Sunday, May 4, 2014

KÄRPÄT ON RAUTAA

Kun minä sain lippua Kärpät pelille, olin ikionnellinen. En voinut uskoa, että olin menossa peliin!! KIITOS PALJON LARILLE JA EMILIALLE! Te olette paras ikinä. Se oli mahtava kokemus, ja olen onnekas minä olin siellä jäähallissa.

Toivon, että kaikki on näynyt Aaltosen hienoa maalia. Ensimmäinen maali pelissä, ja viimeinen maali Liigassa tänä vuonna. Voi jes, oli mahtava... En tarvitse selittää SM-Liiga teille, siksi teidän kappale on aika lyhyt.

Olin myöskin siellä Kärpät juhlissa, kun kaikki palelsi ulkona odotamassa Oulun jääkiekkoa pelaajaa. Se oikea näytelmä oli ihan OK, ei niin kiva, mutta sen jälkeen olemme tavanneet muutama pelaaja. Emmi, Martta ja Väinö olivat todella innostunut tavata kaikki pelaaja, mutta minä etsin se Kanadalainen Ben Maxwell. Olin niin hermostunut, että minä sainoin ’Hei! Olen Kanadalainen!’ ihan tyhmästi. Hän kysyi mistä minä olin, ja sanoin ’Vernonista, Okanagan laaksolla,’ ja HÄN TIETÄSI MISSÄ SE OLI!! Minä ymmärrän, että Kanada on iso maa, ja tietenkin Suomalainen ei voi teitää kaikesta paikasta, mutta joskus minä haluan joku tietää mistä olen! Oli aivan mahtava päivä. 

  <3 KIITOS KÄRPÄT <3  

Before I explain the exciting title, which half of you don’t understand, let me tell you some of the less exciting things that have happened since the Russia tour...

I wrote the Finnish language exam. These tests are written across Finland, the same test for everyone. It’s a language proficiency test. I decided what the heck, I’ll write the medium test (there are three levels). At first, I was fairly confident in myself, but a week before the test I thought wait, what was I thinking?? I’ve been here SEVEN MONTHS. I can’t write the MEDIUM level test. What am I doing?! I asked if I could switch tests, but I wasn’t optimistic. And so, I took a train to Kemi to write the middle level test with another exchange student from America. We both felt terrible after the test, and we both agreed that our Finnish skills were not even close to the level that was expected for that test. Yes, okay, it was a dumb idea, but at least we tried! I put so much effort into that test, and if I pass I will cry tears of joy and amazement. Seriously though, I failed that test so hard.

On Palm Sunday, I went with Elsa, Onni and Väinö around the block to, essentially, Trick-or-Treat. We would sing a song, give the person a decorated willow branch, and they’d hand over candy. It rained for part of our little adventure, which was no fun, but it was still a good time.


Even the dog dressed up!




I also visited the Kinnunen’s cabin a few weekends ago. It is a beautiful place, and I can’t wait to visit in the summer. Sadly, there was still ice on the river, so we couldn’t go swimming when we went to the smoke sauna. Instead, we ran around on the ice naked, which was enjoyable :)


I’ve always enjoyed hockey. It’s one of the only sports I will watch on TV, and probably the only sport I really get into. Sadly, I don’t have the skills to actually play the sport, but that’s alright with me.
There is a hockey league in Finland called the SM-Liiga, or just Liiga. I would say the teams are just one small step below the NHL, maybe compared to the Western Hockey League back in Canada. There were 14 teams in the league this year, and each represents a city in Finland. Oulun Kärpät was the team that I cheered for the whole season, the most northern team in the Liiga, representing Oulu. The Kärpät team was doing really well, they were at the leading team the whole season, and made it to the playoffs. The Liiga playoffs are done the same as in the NHL, best of seven games. They made it through the playoffs all the way to the gold-medal series, against Tappara, from Tampere. In this series they won the first game, and then lost the next three. It was 1-3 in the series when Kärpät won a home game, to make it 2-3. The next game was in Tampere, which they also won. Tied in the series, 3-3, and the next game was in Oulu. I was so excited for Oulu’s team, my team, and I really wanted to get tickets to see the game. The tickets went on sale the day of the game, at 9.00, and at 9.03 all the tickets were sold. My friend Emilia, the biggest Kärpät fan I know, was trying to get tickets for her and me to see the game. That amazing girl stood in line for three hours, and went around Oulu to try and get tickets. Sadly, we didn’t get any. I was heading back home from Oulu when I got a call from her. She told me, or more yelled at me, that she got tickets. At first I thought she meant just one for herself, so I was really glad she was going to see the game, but still disappointed I couldn’t go. Then she said ‘Claire, there’s one for you too. Do you want to come?’ The people around me gave me strange looks as I screamed into my phone and danced around the street. I WAS GOING TO THE GAME!!
Our tickets were for the ‘standing area’ near the net. Though it was sometimes hard to see what was happening on the other end, the spots were great. The game was intense. Period one: 0-0. Period two: 0-0. Period three: 0-0. Both teams were giving their all, but the goalies were giving it 130%, keeping it tied at nothing the whole game. Over time started, it was about 7 minutes in, and Tappara made an AMAZING shot that I was sure was going in. Thankfully Karhunen, our lord savior, is a beast and managed to keep it out of the net. Then, the next face-off, Aaltonen took the puck up the end and… there it was: the winning goal
I’ve lived around bagpipes my whole life, so I know what the word ‘loud’ means, and I’ll tell you that 100 bagpipes couldn’t compare to the sound that erupted from that stadium. I admit that I didn’t actually see the goal happen, we were at the wrong end, but I got the hint. We screamed our lungs out as our team dived from the benches and dog-piled on the ice.
It was a beautiful feeling, and I will remember that day for the rest of my life. I am so incredibly thankful for the people who got me there. Thank you Lari for getting those tickets, and thank you so much Emmi for picking me to be your ‘plus one’. I am so honored that you gave the ticket to me, and I am so grateful. You really made my day, week, month, and maybe even year. KÄRPÄT ON RAUTAA!!!


This photo isn't zoomed at all. We really were that close!


Kiitos Aaltonen <3
All the drunk Finns gathered in the little market place, where there is a big statue of a police man, who apparently made the perfect chair.

A few days later there was a celebration in Oulu for the team...




After the presentation there were some team members outside signing autographs and taking pictures. I was determined to find one specific player, Ben Maxwell, from North Vancouver, Canada. I finally found him, but was really nervous to talk to him. I finally just blurted out to him “Hey! I’m from Canada!” He was obviously rather excited to talk to someone who spoke English, and especially someone from Canada. He asked where I was from and I told him “Vernon, in the Okanagan Valley.” When he said “yeah, I know Vernon, it’s a nice place” I almost burst into tears. I've gone the whole year saying that I live in Canada, “near Vancouver,” and most people don’t even know where that is. The fact that he knew where I was from without having to Google it warmed my heart. And so, here you go, a photo of probably the only two British Columbians, and maybe even Canadians, living in Oulu:




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