I've decided that even though my EVS year has finished, I do not yet want to let go of this blog, so I'm gonna continue updating it right here! ;D
I've returned to Tampere, Finland, yesterday evening and was welcomed warmly by my lovely new host family. For those who do not know about it yet - I've started to be an Au Pair. We haven't been knowing each other for a very long time, but so far I can tell that they are 2 really nice and helpful parents with 3 very sweet kids.
One of the kids even told me already that I am the best Au Pair they've ever had! :D
I've returned to Tampere, Finland, yesterday evening and was welcomed warmly by my lovely new host family. For those who do not know about it yet - I've started to be an Au Pair. We haven't been knowing each other for a very long time, but so far I can tell that they are 2 really nice and helpful parents with 3 very sweet kids.
One of the kids even told me already that I am the best Au Pair they've ever had! :D
I received an awesome "Welcome"-drawing as well:
YAAAY!!! Kiitos paljon, Aamu!! :D
It was a long day, more or less all spent on airports in Munich, Copenhagen and Helsinki and I was happy when I could ultimately hit the bed. Still it felt great that by the time I arrived everyone was still awake, waiting for me.
And slowly I'm learning about all of my tasks here and the places that I will have to take the children to.
What's left to do is getting my stuff that I left at Mirkka's house, get the registration and all the official stuff done and change my bank.
I'm also looking forward to the language courses - this year: Finnish and Swedish! :D I'm so very glad that in the end it was possible to attend both of them!
I'm also looking forward to the language courses - this year: Finnish and Swedish! :D I'm so very glad that in the end it was possible to attend both of them!
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Changing the topic - it's been a while since I've been writing any news in here and my summer vacations were surely interesting: I went home to Austria for about one and a half months and I was welcomed with joy by my friends and family - some who encouraged me to go to Finland again, others who were sad that I was leaving again - and I can fully understand both sides.
One week, I spent in Southern France with my mother, my younger sister and my uncle. We were visiting some more relatives living in "Ales" and who's ever been thinking that there's a big cultural difference from Finland to Austria has never been in what they call the "real France" ;D While being there, it was crucial to revive my French skills again and I was glad that I've been learning the language long enough to really understand everything they said, even though they tended to speak faster then I ever could do in my own mothertongue. On the contrary, by the end of the week, my mind had gone so deep into the French language, that I started fearing that I would not be able to communicate in Finnish anymore, since I could not remember (which turned out to be wrong though now that I find myself again surrounded by Finns).
One week, I spent in Southern France with my mother, my younger sister and my uncle. We were visiting some more relatives living in "Ales" and who's ever been thinking that there's a big cultural difference from Finland to Austria has never been in what they call the "real France" ;D While being there, it was crucial to revive my French skills again and I was glad that I've been learning the language long enough to really understand everything they said, even though they tended to speak faster then I ever could do in my own mothertongue. On the contrary, by the end of the week, my mind had gone so deep into the French language, that I started fearing that I would not be able to communicate in Finnish anymore, since I could not remember (which turned out to be wrong though now that I find myself again surrounded by Finns).
Anyways it was surely enjoyable to experience the entirely different mentality and dive into a pool of noise, temperament, good wine, lot's of food and friendliness that knows no limits.
I think that ever since I left my own four walls to live in another country, I've become more sensitive to the diversity of people's habits, believes and behaviours according to the culture they belong to.
On the other hand, I did some very Austrian stuff - such as hiking ;D it's been an eternity since I was in the mountains and I enjoyed it more than I thought! I wasn't as hard as I remembered it to be and in the end we were sitting on top of the world ;)
I hope that I will also find an opportunity to go sonwboarding there again this winter. *-* I never thought that I could miss winter sports as much as I learned to while being away from the Alps.
In addition, I made sure to meet as many friends and relatives as possible and catch up to the present with them. We even had a class reunion shortly after my arrival, plus gladly this time I did not miss "Fallen Up"'s concert. Still, there's some that I could not manage to meet in time, which I have to change by the time I am at home once again. So sorry, Angy, Steffi and Sabine! :/
I'm also happy to announce that there's a small group of friends who decided to come visit Finland around New Year. :D Yay!
I'm also happy to announce that there's a small group of friends who decided to come visit Finland around New Year. :D Yay!
Believe me, it's the strangest feeling to be back in Tampere, because I've been away for almost 2 months - too long for a holiday, too short to say otherwise; but even though I feel a little sad thinking about my parents and how sad they feel about my absence, I also enjoy being here. And again, I was really lucky to find such a great host family with kids that easily open up to me and do not regard me as a stranger.
