Thursday May 7th, 2015 - Saturday May 9, 2015
Hello Everybody!
WOW! I am finally in Finland! Actually, I have been here for a whole day but I now feel actually settled. The journey here was hard and scary but also beautiful and an amazing experience at the same time.
First, I flew from LAX to London which was a 10 hour flight! It felt very, very long, especially since I was unable to get any sleep because I was extremely excitement and also uncomfortable on the plane, though the view was absolutely beautiful!
Hello Everybody!
WOW! I am finally in Finland! Actually, I have been here for a whole day but I now feel actually settled. The journey here was hard and scary but also beautiful and an amazing experience at the same time.
First, I flew from LAX to London which was a 10 hour flight! It felt very, very long, especially since I was unable to get any sleep because I was extremely excitement and also uncomfortable on the plane, though the view was absolutely beautiful!
In London, I was to have an about 5 hour layover but my plane got delayed! You can probably imagine how nerve-wrecking and scary that was for me, alone on the airport and having never traveled internationally. Eventually, though, I sorted everything out and became fine, despite having to wait at the airport an extra 4 hours...
Finally, my plane departed at around 22:00 when no one but the people on my flight were left at the airport. We then flew for about 3 more hours which was very beautiful since the sky was clear and you could see lights and water below. I arrived in Helsinki, Finland at about 1 AM where I was picked up by my teacher (Mrs. Tina) who also happens to be in Finland and we stayed at a hotel for the night.
The next morning (Saturday), after about 4 hours of sleep, Mrs. Tina and I ate a quick and delicious hotel breakfast and got ready to take me to the train station. I hopped on a train and rode for three whole hours through the absolutely BEAUTIFUL landscapes of Finland! There were so, so many tall pine trees and clear lakes and funny little huts that were so fun to look at!
The next morning (Saturday), after about 4 hours of sleep, Mrs. Tina and I ate a quick and delicious hotel breakfast and got ready to take me to the train station. I hopped on a train and rode for three whole hours through the absolutely BEAUTIFUL landscapes of Finland! There were so, so many tall pine trees and clear lakes and funny little huts that were so fun to look at!
I finally arrived in Jyvaskyla where (in the cold wind), I got picked up by my host sister, Luulia (pronounces "Julia" but with an "L"). Together we walked and talked for 10 minutes until we reached the theatre that she has been spending her days at recently. Her, and a group from her school, are doing this show called Kaarna about a young girl who gets in a relationship with an older man. They are doing this show as part of a sort of festival or competition with five other local groups. If they win, then they get to go to a city called Turku to perform again. After hanging around the theatre lobby for about 3 hours (selling books), we were all ushered into the theatre with the other five groups and they made the announcement. Luulia's group won!!!!! The judges said their play was very, very good and I don't doubt it even though I have not watched it. Next weekend, Luulia and her group will go to Turku to perform and I am invited. We will see whether I can go, though, because I may be very busy with all my internship work :).
After that joyous announcement and mini celebration, we went upstairs to watch a version of Romeo & Juliet in a huge theatre! It was a sort of rock/punk musical interpretation and was ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! I have to be honest, I really thought I was not going to enjoy the show so much because of the language barrier bit it turns out I was wrong! The music and dancing was so, so wonderful and I could not stop smiling. The acting was so good that I could understand almost everything that was happening without knowing what they were saying. I even almost forgot that I could not understand their language! (sorry, I don't have any pohotos!)
After the play, we were picked up by Luulia's mom (and my host mother) and were driven to their home: a cute apartment in a very, very pretty and tree surrounded area. I ate a bit (tomato soup and bread w/ cheese) and Luuilia showed me to my room which is actually her room but she is being kind enough to lend it to me while she sleeps with her sister. I was immediately very glad to see that Luulia and I have the same interests. The walls of her room are practically unseen as they are plastered with lots and lots of posters of Johnny Depp, Ed Sheeran, The Beatles, various musicals, Harry Potter posters, Alice and Wonderland art, John Green posters, and, most importantly QUEEN. Luulia must be a real big fan of the old band as she has collected all kinds of ticket stubs from shows, posters, photos, and artwork. It is so great!
After that joyous announcement and mini celebration, we went upstairs to watch a version of Romeo & Juliet in a huge theatre! It was a sort of rock/punk musical interpretation and was ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! I have to be honest, I really thought I was not going to enjoy the show so much because of the language barrier bit it turns out I was wrong! The music and dancing was so, so wonderful and I could not stop smiling. The acting was so good that I could understand almost everything that was happening without knowing what they were saying. I even almost forgot that I could not understand their language! (sorry, I don't have any pohotos!)
After the play, we were picked up by Luulia's mom (and my host mother) and were driven to their home: a cute apartment in a very, very pretty and tree surrounded area. I ate a bit (tomato soup and bread w/ cheese) and Luuilia showed me to my room which is actually her room but she is being kind enough to lend it to me while she sleeps with her sister. I was immediately very glad to see that Luulia and I have the same interests. The walls of her room are practically unseen as they are plastered with lots and lots of posters of Johnny Depp, Ed Sheeran, The Beatles, various musicals, Harry Potter posters, Alice and Wonderland art, John Green posters, and, most importantly QUEEN. Luulia must be a real big fan of the old band as she has collected all kinds of ticket stubs from shows, posters, photos, and artwork. It is so great!
Tomorrow is Mother's Day and we will wake up early to celebrate by eating lunch at a nice restaurant with Luulia's family and grandmother. Then, who knows what we'll do but I'm sure it will be amazing :)