Seitsemänkymmentä Kuus

As I write this my day count is at 76.

Oh where did I leave off? I’m far behind very far behind. Well here to catch you up…

I’ve switched to my last and final family. I arrived to perhe (Family) Ojamäki on the 9th of April and I will be staying with them until I depart on the 12th of July. Here I live with My host parents; Teija ja Timo, my host sister; Roosa, and my host dog; Essi. I also have 2 older host brothers and an older host sister who don’t live at home. I also have two host nieces; Nelle ja the baby who will receive her name when she has her christening 

I’m having the hardest time to get my credit transferred from the new lukio (high school) I attend. I found out that I still needed two more classes of physics and math for my diploma, no problem! So I asked my school for me to take these classes so I can get my credit transferred and I felt like I was at DMV, honestly.

I ran the Color Obstacle Rush in Helsinki with the other Rotary exchange students and Fifi! It was this past Saturday and despite the cold and horrid rain, it was actually quite fun! I don’t think the run was very well organized (looking at the FB page just about everyone had the same thought) so  if I had just gone by myself I don’t think it would have been fun. Going with the other exchange students made it 100000% times so much fun! Did we run? Yes. Did we walk? Hell yes!

(Click on the images to make them bigger)

April 1st, I gave some more presentations to elementary schoolers and here are some photos from that! They were so adorable, they even made me this poster after I gave my presentation to their class! 

   

                           

On April 2nd I had my language test, and to put it short, when we had the speaking part and when I meant "think" (ajatella) I would say "aja" (drive) and the look on the lady's face reassured me what I'm saying made no sense. I get my results at the end of May/ beginning of June, so all I hoped for is that I got an A2. 

My ability to read Finnish has gotten so much better! Myös minun suomea kirjiotta on okei no on puhun

Pitäisiko mä kirjotta kaikki suomessa? Ei, en voin >.< 

Mutta HOLY CRAP THE SUN DOESN'T SET TILL 10 NOW!!!! LONG LIVE THE BRIGHT NIGHTS!

I've also officially enrolled into university!!

School Lunch:

I decided to take a picture of the school lunch for a few days at my school:

So this was rare day, we had breaded chicken! A lot of days there is no meat for lunch and most of the time not chicken. I also have here "salad" and scalloped potatoes. There is also bread and nakkileipa.

Here is spinach pancakes with lingum berries, mashed potatoes, and the salad, with of course nakkileipa with butter 

Here this is like a meat sauce and you eat this with your potatoes, here is also broccoli, and nakkileipa with butter.

Things to look forward too:

• School Ending
• Tallin
• Midsummer
• Stockholm
• Summer Cottage
• Vappu 
• Other things that I don't know of yet

Things that I'm not looking forward too:

• School Ending
• Saying goodbye to my exchange friends
• Saying goodbye to my Finnish friends
• Returning to Reailty (Still consdering that I'm just playing a VR game rn)
• Actually knowing what is going on

Here are some nice random pictures I will leave you with...

                                 

-Hailey

Rome: Part 1 Video

\Due to the length of just the first two days I've decided to split it into two parts. So here are pictures and videos from my trip to Rome!

https://youtu.be/JjLNkdYhFtA

The Last 100

There's only 100 days until I leave for the airport to return home. 100. It doesn't feel like that long, it feels like I should still have seven months left, but I don't. I've been here for 246 days, or for 8 months and a day.

I can't comprehend that in 246 days I will see my mom, sister, brother, and family again. I miss my dog oh so much and she is the one I miss the most! I don't want to leave my life here. Some of it is because I've forgotten how I lived and how my life went back in the US, some of it is is that I will have to return back to a life of responsibilty, and some of it is is that this is my life, I feel as though I don't belong back home. I've grown so much and I don't feel the same as I did when I left.

I feel as though I will be lost when I go back home. Driving on the same roads I did a year ago won't have the same feelings because rather I'm thinking of my friends and what they are doing and what would I be doing if I was still in Finland.

This isn't a long heartfelt post but I will say thank you to everyone who talked to me at school or whoever I came into contact with. Thank you for giving me good memories to take home with me and cherish forever. Exchange tears your heart into two; part wants to go home and the other part wants nothing more then to stay.

Here are some pictures from through out my exchange

Until Next Time.
Hailey

(click on the photo's to make them bigger)