has many more older/traditional buildings as well. Here are some pictures;

 Ha! It's like something you would see in Italy. But in Helsinki it was just "art".

 Helsinki from above.

Helsinki was nice, we only spent about three hours there because we had to go to a 50 year birthday party. That was in another town about 20 min away. After the party we spent the night at my host mom's sister's house and then headed home. Overall, I'm glad I am in a "small" city like Turku. Helsinki was a bit too big for me.

Next on the list is the Ihana. This was a two-mast sailboat which was built by a club organization, all by hand.  Everyone who worked on creating this boat essentially "owns" part of the boat as well. We were sailing for three hours on this big thing.

 Getting ready for sailing. The woman in the pink is my host mom, Jaana. The other people are their friends and family.

 Look! That's me under the front mast. I'm so small compared to the boat!

T

 Captain Karlee. They put a lot of faith in my driving skills, eeekkk!

That's the back-mast. Big, big, big boat.

So after sailing that wonderfully large thing, we walked around Turku river and looked at all the Tall Ships that came to Turku for this "sail boat celebration". Then we watched fireworks. Check these pictures out.

 This, everyone, is the tallest sailboat in the world! It's from Russia!

 Visiting sailboats in port on the river.

 Looks like its from the Pirates of the Caribbean doesn't it?

 I should be a professional photographer, aye?

 It was beautiful!

Well there you have it. I saw all these ships that looked like they were from the 1800's. It was a great experience.

Last but not least is my most recent adventure. On Friday, my host parents, host sister Laura, and two friends of the family had a picnic by the river. We ate salad and bread and just enjoyed the last warm day of Finland's summer. After the picnic we drove out to their summer cottage in Naure and spend the weekend sailing, saunaing, and swimming! Oh and eating of course! We had to take two ferrys to get to the island where their summer cottage is. It was a great time.

 More tall ships. This was the last day they were in Turku.

 This isn't a very good picture, but if see something pink in the water which resembles a flower, that's a jellyfish! These are not poisonous or dangerous is any way but they can shock you if they get really scared. There were everywhere in the sea! Seeing the jellyfish was one of the most exciting moments of being here in Finland so far. Ha!

 My host sister Laura and I during our picnic.

 From left to right; Matti (host dad), me, Laura (host sister), and Matti and Jaana's friends.

 Summer cottage in Naure. We ate in that area and there is also a sauna in there. It was very cozy and

beautiful inside.

 Matti's dad (host grandpa) getting me all suited up for sailing.

 The fire in the back was a traditional ceremony. Once this fire was lit, others were lit on other islands and so on and so on. From right to left; me, Jaana, Erka (Laura's boyfriend), and Laura.

 Me in my waterproof sailing gear. Drinking cider, yum!

 Me! That ship in the back is the Russian sailboat leaving Turku.

 Posing for a photo is pretty tough on a sailboat! We were taking a snack break :)

 That is what our sailboat looked like when we were sailing in the open Baltic sea. However, OUR sailboat actually touched the water on one side. It was crazy! I feared I was either going to fall out of the boat or throw-up! ha!

Well there you have it! Those were my experiences and adventures these past two weeks here in Finland. I had a great time!

I will post soon. Next time though I will post right after the weekend because it's hard to remember all that you do it two weeks time! Hope all is well back home, I miss you!

Love,

Karlee

August 17, 2011

Good Afternoon my faithful blog followers :)

I don't even know who looks at this blog but I hope its a good read for ya!

Anyways, there has been a little dilemma here concerning which school I will go to. The first school I was supposed to go to (Luostarivuoren Lukio), lost my papers and their classes are full. Therefore, Matti took me to his old school where they were more than happy to take me in and I know have my first period schedule all set and a new school. I will be taking Spanish 1, Italian 1, English 7, and Art. My latest class goes till 2:30 on Monday and Thursday. However, starting in September I will be going to an Adult University to take "Finnish for Foreigners".

Other than that, everything is running very smoothly here and I am enjoying myself very much. Below, I have posted some pictures of what my daily walk to school looks like, a.k.a. the city of Turku:

 River.

 River again.

 Bridge to the other side of the river; leads to the market place and my school.

 Just a very cool looking building.

 Market produce! Yum!

 Market.

 Lots of market!

 Street with cafes and restaurants.

Now below is my new school. I don't remember the name because it is very long but I will figure it out soon enough:

 Both pictures show the front of the school.

Well there you have it. I have some more picture of Turku but I will post them later when I have gone through them all, I think I took 200 or so photos, ha!

I hope all is well back home and that you are all doing well. I'll post another blog soon :)

Moi Moi!

August 14, 2011

Moi everyone!

I have finally begun my exchange. After a whole week at the Karkku Orientation/Language Camp, I have finally made it to my first host family. They picked me up in Karkku and we drove 2 hours to my new hometown, Turku. Once we got here they took me to the oldest restaurant in Turku and we got ice cream. It was delicious! Then we went to the grocery store and picked up some food because they didn't have any after sailing on vacation a week before they got me. ha!

We then drove to the house and I unpacked. It is a beautiful medium sized home on the corner of Kupittaankatu St. My room is very nice and I even have a TV in my room!

After I unpacked Jaana's sister and her husband and two boys (2 and 7) came over and we had a HUGE dinner. It was delicious, Matti is basically a chef. Then we stayed up till around 12 and I went to bed. Now it is Sunday and I have not gone to church, which is strange. I will have to find one around Turku somewhere.

Today we are busy again, but not till 4 when we have a private birthday party at a cafe. It should be fun :) On Monday I will go to my school and get all my classes sorted out and then Matti will teach me how to use the bus, that should be interesting. Alrighty then, I am going to go for a run now so I will post another blog sometime this week. Probably after I start going to school. My host family has wi-fi and they told me I can always use it so lucky me!

Moi Moi!

Love, Karlee

August 8, 2011

Hello everyone!

I have arrived in Helsinki and am now at the Karkku Orientation Camp (3 hour bus ride away from Helsinki). We have free wi-fi here so that's the only reason why I can post this. Anyways, it's 5a.m. here right now but I couldn't sleep anymore so here I am!

Everything seems to be going great and I just cant wait till I'm with my host family. There are about 120 exchange students here from all over the world and they are all staying in Finland. However, only 3, including myself, are staying in Turku.

It's funny, being here isn't much different from being in Michigan. The weather is the same (today it's raining) and the landscape looks very similar. Just imagine driving to the U.P. and that is what Finland looks like, or Helsinki anyways. I haven't tried any new foods yet. In fact I'm waiting for breakfast right now as we speak. I'm starving!

Well then, I suppose I will post something here some time soon before I leave this camp for Turku. I'm happy to be here and miss everyone in Michigan already. Talk to you soon!

Love,

Karlee