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!

The Erkamo Family

I arrived in my 3rd host family on Saturday and everything is going very well! I've posted some photos taken during the past 3 months while living with my second host family, The Erkamo's. Credit to my host mom Tuuli Erkamo for all photos except the first one!

Let's start off with the group family shot, taken last Friday at my goodbye dinner. This is what I know as the 'Erkamo' family, and all members live within walking distance in Mäkelä, Finland.

From left: Heikki Erkamo (host dad), myself, Hannu (Tuuli's step dad), Heikki's father, Heikki's mother, Vilja Erkamo (host sister), Eila (Tuuli's mother), Tuuli Erkamo (host mother), Meri Erkamo (host sister). Photo credit to anonymous waitress!

My goodbye dinner was at a local sports center/country club near Lahti. The sports center is actually an internationally known location and they had a Canadian flag on hand to place on our table during dinner! Tuuli's step-father Hannu seems surprised in this photo, with Heikki's mother on the left.

This photo is from Dec. 6th. Here we are in Sibeliustalo (Sibelius Hall) in Lahti just prior to the Finnish Independence Day Concert by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra.

From left: Vilja Erkamo (host sister. 12), Hannu (step-father of Tuuli), Meri Erkamo (host sister, 14), Heikki Erkamo (host father), myself.

On Dec. 14th, the family celebrated Meri's 14th birthday. Here we are in the Erkamo's kitchen singing "Happy Birthday" or "Paljon Onnea" in Finnish. I'm in the blue shirt! The pink shirts are the outfits my 2 host sisters wear at choir practice, along with their friends.

I entertained the party guests (mostly family) with "Finlandia" as well as a spontaneous performance of Canada's national anthem.

Despite living at the Erkamo's home for only 3 months, I got many chances to spend time with the entire family. Christmas wasn't just one day, it was 3 days of family visits, eating and staying up late together. Often Tuuli, the girls and I would visit Hannu and Eila just for dinner and spending time together. And I have to say that I was sad to leave the family... they all gave me parting gifts and that really touched me! I know I'll be visiting them again, since they only live 20 minutes outside of Lahti.

My third family has been great so far. They live in Lahti but I still ride the bus for 10 minutes to get to the center of town. Because the father works in Oulu and one of my host sister, Henni, goes to school in Oulu (Oulu = Finnish city 8 hours north of Lahti), I'll be spending most of my time with my host mother and younger host sister, Susanne (15). They have 2 dogs and a cat so I've already been busy walking, feeding and cleaning organisms other than myself.

Another update: our Shad Project won the "Innovation Award" of $1000 from the 2009 Queen's Entrepreneurship Cup last Saturday! This project has gone a long way: best overall and best application of scientific principles at the Shad RBC Cup 2007, Innovation Award at QEC 09, and it also netted me a grade 12 science credit and business credit from my school! Anyway, this 'win' has brought back memories of writing the plan with the other Shads from Shad MUN 2007 and it feels great.

That's all for now! Stay tuned, I have a few more pictures, and the "vanhojen tanssit" are coming up Feb. 12/13th (those are the 'old dances' where I'll be dancing old fashioned dances with a partner with all the other students in my school and in Lahti!)
Expect some fantastic shots from that event!