Vanhojen Tanssit Part 4

Where I left off....

16.00-18.30

Everyone arrived at the place where we were dancing, we all admired each other's dress, got our shoes on, and then practiced some of the dances, and practiced how we would transition dances. Then we waited as families and onlookers poured into the stands surrounding the wooden stage.

18.30

Once the families were there, we all got into our lines and walked out on stage and then one of my friends, who was the host of the whole thing, said everyone's names in set of four and we would walk out into the middle of the stage with our partners and we would bow to the two crowds. Then once everyone's names were called we started our first dance, which we did quite well, and then onto the next one and the next one, and so on.  I think we danced our best, more than any one of our practices. I mean I did make some stupid mistakes, as I always do, but overall it was good. Before I danced one of my friends told me that if you mess up a ton in practice that means you have no more mistakes to make when it comes to the real thing. Which I doubted at the time, but it turned out to be somewhat right! Hurray! There was a band there, they played the music to the dances, and it sounded good. After about two hours of dancing (and a break in the middle) we eventually danced the last dance and then it ended.

My partner and I

After that, some people went to parties, to clubs, to other people's houses, or back home. I went with my host family out to dinner, which was nice. Then we came home and I got out of my dress and makeup and went to bed (after several hours on Facebook)

Friday

10.00

I woke up this morning and got right back into my dress, which I remember thinking that it was a bit funny that I wore my dress for several hours yesterday and now I am getting right back into it again, kinda like this event just won't end (which is a good thing, because nobody wants it to end). I did my makeup, and knowing that I would be just going right back to the dance in the morning I had left my hair in last night, so this morning I didn't have to do anything more than spray a little hairspray on it.  Then my host mother drove me to the same hotel as the dancing was at yesterday, and everybody else  was there in their dresses and the boys in their tuxes. Some of the girl's hair and makeup wasn't as big as it was yesterday, because the main dance was yesterday night, and that was the most important part, whereas today was not as important. So the next two hours we seriously didn't do very much, other than hang around stage. There was a photo shoot going on for professional pictures, and we also took a group picture. But that only really took a couple minutes. But we hung around taking pictures with our own cameras as well, and talking. It was fun, a bit boring after two hours, but still fun. I kinda wondered why we didn't practice some more of the dances, but we didn't because yesterday was the most important thing, and today didn't matter that much, so we didn't need to practice.

Hanging Around

During the group picture photo shoot

More hanging around (we did this for like two hours!)

With some friends :D 

12.00

Eventually we stopped doing nothing and the students from the school poured in. All the younger students from the hugh school and the middle school came and watched us dance. So we danced all the dances again, and it all went pretty well. I was so sad to dance though, because I knew that it was going to be one of my last time dancing, and I really didn't want it to end, because I have been practicing the dances since November, and they are so much fun to dance now that I am actually pretty good at them.

14.00

So then the dances ended, and people left, I hung around on stage with some of my friends for a little bit and then after that I got a ride with a couple other girls to a local nursing home, where about sixteen of us went and we performed the dances there, for some of the seniors. We went there, and at first we chilled, the staff there laid out some snacks (candy bars and juice) which was all attacked when we got there because we were all starving (or at least I attacked them). There were about 8 boys and 8 girls who went and danced at the old people's home. We all were volunteers, most of the people didn't want to go there because they just wanted to go home and be excited for the weekend (the weekend after the dances is full of partying) I was actually the first one to volunteer to go to the nursing home, but there were others. We didn't perform all of the dances, only about five, but it was still really fun, and I was really glad that I went, because it was more opportunity to dance!

Chilling before we danced 

Those of us who went to the Nursing Home and danced

After that I got a ride to the center of town (I would have walked because the nursing home was so close to the center, but there was a blizzard out) and then I took the bus home. This was the second day in a row that I took the bus home wearing something out of the ordinary (a huge fur coat and a prom dress) but I didn't care.

When I got home I chilled out and looked over all my pictures, and I was sad because it was all over, and I didn't want it to be over. But alas, I had no choice. Overall I think that the last two days were some of the greatest days that I have had on my exchange, the whole experience of the dance was just so wonderful! It was definitely one of the highlights of the year.

Vanhojen Tanssit Part 3

The Vanhojen Tanssi was AMAZING! It was such a great time! I enjoyed it a lot! And so much happened in the last two days! It will be hard to talk about everything but I will try....

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

Life in Photos Lately

Here are some pictures from life lately:

Studying? 

Luostarivuori

Dance Class

Turku

My nemisis: The stairs by my school

(They are basically a ramp now because of how much snow is on them)

Dancing 

Hesburger

Art Class

And More Dance Rehearsal

Because it has been a while...

Hey everyone, it has been almost a month since I last updated, and I know that I shouldn't go so long in between posts, so here is a new one for you.

Not all that much big and noteworthy things have happened to me lately. It is really really hard to believe that it is almost the end of january! It really seems like January just started. This means that I am halfway through my exchange! I already have my departure date for when I go back! Which depresses me beyond compare. I think about going back to my life in Colorado, and as much as I like home, I am such a different person here than I was there. I have changed so much, that going back to my high school seems like a nightmare. I have moved on from that part of my life, and now I know the day where I go back to it. It is really scary. But I still have a while before I go back, and I am told that as fast as this half goes, it is the better half, so I am looking forward to that. For all of you at home, Mark your calendars, I return to Summit County on the 27th of July.

And the end of January means....my birthday is coming up! I have been looking forward to this day, because finally I will be able to tell people my age without getting weird looks from everyone. That is because I am technically not even old enough to be in finnish high school. And it seems like half the people who go on exchange to Finland are 18. Sadly I will only be turning 16, and therefore still won't be able to do the same stuff as all the other exchange students, but at least I am older...And it is my sweet sixteen, which is not a very big deal in Finland, 18 is the big deal in Finland because everything becomes legal so that is when you party. I find it a little sad that I will be celebrating my sixteenth in a country that it isn't a big deal, and then when I celebrate my eighteenth, I will also be in a country that it doesn't matter...so I get no big birthday bashes....but I may celebrate big on my seventeenth and make it a big deal. Just for the party....and of course I know that the summer after I turn 18 I will be abroad, so then I will party.

So anyways, January, what has happened? Well for starters I went to my first presidential debate. No, not american...finnish. Which is something that I never though would happen..my first live presidential debate and it is in a foreign country in a language that I don't understand...you could say that I never saw that coming. Finnish elections are tomorrow, so there are lot of politics going around in Finland. I haven't kept up with them really at all. I feel like I want to start understanding american politics before I take up another country's, and if I ever do pick up another country's politics, it will be Norway, since that is another country where I have citizenship. But it was seriously cool to go to. I didn't even plan on going to it, either. My best friend from Colorado, Monica, who I have mentioned in this blog before, was visiting me from her host city, Kauhajoki, and I was showing her the sights of Turku, and then we were going into the main mall, Hansa, and then we stumbled upon the debate, just as it started, and with my amazing crowd pushing techniques, I managed to get us in the second row. The debate itself wasn't all that impressive, like any other presidential debate, in finnish, but it was cool just being there. One of my favorite parts of living in Turku is the fact that you can randomly stumble on random, awesome things like a presidential debate.

The bridges across the river have pictures of all the candidates

(Also the flag in the corner is of Turku's coat of arms)

They have popped up all over town

In the mall, there were paintings/drawings of all the candidates

My favoriet portrait of Finland's president...

All eight candidates in debate

I have to say, even though I know that Hansa is like the god of all malls and anything that is anything happens there, I was quite amused that they were having a big, televised presidential debate right next to H&M, a bit different from american presidential debates I guess....

I also got presidential pins for free, and they are on my blazer now :D 

Now the Oldies have left (Oldies are exchange students that came to Finland last January and stayed a year, most from Australia) and now it is time to get Newbies! The arrive in Finland tomorrow, and then they have a language camp, like we did. Many of us, now Oldies (feels so strange to call myself an oldie...) will go to Tampere, and meet the Newbies when they visit Tampere during their language camp week, like we did. And I am looking forward to that so much because I get to see other exchange students who live all over Finland. And that will be great to see them again. I think that I will get much closer to the Newbies than our Oldies, because with most of our oldies, we only got to spend Lapland Tour together, but with the newbies, most of them will go on Euro tour, which will be a much better bonding experience since it is so much longer. But I still miss the oldies that I had in Turku..

My neighborhood

The snow has finally arrived here to stay. The city is nice without snow, but it is much nicer in the winter when there is snow. I also have to say that there is A LOT of ice! So much, I am surprise that I haven't fallen and killed myself already! Particularly the stairs that I use to get from my bus stop to my school every morning, they are the most dangerous stairs that I have ever seen! And I have to use them every day! It is terrible, but I haven't killed myself yet, so there is hope that I may last the whole year without dying...but if I do die on exchange, my money is that it will be those stairs...or the crazy drivers in this city...either one is incredibly dangerous...

Believe it or not this is a walking path....

Ice Skating anyone?

I finally got my Christmas package! After 5 weeks in the mail....haha, postal service sucks, but I am really happy to have it!

School has started up again and it is nice. I like all of my classes, and am hoping to get credit for several. It has been good so far. I have been continuing with my dancing classes. They are good, though a lot of the time I feel a bit helpless, but I am catching up fast. We learned the Tango, which is awesome to say that I know the Tango now, and we also learned a dance to the song Party Rock Anthem, which was awesome, and I think it is my favorite dance.

I got some clothing from my school now. Some of the senior clothes, because they don't have any other clothes really for the school. I have a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. The sweatpants are awesome, and they have the school name, and Turku written around the coat of arms for the city. The sweatshirt is also awesome, with "Luostarivuoren Lukio 2012" written on one side. The only thing I find actually a bit amusing, is that I will not be able to wear my hoodie to my school back home, because on the back it has a picture of Captain Morgan and it says "cABItain Morgan" (ABI being the finnish word for high school senior) and that is technically a reference to alcohol, and against the school dress code at home...haha, I find that a little funny, and a bit annoying...i think that I will probably just wear the hoodie anyways and whenever some teacher asks me about it I will say, no it doesn't say "Captain Morgan" it says "cABItain Morgan" and I don't know and alcoholic drinks called that....


Anyways, I'll have more updates later :D Moikka!