Pictures from Lahti and The Penttilä's

Hello again!

I am settling in nicely here in my new host family: The Erkamo's. I have 2 sisters here, Vilja who is 12 and Meri, who is 14. We live in Mäkelä, a community of about 800 people situated 10 minutes north of the Lahti city center. The area is very natural, with plenty of trees, lakes and wildlife.

Here I am posting some older pictures. I took the first two on Sept. 27th when I went to a military showcase event in Lahti with my German exchange friend, Elli.

The sign above my head is the Lahti city emblem.



Here is my own picture of the renowned ski jumps visible from almost anywhere in Lahti. They are important symbols in Lahti and many international ski events are held here every year.



Now I have some pictures from my first host family's home to show you! Below is my bedroom. It wasn't very big, and I took this picture standing in the doorway. The beds in Finland seem to be much smaller than at home... the one in my new family is the same size as this one. Luckily they are long enough for me!



Here is a shot of the main room in the house, functioning as kitchen, dining room and living room. It's very open concept, with a high ceiling and loft. You can also see their dog, Iris, who is quite small! The kids in the pictures are the 5 Penttilä children. From left: Marjo, Sari, Outi, Anni and Simo.



A shot of my host mom, Riitta in the kitchen from the opposite side of the room.



I took this one standing on the stairs leading up to the loft. Here you can see the keyboard in the corner I have practiced on during my stay here.



This one is taken from the loft, looking down to kitchen where Riitta, Anni (16) and Iris are!



Simo is always playing something on the computer located below Hannu and Riitta's loft bedroom, which is above my head in this picture. This room is a newer addition to the house, and is located at the opposite end from my bedroom.



Well that's all for now! I will take some pictures here in my new host family and post them soon. I'm doing fine, still unpacking and getting organized here. Luckily I have no school all week! On Friday we head out for a weekend in Stockholm. It's about a 14 hour boat ride overnight both ways, Friday night and Sunday morning. :P Expect some pictures from that trip as well!