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:

Санкт-Петербург - Pietari - Saint Petersburg

*****Lopussa on pieni teksti suomeksi!!******

For those of you who don’t know, I went to Russia two weekends ago with around 80 other Rotary Exchange Students living in Finland right now. The trip was absolutely fantastic! We were only in Russia about three days, but it was worth every penny. The cultural differences were very interesting, and now I am lucky enough to be able to compare Russia to both Canada AND Finland. I have actually become so accustomed to the Finnish way of life that some of the things that happened in Russia that shocked me happen in Canada too. This trip has made me a little worried for the culture shock I’m going to have to go through when I go back to Canada. But, one step at a time!

Saint Petersburg is, by far, the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. Every single building in the city was made with such care. The MacDonald’s looks like it was built to host the Queen of England! Every building I saw in the city was artistically made and decorated. The normal Canadian/ Finnish cities look terrible in comparison! Here are just a few photos of average buildings. These aren’t special, just random buildings in Saint Petersburg:

Though the buildings are beautiful, quite a lot of them are very poorly maintained. I understand why; you can’t spend all your time and money making sure the outside of your building looks just as beautiful as it did 100-200 years ago, but it gives the city an almost creepy feel, and looks a little run down. I saw things like this all over Saint Petersburg:

One of the first places we visited was the Winter Palace and Hermitage. The building was built as, just as the name says, a winter palace, and what a palace it was. I won’t waste our time attempting to describe the beauty of the building, so I’ll just show you a couple out of the ~300 photos I took of this building.

Saint Petersburg has a lot of canals, and is nick-named “Venice of the North”. Also, as we explored the city with our guide, she would list off the architects of the famous buildings and a great majority of them were Italian. There was an exchange student on the trip who is from Italy, and he said that certain places really reminded him of home (except the fact that it was so cold!).

We were also privileged enough to see a ballet while in Russia. Russia is well known for its ballets, and I was very excited to watch. The theatre was beautiful, which was no surprise, and very large. It had five levels of seats and a good sized stage. I saw there was a harp in the orchestra pit and became very excited, missing my harp at home.

While I was in Russia, my brain was still programmed to speak Finnish to store clerks and cashiers, which made for some interesting moments. I would say “kiitos” to everyone then curse and attempt to say ‘thank you’ in Russian, which is спасибо, and pronounced kind of like ‘spashiba’. We went out for lunch at a Russian pancake place and here’s a picture of the menu I had to read:

I laughed out loud when I realised that I would have to order from the menu, and I had NO IDEA how ANY of the words were pronounced. Thankfully, a few of the other exchange students I was with had taken classes in Russian and taught me how to pronounce the terrifying words. I felt totally useless for most of my time in Russia, since I spoke absolutely nothing, and was a real tourist. It felt strange to feel like an outsider all over again.

When we came back into Finland and I overheard conversations of random people that were in Finnish, I almost cried in happiness. It was like I was back home! I knew this language! I would no longer get strange stares from random citizens! (Okay, I would still be stared at, but only because I spoke so funny and made no sense. The normal stares that I’m used to.)

On the very last day, at our very last stop at a market, there were a bunch of Russian soldiers marching around a square. We watched them at first, rather intimidated, even after they were dismissed. Eventually one of the exchange students had the guts to run up to them and say “can I take a picture with you?” All the soldiers beamed from ear to ear and invited everyone else to come in. They were some of the friendliest people I have ever met, and I can honestly say that I did not expect it at all. I chatted a little bit with some of the soldiers who spoke better English, and they were all very interested in where we were from and what we were doing here. This experience with the soldiers was one of the bigger highlights of the trip for me, and is something I will never forget.

And here are some other random pictures for you to enjoy!

I snapped a picture of a Russian police officer from the bus. Pretty sure you're not aloud to, but oh well. He just looks so cool!!

The Spilled Blood Church.

Jos eivät ymmärtäneet, mää kävin Pietarissa kaksi viikoa sitten. Siellä oli aivan kaunis paikka, ja vähän erilainen kuin Suomi ja Kanada. Mää en kääntä nyt kaikki teksti, koska en jaksa, sori. Mutta, kun olin Pietarissa, minä huomasin, että nyt Suomi on minun koti. Minä tulin vähän ikävä Suomesta, ja yritin niin monta kerta puhua suomea jonkun Venäläinsen kanssa. Alussa, heidän ilme olivat aivan mahtava. En tarvitse ymmärtää venäjää nähdä, että ne mietivat ’mitä helvetti se kieli oli?!’ Mutta kohta olin turhautunut, että en osaa yhtää venäjää. Minä halusin mennä Suomeen, mihin kaikki ymmärtää mitä minä sanon (Öö, siis, mihin kaikki ymmärtää ehkä puoli mitä minä yritän sanoa). Minä olin hurmioitunut kun tulimme takaisin Suomeen kun minä ymmärsin ne ruokalistat ja kyltti. Minä tunnin, että olin kotona. Täällä on minun paikka. 

Päiväni jäljellä - The Days I Have Left

*sniff* Do you smell that? *sniff sniff* That’s the smell of blog neglect.

But, in my defence, I have a good reason for it; I’ve only got 3 ½ months left in my exchange. I’m serious *weeps uncontrollably* At the ‘four month’s left’ marker I freaked out. I couldn’t possibly be leaving this beautiful country in four months. It’s not possible! Inconceivable!! From that point on I’ve been soaking up every second I’ve got left like a sponge in a desert.

Don’t get me wrong Canada, I still like you and have missed all of you, but going back to Canada means leaving my new home behind.

Yes, Finland is my new home. You want an example? The thought of not going to sauna every week hurts my soul. I plan on buying a pool pass and spending hours in our crappy Canadian saunas, complaining about how Finnish saunas are much better compared to this lukewarm, electric closet. I also enjoy Salmiakki and get excited when I see the number 8, which pretty much means I’m a Finn.

But, in all seriousness, if I talk any more about me having to leave Finland I’m gonna get tears on my computer, so how about an update?

I changed families last Sunday. This is my final family during the exchange. I didn’t actually have a room for the first five days because it was being built. The room I have now is crazy nice, better than my own room back in Canada. My third family is as big as my first family; six kids living at home, but this time two have already moved out. I’m sure a lot of you are attempting to imagine how I can live with so many kids, but it has become very, very normal to me. I am having trouble imagining my life without these little bundles of joy running around me all day.

A big plus for this family is no one can really speak English, so I have to speak Finnish. If we don’t understand each other we can’t resort to just giving up and speaking English; we have to explain ourselves in different ways, look up words in the dictionary, or act it out like charades. I am damned good at forming complex sentences using only a few words and a lot of sound effects (with the mandatory frantic hand gesture).

The Kinnunen family are very sporty in general, but hockey seems to be the main attraction. The hockey world championships (I actually have no idea what the name is in English) are in May and I can’t wait to watch with them. I’m hoping there are no serious Canada/Finland games, because I might end up sleeping in the shed. One of my new little brothers, Väinö-Matti (pronounced in English ‘Vai-neuh’), is an avid hockey fan. It scares me how much hockey facts can fit into that eleven-year-old’s brain.

The Kinnunens have a dog named Fairy. Fairy is not a Finnish name at all, so they pronounce it in many different ways. Sometimes it sounds like ‘Fai-reu’, sometimes ‘Fai-ree’, and sometimes ‘Fai-ray’. The last example sounds almost exactly like my Finnish name ‘Klai-ray’. This is rather confusing, and half of the time I’m not sure which one of us they’re talking to. Many jokes have been made about me pissing on couches and taking me for walks.

I went ice fishing for the first time last Tuesday, and I had a blast! It was WAY better than I thought it would be. I ended up going with a bunch of 4-10 year old kids, which was a lot of fun cause they’d try to speak really fast to me so I wouldn’t understand. I caught 7 fish, but only five were big enough to eat. I only squealed like a little girl three times while pulling the hooks out of the fish, and only felt bad for them five times.

Last Friday I went to a Kärpät game. The Kärpäts are Oulu’s hockey team playing in the SM-Liiga, which is like the highest level you can play in Finland. Think of it as an NHL farm team. The game was great; we won 4-0! I had fun listening to the chants and cries from the crowd. The team is doing really well this year, and I’m hoping to go to one of the playoff games!

That same Friday we had our first day of ‘spring’. It was beautiful. I almost cried when I saw blue sky. I forgot the sky could do that! I went for a two-hour walk in the sunshine, and felt extremely warm even though it was still only 4 degrees. Despite all the sun we’ve had this week; our backyard is still a giant ice-rink, which is awesome when attempting to walk to the bus stop.

I’m also experiencing something that Finns call “spring headaches”. This means my brain doesn’t know what to do with all this sun and light and warmth. When I wake up at 6:30 to catch my bus I can actually see where I’m walking. This is amazing. My brain has gotten used to assuming that if the sun is up it’s around 12:00 in the afternoon, which gives me a constant feeling of being late for school. I’m hoping this goes away soon. 

Don’t expect a blog post again anytime soon. As much as I want to keep you updated, I’d rather tell you all about it later than miss getting to experience it now… but I will probably upload some photos. I’m uploading all my Finland photos onto Facebook, and they can be found here: To Infin(land)ity and Beyond. I’ve set the album so that you don’t have to be a member of Facebook to see it. I know it’s not the same as a blog post, but it’s better than nothing, right?

Anyways, I can’t think of anything else to say, so I’ll leave you with some pictures. You can find all my blog photos and more if you follow the link above.

My room, in the prosess of being built

My little brother Onni kicking my butt in NHL 2011

WE MADE A FORT!!

My beautiful new siblings

With some minor adjustments, I actually fit into the fort. One of the problems of growing up.... :(

My brandnew room, complete with Canadian and Finnish flags! :D

Anteeksi Suomalainen, mutta en vissiin kirjoita suomeksi enää. Minä tykän kirjoittaa suomeksi, mutta olen niin hidas ja tarvitsen paljon aikaa kirjoittaa. Ehkä, ensi kerralla, mutta ei nyt. SORI!