I'm back, of course later than I promised, but back none the less to, as promised, tell you of the school's Wanhat and Abi celebrations. But, first and foremost I must inform you that I am now in my third and final host family! They are just as wonderful as the last two and I feel so very blessed to have had three absolutely amazing host families this exchange year. I know that doesn't happen for everyone so I am lucky.
It is a family of seven; four girls, one boy, and the parents. It was a bit confusing meeting them all at once (since they brought along their boyfriends as well), but I got the hang of it. Here is the gist of it if you want to puzzle your mind today. First there is the oldest Stinna (28) and her husband Niklas who live in Turku; one working as a teacher and the other becoming a surgeon. Then there is the second oldest girl named Roosa (25) and her boyfriend Willam; who is Finnish but his father is from the States. Roosa is living in London studying economics and Willam lives in Helsinki, also working on some sort of business degree. Roosa was on exchange in Mexico, and Willam went to Korea. Then the third oldest (or second youngest) is Fanni (23) and her boyfriend Mihkael. Fanni lives in the Northern city of Oulu studying architecture and Mihkael is from Tallinn, Estonia. He has lived in Finland since he was four but moved back to Estonia to study business. Fanni was on exchange in Chile. Then there is the youngest girl, Tilda (18) who is spending her exchange year in Sweden. Then last but not least is the boy, Eemil, who is 15 and terribly shy. Oh, and of course the parents, Eetu and Tuula Tuomaala. The end.
Did you get all that? If you didn't, all you have to know is that we spent my first night here making homemade pizza, telling stories of past travels and adventures, talking of the future, lots of laughing, and then watching good ol' Forrest Gump till the early hours of the morning. It was a wonderful first night here and I can't wait to see what the rest of my time with this family brings.
Oh, and did I mention they are taking me to Estonia? I know what you're thinking and I agree. I am the luckiest girl in the world. Period. Spain! ...and now Estonia!? Oh, and possibly even Sweden to visit Tilda! I feel like I could fly right now.... Anyways, we are going quite soon, the last weekend in March. And then off to Spain! Wow. That is all I have to say.
But, that is the gist of my third host family. We already get along very well so I believe my time here will be just as memorable and pleasant as the last two. Less than three months and I will be on a plane back home. I can already feel the time slipping away from under my feet. I have to enjoy every bit of time I have here.
And now, since I promised to do a blog about the school celebrations, lets get to it!
So, in Finland's school system there are, just like ours, four levels or grades; Freshman (1st grade, in Finland), Sophomore (2nd grade), Junior (3rd grade), and Senior (4th grade). And, the 4th graders (or Seniors), end their schooling already at the end of February to study for the HUGE final exams in March. Emma in fact is one of those 4th graders, so she is spending all of her time nowadays studying. I miss her!
Anyways, prior to this studying period is the celebration part for the 4th graders. There are two big events that take place during this time of year for them. One is called Abi; this is a huge parade for all the schools around Turku. The 4th graders from each school dress up in some sort of theme costumes and parade around the city in huge industrial trucks. Throwing candy to the people on the streets and going crazy in their excitement of graduating high school soon. Then there is the Wanhat; or traditional Finnish dances. This takes place right after Abi. It is basically the Finnish version of the American "prom". Except theirs is more traditional since the kids actually take dance classes in school to learn their cultures old dances.
So that is all you need to know about those two, it is better to just see them through pictures.
Abi:
So, just like in the States, the 4th graders vandalize the school and prank the younger grades. Here they covered the hallways and stairs with black plastic.
Here are the kids taking part in the Wanhat ball, except this is the dance they do in the school. The official dance takes place Saturday night.
The girls and boys were dressed in traditional Finnish attire.
Trucks from all the schools around Turku came to this parade. In total I think it was about 25 trucks.
Raisio! (an area just outside of Turku. I know Canadian and Mexican exchange students from there!
Getting dropped off!
Wanhat:
The end!
I hope you enjoyed this blog! I don't know when I will be posting again but I will don't worry. And when I do, I will tell you how things are going in my new family and everything else here in my wonderful Finnish life!
As always I hope everything is well with you! Spring is coming I can smell it! And soon Easter! There will be much to show and tell then. Their Easter is actually quite a bit different from ours.
Until then! Have a wonderful time spring cleaning!
Love,
Karlee
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