Minun hullu joululoma – My Crazy Christmas Holiday

>>>English Below<<<

Joululoma on nyt loppu, mutta se oli aivan hauska! Lapset Kanadalainen eivät näe joulupukki ikinä, koska hän tule yöllä kun lapset nukkuvat, no täällä oli minun ensimmäinen kerta nähdä joulupukki! Se oli hirveästi hauska Miljan ja Vilman kanssa koska he olivät innostunut koko kuukauta! Melkein kaikki tiedä Kanadassa joka minä en tykä joulu, mutta täällä oli erilainen! Joulu on niin mahtava Suomessa!

Olen mennyt Amorphis konsertti Club Teatriassa, joka oli ihan mahtava. Club Teatria oli pienempi kuin minä luulin, mutta se oli parempi näin. Amorphis ja heidän ”opening band” oli Suomesta, mutta molemmat laulavat Englanniksi. Olen aina vaikuttunut kaikkin Englannin kielitaito, he laulavat melkein täydellinen Englantia!

Olen muuttunut isäntäperhe lomassa. Minun uusi perhe on täysin vastakohta kuin Manninen perhe: Pulkka perhe ei ole lapset, no se on hirveästi hilja täällä. Se on parempi jossa minä teen läksyt, mutta minä kaivaan kaikki Manninen talossa. Muuttun perhee on hyvä ja surkea yhtaikaa.

Ennen kuin tulen Suomessa, minä en ole ikinä ostanut ilotulitus, edes uusi vuosissa. Minun kaverit olivat järkyttynyt, koska melkein kaikki teke ilotulitus Suomessa. Olemme ostaneet ja olen näynyt ensimmäinen kerta... Se oli pelotava ja mahtava sama aika! Nyt minä kysyn miksi ei kukaan Kanadassa teke ilotulitus! Ensi uusi vuosi minä teen! (jos se on laillinen Kanadassa. Mää en tiiä todella...)

Another "boy friend". Sonja's this time.

Helping Vilma put decorations on the higher branches of the tree.

For the entire month of December, every other sentence my little host sisters spoke had the word “joulu” (Christmas) in it. Most of you know in Canada that I’m kind of a Grinch... but Christmas is very different here in Finland, especially with a six- and eight-year-old, whose excitement is so contagious it’s impossible not to get pumped up!

Kids in Finland are very lucky because they actually get to see Joulupukki (Santa Clause), unlike the North American kids who have never seen him. Santa visits all the houses in Finland on the 24^th of December where there have been good kids. Joulupukki came to the Manninen house at 17:30 on the 24^th, and the kids were so excited I thought they’d explode! Santa Clause distributed the presents to everyone and went on his way to the next house full of good kids. Sadly, Rudolph was feeling sick that day so he had to take his car. Good thing he’s from Finland, ‘cause it would be really hard to get to Canada without Rudolph!

The Manninen kids, myself and Joulupukki

Santa is getting pretty old, he needs Aapu's help to stand up!

At around 22:00 on the 24^th, the Manninen family all piled into the car and we visited the Muhos graveyard. I was a little confused as to why we were visiting, but when we got there I stopped wondering. On Christmas, many people in Finland visit their loved ones that have passed away, and lay candles by their graves. The Muhos graveyard was a truly breathtaking sight; the paths and stones were littered with candles that emitted a peaceful glow. Graveyards normally give me the creeps, but I would go back there any day. I attempted to take some photos with my phone, after checking with my host mom that it was okay, and so these are the best I have. It gives you an idea of what I saw, but sadly doesn't capture any of the magic.

Beautiful candles laid in the graveyard

I went to an Amorphis concert during the holiday, which was quite awesome. The venue, Club Teatria, was in Oulu and was much smaller than I had expected. The area was maybe about the size of the average high-school gym, but could have been expanded for a bigger concert. At the peak of the concert there were maybe about 200/300 people there, but that’s a really rough estimate. My friend and I had a really awesome place on the floor, and we could see the band really well. Because the venue was so small, the concert felt much more personal and more of a group event than a bunch of guys standing on a pedestal and all their worshippers standing below them. It was a nice atmosphere. The ringing in my ears after the concert was equal to a full day at a Highland Games, to give some of you some perspective (For those who don’t understand, I’ll just say “it was darn loud”). So now I can cross “metal concert” off my Bucket List, but I guarantee it won’t be my last.

During the holidays I also changed host families. My new family is a huge change from the Manninens; the Pulkka family have no kids, so the house is very quiet. It took me time to get used to the noise at the Manninen household, and now it’s taking time to get used to the quiet again. Though I really miss the Manninen family, I’m excited to experience Finland through this family. Changing families is really a bitter-sweet experience.

The amazing Manninen family in front of the Christmas tree

I’m not sure why no one in Canada buys their own fireworks on New Year’s Eve, but I gotta tell you Canadians: you’re missing out! In Finland, they go nuts with the little guys! On the 31^st of December their fantastic booming sound is heard almost constantly from 8pm until around 12:45 in the morning. I felt like a kid on Christmas! Fireworks were everywhere. You can buy fireworks at the age of 18 in Finland, so a friend of mine bought us a few and we fired them in his back yard. I was so terribly excited, but also terrified at the same time. I’d never seen fireworks so close up, so when we shot the first one I almost peed my pants! I shot one after I felt confident enough that it wouldn’t blow up in my face, and that was enough for me. At least I can say I did it! At midnight we walked around the neighbourhood and watched as other people unloaded their massive arsenals.

Our little stack of fireworks.

Hyvää Uutta Vuotta 2014!!!