The View from Above

I've just finished my third week here in Finland, and the time has flown by. I can't believe almost a month has passed since I left the states. Things around here have really started to feel normal. This week's adventure took me to Pyhtää, Finland. It is a very small city about 2 hours south of Lappeenranta. It is also home to my host-grandparents. There is a ropes course in the area, so of course we had to do it!

There was 3 courses. Two outside in a field and one inside the forest.

I complete all three courses. I struggled through all of them would be more accurate.

My host sister Ella rocked the helmet and kicked the course's butt.

Each obstacle was entirely different. 

We had to hang,

Climb, 

Stomach insane heights, 

and Fly.

It was absolutely incredible!

The park also had an indoor skydiving and indoor surfing activity. I hope to go back and try them both!

Indoor Skydiving looks insane.

Sunday morning we went to a nearby national park. This area is protected because it is considered a swamp. Swamps are quite common in the northern parts of Finland, but not so much in the southern. The swamp was absolutely beautiful. I got to see a bird nest that has been in the area for over 40 years! I, of course, took tons of photos.

The black creature in the corner is Lätty, the family dog.

The swamp, as you can see, is beautiful.

Lätty again :)

There was a large tower for bird watching. It had an amazing view.

The bird's nest

It was so nice to experience some of Finland's natural beauty. I hope I get to see even more this next week!

A Whole Lot of Water

I originally planned for this blog to be a collection of intellectual comments on how Finnish and American society differ. I wanted it to really be an insight into the good and bad of both cultures. I now realize that most of these intellectual thoughts aren't going to come until much later in the year; I may even be home by the time I am able to analyze both cultures.. I'm currently on this 'exchange high,' everything is so new, different, and wonderful. Being in awe of everything I see makes it really difficult to stand back and compare the two cultures. So until I can come up with some smart thing to say... Here are some pictures of what I have been up to.

We went to the nearby city of Imatra and saw them open the dam.

A LOT of water was unleashed

And it looked awesome.

There was also a castle in Imatra.

It was built in 1903.

It has now been turned into a hotel.

There is a lot of lake around here

So there is a lot of lake pictures.

But that's okay

because the lake is beautiful :)

I went to my first Rotary Event

It was a lake cruise that went through the canal that connects lake Saimaa to the sea.

I got to meet several of my hosting club's members. They were all wonderful!

The canal has several 'locks' which are basically boat elevators.

The boat elevator

Every day is an absolute wonder here :) I can't wait to wake up every morning and start a new adventure.

First Day of School

Tuesday was my first day of school. Truth be told, it felt like kindergarten all over again. I had no idea what was going on, I didn't know anyone, and I missed my family. It took the school several days to get me into the school system, so things were pretty boring for awhile. It was hard to meet people and make friends when I didn't see the same people every day. Luckily, my schedule was made today! I am super excited to get to know people now! It looks something like this:
Monday: 
Finnish 11:00-12:15
Photography 13:00-14:15
Tuesday: 
English 8:00-9:15 
Finnish 9:30-10:45
Math 11:00-12:15
Wednesday: 
Finnish 11:00-12:15 
Photography 13:00-14:15
Thursday: 
English 8:00-9:15
Math 9:30-10:45
Photography 13:00-14:15
Friday: 
English 8:00-9:15
Math 13:00-14:15

My schedule is pretty empty. My options are limited since my Finnish is very basic. I am hoping I will be able to explore new hobbies and my new city with this free time. My school is in a fairly central location, so it is easy to walk around during free periods.

My School

Here's some pictures from the exploring I have already done around Lappeenranta!

The Beach near the City

The Harbor near the City

An Old Russian Fortress

An Old Russian Fortress

An Old Russian Fortress

 The one Tourist-y thing Lappeenranta has are these HUGE sandcastles. They are absolutely gorgeous. They are put up at the beginning of summer and then taken down for winter. Every year the sand castle have some sort of theme. This years theme was music. 

My Favorite Photo

Finland is really Starting to feel like home :)