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I suppose that by now you are very impatiently awaiting the continuation of the story from Finland. So, I won’t keep you long and here is what the girls – Veronika Klugerová, Johana Ludvíková a Tereza Marešová - have written about the end of their stay in Finland.
Veronika Klugerová
Week 5
Adventures and bonding: My second-to-last week in Finland
The penultimate week is here, and I´m really starting to long for the familiarity of home. I miss the comfort and pleasant ambiance of my family. This week I spend a lot of time outdoors, exploring the beautiful and breath-taking Finnish forests. The routine this week was pretty much as every other week: attending school, hitting the gym, enjoying lunch with my friends and just living and truly appreciating my time here.
On Friday I visited a small elementary school in Valpperi with only about 30 or so students. It was really nice to see how the kids were learning. I felt uplifted by the joy of the kids and the pleasant atmosphere. Everyone in the school, teachers and kids, seemed lovely and kind. I even gave a brief presentation about the Czech Republic, highlighting our differences and similarities. After a couple of hours, we returned home. The same day in the evening, we went to Johana´s place for a girls’ night. Her host family has a summer cottage near their house, so we had a good time there chatting and having a really delicious dinner. After some delightful conversations, we treated ourselves by sauna sessions and refreshing dips in the sea a few times, and it´s was amazing. We filled the rest of the night with board games. We kept playing the games until the early hours before heading home.
On Saturday, we revisited the lake in the national park, this time accompanied by Terka and Siiri. The morning weather seemed pretty dreadful. Fortunately, it got better and we could easily go on a hike without much difficulty. The day quickly passed, and we returned home. As for the final day, Sunday, it was a day of relaxation and baking once more. But this time, our efforts in the kitchen were mainly meant to be for Saara´s father in celebration of the Father’s Day.
Week 6
My six-week-long exchange in Finland
As the final week of my exchange in Finland draws to an end, a mix of emotions overwhelms me. While I’ve had so much fun this week, there’s a great sadness because this amazing experience is coming to an end. Every day and every minute of this week has been enjoyable, making the entire stay here truly unforgettable.
In the beginning, as I embarked on the exchanges with the Finnish students, there was a sense of relief that everything was going fine, especially as I got to know Saara. However, at the end of their stay, I realised that speaking English all day, meeting new people, navigating through occasional awkward situations, and just having a change in my routine had become quite special. My expectations for the stay in Finland were to go through the exchange and survive it. However, it was nothing like that.
This exchange has left an indelible mark on my heart. Unlike any other time, I felt a deep desire to stay in another country. Naturally, there were moments when I wanted to go home but I believe that these moments are important for your future self. I would never say that the friendship with Saara would be that beautiful and pure. And I’m convinced that we share more in common ground than we realize. I‘ll miss her and her family. They were exceptionally kind, and my time with them created unforgettable good memories. I felt like a part of their family and truly at home.
Without a doubt, the importance of this experience extends far beyond the immediate gains of improved English skills and gaining confidence in both speaking and vocabulary. But the most important impact of this opportunity is in enduring connections I’ve made – not just friendships, but also a sense of family. The memories during this exchange are marked with joy that I’ll carry with me into the future, and the breath-taking experiences gained here have opened my perspective as well.
I would definitely repeat this experience. I wouldn’t mind where or when, but I would go for it again. It holds value for me, and I believe it has the potential to offer significant benefits. I think undertaking such an adventure is worthwhile. I am willing to embark on it once more, regardless of the location or timing.
Johana Ludvíková
Week 5
Hello, we have another beautiful week here. On Monday, the weather wasn't very favourable, but after school, my host mom and I took a car trip to the Archipelago islands, accessible only by boat. No bridges, just a boat. Despite the thick fog like milk, I really liked it. On the island, usually, a few dozen people live, leading a certainly challenging life. They also make the best bread I've ever eaten. I've been consuming it since the beginning of my stay.
On Tuesday, we helped Tereza move to her new family, and in the evening, we went to a public sauna in Turku. For Tereza, it was the first time she dipped into the sea, and her host sister also enjoyed it with us.
On Wednesday, I visited my host mom's school again, and it was absolutely great. The kids were wonderful, and everyone wanted me to participate. Elementary schools here are at an absolutely amazing level. I wish the teaching style like here could reach us too. In the afternoon, I went for a walk with the dog.
We enjoyed the sauna on Tuesday so much that we went again on Thursday. This time also to a public sauna, just to a different place, but a more popular one. I must admit I had never seen so many people in a sauna, and it was quite shocking for Tereza and me.
For Friday, we planned a sauna, hot tub, and swimming in the sea at my place. I invited a few friends, and I can tell you that even though I was nervous about it, it turned out very well. I'm very glad that everyone came, and we could spend time together.
On Saturday, I had to get up early because I wanted to participate in moose hunting. The weather didn't favour us from the morning, and it was raining heavily. Janne, who is a passionate hunter, took me under his wing and explained everything to me excellently. We didn't catch a moose, but it didn't bother me that much. I had a sausage, and when I came home, my host dad had the sauna ready. It was very handy. In the evening, they taught me how to bake local bread, gingerbread cookies, and we also baked homemade pizza. In the evening, we went to the sauna again, and the day was like a pearl.
Sunday was a big day. Father's Day. We prepared a big breakfast, and I cooked strawberry dumplings. We went for lunch to Turku and visited a beautiful church with the whole family. In the evening, we also visited grandma and grandpa. Actually, we just ate the whole day. Very beautiful. I am very grateful for everything.
Week 6
Our last week was emotionally demanding for us as we slowly prepared for our return and dealt with the fact that we would be leaving our families. We had to find a lot of gifts and get ready for another big change after six weeks.
The entire week at school was something like Spirit Week, and we gladly participated in it (unlike the rest of their school, where the participation was really low). We walked around the school in, for example, pyjamas, or, on the contrary, we were dressed in ballroom clothing. It definitely worked as a special event.
I also visited another elementary school in Askainen during the week, which was much smaller, and again, the children didn't disappoint me, and I enjoyed it there. Getting involved in teaching would definitely be something I could do, and I could once again compare the teaching style there with ours.
Throughout the week, I tried to spend as much time as possible with the family, and that worked out well – grilled salmon by the fire, my host grand mom took me to a beautiful place in Turku by the sea, a visit to the Finnish Riviera and Christmas markets in Turku, and, of course, swimming in the sea combined with a sauna. One of the moments I would highlight for this week is the walk with horses. I had never done anything like that, and even the weather was favourable. Saying goodbye was really painful for me, but now I have a very good reason to visit Finland more often.
I would evaluate the whole six weeks as one of the best experiences of my life. I was incredibly lucky with the host family, and I deeply fell in love with Finland. I like their culture and way of thinking, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to go there and experience a new way of life and meet new people. At first, the language barrier was sometimes a problem for me, but I got used to it within a week, and everyone in Finland speaks English perfectly. It opened my eyes to many things, and at least to some extent, I sorted out my thoughts again. During the entire stay, I learned so many things that it's hard to believe. A piece of my heart will stay in Finland, and I just thank you for the opportunity to travel.
Tereza Marešová
Week 5
This week was, like any other full of experiences. On Monday, I had a little sleepover at Verča's place. Finally, I got to know Veronika's host family, including a bunch of animals they have. On Tuesday, due to some issues I changed host families. In the evening, I went with my new host family to a public sauna by the sea, which allows you to dip into the sea after sauna sessions. I must say I was quite scared at first, but I quickly grew to really enjoy it.
On Wednesday, after school I went for a walk in the woods near our house with my new host sister. In the evening, we visited their friends and went for another walk this time with three pugs. After that, we had dinner at their friends' place. They showed me their house and we talked about the differences between the Czech Republic and Finland.
The next day, we had another visit to a public sauna. This time we went to a large and very popular one. I have to admit, the number of people surprised and scared me a bit, but we managed the cold sea and saunas. Friday evening was spent at Johana's host family's summer cottage. There without a surprise, we went to the sauna and afterwards dipped into the sea, and this time we also used the hot tub. Johy's host dad made a fire and we made stuffed tortillas and enjoyed excellent coffee. The evening ended with us playing board games.
Over the weekend, I finally visited the beautiful nearby national park. We walked for about 6 kilometres around a breathtakingly beautiful lake. The path was mainly narrow wooden boards in the middle of marshes but the views were worth it. Midway we roasted marshmallows and sausages over a fire. After returning home my new host sister and I had a movie night. On the last day of the week I visited Sini’s grandma. For lunch, we had the honour of tasting a wide range of Finnish dishes. The desserts weren't much different than here, Sini‘s Grandma prepared for example chocolate cake, cinnamon rolls, cookies, and panna cotta. After all the food, we took a short walk to a viewpoint in the woods.
Week 6
And here is the last week of my truly unforgettable stay in Finland. I spent most of it with my host family trying to enjoy the last few days with them. We went out for a nice dinner, took plenty of walks, and one evening I even cooked traditional Czech dumplings filled with blueberries, just trying to make the most of my time there.
To put this all in one text will be difficult but I'll give it a try. What did it give me? Firstly, an understanding of a completely unique culture and a very different daily life. For example, different eating habits not just the usual knäckebrot and litres of milk consumed in every household, but also early dinners and days without snacks, eating reindeer and a lot of coffee consumption. Among other differences I noticed that nobody has fences around their houses (either because they live far apart or own a large piece of land), many red wooden houses and people often living in the woods isolated from the world. Living in Finland without a car is impossible and many people get around on bicycles. The list goes on but these things surprised me the most.
How was studying in a Finnish school? Very quiet. This was true in most cases because almost everything is done on computers. Finnish education is considered one of the best in the world and in some ways, it certainly has its advantages but I wouldn't call it the absolute best. One positive thing is that everyone gets to choose only the subjects they enjoy and are interested in; also, all students receive many things for free for example computers. And 75-minute classes which I didn't like at first but you can learn much more during them and that's a good thing. Another surprise was for instance, walking around school in socks or cleaning the blackboards with a mop.
Secondly, I have to mention visiting many beautiful and breath-taking places. The gorgeous Finnish nature will stay in my memory forever, along with now my favourite saunas, the sea, boat trips, Helsinki, Turku, an amusement park and other amazing cities and locations. However, what stands out the most are the people I met there. I am very grateful for both of my host families who allowed me to visit all these amazing places and experience amazing moments. All the new Finnish friends whom I hope to see again someday because I wouldn't want these to be the last memories we have together. I have to say that everyone welcomed us with open arms and a kind heart and saying goodbye to them was incredibly hard. After all, in six weeks, we built a kind of a second home there.
This whole exchange gave me a lot of courage not to be afraid and to try new things, to speak to new people, not to be afraid to ask questions, communicate, speak up when I don't like something and most of all to live in the moment and enjoy life. It was unforgettable. Kiitos!!
„Financováno Evropskou unií. Vyjádřené názory a stanoviska představují názory a stanoviska autorů a nemusí nutně odrážet názory a stanoviska Evropské unie nebo Domu zahraniční spolupráce. Evropská unie ani poskytovatel grantu za ně nenesou odpovědnost.“
