From Lapland... Again!

I´m writing this post from my family´s cabin in Levi! Levi is the town/ski resort where we are taking our winter vacation, along with thousands of other Finns as well as many Russians and Swedes. We drove here on Friday and Saturday, taking about 12 hours, and we will drive home this Friday and Saturday.

Levi is a small town but is a huge tourist attraction. The downhill skiing here is likely the best in Finland, and there are world-level skiing events held here all the time. On the map below, Levi is just left of center. Last time I was in Lapland, with Rotary in November, I was in Muonio, only 60 km northwest from Levi. Also, both of my current host parents are from Kittilä, south of Levi. We have visited many grandparents and relatives there already.



As I said, we are living in a cabin for the week, like almost every other tourist here. There are extensive cabin neighbourhoods scattered around the mountain of Levi. Well, it´s not really a mountain... in Finnish it is called tunturi and it´s basically a small mountain with very few or no trees on the top. These tunturis make up the landscape of Lapland, the Finnish arctic.

There are two other exchange students in Levi for the week as well, Juan from Mexico and Kathleen from America. I have spent time with them as well as my host family. We have been spending our time downhill skiing, cross country skiing, visiting family and watching movies in the cabin at night. We also have our two dogs and cat with us, so it is a little crowded.

I already have some fantastic photos, but they will have to wait until we get home since I don´t have my laptop or card reader with me! So check again on Sunday to see some amazing Lapland photos!

Finlandia

Here it is everyone! My performance of Sibelius' "Finlandia" on December 5th, 2008. This was played at second of two "Independence Day Assemblies" which took place in the school gym. Because this was the second assembly, I performed for all of the older students as well as the administrative staff and principal. I also played two more numbers on drums with a band but I will post those ones later.



Overall I was pleased with this performance. The mistakes are not too noticeable, although I remember my performance in the first assembly going a little better. Now I am looking forward to playing this at the Grand Rapids conference talent show taking place in Michigan, USA in July... although I'll have to practice quite a bit to get it back up to snuff. It's no help that my current host family doesn't have a piano in the house.

Stay tuned for pictures from my upcoming trip to Lapland! That's right, next week is winter break (no school) and I'm returning to the Arctic for a full week of frost with my family. We're going to Levi, a popular destination for downhill and cross-country skiing for both tourists and professional athletes. We'll be renting a cottage, and both of my host sisters are bringing one friend each. So, that will be 7 people, 2 dogs and a cat in a small cottage for a week in the arctic... the ideal Finnish vacation.

Vanhat Tanssit

I just had one of my greatest experiences in Finland yet! On Thursday and Friday were the "old dances" or "Vanhat Tanssit" in Finnish. This is something that happens everywhere across Finland. I'll try to explain this clearly because it's really very cool!

Since December, all of the students in second year lukio (high school) have been learning traditional dances together after school. The second year students (like me) are one year younger than the graduating third year students. These students, called "Abi's" celebrated their graduation this past week. On Wednesday, they all dress up according to that year's theme and are allowed to 'make fun' of the younger students in the school. This includes drawing on faces with lipstick, demanding students to serve them food, making them sing songs or words of praise. If the younger students obey, the abi's give them candy.

Now, on Friday, the second year students (me) get to do the same thing to the younger students, since we are now the oldest in the school. I went around drawing "Kanada" on the foreheads of little students with red lipstick :)

The actual dances were on Thursday and Friday. Thursday night was a dance for the parents/families at the school. Here are 3 pictures from Thursday night. First is me and my dance partner, Tiina Lehti, who was a Rotary Exchange student to Brazil last year.

Here is a great shot of some of my good Finnish friends: (from left), me, Juha Leppänen, Simo Loikanen, and Jaakko Alanen.

This was taken during the second dance. There were 9 dances, including waltzes, a rag and a walk.

On Friday morning, we 'made-fun' of the younger kids and then danced for them at the school. After that, all of the dancers enjoyed a fine lunch at school together before heading to the "Suurhalli" or "large hall" in Lahti where all of Lahti's high schools dance together. The Suurhalli is huge, and there were so many people watching!

Here is a decent shot of our section of the Suurhalli. There were thousands of people in the stadium! I am actually in this picture at the left of center, facing left. This is also during the second dance.

One more from the Suurhalli, I am dancing with the girl in the gold dress, 2nd from the right. (Tiina had to leave after the second dance to go on the "abi cruise" where all the abi's go on a cruise to Stockholm, Sweden!)

After the Suurhalli dances, about 27 of us went to a nice restaurant for dinner. There were also a few 'free' dances after each dance session so I got the chance to ask some girls to dance :) although they are mainly for parents to dance with their kids.

These days were very special to me. It seemed like, for the first time, I had something in common with all the Finns, especially when dancing in the Suurhalli, with all the lukio students from Lahti. There was a great sense of achievement, since we learned all these dances over 2 and a half months, and there was also a great sense of community. We were the second-year students, the dancers. Everyone was focused on us for these dances, we were in the spotlight all together. I strengthened old relationships and made some new ones. And I feel more like a Finn than ever!

I'm speaking Finnish more and more all the time, I can say almost anything I want, albeit in a drawn-out manner sometimes. I can understand others better and better all the time. Things are good, and Canada feels so far away...

Stay tuned, I'll be posting some footage from the dances once I receive my Vanhat Tanssit DVD! I also have my video performance of "Finlandia" at my school's Independence Day assembly ready to post in the next few days!

Rally With Olli

Last Saturday my host father, Olli, and I went to a town called Mäkelä, about half an hour from Lahti. There we volunteered at a race-car rally taking place in the country side. It was a long day, from 8:30 - 3:30 but it was a great experience for me - the Finns love racing! Olli is a big racing fan.

Olli and I were among many other volunteers who are present at the rally to maintain the safety of the spectators... mostly the drunk ones. Although there were police cars scattered around the area, as well as firemen, there were no incidents in our area and we ended up just watching the rally for 7 hours.

There were no high-profile drivers and the cars travelled a little slow on the dirty, snowy road, but I couldn't believe how many Finns, mostly men and some families, came out to the middle of nowhere to watch this event!

Here's a great photo of Olli and me at the rally:

You can see how many people were just in our area. The track stretched for kilometres, and there were 241 cars in the rally, each starting one minute after the last (which is why it took so long!)

Most cars looked similar to this one: small, light and not exactly new.

Despite the cold and constant car noise, it was a great day. I got to spend time with Olli and watch an event that rarely, if ever, happens in Canada. I also ate lots of sausage, which were offered to the volunteers after the rally. I think I ate 5! Sausage is a traditional Finnish food.

Next: Thursday and Friday are the "vanhojen tanssit" or "old dances" days, when I'll be dancing traditional Finnish dances in full formal attire with my partner, Tiina Lehti. Check on the weekend for a sure-to-be great post!

Many More Pictures from The Erkamo's

Here are 4 more photos from my time with my second host family, the Erkamos. These were taken on my last day in their family (Jan. 24th).

My bedroom on the second floor. Many Finnish homes have similar upper floors, with slanted ceilings. At least all 3 of my host families so far have houses built in this style.

A closeup of my bed. Most beds in Finland are small and narrow like this one and the one in my first host family. Here in my third family I am sleeping on two small beds pushed together.

Here my host dad Heikki Erkamo is getting into the driver's seat after loading my suitcases into the car. My host mom Tuuli is on the other side and my host sister Meri is waiting in the car. We were going to Messilä, a skiing center nearby Lahti to meet some other Rotarians from my host club.

This is the view from the front porch of the Erkamo's house. In the summer, this area is where Tuuli gardens.

This one is from my goodbye dinner on Jan. 23rd: me, Tuuli and Meri.

Now here's a few from Christmas time that I haven't posted. First, we have Vilja (left), Meri and me in front of the Christmas tree.

Tuuli and me at one of the family's many Christmas dinners.

Here I am rather stealthily taking some Christmas food.

Heikki and I wait to open Christmas gifts. This was at Tuuli's parents house on boxing day.

And of course, I play Christmas music for everyone!

My time with this family was really great!

As for an update, I'm all moved into my third family now and things are going very well. They have 2 dogs and a cat so I'm learning more about animal care. In school, my 4th semester starts tomorrow and I'm taking Physics, Gym, Music, Math, Civics and Finnish - yes, I'm going to give "mother tongue" a shot (Finnish in Finnish = äidinkieli = mother tongue). Also, the 'vanhojen tanssit' or 'old dances' are on Feb. 12/13th and I'm really looking forward to those! Be sure to check my blog around Valentine's day for some sure-to-be great pictures!