My Finnish Odyssey by Ms. Y.N.
I traveled to Finland and Estonia to meet my dear Finnish friends from June 4th to June 9th, 2014.It was like the “Odysseia” of Homer because I traveled alone foreign countries.
I have 2 Finnish friends named Ilari, a 15 year old boy and Aino a 16 year old girl. I met them on a ferry 2 years ago that went from Stockholm to Helsinki and decided to meet them again. Finally, we kept our promise. We embraced in front of Helsinki central station after a long wait and
they took me for a 1 hour drive to their beautiful summer cottage. I have heard Finnish natives have their own cottages for staying during the summer. A brilliant lake and forest were close to their summer cottage. It seemed like Moomin’s house.
Sauna is originally a Finnish word, so Finland’s saunas are the best! Ilari drilled me on how to use the original sauna. First, he struck a match and he got the sauna temperature to around 60℃, then we plucked branches of white birch for making a bunch. Lastly we prepared the water that was drawn from the lake.
We changed into swimwear and entered the sauna and sat on the wooden seat. We needed to sprinkle water on to the heated stones for making steam. The steam rose to our faces and bodies, moisturizing water them. In addition Finnish people pat their bodies with branches of sweet smelling white birch. Aino hit our bodies so hard that I realized she was “a real sauna master”! The Finnish sauna was a very good experience for me and I was really satisfied.
After relaxing in the sauna, we dove into a cold lake and went swimming. I think that Finnish children swim well like fish. Ilari and Aino swam so far in a short time by themselves. It was still light outside even though it was 9 o’clock pm due to the famous Finland midnight sun.
Ilari’s mother cooked many kinds of Finnish traditional foods while we were swimming. I tried reindeer’s meat for the first time. It was delicious like beef. And surprisingly she made a blueberry pie for me. She cooked very well and it tasted good. I could feel much of their love and kindness in their Finnish hospitality. My Finnish friends were wonderful guides and showed me a beautiful time.
When we said goodbye, I gave them a kimono tablecloth as a Japanese souvenir to show my gratitude. They looked very happy. We swore to meet again next time in Japan. I am really looking forward to meeting them again in the future.
Todd先生のコメント
Y.K., a group class member for 6 months, is a dramatic and flamboyant person, full of energy and passion for the world. I had never had a student who described her adventure in such an interesting way, with a flair for the dramatic. She studied English hard to make her dreams come true, and enjoy her life using English.