Life of Maiju

Quick visit in South Africa

2009-07-14T00:26:00.000-07:00

On our way to Namibia we stayed in South Africa for three days. It was so goooood to meet our friends from Arethabeng School once again. Unfortunately we didn't get to the school on time in order to see the kids because of our flight. But we met the whole staff. Once again we felt the importance of this friendship. In Arethabeng they had toughts of the children of this friendship school project on their wall. I enjoyed reading them.
In the evening we had braai (barbecue) in our host family. Most of tha staff of Aethabeng came there too. I love their way of getting together and spend time talking and eating in a very relaxed way. Everyone is working together to make it happen.
The next day we were taken to Haartebeespoort Dam. That was an amazing place about 45 minutes away from Pretoria. The scenery was so beautiful!
We also had a short visit in Pretoria. Jacarandas were still blooming even tough the best time had passed. We loved those Jacarandas!
The view from the union building:
On our way back to Soshanguve we saw a wedding seremony. That was so interesting. The joyful dancing and singing on their way to the seremony tent was something different!
First came six pairs dancing (I guess best mans and pride's maids), then came the bride and groom and others followed them. It was so cool!

In the evening we had braai in a white South African family. We enjoyed that a lot too. Somehow I didn't take any pictures there. Anyway we get to swim in a pool and eat meat that was actually hunted by the man of the house. The food was soooooooo delicious and we loved the company. But the highlight of this short visit was yet to come.
In the morning we went to the local lutheran church with our host family. It was something different. I can't find the words to discribe the experience! When we walked in the congregation was singing hymns in voices and the church chimed! So right from the beginning we felt God's presence. The seremony was in Sesotho but even tough we couldn't understand anything we didn't get bored. I think we would need more of that spirit into our churches.
Anyway even tough we had just two-nights visit in South Africa it was once again an experience that won't be forgotten. And even tough it was already the third time in South Africa it was unique and something very special. Part of my heart definately belongs to South Africa.

Visiting Namibia

2009-07-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

In November I had a chance to visit Namibia for a week. We had a story crafting workshop there in our new friendship school. The week was very interesting and Namibia is definately a country worth visiting.
This time we stayed in a hotel right outside of the city of Windhoek called Country Club Resort. Of course it was luxurious but I would have prefered staying at homes like we always did in South Africa. That way you get to know the people and the country and its culture better. Inside the hotel you felt like you could have been where ever in the world. Well, you don't get to eat crocodile in a hotel in Finland!
Namutuni School (our new friendship school) looked a lot like same our friendship school in South Africa. Classes full of enthusiastic learners with a great volume of singing. One thing was different. These learners and teachers already new a lot of from Finland. Actually the principal and two other teachers were educated by Finnish missionaries and the language they used got its written form by Finnish missionaries and Finnish Martti Ahtisaari played a very important role in Namibia's strive for independence. Many teachers and kids had Finnish names.

We had a story crafting workshop for the teachers in Namutuni School. We have used story crafting in our friendship school activity with Arethabeng school from South Africa earlier. Then we published a book Tunne kieleni - Tseba leleme la ka.

We like the simple but powerful method. It's simple: Someone tells a story and other one writes it down just like the person told it. It's a way for us to give children a voice. There were three of us from Finland and two from South Africa in the workshop and the whole staff of Namutuni School. We really had good time together and results of the workshop you are going to be able to read from our next book done with Arethabeng School, Mikkola School and Namutuni School. It will be published in next September.
The dancing group of Namutuni School performed us some traditional dances. I enjoyed that a lot!

While we were in Namibia we had to go to see some animals too. We enjoyed watching the animals and in the evening we ate rather many of those animals in a local restaurant. I didn't like the crocodile but zepra and specially the ostrich was very good!

Can you see the crocodile?
Look how close to the car the rhinos came. It was almost scary!
This is how the animals look on a plate (kudu, ostrich, sprinbok, crocodile and zepra).

In between the workshop days we had time for shopping in downtown of Windhoek. Windhoek is nice little town with modern shopping malls but Katutura the township where Namutuni School is felt more like Africa.
One evening we took a taxi to take us to the near by mountain to see the sun set.We had many beautiful moments and sights in Namibia but the most important thing we gained is new friends. Here with us two teachers, Veripi and Martha, from Namutuni School with us (me and Tuuli another teacher from Mikkola School).

Hilla

2008-07-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

We have a dog. Actually we've had a dog since March. Her name is Hilla. One weekend we just decided that it would be good time to get a dog while Juha was studying at home and he would have time for the new dog. Well we found Hilla through internet. The previous owner couldn't keep her anymore and she was looking for a good home for her. I'm glad she trusted Hilla to us.

Hilla is very kind, obedient and well-behaving dog. She is also easy and she adjusted very well to her new home with us. I've never been a dog person. Actually I couldn't stand most of the dogs. While Juha was home alone a lot with the distressing graduation work to do I decided that he deserves the long wanted dog. I don't regret my decision. I've learned to like Hilla. Yet she's still more the dog of the rest of the family, especially Juha's.
I enjoy the joy Hilla has brought to our family. I also like the fact that she gets me out much more often than I used to go. I'm not a morning person but somehow those morning walks with other dog people are precious to me. I wouldn't want to do it every morning and fortunately my turn is maybe once a week. I also like the fact that Hilla likes me even tough I don't spend so much time with her. But she greets me with glee everytime I come home.
The best thing with Hilla is that she takes us out and into new places. Very often we take Hilla out together with Juha, my husband. Sometimes girls or at least one of them comes with us. One of our favourite places is Haltiala. That's where we were today. It's an area right beside the Vantaa river. We walk along the river bank and enjoy the country idyll. Every now and then we go down to the river, sit for a while and then go on again. The view is amazing and Hilla gets to run free.

This is the path on a river bank:

down by the river:
the view:
The oat field:
Once again thank you Hilla for taking us their!

Finnish baseball

2008-07-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

I used to play Finnish baseball for twelve years in my past. I started when I was eight years old and gave it up when I became pregnant for Jonna (14 years ago, already). Finnish baseball was very important for me then and it wasn't easy to give up. In my youth I played and also coached a team so my free time was pretty much taken by baseball, but I loved it.

Last fall Jonna asked if she could start playing Finnish baseball. At first I wasn't very willing for her to do that. I tought she was too old to start it (already 12 then) and it would demand too much of her. I also doubted her skills. I'm glad she was persistance and kept asking that. So in November she started training with the local Finnish baseball team. Soon I found myself back in coaching too...

We just spend a week in baseball camp in Kajaani with Jonna and her team. There were 115 teams from all over Finland there. I've been on those camps at least eight times in my childhood and the week was such a memory lane to me. I enjoyed every moment of it! It was definately the best week of this summer. Other parents kept thanking me for being there with their daughters but I was thinking: Wow, I got to experience this for free!

I hadn't realized how much I love the game before this. I'm so happy I can share it with my daughter but the game has me in hook even without my daughter now. I'm planning on starting to play myself again if I can find a team that accept old ladies like me.

As you can see from the name label (TYKKYLÄINEN) Jonna is a tiny girl compared to the others in the team and she is also new. I must admit that she has surprised me how well she's learned the game. There's still lot to learn but I didn't know that she has sportive talent at all. I'm sad that she didn't fall in love with the violin but Finnish baseball is a good one too. Actually I think it's the best sports in the world!

Voortrekker Monument

2008-07-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

On our visit to our friendship school we also visited several places after school, one was Voortrekker Monument. It was a very impressive place to visit. It was also interesting to hear some history of the whites in South Africa while we were most of our time with blacks and we didn't have any contact to white population. The Monument was built in honour of the Voortrekkers (Pioneers), who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854.

It's been estimated that 12 000 Boers (farmers in Afrikaans, the trekkers) migrated from Cape Colony because they weren't happy with British rulers, they wanted to find more fertile land to farm and avoid border wars with xhosa-speaking groups. It's called the Great Trek. During their trek Voortrekkers got in conflict with Zulus. On December 16, 1838, Voortrekkers were able to defeat the Zulus in the Battle of Blood River. The Boers attributed their victory to a vow they made to God before the battle: if victorious, they and future generations would commemorate the day as a Sabbath. Cenotaph, the central focus of the Monument, is there to remind people of that vow. Through an opening in this dome the sun shines at twelve o'clock on 16 December each year onto the middle of the Cenotaph.

The Monument is huge: 40 metres high, with a base of 40 metres by 40 metres. It's situated on a beautiful place right outside of Pretoria, the capital of South Africa. The view from the Monument is amazing. After passing through the gate one finds oneself inside a big laager consisting of 64 ox-wagons made out of decorative granite. The same number of wagons were used at the Battle of Blood River to form the laager. There is also

Monument was massive also from inside. I only had hard time with our pupils while I tried to translate at least something to them of the presentation to keep them not to die of boredom. Of course I couldn't do it - listen and try to understand and translate at the same time. Well, I enjoyed all I could see and rest I can always study afterwards...

There is a beautiful frieze inside the Monument. It's made of marble. The frieze consists of 27 bas-relief panels depicting the history of the Great Trek as well as the every day life, work methods, religious beliefs and way of life of the Voortrekkers.
I am little pit scared of hights so I didn't feel very comfortable up on the Monument but as I mentioned earlier the view was beautiful. Just don't look straight down! And it also helps that the Monument is built of granite and made very steady and strong. Go and experience it yourself!

Mongena Game Lodge

2008-07-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

A group from Mikkola school (including me) visited our friendship school in South Africa in April. During our visit we also got to spend two days in Mongena Game Lodge. It's a little reserve area about 50 km Pretoria. So as our friendship school situates in Soshanguve one of the townships of Pretoria it was a good place for us to go to see African animals.

Animals on the reserve include buffalo, rhino, hippo, giraffe, eland, springbuck, impala, zebra, various wildebeest species and others. There is also a 25 Ha dam with a variety of birdlife on the reserve. We didn't see all the animals that was there but we enjoyed very much of the game drives (a jeep ride among animals), bush walks and a boat ride on a dam. It was amazing. We got very near to the animals.

Jack was a quide on game drives, bush walk and a boat ride. He did great job with us...

The boat ride was very special! I loved every second of it. The beauty of the river, sun set, bird sounds, view and everything...

Not only that we enjoyed the animals on the reserve area we also liked the lodge area where were the bungalows and houses for accomodation. It was peaceful, no souvenir shops, just relaxed athmosphere and calmness.
This is the house where we lived.
A little peek into our home in Mongena. Tuuli is one of our teachers and was in South Africa second time as I. There were also some animals on the lodge area. It was fun to get so close to them!
So if you ever go to South Africa and don't have enough time or money to go to Kruger national park or you want to avoid malaria go to Mongena to see animals. I strongly recommend! For us it was a unique experience.

Back in Arethabeng

2008-06-27T13:01:00.000-07:00

I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that we got funding for our movie project. That ment I got to go to South Africa AGAIN and visit our friendship school. I was so happy because our first visit there was so amazing and I had cherished it in my heart. I didn't imagine I could go there ever again. On the first trip we spent too little time in Arethabeng school in my opinion so I was even happier when I realized that this time I would be working with the children in a movie project and spend a lot of time at school.
Another new thing was that we were able to take two of my pupils to South Africa. Most of my pupils wanted to go so it was hard to decide who to take with us. We had funding for only two and it also would have been too risky to take more children with us. We decided to take a boy and a girl and drew lots among them. So Eeva and Vili came with us. Eeva and Vili got lot of attention at once they got to the school yard. They spent most of their time with the learners who were making the films for the project. They had had their own films already made in Finland.
They both really enjoyed being at the school and told after the trip that times spent at school were the best in trip. They also told that it was rather demanding to have so much attention. Everyone wanted to talk with them, play with them, have them take pictures of them etc. I was happy to see that children from different sides from the globe could get along so easily and enjoy each other's company.
As for me I enjoyed the morning assemblies the most. The songs, the dances, the prayers - everything. This time we had prepared ourselves better for the assemblies. We had learned some Finnish folk songs and brought Finnish national instrument, kantele, with us. We taught some songs and just performed some with Tuuli, another teacher from Mikkola. It is so amazing to hear South African children sing Finnish songs!

Helping Hanna in movie making workshop was interesting. The workshop was held in English because we can't talk Sotho. Children understood us very well but we couldn't understand them when they talked together in Sotho. If they talked about yesterdays football match we wouldn't have known. We didn't hear if they had misunderstandings etc. All in all kids concentrated very well and were amazing. Once in a while I saw them writing letters or talking with Eeva and Vili but they got the work done.

Here you can see one example of difference in resources in Finnish schools and in South African schools. When my pupils told their three-picture-stories they showed their pictures on a screen with video projector which we have in every classroom. In Arethabeng electricity was off that day as in many days. Life isn't fair.Here are pictures of the pupils of Arethabeng. Many of the children live in very poor conditions nevertheless you can see them smile. I used to think that poor means sad but I've learned that when you are rich you can be poor in you heart. Money can't buy happiness and joy.

I feel priviledged that I've had the opportunity to get to know the Arethabeng school, its learners and its staff. It's been an eyeopening experience to me. I've got so much love and care from the people there that I can never give back. I've fell in love with South Africa because of those people.

Movie project

2008-06-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

This spring we had a movie project about children's rights and dreams with our friendship school in South Africa. Project was funded by Finnish National Board of Education, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and Arts Council of Finland. Finland - South Africa Association has been running the project with our school.

In the project children in our school (Mikkola school) and in Arethabeng school in South Africa made short films based on Convention on the Rights of the Child. First the pupils (or learners as they call pupils in South Africa) had workshops of how to make a film and then they made those films all the way from the beginning to the end all by themselves. I really enjoyed the project and I learned very much in the process.

The workshops started by making three-picture-stories of available pictures. At first it was little hard for pupils to make the stories only with three pictures and to have three main things in it: Interesting beginning, the middle and the surprising end. I think that the rehearsal gave the idea how to tell stories with pictures. In the workshops children also learned about different picture sizes, shooting angles and how to use the camera and the stand.

After that theory based learning children started writing their stories. Hanna Toiviainen, the project director who held the workshops, helped each group to make scripts of those writings. The real work started when children had to make story boards of their scripts. It demanded perseverance and a new way of thinking. How to tell the written story by film? How can the viewer know that a child is depressed or how to show that mother is favoring another child? Those kind of questions rose in making of story board.

Story boards looked like this. You had a screen where you drew what happens in the picture. Beside every picture you wrote the picture size and shooting angle, place of shooting, actors and description of what happens. Some groups had very hard time making the story board but some got hold of the idea very quickly.

When the story board were made the group had a final production discussion with Hanna. In that discussion the group had to show that everything was ready for shooting: Shooting places had been chosen, properties had been searched, scenes were practised etc. Then it was time for Action!

I wasn't in South Africa at the end of the workshop so I didn't see the shootings that were made there. Shooting the film was very exciting. Every group amazed me how well they had been prepared for the shooting. The beginning of shooting was always slow but at the end children acted like professionals as if they've done this thousands of times. For me it was a little hard to be just an observer. Many times I wanted to quide the group but soon I realized that the kids do actually better job without my advice. Healthy experience for me!

Here are some pictures of camera practise in Arethabeng. As you can see surroundings are very different from Mikkola school. We had snow, they had blooming trees.

The workshops were the same, theme was the same, the teacher was the same but the country, culture, language and living conditions were different. Can it be seen on the films? I'm eagerly waiting for the final movie in which are all the films from Mikkola and Arethabeng to be published.

winter holiday

2008-02-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a wonderful winter holiday. Eventually the temperature dropped below zero (Celsius) and the frosty air brought the feeling of winter to us. We've also got some snow and it feels like heaven now after the long, dark and wet "winter". This all can be gone next week but while I'm on winter holidau I can enjoy this with all my heart.

So we've been out a lot as many others. It didn't take long for the fresh snow to get footprints all over - some smaller and some bigger. I just had to take picture of my foot beside this footprint. Someone's got a big foot...

Yesterday we visited Pitkäkoski. It's nature reserve area in Helsinki, about 20 minutes ride away from our home. I like that area a lot. There are nice paths and bridges there to walk. It's one thing I missed in Lappeenranta a lot: Nice walking paths in the middle of forests. There were some but not as big as the central park of Helsinki which has 4 nature reserve areas in it, a lot of jogging tracks, paths and even duckboards (planks). The central park starst from the downtown of Helsinki going all the way to Vantaa. Even tough we visit that park rather often I still would get lost in there without Juha. Here is Pitkäkoski:

Juha and Jonna enjoying the view.

Here some pictures from along the way we walked...

Another day we visited Haltiala which is another nature reserve area in the central park of Helsinki. It's even closer to our home. I love walking on the planks and there I can do that!

One thing I like on the nature reserves is the funny looking trees.

Viivi enjoying trees...
Now it's my turn...

At the end of the walk we enjoyed this scenery were sun painted the near by neighbourhood with gold.

One thing one just must do when there is enough snow is to go sliding. Very close to our home is a nice hill and that's where we headed today. It was worth it!

Well, we keep on enjoying our winter as long as it takes. I hope you'll enjoy yours!

Madame Butterfly

2008-01-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to Opera with my husband Juha. I love opera and as a cunning wife I bought two tickets to Madame Butterfly for Juha as a christmas gift. I kind of hoped he would invite me to his companion - and I was right!

The first act was a little bit boring but in all I loved it! The last act was so good and the music so impressing and emotional it brought tears to my eyes. The story is so sad... An American officer buys a young Japanese wife to himself and leaves her in Japan while he goes back home. Three years this young Madame Butterfly waits for her husband to come home so that she could show their son to him and to love her husband only to see how her husband comes back with an American wife! Madame Butterfly is asked to give her son to the father and his new wife in order to get better life for the son. Madame Butterfly agrees to that and kills hershelf after loosing everything that ment something for her - love and the child.

One very interesting thing happened in the opera the man who sang the role of Goro (the matchmaker) lost his voice at he end of the part one. He acted the rest of the opera but there was another man singing his lines on the left side of the stage. I was amazed how well that arrangment worked!

Another thing I followed closely was the role of the child. As a mother I was very touched about the real child on stage and it brought those motherly emotions on surface very strongly and I could understand how bad it must have felt when Butterfly realized that she's going to loose the child too. I guess I need to be very happy that I've been able to keep my children.

Well, it's nice to be back in the capital area and close to our national opera. Once again it didn't fail me.

winter without snow

2008-01-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

It's a very strange winter here in Finland this year. No snow, lots of rain, no sun, lots of clouds... It means darkness - darker than normally and it's getting to me. I love winter and snow and the lack of it makes me sad. My strength has been low for several months and this doesn't help. I'm tired of being tired... nice circle - don't you think. Fortunately we can rely that God will provide the strength we need.

picture cavalcade

2008-01-12T12:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a wierd winter what comes to weather. We've had snow occationally but it has lasted only for few days. Waters get ice and then it starts to melt away again. This is how the sea looks in Helsinki now. It's beautiful, don't you think!

We visited Lappeenranta at the end of November. There was snow in there at that time and look how beautiful the fortress is in snow! Well, it melted away for Christmas in there too...
On our Independence Day the sixth of December we had snow. Every year we lit these outdoor fires on the roadsides leeding to our school in the morning of the Independence Day eve. It brings a solemn athmosphere for the whole neighbourhood and hopefully cheers up the people who wander to their work in the darkness.

We had a blessing of our new home in October. We got these candles as presents. And as you know I'm a big candle lover so I was happy. Soon the big white candle looked like this:

and now it's gone...

Another thing I love is flowers and especially flowers. So In enjoyed fully of all the welcoming flowers. This bunch of roses lasted a long time and brought joy to me (and others, but not so much for them...)

One weekend we decided to build a huge lego castle and here's the result. Awesome! Building it took several hours but it was worth it. Look how the king and his attendance enjoys living in the castle:

We've got a pet nowadays. It's been so much fun to watch the squirrels who come to dine on our yard.

They've learned their way inside our home too.

This fall we've also got to know this cat - Töpö. My sister's family decided to have a cat and found Töpö from the shelter for abondened animals. Good deal for both: Cat gets a good home and the family gets a pet.

Christmas time ment more flowers and more candles.

Hugo Bear - the new member of our family - wishes you all blessed year 2008!

Stockholm

2008-01-12T11:59:00.001-08:00

We made a quick one-day-visit to Stockholm right before Christmas in the beginning of the Christmas brake. I enjoyed the ready made meals on board the ship and in Stockholm and the time to just relax in a cabin. I also like the city of Stockholm very much and walking around felt very good.
The old part of the city is my favourite with all the narrow alleys and old buildings. Fortunately we didn't need to buy anything so we were able to just wander around and enjoy the window dressings which brought the Christmas spirit to me after a hectic time at work.

In the old town we also visited the Stora Kyrkan (the big Church). It was a lovely moment to calm down. We lit some candles and I prayed alcohol free Christmas to children in Finland.

We also visited one mall quickly and watched all the people making last minute Christmas shopping. We ate in Burger King -thing we always do in Stockholm while we don't have it in Finland and we loved it in USA.

On our way back me and Viivi took part in competition and won these chocolate bars. It was a reaction game where you had to push the buttons that turned on in the right order. I got 164 in a row, the next one got 54 and Viivi who was third got 28. Am I good or what?!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

2007-12-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today we've got snow AND I LOVE IT! I've always loved snow but now I have en extra reason to do that - the yard of our own! At the moment I'm watching out of the window looking at the snowy yard and I feel so happy. Viivi had built the snow lantern and I just had to rush out to take pictures. Hopefully we'll have snow and frost in Christmas so that we can make lantern of ice too to our yard.

We also have bird feeder at our yard for the first time. We enjoy watching the birds come to dine on our yard. We also feed four squirrels. They are so much fun! Sometimes they'll run around like crazy, they'll jump in trees or they use time finding good place to hide the peanuts.

As you may have guessed we love living here in Vantaa. Now we have a home with enough room and a sauna of our own. Our friends and family are close and all the activities of the capital area. God has blessed us with lots of things.

May the light of our Lord shine in your lives too!

Imatra

2007-07-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

Imatra is a South Carelian town about forty kilometers (half-an-hours ride) away from Lappeenranta where we live. We have lived in Imatra for three years. Actually my first job as a teachers was in Imatra and also my first assignment as a music class teacher. We have very dear memories from Imatra and we liked living in Imatra. During this year when we've lived in Lappeenranta we have visited Imatra several times and actually Juha's office has a offive over there too. Imatra never dissappoints us!

Imatra's biggest sight is the one in a picture: Imatrankoski rapids. It's actually the oldest tourist sight in Finland. Already in 1772 the Russian empress Catherine the Great visited Imatra in order to see the rapids. Powerplant was built in 1929 and that's why the channel is dry like this mot of the time. During the summer the dam is opened every might at seven o'clock for 20 minutes. It's a powerful and very impressive! I've seen it many, many, many times but I never get bordered to that!

We went to see the show in July with Juha's cousin Jaana and her son Jonni (in the picture with Viivi) and we weren't the only ones! Can you see how crowded the bridge is?

Can you see the cable wire? People were sliding on it to the other side. It looked scary! I would like to be brave enough to do it myself but I think I might chicken out!

Along the river banks of Imatrankoski there is a park called Kruununpuisto (two last pictures from the park). It was established in 1842. There are sightseeing pavilions, dozens of giant's cauldrons, signatures engraved in the rock by visitors, magnificent ‘Jugendstil' Hotel Imatran Valtionhotelli (the first picture), the power plant and Imatra's summer teather in the park area. This year the summer teather is having a play called Kruununpuisto. It tells about life in the beginning of 20th century in Imatra. I went to see it with Jonna and we both enjoyed it. Jonna mainly because there was a real horse in a play! This was my last post about South Carelia. We'll be moving the day after tomorrow and my mind will be focusing on the move and settling back to Vantaa. I'm glad I've got to know South Carelia, beautiful piece of Finland, but I'm happy to get back to the capita area!

Lappeenranta, the summer city

2007-07-28T13:29:00.001-07:00

Even tough we didn't quite adjust to Lappeenranta and are moving back to Vantaa we've enjoyed the summertime here. The whole city seems to wake up in the summer but especially the harbour. It's called Huvisatama during the summer (huvi=amusement, satama=harbour). There are twelve amusement devices for free to anyone to jump in in the area starting from the carousel all the way to the Ferrish wheel. There is also a market place, two restaurant ships and little huts selling vety and atomi (local treat: meat pies with ham and egg or just either, tastes good), ice cream, waffels etc. in the harbour. The one thing I like the most in Huvisatama is the sandcastle!
Sandcastle is a large area where are sand sculptures made out of 3 million kilos of sand. This years theme was space. I like walking around the area watching those marvellous sculptures.

Right beside the Sandcastle there is a little Wendy House village. There are eigth fully funished and equipped playhouses there. Different firms have donated money in order to keep it free for the public and so they also got to furnish and advertise in those playhouses. My favourite is this:
We visited the Wendy House Village with Juha's cousine Jaana and her son Jonni who is Juha's godchild. His favourite was the one where you could send an imaginary space ship in to the space!

This is a cute one too.There are also many kinds of events in the harbour in the summer. The one our children loved the best was the presentation of Finnhorse. It's the 100 jubilee year of Finnhorse this year. That's why there are Finnhorse presentations all over Finland this year. We saw how to harness a horse with an old harness and with a new harness, girls got to go for a little ride on a carriage and also on a saddle. One horse even got new shoes in the event!

In this last picture the horse isn't a Finnhorse. There was another event when girls got to ride with Lauke for free.
One day I went to the Ferrish wheel with Viivi. The view was beautiful!

The picture above gives you a better view of the harbour area. This walkway takes to the sandcastle (distance maybe 500 meters), on the left you see the market place, on the right there is the Lake Saimaa and up on the hill is the fortress of Lappeenranta. Another place worth visiting. All the sights are easy to reach at a time. The fortress is place for history and art lovers. FOR ME!

In this building there are a few gallerias and a wonderful cafe with old furniture and athmosphere.

There are also three museums at the fortress and one more very close in downtown. I must admit that I've only visited the South Karelian art museum and South Karelian museum. The one in the picture is the museum of the cavalry. I've wanted to go to the house museum of Wolkoff since last summer but it seems I'm not able to visit it before we move away, it's a pity! Well, it's a good reason to come back to Lappeenranta for visit some day. Girls had a drama tour in South Karelian museum this summer. It was a nice way for children to get into the theme of the exhibition of Suvorov. Suvorov was a Russian general who lived in south east Finland (it was Russia then) 1730-1800.

Summer in Lappeenranta has ment easy access to swim. That we have done a lot! I love swimming and water generally.

Even though Lappeenranta is a beautiful small town I must say that I'm glad I get to go back to Vantaa. It has been a hard year here without friends and family. Our home is in Vantaa and I love it more than Lappeenranta although there isn't the Lake Saimaa and it's mainly ugly block buildings built on a former flat field. You can't reason your heart!

Camping in Lohilahti

2007-07-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

Now when the move away from South Karelia is closing it's time to do the last visits to our favourite places. Today we made a little longer trip to Lohilahti, Sulkava. It's about 90 minutes ride from Lappeenranta. We lived 14 months in Lohilahti during the years 1998-1999. It's a beautiful little village in the middle of nowhere. We had our favourite place to go for swimming and camping there called Kiikkuniemi. It didn't disappoint us. On the contrary we had so wonderful day that I'll remember it long time.

Kiikkuniemi is inside in backwoods. As a matter of fact it was little hard for us to find it at first after such a long time. Little forest road and rest of the trip you must go walking. There is a fire place and wood available over there and a marvellous sand beach. The bottom of the lake is sandy as far as you can reach the surface standing and even longer. So very good place for swimming - and we enjoy swimming! Well fool around in the water to be exact...

Water pictures taken by our daughter Jonna, she is always the first one to com out of the water while she gets cold very quickly, poor thing! She also caugth this butterfly to her camera:

Of course we made food with fire! This time we decided to have a little healthier menu than normally on bonfire (makkara/sausage). I also love to fix my gaze on fire...

Our menu: Good Finnish rye bread and spinach and carrot pan cakes. Food made on fire tastes always so good!

Viivi got excited of the blueberries in Kiikkuniemi. She wandered in the near woods for picking up them and we all got to eat them. Fresh berries are sooooooooo good!

On our way back from Kiikkuniemi we stopped for a minute or two to the downtown of Lohilahti. That's were we lived. Right by the lake Saimaa and the view was wonderful. Check yourself:

In Lohilahti there are a grocery store, bank, a little health center, gas station where you have a post office and a restaurant, school, day care, outside tennis court, flour mill, summer dancing hall, summer teather so enough services to live. I enjoyed living in there but working in the local school was a hell for me. Not because of the children but because of the other teachers.

We also visited one family we got to know while living in Lohilahti. Their daughters are good friends to ours and we enjoy the company of the parents. They had something our kids have wanted to have for a long time: A giant trampoline!

We had a perfect day today! Pity you don't see the grin on my husband's face properly in this picture. It would give smile on your face too. Now I have evidence that he is crazy and I can keep on wearing my t-shirt saying: MY NEXT HUSBAND WILL BE NORMAL!

Kärnäkoski

2007-07-22T14:43:00.001-07:00

We visited Kärnäkoski today. It's in Savitaipale about 50 km from Lappeenranta. It's an old fortress from the 18th century. We like the area a lot. We found it already in March and were amazed how no one had told us about it.

The fortress is a rather large area at the mouth of the Kärnäjoki River. It was built by the Russians. The Russians needed it against Swedes, Finland didn't exist then yet. There were never figths between Russians and Swedes in Kärnäkoski fortress but during the Finnish Civil War, several battles took place in the area.

Well, I'm not so interested in the history. I just enjoy the athmosphere of the old places. Juha gets his imagination running in places like this.

This picture I took in March. It gives a better perspective on the area.

These sheeps are on the area to take care of the maintenance, clearing of the bush growth. I guess there just aren't enough of them while the grass is rather long and sometimes makes it even hard to walk on the walls. But they are lovely!

The fortress is situated on a very beautiful place as you can see. I wish I would have a little sauna like that on a lake as you can see on a background. Of course the people in front are more important to me: Viivi and Juha.
Jonna and Viivi and the huge birch in the middle of the fortress.

Rigth beside the fortress there is an old flour mill.
And maybe just a kilometer away from Kärnäkoski is Partakoski, another beautiful cultural environment.
By the way word koski at the end of Kärnäkoski and Partakoski means rapids.
On a same trip we stopped by to take pictures of the church in Savitaipale downtown.

It says: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (ps.111:10). Amen to that! It should be written in our hearts. So many times we seek wisdom from so wrong resources.

Saimaa Canal

2007-07-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

We took a small two-hour cruise to Saimaa Canal on Friday with my sister's family. It was something I wanted to do before me move away from Lappeenranta and visitors are always a good reason to act like turists. It really was worth going!
We made the cruise on m/s Camilla which you see above. The cruise took two hours and we went through the first lock of the Saimaa Canal. The lock is called Mälkiä. It's the deepest of the locks in Saimaa Canal (12,4m). All together there are eight locks in Saimaa Canal. Three of them are on Finnish side and the rest are in Russia. You can get to the Gulf of Finland from the lake Saimaa through the Canal. It would be interesting to go the route all the way some day.
Here we go:

At the bottom:
On the other side of Mälkiä lock. Can you see the sea gulls who came to have lunch?Then just a quick turn and back to the lock. El Faro followed us.

Up we go again:

Can you see the difference in water levels? It's amazing what people invent in order to get where they want. So simple and yet working so well.

There was a little queue to the lock:

On our way back we passed the Kaukas paper mill. Such a big contrary to those beautiful views of Lake Saimaa. Yet I find it very intriguing. The big mills and buildings impress me. Here you see only a part of the whole mill area. Finland is very dependend of its paper production and I guess they are doing their best fo the environment, hopefully!
I think Juha (my hubby) was to one who enjoyed the cruise most.

Konnunsuo

2007-07-08T03:40:00.000-07:00

Today we made a little car ride with my husband in the rural areas of Lappeenranta after we took the girls to the stables. They are bitten by horse bug - espsially Jonna! We ended up to the place called Konnunsuo. It's a beautiful countryside.
Konnunsuo is famous of its prison (in the picture above). It was established in 1918. The old buildings are beautiful but in a need for modernisation. They were built during the years 1922-1935. Konnunsuo prison is a big producer of organic food. It grows mainly cattle. The fields are very popular place for migratory birds to stop by so there are two watch towers for birds.

We enjoyed the view very much but couldn't help thinking of the ruined lives of those inside the prison. What went wrong in each of their lives? We get so different start to our lives contingent upon what kind of a family we born into. I hope that working as a mediator I can help some of our clients not to end up on a road with more and more of crimes but in stead help them realize that their actions have consequences in other people's lives. That way they hopefully learn a better way of living. Prison doesn't help them!

Notice: I'm wearing my Inca Kola t-shirt from Peru. I like Inca Kola and that shirt a lot but it's strating to get old and worn-out. :(
In Konnunsuo there is a big peat bog too (suo means swamp). Peat is mainly used for power production. 30 % of Finland is peat bog but mot of it has been ditched for growing forests, for agriculture or in order to pick the peat for power production. As you may remember I enjoyed peat sauna with my friends couple of years ago. There are very few peat bogs left in the natural state and that's a pitty.
Some how I like these peat bogs. In Ilomantsi where I grew up are lot of swamp and they take lot of peat out of them. So the scenery and the smell is so familiar. I guess we need to take the power from somewhere but I'm afraid we are using too mcuh power in order the Earth to survive. I wish we could endure more of our wilderness in natural state and not to harness it to our selfish use.

Summer

2007-07-08T03:33:00.001-07:00

Savonlinna

2007-07-05T05:38:00.000-07:00

We had a mediation congress in Savonlinna with Juha in June. Juha is the head of the South Carelian mediation office and I'm a volunteer mediator. Savonlinna is a beautiful town and it's very special to us. When we lived in Sulkava (eigth years ago) we could go to Savonlinna twice a week to swim and enjoy the life in a bigger place. In Sulkava we lived in a beautiful small village called Lohilahti.

The congress was held in Spa Hotel Casino. It's right in downtown on an island. It's a beautiful place. Look at the view from our hotel room. That little bridge takes you to downtown.

The congress was held in this building. It's the old Casino. I like the architecture of that.

When you are in Savonlinna it's an absolut must to visit the Olavinlinna castle. I LOVE IT! I've visited it many times. Last time was with my pupils on our way back from the camp school.

The building of Olavinlinna, castle of St. Olaf, began in 1475. The Danish-born founder of the castle, knight Erik Axelsson Tott, decided that a powerful fortification should be build to protect the strategically important Savo region. The castle was supposed to repel Russian attacks from the east and to guarantee the control of the Savo region for the Swedish Crown. The history of Olavinlinna is a mixture of medieval arms clashing, cannons roaring and every-day chores inside the security of the castle’s thick walls. (http://www.nba.fi/en/olavinlinna_castle)

Savonlinna opera festival is held in the castle. As a big opera lover I've always wanted to go to that festival but never had the opprtunity yet. That's definately something I'm going to do some day. Here you can see the rain roof they had to build on top of the inner court so that the rain won't stop the opera.
Here's the view from he castle:
This visit to Savonlinna was very special to me. The congress was good, we had so much fun with other mediators (didn't even use the spa at all even tough we love swimming - our girls couldn't understand that at all - but we just had so much more fun talking with people) and we got to go to a boat ride which I've never experienced before in Savonlinna. That means I saw the castle from the lake too this time!

If you ever visit Finland, go to visit Savonlinna too. And if you love opera, visit Savonlinna Opera Festival!

crafting

2007-07-05T05:13:00.000-07:00

It seems like I blog about crafting every vacation! On vacations I have time for Knitting, needle felting and other crafting. This time I made these little bible verse cards to the church's children's camp. My mom made the sheeps. The verse is: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. So familiar and so true every day! Even tough our faith is lacking Lord will provide for us!

In the upper picture you can see the card factory. Down all the sheeps are wrapped with the bible verse. Every child got a gift like this on the camp. I hope they will remember in their life that Jesus is enough and He will give an interesting life with full of adventures and challenges fulfilling our needs.

menstrual cup

2007-06-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

The reason I decided to try menstrual cup was purely ecological. I had been looking for a choiche to the disposable pads and tampons for a while. I had big doubts of the cup but I decided that in order to call myself ecologically thinking it should be seen in my consuming. So I bought it and haven't regreted it at all. On the contrary I find it VERY GOOD. It's easy to use, safe, cheap and mostly you can forget that you have periods. All the itching and uncomfortable feeling is gone.

This is from the web site of Lunette the manufacturor of menstrual cup:

Lunette™ menstrual cup is:
• Made in Finland of 100% medical-grade silicone.
• Hypoallergic, latex-free, odourless and safe.
• Economic and ecologically-friendly; used with care, one Lunette menstrual cup lasts for about 5-10 years
• A sanitary and healthy alternative to disposable tampons and sanitary napkins.
• Easy-to-use and comfortable, needs emptying only 2-4 times a day. Can be used during the night.
• The lining of the cup is totally smooth and the tab is flat, so cleaning is extremely easy.
• Measuring lines of 7.5 ml and 15 ml outside the cup, for monitoring the amount of your flow
• Can be sterilised by placing in boiling water for 2-5 minutes
• Can be used by all women
• Can be used before first sexual intercourse and also with a IUD and contraceptive diaphragm.
• Not to be used during post-natal bleeding due to the risk of inflammation.
• Does not disrupt the natural lubricating ability of the vagina, nor does it dry the vaginal mucus membrane
• No dampness; no outbreaks of vaginal candidiasis, cystitis nor toxic shock syndrome have been linked to the use of menstrual cups.
• Can be worn during sports.
• Not tested on animals

School party in South African way

2007-06-26T04:01:00.000-07:00

While we visited Arethabeng school of course they arrenged a big party for us there. The party was awesome! Lots and lots of many kind of programme. I enjoyed very much of that living performing of those children. There were songs and poems of South Africa and Arethabeng, traditional dancing (you can see group coming to performe in the picture), songs of love and friendship, jive, dialogues etc. We even saw an educational play about aids afterwards. It didn't fit to the long programme.

We also sang one traditional Finnish song and the African ladies danced on the rythm of that. I love that spirit of doing things together combining traditions feeling sisters no matter of your colour, position or anything else. All men are equal!

In that party also all of those whose story was printed in the book Tunne kieleni - tseba leleme la ka - know my language got their own book. It was a big thing for them! It could have been the first book for some to own. Our children have a whole bookshelf of books. Life just isn't fair.

Well, I miss all those children of Arethabeng and I will cherish those memories in my heart for the rest of my life!

Tunne kieleni - tseba leleme la ka - know my language

2007-06-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is one product of the friendship school project between Arethabeng school and Mikkola school. This is book has been made by storycrafting first grade pupils in Mikkola school and in Arethabeng school. In storycrafting a child (or a teenager, adult, etc.) tells a story, someone else writes it down. Then the child hears her story and then she can make changes if she wants. Simple! All the stories of this book are in Finnish, English and North Sotho (the language of Arethabeng school). Some of the stories have been told by an immigrant pupil here in Finland. Those stories are aso in their mother tongue. So the book is multilingual.

I really like the book. You can hear children's voice in it. If you compare the stories made in South Africa and stories made in Finland you will find differences. South Africans tend to tell about their every day life as Finns tell a story more often. Also the places they tell about are different. In comparison you will also find similarities. Boys play with cars and girls get happy of the new doll - no matter where you are.

Some of the stories have violence, some tell about fears, some are representations of every day life, some are cute little stories about friendship, some tell about unfareness of life some tell about how you can find compromise in life. It's a very many-sided book and it tells me that children see this life much better than we adults think they do. We should listen children more carefully in order to understand life in itself. Storycrafting is a wonderful method for that.

All the pictures of the book have been made by children. If you got interested about the book: Tunne kieleni - tseba leleme la ka - know my language, go an read it in thislink! I would love to hear what is your favourite story.

The school year is over

2007-06-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

It's time to say good bye for the Alakylä school in Lappeenranta. While it was Jonna's last year in grade school they all got roses. Viivi got the teddy bear from her teacher just to say good bye. Next year we'll be in Mikkola school all together once again. Mikkola school is a comprehensive school with grades 1 to 9 so even Jonna stays with us in the same school but she'll just be in upper grades and in subject teacher system. That will be a big change for her but she is very happy to get back to the old school with old friends. Normally the grades 7-9 are in different school buildings. My classroom will be next to Viivi's classroom. I don't know yet if it's a good or a bad thing :).

Anyway I'm very proud of our beautiful daughters. They came home with good reports and many good moments and experiences with their friends and teachers at school! They adapted to the new school well and became part of it in short time. In my opinion the best part of being one year in Alakylä school for our girls was excellent hand craft teaching. The skirt Jonna is wearing she made herself for example.

Happy summertime to all of you!

Camp school in Miehikkälä

2007-05-28T08:29:00.001-07:00

Last week I was on a short two-day camp school with the fourth-graders of our school in Miehikkälä. There is a camp centrum owned by Lasten Kesä ry. It's an independent child protection organisation which duty is to organize vacational activities for children. Out of the vacation season school's can rent the place for their camp schools.
The place was very nice. On the right and on the left you can see the housing buildings and the white building on the background is for dining. The lake is behind the white building. Here the white building closer and the view from there on:

For Finns it's a necessity to have the camp on a lake. We just can't live without our lakes and any out door activities don't feel the same if there isn't a lake available. During the day children got to go rowing and fishing and in th evening it was time for swimming.

The best part of the lake this time was that we had a water and fish scientist with us (father of one of our pupils). So first children got to do seine fishing with our scientist and then it was time to examine our catch. It was interesting!

So what we got?

We got a water spider, crucian carp and lot's of small fish. Take a look at yourself!

Then it was time to examine the crucian carp. First you measure it's length then it's weight then you take the blood examble. The scientist father also opened the fish and showed all the intestines. Much more interesting than just studying out of book.

You can't have a camp school without makkara (sausages) either. I even ate two even tough we had been eating very well during the day. Well, you just can't count calories when you are around makkara.

All in all I had good time in Miehikkälä. I love being on a lake while I grew on a lake. I got to swim and I had makkara. Still I enjoyed our camp school in Ilomantsi last May more, well there is my home... (In that link there are 5 posts of camp school in Ilomantsi, just click the previous post in the margin)

This view is so Finnish and so beautiful to my eyes: birch on a waterside...

Viivi is ten

2007-05-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

You realize how time flies when you look at your children and notice that they are getting bigger and bigger. Our baby is now ten! What a joy Viivi has been for us these ten years. She has an unique personality!
This is Viivi with her favourite teddy bear which she got from Santa. Viivi loves soft toys. She also makes certain that mommy and daddy have a sleeping toy every night. She picks tem up very carefully.

Viivi likes jokes and telling them. She likes to be funny in many ways as you can see.
But there is also a more serious and thinking part in Viivi. She can be very angry at the angent ruler of China for killing so many innocent people and she wonders many things in this life.
As you already know Viivi plays the violin but she also likes to play the piano at home. Mommy is trying to teach her but I'm a lazy teacher at home. This year Viivi has had maybe ten lessons all together. Bad me!
We read a lot in our family. So Viivi enjoys reading too. She likes fairy tales and I still read her bed time stories every ones in a while. I like those moments but unfortunately I'm many times too tired in the evening for reading or just busy.
This is what Viivi bought with her birthday money. Aren't the modern legos wonderful. I wish I would have had thosein my childhood. Both our girls like them a lot and they have lots and lots of these girly legos. I think they are good toys teaching creativity and they also last long. the only problem is that vacuuming is a nightmare because you always end up vacuuming at least one of the tiny diamonds or something like that which are very important and you end up opening the vacuum cleaner and you know what comesof that... Well, that's what mothers do for their children!

Blooming in my home

2007-05-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Everyone who knows me any better knows that I'm a plant killer. It's almost certain that if plant gets into my home it'll be dead soon. This spring I've had a miracle in my home: Plants that are blooming. I can't believe that this is actually happening. I think no one can be happier of her/his plants than I'm of my blooming flowers. I honestly don't know why they bloom since I haven't done anything special - they just do.

This plant was the first one to bloom. Not very heavily but more than ever had happened in my home. When this finnished blooming the others started. Aren't flowers wonderful? I'm grateful to God that He gets me to enjoy these beauties in MY HOME!

Flat Stanley's visit with us

2007-05-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

We got Flat Stanley from Virginia to live with us for a while. I really enjoyed that! Especially while the Flat Stanley came from the girl (mother of two nowadays) who actually lived with us at least twice for a month or so in our childhood. Well, it wasn't so much fun with Stanley than it was with them at a time but still it was fun!

Here's what happened:

Stanley lived with the perhe Rehvonen in their home. He had his own room over there. I think he had good time with the family Rehvonen as you can see from the picture. There are Liisi, Olli, Jukka-Pekka and Minna in that family. They did a lot of stuff together. Here they are planning a picnic for the first of May festival but it didn’t work out because of the rainy weather.

In stead of the picnic Stanley spent the labour day (the first of May) with Pörri, teddy Urho and mister Kontio.

Stanley tried to decorate Viivi’s room with serpentine but in stead he stumbled in it and needed help to get out.

Stanley also found out that on a Labour day people dress into funny costumes sometimes. Especially the children have funny costumes at school on the eve of the Labour day. The labour day is a holiday for everyone. Stanley also wanted to have a funny costume for himself. He tried many costumes. He liked a hat with flowers a lot but it was too big for him. Eventually he decided to dress as a girl because he heard that Jonna was going to dress as a boy at school. So he tried two skirts.

Stanley enjoyed the costumes a lot but he got scared of the gorilla which suddenly appeared to the living room. After a little while he realized it was only Viivi in a gorilla costume and started laughing.

Maybe the best part of the costume play was jumping in the pile of costumes.

One day Flat Stanley went to see the lake Saimaa with us. He really enjoyed the view. On the beach he also climbed in the trees and jumped in the hays. That was fun! He also saw a special kind of ladybug on one tree.

While Stanley was in Finland there was also a national veteran day in Finland. Music classes in which Jonna and Viivi belong to performed in a ceremony arranged for the veterans of Lappeenranta. Stanley’s favourite song was a huoleton reissumies (cheerful traveller). In the lobby of the concert hall Stanley admired carelian art in a Finnish rug.

Stanley also met Viivi’s and Jonna’s grandparents Kaisu-granny and Heimo-grandpa when they came to visit us shortly with an Indian pastor and his daughter. The Indian friends were very happy to meet Stanley and they wished that Stanley could come and visit their orphanage one day. With Heimo-grandpa Stanley read the newspaper. It’s Heimo’s favourite thing to do.

During his visit in Finland Stanley also went to school with Viivi one day. On the bus to school Stanley got to know Liisa. Travelling by bus was fun for Stanley but school was boring for him.
Stanley also went to the music academy with Viivi to listen Viivi’s violin lesson. Stanley was thinking that if he was a little taller he could climb into the violin and see what’s inside of it. The best part of the visit in music academy was eating a Finnish bun.

One day a funny thing happened for Stanley. He got stuck into the bathroom at the home of Rehvonen. When the father Rehvonen, Jukka-Pekka, came home he found Stanley from the bathroom screaming for help. Jukka-Pekka advised Stanley that he needs to push the door not to pull. Stanley’s face looked funny when he realized that the door had been open all the time…

Stanley’s visit in Finland was a success even tough he had to listen rasping on the violin almost every day and be home alone during the days. On the other hand he loved to learn to speak Finnish and to get new friends. He is happy to get home but he will miss good Finnish rye bread and all the new friends.

New coins

2007-05-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

On Monday I recieved a nice envelope from the father of my ex-pupil. It had foreign money for my collection. I collect mainly coins and I've got them from over 100 countries. Some countries don't even exist any more (like DDR). I have also a smaller collection of paper money. All the coins I got were new to me which is always a special joy. It's so relaxing just to sit with your coin album and find place for the new comers. This is something I've carried with me from childhood so maybe that's the reason why it still makes me happy.

My collection isn't anything fancy. Most of my coins are from the botton of some pocket. I like it that way. The best way to get new coins is to travel abroad and bring some change with you back home. Those coins are very dear to me because I have shared my life with them. :) I don't do this for money or to impress anyone - it's just fun for me! I know, I'm wierd - but everyone knows it already!

Hämmäauteensuo

2007-04-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

Today we went camping for the afternoon. We had heard about a swamp that is on nature reserve. It's called Hämmäauteensuo. There is also a place to make fire or even stay over night. Not a cabin but a little shelter. Swamps are very common in Finland. As a child we visited them rather often while there are lots and lots of swamps in Ilomantsi where I grew up. I've always loved walking on duckboard! I don't know why but I do. So we get to walk on those.

I also love the fire. It's also a sign of summer when you get to eat sausages made on open fire. So that's what we did.

Spring

2007-04-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning when I was walking to school I noticed that it had rained during the night. It ment green coming out of the trees. What a feeling! I love the spring and it's strength to make new. It gives us power to believe in renewing.

I was little out of my schedule but I couldn't resist stop and wonder many little things on my way to work. Here is one of them:

Mostly I enjoyed the little hint of green and the idea of summer getting closer...

The feeling that summer is almost here made us start our balcony season. Saturday night we lit candles on the balcony and stayed out couple of hours even tough we had to be dressed is winter jackets... Crazy Finns! Enjoy the candles with me.

Arethabeng School

2007-04-12T06:29:00.000-07:00

The best moments of our trip were at the Arethabeng School. I really enjoyed those moments and will treasure them in my heart. Arethabeng school is situated in Soshanguve, the township of Pretoria.

This is how the school look likes. It has two long buildings opposite each other were the class rooms are. In the middle of those buildings you see the shelter/roof under which the morning assemblies and other events that involve the whole school occurs. It's also a place were food is distributed for the poorest who have right for the free meal at school. On the other end of the school yard that is between the class room buildings is the administrational building and on the other end of the school yard there's a building wiht computer class and bathrooms. Outside of this complex there is still one building were the pre school and aid class are and a little library.

The school starts at 7 o'clock. first thing that happens then is cleaning. Children take brooms and sweepers and start wiping the dust away from the yard. Some has to do school patroling and others arrange classrooms for the days work. It was amazing how this all happened very independently without strict supervision and it all got to be done. Maybe they wanted to please us visitors but anyway that impressed me.

After the cleaning session the schhol gathered under the roof for the morning assembly. They do that every morning at the first quarter of the school year and after that only on Mondays and Fridays. The whole school assemblies every morning at the beginnig of the school year are important for the first graders who need to get into the school's habbits, songs etc. Music, sports, arts or handcrafts are not taught at school. All the songs they sing they learn at the assembly and all the dances they dance too. Sports and music can be taught at the clubs after school but they don't belong to the curriculum.

The assemblies were awesome! It could last from 15 minutes to half on our and children stood still the whole time. First they did some simple excersizes. Orders were given in English and the first graders learned that way some words of English. The language of the school is Northern Sotho but while it's a small language the school language changes into English gradually because there isn't any materials in Sotho. After excersizes it's time to sing and pray. Oh boy, those songs! I loved them! I even tried to learn one dance. Children laughed so probably I wasn't very good.

By the way those who don't have their school uniforms on have their birthday. It's the day when you get to were your normal clothes. The birthday girls and boys were asked to come forward every morning and then they were sang happy birthday. It was a nice tradition. I enjoyed those extra verses they had saying: How old are you now, how old are you now... (the whole school asked that), I am twelve years old now, I am twelve years old now... (the person had to answer her/his age) and She is twelve years old now, she is twelve years old now... And of course they now sing one verse in Finnish too.

One other song they learned to sing in Finnish is part of their national anthem. That part is called Nkosi sikelelel' iAfrika. It means God bless Africa. We have it in our hymn books on a name Kuule Isä Taivaan. It's a very popular children's hymn here in Finland. Every child in here knows it. That song was very important for the black while they were fighting against the Apartheid. Since from the year 1997 the national anthem of The South Africa has been the combination of the former apartheid time anthem and this Nkosi sikelel' iAfrica. It's sang in four different languages. South Africa has 11 official languages.

Well, here some pictures from the assembly:

As you can see some of the dances were rather living!

There are over 400 pupils (or learners, the way they call pupils in South Africa) in Arethabeng School. Many of them come from the unformal settlement areas living in shaks. The amount of pupils in one class varies from 40 to 80. Even the first grades are huge with 40 pupils and they start school at the age of six! It's hard to imagine how those teachers survive. Discipline has to be tight. Otherwise it just doesn't work. The children don't have school books. In stead they do their work on booklets. I wish we would have had more time to just observe the teaching there. I know we could have learned a lot! I learned to appreciate those teachers. It's easy to get good PISA results with such a good resources as we do have here in Finland. These teachers do excellent work with their loving hearts in conditions where I wouldn't survive as a teacher.

Here's the sixth grade with 80 learners (all don't even fit to the picture):

The other one of the first grades (40 learners all together):

This looks familiar. The only difference is that older pupils weren't allowed to use a carry (do you call "memory number" that in English - my dictionary said so).
On an English lesson.
Lunch time. The needy ones get a free meal at school, others eat their own sandwiches etc.
I hope you enjoyed my photographic tour to Arethabeng School. It's impossible to provide the real picture with the hot sun, smiling and interested leaners, relaxed athmosphere, loving and welcoming attitude towards us etc. I left a big part of my heart to Arethebeng!

Visiting South Africa

2007-04-09T08:02:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I returned from my unforgettable trip to South Africa. I visited our friendship school there with four other teachers. We stayed in South Africa 8 days. We saw so much that it felt much longer time. The local teachers took us so well that it also felt like we belonged there. We all experienced so much that it will take me more than one post to unload.

I start with the landscapes. Half of our trip we stayed in Pretoria area where the friendship school Arethabeng situated. Then we took a bus all across South Africa to Cape Town and stayed there for the rest of our trip. The views were beautiful and it definately was worth taken the 22-hour bus ride. The picture above is taken on the bus route. I love the mountains. We don't have them in Finland. Seeing mountains makes me aldo miss Colorado and the Rocky Mountains.

Here are landscapes from the Pretoria area:

This is Pretoria, the capital of South Africa:

We also visited Soweto and the former house of president Nelson Mandela. That area is the only one in the world from where has come two Nobel Peace Prize winners: Desmond Tutu in year 1984 and Nelson Mandela year 1993. There is nothing special in that area. It's a common township (area were blacks were inhabited) as you can see. Nowadays there are lot of turist there - of course.

On our way back from Soweto we also saw some strange huge shapes of land every now and then. We kept wondering what they are and finally heard the explanation. Those things were made out of the waste land from the gold mines! I figured that there must be many gold mines near by while those things were huge and there wasn't only one of them. One of the teachers told also that those waste land hills were made on purpose in between the townships and Johannesburg so that it would be even harder for blacks to get in there. How cruel can a human being be?

The bus took us through the Hex Valley which produces 60% of South Africas grapes. It was a very very beautiful valley and you could see miles and miles of those grape plantations.

The sad thing was that right beside those plantations you would see informal settlements like this and you realize that the poorest of the South Africa are those who pick the grapes. They sell South African grapes at the grocery store closest to us. Every time I buy them I feel bad. I get them so cheap because someone is picking them up with too little salary. Made me want to buy fair trade products even more! Afterwards I even read one blog that told about the HIV problem in that area:
The Hex Valley is a wine growing region – every year, more than 23,000 seasonal workers, largely from the Eastern Cape, migrate to the region to become grape pickers. 28 per cent of pregnant women in the Eastern Cape have HIV, which means that as people spread across the country desperate to find work, so too does the HIV virus.

Well, the landscapes on the bus route continued to be beautiful.

And in Cape Town we continued to enjoy the beauty of South Africa. Escpesially the Table Mountain was worth seeing!

This is the tourist harbour area. It was a huge contrast to be there after those days in Soshanguve township. The poor children from shacks had changed into the rich tourists from all over the world, sandy roads with fruit sellers on the roadsides had changed into fancy restaurants and shiny corridors of the mall. I didn't feel at home any more...

Winter pics

2007-02-21T10:25:00.000-08:00

When we eventualy got snow here in Finland I've enjoyed it very much! I love the snowy landscape. I even like walking to work at the cold weather (over -20 degrees celsius). It wakes you up! All these pictures are from my way to work. It takes me twenty minutes to walk and on my way I can enjoy the beauty of God's creation.

Boats are waiting for summer to come...

In stead motor sledges are working hard this time of the year. It's easy to walk on ice when you can use these motor sledge trails. I love walking on the ice! You get so different perspective to your neighbourhood from the lake.

This picture I took this morning. Sun was shinig and the weather was just beautiful! The sun coloured all the reeds with gold. I had to stop and snap a picture even though my hands froze immediately because of the cold weather...

This is how our home yard looks on winter.

And this is a view from our balcony.

When the sun sets we get a special blue moment here in Finland on winter time. it's very hard to catch on a camera for a common girl like me but at least I tried.

Next time I'll blog about my trip to South Africa. Those pictures will be different. At least warmer looking. :)

King's kids

2007-02-05T11:47:00.000-08:00

When I was 16 I spent a summer with king's kids international touring in Kenya, Egypt and Jordan (year 1989). That was amazing summer for me. It was such a joy to be with other christian youngsters from 14 different countries. Actually in Jordan and Egypt we also had the middle east team with us, so more countries... There I learned how interesting life with God can be. Some day I'll blog more about my experiences of that summer but now to today's topic.

Ever since 1989 I've been interested in King's Kids work. King's Kids is a christian dancing group or nowadays it can be a football team etc. but for me it's christian dancing and also a new kind of a sunday school with it. (to findout more, read this) When I studied in Joensuu I was one of the leaders of that local group and also when we lived in Vantaa I was involved with the local group. So it was natural that I got involved with the local group here in Lappeenranta too. It's called Ilonliekit (joy flames). I haven't regreted it at all. On the contrary I've enjoyed evey moment with that group. Children are wonderful they've got nice dances and church which really wants to be with it's children and children activities. Actually when I had hard time getting used to live in Lappeenranta I always got strength from that group. So it's not burden to be one of the leaders it has been my biggest joy in here. And our girls love it too and that's important. I want them to learn to love Jesus already in their youth.

Anyway King's Kids Finland has a national event always in the beginning of January. Last time we were there year 2005 with the Vantaa team and had good time. Now we were with the Lappeenranta team and had even better time. I wish you could see our performance with voice and motions but this will do.

Of course it's always important for girls to get to perform on a big stage but it was also wonderful to watch other groups to perform. I loved one group a lot: Men in black, three fathers with four boys. Thery were so good and full of men power! We also heard good teaching and had good music and singing and praising together.

the only down side is that you have to sleep on the floor of a classroom. I'm getting little too old for that...
By the way last Friday we had a performance for even a bigger audience here in Lappeenranta. There was a big christian event called Nokia missio -night on a sports hall here. Over 200 people came. It was a very refreshing night all together and i was renewed in my spirit! Hopefully our group was a blessing for at least some of the people in audience.

Happy New Year

2006-12-31T10:43:00.000-08:00

We have strong family traditions for epiphany. This year we are not at home on Epiphany so instead of New years celebration we celebrated Epiphany today. That means we lit all the candles and chose the best christmas card of the year. Of course we will watch the fire works in the night.

Here are all the Christmas cards we rechieved this year. I LOVE CHRISTAS CARDS! Thank you all for sending one to us!

This is the best!

I wish you all Happy and Blessed New Year 2007! May the peace of our lord be with you in everything that comes along on your way next year!

Time

2006-12-27T13:43:00.000-08:00

One thing I love the most in holidays is time. Time to do many things you don't have time norally. I like dong crafts. Today we went to buy felting needles (I don't have a clue how you call them in English, help me if you can) and wool. You can see the pretty little mouse Jonna has done at school here. I decided to do easier stuff.

I made some flowers with the same cast I use for ginger bread cookies. First you fill the cast with wool and then you just stick it with that special needle and you get a felted flower (or whatever shaped cast you have)! Easy and quick and I think rather pretty too. You can add different colours on top of the basic as many as you want. Oh, how I enjoyed doing these. Tomorrow I need to go and buy more different coloured wool and casts. Maybe I'll even try some character. Jonna stated doing a horse - OF COURSE!

family Tykkyläinen on ice

2006-12-26T02:35:00.000-08:00

We laso found a lot of carbage on the lake. That made me sad but it also looked like art.

Look how smooth the ice is! It was very alluring but we stayed close to the shore. From further you wouldn't realize it's ice because it looked like calm surface of the water. I love winter!

More Christmas

2006-12-26T01:44:00.000-08:00

One new thing here in Lappeenranta for us is that we decided to be a friend family for foreign exchange students. For this 6 months we got to know two Chinese girls Ying and Lan. They will be going home soon. We've met them maybe once a month. It's been interesting! Why I'm telling you this is the Christmas balls. I found out that Ying loves them and here are some pictures of the balls in our tree for her!

On a Christmas day we were out alot. The sun was shining and it was frosty outside - so just perfect! We even found out that bay on the other side of our home had ice on it. Couldn't resist it!

I had my camera with me. The other day I had seen beautiful pictures of frozen roots etc. at Terry's blog and I wanted to have some of my own. Here are some of my catches:

The ice had so smooth surface that people were skating on it on the other side of the bay.

Christmas Eve in Lappeenranta

2006-12-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

As you may know we celebrate Christmas in Christam Eve in Finland. The routines of the day go pretty similarly in every family. This Eve was a little different compared to ones we've used to have.

The morning starts with children's programs in TV. We watch the phone line to Santa Claus where children can call to Santa and maybe sing a song for him.

After that it's time for the traditional rice borridge with hidden almond in it. This year none of us got the almond! On top of the borridge we put little cinemon and sugar.

After the borridge time we've used to go to Christmas sauna but this year we skipped it. I remember only one other time in my life when I haven't been on sauna on Christmas and that was then when we were in Poland on Christmas. It was year 1989. We went to East Germany on that vacation too and get to witness the brake of the Berlin Wall. We got our own pieces. Well, I've already lost it but the memory still holds!

The reason we didn't go to sauna was simple. We didn't have time for it. First our daughters had to go to sing in the declaration of the Christmas peace in city hall. It was a short ceremony were a brass band played, children sang and town manager read the declaration. Right on the moment when children game out and the ceremony started it started to snow. In the morning it was totally black christmas here (and again is) because of the very strange weather of this fall. Even the lakes are still free from the ice. But on the momoent it snowed and look how it snowed! As if God wanted to let us know that I'm here. The snow stopped when the ceremony stopped.

After that we visited home shortly and headed to the church in downtown. There was a family devotional service in there. The string orchestra I lead was performing there. In that orchestra play 13 2-graders who started playing the violin this fall with me. It's been fun! Well, they don't know much of even how to hold the violin so our daughters were there as assistants. It was a very warm service and all the songs we sang and played went well and I got to be involved with music!!! Special blessing to me! There are some of our angels in here:

When we came home Santa had visited our home and left all the gifts under the Christmas tree. That normally happens after Christmas dinner later in the evening but while our routines had been broken we decided to brake them thoroughly.

Gift opening is always so much fun! We try to keep the amount reasonable and I think this year we even succeeded in it. I got a brand new bible with golden pages and foreign coins. I also enjoyed some jewerly from New Zealand from my cousin. Jonna's favourite was mp3 player, Juha's favourite was a hand made scarf from Peru and Viivi's favourite was a huge teddy bear. Girls also loved the new costumes they got. What the whole family loved was the Twister game. It was just too hard to play with your stomach so full...

After the gifts it was time to eat. Ham, of course, with potato, sweet and carrote cassaroles. Yam!

Thn we had to go out to walk and burn some calories. It was time to head to the cemetary. It was so beautiful there! It was like a candle ocean. We lit two candles on a statue for the loved ones who've been berried somewhere else. There were so many candles there that it was hot close to it!

All in all we had a very memorable Christmas Eve here on our new home town. I felt God's presence very strongly in the Christmas peace declaration, At the church and at the cemetary. I hope all of you got a peace of heaven as a gift this Christmas!

Christmas 2006

2006-12-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas and you can see it in our home. I enjoy every little thing in Christmas: decorations, baking, gift shopping, songs etc. This year I've had more time to enjoy it because of my new job. As a special teacher I don't have a group to lead so I didn't have to make program to any christmas event of the school. Last year I was involved in three different Christmas celebrations plus our Christmas concert. What happened? Have I been able to enjoy all the extra time? No, I have missed making Christmas that way so much that I found myself crying in a closet one evening.

Anyway my Christmas spirit is very high at the moment. Angels have found their way into our new home. Many of them are warm memories of my ex-pupils whom I miss. You can smell Christmas in our home and hear it through cd-player. My heart is filled with gratitued. God has once again been faithful and helped us through this a big change in our lives. I'm also grateful that He gave us this adventure even tough it hasn't been easy to let go the past. My life is on a solid rock called Jesus and I love celebrating his birthday!

I wish Merry Christmas and blessed New Year to all of you!

chance to change the world...

2006-09-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

... at least a little pit. Check this site. You'll find a link to fair trade products. Buying them helps the people who made them and makes a world a little better! :) You also get a touch of other culture!

Mauno's 70th birthday

2006-09-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

Mauno is my aunt's husband and very dear to us. He had he's 70th birthday at the end of August in central Finland in a small village called Riiho. It was a lovely birthday! It was amazing that both of Mauno's parents were there too. The other thing that impressed me was that the birthday was held in Mauno's former school where even his father went to school. There are still people who not only know from which part of Finland they are but they also now the actual little village where their roots are. It's hard for someone like me who don't have any roots to understand. Here's the school:

It's not in school use anymore lik the most of the small schools in Finland because people move to the citites more and more. Pity! It really was beautiful place and specially the children enjoyed the place and the birthday party.

I enjoyed meeting the family the most. My father's side of the family don't meet very often and that's why it was such a special treet for me. All the cosins were there except of my brother and the one who lives in New Zealand. Many of the children of us cousins met each other for the first time there. O'boy they had fun! We tried to take a picture of them but as you can imagine... it wasn't easy to keep them still for the moment!

Well, at least they are all there (except of the two in New Zealand - pity again!). We also took a cousin picture:

Poor Mikko! The only man present! Well, maybe he enjoyed being surrounded by beautiful ladies...

Whenever my father's side gathers for party Esko, my father's brother, entertains us with songs. He's an actor and he knows how the make a good show!

In the evening the singing went on on the campfire. That's what I loved! Singing and the fire together!

All in all we had good time in Riiho! Wish we would have more of these family gatherings...

Living in Lappeenranta

2006-08-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

So we have moved. This move wasn't easy to me. Normally I kind of enjoy the packing and I'm excited about the new. This time was different. I really enjoyed living in Vantaa close to my friends and family and working in Mikkola school. During those five years I worked in Mikkola school I learned A LOT and grew a lot too. That school represented me everything I wanted from a school: Multicultural, warm and caring with values I appreciate, children from 6 to 16, motivated and high quality staff, excellent music education, creative place where one could express oneself, there was room for ideas and encourament to go for it. I also got many kinds of challenges during the time spent there and I have to admit that it was a pity that I couldn't do the substitute of the vice principal to the end of the due date.

Most of all the move came too quickly to me. While packing I had to process the fact that I have to give it all up and I didn't have time to say good bye to my collagues and friends. At the same time with my personal sorrow I had to listen many people complaning that why we have to go so far. I also had to act strong and positive in order to make the move easier to our daughters.

Well, now that we've lived here for 10 days I don't regret the move at all. I got work as a special teacher in a small school (in my eyes after the second biggest school in Finland) five minutes bycicle ride from our home. And on that route I can enjoy lake Saimaa! That's such a treat to me who grew up on a lake and most of all I've missed a lake close to me. Our daughters got into the music class and to the music academy for violin lessons here too. I've been amazed that studying in music academy is here free for the kids on music class while we had to pay 1200 euros a year for the violin lessons in Vantaa and on top of that our children get a free snack at school when they have long school days including violin lessons.

What I enjoy the most is the five minute walk to the beach. Let me take you there with these pictures:

This is the closest beach but not good for swimming for possibility to step on broken glass.

So let's continue...

Next beach. There's a bench in here for resting and for admiring the view. But still a little to walk...

Pass the little harbour and here we are!

Needless to say that we've been swimming every day since the hardest unpacking has stopped. It's been such a warm summer here in Finland that the water is still very warm. Let's see when we have to give up swimming. Hopefully not soon.

Tour of Homes

2006-08-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

I found a great blog through Amy's blog. BooMama invites all the bloggers show their homes with pictures to all the blog readers. There are already over 200 hundred links to people's homes. I love peeping into homes! You find this blog here. Have fun!

We are in the middle of move to Lappeenranta so I won't show my home yet. Now I'm concentrating on packing...

In Taivalmaja

2006-08-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

(Last post of camp school in Ilomantsi to find out more read 5 previous posts)

During the camp school we also spent time in the camping center called Taivalmaja. In the evenings we had sauna and because we had the opportunity we also swam. The first day we were in Taivalmaja there was still little pit of ice on the lake so the water was freezing! It didn't stop us. We also enjoyed the lake just watching it, canoeing etc. The weather was beautiful and I could have stayed on the dock hours. I love watching how the sun sets on a calm lake.

We also ate a lot! And the food was good! Simpel, tasty, ordinary home food with local specialities like carelian pies which are nowadays very common all over Finland but the real good ones you get in Ilomantsi, vatruska which is a pastry made of potatoes and inside of it is rice (I love vatruskas and will buy them whenever I find them but the best place to eat them is in the Parppeinpirtti restaurant where you can actually see ladies making them) and the unique speciality sultsina! See how we ate it:

Voilá! I can assure it's good! I remember when I was a child how I ate them one after one in one wedding. And I was a very light eater. I especially asked if we could have them one evening. I really appriciate how our camp school leaders wanted to have all our wishes filled so we also had sultsinas even tough they had to have an extra person in kitchen that night because it's hard job to brown these crusts on a cooker. The crust is made of rye flour and the inside is plain rice borridge.

Well, on a camp one must have pancakes made on campfire!

We really had a perfect camp school! I would do it again and maybe with the next class I get to do it again after few years. I also hope that my pupils had lifelong memories from the camp school. It's time to say goodbye for Ilomantsi - at least for now!

Around Ilomantsi

2006-07-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

(Post number 5 of camp school in Ilomantsi, to find out more read 4 previous posts)

Ilomantsi is known to be the eastest place in mainland of EU, the place of many war historic events, Kalevala community which cherishes carelian culture, the most orthodox municipality in Finland and the place with lots of wilderness and wild animals. On our tours in Ilomantsi we got to see all of that.

We visited game research department in Ahvenjärvi. I had never visited there before and it was very interesting. I enjoyed learning of they our government takes care of our game animals. In this map you can see where in Finland we've got these research centers. I think my pupils also enjoyed getting in touch with something so out of their world.

Visit in game research department was very educating our next stop was too but mostly it was an experience. We got to go to the frontier zone. We had to get permissions from the local border guards. We went to see the actual point which is the eastest in mainland EU in Virmajärvi. WE had to drive there 50 minutes or maybe more from the downtown of Ilomantsi. There we heard how our frontier guarding operates but kids were more interested in looking to the Russian side. We could also see the parts that used to belong to Finland! Ilomantsi has 100 kilometers common borderline with Russia. So being just a stone throw away from Russian side can be very exotic!

Here you can see the boundary marks of Finlan and Russia.

We had lunch in a laplander's hut in frontier zone. I am a fire watcher so havig lunch on campfire is so awesome!

On our way back from the frontier zone we visited Taistelijan talo Fighter's house in English. Basically it's an war museum but there is also an restaurant. The short movie of war in Ilomantsi made me cry. It was very well made! Boys loved the cannons!

In this kind of sleihgs people used when they had to evacue from their homes because of the war.

We heard stories of many fights of wars on our bus drive when we passed some fighting area. Our quide from Erämantsi was very good. Get to know the War History of Ilomantsi here.

Maybe the most wanted thing on our camp school was to get to the downtown of Ilomantsi shopping. Children had the time for themselves. While we camped in the middle of nowhere they had already started to miss sivilication! In my opinion the downtown of Ilomantsi is a little bit boring and of course it's very small but kids enjoyed their freedom!

Together we visited the crafts center of Ilomantsi, company called Mantsin Makie which makes jellys and juices of the gifts of the wilderness of Ilomantsi (very good) and the local rehabilitation center were we went swimming.

In a crafts center I've used a lot of time when I was a little girl. My mom would go there to weave and I spend time under the rug loom with my brother. I have good memories of those visits and I could recall the smell of that place. One day I'm going to weave my own rug too like my mom did.

The rehabilitation center Pääskynpesä is very familiar to me too. It was built in Ilomantsi when I was in senior high school. I had always loved swimming and worked as a swim teacher on lakes two summers in Ilomantsi. So it was very natural that I started coathcing the little swimmers of Ilomantsi. I already had been coaching Finnish baseball (pesäpallo) several years and had liked doing it. Pääskynpesä also situated very close to my home so I went swimming on my own a lot. Later on I even worked as a life-guard over there for a little while.

After swimming we had a snack on the back yard of the Pääskynpesä. Look how beautiful is the scenery:

Because of the high rate of members of the orthodox church I took my class to the orthodox church. It's also situated close to my childhood home so even though I never belonged to the orthodox church it became very familiar to me. Every summer I would go to the summer camp arrenged by the orthodox church (never went to the lutheran one -funny) and very many of my friends were orthodox. Even now at the church I met several acquaintance. Well, boys in my class couldn't help laughing at the church because of the constant singing and reciting. I wasn't prepared for that because the orthodox church is so familiar to me. here is the orthodox church of Ilomantsi:

If you are in Ilomantsi you can't miss the oportunity to listen Kantele, our national instrument! When I was a child I played it. Unfortunately I can't do it anymore, at least not very well. I really wish I could! I love the sound of it. And the second time on this camp school I cried in the concert but this time I cried hard! Listening songs like Iltakaste Ilomantsissa, Konevitsan kirkonkellot and Karjalan kunnailla made me realize that my roots really are in Ilomantsi.

Möhkö

2006-07-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

(post number 4 of camp school in Ilomantsi, to find out more read 3 previous posts)

If you ever go to Ilomantsi you must visit Möhkö! And that's what we did. In Möhkö is a unique Pytinki Iron Mill Museum. The museum shows how the iron was processed from lake ore in Möhkö since 1849. It's a large area in where are indoors museums showing the life at that age and outdoors you can see renewed canals, locks, blast furnace and other buildings etc. See the map of the area here.

At the top is the picture of the rapids of Möhkö. Here is a Picture of the main building of the museum called Pytinki. The factory owners used to live in there. Other pictures are from inside the Pytinki.

In the side buolding there is a museum which shows the life of the living in logging site cabins. I really liked the museum a lot. Somehow the hard living at those times is very interesting and I can't stop wondering how on earth did people survive on those days. Must admire them! I have hard time if I loose my cell phone...

I really love these handcrafts made by men in their logging cabins. I should by something like that home to remind me of the works of my ancesters.

Outside you can see canals, locks (still operating) and factory buildings, but the loveliest thing is the love path. One factory owner had it made for her wife while living for a rich lady in a factory area can be very boring. As a child walking on the path set my imagination to fly. I imagined how the people had arrenged secret meetings on the path, walked there hand in hand and maybe changed a kiss. The truth is more boring while it was only to the rich lady who very seldom had her busy husband with her there. Anyway I would even imagine that someday I will go to the love path with my loved one. For some reason I haven't done that yet. One more reason to go back to Ilomantsi one day!!

There is a Manta cafe boat in the area too. Manta used to inhabit men that where on logging business in the middle of nowhere. It was a convienent thing while you could move the cabin when the logging business changed place. In Manta there are also museum rooms. And I heard that it has a rental sauna! Well, where in Finland isn't a sauna? They also have large variety of other services including tours to the middle of wildlife (even with wheel chairs).

Lastly I want to share a very special moment that I had on the bridge you can see above. When I listened the sounds of the rapids I understood very deeply a song called Suomen laulu. It tells us to listen how Finland sings or sounds and I could here it in the rapids. I remember first hearing this song when I was a little child. My father was a member of a men's choir and they performed it. It impressed me already then and has been one of my top favourite songs ever since. I taught it to my pupils and had them fall in love with it too. Well, not all but many. When we were asked to performe they many times suggested the very same Suomen laulu. So we have song it several times. One of the finest moments was when we got to sing it in Olavin linna on our way back from camp school. The echo was something very different and so was the setting!

So if you visit Möhkö you might end up experiencing Finland very deeply. In the meantime go and listen Suomen laulu composed by Fredric Pacius the same man who composed our national hymn.

Paddling

2006-07-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

(Post number 3 of camp school in Ilomantsi, read 2 previous posts to find out more)

At the same day we hiked in the forest we went paddling. I like it a lot. The water is so near to you in a canoe and the view from the lake is so different than from the shore. We went canoeing in two groups. The first group did a bigger route but run into problems because of heavy wind which arose quickle. Those kids in that group they were exhausted when they got back. They really had a full day of exercise! The other group complained that they would have wanted to do the bigger route while they didn't get to see the other lake. Otherwise children loved it. Actually it became the most wanted thing to do in the evenings on the spare time.

I guess that the calm water and no engine noise and pieceful paddling were something so different to the city kids that they learned to love it. The weather was very good all the time we spend in Ilomantsi. Once again I enjoyed my work fully. I really didn't mind guarding the canoeing while it ment sitting on the dock and watching the calm lake and how sun set its tail on it. It was so relaxing!!! I even started thinking that could it be possible to live on the lake some day. Well, only God knows if that'll happen some day. Hopefully!
Isn't God the greatest artist of all?!

hiking in Ilomantsi

2006-07-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

(Post number 2 of camp school in Ilomantsi, read previous post to find out more)

Maybe the biggest treasure in Ilomantsi is its forests, lakes, bonds, swamps etc. It seems like there are millions of trees and water all over. When I was a child we made forest picnics every weekend at least once. I've learned to love those woods and lakes of Ilomantsi. So it felt REAL good to be back there.

The first day of the camp took us treking. We walked a part of the route called Taitajan taival. It's about 22 km long but we walked only then kilometers from the camp to the national park of Petkeljärvi. I enjoyed it a lot! The scenery is so beautiful all the way and it was so good to be in a quiet forest and get calm in it. It was hard to think that I was working. I enjoyed it too mcuh. Well, children didn't. Of course the landscape made an impression on them but they thought their teacher is crazy while she demands them to walk so long!! i think that city kids needed that and when they are older they might appericiate the fact that they've had that experience. At least I was able to boost them telling how proud I am of the fact that they made it all the way!

Hopefully you'll calm down with these pictures from Taitajan taival:

On the route there are places to take break. You can light a fire and there might be a dike for you to use too. We took two breaks. On that other place to rest it's possible to be with wheelchair. A local rec-center has special ferry with which they can bring eight persons with their wheel chairs to enjoy the refreshing forest. I think that's very good service!

Camp school in Ilomantsi

2006-07-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

On May I took my class to camp school in Ilomantsi. It was a wonderful, unforgetable week. I really enjoyed myself over there. It was so good to be in childhood scenery and culture. Many people still recognized me and I had an opportunity to change news with many people. I also think that Ilomantsi is an unique place which has a lot to offer for a visitor: Carelian culture, beautiful landscapes, war history, frontier with Russia etc. It will take me several posts to share that experience with you. Hopefully you'll become convinced that Ilomantsi is worth visiting while it needs all the money that it gets from tourism.

We spent 5 days in Ilomantsi. I had bought the program from a two man's corporation called Erämantsi. I was very pleased with that corporation. First of all those men new everything of Ilomantsi, they had a very good attitude towards children and the program was high quality. They were able to react to our requests very quickly and we were able to get some things we wanted along the way. I also think that it was cheap.

We lodged at the congress center of the local lutheran church called Taivalmaja. The center is made for camps so the facilities were very good. Not fancy but handy. And the landscape!
For all the days we were in Ilomantsi we had good program. You'll here more of them in next posts.

Fair trade

2006-04-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

When I was in Peru I learned one thing. World isn't a fair place and I had accepted it. I'll explain this a little. Many of the people living in slums had a job. The problem was that they were paid half of the minimum wage and they had hard time to try to live with that little money. Many of the women worked in clothing factories. In order to survive they had to work to get at least the little money they got. While it wasn't enough their children had to work too at least few hours a day.

I started thinking that if only they got the minimum wage the situation would be so much better. They would get twice as much money as earlier. I thought that why isn't it happening. Then I realized that we here in western world want to have everything as cheaply as possible. We don't care who makes our stuff, how they make them etc. as long as they are cheap to us! I got mad to myself and for the system. The poor don't have any means to fight for themselves so we take advantages of them.

So what can I do? Not much but I'm trying to make a difference. That's why I've started to use fair trade products as often as I can. I know, they are more expensive but the people who made it possible for me to have them get the salary they earn. I wouldn't work with half a salary of what I should get so why should anyone?

The newest thing you can get through fair trade here in Finland are clothes. You can get them from the store called Reilun Kaupan Tähti. They have their own selection of ethical wear. I bought the blazer and I love it. It's personal, ethical and good looking. It's made in Nepal. The designer of the clothes is Finnish.

Anyway using fair trade products is a way to say that I don't accept the unfair world. I want people to have the same opportunities. I don't want to be indifferent but I'll do my share in changing the world. As long as I can remember those dear moments and lovable children in Peru I'm motivated to pay little extra for products I use!

Visiting Loppi

2006-04-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

My parents moved to Loppi almost two months ago. We haven't had time to visit them before but on a Easter holiday we were able to do that. It is very different from Hanko where they used to live. As a lake person I think I'm going to learn to like Loppi. I really like the fact that my parents are so free to move and i doing so we will get to know new places. I had never visited Hanko before my parents moved there and now it's the same thing with Loppi. I enjoy getting to know new places.

Here are some pictures from the lake Loppi.

You will always find jiggers on the lakes on sun shine. Unfortunately number of them drown on spring time when the ice gives up under them. It looks nice way to spend a day. On a sunny ice with no rush...

Boats are waiting for the ice to melt...

Snow is already melting so there is a lot of water all over...

That's why children like to play outside...

It was a dream-come-true day for our girls today while grandparents took them horseback riding in Loppi. I think they were both bit by the horsefly so maybe we will be spending time on a stable from now on. I wouldn't mind. I still love horses. A friend of mine had her horse in our stable for many years and I got to ride a lot with it. And take care of it too. I think horses are a good hobby. Quite expensive tough. Well, look at the pics from the stable:

Palm Sunday

2006-04-08T12:08:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow it's time for children to get out with their decorated willow branches and bring good wishes for the coming year to neighbours and relatives or just anyone that happens to open the door for them. Children get chocolate eggs, money or some other little reward from the person they give the branch with a special fortune rhyme. So the more you have branches the richer you'll become.

Here you can see the branches our girls decorated. I guess they will get more than enough chocolate tomorrow!

When I was a child we used to take the branches to the orthodox church for blessing the day before so that the branches would give God's blessings for the person who gets to be tapped with it. I like that idea a lot. It is time to remember our Savior at this time of the year!

VIRVON VARVON TUOREEKS TERVEEKS
TULEVAKS VUUVEKS
VITSA SULLE, PALKKA MULLE
JUMALA SINUA SIUNATKOON!

New coins

2006-03-31T09:29:00.000-08:00

Look how wonderful coins I got from my brother! He visited India with a mission group this February. You can read more about his trip to india and Bangladesh at his blog. If you don't understand Finnish you are not able to read it but there are also nice pictures from there. I wish I could visit those beautiful mountains some day! W don't have mountains in Finland at all and I really enjoyed Rocky mountains when we lived in Colorado.

Here are the other sides of the coins. I also got coins from Bangladesh. I didn't have any coins from there yet so now I have coins from 108 countries all together. So my collection is getting bigger slowly but steadily. Still way to go. I encourage all of you to travel a lot and then donate the extra pocket money that you don't know what to do with them after the trip to me! :)

At Norvajärvi

2006-03-25T09:13:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we had a nice long weekend in Rovaniemi in Norvajärvi about 15 kilometers away from downtown Rovaniemi. Juha had his final big exam at the university of lapland. That gave us a good excuse to go to Rovaniemi as a family for couple of days because there might not be any reason for doing that any more after Juha gets his law degree. He still have some studies left but big exams are over if he passes this one.

Juha belongs to PAM (Service Union United PAM is a union for employees working in the private service sectors) while he used to work as an safety guard. PAM has a little resort village for the people who belong to PAM. We have been there several times and we love the place. It's very small, having only 6 cottages, it's situated on a very beautiful and peaceful place and it's inexpensive. Well, there isn't running water or bathroom in cottages but in a main building you can find both of them. In a main building there is even a tv.

We had such a good time! It was so relaxing. Here you can see how we enjoyed it.

First of all the landscape was so beautiful! As you can see. The other thing was that there was lots and lots of snow which I personally miss having in southern Finland. I love playing in a snow piles! And that's what we did...

The snow inspired us in many ways.

Viivi enjoyed being outside the most. She would go out by herself even when we others decided to stay in and relax. Here she peeps us through the window:

We also had plenty of time read, play games, stare at the fire etc. Girls got new legos from Rovaniemi so those had to tested too. Legos are their favourites! In a main building was a corona-game too. It's kind of biljard but in stead of balls you have little discs that you try to get in to the bags in corners of the game board. I think the corona was invented in central Europe at the 15th century. I played it a lot as a child while a friend of mine had it at home. Juha had it his home so he is still very good in it after so many furious games with his brother in childhood. The other game we learned was rummy. We had it at my childhood home and I bought it now to our family. So we had several games of Rummy too at the cottage.

How I wish we could have a fireplace at home...

When we visit Rovaniemi we always go to the swimming hall. So we did this time too. We all love swimming but I also like aquajogging a lot. It's very efficent and you are able to talk to someone while aquajogging which you can't do while swimming. There are aquablets for everyone to borrow almost in every swimming hall in Finland. So we aquajogged some too. I wouldn't stop swimming in swimming halls for that but jogging is definately a good extra thing to do in swimming halls. Try it if you hav a chance!

Still few more pictures of Norvajärvi.

There was also an outside fireplace.

Isn't this a good picture to end this post? We have such a beautiful nature here in Finland. I'm thankful to God that I was able to enjoy it in Rovaniemi. We need these special moments in life in order to go on in our every day life.

Inside pics

2006-02-06T11:19:00.000-08:00

It's been freezing out here past couple of days. I LOVE IT! It's not a real winter at all if one don't feel the frost in your cheeks and have the white frost in your hair after being outside for a while. I like dressing up well. Now it's just perfect. The temperature is below minus 20 Celsius degrees. I know that i would feel differently if this would be an ongoing thing for over two weeks.

Anyway the frost made its art to our window while we were airing our appartment. Look how cute our class angel looks in our frosty window. Unfortunately the frost dissappears quickly after closing window... Well, I guess it's good that we have tight windows that don't let the cold air come in.

At our citchen window we have also this blue cow. I don't remember which one of our girls made it with class paints. We have these class paintings in various places. They give a cute personal touch to our interior decoration. I think that having children live in our home should also be seen. In order to survive this long and dark winter of ours we need vitamins. So we always have mandarins to eat. To ease the darkness I also like burning candles. This one is my favourite. I got it from a pupil of mine as a christmas present. It's made by finnmari .

Hablo Español

2006-02-06T11:01:00.000-08:00

I actually don't speak Spanish but I would love to. When I was in Peru I got frustrated with the fact that I couldn't speak with people without the interpreter. There are millions of people who speak Spanish as their mother toung and I figured out that there might come other situations in my life that i would want to communicate with them. So I took a Spanish course.

I've been going to the Spanish course now for about 10 times. So I can't say that I can speak Spanish but it feels so good to learn a new language. It's hard and it seems that I haven't learned much yet but I'll do my best. here is a sample of my skill:

Soy Maiju. Tengo 32 años. Tengo dos hijos y un marido. Trabajo en escuela. Soy professora. En mi tiempo libre leo libros y eschucha música classica. Me gusta viajar. En Finlandia hay miles lagos.

Did you understand? Hopefully I didn't make many mistakes. If anyone is interested in writing e-mails with me in Spanish I would be happy to do that. I could do that also in Swedish or in German. I have studied them both but forgot almost all of it. I would love to be fluent in all of those langueges and maybe after ten years or so I'll take another language to learn...

Nordic walking

2006-01-28T11:12:00.000-08:00

We've started doing nordic walking with my husband. Nordic walking is basically walking with poles. It's very popular here in Finland and it has spread from here very widely in the world. I like it very much while it's more effective than just walking, it's easy and a very simple way to improve your physics. And of course it's a good way to spend time with a hubby! Our walks last at least an hour and in that time we can talk together many things.

Nordic walking was developed into a fitness exercise with specific training equipment in co-operation with the Finnish sports equipment manufacturer Exel Oyj. Actually nordic walking poles has made it possible for the exel oyj to keep their factories open here in Finland. So if you decide to go for nordic walking choose poles from exel - the original walking pole maker from Finland! Exel has an office in 28 countries and well equiped sport stores should sell exel poles.

Knitting

2006-01-11T11:18:00.000-08:00

On thing I love in holidays is the time you have to do stuff you don't normally have time to. I like knitting a lot. Now I found a new yarn from Novita called huopanen. The idea of the yarn is that you first knit what you want four times bigger that you want it to be and then you felt it in a washing mashing to the actual size. The outcome is anything but normal. It's thicker, stronger and warmer.

So during the christmas brake I knitted Viivi mittens out of huopanen. This is how the mittens looked before felting them. On background you can see our pet - cat I've knitted myself. Our other pet is around Viivi's neck. The snake is made of old socks. You know how the bottom wears out but the rest stays good. I decided to make those socks useful! Soon I'm going to do another one while we have a pile of old socks once again... I like recycling and making new of old materials! Actually i feel a little bit quilty if I throw something that might be useful to garbage can.

Now you see the mittens felted. Don't they look warm? I would like them to be little softer but Viivi thinks they are just perfect. Well, it was fun to make them and try jumbo knitting needles!

Epiphany

2006-01-08T01:46:00.000-08:00

On Epiphany it's time to say goodbye to all the decorations and to the christmastree. We also light all the candles we have and vote for the best christmas card of the year. I've learned to love Epiphany day a lot. I enjoy the candles and when there are tens of them burning at the same time it's wonderful! Here are some pics of the candles

On Epiphany we also eat the gingerbreadhouse. Here's what's left off it:

Then we spread out all the christmas cards we got to the floor. We admire them for moment. Then we start choosing the best of the year. It's hard because christmas cards are so beautiful. There hasn't been a year we could have chosen only one. Last year we had to choose 4 best cards. This year there were three cards that wom our election. Here you can see them. Thank you for those who sent them to us! They brought us a special joy like all the christmas cards.

I keep all the christmas cards we get. I have a folder for them. it's nice to look at them every christmas time. Specially the hand made ones are so pretty and bring joy to me.

Now I want to wish all blessed year 2006! Hope that you enjoyed this christmas time and may the child of the christmas get a bigger part of your life this year!

Narnia

2006-01-03T14:13:00.000-08:00

We went to see the movie of Narnia the other day. I really liked it. Even as a child I liked the book a lot. I think I read only the first one. The story is so good and the movie was very well made. My favourite was the sweet little Lucy and the mister Tumnus.

Five years ago Jonna got the book which has all the Narnia books in it as a christmas present. Juha started reading that to Jonna. Sometimes there was even a months gap in reading but it went on. It was very strict that I wasn't allowed to read it because Juha actually wanted to read it himself. It took them almost five years to get it read. In that time Jonna learned to read herself and she reads a lot. she has read all the Harry Potters and tons of other children's books. But she wasn't allowed to read Narnia herself because once again Juha wanted to read it too. Anyway they got it finished just before the movie came out. Talk about perfect timing!

Now Jonna started to read the book by herself and te speed is very different from the earlier. I think she'll get the first book read tomorrow. Narnia is worth seeing as a movie and also read as a book so go for it! Maybe I'll start reading it to Viivi so that I would get to read the other books too.

Triominos

2006-01-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

Absolutely the best christmas present we got this year was the game called Triominos. It's like dominos but all the pawns or buttons are triangel shaped. It makes it much more interesting and challenging than dominos. We've been playing that a lot after christmas. We play it all together but many times after children's bed time we but on the radio and play it just the two of us. One thing we do differently than we are supposed to do. We don't count the points we play it just like domino.

When we lived in Colorado we had triominos there too. We loved playing it already then and I decided that we should have one in Finland too. It took almost ten years before I was able to find one from here (or actually before Santa had his helpers to make one for us :)).

I'm so glad that we now have triominos. I encourage every one of you to have one for yourselves too. It's so much more instructive, reasonable and enjoyable to spend time playing a good game than just staring the tv which I tend to do far to much on holidays.

By the way my brother has his own blog too. It's in Finnish but if you are an english speaker you might enjoy the pictures.

At the zoo

2005-12-27T14:30:00.000-08:00

We have a year ticket to korkeasaari zoo. We go there every once in a while. Now we decided to pay the zoo a visit on christmas day. That's a good place to walk off all the extra you ate on christmas eve.

When we got there we found out that there was a special route for children in Korkeasaari for christmas time called the stable gnome's route. How I enjoyed it! As a daughter of an artist I can really appreciate things that demand imagination. I'm not sure if the kids enjoyed it as much as I did.

There were signs like this showing the route all the way around the island. Each one was different even though there were many of them. On the route there were also signs where the stable gnome or the girl gnome of the island told about some of the animals and how they have helped them. There were also few tasks for children to fill on a paper (like weighing animal horns, figuring out which hair goes to which animal). What I liked the most was the little scenes that had been built on the route showing the gnomes home, secret garden, kitchen, sauna etc. Look the pictures:

The girl gnome's kitchen

her secret garden
Indoors picture of the boat in which the stable gnome can go around the island

the stable gnome's forge shop

His sauna

The stable home
His skis.

At the end of the tour the girl gnome and the stable gnome had a fancy dinner at the zoo restaurant. The setting was beautiful but my camera's battery was already dead by that time.

I really like Korkeasaari. Most of it is outdoors but there are few houses too. I like walking there. In the summertime the garden looks beautiful and even in wintertime one can enjoy the good work of the gardenists. here is just one example.

Even though we visit Korkeasaari quite regurlarly there is always something new to see or experience. This time the male lion decided to play with our children fortunately through the glass. Exhibitions are quite big and well taken care of except for birds. I think they should have bigger exhibitions. Anyway I like it. And the stable gnome's route was such a special treat for me! Especially when the weather was just perfect. it snowing without wind big snowflakes. This picture is taken from the island towards the downtown Helsinki. Background you can see two ice-brakers waiting for their work season to come. girls enjoying the animal figures on the way to the zoo island.
Me and girls looking how teddy bears are in winter sleep in an very old bear cage. I'm wearing my favourite hat from Peru.

Merry Christmas

2005-12-23T12:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas is here again! You can tell it when you smell the fir-tree when walking into your home, you see candles at people's windows, presents coming out of their bags and when you hear christmas carrols all over the places. It never dissapoints you but it comes every year bringing the hope to the world!

This year I've been thinking how tired Mary must have been on the first christmas after the long trip to Betlehem and even after got there in looking for a place to stay overnight all while being pregnant ready to give birth. Along the day she must have cried occasionally her tiredness and despair. I'm not sure if she remebered that she was carrying the Son of God in her. She might have been too tired to care for that. But she gave birth to Christ our Savior and those moments of despair changed into the night of the miracles after miracles, into the night that generations after generations would remember! All along God had been with Mary and Joseph making the divine plan come true. Mary just didn't feel it or even believe it.

I've felt it this December. I don't remember being this tired ever in my life. I haven't been able to concentrate to the real meaning of christmas. I've been too busy with my work and all the concerts, events, reports etc. which come along with my work in December. I've just been walking this road step by step towards the christmas doing all the things I've had to do. On the road I lost my belief for the fact that God cares for me and carries me in my moments of despair. But just like for Mary the real christmas came to me too. I can see it in the eyes of our children, in the flame of the candle, in all the decorations and most of all I can feel it in my soul. CHRIST WAS BORN! It's time to celebrate it.

I can't even imagine what my life would be without the first christmas. I'm so happy that God changed Mary's wearyness into the joy to the world. And He did it to me, too. I hope you all can experience the secret of christmas in your life!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!

PS. This year I didn't send any christmas cards. With that money I planted a real christmas tree in Peru hoping that it will bring joy to the family in need with its fruit.

Christmas is coming

2005-12-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

Angels and elves have found their way to our home once again! I love Christmas time! In decoration I like using self made little things, nothing fancy. Smaller elves on teh picture have been made by my grandmother and the others are made by some craftsman from Imatra. The christmas angel is a gif from my pupil.

Christmas time means also delicatessen and in order to have those one should either make them or bake them. I prefer baking myself. It's a good way of spending time with children and of course you get the scent of the christmas. In Finland the most common things you bake for christmas are gingersnaps and Finnish Christmas pies. I love the pies. We eat them only in christmas time. There is a picture of me making them and a picture of them already baked here.

Mother's enthusiastic helpers.

One thing is a tradition at our family. We don't make gingerbead house but we make a gingerbread creche. I want to remember and remind others that christmas is a christian event. Here is our creche.

It would be nice to hear what kind of delicacies are been made all over the world. Please, let me know! I will appreciate the recipies too.

Christmas means presents too. I love giving presents. I would love to give everyone selfmade present but I don't have enough time for making them. This year I've knitted few stocks. A Finnish company Novita has created a yarn that has stripes in it. It helps a lot when you don't have to change the yarn in order to get the stripes. So you get good looking stocks easily. Take a look!

There are still 6 more nights till christmas eve which is the biggest of the christmas days here in Finland. So plenty to do still. Blessings to your preparations!

Our Independence Day

2005-12-05T11:31:00.000-08:00

The 6th of December is the independence day of Finland. We got our independence 88 years ago in 1917. It is very dear to us while we still have about 100 000 war veterans living among us and reminding us what it has taken in order to keep our independence during the second world war. There were three different wars is Finland that time The Winter War (30.11.1939 - 13.3.1940), The Continuation War (26th June 1941 - 5th September 1944) and the Lapland War (15.9.1944- 27.4.1945). As I have told earlier that my grandparents met in war and I wouldn't exist without the war. My father was only three months old when he and his family had to flee the lapland war. So the war still is affecting our lives.

At school we always have a special celebration around the independence Day (the actual day we don't have school, stores are closed etc.). In the morning we gathered around the flag pole. Two pupils lifted the flag and then we sang Siniristilippumme, our flag song, accompanied by three trumpets. In the afternoon we had independence ceremony indoors. It started with the entrance of the flag. Everyone standing and a string band played Sibelius. Then it was the turn of my brass band and we played a song called Blue and White, Sininen ja valkoinen as the colours of our flag. One eigth grader gave a speech the ninth graders performed Nocturne which is one of the most loved poems by Eino Leino. At the end we sang our national hymn, Maamme-laulu. The ceremony was beautiful and solemn, the gymnastic hall was decorated very elecantly and the athmosphere was dignified.

We Finns celebrate our independence burning these blue and white candles, enjoying the day off work, attending some ceremons by war veterans and mostly we watch the big gala from our president's castle from tv (unless you are invited which is a big dream of every little girl - and maybe older one too - in Finland). Among the guest there are of course our parlament, administration, highest government officials, diplomats working in Finland, bunch of famous Finns etc. Of course they are all dressed up very fancy and we normal people get to critisize the costumes or enjoy them. Most of the magazines publish pictures of the guests afterwards. There is even a fashion commentetor present in the castle and he or she explains the dresses and the designers behind the dresses. Now I have to brag that few of the dresses designed by my childhood friend has been in the castle. If she keeps it going maybe she will be invited in herself some day! Marita Huurinainen is one of the top young designers in Finland.

Well when guests in castle wear the modern costumes people in other celebrations wear national costumes if they happen to own one. Here are our vice principal and music teacher in their costumes. Every region has their own kind of costume. I wish some day I can afford to have one too.

Now I'm going to enjoy the blue and white candles, our very own culture in many forms and the very needed day off.

Eventually we got snow

2005-11-27T05:21:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been very special to me. The biggest reason is that I don't remember when I've had a weekend without any plans or events. That's the biggest reason I haven't been blogging for a while. I haven't had the time. It's been very interesting fall but just a little bit too busy.

Now I feel relaxed after just staying at home the whole weekend. Well, yesterday we went bowling with the youngster to whom we are a supporting family but that doesn't count. It definately was relaxing too even though Viivi had some tears while she got frustrated of not being able to get the ball to the end of the line. With a little help from mum she was able to get 16 points and a better mood.

Last weekend is a good example of far too busy one. Friday night we had a christmas party with our working place. This year our theme was future and I dressed like an alien. on Saturday night we sang at one other christmas party with our singing group from our work. There are 5 of us and we sing a cappella and everyone has their own tune. That's challenging but also very refreshing and definately the most important hobby for me. On Sunday we had a performance with our King's Kids team on church's event for children. I enjoyed all of the things that happened during the weekend but wasn't able to relax at all.

This weekend turned out to be almost perfect when we got the snow. We made a long walk with my husband and took some pictures od our neighbourhood dressed in white.

This is the pisture of the little stream that flows right on our back yard. I love watching it no matter what time of the year it is but today I really enjoyed it. When I bycicle to school I ride along this stream at the beginning.

This is how the field where we picked sun flowers in August looks now. On the other side of the field you can see people walking. We use that road when we bycicle to my sister's home. We haven't been bycicling for two months already but we do that a lot during spring, fall and summer.

I'm glad I now had the time to create a new post to my blog after while. I hope I will find more time for it in the future. One other thing I did this weekend after many months was knitting. I knitted wollen socks for Jonna. I love knitting. Today I'm going to start knitting socks for Viivi too. Maybe some of god children will get wollen socks too. By the way we got a new sponsor child through Plan from on the slums in Lima, Peru. She is a five-year-old little girl named Araceli. I also started Spanish lessons while after visiting in Peru I wanted to learn to speak the language.

Plan got 3000 new sponsors for the children in need all over the world after the Plan Ilta Lapselle -gala night. It was a wierd experience to sea myself in the tv. It brought back lot of memories! I've decided to do more for the poor children in the world. This christmas we are going to buy christmas presents that profit some organisation which helps espacially children in development countries. We started it by adopting 5 dolls through Unicef. We will give those dolls as christmas presents.

Anyway relaxing christmas time to all of you who still find it to my blogg after such a big break!

In the middle of nowhere - still just 30 minutes away from Helsinki downtown

2005-10-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we spent a night in small cottage with my sister's family. My sister's husband gets to hire the cabin through his work and we've been there several times. It's situated close to a conservation area so the place is peaceful and the landscape is wonderful as you can see.

Children like the place a lot too. Even though they can't swim there (the only down side of the place) because of the shallow and muddy bed of the sea they enjoy the water in many ways. They throw stones into it, feed the fish etc. Sometimes we go rowing on a boat. We didn't do that this time.
Almost everything happens outside. The food is made there too on an open fire. That's a special treat for us who can't normally do that in town. I love the fire and would love to get a fire place at home some day. I could stare at the fire for ages...

On summertime we even eat outdoors but at this time of the year we decided to eat indoors.

After dinner we went t sauna. It was already dark. It was so nice to go outside to cool off a little and see all the stars. There was no worrying that someone might see us there all naked. We had sauna turns for women and men. The sauna is heated with wood which is the only real way of doing it. The heat is smoother and moisture that way.
The next day we got company. Juha's cousin Jaana and her son Jonni came for a visit. They stayed there for the next night. Jonni is 3 years old and Juha's sponsor child. He is cutie
So on lunch we had a full house. I love that! I would love to have many children and I always enjoy the small ones around me. Well, it was a noisy lunch because the cousins had so much to tell everyone.

Jonna is peeking out of the door. She is still wearing a pyjamas at noon because she loves to read and that's what she did all morning.

Viivi in her sleeping back. She really loved to play with the sleeping back. She would hop around with it, roll in it etc.

Miska is a happy fellow. He will turn 4 in November.

Joonas is five. It was almost impossible to get a picture of him. He was busy doing his own stuff all the time and his so quick in his movements.

Here is my beloved husband - the modern Viking!

And his wife...

Saturday at the opera

2005-09-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I got to spend the afternoon and the evening at the national opera of Finland. First we toured there. It's always very interesting to get a chanche to peep into places like a big opera house. there's just so much going on in there. I had never realized that there are over 20 men working with the set pieces. It looked like a group of ants walking all over. I guess everyone knew what to do and when to do it. I was also fasinated by all the beautiful costumes in the dressing rooms.

Then we had lecture of the nights opera Bellini's Norma, about national opera's coming season and we got to meet one of the opera singers of the night. It was the first time I saw the Norma and I loved the music! Well everytime I go to opera I seem to fall in love with the opera of the night. Anyway I really enjoyed it and even had a little pit of tears at the end.

My newest hobby at the opera is to read the text in English. I have to admit that far too often I had to check the meaning of the phrase in Finnish. Well, the opera text is mostly poetry and i should probably start reading English poems to get into that world of English language. Any suggestions where to start?

I was early at the national opera and i had some time to wonder around. It was a very beautiful and warm fall day so I loved walking around the park. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. I think the Töölönlahti is one of the most beautiful places at the downtown of Helsinki.

Maple is my favourite tree mostly because of the colours it gets on fall. I used to have a big maple just outside of my window at my childhood home. On falltime we would throw the leaves around jump into piles of the leaves etc. That maple doesn't exist any more but fortunately I was able to enjoy this one right beside the opera house.

Make your own poem

2005-09-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

I found this on hindsfeet's blog. She found it somewhere else. Finish each sentence to create your own bit of poetry.

I am
I wonder
I hear
I see
I want
I am

I pretend
I feel
I touch
I worry
I cry
I am

I understand
I say
I dream
I try
I hope
I am

Here's mine:

I am happy
I wonder if anyone else feels this same happiness
I hear the children play outside
I see beautiful autumn sun shine
I want happiness to everyone
I am happy

I pretend I don't care when people hurt me
I feel sad when I meet selfish people
I touch my hair in wonder
I worry about my children
I cry because I've been hurt by others too many times
I am lonely

I understand mothers' pain
I say I love you as often as I can
I dream of the better world to all
I try my best to make it happen
I hope I can make a difference
I am an idealist

Now make your own and let others enjoy it!

Sunday church

2005-09-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not much of a church goer. I think I haven't found a church here in Vantaa which I would feel my own. I attend a little prayer group once week and go to the church occasionally. I like Espoo international fellowship a lot but it's very far away from my home so I go there maybe 4 to 5 times a year.

Today I decided to go to a Lutheran church only two kilometers away from my home. I grew up in a pentacostal church and somehow I learned that it's the only right church for a christian. I don't think so any more. I told you earlier how God has touched me in orthodox church and God has done it in Lutheran church too many times. Today I felt God's presence very strongly in the Lutheran church of Korso.

First thing that touched me a lot was a perfomance by a violinist. He played parts of the Bach's violin concerto in H minor all through the ceremon. I am a music lover and specially the violin music and Bach's music is something very special because he composed for God's glory. I actually have the same sentence in an opening message in my cellular phone than which Bach used in his notes: Soli Deo Gloria. That should remind me that glory belongs to God in everything in my life.

I was also very happy to realize that we were going to have communion. It's something very special to me. I ended up having an "adult baptism" at the age of 14 because I wanted to have communion. Once again I was touched and couldn't help crying. It's such an beautiful moment for me to share Christ body with others and I'm always overwhelmed by the fact that He gave His body and blood for me.

Today I started thinking that maybe I found my home church. We'll see. At least I'm going to go to that church again someday. Maybe it's next sunday.

Peat sauna

2005-09-18T06:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was in peat sauna with six of my friends. It was my fourth time and I love it! In peat sauna you first warm up in sauna then you put peat all over you as you can see in the picture and then go to sauna again. You let the peat work in you for about 20-30 minutes and then it's time to wash it off. After that you go to sauna once again now with some honey all over you. Then the play is over.

Peat sauna leaves your skin very smooth and soft and you feel very relaxed. I slept like a baby the next night and my skin still feels just wonderful. I can recommend peat sauna to everyone. The only problem is that the lady who gives the peat sauna is moving away from Finland and she didn't know anyone who would continue her work. Hopefully someone will start doing it. I love the effect on my skin, the quality time with other ladies and the possibility to make a mess and someone else will clean it. Aren't we grazy we Finns? Sauna is definetaly very essential part of our culture.

Our summer place in North Karelia

2005-09-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

On our funeral trip to North Karelia we stayed at our summer place. We visit it very seldom and hadn't done it as a family this summer at all. The place was bought originally for Juha's parents to grow vegetables as they both were retired and longed something to do and with their history of being farmers the answer was the piece of land. It was bought right from the neighbour of Juha's mother's childhood home. Actually the little shed there is built by Juha's father of the very logs of Juha's mother's birth home. The shed is on the left and the building on the right is the sauna.

I just loved to visit the country side and the weather was so beautiful. It was almost like a summer weekend so God really blessed us with the weather. I enjoyed the simple living, peace and quiet and escpecially the real darkness of the nigt without any lights near there. We heated the sauna in the evening and we would go out to cool ourselves. I loved the feeling of freedom being able to go out all naked in the darkness! I also didn't remember how bright the stars actually are. I could have watched them hours but I got cold...

Here is the sauna. Juha's father built it from the board of the old barn. There is just the heatroom and a dressing room in it like all the saunas at the old days here in Finland. One has to do all the washing in a heat room. Naturally the sauna is heated with wood and that's the only way to get a good heat in sauna. We go to sauna at least twice a week here at home but it's just not the same in saunas heated with electricity.

This is what the sauna looks from inside. On the left is the dressing room. The sofa can be used as a bed too. Juha's mother slept in it while we took over the shed. In the shed there is just one room with one bed and one wooden sofa (like in sauna) and one leather sofa so we all couldn't fit in it.

On a good weather we always eat out. Sometimes we cook outside on fire but we also have electricity coming so there is a possibility to cook inside too. We don't have running water but we have an electric pump on our well which helps a lot. Anyway washing the dishes takes much longer than with the machine but you get to do it outside!

Because we don't have the running water we don't have water closet either but Juha's father built a very nice dike to all of us! I haven't had to empty it never and hope that I don't have to do it either. i can imagine that isn't very nice thing to do.

Right next to our summer place there is a big fence for cows. Cows maybe the thing our girls love the best in Sukkulansalo. They go inside the fence and this time Jonna got her shirt tattered by one of them. She was simply standing too close to the cow who started to cratch itself. So no harm done. The only noice (or should I say sound) you can hear during the night is the sound of the cow bells. Oh, how my soul rested!

And here is Juha and his holy cow...

The only thing we don't have and what is the biggest reason we don't go our summer place very often is the lake nearby. But in North Karelia there are many beautiful lakes and while we were driving there I remembered how much I miss the lakeside scenery! My dream is to have a home right by the lake. There are examples of the North Karelian landscapes with lake in here. Can you understand my longing for it?

Juha's uncle's funeral

2005-09-08T06:40:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had Juha's uncle's funerals in Outokumpu. Outokumpu is in north Karelia. Juha's mother is originally from there and Juha has a little place of his own there too. Outokumpu has become a familiar town to us because Juha's parents use to live there for ten years or so. Now Juha's mother lives in Hanko and his father is dead.

The funeral was in a local orthodox church. I really enjoyed the ceremon. Orthodox church is very close to my heart even though I don't belong to it. In Ilomantsi there is a big orthodox church which located very close to my home. Every summer I attended a children's camp arranged by orthodox church. Also many of my friends were (and I guess still are) orthodox. At least on Easter we would go to the orthodox church to enjoy the night liturgy. Even though I love good bible studies at church somehow the liturgy of orthodox church also brings God's presence to me very strongly. So I was happy the funeral was in orthodox church because I've missed it a lot!

After the ceremon in church we gathered to eat together and i was asked to sing a song there. I'm always ready for that and I felt it was a priviledge to sing there. I chose a song by Oskar Merikanto who is one of my favourite Finnish compousers. The words in a song are Eino Leino's who is a very famous Finnish poet. When we got to Outokumpu after driving over 500 kilometers I realized that i forgot the notes to home. That's just so typical of me! If there is an easy way of doing things I somehow miss it. Fortunately I have music loving colleagues and one of them had the note. So I wrote the lyrics done on phone and of course I new the tune. There wasn't going to be accompaniment anyway. My husband said that he can't stop admiring my way of dealing with disasters which I create. Sometimes I just get very frustrated with myself. Maybe someday I will learn to keep my things in order - or more likely not...

I never got to know Juha's uncle very well so personally this wasn't a hard funeral. On the contrary I enjoyed meeting with Juha's side of the family because I don't know it very well. I've been lucky because I haven't had to give up any dear person away yet. Juha's father and my grandfather have been the closest to me who have already died but in their deaths you could see God's timing very well and I felt very comfortable with those.

On athletics event for children

2005-08-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took our girls to an athletics event organised by our bank. There were about 100 children on the field enjoyig athletics. Everyone got to run a short distance run (20 meters - time was taken by electric equipment), throw a children's javelin and jump long jump. All the results were marked on a little paper and after doing it children got a little present.

Our girls loved the long jump. They did that at least 7 times. Every time the same men who had been working as volunteers on world championshps in athletics here in Helsinki messured the result with smile on they face and encouraging words on their mouth. Girls didn't like the javelin... We did some high jump too even though it wasn't arranged there and wasn't messured at all.

While our kids were taking part on these acticities I took an UKK walking test. In that test you walk 2 kilometers and after that they take your pulse. And of course the time you've spent in walking is messured too. After couple of weeks I will recieve results of my physical condition. I'm little bit afraid of that because last time I took the test results were very bad. I haven't done much after that. It's such a change in my life. I use to be in very good condition while I played Finnish baseball. How can it be so hard to take care of your physical condition after being competing athlete?

Anyway we had very good time yesterday! We went to the field by bycicles were there for two hours adn drove back (4 km one way) so you can imagine girls were ready to bed when we got home. Today the violin teacher said that Viivi was very tired today - wonder why?

Coin collecting

2005-08-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

Since I was a child I've collected coins. I wasn't active in it for 7 years but now I've started to be active again for about a year. Today I've been organizing my coin album in order to fit the new coins my brother brought me from his trip to East Europe. I got new coins from Poland, Slovakia and Romania.

I've got coins from 105 different countries. Of those countries I've been in 22 myself. Three newest once are from this summer: Latvia, Lithuania and Peru. Someday I would like to have at least one coin from each country on Earth. That will take time but maybe when I'm 64 that day will come...

Most of my coins I've recieved from my friends and family. Some I've bought through internet or from second hand market and some I've brought myself from my travels. If there's anyone out there who would like to change some coins with me I would love to do that. I've got extras I could give up.

I also have three coins that I don't know where they are from. I can't even remember where I've got them at first place. Here are pictures of those three coins (6 pictures, each one from both sides -first and last go together, others go together in order). If anyone can help to identify these coins, please let me know!

Night of the Arts

2005-08-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took our kids to my sister's and visited the Night of Arts in Helsinki with tens of thousands of other people. Night of the Arts brings arts to parks all around helsinki for people to enjoy free. There were all kinds of arts to see and experience: dancing, singing, acting, sircus, painting, sculptures etc. I really like the athmosphere!

The main thing for us was to see the national opera's picks of the coming seasons. I LOVE OPERA! On our way to the opera we walked through a big park with many kinds of cultural activities. Still what I enjoyed the most was the art God has provided to the sky! It was really beautiful: rainbow, multicoloured clouds, sun giving the last rays etc.

Oh, how much I enjoyed the hour that national opera and ballet provided for us! When I was sixteen my father took me to opera for the first time of my life in East Berlin. We watched the Magic Flute by Mozart. Since that I've loved the aria of the Queen of the Night and yesterday I heard alive again. That was a special treat! When I was younger I dreamed that I could sing it one day. Now I've given up hope. I almost gave up the singing totally but since God has given me a good voice I've thought of starting it once again. It's the best way I've ever been able to express myself.

The other song I loved very much was performed by a Spanish opera singer who is visiting our national opera. He sang the song if I were a rich man from the musical Fiddler on the Roof. The performance was very good even though the pianist (the leader of our national opera) didn't have one page which he noticed during the performance. Well, professionals can deal with it with glamour! After that song I decided to represent the musical Fiddler on the Roof to my pupils next. That's a good one!

The school has started

2005-08-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

Once again a new school year has started. This year I have the sixth grade. The same class that I've had already three years. What a joy it is to be able to enjoy the same kids, see them grow and learn for a longer period of time. I have a musical class and now it's time to enjoy the fruit of hard work with the basics. My pupils are very good and I just wouldn't be able to teach them anything more after the sixth grade. I'm glad that after that they will have a music teacher.

Two things are new to me this year. It was my turn to take the school's brass band to direct this year. Last year I had the string orchestra and loved doing that. I felt a little bit sad in giving it up but after two times with my new orchestra I don't regret it anymore. Of course it takes time before I remember how to write to saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, oboe and flute so that it's easy enough but not too easy. But I love learning new stuff. And because I can't proberly play any instrument I love conducting an orchestra because it gives me the opportunity to play something well! Even though the kids are the ones who make the work...

The other new thing is that I teach religion for our 9th graders. We have grades from 0 to 9. I really enjoy dealing with older pupils once in a while. they have their own ideas already and the conversations are very refreshing.

Even though I'm much busier now that the school has strated I'm glad it did. I know that there will be times that I get very tired and would like to find an easier job but I think teaching is my thing. I love being around children and youth!

At allotment garden in Oulu

2005-08-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

When we were in Oulu for my grandmother's birthday we stayed at the allotment garden cottage of my aunt and her husband. I've always enjoyed that place a lot! Here on the left is the picture of that cottage.

Here you can see the yard of the cottage. On the right there is a little playhouse and at the back is a neighbours cottage. Picture has been taken from the stairs.

My Aunt and her husband grow black currant, red currant, raspberry, gooseberry and strawberry and some other things at their yard. I'm a berry lover so I enjoyed the berries a lot. Joonas and Viivi enjoyed picking them a lot. It's such an adventure for town children to get in touch with a little "farming". When I was a child we also had currants at our yard and I miss the chance to just go and eat them straight from the bushes.

The thing the kids loved the most at the cottage was the giant trampoline! I think they were jumping there all the time even after the birthday party untill midnight! Very good excercise. I could do it for ten minutes and get exhausted.

The other thing the kids loved (especially Joonas) wa a little bond with real fish in it. Joonas would catch them with a net bag and them put them back. Here you can see him in action. Now you can have a better look of the playhouse too.

This is the porch ofthe cottage. I really love the way how it's furnished. You can find many old things in the cottage. It gives the place a certain athmosphere which I like a lot.

Here is a cupboard from the cottage. The lowest shelf is for the girls to play with little teddy bears.

The allotment garden is situated on the river and that was a special treat for me. As I've grown up on the lake I love swimming a lot. That is one thing I miss the most of my childhood to be able to swim when ever you felt like it. Well, on winter time it was a little difficult because of the thick ice on it. Sometimes my father would make whole in it for us to "swim" on winter time too.

Anyway I really made the most of the river. I took a morning-swim, a day-swim and an evening-swim. Joonas and Viivi enjoyed swimming too but normally gave up before me. At the allotment cottage there is a common building near the river. There are saunas for men and women which they heat three times a week during the summer and twice a week in winter time. When the saunas weren't heated you could go and take a shower anyway there. Near this beach there was a play ground for children too. So in total it was the best kind of a place to stay with kids for couple of days. At least I enjoyed it a lot!

In the last picture you can see my mother (on left) and her two sisters. The one in the middle is the one who owns the allotment garden cottage.

My Grandmother's 85th birthday

2005-08-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

My grandmother had her 85th birthday the 12th of August. We had a wonderful surprise party for her. All of her living children and most of the grandchildren and greatgrandchildren gathered at her home to celebrate her birthday from all over Finland. She didn't know that there would be a party for her! She was so happy to have us all there. I guess the life of a widow can be very lonely time to time.

My grandmother has given birth to 6 girls and one boy who passed away almost immidiately after birth. One daughter of hers has passed away about ten years ago. She has 18 granchildren and 10 greatgrandchildren.

My grandmother and grandfather get to know each other because of the war. My grandfather was a soldier and my grandmother was a nurse. One day my grandmother had to take care of my grandfather - her future husband. So, I guess I should be happy that Finland was in war with Russia (or actually Soviet union).

My grandmother is still living at home and in my opinion she's doing fine. Fortunately she doesn't have any problems with her brains or memory and discussions with her are very interesting. She is still travelling some.

My grandmother is originally from that area of Finland that now belongs to Russia. She has very dear memories from Terijoki. I have visited Terijoki too when I was 9 years old. At that trip we also visited Leningrad (now called Sant Petersburg). I got lost on a subway down at the main avenue. Somehow I managed to walk back to our bus in front of the Eremitash. My parents were of course almost losing their minds. My mom told that she went to a bathroom to pray and after that she walked right to me.

Anyway I love to have a big family. Most of my cousins are same aged and now there are many same-aged greatgrandchildren too. Our older daughter is the first greatgrandchildren to my grandparents and also first grandchildren for both my parents and my husband's parents.

In this picture you can see my parents before the birhtday party.

Here is our younger daughter Viivi in a North Karelian national costume. That's where I spent my childhood. With Viivi is my sister's older son Joonas. We went to Oulu where the birhtday party was in one car. My sister couldn't go and our older daughter Jonna also couldn't go. So in that car were my parents, Viivi and Joonas. Children enjoyed the trip a lot.