Tervetuloa takaisin to another blog!
It is now June and the country is starting to open back and I’m officially on summer holidays till August!
Last month was a bit more eventful than just going on walks and trips to the grocery store. *knock on wood* but I feel like my exchange is finally starting to turn around.
At the beginning of the month, my host family took me to the small town of Porvoo. It is the second oldest town in Finland and was so cute! None of the shops were open due to corona but it was still nice to walk around and see the harbour and the colourful buildings.
Porvoo cathedral
After a full day of packing and one extra bag of luggage later, I have moved onto my second host family. I have three host sisters – two older and one younger which means, for the first time I’m not the youngest in the family! I am so thankful to have had no problems with either of my families so far and extremely lucky to get on so well with all of them. Thank you again the the amazing Näkki family for hosting me for the first 4 months of my exchange and for making me feel so welcome in this amazing country! Cheers for putting up with me while we were all stuck in the house because of covid, I could not have asked for a better host family to start off my exchange year with. I am however looking forward to making some new memories with my current family and to experience a Finnish summer with them.
To start of the summer holidays, myself and three other exchange students went to a small island, about an hour off the coast of Helsinki by boat. We ate, went to sauna and swam in the freezing cold water. Even though the water was nine degrees cold it was quite refreshing after coming straight out from the sauna. After 2 months of self isolation it was so nice to see some friends and spend the day out of the house.
At the end of the month it was the graduation day for my oldest host sister as well as all the other seniors graduating this year. Normally, families would throw a big party, however because of the current situation we just had a small gathering at home. (The white cap is the graduating hat that students get once they’ve finished school).
Over the holidays hopefully some more exciting events will happen to share with you but this is all for now.
Hope you enjoyed reading!
Nähdään 🙂
Looks amazing Tina 😉 great place to be in for iso ….keep having lots of fun ! Lotsoflove Jo and Paul xxoo
Hi Tina so nice to hear from you again so glad you were able to still stay and finish off your year away !! So lucky to get such great host families take care and enjoy your adventures lots of love Denise Baz Noah & Daisy xxxx
Hi Tina
Sounds like you are making the most of your time in Finland. Glad you are now able to get out and about a bit more and enjoy some scenery and experiences a bit further afield. Bob Thomas and Gosford Rotary are thrilled when they hear from you!
At the end of this month I am stepping down from my role as a YE Coordinator on the Central Coast and as your contact. I believe Brian and Jan Plain will be your contact points form here on. I have picked up some other roles and after lots of thought decided that after 3 years I would step away from Youth Exchange. It has been a very busy time for all of us as Coordinators. Best wishes for the balance of your time in Finland. xx Christine