Terve!
Well it's been a while since I posted anything on here but I've waited for the right day to post again. Today marks my TWO month stay here in Finland. I am still having a wonderful time and couldn't ask for a better host family or friends.
Overall, nothing special has happened these past couple weeks here in Turku. My host family and I went sailing for the last time this year. We took the sailing boat back to its harbor so its safe during the hard, cold winter. As you can see from the pictures it was a very slow, calm, and relaxing trip;
That's a true sailor right there. :)
Driving the sailboat for the last time. :'(
Trying to catch JELLYfishes. They were everywhere! No such luck, however.
You couldn't help but take a nap during the trip. The rocking boat put me to sleep like a baby in its cradle...
Host sister Laura catching some Z's and sun rays too.
Host dad Matti keeping awake so we don't get lost, or crash. Good thing someone could stay awake!
After we got the boat to the harbor we spent the rest of the day resting and eating Eastern Finland's most traditional dish, mustamakkara (English = black sausage). Consisting of pork, rye flour, seasonings, and blood. I would actually have to say its my second favorite food here in Finland. It's delicious!
The next weekend we spend the day walking around Turku's old jail and prison complex. My host dad actually used to work there as a guard. I don't think he was a very good guard though because all his stories consist of him falling asleep during the night time shift. Good thing security was tight and no one could escape or he would have been fired! Ha! Anyways, the jail/prison has been moved to a different location somewhere more outside of the city. All the buildings are now being restored and renovated for apartments and houses. Its a beautiful location on top of a hill. You can see much of Turku from this point so it should be a popular location for people to live.
Part of jail where criminals were held on small sentencings and before trial.
This is where the head honchos of the jail/prison stayed.
This is where the cleaning and maintenance staff lived.
Fall is here! The colors are beautiful. All over Turku the leaves are changing. Winter is on its way...!
If you can't see that it says "Bless the Mutants!". Graffiti is a common sight here in Finland but I haven't seen anything written as strange as this. It was written on the side of the jail wall. Weird!
After walking around the jail area we ate dinner in a Thai restaurant and I got Vietnamese noodle soup. It was delicious! I wish we had more cultural restaurants back home. They have everything from Thai and Vietnamese to Indian and Italian. Delicious!
Well now that brings us to my latest adventure, old fortress ruins of a Finnish fortress. This fortress, called Kuusisto, was built in 1317 as a refuge for Finnish Catholic Bishops. It was used for centuries until eventually destroyed by order of Gustav Vasa (King of Sweden 1523-1560) in 1528.
Front of fortress. Red brick barracks area for shooting?
The outside walls of the fortress.
Inside fortress. Many rooms connected to the middle area of the fortress.
View from fortress.
Entrance into fortress.
It was amazing to be touching and seeing such an old part of Turku. Built in 1317! That was 694 years ago! I wonder what it looked like when it was first built. The sight where it was built, however, was beautiful. Facing the front were rolling fields and plush forests, and the back of the fortress looked out on a large lake surrounded by village houses and fishing docks. Too bad it was destroyed.
Well there you have it. Those experiences were the only new thing that has happened these past couple weeks in Finland. School and the gym are taking up most of my time during the week. One Friday I spent the evening watching a movie with my Finnish friend Emma. I found it strange they didn't have liquid butter for hte popcorn like we do. They only had the powdered stuff along with flavors like barbecue, cheddar, and white cheddar. Yuck! But, on the contrary, their theater had Ben &Jerry's ice cream and "select your own candy" buckets! .
I will be posting again in the next week or two... or three. I don't know what I will be up to this weekend but I will be sure to take my camera! Love and miss you all!
Rakkas (love),
Karlee
