My First Few Days in Turku

On Sunday, June 15, my temporary host family who I had stayed with for my week in Helsinki and at their summer cottage drove me to the center of Nauvo to meet the host family I would be staying with for the rest of my stay in Finland. After about 30 minutes we arrived at a small beach area that was filled with small shops. It was the warmest day I had experienced since my arrival in Finland but still no one dared to dip their toe in the ice cold water. While we were waiting for my next host family to arrive, Eero treated us all to a final ice cream (I had a really good nougat flavored one). Eero at one point asked if I knew what my next host family looked like to which I replied that I remembered that they all had blonde hair. He said that wouldn't help much because there are so many blonde people in Finland but a few minutes later I spotted a blonde family with two boys heading in our direction. The mother (Johanna) introduced herself first and we all proceeded to shake hands. I still had 3/4 of my ice cream left to eat so Johanna began to ask how my week in Helsinki was and explained what she had planned for the upcoming week. The boys (Niklas is almost 17 and Aleksi is 13) and the father (Mika) didn't say much but I could tell I would be staying in a nice family. Before we headed to the car, I quickly asked if someone could take a photo of me and my two host families. 

My two wonderful host families

Once we were at the car, Eero gave me licorice, tar soap, and far shampoo, as a present on behalf of the family. It was sad saying goodbye to the family that had been so nice to me for the past week, but we eventually packed into our cars and headed our separate ways. For the entire car ride to Aleksi's favorite restaurant, Buffalo Steak House, Johanna talked to me while the rest of the family merely said the occasional "yes" or "mhm". The Finnish students in D.C., had told us FUSYE students that Finns are known for only speaking when they feel they need to say something (no small talk) and replying with only a "yes" or a "no". I thought that the Finnish students were wrong when I met my temporary host family as they were pretty talkative. However, I soon realized that my new host family would maybe need a little bit of time to adjust to their new guest before they would become more talkative. The ribs I had at the Buffalo Steak House were very good and they reminded me a bit of one of my favorite barbecue restaurants in Alabama. Once again, the rest of the family did not say very much while Johanna told me all about her experiences as an exchange student in Wyoming. After watching the boats for a while we walked back to the car. Well, I staggered back because of my huge meal. We took the car ferry to get off of the island again and then began to drive to Turku, where I would be staying for the next 5 weeks. Again, Johanna talked the most on this portion of the car ride but Niklas and I began to excitedly talk about the rock festival that was coming to Turku (RuisRock). I had hoped on going because the Finns in D.C. suggested it to me and I didn't want to miss my chance to see stars like David Guetta, Lily Allen, Icona Pop, Wiz Kahlifa, Bastille, The 1975, and more. Luckily, my Johanna said she was volunteering at the festival to raise money for her god daughter's synchronized skating team and Niklas said he was going with his friends. I was ecstatic that I could go! I have never been to a non-classical concert and I would finally be able to see famous singers and DJ's from America, Sweden, and Finland! I am also looking forward to meeting Niklas's friends and getting to know more Finnish people. On the way to the house, we stopped by the grocery store to buy some Nutella, ham, and bread for breakfast tomorrow. Before we checked out, Niklas spotted that the candy was half price and Johanna kindly treated us to some candy. When we arrived at the house (which is on an island near Turku), I had to take a moment to make sure I wasn't in an IKEA showroom. Everything was so modern looking and all the furniture and candles matched each other. The house was beautiful. Their miniature schnauzer dog, Messi, was very excited to meet us all and jumped on me and sniffed me. Johanna showed me to my room (I have Aleksi's room while Aleksi would sleep in the study upstairs) and said that we would have some tea and coffee later because our late lunch was so big. Once I finished unpacking for the last time, I went upstairs for the evening tea. Johanna and I talked for about an hour and she explained that they usually have dinner and then coffee and tea with bread or salad later on in the evening just in case someone is still hungry or if the boys miss dinner because of sports practice. After calling my parents and watching the FIFA game, I went to bed. 

My time in Turku so far in a very tiny nutshell:

I spent the next week (it's Thursday as I'm writing this) mostly at home with Aleksi. Niklas has a summer job at the grocery store and had to be gone from 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., after which he had soccer practice and usually came home at around 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. Mika also had to be gone for most of the day because of his job and Johanna usually had to leave for three hours for her tours. That left Aleksi and me at home for most of the day. We often played with Messi together or watched movies and FIFA games, but he still remained pretty quiet. However, he often laughs or smiles at me which is all I need. I just don't want to be the boring or anti-social exchange student. Speaking of anti-social, I spent a lot of time updating my blog because I didn't have any time to do so in Helsinki but I'm back on track now! On Monday, Aleksi, Johanna, and I went to a mall to buy Aleksi a new floorball stick. We also had lunch there and we walked around the mall a bit. 

One of the three malls in Turku

Later, in the afternoon, Johanna went to volunteer at a track meet while Aleksi and I watched the events.

The unpredictable Finnish weather

The track meet

 On Tuesday, I stayed at home most of the day but Johanna, Aleksi, and I went to see a children's play at an amphitheater.

The amphitheater where we saw the children's play

 Yesterday, I also stayed home but got a lot of blogging done and in the evening Johanna took me to the cathedral. She wanted to show me around inside but it was closed so we just walked around which was nice too. I often have long conversations with Johanna after a very nice dinner and yesterday she showed me pictures of her being a YFU group leader for the past FUSYE groups from over the past 10 years (the orientation used to be in Turku instead of Helsinki which is why she wasn't a group leader this year). Today I woke up at 10:30 as usual and then played a FIFA video game and a racing video game with Aleksi before I resorted to my iPad to get my blog caught up. In a few house, Niklas is going to show me how to take the bus into the city and he will take me to Hesburger (the McDonalds of Finland that the FYAP students told me I had to try). He has more time today because his last soccer practice was yesterday and host last day of work is tomorrow if I'm not mistaken. Some of my FUSYE have also scheduled to come visit me in Turku next week! 

I'm finally caught up! 

Karelian pies are amaaaaazing and are really popular in Finland