So let's start with Thursday morning...
9.00 Torstai / Thursday
Thursday we didn't have any school. But I woke up and took the bus to school where we had a kielojuhla. This is a Luostarivuoren Lukio tradition, where there is coffee and a commemoration for the teachers, second and third year students. There were a couple speeches and all the third year students gave gifts to the teachers. People dressed in black and it was a little formal. Some of the first year students served us drinks and food. This was held because now the third year students are done with their school and now are supposed to spend all their time studying for the tests that come in the following months.
11.00
Lunch. I also wandered around the school aimlessly for a bit, but that isn't special, I often do that on a daily basis.
13.00
Penkkarit
A finnish tradition, and also among my favorites, is that when the third year students finish high school they climb onto the backs of huge trucks and then ride around town throwing candy to pedestrians. I was lucky enough to join the third years on their adventure on the back of the trucks 2012. Many of the third year students dress up. The theme this year was world history, so there was a variety of costumes, and a lot of really good ones. My exchange student closet doesn't have a lot that I can really make a costume, so I just put my broncos' jersey on over my down coat, and wore a green sparkly hat that I had left over from Halloween. The third years hang banners from the sides of the trucks. The banners have stuff written and drawn about the school and about the abis (seniors). At one-ish most of the students and teachers in the school (expect for some second years because many of them had hair appointments for the dance later that night) gathered out in front of the school and the third years clambered onto the trucks. Our school had four trucks filled with abis. Soon the trucks took off from the school and drove to the city center. All the students in the school followed the trucks and went down to the city center. Along with the many trucks from all the other high schools in Turku, we drove around the city square several times. A lot of people came out to see the trucks. Most people were in the city square. The Abis threw candy to all the kids in the crowd and shouted chants. It was really a fun time and I wish that the states had this kind of tradition because it was super awesome!
I was in this truck
The Trucks and Abis outside school before we left
This is a video from when we took off from the school, and when we drove around to the city square. The last 5 or so minutes of this video we are standing still, but the first parts are really good and you can see my school very well.
I didn't take this video, but it shows well what was happening, two of the trucks in this video were from my school, other trucks were from other schools.
Here is a video from when my truck was in the center. You can see how many people were gathered in the center.
Though, after we had gone around the square 3 times my legs started to get soar from standing there, my voice was starting to give out from shouting so much, and it got a little cold....but it was still such a great time!
14.00-16.00
After the trucks dropped us off at the school I took the bus back home, I might've looked a little weird, taking the bus home in my broncos' jersey over my coat and my green hat, but I am quite sure that everyone on the bus knew what I had just come from. Most people stared, but a few gave me smiles. So then I walked home and got into my dress and did my hair and makeup. Many girls go to a salon for their hair and makeup, or spend a lot more time on it, but I did mine myself and really simple. But I also went on the trucks, which is not something that the second year girls do. On this day the second years get the dance and the third years get to go on the trucks. I am an exchange student and so I am trying to fit three years' worth of traditions into one, so I got to go to both, but that also meant a lot less time for me to spend on my hair/makeup. So I came home, got ready, shoved a potato into my mouth and then my host mom drove me to the place where our dance was taking place, which was a hotel/spa in the city.
I will have another post about the dance up soon
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