Well it has been almost 3 months since my last blog post, so I apologize for that. I always tell myself that I will update my blog more often but I never seem to get around to it. It has been an extremely busy 3 months, that is for sure. From Prom in January to the Ski World Cup last week, I have been jammed with activities and new experiences. Oh and my parents came to visit me for my Winter Break which was super fun!
Prom here is way different than the prom we have back in the states. Here in Finland we spent nearly 3 months preparing 7 or 8 dances. We learned how to Waltz and Tango along with a bunch of other classic dances. All the girls wore ball gowns and had their hair done very nice and all the guys wore tuxedoes. I felt like I needed to break into song every time I walked into a room cause I looked so official and I felt like Frank Sinatra! It was my first time wearing a tux so it took some time getting used to how high up my pants were. After getting ready though everyone from the school went to this dance hall and performed our dances, because I had two partners I had to perform it twice. It took about an hour each time we went through all the dances, which means I was dancing for 2 hours! There was 2 schools doing all the dances too, so there was probably 500 nervous kids dancing in the same room which quickly increased the temperature so it was SO HOT! Tuxedoes dont breathe either so I was dying by the end of it. Then it was picture time, so in all the pictures its after we all danced for 2 hours. I was kinda tired by the end to say the least. Then the next day was chaos! I had to go to 4 different younger schools to show off my new moves. Then ended at my current school to show the younger students what the dances look like. Finally when it was all said and done I had danced 7 times in 2 days. Then there was a huge after party with everyone at this event place that the schools rented out for all of us, it was super fun!
Then soon after the Prom, my parents came! It was incredible seeing my parents after 7 months away from them! I had this weird idea that it was going to be kinda odd seeing them and interacting with them after being away for so long but I was so wrong. As soon as I saw them it felt like I said good bye the day before, my Dad and I started talking about the difference in weather between Finland and home while my Mom chatted away with my host mom. We spent the first night exploring Helsinki and just enjoying each others company, even though we got lost and ended up eating at a Mexican chain bar/restaurant we still had a blast! The next day we took the train up to Hameenlinna, the city I live. My parents and I had dinner with both my host families so my parents could thank them for keeping me in one piece. It was extremely odd combining part of my life from Minnesota with my life here in Finland. When my parents met my friends here it was super fun for them to put faces to all the names in my stories I have told them! The next day we went back to Helsinki. We went to a fortress called Suomen Linna, it is an island off the shore of Helsinki. We walked around that for a while then went and met up with my homie Blaine who is from Colorado but lives in Helsinki for some dinner. The next day we left for Vienna, Austria!! We have good family friends who live in Vienna that we were staying with, so we were able to get a great private tour of one of the most beautiful cities ever! The first day there we just chilled and hung out cause we got in kinda late and we wanted to be well rested for our upcoming adventures. The second day we explored Vienna on foot all day! It was great seeing all the old architecture and history! The next day we woke up, had breakfast then jumped on the plane back to Helsinki. The rest of that day we spent in a small bar just talking about memories and the future it was a great relaxing evening spent with my two favorite people in the World. Then they left at 4 am the next day. Overall though it was such a great time spent with my parents!
I had one day after my parents left before I went 3 hours North to a city called Jyvaskylla to play snow rugby! It was the most fun but grueling sport I have ever played! The field was made up of chunks of ice and snow the size of basketballs when we first arrived so they brought in a bulldozer to break it up into volleyball size chunks. It was super fun though, because there were teams from around the world there. We had 4 games and lost them all but had a great time playing them. Then the after party was super fun! The tournament rented out some club in the city for all the rugby players to enjoy good food and dancing! The next day though I could barely move, but it was totally worth it!
Last weekend I spent with one of my best friends here in Finland. Her name is Marissa and she is also from Minnesota, its funny because we met here in Finland and connected on a Minnesota level. On Saturday in her town was a World Cup ski competition, with cross country skiing and ski jumping, so we went to that together with some of her Finnish friends. It is a nice change of pace when we hang out cause its like being in Minnesota when we are together. The ski competition was crazy though, absolutely insane how far the ski jumpers go! It was way cooler to watch it in real life than on tv.
Until my next blog
One Love
Surround yourself with positivity
Smile everyday
Live life the way you want to
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