Irane in Finland (30.08 – 18.12)
Tänä syksynä pääsimme osalliseksi hieman erilaista matkaa. Onnekkaiden sattumusten kautta luonamme asui lähes neljä kuukautta uusi ystävämme Irene. Saimme olla Irenen paikallinen perhe hänen opintovaihtonsa ajan ja nautimme suuresti uudesta roolistamme paikallisoppaana ja nähtävästi suoriuduimme siitä melko hyvin, sillä viikko ennen lähtöään Irena oli saanut kuulla olevan enemmän suomalainen kuin hänen uusi paikallinen ystävänsä hänen kerrottuaan kaataneensa perheen joulukuusen itse metsästä =) Koko Irenen vierailun ajan olimme yhtäaikaa kotona, matkalla Suomessa ja matkalla Kataloniassa. Tässä siis “päiväkirja” matkasta, jonka saimme jakaa Irenen kanssa. (Niina)
Almost at the end of four months being a Catalan 21-year-old woman in Finland, I think I have a lot of things to explain about my experience as an Erasmus+ student in this country. I arrived in Sotkuma on the 30th of August after almost two months traveling alone around the United States. The change between the two countries was very huge and the fact of knowing I was going to stay a long time out of home was emotionally challenging at the beginning
I remember most of the people I met the first days told me I just arrived when the weather did a drastic change. It changed from being 40 degrees in the USA and 30 in Spain to being at 10 degrees during the day. Not only the weather, but the language, people and especially landscape were all new for me. It was the start of something new.
I felt part of this family and the school since the very beginning. The environment was so welcoming and warm, not only during the first days but always, and that’s why I haven’t felt homesick very often. September was exciting, I met a lot of people (also friends from Joensuu who were doing an Erasmus + as well) and I started my stay in Sotkuma school, a very cozy and small place with a lot of nice people. I also did a lot of new things. I would stand out many of them: going twice to Koli, camping a tent with friends, picking up blueberries with Savanna, spending a lot of time with Sarah and her classmates in the school, barbecuing sausages and chocolate bananas, doing crafts at home and watching an ice-hockey match (absolutely something I never thought I would do). Here are some pictures of this nice September plans:
The best thing of this month was being able to see how autumn colors were appearing after few days in Finland. Driving in an orange, yellow and brown road and walking in nature was very beautiful taking into account that Spanish autumn is usually much later than in Finland, (and of course autumn living in a city is very different).
October came over very quickly. I started to feel this was nothing new anymore, it was already just my home. October the 5th was my birthday and it became very special and memorable. We spent a sunny weekend with Rauno, Niina, Savanna, Annlisa and family in Kittee. The cottage and the place were very beautiful, I’m sure my mum would have loved to see that place. For me it was similar to movie spots. I fished in a lake for the first time which was very funny because I had no idea of how to manage with the rod. We went to the sauna and we spent a lot of time watching the stars in the Puljia during the night. I think it is one of the very happy memories I have in Finland.
After my last days in Sotkuma school, the autumn break came. During that week I did a lot of nice plans with my family and friends. I was invited to a warm-house party with all Finnish people (such an experience) and we went to Kuopio with Savanna, Sarah and Niina just to enjoy a day in the real IKEA. It was so nice, especially the pizza buffet!
Other amazing days were during our trip to Estonia and Latvia with Juli (Spain) and Isi (Belgium), two really good friends I’ve met here in Finland. After almost planning everything the day before, we left on Wednesday 19th and we came back on Sunday. We saw Helsinki, Tallinn, Pärnu and Riga, and we were very lucky because it was sunny almost everyday. Our favorite was Riga and here are some pictures of what ended up being an adventure together and the first trip around Finland and nearby countries.
Super important thing to say!! I saw my first (and sadly only) northern lights in Sotkuma just the night we came back from our trip, the day before starting my stay in Polvijärvi school, so it was a cute end of holidays and new beginning.
Polvijärvi school is a place where I wouldn’t mind staying for a long, long time. Kids are lovely and teachers were always very careful with me. I could feel I was more than welcome there and they were happy to have me in the school. I taught math to the 6th graders and assisted teachers in the other lessons. During the first days after the Autumn break, Halloween came and everyone was very excited. Niina and Rauno prepared a great Halloween party in the garage, so few people in the neighborhood and Sarah’s and Savanna’s friends joined. I helped Niina with some decoration and the final result was so cool. Just during that night, the time changed and darkness came straight as the first time in life experiencing black sky November at 15 pm.
Olaia (Spain) and I went to see the All-Saints Day on the first Saturday of the month. We went to Joensuu graveyard to see the beautiful candles all around the cemetery. In Spain we celebrate this day on the 1st of November and people bring flowers to their loved ones. But here in Finland it was different, the light of the candles in front of the dark sky and people singing songs gave us a very warm All-Saints Day. Experiencing cultural differences is one of the best things about living abroad.
The next day, we went with Niina and Savanna to Hoplop, a place I will remember for sure. Savanna was very excited. Niina and I were too, but while we were trying to catch her, she was already on the other side of the park. I would bet her favourite place is the trampoline, she jumped around 200 times straight
Now comes the second trip: Stockholm. My friends and I went on a student cruise to Stockholm for three days in the middle of November. We enjoyed this trip a lot, I had never been on a cruise before and Stockholm was in my bucket list of places to visit in Europe. Although it was a short visit, we all loved the city, especially Gamla Stan. I remember on the way back home the ship was moving a lot and everyone was so dizzy, but for me it was very funny because I felt like I was on a roller-coaster. I visited Helsinki with some Italian friends and we saw the first Christmas lights in the city center, we visited the amazing library and played chess, also we felt the cold coming. It was 0ºC and I was freezing, although now I would be very happy with that temperature.
When I came back to Joensuu, the snow was waiting for us. It came to stay. Everything looked amazingly beautiful, especially for a Catalan person like me who is not used to seeing everything covered on white. I used to stare at the landscape from the window on the road to the school everyday until the night stayed longer in the morning and the sun went down before leaving home. Some days were hard because I had the feeling of wanting to go to sleep at 5pm and I missed the sun quite a lot.
Finnish people know what to do when darkness comes. I was invited to two Pre-Christmas parties. The first with the teachers and the second with Rauno’s family. In the second one I went to Puljia and rolled in the snow, they told me it was a must to do before going home and so I did it without doubting. Rauno’s family is so nice, they were very keen on my experience and I like when people ask a lot of questions because it means they care, it was meaningful for me they did.
With less than one month left in Finland, I started to feel both a little bit homesick but sad for not having much time left. I used to see the end very far away and it was already coming. Time flied really fast. We started the Christmas calendar and that for me meant a sad way of counting the days left. However, I had really incredible plans still to do: going to Lapland. I went to Lapland for a whole week. It was the most different place I have ever seen in my life. Landscapes full of snow felt like being in a movie with friends to the North Pole. We visited Santa Claus Village and we stayed In Saarisëlka in a big cottage with Spanish people. We did really nice activities: sledding in the snow, snow-hiking in the mountains, learning arctic survival skills… But definitely my favourite was the trip Norway and taking a bath in the Arctic Ocean. It was a dream and one of the biggest things I have ever done. Here are some pictures before the 14-hour bus ride back home.
When I came back home after Lapland I started to feel I was saying goodbye. Last days in the school were very emotional. I could feel people loved me so much, not only kids but teachers and staff. I received a lot of beautiful goodbye messages and wishes in both Sotkuma and Polvijärvi. The family Christmas dinner with Juli and Isi was the best goodbye ever.
I think the most beautiful thing of living abroad is leaving a mark. I hope I left something similar to a happy memory to be remained in casual family and school moments from now on. I couldn’t have had a better family to stay and honestly I’m going to miss my Finnish home so much, as well as the good friendships I’ve done here and being part of the teaching staff. It will be bittersweet to go back home, it will take a while to get used again. However, I know whenever I look back I will be thankful and blessed for having had the opportunity of living this experience.
Home is where the heart is<3
I’m gonna miss you so much!
MaailmanRakas 