3/26/2015

My Exchange Year


Does it feel like I have almost been here eight months? No. Does it feel like I was in Finland yesterday? No and yes.

When I get home in June it will be weird, so weird. This year already feels like a dream. I miss soccer season a lot and everything just happened so quick when I first got here. Finland just feels like something that's so far away but still so close. When I talk with my friends or family I never think about that they're actually that far away, but that tells something. It means that I feel like home. And this place, town, is my home. I bet lot of you (exchange students) have heard this sentence ''exchange is leaving your home twice''. Oh yeah, it's going to be rough. I really wish I could buy flight tickets to everyone and they could visit Finland. I am already planning when I wanna come back and visit PA again.

I haven't written here too often about my 'hard times'. I KNOW. It helps some people to write down their anger or depressing feelings. That's not me, I'm too lazy to even grab my computer. The first thing that I do is I talk to someone, maybe eat my feelings ooor try to do something else to forget it (sleep).  I have had bad days and, there has been little problems but we've figured them out. Trust me every family has their own problems, that's life. I have great 'american' parents here and they are really experienced, I trust them because they know how to handle these situations. That's why I am glad to say that my host mom will be a representative next year and I know she'll be the best one!
I have had a great year so far. I am usually pretty positive person, and I don't have time or don't wanna use it to negative thoughts. I do worry about stupid things but when I get over them, I'm good. There will be times when you'll be sad and life is miserable, so why would you be negative when everything is actually okay? And that's the key, I am always trying to find positive from everything. I remember that my friend Roosa asked me this, when we were like in 3rd grade
''Ella why do you always have to be so positive?''
And the funny part is that I have met the most enthusiastic people here (surprise). You couldn't even compare me to them, haha.

It's amazing how quickly your friendships develop here. I got to know some people better in December and we are so close now. Can you imagine, just in about 4 months I've gotten friends who are so incredibly important to me!? I also have friends that I got to know after I came here and I love how we're still really good friends. They have never left me <3 I have never had that situation and it makes me so so happy.  The start is harder though, but don't worry. It takes time to build friendships and some of your friends you might meet later during your stay, like I did. Don't expect anything, just work for it! Even if you're cool foreign it doesn't mean people will be interested in you later and want to hang out with you. It takes time to find the right people, but it's definitely worth it!
I was reading my old blog posts and I was thinking that what I wanted from this year. I wanted to be a  part of american family/experience their everyday life. CHECK. Learn the language and speak fluent english. CHECK (it'll be better eventually, I promise...) I wanted to experience all the American holidays. CHECK (still easter though!) Try a new sport. CHECK (softball :D) To be a part of American high school. CHECK
I appreciate this experience so much (kiitti mamma ja isi) and couldn't thank you enough. I'll be 18 in about two weeks and I should be an adult? Well, at least when I go to Finland, not sure if I'm ready though...  I am telling you, I'll be the same Ella who left from home almost 8 months ago, but also the new Ella who has changed in many good ways. Ella, who learned to appreciate where she comes from, my Finnish family, friends, nature, school system and many other things. I will enjoy things definitely in different way.

I am trying to live my life here as much as I can because I love it, and I'll miss it a lot. Especially going for wings on monday, choral, my crazy family, mine and Nathan's car rides, and eating with the best lunch table ever!!


Have a nice week everyone :)

-Ella

3/15/2015

Musical 2015

Before ''the'' day...
3/11/15 Tomorrow is the day. We have our first Hello Dolly performance. I have been waiting for this so long and honestly I am really nervous.  First we're going to perform for elementary school and then for high school, although we're just doing act 1 or 2. Tomorrow night at 7:30pm we have to be ready to do the whole show! It's going to be a rough and a long weekend, but definitely worth it! I will write about this later next week with pictures. I am so glad that I got a chance to do musical in my school, it's just so cool.
 My beautiful waiter
 Rachel the Granny
 My lovely brothers <3
 The best reps ever!

3/15/15 And now it's over. Can't believe it. This week has been amazing, it's so hard to tell how good I feel with these people. Past three day have been so much fun and I've learned a lot. I never knew that I'd do musical during my exchange year, but it was definitely good choice! I've come so close with some of the people and musical was one of the reason why. Nothing like this would happen in Finland. We don't have anything like this is our school system and if we would, not ''everyone'' would get in. I learned to ''throw myself'' in, and singing, dancing, and acting at the same time. And guys believe me, it wasn't easy for me...

 Yesterday was emotional in many ways. My grade, seniors, had their last musical experience. I have good friends that are seniors, but there is a huge, talented group of seniors graduating this year. I think five of them had a lead role in our musical. They're amazing. And the other hand, this was my first - and probably the last musical, plus I am leaving in about 3 months. Well, at least it tells that I have so many great people in my life and I'll be missed, haha.
 Parasol ladies

 The best people

Softball girls

Thank you, thank you and thank you. I had an aaamazziing experience, I'll never forget this. We still have cast party today before everything is over... Love you all!

-Ella

3/01/2015

Hello March!

Okay so something weird just happened. I opened my computer and it actually works, wow. However, it's still slow and sometimes the screen is frozen, oh well I'll take it.

It's March my friends, who believed spring would come? Not me. It's kind of funny how I don't even pay attention what month it is - I am just thinking that how the heck I have 3 months and couple weeks left to be here. That's horrible, and IT SCARES ME more than anything right now. Spring also means my birthday (April) and I am not ready to be 18 because it's just too old. I am not like an adult, sometimes I still feel like I am 15. Yeah right, we'll see it when I get back home. By the way, I made a promise in January that I won't buy clothes until March. I did it (how?)! Now I wanna go to shopping so bad.

Last summer I was so sure that my blog would be those cool ones, over 100 followers and I would be telling about my american-dream-exchange-student-life, writing every week and having all those amazing photos. Ummm, no. Actually right now I am just happy to be here once in a while typing about my life. I know my friends and relatives appreciate it but the truth is I don't have enough time for it and I am really trying to enjoy these last months. I am sure it's nice to look all those posts when I am in Finland but I've been taking pictures and writing my diary now and then. I am proud of myself, haha.

I do like planning things, but now it actually kind of sucks when it keeps reminding me that I am going home. I already got a summer job what is wonderful though, we're having a trip to Greece with my best friends in July and I am going two different music festivals. Sounds good to me, but not my wallet. Our organization's students are also planning to see each other the end of the summer when everyone's home and going somewhere together, FUN! I already know that I want to go to our cottage with my family and enjoy the beautiful nature and barbeque, hehe.

Softball starts tomorrow! I am extremely excited. It's nice to have something after school and softball/track season is going to keep our family busy again! Yeah right, we weren't busy anyhow... I am looking forward to meet new people and hopefully make new friends. Even if I'm not friends with everyone I still kind of ''know'' them. Isn't it weird to have situation like this in America? This is my first time playing softball, but everybody has been really nice about it and coaches and girls are and offering their help.
On friday we had Sadie Hawkins school dance where I went with couple friends. We had so much fun I think it was more fun than homecoming dances :D  My voice was really bad the next morning... After dances we had a sleepover at my friend Erin's house with bunch of girls and we had good time together.

Women in black! E, E, E. from left to right; Me, Erin and Emma
Yesterday we had cake and ice cream (birthday party) for my brother Nathan and Grandpa. We pretty much spent the whole day at Grandma's and Grandpa's house. They also had their couple friends over and as always my hostmom introduced me telling who I am etc. The lady said to me that I sound like I would have been forever. I asked her that was she being serious and I told her that was a huge compliment. WHY? Because my friends are annoying, and they tell people that I am a terrorist from Finland, they can hear my accent all the time and I am the stupid foreigner. Yes, I do love them. We got home like nine, baked cookies for Nathan's ice hockey banquet that's today and I went straight to bed.
They put 87th birthday first instead of 82nd...  American cakes are soo much better than in Finland. They're not ''filled cakes'' (täytekakku). Just cake and sugar frosting.

Musical is in 13 days, I repeat 13! Couldn't be more excited but so nervous at the same time. I have my last travel soccer game today and it makes me so sad. I love to play with those girls, we're still going to at least one tournament together. In 30 minutes I'll go outside in the snow and raise money for THON. I hope I have time later to tell you guys about it and what it really is (quickly, raising money for kids with cancer).

I hope you had a nice weekend. So many cool things coming up this week can't wait!

-Ella