Flight into Helsinki!

I have arrived in Finland! On Monday we drove to JFK in New York to leave from the airport later that day. There we me the six other Finnish exchange students going home, and the six American students leaving. We flew into Helsinki and then drove about an hour and a half to the town I am staying in, Valkeakoski. The town is so beautiful, with a very distinct and traditional Finnish culture that permeates all aspects of life. The lakes here are bigger and even more beautiful than I imagined. The nature is very different than at home, and there is a lot more forest and green space all around, which is a nice change.

One of Finland's 200,000 beautiful lakes... but this is directly across the street from where I am staying

The sunset here at 11:45 pm. My sleeping schedule is still quite off from the time change so I was also able to catch the 3:00 am sunrise! Because of its northern location and the season, there is hardly any true nighttime darkness here. 

Fourth of July

For some of Miinttu's last days in America we had the extremely patriotic experience of seeing the fireworks at Penn State University, the school that multiple generations of my family have called home.

Getting ready to watch fireworks 

Patriotic nails for the night and a piece of America for Minttu to take home!

For such a small town State College has and amazing and long fireworks show...the third largest in the country! 

Visiting the famous Nittany Lion

Thank you to Grandma Sue for letting us stay with her, showing us around the beautiful mountains of Pennsylvania, and giving us an amazing Fourth of July weekend! We are so happy Minttu could be with us to experience such a big part of American culture. 

Baltimore Aquarium

Last weekend some of my friends and I showed Minttu the Baltimore Aquarium and saw some really cool but weird looking animals. Everyone's favorite was definitely the giant shark tank :) 

We also got to spend some time in the inner harbour, which I think is one of the most beautiful places in Maryland

Ocean City Trip

Last Friday we went down to Ocean City for my team's Beach5 Sand Soccer Tournament. We spent a few days at the beach, staying at a great resort, and then Minttu came to the boardwalk on Sunday to cheer on my team from the sidelines. We had games from 8 am to 6pm, so it was a long but fun day. We ended up in second place.

Sunday was really fun and we ended up in second place! Would have been better had the results of the USA vs. Portugal World Cup game been different...

Annapolis Rotary Club Meeting

On Thursday we went and spoke at to the Annapolis Rotary club at their meeting at the Yacht Club. I spoke briefly about the youth exchange program, and Minttu gave a wonderful presentation about Finland with lots of pictures from home. Everyone seemed very interested in her presentation and learned a lot about a place many weren't previously very familiar with. Thank you to the Annapolis Rotary club for inviting us!

DC Trip

Yesterday we had a very tourist-y day in DC, going to the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, and some of the monuments. Very fun day despite the 90 degree heat, and really showed some of the highlights of American culture. 

 

Pisarro's Boulevard Des Italiens Morning Sunlight at National Gallery; my favorite work

Vermeer's Woman Holding a Balance

Lincoln Memorial

Wold War II Memorial

Week 1

This week started off with relentless rain, but we've managed to get to a pool party, do some shopping at the bookstore, the mall, go to the movies, and show Minttu around downtown Annapolis a bit. Very fun so far, and much more is on the schedule for the next 3 weeks!