Study Week

Hello Readers,

Alex, Julianna, and Myself at the Outdoor Rink
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Study week has come and gone for us students in Finland. In October and March the schools have a one week break of studies. In the past, I have chosen to visit my Finnish friends home in the middle of Finland. I chose that again this year, as I hadn't seen them in about a year due to my exchange. Her family lives in a small town called Kärsämäki, with approximately 2,000 inhabitants. This small town makes me feel more at home since my village in Ontario only has 800 inhabitants. 

My friends dogs Jimi and Pössi.  Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The week is meant for students to get caught up on studies but since returning from Germany my studies haven't started yet. For most students the semester starts in January, but due to the exchange period I was on, I missed a few courses that I will make up next year. It just means that the 1/2 year I thought I could skip last year, by taking 2nd year courses has caught up to me. I have 2 courses that I can take this semester to at least get some credits. I used this week to relax before starting studies and to start applying to some summer jobs. 

I got to enjoy some recreational activities as well. My friend, her sister and I walked one of their dogs around their property (which is quite large, they live just outside of town on a farm). It was a great way to get some Vitamin D and some fresh air, though bundling up was still necessary as it was -5degrees.We also went into the town and enjoyed an afternoon of skating. Here in Finland there are outdoor rinks in just about every town or city. They allow you to skate and get some exercise for free. This was the highlight of my trip, because since moving here I haven't had the opportunity to go skating.

Skating around. So glad I didn't fall. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

After we went skating, we went to my friends Grandparent's house. I had been before so it was nice to get to visit them again. They do not speak any English but we get by with my friend Alex who is our own personal translator. Her grandparents have complimented me before on the fact that I speak directly to them even though they don't understand me. They just find it more personal that I don't speak to the translator when I am actually addressing them. 

One of the days, we went to a shopping mall in a nearby city. It was about an hour drive, I was happy to go there, as the one store had really good deals. For those North American's that follow my blog it was similar to that of a Walmart (minus groceries)...it had everything at reasonable prices.

I enjoyed my relaxing week in the middle of Finland, immersed in  a Finnish home, so the culture and language was around me the entire time. The family asked me everyday if I wanted to go to Sauna (Big part of Finnish culture) but I decided not, as I don't like the heat of it and find it increases my blood pressure too much. I had a great time, I can not wait to visit again.

Bye for now...

Poro Cup 2018 - Reindeer Cup 2018

Ticket to the Poro Cup...It cost 5euro to Enter - Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Readers,

Alex and I at the Entrance
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

On Sunday February 25th, I attended the Poro Cup in Rovaniemi. Poro is Finnish for Reindeer. I was going to attend this last year however, it is about 5km outside of the city and there is no city buses that go there. This year, there was a committee that planned to have buses from the city center for free for anyone who wanted to attend. I took this chance to attend. My friend and I met in the city and took the bus. Even though she is Finnish she has never been to this kind of race before. It is very unique to Lapland.  

The Reindeer race consists of 4 racers on ski's that are pulled behind the reindeer. They have to go around the track which is 197.5 meters in length. I have included a short video of the racers from the start and when they zoomed past me.

 

When the races were over we waited for the bus to take us back to the city center. This bus service really made it possible to travel to the race track and witness this type of races. To me it is similar to that of horse racing around a track and there were even places you could bet on the winning reindeer/rider.

This was a very unique experience because I have not experienced this before. I did however, attend a shorter type of race in the city center of Rovaniemi last year. It was a practice race for competitors that had to race from the river to the center of the downtown and only two racers at a time.

If you get the chance to come to Northern Finland (Lapland) in winter, I hope that you can try and attend one of the Poro Cup races they have in the 6 Different Cities (Nuoritta, Rovaniemi, Kuusamo, Salla, Kuninkuusajot Inari, and Äkäslompolo).

Thanks for Reading...

All Adventures Must End

Hello Readers,

February 15th was the day I left Kempten, Germany and head back to Rovaniemi, Finland. I was bittersweet about leaving because I met a lot of nice people from all over the world (I now have connections to Hungary, Spain, Ireland, Mexico, USA, South Korea, and India to name a few), but I was also excited to get back to my friends that I haven't seen since May of last year.

Last Trip to the City Center of Kempten. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

I haven't written a post in about a month because when I arrived back to Kempten after Christmas we had 2 weeks of classes and then exams began. I was just in my apartment studying for the exams because in Germany the exam is worth 100% of the mark, there are no assignment marks or anything, so studying for the exams was very important to achieve the grades.

Last View of the Mountains from the Train. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Prior to leaving I had a lot of tying up loose ends like closing my German Bank account, cleaning my apartment, preparing my luggage and saying goodbye to everyone. There were a few things I didn't do while I was here, like visit a few people I wanted to see while I was in the area but I just ran out of time and the 5 months just flew right by. I did get to meet up with my exchange student from High School who I hadn't seen for 12 years, I got to go to Italy, I went home for Christmas, and I got to explore much of the Allgäu region. That to me means that it was successful, just being here and meeting all of the generous people and exploring would have been enough experience for me.

Delicious but Expensive Hamburger at Helsinki Airport. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

I will met with my Teacher Tutor on Monday February 19th to discuss my progress for school, since I was planning to arrive later into the semester. This was known before I left for exchange because in Finland the School Terms are End of August to Just Before Christmas, then January until Beginning of May and in Germany it goes from Beginning of October to Middle of February, then Middle of March to End of July. However, I only have two courses to take over the course of the term and they start on March 12, so currently I am enjoying my study week at my friends house.

Reminiscing about Venice with these lovely girls from South Korea. Photo Credit: So Young Lee

I will be posting again this week about when I attended a Reindeer Race last week. Stay tuned...

Bye for now...