Nuggets: Not children but girl gang

Thursday after school my friends took me out to explore Helsinki. Our goal is to see everywhere in the city by the time I leave. They are the best. I couldn't ask for a better group of girl friends.

practicing the Finnish smile as I wait for the train. Also the scarfs are not just a fashion statement, it is really that cold. 

A door nob store

Found a record store

a leather bike accessory store

vintage comic book store

boxes of random pieces of art store

Underground thrift store

costume store (they don't even have Halloween so I am slightly confused)

American Preschool

Group chat picture

On the search for cheap coffee and dinner

they are pure kindness

I am laughing so hard writing this post because to be honest I am surprised I found such a good group to hang out with. They took me in and now I sit with them at lunch. This seems like something small and silly but I have been thinking a lot lately about people. And no matter where you are at, you want to have a place. Yes you have one, but when you find a genuine place which wants you as much as you want it. That is pure luck. These girls are the best. And when I say that, it comes from the bottom of my heart.  We talk about everything I would with my girls back home.

Fact: Humans are the same no matter where you are.

Kerava Rotary and a new addition of: Adventures with the Aussie

Kerava Rotary!!!!

Wednesday I went in for one class and then caught the train before lunch to go and give a presentation to one of my two rotary clubs- Kerava. This is about a 15 minuet bike ride from my house but since I went by train a Rotarian picked me up.

Felt the need to show my locker at school, not everyone has a locker. Please note the heels, American flag, and english text book.

One of the most beautiful views when walking to the trains at Pustiola.

This is a funny story... so I didn't really want to be super fancy at school so I decided to get ready on the 20 min ride to Kerava. This resulted in me hiding in the last dimly lit train car, a strange look from the conductor when he walked by, and a innocent passenger walking into the last car looking at my chaos and then switching cars. I feel like this won't be the first time this will occur.

The meeting went well. It was nice to give the presentation a few weeks in so I could talk more in detail about the differences and the similarities between cultures. It also helped because I was able to poke fun at my Finnish mess-ups which made them all laugh. I am not the only exchange student in this club. There is also Milly. She is an oldie (def- exchange student which arrives in january, is here for 6 months of my exchange and then I become an oldie and teach the new exchange student.) I am super lucky to have her. She has actually been there for me since I got off the plane, before now that I think about it. Milly has taught me the ropes of the Finnish Exchange World, especially since we are the capital district there is a lot to learn. She was there for my presentation and afterwards we hung out.

more coffee always

kiss us, we are exchange students

After finding all the tourist information we could, a break was needed at the local exchange student hang out- really shady 5€ pizza place on the west side of helsinki. 

only 5€

We saw a rotary wheel in the window of an apartment. We got there attention. 

We sprinted through the rain to the only starbucks in Finland. They wouldn't accept my gift card. Ah. 

I ordered it in Finnish. Be proud.

 On the way home we went to all the thrift stores which are housed under the train station. The rooms are really small and thrown together but you can find some really cool things.

This just reminded me of home!

Our motto of the year.

I got home all cold and wet, the only weather Finland will offer us, but filled with joy. I find it so interesting how the exchange student world works. It is so much more detailed than one would even know. We rely greatly on each other I have found. There is an instant connection because you understand even the little details the other is going through. And the stories. Oh the stories. 

Chilling with the Rotarians

My club took me on my first outing with them to the Suomenlinna Island Fortress. Now I have been there once before with my host family but this time it was completely different. 

I was able to miss US history, the teacher understood that I need to learn more Finnish History. So I caught the train to the capital and my counselor picked me up and off we went. She and I first stopped at "The Mantaa Hotel." Now yes it is a hotel, but the crazy part is that it is only a one room art hotel built upon the most famous fountain in all of Finland. It is a working art exhibit only built for the month. It was super sweet because I have been seeing it in all the papers and then Bam! I was there. Super cool. The bed was built around the statue. 

Waiting.. and waiting.. avoiding eye contact with strangers

the wall paper had more detail within the details

The view from the window. The little orange tents is where the market is. They have everything there- stalls and stalls of foods, lollies, and just random stuff.

View of the baltic!

After the hotel we stopped for a bite to eat- Freshly caught salmon and veggies. This may have topped my top ten meals (right next to the peanut butter and rice-o-roni from the night before.) We ate it in this small shack like tent. 

We met up with the Rotaians (about ten old men, my counselor, and me). They were all really kind and all stood up on the top deck of the ferry in the beginning-to-freeze rain because I loved the smell from the waves. They told me the history of every thing we passed. They were as excited as I was. That is something that is hard to top sometimes. 

So since it was a gloomy day, or a nice day in Finland. It is warm at 13°. We took the outside guided tour which was done in English for yours truly! They were very into me learning, I love it. I learned a lot.  We first saw the indoor museum. 

This was an old granary but my rotarian told me its where they hung bad exchange students... 

This was a tour guide and he was hilarious. He never took his tour group on the paths so you could just look over and bam, dead guy. 

My guide called it the fortress of untouched beauty

This boat yard is still in work, I am going to go watch them flood it come October.

woo! my club! 

tally ho!

finland's only submarine... still to this day.... they don't have any

This is an actual prison. Finland is super progressive and have these "open-air" prisons. Where in the last year of a person sentencing (as long as they didn't kill anybody) they can go to these special prisons where they are allowed to go out in the daytime and work and earn a savings. So when they get out they have skills, savings, and a job. Really awesome. 

I was walked back to the train station where I was treated to warm tea and a biscuit. It was a cold, rainy, but wonderful day where I saw a whole new side of history. I am still chilled to the bone though.