Finteresting Finland: My Week in Helsinki

Hei everyone! I had a great first week in Helsinki, Finland's capital, but it was so busy that I didn't really have any time to blog. I'm in Turku with my permanent host family now but for now, here is what I did during my week in Helsinki.

On Saturday, June 7th, a group of half asleep FUSYE students arrived at the Helsinki Airport to begin the next chapter in their adventure. After getting our bags we went to the entrance of the airport where we were greeted by a large group of Finnish families and a YFU volunteer. I was quickly spotted (probably because of my height) by a man with a warm smile and his equally happy but more shy 14 year old son, Oskari. They explained that they would be my temporary host family for my week long orientation in Helsinki. Before my host father and brother could rush me away to their car, the YFU volunteer managed to hand me a folder in which I would later find a bus card, SIM card, and schedule for my orientation in Helsinki. Although we were told at the D.C. orientation that Finnish people may not be very outgoing, my host father and brother immediately began to ask me about my home town, orientation in D.C., and my flight. On the way to my new home, we bought some ice cream to go with the Rhubarb pie my host mother (Heli) was preparing for my arrival. As we drove in to the house driveway, we were greeted by loud and excited barking from inside the house. As soon as the door opened, out shot an excited and smiling dog (Hetya) that was wagging its tail at 100 mph. Following the dog was my host mother, Heli, who gave me a hug and welcomed me into their house. Once we entered the house, everyone immediately took off their shoes, something which almost every Finnish family does. Although I was excited to get to know my family, I had to excuse myself and call my parents before they began to wonder if I made it to Finland or not. My parents were very excited to hear from me and we talked longer than I had expected. By the time I was done, lunch was ready and I could smell the pasta from my room. Unfortunately I wasn't able to eat very much since I felt a bit nauseous for some reason. I felt bad because my host mother had especially baked a pie for me, but I told her I would rather eat it later than have to throw it away (Finland is incredibly eco-friendly and we were told that being wasteful is heavily frowned upon). I decided that, because I wasn't feeling too well, it would be better to take it easy and sit outside with my dog and host parents rather than play soccer with Oskari (even though I really wanted to go). I quickly learned that Hetya is a very playful dog and as soon as we stepped outside, she dashed to the corner of the porch to grab her favorite frisbee and dropped it at my feet. I spend most of the afternoon talking with my host parents and throwing the frisbee to Hetya from the comfort of my chair. For dessert after dinner, we had Finnish-style pancakes, which are almost like American pancakes but they are more chewy. I was also informed that my 17 year old host sister (Maria) would be arriving on Sunday afternoon because she was at ComicCon for the past three days. We had a nice conversation after dinner and I went to my room where I wrote a blog post before staggering into bed.

I made the mistake of not closing my curtains before I went to bed and woke up at 4:30 in the morning to a sunshine that was only possible at noon in most countries. I forgot that Finland has some of the longest days in the world during the summer, and some of the shortest in the winter. In fact, when I went to bed at 11:30 the night before, it looked like 8:00 p.m. back home. After a typical Finnish breakfast of oatmeal and yogurt, I went to Oskari's soccer match with my host father [Eero (Finnish children call their parents by their first names)]. The soccer match was very different from the football games that are so popular at most schools in America. Although I knew that there would be no cheer leaders or band, I was surprised at the small audience which consisted of about 10 parents and myself. Finland is also one of the most gender equal countries in the world. So, because Oskari's team was missing two players, his team took two girls from the girls team to play in the boys match. I'm not very knowledgable in the sports world, but I don't know if girls would be allowed to play on a boys team in the same situation in the U.S. It was nice to see both boys and girls play on the same team (the girls were also very good and certainly helped Oskari's team win the game). The game was pretty good and Oskari's team won with Oskari scoring 3 out of 6 goals! Oskari was in very good spirits for the rest of the day, and we ended up taking a small trip to Helsinki (my host family lived in a suburb called Espoo, 45 minutes away from Helsinki). We walked around the harbor and my host family treated me to some special ice cream from a Finnish company. Unfortunately, I was so intent on not letting the ice cream drip on my hand that, while licking the side, my ice cream fell on the floor. I was so embarrassed and felt just like the random tourist from Lilo and Stitch. My host parents were very nice and offered to buy me another ice cream, but I didn't want them to spend more money on me just because of a foolish accident. After a nice walk we drove by the U.S. Embassy and picked up my host sister (Maria) from the train station. Maria was very kind and spoke English very well, even though she was a bit shy at first. We then drove home for dinner and discussed my busy orientation schedule as well as how I would make it to the YFU office for my orientation in Helsinki.

The next morning I woke up at 6:15 (I closed my curtains this time) and got ready to leave the house at 7:00. Eero drove Maria and I to the bus stop next to his office, where we would catch the 324 bus to the main bus station in the city center. Maria and I had a rather silent bus ride, as I was still taking in all of my surroundings and thinking about meeting the FUSYE students at the YFU office for our orientation. When we arrived, we went to the train station right across the bus stop where we met Will (a fellow FUSYE student). Maria had to take the train so she wouldn't miss her Swedish summer course (everyone has to learn Swedish in Finland even though only 6% of the population is Finnish, but it's tradition because Sweden and Finland used to be one country hundreds of years ago) but I managed to grab a selfie with her and Will. She seemed a bit unsure at first, because I guess selfies aren't that common in Finland, but I quickly explained that it was for my blog. More and more FUSYE students began to arrive and soon we met the YFU volunteer who would take us to the YFU office. We were a very loud group (unfortunately fitting the American stereotype) but we were all so excited to see each other again and share all of the experiences we had with our host families over the past 2 days. After a 15 minute walk, we all made it to the YFU office of Finland where we were met by the YFU Finland staff who read the essays of the FYAP students and found all of our host families and organized everything for our stay in Finland. Our main counselor was a young lady (college age) named Riika. She started by giving us a lecture on YFU rules and what we will be doing throughout our stay in Helsinki. About halfway through the lecture, a lady brought us a Finnish breakfast of Karelian pies and yogurt. One girl in our group wanted to pour herself some juice, but ended up pouring herself some yogurt. That's right, yogurt comes in milk cartons! We then carried on with some group activities and listened to a lecture on what to expect when living with a Finnish host family before leaving for the flee market. When we arrived at the flee market, Riika gave us all 2€ and told us to buy whatever we found interesting. I was surprised at how much I could get with two euros but I ended up choosing an old post card from Spain to Finland and a line of wooden camels all chained together. We then went to a "Finnish hamburger" restaurant right across from the flee market and had our lunch there. We then returned to the YFU office, listened to some more lectures, and headed back to the train station where I met my sister at 5:00 p.m. and took the bus back home. As soon as I arrived, Hetya began to bark and dropped her favorite frisbee at my feet. I could tell that this wasn't going to be the last time she would do this. Before I went to bed I spent 15 minutes on howtotieatie.com so I could successfully tie my tie for my visit at the Ministry of Education and Culture as well as the U.S. Embassy of Finland.

On Tuesday, I woke up as usual and went to Helsinki with Maria as usual, but this time I had to walk to the YFU office by myself. I had an entire 45 minutes so I didn't have to be too nervous, but I remember regretting talking to my FUSYE friends on the walk back rather than paying attention to my surroundings. However, Maria told me I only had to follow one street so I figured it couldn't be too hard. I kept following the street but I was a bit worried that I had strayed off course somehow and I retraced my steps a few times to make sure I didn't get lost. However, I was reassured that I wasn't lost by passing the ever so flamboyant gay bar I remembered passing the day before. Finally, I saw the park in front of the YFU office and met Will, as he made it there ahead of time as well. Once everyone arrived, Riika took us on a walk to the Ministry of a Education and Culture. The Ministry was right next to the harbor in a very beautiful area. Once we entered the building, a kind lady showed us to the conference room where we would have our meeting with the Permanent Secretary, Anita Lehikoinen. She came in a few minutes later and gave us a short lecture on the extremely successful Finnish education system, and then opened the floor for questions. I was very proud of our group, as we asked very intellectual questions that I think gave a good representation of the American youth. However, we could barely contain our laughter as we watched each other struggling to eat the fruit that was on the table using only forks and spoons. We were very hungry (my oatmeal from earlier didn't keep me full for very long) but we still wanted to look sophisticated and had to be quiet, even though we were dropping fruit and trying to cut pieces of melon with spoons. The lecture was very insightful and I really enjoyed getting to listen to Ms. Lehikoinen. After a group photo, we left for Cafe Ursula, where we would have our lunch. Cafe Ursula wess very nice as it was right next to the water and we could watch the boats in the harbor through beautiful panoramic windows while eating very good and expensive-looking food. We then walked around and took some pictures in a nearby park before heading to the U.S, Embassy. The embassy recently underwent some serious renovation and we had our lectures in a very new part that had only opened a few months ago. It was very modern, eco-friendly, and housed a Starbucks machine which made up 1/4 of the Starbucks' in Finland. We listened to some great lectures from the Public Affairs Officer, Assistant Regional Security Officer, and Senior Political Officer. Afterwards, we had some of the last American snacks we would have in a while including Doritos and Oreos. I then found my way back to the bus station with some of my FUSYE friends and stopped by a bubble tea shop. One of my friends, Ivy, told me about it and I immediately suggested that we stop by since it was right next to the bus station and I love bubble tea. However, one tea cost 4.90€ which I thought was far too expensive. I probably should have bought it though since everything in Finland is quite expensive but now I have some extra money I can spend on something Finnish. Before I got on the bus, I texted Eero that I made it to the bus safely using the spare iPhone my host family was kind enough to lend me for my stay in Finland. I easily spotted the bus stop where I had to get off because Eero and Hetya were already waiting there for me. We had a short walk home and then I had my usual hour of frisbee with Hetya. I also had my very first Finnish sauna! Sauna is a very big part of Finnish culture and most families have a sauna in their house. The suauna was about 60° C (140°F) so it was very hot. Although it was comfortable, it became a bit difficult to breathe when Oskari put water on the hot stones, causing steam to fill the room, and hot vapor to fill my lungs when I took a breath. However, I was very proud that I was able to last 30 minutes with only three cold shower breaks in between! I went to bed warm from the sauna and excited for my trip to the Fazer factory.

On Wednesday, I woke up as usual but it was much easier to find my way to the YFU office. Once everyone arrived, we walked to the Parliament of Finland where we met the YFU students who stayed in Finland for an entire year. Although there were students from Japan and France, about 90% of the students were from Germany. All of the German students spoke English pretty well, but they were happy to hear that I could speak German fluently due to my German parents. Our tour of Parliament was a bit brief but I enjoyed seeing the building and the door-less elevators. After the tour, the FUSYE students separated from the year exchange students and we went to lunch at a very nice buffet called "Factory". We then met up with the year exchange students at the Helsinki Cathedral and boarded a bus that would take us to the Fazer chocolate factory. Fazer is one of Finland's largest companies (almost like Hershey's in America) and makes all sorts candies and breads next to it's world famous chocolate. They even have Fazer cafés all around Finland! We arrived at the factory half an hour early but it was nice because we got to talk to the year exchange students. Next, we were led into a room where we watched a video on the history of Fazer. After the video, we walked down a hallway which acted as a Fazer "museum". However, most of us could barely concentrate on the museum because we were so distracted by the last part of the tour. The final part of the tour was the Fazer tasting room. Here, we could eat as much candy as we wanted but we weren't allowed to drink any water or take any candy with us. We made a small competition to see which country could eat the most chocolate and the FUSYE students won! We then staggered back to the exit, slightly regretting our decision to eat so much candy, where we stopped by the Fazer shop. Everything was on sale and a lot cheaper than in the supermarket or candy stores, so a lot of people bought chocolate for their friends and family. Before we left, the workers at the factory gave us a small bag of chocolate, candy, and bread. Although I didn't want to leave the generous factory, I was happy to return to the city because me and some of the other FUSYE students had planned a shopping trip/explore day. We didn't go into many stores in the mall but our group eventually became a group of 5 because people had to leave to catch their busses or trains. Our group (me, Fabian, Michael, Emma, and Ivy) then decided to simply explore the beautiful city. We ended up going to a park and simply hanging out there because of the wonderful weather. Although it might not sound very exciting I really enjoyed being able to calmly talk to my friends. Our schedule was so packed and, although we enjoyed doing so many things, we had little time to just talk with each other (except for lunch). After an hour, we left the park in search for a café. This was not very hard, as Finland drinks the most coffee in the world, so we found a nice café by a main street in only a few minutes. I had a very nice fruit tea, while the others had coffee, and we ended up sharing a soup and eating some fantastic bread. Where I live in the U.S., it's not very easy to get around with public transportation and it's hard to casually walk around with friends without planning a few days or a week in advance. I loved having so much freedom and independence. I took the 8:23 bus home (my host family was very relaxed and didn't set a curfew for me which was great) and arrived home at 9:00. For dinner, I had some great leftover meatballs with lingonberry sauce (one of my favorite meals so far) and played with Hetya for an hour. Even though it was already 10:00 p.m. I could play with Hetya outside because it looked like 5:00 p.m. I fell asleep, thinking what a great day I had.

On Thursday, I was especially tired because I had to wake up an hour earlier than usual. I took the bus to the city and easily found my way to the YFU office (I was an expert by now). Once we were all at the office we walked and took the tram to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Until 1:30 p.m. We had a lot of lectures about what the ministry does and how they promote Finland in other countries. We also had an excellent lunch consisting of salmon and potatoes. We then returned to the YFU office and listened to a lecture on cultural adjustment. Most families in Finland own a summer cottage where families go on weekends to relax and have fun. My host family had actually planned to take me to their summer cottage on Thursday but because of the rainy weather, they texted me to let me know that we would reschedule for Friday. Although I would have liked to go to the summer cottage, me and some of my FUSYE friends decided to explore the city again and go to the Helsinki Day festival because it was Helsinki's birthday! We had a great time exploring the city and and going to the open air markets set up for the festival. There was also a small band playing, which added to the festive mood and helped us ignore the fact that it was raining. We tried some candy, ate sausages, and had salmiakki (Finnish salty licorice) ice cream. We also saw some Chinese protestors in front of Parliament and talked with some of the police officers who were at the scene. Although we didn't explore as much as we did the day before, because of the rain, but I had another great day.

Friday was my last day with my group. I packed my bags early in the morning so that I could go directly to the summer cottage at the end of the day. After I walked to the office for the last time, we all took the bus to the harbor where we boarded our small boat that we would take to the small island of Porvoo. We thought we were late for our ferry so we were running through the market at the harbor. As we were running, a lady started shaking a box of small at us and said we could try one. So, we quickly grabbed our fish, said kiitos, and ran to catch up with the rest of our group and board our tiny ferry. It was a cute little boat but it was very crowded with passengers. We ended up sitting outside in the front of the ship, even though it was windy and cold, but we brought our umbrellas and found some blankets that would keep our toes from going numb. We had a great time talking and laughing but after one and a half hours of our three hour journey, I decided to wait in the endless line for the café. I waited for 30 minutes but I was able to get warm and dry. I then bought myself a really good hot chocolate and two cakes to share with the other FUSYE students who were freezing outside. After eating our cake we decided to relocate to the back of the ship where it would be less windy. Here, we met up with Riika and a new counselor that was assisting us for the day. The new counselor brought her 7 year old boy and played games with him which inspired us FUSYE students to play and teach similar American games such as "concentration", "slaps", and "down by the bank". The games made the time go by a lot faster and after 3 1/2 hours we made it to Porvoo. When we arrived, we were greeted by a guide who showed us to the restaurant where we had our lunch. We had another great buffet and raspberry chocolate cake for dessert. The guide then showed us more of the town and also took us into an old church. We then had half an hour to look into the small shops before we took the 1 hour bus ride back to Helsinki. It was sad to say goodbye to my fellow FUSYE students once we got off of the bus. We had become a sort of family even though we only knew each other for a little over a week. However, we might visit each other during our stay in Finland and we will definitely see each other at the airport and maybe even on the optional trip to Talin, Estonia. I met my host father at the bus stop and we drove directly to the long awaited summer cottage.