Hell is for Heroes.



This is a screenshot from the film.

I recently watched the Finnish movie 'Matti - Hell is for Heroes' about the famous ski jumper. It's apparently quite fictional - though when you watch it, it's hard to believe anyone's life could possibly be like that. But, Matti Nykänen himself helped in directing it... Anyway, I recommend watching it if you want to learn about Finland, as this man is very well known - for all the wrong reasons! Basically, his life just goes downhill, and more downhill, and when you think he has hit rock bottom, he tunnels through that rock heading for the Earth's core. One of the sad parts is that the drama continues in real life through the newspapers. Voi voi.


Here are some quotes translated into English from Mr Nykänen:
"What is not done cannot be undone."
"Every chance is an opportunity!"
"Tomorrow is always in the future."
"The odds are fifty-sixty."
"Every time I jump and get to the ledge, I get that 'bon voyage' feeling. I mean it's like I've been through this before." (he meant to say 'déjà vu' but he said 'bon voyage' instead!!)
"Love is like a ball of string – it starts and it ends."
"I will not fall for the error of starting to hoard some sort of personal property."
"The question sounds like a question."
"I nearly died in the freezing cold, but I still had enough strength left to call a taxi."
"Germany-Austria is my other homeland."
"The movie was completely fiction, but it had some facts too."
"I'm prepared for each day. Even tomorrow."
"The truth is indeed reality."
"Let's just agree that you're a bouncer, and I am a world champion."
"I am still the world's best ski jumper, in the modern style I could jump 300 meters with a bound woodpile of metre long logs on my back."

Indeed.

I had the sports camp in the morning, there's like 24 kids there this week, way more than before. I went to the post office after and the lady there recognised me and spoke to me in English automatically which saved some embarrassment. I guess I'm going there too often! Came home, tried my scales on the cello again XD  -because I'm just sooo dedicated~ however, I do have my first lesson on Monday. *dance dance dance*
Went on a super long bike ride around Raisio and Turku with my host mother in the evening. It took us nearly 2 hours but then I got to go in the sauna after and it was all worth it :)
Oh how I love the sauna.
Love love love.

That, is all.

Guess Who.

If you guessed 'that girl in Finland' then you'd be correct :)
Well, I'm still in Finland.

Me being a fail.

Today I did nothing really. I managed to figure out how to play C major scale for two octaves on the cello - which did rather excite me, and then played 'hot cross buns' a few times. I desperately want to be able to play the cello background part in the song 'Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence' by Ryuichi Sakamoto, but I can't see that happening any time soon... I had a couple of attempts at it anyway - pretty much a Hayley-Fail, but I'm getting there. Hopefully I'll get some lessons soon and then I can learn vibrato, descriptions of that on the internet are doing my head in.

The Summer Cottage by the ocean. I stode on the jetty to take this photo

Yesterday, after some sale shopping in Mylly, we spontaneously decided to go to my host mother's parent's summer cottage in Masku. It's right on the ocean and has a really calm peaceful atmosphere. It was raining the whole evening, but it sort of added to the atmospheric effect. The ocean was actually 20 degrees whilst outside was about 16! My host grandfather had drunk a little bit and got chatting to me about the war. It was actually very interesting, though everyone else was trying to shut him up! XD
I was watching TV and Crocodile Dundee was on one channel, but because of the rainy weather the signal was terrible. So I watched another channel instead which coincidentally had the Australian television series of 'Rush' on! I thought the accents sounded hilarious, so so very Australian. Everyone was wondering why I don't have that type of accent. I explained that it was because I was from Victoria and that we generally don't have stronger accents. Then I realised that 'Rush' was FROM Victoria! They were filming in an area called Springvale which is very very close to where I live! It was so exciting seeing suburb names I know! Blew my mind :P

The Sunsetting at 10.32pm

After watching that, I went in the sauna. Oh. my. good. ness. It. is. so. good. I think it was only about 70 degrees, but I stayed there for maybe half an hour then jumped in the ocean and swam around a buoy. Back to sauna again (mind you this is at about 11pm) for another 20 minutes, ocean again, sauna again. This process leaves you feeling amazing. I felt amazing :)

The ocean at 12.34am

Then we had a barbecue (at midnight) but it doesn't feel so much like midnight due to the light everywhere. We stayed up talking of things I now can't remember, and then I tried to call home at like 2am but my mum was out grocery shopping. So I called at 2.30am or something but she was now out picking up something she bought off eBay. Hehe, I found this situation hilarious XD
So I went to bed because I couldn't keep my eyes open and left the adults chatting.

View from my window where I sit now, there's a strange mist I've never seen before :P

I think I've said enough!
That, is all.

I knew this would happen...

I totally lost my momentum.
Voi voi.
Well, I'm too lazy to write what happened over the last month.
I'll just start with today :)
I started helping out at a children's sports camp this week, 10-2 mon -thurs, and it goes for another two weeks.
Hahahaha, thinking back, my first day I went to the wrong camp...
Me being, well me, I rocked up and asked the nearest stranger if they spoke English and where the camp leader was. They asked me if it was some extremely long finnish name, and I just agreed and they took me up to an office in the ice hockey rink. That confused me a little because I was meant to be at an athletic camp. I told them I was there to volunteer and that my host mother had talked to them, they didn't remember anything about that but they said that I could help out with the girls group when they came back from lunch. I helped in the kitchen then went with the girl group. That was pretty awkward. They didn't know why I was there at an ICE HOCKEY AND RINGETTE camp. Hahaha. I didn't even know what ringette was. Gosh.
After about an hour some of the girls tried talking to me, their ages ranged from about 6 to 12. The older ones were willing to try out their English, and I was interrogated thoroughly with questions like 'How old are you?''What are your hobbies?''What do they speak in Australia?'"Do you have a boyfriend?''What sport do you play?' Etcetcetc
It was actually pretty fun trying to communicate with them XD
They were so lovely, I was so sad when I realised I was at the wrong camp because I had made such good friends with them.
Tuesday Wednesday and today I've been at the correct camp and met some really lovely people too. We've been in the sun all day and everyday has been around 26-29 degrees which is seriously hot. I got so badly burnt on my back and legs, but they've gone this magical tan colour that I haven't seen in forever.
I biked with directions from my host mother with my friend to a lovely series of lakes in a place called Masku. It was so beautiful. They had little beaches everywhere and we went to a place I learned today was called the lagoon. Me and Kiwi spent hours just sitting on a rock in the water contemplating life and it's issues and joys. the scenery was so strikingly peaceful and serene. Because it was such a hot day the water was unbelievably refreshing. Little fish came up and kissed our feet - which was fairly daunting considering we didn't know what type of fish they were XD

So anyway, today after the sport camp, my finnish friend invited me to the same place in Masku, and we went there again! It seemed hotter today, and there were at least 100 people on one tiny beach at one lake. There must have been sooo many people all together at those lakes, but it would be hard to tell due to all the trees and hills around them. We went swimming in the lake, which became really really deep in the middle and stood on a really big rock underwater in the middle. Kind of like a resting place coz it was pretty far from the shore, then me and her other friend swam to a nearby bridge, jumped off it and then swam back. It was so lovely.
Now I'm living at my second host family and I think that everything is going so well. Being an exchange student puts you in quite a few awkward situations where you're not sure how to behave or what is expected of you.
Tomorrow I might be going to my host family's summer cottage for the weekend. Super excited :)

That, is all. (actually, not really, but my fingers are tired :P )
Hayley