A Night of Dancing

Welcome back to my blog about Finland! As you can tell, I have a hard time remembering to write anything here, so I have a lot to catch you up on. Even though I honestly do not remember where I left off at... Oh well!

Kauhava and the Glamorous Gaala

Recently (meaning about a month ago) I was able to go back to the lovely town of Kauhava and participate in their school Gaala. A Gaala is like prom in that you go with a partner and dance, but that is where the similarities stop. To participate you must learn multiple dances, buy a gorgeous ball gown, and attain a partner. Lucky for me, I was invited by my good friend Kalle to be his "avec", which is the equivalent of his date, to this dance. Because Kalle is 18 and this dance was for the 2nd year 17 year olds, all of the 18 year old 3rd year students were treated as honored guests to watch the main dancing performance, and then take part in the free Waltzing at the end. I dresses up in a pretty dark green dress, and had to quickly learn how to dance. The whole night was lovely, I spent it dancing with my friends and Kalle. After the main Gaala event everyone went home to change into more comfortable clothing and headed to the "after party". Here we hung out with friends and danced to pop music. The entire night was fantastic, and it is another amazing memory I will have of Finland.

From Right to Left: Kalle, myself, and Tuomas. 

Taken after the glamorous night. 

From Right to Left: Elina, Tanja, and myself.

Two of my favorite people! They were a big part of why the night was so much fun, I am so lucky to have met them this year.

My beautiful Italian girl Angela! She is one of my closest friends, it was wonderful to share the night with her.

A Postcard from Lohitie

All of these blog posts could be called "A little catching up to do..."

But hello there! Welcome back to the saga of my year here in Finland! Im pretty sure I left you guys with the stories about my wonderful stay in Kauhava... Dang, I really do suck at blogging, much has happened since then! I'll just dive in then...

Second Host Family
When I got off the train from Kauhava, I got in the car with my first host mom and went over the events of my lovely week, then, at the end of my stories she said that she had some bad news. Naturally, I had a mini heart-attack, thinking that I must have unknowingly broken some rule and that my butt would be on a plane back to Alaska sooner than originally planned. She went on to tell me that the house had a bad water leak, and that there was a good chance that I would have to change host families a month earlier than planned. This calmed my dreadful musings about an early return, but new worries about packing and leaving this wonderful family set in. I knew my second family, and was comfortable with them, but moving after only two months? That made me nervous.
I had about a week to pack my things (meaning I waited until 3 hours before leaving), and when the day came, Annica and Fred helped me get my luggage upstairs and out the door, and together we walked down the street to my new home. It was about a 5 minute walk, and when I reached the house my new host brother was there to help me get my MASSIVE suitcase up the sea foam green spiral staircase to my new room. I gave my wonderful family a final hug, and then the door shut, opening a new chapter in my Finnish life.
Skipping ahead in the story, I have now been in this house for about 3 weeks, and I am completely happy and comfortable! I get along with my host mother and brother, and I think that they like me too! Or at least I hope so haha :)

Random, but good, memories I haven't yet written down.

One day, a few weeks ago, my good friend Tuomas from Kauhava came to Helsinki, so I went to meet him for coffee. We ended up sightseeing around Helsinki and then meeting up with other friends that were in town. This group was very diverse, and the conversations we had that night left me laughing for hours afterward. Our coffee group included Angela from Italy, Dylan and Rae from Canada, Tuomas, Sara, and Hanna from Finland, and myself. We stayed out talking until about 8 pm, and then all went our separate ways. This is a classic example of the get togethers that normally occur, coffee, taking, and lots of laughter.

Rotex, the ex-exchange students, threw a Halloween party for all of the students in the 1420 district. I went with a huge group of people from the Helsinki area, dressed as a witch. My good friend Rae and i scrambled to find costumes that same day, so she went as Waldo, and I found a black dress and a witches hat and called it good. We had lots of food and talked and laughed, some people went to the jacuzzi and sauna, and over all we had a really nice time!

I think this is a long enough post, I will write more when my big plans for the future are in action! But before I go...

GO OBAMA!

A Little Catching Up To Do...

Well hello again everyone! I am SO sorry for my lack of writing, life was busy for a while there, but now I am back here in my normal Espoo routine. I will fill you in about how Finland has been starting with my trip to Sweden and moving on until now!

Sweden

This was an amazing trip! My host family, the Isacsson's, took me along with them to Stockholm, Sweden for a three day weekend to celebrate the 80th birthday of Annica's mother! We were able to walk around the beautiful city and see many different parts of the intricate culture of Stockholm. One night we went to this extremely glamorous restaurant named Fem Sma Hus. It was like a fairy tale night spent eating amazing food with beautiful people, then walking back through lamp lit European streets surrounded with many different languages. I can't say enough how thankful I am to have been able to go on that trip!

Fun. Concert

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!
I screamed that phrase/sound/noise all night out of pure joy when I went to the Fun. concert! It was AMAZING! I still can't believe that I come to Finland, and my favorite band comes along with me! It was another night out of one of my dreams. The performance was stellar, and I got to experience it with one of my good friends, Noah, from Illinois! We both had a great time dancing and singing along with every song that was played!

Kauhava

This is arguably one of the best weeks I have had while here in Finland. A good friend of mine named Ilkka, who last year spent a year on exchange in Juneau, Alaska, was kind enough to invite me to spend a week with him and his family at their house in Kauhava, Finland. Naturally I said yes because not only was this a chance to see a good friend again, but it would also mean taking a train to go and see more the the country I am spending a year in! Over the week I got to attend school with Ilkka, and while at school I made friends with some of the most amazing people I have met in my entire life. People were so welcoming and kind that it felt like I was right at home in this completely new setting. We went to a hockey game, to a small get together of friends, Ilkka and his brother drove me all around the area, and I also got to join in on normal routines like going to the local coffee shop with friends, and having family dinners at home. This small town of 8,000 people, in the middle of the flat lands of Finland, provided me with such an amazing time that I came back to Espoo completely ready to face any challenges that will arise.

 These are two exchange students that are staying in Kauhava, Matteo from Germany and Angela from Italy! I am so glad that I got to meet them! 

Ilkka and myself after going to school one of the days I was in town.

Pictures from the Past

Wow, this brings us back to the very beginning of it all. This picture was taken at Winter Orientation in January when I was just told that I would be going on exchange to Finland. The boy in the blue blazer is named Ilkka, he was at the time on exchange in Juneau, Alaska. The other boy is named Kaden, and he had just gotten back from his exchange year in Finland. They both walked up on to the stage, Ilkka carrying the flag of his home country, and Kaden holding the envelope decorated as a Finnish flag. They gave out a short introduction in Finnish, then both with a smile on their faces said in unison, 

"Welcome to Finland Katie Cadigan." 

Here we have pictures from the night I left Fairbanks behind. This was both the most wonderful, and most terrible night of my life. I know I already posted a bit about this night, so I'll only give a short run down of what happened. My Dad and my younger brother Sean drove me to the airport at about 11:30 at night where we were met by my wonderful friends Kelly, Claire, Torie, Spencer, Deenaalee, and Harry. We had very tearful goodbyes, and eventually it was down to just Sean, Dad, and I, sitting on the bench shown in the picture. I was crying, and honestly having a panic attack, but somehow I managed to stand up, say goodbye to the two people closest to me in the world, and board my plane. 

Now we have me, in Finland, at the very beginning of my journey.

Pala Kaiken

Moi!

I think I am losing my touch at fabricating a set thesis for these posts, because I have so many little things that I want to share, and most of them have no connection to each other at all! Bare with me please. :)

Sweden

T-2 days until I head off to Sweden with my host family! I am SO excited! The reason behind this trip is that my host Grandmother just turned 80 years old! The entire family (and its a big family) is going to meet in Stockholm for 2 days of celebrating, then when they leave on Sunday, Annica, Fred, Nora, and myself are staying through Monday to do some shopping and sight seeing! I am literally bouncing up and down in my seat with excitement right now!

Fun.

For a long time I have had a favorite band named Fun., and wouldn't you know it, as if my exchange wasn't amazing already, guess who is coming to have a concert in Helsinki? Fun.! I bought my tickets yesterday! Other exchange students from across Finland are coming to see the concert as well, so we will all meet up and have a nice reunion while we watch Fun. preform!

Suomen Kurssi

I started my Finnish language courses on Tuesday, so now every Tuesday and Thursday I will be going to a class at 7 p.m. to learn how to finally puhu suomea! En ole kovin hyvä.

Thats about all I can think of right now, but I will write again soon, and put up more pictures!

Life 2.0

These are two of my closest friends here on exchange, Dylan, Sara, and Vivian, who took this picture. This is the magnificent Lutheran Cathedral in the heart of Helsinki.

This beautiful view of the Baltic Sea is only a 10 minute walk from my house. Every time I walk by the view takes my breath away! 

Myself with my host father and host sister at the Central Market Place right on the Baltic Sea in Helsinki. I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful host family!

Things I Have Come to Know

Moi!

We have officially come to the one month in Finland mark! It was a whirl wind of activity and new experiences, and now things are finally starting to fall into a rhythm. Through this rhythm, there are a few things that I have come to notice about Finland, and my everyday life, that seem quite normal now, but a year ago would have baffled me had someone told me that these were in my future. These are the things that I have come to know:

1) Silence is fun! No really, I have come to enjoy the quiet atmosphere that you can find throughout this country. This sounds quiet, and you may now have an image of stone-faced Finns walking through the streets of Helsinki not saying a word. That isn't the case at all, its just that when you compare where I come from to where I am now, its like the volume level has been turned down about five notches. People here believe that if you are going to speak, you should have something to say. This means also that what a Finn says is the truth, and each word holds a new weight that I hadn't before felt in the US.  Because of this I have found that I have much more time with my own thoughts, and I have a better chance to observe and "people-watch", as well as learn much from the people that do speak with me.

2) Finland is like a small town, it seems that everyone knows everyone else. A very good example of this is when I told my host mother Annica that I wanted to join a yoga class. She smiled and said that "Oh yes, I have a friend named Monica who teaches a yoga class, let me give her a call and see if she can fit you in." Less than an hour later she comes to me stating that I was signed up and ready for a few weekend courses at a local studio, and that Monica would even teach in English for me so that I wouldn't get lost in the folds of the Swedish language. It was extremely kind of Annica to use her connections to help me out, and it also gives a good perspective on the community aspect of this countries culture.

3) Food. Ohhhhhh the food. I had no idea what I would be eating when I came to this country. I had heard horror stories about "blood-cake" and blood this, and blood that, so naturally I began to wonder if the people in Finland were really all vampires... No not really, but these rumors made me nervous about what types of foods  I would eat. Today I am happy to report that the food is good! The main staple foods that are included in most every meal are potatoes (peruna), tomatoes (tomaatii), cucumber (kurkku), fish (kala), bread (leipa), and butter (voi). There is an extreme emphasis on the bread and butter, daily I have at LEAST four pieces of bread with butter. And thats considered a low number. I quite enjoy everything we eat!

4) Public transportation has become one of my dearest, and most trusted friends. I say most trusted because when everything else in my life is a little bit crazy, I can always count on the bus I need to take to be there at the exact time that it is scheduled to. On a normal day I usually only use the bus to get where I need to go, but occasionally I need a train or a metro to get me to my destination. Each of these forms of people movers are very convenient, and I enjoy the freedom they give me.

There are defiantly more to add to this list, but its quite late, and I am terribly sick, so I should probably get to sleep. I'll start posting picture of my trip for those of you who haven't seen them on Facebook!

Hyvää yötä!

'It's a Process"

Moi :)
We are almost at the 1 month point! Can you believe that so much time has passed? I remember when I was counting down from 200 days! Each day here is a new adventure and challenge.
Last post was about Karkku, so now I think it is time to write about how I have been settling in, and what Espoo is all about!

My normal day consists of waking up to go to school, sitting in class trying to understand pieces of the finnish words being thrown out across that classroom, catching enough to understand where the conversation is going, but not enough to actually engage in the discussion. After class, I shuffle into the massive fray of students milling around an over crowed hallway, trying push my way towards either my next class, or more often the front door. My schedule is very loose, and not many of my classes are back to back, so I sometimes have enough time to slip out of school and get some fresh air. My classes are English 1.1, English 1.2, English 10.1, "Free-Form" Gym, and lastly Music. In each of my English classes I either help teach or sit by myself and work through my Finnish Language Lesson Books. Its a slow going task, but its helped me with the language a little bit. "Free-Form" Gym class is given such a title because the students choose what will happen in each class. An example can be found in this Fridays class, we partnered up and gave each other back massages. My good friend Sara (on exchange from Belgium) is in my class, so it may actually be an enjoyable class. Lastly there is Music. I can't understand a thing in that class, but weirdly enough the actual music that they play is usually Pop, and half the time its in English, so I can sing along with out the aid of a book, which is one small victory for the clueless girl from Alaska.
Now, a word about the people in my school before I go on. They are all clones of one another. People may tell me there name, but half the time none of them have enough variation between each other for me to keep track of who is who. So I gave up, and if on the rare occasion someone says hi (which so far has been once) I grin and use every tactic I know to avoid saying their name.
Once school is out, myself and the other two exchange students in my school, Sara from Belgium and Alex from New Zealand, usually go back to either mine or Sara's house to hang out. Making friends that are Finnish at out school has turned out to be a very difficult task indeed, so its a miracle that we have each other to spend time with. Sometimes we go to meet other exchangers in Helsinki or Tapiola, other times we turn on MTV's music station (they actually have an MTV station here that only plays music!) and dance around the kitchen as a way to shake off the school day. As Sara put it, we are the Haukilahti Exchange Trio. Maybe school won't be so bad now that they are here to brighten my day!

Living in a big city, with a new language, with new people, has shocked me into the realization that I am not in Fairbanks anymore. Ive heard some of the first day stories form my school back home, and seen how people are slowly moving on and forward into another monotonous year at West Valley High School. Some days I wish I was back there, not having to fear that I won't make friends here, or that I won't learn the language, or that when I get on a bus that I will get off at the wrong stop and I won't be able to read the signs that point the way home. But the moment that thought pops into my mind I realize that the safety of Fairbanks, Alaska is exactly what I was trying to escape. I need to see the rest of the world, and learn about the different pieces that make up one massive world community that I hope to join through going on this exchange. I am so thankful that I have been given this experience, and I wouldn't change any part of it for the world.


"If you are brave enough to leave behind everything that is comforting, which could be anything; your house to bitter old resentments, and set out on a truth seeking journey, either externally, or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be with held from you. I can't help but believe it, given my experience." -- Eat Pray Love

Timezones and Umlauts

Hei!
I'll get back to my epic journey, but first I will tell you about today! Dylan (another exchange student in Finland, from Canada) and I went for another one of our long explorations through Helsinki today. We walked around the massive Cathedral near the heart of the city, went to an open market by the Baltic Sea and ate cheap Thai food, got lost on side streets and back roads until we found a park where I ate ice cream and he had a strange Finnish soda, and then we made it back to the regal looking train station and parted ways. I am honestly in love with the life this country has provided for me.
SO, last time we spoke I got to Karkku! I won't go into much detail here, because most days were the same, so here are the basics: On a normal day we would all wake up around 7:30 and have a breakfast of either bread, cucumber, tomato, and butter, or porridge with jam (I chose the bread option). We would proceed to the morning briefing, the head to Finnish lessons. Finnish lessons would last about 5 hours (we would have lunch in there somewhere) then we would go to a lecture about various Finnish things (school, food, lifestyle) then enjoy about an hour of free time before dinner. After dinner was the time for going to the sauna, then swimming in the lake. I LOVED this part of the day! On the only not typical day of the week we went to Tampere and went on a bus tour, then had time to shop and see the city a bit. The bus tour took us through the historical parts of the city, and to an amazingly beautiful church. I went shopping with a friend named Lauren after, and we had lunch in a cute little café and listened to people speak Finnish while dreaming of a time when we would understand them.
Now, all of this sounds great, but there was one part of this week that almost wrecked everything... Jet Lag. Finland is 11 hours different than Alaska, and I felt every single one of those hours each and every minute I was awake. I looked like a zombie, even with the makeup I put on to try and liven up my miserable pallor. Somehow I fought through it, and after a week and a half I fully converted to Finnish time!
This was my time at Karkku, and I enjoyed every second of it! It was the perfect way to begin my life here in Suomi.

Getting There

Moi!
First, I tan better in Finland that I do in Alaska. That really isn't relevant to anything else I plan to write in this entry, but I've been going on 5 kilometer runs each day by the Baltic Sea, and Im darker than I have ever been!
Alright, I left my story when I was getting on the plane. Well that plane ride was miserable. First, I was crying my eyes out, I mean like heaving sobs that freaked out everyone near me, but at the time I didn't care. Second, I was at the very back of the plane, and the lady sitting near me had a crying baby that was intent on not letting anyone sleep. Third, I was so extremely tired that all I could focus on was the fact that I just walked away from the life I had built up for 16 years! So naturally, I put my head against the window and passed out.
I woke up When the plane touched down, and even though I was still homesick, my mentality was much better. When I was off the plane, I had to figure out how to kill six hours, so naturally I rode the train thing that takes you from the N Gates to the rest of the airport back and forth until it got boring (which took a while, the train is entertaining). When it came near the time to get on the next plane to Denver, I finally met up with other Rotary Exchange students (Johannes from Seattle and Tianna from B.C. Canada) and together we got on the plane.
Denver was an easy stop, we met up with more exchangers, the flight to Frankfurt was less than comfortable, but obviously I made it alive. I slept through most of my 8 hour layover in Frankfurt... But I do remember that its a very dark airport, and I don't like it very much. Look at me, acting like a snobby world traveler! I love it.
A large group of us arrived in Helsinki at around 23:30, and from there we went to the Karkku Language Camp. And I think that is where I will leave you today!

Leaving Behind Normal

Hey guys,
Wow, I really have forgotten to write haven't I? Well I will catch this blog up to the current time. Presently I'm on a light pink couch in Finland, my wonderful host mother is making herself tea in the kitchen, and downstairs there is probably a bunny terrorizing my new room. But how did I get here? That really is a story.
On August 4th, 2012, I zipped my life into a suitcase and said goodbye to normal. Dad and Sean (brother) took me to the airport at 11 o'clock at night. When I got there, I was met by some of the best people in the world who came to see me off. Claire, Kelly, Torie, Spencer, Deenaalee, and Harry all came with smiles and tears to wish me well on during the best year of my life. I am terrible at saying goodbye, so seeing them all leave one by one made the reality of my departure extremely clear. After tearful hugs and final good wishes they did leave, which left me alone with the two best people in my life. Sean and Dad sat with me while I cried and they just talked with me. It came to the point while we were sitting there that I did not want to leave Fairbanks. I was so scared that I felt sick, and I finally realized that I was going away for an entire year. Never before in my life had I even been that terrified to do anything. But, while this was my weakest moment, it was also my strongest. I got up off the bench and hugged my brother and father one last time, then got on the escalator and didn't look back.

More later,
Katie

The L.A. Ordeal

Hello again!
     So, some of you may know, but I recently had to take a trip to L.A. to submit my application to gain a Finnish Residence Permit. That sounds exciting right? I thought so too when I first got on the plane to go, but the whole thing kinda went downhill from there. First, Im not very good with flying (good thing I get too spend like 2 days getting on and off airplanes to get to Finland huh?), so I was already feeling slightly sick when I got in at 6 am. Luckily, my Aunt from San Marcos was there so I spent a few hours with her and my younger cousin catching up and doing some shopping. This seemed to dull down my nausea, so my excitement for the trip was back for the time being. After saying goodbye to my Aunt and cousin I met up with a group of seven other Exchangers going to Finland as well, and we were shuttled to the Finnish Consulate (or a small room in a big ol' bank). Once we arrived, we went through the process of having our paperwork checked and having our fingerprints scanned for our permits. We all had a good time getting to know one another and discussing our future exchanges.
     When the "interviews" were complete we got back on the shuttle bus and headed back to the airport. This is where things get ugly. Remember how I wasn't feeling well before? Well that feeling came back ten fold in the form of car sickness. So when we reached the airport, the airlines caught wind that I wasn't feeling well, and before they knew that it was only car sickness, they put me on a no-fly list. Yep, I got kicked off my flight. So there I was, stranded, freaked out, and kinda pissed off that I had no way of getting home and no where to stay over night. My travel agent Mele stayed with me, and we eventually came up with the plan that I would call my Aunt and ask her if she would drive back to L.A. (a two hour trip on the freeway) and pick me up so I could stay with her. Aunt Jane being the Saint she is instantly got in her car and came to get me.
     While she was driving I set it up with the airline that I would stay in California until the following Thursday (7 days) and then fly back home to Fairbanks. So this dramatic event ended up becoming a fantastic California vacation with my family that I haven't seen for two or three years! And on top of it all I got my Finnish Residence Permit, which was the last document I needed to get me into Finland. In the end it all worked out for the best!

 “Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect.” 

                                                                                                            ― Margaret Mitchell

Welcome! Tervetuloa!

     Hey guys! Welcome to my blog about the year I will spend in Finland. At this point I am still in Alaska, so I will start this thing off by introducing myself. My name is Katie Cadigan, Im sixteen years old and live in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fairbanks is a land locked town in the interior of Alaska. It boasts around 35,000 people, and is the second largest city in the state. Life in the 'Banks is simple, go to school, participate in sports or school activities, spend time outdoors, hang out with your friends. Its a slow and predictable routine that I have been following for six or seven years now, dreaming of the day I would get the chance to break out and see the rest of the world. Little did I know, that day was much closer than I thought.
     Just about eight months ago, while sitting in my second year Spanish class at West Valley High School, I listened to a presentation about Rotary's Youth Exchange Program. The presentation was given by some friends of mine named Kate and Robin, and I had heard about their experiences abroad, but never really gave the idea of leaving home for a year any thought. That is, until that day, on a whim I took a flier home to my dad and asked him if we could go to an informational meeting just of the heck of it. I'm not actually sure where I would be today if he had said no, and we hadn't gone to that very first meeting... All I know is that it life would not be the same if we hadn't gone. After filling out the paper work and going through the interview, I got the much anticipated phone call that said I was accepted as a Rotary Exchange Student, and thus began my journey. 
     It felt like years waiting to find out which country I would be going to. Luckily, I had three great friends in Fairbanks that were in the same boat as me; Cigne Torres, Annie Ruth, and Andrew Maxwell. We were scheduled to find out our country assignments at Winter Orientation down in Girdwood, Alaska at the Alyeska Ski Resort. As we boarded the plane, each of us knew anything could happen, and anything that did happen would be amazing. The first part of the weekend was spent getting to know the other Outbounds (people like me who are going on exchange this coming year), Inbounds (the people from around the world on exchange in Alaska), and Rebounds (the people from Alaska that just got back from their exchange). We also got the chance to learn about the different countries that we could possibly be placed in, and other general information about Youth Exchange itself. All of this led up to the main event though, the Country Assignment Banquet. 
     The night of the Banquet, I got all dressed up and made my way down to the large room where it was being held. Everyone present at Winter Orientation was there, you could feel the anticipation coming off the other Outbounds, I myself couldn't sit still! We listened to different speakers, and had dinner, but to be truthful I didn't hear most of it, I was too preoccupied imagining being placed in each of the different countries. I did check back into the proceedings when the Inbounds and Rebounds came walking into the room with the flags of their different countries, and envelopes containing the names of the new Outbound going to each of the countries walking through that door. As I listened to my new friends names being called out, and saw pictures being taken of them, I counted down the number of countries left for me to be placed in. Finally, two boys walked up on the stage, one named Kaden and the other named Ilkka, with them they carried a Finnish flag and an envelope. Kaden opened up the envelope and gave a quick introduction in Finnish, but what he said after that was the beginning of something wonderful. In unison, Ilkka and Kaden read off, "Welcome to Finland, Katie Cadigan." 

     Today I find myself at the two month mark. I am in contact with my first host family, and have three others lined up for me. My town is called Espoo, it is 15 minutes by bus outside of Helsinki (the capital), and my school is named Haukilahden Lukio. My Visa paperwork is all taken care of, and I took my trip to L.A. for my Residence Permit (a story for a different post). Now begins the game of hurry up and wait, and I have a feeling these two months will go by very slowly. But hey, every day is one step closer to my new life in Finland.