It has been really great getting back to Finland. I have only been back two weeks, and I have had lots of fun already. I have been asked to share some photos of 'Finnish life' so I thought what better time then now, when I don't have much other news than my schoolwork. So I thought I'd share more about the most exciting bit of Finnish culture that I love dearly, sauna! I got the chance to go to sauna by myself last week, and so I took that opportunity to take a few photos of the sauna in my building. It was a relaxing hour of attempting to meditate.
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| This is where you enter sauna and leave you clothes, towel, etc. |
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| Then you can take a quick shower before getting into the sauna. |
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This is just to show you that the sauna doors are just off to the right of the shower.
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This is heaven. Nothing warms my bones like sauna can.
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| The only thing that could make this sauna better would be if it was heated by logs, and not electricity, but alas, it's still unbelievably relaxing. |
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| If you're lucky enough you can add essential oils to the water that you throw on top of the rocks, because it makes the steam smell divine! :) |
Finnish life is really magical now that the fine blanket of snow is covering the ground every day. Everyone is outside either cross-country skiing, playing hockey, or even better yet snowkiting! I witnessed snowkiting for the first time last weekend and it was insanely cool! I ventured out to take a walk on the massive lake that is now frozen outside of my place, which is now a huge arena for activities! The snowmobiles have even made their established paths on the lake. Walking on water still freaks me out beyond belief, but I am trying to subside my fear and embrace the beauty. Hopefully I'll proudly own some cross-country skis soon.
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| This is the best photo of the snowkiting that I was able to get. |
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It was one of those days where the sun's reflection off the snow was pure magic.
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Last weekend I learned that the Finnish obsession with cross-country skiing has been taken to another level. I was lucky enough to witness the madness that is a 24-hour ski competition. There were about 16 teams who were required to ski a 2 kilometer track as many times as fast as they could, in 24 hours. It is essentially a 24-hour long relay race. Most teams consisted of at least 10 people. The team that I was rooting on, for example, had each participant complete at least 2 laps, before switching off to the next teammate. This means that each person skis for approximately 20 minutes, before it is the next person's turn, which also means you'd have hours between turns, allowing for brief naps and/or coffee breaks. In the end over 100 laps were skied, but the winning team did far more than that even! It was fun to watch.
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| This is the start/finish. I'm off to the right side with my fancy schmancy parka. |
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| Some skiiers gearing up! |
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| Emi starting his turn! |
All in all Finnish life is great! School is going well, and even though I'm stressed about deadlines, it's somehow refreshing to be stressed about school! Last week, while attempting to pay attention, me and some of my classmates were giggling about how obsessed the Finns are with taking their shoes off whenever possible. It is very common to see Finns in their socks and/or they will go even as far as to bring slippers to class! I sneakily snapped this photo of one of my classmates who had meticulously taken his shoes off and placed them to the side :)
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| How comfy! |
Okay, it is back to studying for me, and attempting to finish packing! That's right, the next time I post it will be from Helsinki!!!!!! I am moving this weekend and I am super excited!!! :) It will feel good to be back in a city that feels alive, rather than my current sleepy town. Now I have the beautiful blanket of snow and plenty of hot tea and good music to keep me motivated.. yay!
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| Even when the sun doesn't shine the carpet of white still makes me smile :) |
