The snow has begun

Even though as I write this now, the snow has already melted, and it's back to rain, it is still noteworthy that it has already snowed. To be exact, the snow started last Friday, as in it was still October! I couldn't believe it! Here is proof. 

It was beautiful.

What I'm fearful of, however, is how long winter will drag on if it's already begun snowing in October. Then again, what did I expect? I moved to Scandinavia after all :) And more than the fear of the winter dragging on, I just can't believe how early the sun is setting. The sun is already setting at 4pm, and obviously it'll only get worse for the next month and a half :-/ Thankfully I have been running virtually every day and it's keeping my spirits up! Releasing all of those endorphins really works like magic. Last week I was getting ready for a run and it wasn't until after I got dressed and was about to walk out the door that I realized I was wearing multiple items from Hendricks County (where I grew up in Indiana). I laughed and thought it was worthy of a photo.

I laughed because these shorts are from middle school, yet they still fit. The perks of never really growing.

Even though winter feels like it is already here because of the snow, that doesn't mean that I am letting go of fall time. I technically still have another month and a half before I have to admit to myself that it's winter. In other words, I have been drinking copious amounts of pumpkin coffee that Katherine graciously mailed to me! :) I have received so many amazing fall time packages, and I can't thank everyone enough! It feels good to know how loved I am! My favorite care package item received to date is an amazing corn cob mug that Katherine sent me in the same package as the pumpkin coffee! My best friend really gets it :)

Best mug ever!

Let it be known, however, that I haven't let the snow slow me down! I'm impressed with myself because if you know me well you'll know how much I hate hate hate being cold. But I figure I can't afford to pout about the cold, because otherwise I'll be pouting for a very long time. Yay for having a better positive mental attitude about winter then I've ever had.

I love snow!

The photo above was taken last weekend when Steve, Joe and I went out to the local bar. The reason these details are worth sharing are because when we were leaving we saw this amazing hair style.. 

Apparently this is an option...

Sometimes I don't understand what people define as attractive, but then again I guess that's the irony of how beautiful humans are for not all being the same. Speaking of beautiful, I dressed up as a ridiculous looking gypsy for Halloween this past week! This was a very impromptu costume, because a: I didn't really have the resources to spend on a costume this year and b: we didn't have big plans so I didn't give it much thought. All in all, I'm pleased with being able to have put together this gypsy get-up with the resources I had in my closet. And as far as my Halloween celebration, it wasn't the most exciting, but they all can't be as exciting, but it was a nice low-key night. What mattered most was that Joe and Magdalena celebrated their first Halloween; I couldn't be more proud to help them celebrate for the first time! I love forcing Halloween on anyone that's never celebrated before, since it's not only my favorite holiday, but also a civic duty! :) I bought them candy since that is how a proper Halloween is obviously celebrated.

Unicorn, gypsy, lumberjack, and Frida Kahlo

A better photo of the ridiculous gypsy costume I came up with.

Oh and here's an amazing throwback from a Halloween past, where Alex and I were obviously killing it as a conehead and a power ranger!

We also went to Valeria's and my friend Ulla's house last night for a belated Halloween celebration, it was fun! Valeria met Ulla through couch surfing, and last night was the first time that I got to finally meet her. It was refreshing being in a home, rather then being in these dorm style apartments that we live in. Ulla has been very helpful to us since we have been here, she is actually who we borrowed sleeping bags and sleeping pads from for our camping trip. It's been nice finding welcoming Finns to hang out with.

I love any and all Halloween decorations, so fun!

Ulla has two cuddly cats, it was nice being around pets!

Other exciting things to report.. well I got to go to Helsinki again this past Thursday to attend an award celebration for those of us who received the International Student Grant. So Steve and I went to Helsinki for the celebration and then stayed in the city afterwards and hung out with his friends that he met during a summer school course he took in Helsinki last year. We had a lot of fun running around Helsinki with his friends, I can't wait to hopefully move there next semester. It felt good to be in the city where it is lively and full of energy. Oh and you can go creep this article that I was interviewed for about being a grant recipient, don't mind how awkward I look in the photo, the photographer was kind of an idiot. http://www.helsinki.fi/news/archive/11-2012/2-12-22-31.html

It was rather cloudy out, but I can't get enough of the ocean no matter when I see it.

Before the grant celebration we had time to walk around a market. As you can see they were serving a reindeer plate, so gross. 

The celebration was mildly fancy, with free champagne and a pianist to entertain us!

 The last exciting thing to report this time is that I have had some fun interactions with the beautiful birds that live around my building. I cleaned my flat last week and put the rugs outside on the balcony to air them out, and the next time that I went into the kitchen I realized that a bird was on the rug picking out the crumbs! What a great symbiotic relationship the birds and I have, they do my cleaning for me! :)

This little guy was going to town! 

 But then a couple of days later we realized that the birds had really been getting into our apple collection, which we keep on the balcony. Look how perfectly the birds had eaten this apple! Thankfully there are plenty to go around.

Job well done! 

Nothing else exciting this time around, school is going well, and it feels good to be investing in my future. But I can't wait to have a month off coming up so soon! It'll be great to see everyone, and to soak up some warm sunshine!