Moi,

This month has been filled with so many new experiences and challenges. Everyday I learn something, either about myself, about this amazing country or even just a new Finnish word. I’ve already been here for over a month and I can’t even process that in my brain, I don’t think I will ever be able to. One of the hardest things is not being able to understand what people around me are talking about or not knowing what’s going on. I am always asking “what are they saying?”, “what does that mean?” or “what’s happening?”. It a bit frustrating but I know that’s part of exchange and I just need to keep trying to learn more Finnish. I’m beginning to get used to it and I try to pick up words or phrases I hear around me everyday and slowly I am understanding a little bit more each day.

This month, I got to try skiing for the first time, I only skied one kilometre but it was harder than it looks. I didn’t realise how much energy it takes to push yourself forward.

My host parents took me on a day trip to Kalajoki to see an ice sculpture contest which was really interesting. We also saw the old house of Finnish sawmill owner, Oscari Santaholma. There is also a “beach” in Kalajoki where I got to sled at although I couldn’t actually see where the ocean started because it was frozen over.

A few weeks ago at my high school, the third year students had Penkkarit. It’s a Finnish tradition that celebrates their last day of school and the beginning of their final exams. They all came to school dressed up as different characters or people. They all had bags of candy and pelted it at us as they walked by. They then got carried out of the school by other students and a decorated truck was waiting for them outside. They got driven around town and to the other schools, throwing tons of candy as they went.

The day after Penkkarit, the second year had their Wanhat dance, which is similar to a formal. All the girls wear amazing princess dresses for the day and the boys wear fancy suits. They performed eight dances, four times each. First to the primary school, then to the middle school, to the high school and later in the evening, to parents and families. There were some traditional Finnish dances, waltzes and some more modern ones. It was really great to watch. My host sister, Pinja, was dancing in Wanhat as well. I got to go to the Wanhat afterparty in Kalajoki with her and the other second year students. There were kids there from a few different schools around Kalajoki and I got to meet an exchange student from Japan, living in Ylivieska. I got to meet some of her Finnish friends and other kids from her school which was really nice.

On the last weekend of February I went on a scout camp with Pinja in Raudaskylä. There were scouts there from Nivala, Ylivieska and a few other cities around the area. I slept in tent with about eight other scouts and thankfully they have fireplaces inside their tents as on the first night it got to almost -30 degrees! Everyone took shifts to keep the fire going through the night. During the first day we did a hike around the small town, stopping at bases to do first aid, solve riddles, play games and make oil lamps. On the last stop we made our own soup on a trangia. By then I’m not sure if I could feel my toes anymore but it was a nice day and the sun was shining. Finnish scouts do many similar things that Australian scouts do but there are some differences I noticed. For example, they have their normal troop scarf and the another scarf that gets stamped with the camp logo of every camp they go to. They also wear their scarves the whole time at camp. Each troop has a chant/song and the district/region has their own one as well. At this camp I noticed they were always singing camp songs and their chants.

Everyone at home said Finland was a really dark and depressing place in winter but so far it’s been sunny everyday! (I’m told the really dark time is November and December) When I first got here it was getting dark quite early but it’s getting later everyday.

Frozen hair after ice skating

Thanks for reading, Jess