Go TPS!!

It was time to attend a game of this popular sport here in Finland, ice hockey!

Emma and I went to the game TPS vs. Kalpa. TPS is the team from Turku, so that was the one that we were cheering for.

We both never attended an ice hockey game before, so we didn't really knew what to expect. But it was really fun to watch!

The players can all skate so so good, I was so impressed. They are really confident on the skates and go for- and backwards, making twists and pushing each other, bump into the wall of the ring and trying to make a goal. They made a big show of it.

Unfortunately TPS lost with 1 against 3.. Emma and I really enjoyed watching the game and see how competitive the supporters are and how they cheer for their favorite team.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

While our time here is coming closer to the end, also the days here in Finland are getting shorter and shorter... 

By the time that the sun decides to show herself, it's almost 9.30 in the morning, and still, it will stay a little dark. We can only enjoy the light for a few hours a day because the sunset will start around 15.30 already. So the days are short and it looks a little sad.. 

I'm really wondering how the days will be in Lapland, where we are way more north than here in Turku. But I can imagine that we will only see a few hours of daylight. 

But with the days becoming shorter, we also welcomed some snow here in Turku! For me it is a long time ago that I saw snow this early in the year (we had the first snow here in Turku at the end of November). While I'm writing this the snow is falling from the sky, and I really hope that we can enjoy it for a few days. 

It really feels like winter here and with all the Christmas lights in town, we are totally in the Christmas vibe because of that. Emma and I are spending Christmas here in Finland, so I hope we will experience a real Finnish Christmas. But to be honest, it's bittersweet. Spending Christmas here is a nice experience and a good ending of our time here. But with all the other exchange students going home to their family already, it makes me miss home a little bit more.. 

Luckily I'm not alone, I have Emma by my side, so we're going to make the best of it and we will make it a Christmas we will never forget. 

Nähdään!

Aniek 

Itsenäisyyspäivä

Today, 6th of December, it's itsenäisyyspäivä or Independence Day!

On this day the Finnish people celebrate Finland's declaration of independence from Russia in 1917. 

What I've read on the internet is the following:

Official Independence Day festivities usually commence with the raising of the Finnish flag on Tähtitorninmäki ("Observatory Hill") in Helsinki. A religious service is held at Helsinki Cathedral, and official visits are made to the war memorials of World War II.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(Finland)

Last year it was a really special Independence Day, the 100th, so our tutor told us that this year it would be less spectacular. She said that it's kind of a day when you come together with your family and have a nice dinner. But the night before a lot of people go out and party to celebrate their independence. 

I hope to see some of the celebration of the Independence Day here in Turku, to see the differences with our Liberation Day. When I listened to my tutor I already noticed some differences. For us it's not really a day where we get together with family to enjoy some food. In our country there are a lot of festivals where you go with friends and celebrate the freedom of our country. It's mostly a day where the younger people party and just have a good time. 

Nähdään!

Aniek 

International Food Party

Tonight our tutor group met for an international foodparty! The group consists of a Finnish/Vietnamese girl, she is our tutor, a Spanish girl and Emma and me, from the Netherlands. So kind of a variation of cultures, really fun!

Emma and I decided to make 'pepernoten', because it was the 5th of December, so that means it was the day of Sinterklaas in the Netherlands! We missed out bacause we're here, but by making this we brought a little bit of home to Finland. Luckily the girls liked them really much and even I must admit they turned out really good. 

We also made a not really Dutch dish, but a delicious one, pizza-nachos, 'cause who doesn't like pizza? Next to our dishes we had the Spanish frittata, an omelette with potato. It tasted really good! 

And of course, a dessert had to be there to finish the dinner party, some Finnish pie! Our tutor made us Mustikkakukko. It's a Finnish blueberry pie with a rye crust. It was really good!! 

And all fun things have to come to an end, we drank some glögi to get into the Christmas vibe, and then it was time to say goodbye.. 

I really enjoyed this night and to taste the different things from their countries. And who knows, maybe we will meet again someday.

Nähdään!

Aniek 

Pre-Christmas Sauna

Ispoisten uimarannan sauna.
http://www.turunavantouimarit.fi/ 

Finally the time had come.... I would go to sauna in Finland. Maybe your wondering why that's something memorable. Well Finland is the country of the saunas, and in my whole four months here, I've never been to one. Stupid me.

So as I mentioned above, Finland is the country of the sauna. Sauna is a big part of the Finnish culture. For them it's a place to relax, meet friends and family and it's also an important place for physical and mental relaxation. I like their thinking about saunas: Finns think of saunas not as a luxury but as a necessity. Maybe we can bring this thinking to the Netherlands? No problem for me to go to sauna once a week.

So why is Finland the country of the sauna? Well, Finland might be a big country when you look at the surface, but it has only five million inhabitants. When you look at how many saunas there are, you can count to almost three million! So basically every household has one sauna, and that's a really common thing, to own a sauna. There are also a lot of little public saunas, for example by the lakes.