March 24, 2012

Greetings all!

Here I am again, a bit lacking on blog posts, I know. But what can I say? I'm in Finland and not everything can be narrated. And I don't mean things which break the "Four D's of Rotary" (No Drinking, Dugs, Dating, or Driving). I mean the simple things like art class, cafe conversations, kebab outings. The usual. (Not that I'm breaking the rules or anything...) However, I do come this weekend bringing the age-old international Easter tradition of Egg Decorating. It is two weeks early, but since I will be in Spain during Easter my family decided to do it this weekend. How thoughtful!

Now, of course you have all done this at some point in your life. May have skipped a couple years of it only to return when you have little minions running around the house. But not in this family. In this family Egg Decorating is a ritual tradition. Actually, more like a ritual competition. In which the eggs are judged on their detail, craftsmanship, color technique, and overall idea. Okay, maybe not that serious. But a winner IS chosen. And that winner's egg is displayed during the whole of the year's Easter holiday. What a prize!

And I, being competitive by nature, or by softball and volleyball rather; set out to win! And win I did! This is exchange year must have really broadened my art skills.

Anyways, enjoy! The next post will be exciting, all about the little-known country of Estonia! Stay tuned!

 So here we are, or my host sister Rossa and her boyfriend William, ready to decorate. And as you can see, the eggs have been carefully placed onto nails, which have craftily been built onto wood, specifically for decorating.

                            Such a crafty photo. William and Rossa between my Easter egg.

 

My blank canvas. Complete with paintbrushes and a 360 degree turning egg "stand".

 William and Rossa hard at work. As you can see by William's face, this is serious business.

                             Host Dad, Eetu contemplating what to create on this egg.

                  That's me! Drawing a traditional Easter Bunny with intense concentration.

  

 All the Easter eggs from previous years. Some winners, some not. Oh, and excuse me, those are not ALL the eggs. Only some. They keep all the eggs from every year. So there are more. Goodness...

 

                                                                 Pretty in pink.

                                                              Happy colors!

                                      Eetu putting the eggs away ever so carefully.

                           Host mom, Tuula, working on dinner. And boy was it delicious!

 Tuula pulling the LAMB & POTATOES out of the oven. Yum! This is the only picture I have of the dinner aby the way. I'm surprised I even got this photo. Oh wait, my host dad took it. Yeah without him I wouldn't have any food pictures. Ha! Typical...

So we took a break from egg decorating for a delicious dinner of lamb, potatoes, and salad. It was delicious. I do believe my third host family are chefs...

                  That's me again working ever so carefully on my Easter egg!

                    Here was my first Easter egg. Traditional "Happy Easter" quote with a cute bunny.

                                           And some roses...

                                              ...and bumblebees!

Then we took another break from decorating for dessert! Delicious Tiramisu ice cream, lemon sorbet, and, of course, coffee!

                                                         Eetu and dessert

 My ice cream and coffee. Can you believe it? I got a picture of it! Although the ice cream is almost gone... Either way I'm getting better!

          Now back to work! Rossa was painting the world on her egg, and Eetu some nice flowers.

                                               Eetu's egg.

                                                      Rossa's egg.

                                                       Rossa's other egg.

                                                William's egg.

                                                Tuula's egg.

   This was my second egg. I didn't know what to do after the traditional Happy Easter & bunny rabbit, so I painted William working on his egg. And it bluntly says, "William & his egg".

                                               I am so creative.. not!

                                            I think it resembles William, a bit!

   But hey, I won the competition with this egg so it must have been good! Too bad I wont be here for Easter to see it displayed! Hum-bug.

Well, there we go! And early Easter celebration for me! I wonder what kind of Easter traditions I will encounter in Spain! I'll be back before Easter, however, to report on Estonia. It's going to be such a busy next couple of weeks for me, first Estonia, and then Spain! I can't wait to tell you all about it! So stay tuned there's lots to come!

Be back soon!

Karlee