Week One!

I have now been in Finland for a little over a week. During the past week, I have done many things and had several new experiences. Last Thursday, I left the United States and flew across the Atlantic Ocean to Finland. On Friday evening, my host family met me at the airport and brought me home. For dinner, we had delicious salad with fruits and smoked salmon. On Saturday, we went to dinner at a Tex-Mex restaurant a few towns over with some of my host family's friends. It was really fun! At dinner, I ordered grilled chicken with cheese fries--a very 'Abigail' choice. Sunday was a very fun and very full day. My host mom baked buns with the help of myself, Lennu, and Max. They were very yummy! 

Later that day, a girl from my school came over to hangout and we had tea and chatted about school and things and it made it easier for me to start school on Thursday, already having met one of my new classmates. Later, my host family and I met with a person from the exchange program to discuss my first few days in Finland. On Monday, we didn't do much other than stay at home and have a very chill day. I worked on my college apps for a bit and then went outside to enjoy the beautiful sunshine. Tuesday evening, my host mom and I went shopping and I got a dress for the wedding that we are going to this weekend (I have never been to a wedding before...this may be one of the last times I can truthfully say that). While we were shopping, we also got frozen yogurt. It tasted...healthier...than the frozen yogurt than I am used to. It didn't have any unnatural dyes in it and it tasted like actual yogurt. But it was very good! And it has a mango sauce on it!

After the frozen yogurt and shopping, we went to the grocery store. And there I saw something that I thought was hilarious:

It is bacon. But it isn't just regular bacon. It is 'American'. The bacon is apparently part of the American flag. I'll just leave that there...

Anyway, the forests in Finland are filled with berries. Wednesday, my host mom and I went to pick blueberries. Unfortunately for us, it seemed someone had recently come through and picked most of the berries, so we didn't end up with very many. In the evening, I baked banana bread. But not just any banana bread. I made peanut butter banana bread. And it was super delicious. I was using a recipe from an American cookbook online, so I had to convert all of the measurements from the American customary system into metric. While I was making the bread, my host mom was a bit surprised by the amount of sugar the recipe said to use in this bread. It took a really long time baking but in the end it tasted very good. I liked it very much and I'm pretty sure my host family did too. 

Thursday was my first day of school. I was a lot more excited than nervous. I really wasn't nervous. Except for a little bit because of the language. I met some of the teachers and the principal before heading to the gym for the whole school assembly. I saw the girl I met for coffee and she sat by me in the assembly and introduced me to her friends. After the assembly, our class had a meeting with the English teacher where everyone introduced themselves (in English) and did some school work. For lunch, there was a fish soup that had dill in it. I thought it was pretty good. After lunch I met to decide on my schedule for the first period (and I think that my class schedule is now finalized after today). On Friday, I met the rest of my teachers and participated in my classes as best I could. 

Friday evening was very fun. I Skyped with my parents and sister for a little while and then after I signed off with them, my host family and I went to the river to go swimming. The water was a bit chilly, but I suppose it was very refreshing after the sauna. The sauna was a very unique experience. It was very hot. And then the water in the river felt very cold. 

Throughout this past week, one fact about myself has shocked many people. I am an American who doesn't like bacon (except for turkey bacon and vegetarian bacon, which, Emma, my host mom agrees looks like dog food). I don't like bacon. Or eat any pork. But I do, apparently, eat reindeer. And it was very good. For dinner on Saturday, we had mashed potatoes with reindeer stew and lingonberry jam. It was a very nice meal to have after a long day of working on college applications.