Getting involved

This past week has been a good one for feeling like I'm really involved in where I am and what I'm doing.
Last Wednesday (today is Tuesday) I went to do a presentation for a project based on international relations, integration and communication. Their focus is on education, working, learning and creating a generalised successful integration for people who wish to do so as well as encouraging acceptance to make this a positive experience. So as a Sociologist, I was interested to get to know about the project and definitely happy to be a part of it. My role as a presenter was to be a local example of promoting cultural awareness and education, having hopefully at least made a start on widening the cultural horizons and teaching acceptance to the Kinderi kids.
It was great to have been asked to be a part of it and to use a different skill. It was failry relaxed and I think it went quite well.

Also this past week, me and Anu have been organising an English club for kids to learn English in a fun environment before they are taught at schools. So we put together an idea and made some flyers. We then arranged to visit the local pre schools to spread the word. We visited 2 of 6 school (we will visit the other 4 later this week) and already have 5 members signed up to start next Wednesday!

Today, me and Steven went to our first Finish class, 'Finnish for Foreigners' held at the local high school, barely a 5 min  cycle away. We are the only 2 Brits and there are 2 Polish people, 1 Russian, 1 Japanese, 2 Bulgarian and 1 Sri Lankan. We learnt the alphabet, numbers, began to practice pronunciation and intonation (and learned of the frightening similarity between 'to kill' and 'to meet' - I am a little worried I might seem like a psycho at times) as well as how to say our nationality, language and country. So far, numbers are really long but more logically formed and the country/nationality/language thing is also much more logically formed. I'm hoping after getting over initial hurdles and learning irregular verbs, that it might make some sort of sense!

So yeah, sorry if this is a boring post, but it's nice to be involved so I thought I would share this with you :) To make it more interesting...here's a few pics of mine and Steven's jaunt out to the lake yesterday.

On shore at the lake about a 20 min cycle from home. About to take the boat out.

Is that an island I see in the distance? Ooooo...I wonder what's on it!

It's getting closer......

We're here! So there's a hut...

Let's look inside....

Creepy 70's decor, overturned bed and some 70's fishing mags...

More creepyness....handmade fishing rods and a table that looks untouched for years...Let's stay outside. 

There was a newer looking hut with a solid door. Through the keyhole it looked like a possible sauna. 

The first hut...looks well safe...not falling into the water at all.....

Private island picnic and beers :)

Lovely views all around...getting snap happy

Feeling like we're in an American coming of age film and shooting some cans...not too bad!

Then we sailed to part of the main foresty shore. Looks like somebody's been having a fishy bbq! Mmmmmm, innards.

Aforementioned foresty shore. We saw a woodpecker swoop down right  onto the tree just in front of us and peck his way all the way up for a few mins...amazing!

More snap happy-ing at lovely views

Amy and Steven woz 'ere

Nice eh?

Relaxing on the row way back to the docking shore. 

Steven rowing us home in his awesome new Birthday hat. 

In other news, I have booked a trip back to England to see my newly birthed neice! Eeeeek and yay! :-D Following this will be 6 days in St Petersburg with Steven. Currently sorting out a Russian visa....a joyful organisational addition. Following this, I will come back to my home in Kauhava whilst Steven goes and meets friends for a week in Lithuania and Latvia! Slightly disappointed to be missing out on this adventure but the excitement of a neice more than makes up for it! It will also be lovely to see everybody at home and have a reasonably priced pint and maybe a dance to some decent music. Some quality time with the estranged 'I'm trying to be Australian but I'm a lobster' Laura will be lovely :) It's just a shame Sophie's still away so that we have to wait until Crimbo for the full reuinion!

Steven's arrival & Bday & rest of Aug

My apologies for the serious delay with updating this blog. We only got internet in the flat just under a week ago and it has been a busy one what with Steven's birthday and a weekend break. 

We're getting used to life with 2 in the studio flat and it's feeling like home. On returning from our trip we both felt like we had returned home so that was a pleasant realisation! There is a slight chill in the air now and we feel like cramming in as much as possible outside whilst it's still warm and snow free! We've been (mainly me, Amy) getting really excited about pictures of the northern lights taken over the past few days both near where we live and near where we went away. Eeeeek! So planning a trip to Lapland is definitely on the cards. Perhaps before Christmas, but we shall see.

I decided it would be easiest for me to add a selection of photo's and captions to show you what we've been up to. I hope it's not too boring with the lack of much insight into my views and thoughts at the time. The pictures are in chronological order over the month, so view away. 

Lotta from work kindly took me for a swim at a nearby lake on a sunny day after work. She showed me the way and showed me how to bike to another one and to the local bar and local pub. This little bit of  lake is surrounded by forest and other tiny lakes and is only about a 15 min cycle from home :)

At the second lake Lotta showed me. Forest and huts...stereotypical for a reason!

Charming li'l toilets at an animal sanctuary I visited with Tiina (a mum at Kinderi and part of the committe who run it) and her daughter Ella. 

Ridiculously stunning sky taken whilst lounging on my bed through my bedroom window. 

Sky on the same night just in a different direction. 

Getting really excited for Steven to join me! Eeeeek! A hamper of all the things he has at home. 

Toby and Duck Duck - our lifelong soft toys- finally meet and hit it off a storm! (Toby's definitely winning)

Tooley looking rather at home with his new air rifle. 

Our first target...not so bad! Pretty close range though...we're developing now as we find more good woodland to play in!

Steven looking all Scandinavian with his bike, gun, yellow field and red hut. 

Me, looking all Scandinavian on a bike ride and stroll through some fields and forest. 

Casual regular stunning view from in bed. And yes, I mean the toe. 

Steven's Birthday! As seeing as we're in Moomin Land and he has Moomin Eyes, it only seems right that he should get a Moomin cake! Excuse the unneat decorative finnish...I had very limited time and a birthday boy to visit on my lunch!
Later, we used to car that Chris (Tiina's husband) had lent us and drove to the nearby seaside town of Vaasa on The Ostrobothnian Coast. That's the Finnish coast of the gulf that's between Sweden and Finland...we're about halfway up. Aka, the Baltic Sea. We played some good miniature golf (which I won *ahem*) and then found a gorgeous sunset on one of the little islands. 

Steven at said lovely sunset. 

Kinderi Carnival week! We had made bunting and carnival masks and this is them enjoying a video of Leeds Carnival Parade. 

Totes driving a car. Successfully. Note the lovely hoody, it was made for me by Outi at work cause she's really nice :) It was a lovely surprise!

Target shooting from much further afield...expensive toy but I must admit it's pretty fun!

Just looking badass with the gun. 

We went to Oulu for the weekend (Ostrobothnian Coast again, but much bigger town and much further north). We ventured out on the Friday night heading into town and found ourselves in a street of 32000 roses! Flowers flowers everywhere!

Cheap evening drinks by the bustling harbour amongst the local students and families. Behind us is several restaurants/bars in old old wooden huts and the market square. 

Aahh yeah :D Found me some nice strong British Cheddar in the market hall! Hangover cured :)  

Steven trying to keep on the good side of the police. This was Oulu's famous statue of a policeman with a traditional end of summer festival wreath. 

We had Lingonberyy wine and Cloudberry Sorbet in an old salt mill. Again, rustic hut :)

Bike Envy. We saw an old rusty bike that seemed otherwise in working order in a junk shop for 35euros....project maybe. 

Still in Oulu. A snap of one of the many old rusty looking wooden huts that lined the harbour.

Coast in Oulu (there are several small islands)

Home becoming more home like. Plants, lamps, cushions and curtains have been added. But due to their stupid non sensical bedding sizes and them not matching with the quilt sizes available, we have no bedding still. 

Arrivals and settling in alone

I'm not a particularly poetic write and I tend to rush through things at times, so I do apologise if this blog isn't always witty, profound, poignant etc....Really, I'm doing it to keep a record of the things I'm doing for any friends and family who might be interested and also for myself so that I can remember everything. Well, everything I write down anyway. I'm hoping that Steven will contribute at some point for he is better with the words than me and it might keep y'all interested :p
I think it's also important/interesting (for me anyway) to keep a track of my attitude, feelings, opinions etc of the things that I do, things that happen, as they happen. Moving to a new country for a year, things are bound to seem strange/boring/exciting/different/strangely similar and it will be nice to reflect on my reactions and attitudes at the time of occurrence rather than get them all muddled and forgotten later.

Today is Wednesday and I arrived on Sunday evening so I've been here for 3 full days now. When I arrived, Annika (my 'boss' at the playschool) picked me up from the station, took me to the flat and showed me around. I was pretty tired from the journey and kind of just wanted to settle in for the night, but in a rather nice and helpful way she went through what was provided in the flat, asked if there was anything I thought I might need and that she could get these things. I flippantly said everything seemed okay....taking everything in over-riding my brain. She gave me some juice/homemade squash that her mother in law had made from fresh blackcurrants for me. She told me to add water and maybe sugar and it's just like robinsons! I thought that was pretty nice and also cool! Just the first hint of how people here are really friendly and helpful and everyone around seems to want to help me settle in :)
 She commented at the lack of niceties in the flat being due to the 2 previous tenants having been male and she has tried to make up for this by adding a couple of floor mats, a wipeable table cloth and a curtain pelmet...without the pelmet so really just some short curtains. Purple detail so I'm approve :) Perhaps when my new roomie gets here we'll want something a little less gender specific and also more sun blocky as there's still a bit of a glow at midnight.
Here's a piccy of the kind of light taken through my window at midnight on my first night.

Instead of trying to describe it further...here are some snaps of the flat I took after I did a li'l bit of student flat style pimping using what I could fit in my suitcase. I'm sure this will change a lot over time and with the new tenant arriving soon :D :D :D

The bunting fell down overnight....I only had blu-tac :(

There's a flipping sauna! It's effing brilliant!

I wasn't expecting to start work straight away as in e-mail correspondence with Annika she mentioned the 1st Aug, yet when she had showed me round the flat and then the playschool on Sunday night, she asked me to come in on the Monday morning. So I've been in for 3 days, 9-5, but I get a nice 2 hr break 12-2. Sometimes longer if the kids go to sleep earlier. There's only about 5 kids there at the moment, from 2-6, all very cute. We've just been playing in the playschool with their toys, books, puzzles etc, and maybe go outside if the weather's dry. Then they have lunch, where they're ever so politely allowed to ask for more and go into the kitchen to get it. Tha dults are allowed to help themselves to what's provided and anything else in the kitchen and/or bring stuff themselves and are free to prepare it at their leisure in the well stocked kitchen, so it's a nice relaxed atmosphere. There are 2 brothers who are funny with their food (Miiro and Roni) and tend to sit there awkwardly waiting for this time to be over. Obviously they remind me of myself and I totally feel their pain! Annika and Anu (the other girl working there who I've had some good getting to know talks with...she's lovely) are quite good at dealing with them and not putting TOO much pressure on them though. But yeah, I make it my mission to try and help them in some way.

Today was a good day, the sun came back out and so we spent the whole afternoon (well around 2 hrs) picking raspberrys in the bushes just outside the playschool. After work I had a wander down the main street and enjoyed the amount of bikes, trees, quirky glasses and open spaces. I went to two of the many large supermarket/warehousey shops looking for bedding that will fit the twin beds that are together making an odd sized king. I mainly stoked up on foody basics and bought only 2 pillows and cases. Spent lots of euro's already :-/ Some food's similar prices, some more expensive. Some crockery etc is ridiculously priced! But oddly, bikes seem quite cheap....

Sorry if this has been long and rambling, but I guess there's just a lot to say! I'm feeling excited and happy. There has been mention of Anu maybe driving me to Seinjoki after work and work meetings being quite sociable and I was told I must go for dinner at one of the mums houses - the 'committee member' (for want of a better translation) who hired me. God knows what I'll do this weekend though. Can't bloody wait for Steven Toole to arrive!