IFYE Program Newsletter

Greetings again from Finland. Since my last letter, I have left my last family to go to a new one, been to a 4-H camp, and traveled to Estonia and back. I have also been studying the language and have learned many new words and can understand some things that people say to me, but I am far from speaking the language.

Before leaving my last family, I went to a large nature preserve near the Russian border. We hiked through swamps and virgin spruce forests.

It was a spectacular day and the cleanliness and enormity of the nature was enough to stir one's heart. We walked about 7 miles that day, and along the way we fished and stopped at a special area to make a fire and cook some sausage and coffee. At this particular point we were less than 3 km (1.5 miles) from Russia's border.

Another experience I had was a traditional sauna using vasta. Vasta is a bundle of small birch twigs with leaves. It is taken into the sauna and heated by dipping in hot water and then you hold it over the heated and steaming rocks. Then you begin slapping it over your body. It is supposed to improve circulation and sooth muscles. The best part of the vasta is the fragrance that it creates. This is what to me was the most relaxing. The day before I left, I was shown around the area by a 4-H advisor, and in the evening the 4-H had a cookout for me and some other exchange students in the area. Then I left there to go to camp.

I was excited, and this was the same week I would usually be at ALPHA I. The camp was not for Finnish only. It was a Nordic camp, which means that there were people from Norway (450), Denmark (150), and Sweden (18). There were also people from 13 other countries.

Once the total was counted, it was about 1000 people, all of them sleeping in tents. With all these countries, the official language of the camp was English. This is where I fit into the leader position. I spoke at many of the activities because it was easiest for everyone to understand my English.

During the week, we had many activities. We had one day of ice breaking and "getting to know you" games, two days of classes, two days of trips, and one day of Nordic competition. On the first and last days there were no major activities since everyone was travelling.

On the ice-breaking day, the camps were divided into groups of about 20. I was a leader of one such group and we got to know each other through games and team-building exercises.

The classes varied greatly. There were crafts, drama, dancing, forestry skills, first aid, tree climbing, and many more.

We also had two days of excursions where we went hiking at a national forest one day and rafting on the rapids another day.

The last full day was a Nordic competition. Teams of 10 with at least two different countries represented competed in many different skills (e.g.: fire-making, first aid) and in funny games.

In the evening there were country presentations for one to two hours and then discos and hanging out at the campfires. There was no curfew and most stayed up until 2 or 3 a.m. every night. On the final night, hardly anyone slept.

It was a wonderful week where I met many new friends that I am sure I will keep in touch with for life.

I am now at a new family's place. The father, Pentti, is a forester. He owns forestry machines and timbers land for other people. The mother stays home and milks the nine dairy cows and takes care of the house. I also have three sisters, Tiia (21), Tiana (19) and Jonna (14), and one brother, Janne (8). Tiia works at a grocery store but has just left to go back to her forestry school. Tiana works at a local jeweler's and will leave for her first year of school, learning metallurgy, at the end of the week.

The town that I live in is called Joutsa and is in the center of the southern half of Finland. It is a small country town of about 5000 people. We live about 20km (12 miles) from the town center. The house is set on a large lake and is surrounded by large plots of forested land. The sunsets are beautiful and the sounds of nature are rarely interrupted.

This family does something I think many American families would never do. They sell permits to catch crayfish. The permits cost $1 each and there must be one on every trap used. Every time you open the trap, you have to break the permit and then you must put a new one on the trap. The unusual thing is that the family gets none of the money from this. They do it for the area and the lake. The money that is earned goes into restocking the lake and keeping it clean. I think the family likes doing it because of the company. People stop by two and three times a week to buy permits and many times stay more than an hour talking. This family loves to socialize.

Sometimes, two or three times a week, the family will have friends over for coffee or dinner and on other days go to a friend's house. It is rather nice. I have met many new and interesting people this way. The people are very nice to answer questions and to try to use their English. I have found that there are many older people who know English. This is a surprise since they were not taught it in school and had to learn it on their own.

As with the last family, many days are spent playing and swimming, but we also go to many places. In the evenings, about three or four days a week, we play volleyball.

I played one weekend in a tournament with Tiia and two of her friends and we won the entire tournament. For the rest of the evening we were famous in this town. Mikko, one of my teammates, was already a celebrity. He is by far the best volleyball player in Joutsa and probably one of the best in Finland.

I have done many new and different things since I have been with this family. One evening the electricity went out, and I helped milk the nine cows. The only ones who knew how to milk were the mother and myself. Jonna tried but it will take a little more time for her. The family was grateful and I was amazed at myself since it had been so long since I had milked by hand and even then it was not very much.

I have also "run the logs." At a lake in town there are logs chained end to end across 100 meters of the lake. I watched as some of the

4-H'ers ran the logs with ease and then began my trip. I was given an 8-ft. pole that is used to smack the water to balance, and then sent on my way. I went about 15 meters and a log rolled, and before I knew it I was in the water. I fell in about six or seven more times in that trip. I was then given some advice, and on the next trip I fell in only once. I tried a few more times and made three trips without falling in. During each trip I went faster and faster until I was finally able to keep up with the others.

I have attended a 50th birthday party. This is the biggest birthday for all Finns. One hundred people attended this party, which was held in the woods around many small campfires. There was food (roast pig), drink, and much socializing. People made up poems and skits for the birthday man and there were many toasts. The party lasted well into the night and people were encouraged to bring a tent and camp out.

Finnish people also have Name Day. The calendars have a few names listed every day and when the day has your name you get a little special treatment. If it is your Name Day, you will probably get visits from friends, and young kids usually get gifts. It's much like having a second birthday.

The family has also taken me to some very neat places. I went to a 200-year-old Finnish home-stead where you could see how life was 200 years ago. The buildings and most of the artifacts were originals.

I was also taken to a farm show a little smaller than the W.Va. State Fair. There was every type and brand of farm and forestry equipment available. There was animal judging, food, and much entertainment.

But by far the best trip was the cruise to Estonia. Many Finns go to Estonia 3 or more times a year. The farther north they live the less they go. We traveled by bus to Helsinki and then by ship to Estonia. The boat was no luxury liner, but it did have many different shops, dance halls, restaurants, and things to do. The cruise is only four or five hours, but we spent the night on the boat at the harbor. In the morning we left to go into the capital of Estonia, Tallinn. We went to a large market where you could buy anything. There were hundreds of vendors. There were a lot of clothes, CD's, shoes, crafts, food, and even old Soviet army apparel. The prices in Estonia are very cheap. I was able to buy a NIKE winter jacket for about $28. T-shirts and other clothing were $5 or less.

As the two oldest head off to school, I am also leaving. I am now heading to my next family in Pukilahti. It is very close, less than 50 km, so it only takes a little less than an hour. I have found that the hardest part of being an IFYE is leaving the families that you have grown to love so much. It seems as if you have just met and now you must part and can only hope that you will see each other again.

Moi! (Goodbye)

Dave