So I'm glad to inform you all that I am surviving the Finnish winter! I guess that should be obvious because living in Saskatchewan I've seen some pretty horrible winters. Its funny because for most exchange students winter is a whole new experience. I have had a few people ask me if it snows in Canada. I just laughed! I really like the Finnish winter because the weather is much more milder and there isn't as much wind. The trees are permanently covered in snow which makes everything so beautiful.
In my last blog I had informed you guys that I had switched host families. I have finally settled in. Its weird to think I've only been them 4 weeks. Now I only live 1 km from the school which is nice because I hate biking long distance in -20. Now I appreciate my big yellow bus back home. One thing I really miss is being able to drive :(. Its strange to always have to ask, but its also a good thing to learn to walk and bike more. I bike everywhere now and its a habit I hope to bring with me when I come back.
I know I'm not coming back yet but I don't want to leave Finland. I love it here and I have so many great friends that I can count on. I already know its going to be difficult leaving. :(. I'm already at the half way point of my exchange which is hard to beleive. I remember at this time last year I was freaking out about not going back home for the holidays. :D
School is going well as usual. Koeviiko (Test week) is coming up on Friday and all the 3rd graders in my school are leaving. Its sad because I won't get to see a lot of them after because they will be busy with other things. I don't know what I'm going to do during test week because I think I only have one exam. My Finnish is finally getting somewhere. I can understand a lot now and I can say a few things but as usual speaking is the difficult part.
Last week I was in the middle school almost every day making presentations in French and in English about Canada and a little about my life and my exchange. I was really surprised by the response. All the kids seemed to be very interested and asked a lot of questions. It was nice because I wasn't nervous at all. The only thing I wish I would have done differently is having a something to give them. If I have any advice to an exchange student is to pick wisely what you bring to give away. I obviously didn't think about it enough :S.
This weekend I went to Lappeenranta to visit a French exchange student Manon. I had lots of fun just hanging out.
Soccer is going well too. We aren't the best team but we are doing better then we were in outdoor. I wish I could be in a more competitive team but Hamina only has enough players for one team. I guess people aren't all that much into sports here. Also for sport I have been going to Uuperi a lot with my host dad. It is a down hill ski place. Its about the same size as Wapiti but steeper. I really enjoy this because it gives me something to do on the weekends.
Well that's all the news I have for this time! If your reading my blog please let me know and feel free to ask questions. :P
Love you all! Mimi je t'aime et j'mexcuse pour l'autre jour <3
Soph. xxx
My new room and bed.
My new house.
Hi Sopie
ReplyDeleteWe have just gone through a 3 day blizzard here in Sask. All the roads got very blown in with snow in places. Hopefully they will be cleared by tomorow because I have to drive back to Ponteix. I came home today and was 2 miles out of Hodgeville and got supremly stuck and to boot I wrecked my bumper on my car. Oh well another adventure>
Sounds like things are going well with you. I am glad you are not homesick and have made good friends. Your new room looks comfy.
When you are in school what kind of classes do you sit in? Do you attend regular grade 12 classes or what??
Take care and as always we look forward to reading your blogs. Love Auntie Gervaise
Uncle Farts says Hi!
Hi sophie, glad that your new host family is so good for you and that you can still see alot of your first host family, so important for your life there. Thanks for your advice to other yeps about things to give out to kids, etc. that's a great idea and I'll make sure to pass it along to our outbound students now. Rotary Melfort is so busy with our Radio Days project, and with ShelterBox Canada. We're also adopting a school in Guatemala with the Ripple Effect program. Do you go to the meetings regularly, I wonder? Eeeki Rask does and I think he's enjoying that. He is also playing indoor soccer here, in our fabulous new multi-use complex, the Kerry Vickar Centre. Our outbound student for next year is Graeme Peters and he's going to Sweden. You should see if you can connect on facebook. So thanks for keeping updated on your blog, I like to read it :) bye for now, Gailmarie Anderson
ReplyDeleteyo soph, c'est Martin et Jac! On lit tes blogs et on les aime gros! C'est cool que tu as tellement aimé faire tes présentations et quelle ont si bien été! pense tu encore faire le bac? nous t"aimons!
ReplyDelete:)
ran.ger: Allô Matante :D Tout de suite je suis dans le milieu d'une transition. Je change toute mes classes pour la prochaine période mais je crois que je vais être dans les maths, l'italien, le français, et l'éducation physique. Le système scolaire en Finlande est très différent de celui au Canada mais je prends des classes au niveau que je veux parce que rien compte c'est juste pour le plaisir :P
ReplyDeleteGailmarie: Thank you for using my tip because I think that people really enjoy souvenirs and I really don't have any good ones :(. Yes I do attend rotary meetings but only about once of month. The rotary invites me when they want me there. My club is much different then the one in MElfort they don't meet very often. I go as often as I can and mos of the rotarians know who I am :) Tell the rotary hi and that I am enjoying myself very much. I really appreciate all of your help :D
Jac et Martin: Oui, Jac je pense encore rentrer dans le bac. J'ai besoin de l'aide! Je sais pas comment avoir un student ID number et puis j'ai de la difficulté à écrire le texte parce que ça fais longtemps que j'Ai écris quelque chose de formel :S MAis tous va bien se passer j'espère :D JE vous aimes aussi :D