Heinäkuu – July

Moi!

I am officially well and truly more than half way through my exchange and it’s insane to think that this time last year I was told I was going to Finland. I remember how unsure I was about everything and if I even wanted to go on exchange. Looking back on it all, I am so thankful that I decided to come as I could not imagine what life would be like if I hadn’t taken this amazing opportunity. Thanks to everyone who made it possible for me to be here as I really am having the best year of my life (despite the whole Covid-19 situation).

Last month was quite exciting as I got to go to Estonia with my host family. It is such a beautiful country and although it is just 90 km away from Finland it has such a different feel and look to it. The ‘Old City’ of Tallin is one of the most picturesque places I have ever been. All the buildings are just so colourful and have such a historic charm to them, it’s hard not to take photos everywhere you look.

Because we took the car over as well, we were able to make a small day trip and visit places along the coast. I don’t really remember the names of where we went but I do know that they were very beautiful and cute.

We also visited the Sokos hotel which was the only place tourists were allowed to stay in Estonia during the time of the Soviet Union. It was really interesting to learn about the history of the country and to hear the stories about how they would hide cameras and microphones around the hotel (even in the toilets) to spy on foreigners and to collect their data.

Overall it was such an amazing trip and I’m so thankful to my host family for taking me there (I am also the first out of my family to go there so I’m pretty stoked about that.)

I posted a short YouTube video about it if you would like to watch it by clicking the link: https://youtu.be/fwhzukM6BT4

(FYI: Covid-19 cases in Finland and Estonia are pretty under control so it was safe to travel. Please keep on being safe by washing your hands and keeping distance from others.)

As well as going to another country, I was also able to see more of Finland. My host family took me to Turku which is one of the largest cities in Finland, located on the west coast. We visited the old castle which is actually a lot bigger than what it looks, and walked along the river. On the way back we stopped at Tammisaari which is a small, Swedish speaking coastal town, as well as the village of Fiskars, which is where the big company ‘Fiskars’ (mainly known for their very good scissors) is from.

One weekend I also went island hopping off the coast of Helsinki with my host family. We went to Vallisaari, Lonna and Suomenlinna. Suomenlinna is an 18th century sea fortress which was used as a military base during the wars throughout Finland’s history. The weather was so nice and it was really interesting to learn more about the country’s history.

A few weeks ago I went to Linnanmäki which is a theme park in Helsinki. I went with my oldest host sister Sanni and my youngest host sister Iina and her friend. It was quite daunting seeing all the big rides but after going on almost all of them I think I have found my new love for roller coasters even if it means losing my stomach.

To ‘Finnish’ (no pun intended haha) off the month my host family and I went to the summer cottage. While we were there we went on a walk at a place called Helvettiin which translates to ‘hell’. Despite the not so nice name, it was really beautiful and so nice to be out in the nature. Right now it is also blueberry season and there are bushes absolutely everywhere. One of the best things about this is that when you are on a walk in the forest, you can just pick some along the way and eat as many as you want!

We also visited a place called Kyläkauppa which is pretty much a big shopping centre that sells almost everything and is located in the middle of nowhere. During the summer, the owner of it opens up a fair for the public which we went to after shopping and met up with some family friends. It was super random but also really fun.

Here are some more photos from the cottage of my blueberry pie and out trips out on the lake.

The summer holidays are sadly coming to an end but I’m trying to make the most it by catching up with friends before school starts back next week (13th August). The government still hasn’t said anything about whether or not it will be online or in person but I guess we’ll just wait and see. There is a bit of talk about a second wave hitting Finland but fingers crossed it won’t happen and school will start back like normal because it would be nice to see more friends and have a normal sleep schedule again.

P.S BLACK LIVES STILL MATTER. Here’s some links to some useful resources to use your privilege educate yourself on the issue and some petitions that you should sign. And if you can, there are also links you can donate to.

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#petitions

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-22/how-to-engage-with-indigenous-content-black-lives-matter/12373408

https://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/australian-black-lives-matter/12344388

Yemen is also experiencing the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. 80 percent of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance, with half of that percentage being children. Here is a link for you to read up on it and even donate if you can as this is not a small issue:

https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/yemen-crisis

Just because it doesn’t affect you personally doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

This was a bit of a long blog post for August but thanks for reading it if you’ve made it through 🙂

Moi moi!