This is the Life/ 7months.

This is the life. No school for a week! A time for me to relax and live it up. I had my Wanhat tanssi 2 weeks ago. That was so much fun. We had 3 dances to perform for the public. It was such a change compared to ours back home. But, it was a lot more fun here. Then we had an after-party at a golf center. It was so funny. Everyone came up to talk to me. Which is a nice change since Finnish people are so shy. So it was fun to have everyone come up and talk to me. Then on Monday the 22nd! I had my LYNYRD SKYNYRD concert!! It was AMAZING! I was front row. And it was such an experience. I would never have been able to be that close to them back home. I had so much fun with it. This week is the skiing holiday. We were suppose to go to Egypt. But, my host family decided not to. So now I am sitting on my couch. We went to some swim hall on Sunday. That was pretty fun. And tomorrow I am going to see my first host family for the afternoon! I am so excited!! I have missed them so much. Words cannot explain how excited I am. This week is going to be pretty slow I think. But, it is OK. I know I will have fun with it. Well.... I now have 4 months until I am home. I cannot believe how fast this has gone. I have been here 7 already. And it is just crazy to think that in just one month I move to my final host family. Or that in 4 months I'll be home. I am excited. Yet, I am kind of upset. I really love my life here. It is so nice to be able to live in Europe for a year. And to have host families that I like so much. I do not want to leave....

This time around.........

It is Feb. 14th. A day where you are suppose to be with your loved ones. But, I am in a different country. Continent even, and I am not with my loved ones. I knew it was going to be hard... Since it had been 6.5 months since I have seen my family. I am a bit homesick. It may seem like it is not that hard since I am coming home in like 5 months and I have been here longer. But, it's hard. I think about home all the time. Even though there are times when I don't ever want to leave. There are always times when I want to. But, I can't. There are many reasons. But, one of the major ones is that I cannot let people who said I cannot do this be right. That is one of the major things that is pushing me through this. There were people back home that said I would not last and I couldn't do it. But, I am going to prove them wrong. I WILL not let them be right. I also don't think I could go home. This is the one thing that I wanted to do since I was little. Travel the world and live in a different country. I love it here. It is now getting dark around 5.30 or 6.00. That is a HUGE difference. I love the weather now. Just a bit of snow and light. It is the perfect thing. My Finnish is coming along. I can read and write a lot. I just have a hard time speaking. I have my Finnish test in just under 2 months. That will be a huge stress on me. But, I think that I can do well on it. I have so many things going on. My "prom" is this Friday. That will be fun since it is so different from prom back home. Then on the 22nd I have my Lynyrd Skynyrd concert with my friend from Jersey. Things that I have been waiting for. I cannot wait until those two things. They will be the highlight of my month. :)

Halfway..

Well, As of February 1st... I am officially half way. It is an amazing feeling. To think that just 6 months ago I was sitting in Pitt Airport about to do something that people thought I could never do. It is an amazing feeling to show them that I can last 6 months... And another 5 will be easy. I contacted my travel agent about my return. She said I can return July 1st! That is now my official date. It is so soon. It may not seem like it. But, for me it is. I still have so much to do. And so much to see. Last weekend I did a bunch of firsts.. I went and ice skated. I was really good. I was so good that I played in an Ice hockey game the same day. Then on Sunday I went cross country skiing with my family. That was so nice. Just to go out on the lake and ski. It was something that I didn't like at first. But now, I can't wait to go again. It was just simply amazing. We went to a rock island in the middle of the lake. We sat there and had coffee and pulla. And just looked at the view. It was great! This week is test week at school. Which means I do not have to go. So... I have an entire week off. And then in about 3 weeks I have another week off. And then 2 weeks later I have one off. I'm liking the Finnish system... Or is it just the ups for being an exchange student. I think both. Other than that, school is going well. I am making more friends that are younger. I'm still mad the friends I made are leaving in 10 days.... Prom is in 14 days. I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out. We have learned all of our dances. And now we are just getting ready. Everything is going to go well I think. I am always busy. Though it may not seem. I have Finnish lessons on Monday and Wednesday. Then I have soccer on Thursday and Saturday. And I have school every day. And I have to see my friends too. Jeez, I need a break. haha. No, I don't. I talked to my third family 2 weeks ago. They are very excited to be hosting me. And I am happy they are excited. They are all so nice. They want me to be there for easter. So, I will be moving April 1st. It is so soon. I can't believe I have been in my current host family for 2 months. It seems so short. I got very lucky to have 3 great host families. It is a great feeling. It is just a short time till I am home. See you all then! Moro.

5 months!

Moi! So it's been a long long long long time since I wrote here. Mainly because I have had so much going on. Lapland.... Was just simply amazing! We left Tampere at like 8.30ish at night. And after a long bus ride. We arrived in Muonio at about noon the next day. But, I will say. That is a bus ride I will never forget. 9+ hours of no bathroom. And the best time with my best friends. Never going to forget that bus ride. In Lapland on the first day we went skiing. That was ok. I really don't like skiing. After that we went and has some candle light dinner. It was fish soup or something. Not that great. On the next day I stayed at the hotel with one of my oldie's and we did an ice sculpting contest. After a long process we made a swan. yes... a swan. But! Against everyone else. WE WON!!! It was great! After that we had a race on these snow things. On the third day we went to a dog sled place and then rode a reindeer sled, and walked back to the resort on snow shoes. That was cool. After lunch we went to this place where the Sami people live. That was neat to see that Finland has different cultures like the US. After that we went and fed the reindeer. The next day we headed home. But not before stopping to see SANTA! haha. Santa lives in Finland.... NOT THE NORTH POLE! On the way home that was so sad. We had to say goodbye to some of the oldies. And it was very sad for everyone. Then 4 days after I got home... I moved. My move went pretty good. It was hard to leave my first family because they were like my family. And then I moved. My new family is really good too. Ive been here 1 month today. It doesn't seem like it has been one month. Christmas was good. I got the flu. Which was kinda crappy. Oh well. New year's eve was amazing. We went to a cafe and then down to the lake to set off fireworks with my exchange friends. That was really funny. Then on Monday I went to Helsinki to say goodbye to my oldies.... That was so much fun. We just kinda hung out and said goodbye. I was one of 4 newbies allowed to go. It was nice. I am truly going to miss them. I was so close with them. Well, I'm halfway! I can't believe it's almost over. This has been the hardest year of my life. And it's not even close to being over. I have so many things to do before I leave. I will be updating more since I have my laptop! So it will be better. Stay tuned. Moi Moi!