June 9th...
1:30am...
I can't sleep. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the night sky being as bright as the day either. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when I see the dark again. I may need to grab a set of night vision goggles or a heavy-duty flashlight for the hours between 9:00pm and 5:00am...you know, the time of day that most people naturally adjust to the darkness. Maybe I can't sleep because I am still so rejuvenated from an amazing night with the remaining twelve international students here in Jyväskylä. I've been placing a lot of blame on the perpetual daylight here...so for this time, I'll credit my insomnia to natural endorphins.
Today marked the final experience of the Finnish sauna, and I must say, we went out with a bang. We walked to Lake Kiviniemi, a very secluded area in the forest. It was equipped with a small cabin that smelled like Christmas trees and firewood, an old-fashioned grill, and another cabin that held both a regular sauna and a smoke sauna. The environment we were surrounded by was so incredibly peaceful. We spent about an hour just walking through the trees and gazing at the water...and I shared my ever-popular near-death experience with the alligator in Louisiana. Between that story and my display of wood-chopping, I am now viewed as a cross between Lumber Jane and the Crocodile Hunter: Jane Erwin. Yes, that has a nice ring to it. My mom and dad were clearly underestimating their daughter's rugged abilities when they named me Allison. =)
Now that we have that figured out, let's move on to the sauna. We began with having the girls in the regular sauna, and the boys in the smoke sauna. The girls and I decided that the regular sauna wasn't hot enough, so we squished in with the fellas at the other one...all 12 of us together. The difference between the two saunas, is that the regular sauna uses simply firewood and stays at a consistent temperature; while the smoke sauna is heated by coals, and one can throw water on those coals to receive an instant gust of heat. Just to clarify, when I say heat, I mean it instantly feels as though you are baking in an oven. You can even taste the heat. For this girl, I am used to running outdoors when it's 105-degrees outside, so this feeling was incredible! Once you get to the point in which you can't even breathe any longer, you run out onto the dock and jump in the lake, which sits at about 45-50 degrees. The moment you come out of the water, you experience such an invigoration that I can hardly describe! Wow...I'm still feeling the effects!
The intensity of that experience left us very hungry, which means it's time for....take a guess....Makkara! It's a fact that the Finns consume 25 million kilo of makkara (sausage) each year, and I am not surprised! We also celebrated the birthday of Kayi, a girl from Hong Kong. We sat around the table and sang the typical "Happy Birthday" song to her...followed by the same renditions in Finnish, Spanish, German, Dutch, Vietnemese, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Russian. It was such a special moment. I have become so used to being around these wonderful people every day, that I forget just how amazing it is that we have all come from our separate parts of the world. We all bring something completely new to each other, and being able to grow closely with these people has been the best part of my experience in Jyväskylä.
I know that I have the opportunity to learn something from every person I co
me in contact with; even if I am acquainted with them for only brief moments. If I really seek to understand and know people different than myself, then I can become one step closer to understanding more of the natural wonder of humanity. I am so thankful to be here and I am going to soak up the last few days I have with the friends I've made.
Paljon onnea vaan translates to...Happy Birthday. It's sung to the same tune you all know... give it a try!
1:30am...
I can't sleep. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the night sky being as bright as the day either. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when I see the dark again. I may need to grab a set of night vision goggles or a heavy-duty flashlight for the hours between 9:00pm and 5:00am...you know, the time of day that most people naturally adjust to the darkness. Maybe I can't sleep because I am still so rejuvenated from an amazing night with the remaining twelve international students here in Jyväskylä. I've been placing a lot of blame on the perpetual daylight here...so for this time, I'll credit my insomnia to natural endorphins.
Today marked the final experience of the Finnish sauna, and I must say, we went out with a bang. We walked to Lake Kiviniemi, a very secluded area in the forest. It was equipped with a small cabin that smelled like Christmas trees and firewood, an old-fashioned grill, and another cabin that held both a regular sauna and a smoke sauna. The environment we were surrounded by was so incredibly peaceful. We spent about an hour just walking through the trees and gazing at the water...and I shared my ever-popular near-death experience with the alligator in Louisiana. Between that story and my display of wood-chopping, I am now viewed as a cross between Lumber Jane and the Crocodile Hunter: Jane Erwin. Yes, that has a nice ring to it. My mom and dad were clearly underestimating their daughter's rugged abilities when they named me Allison. =)
Now that we have that figured out, let's move on to the sauna. We began with having the girls in the regular sauna, and the boys in the smoke sauna. The girls and I decided that the regular sauna wasn't hot enough, so we squished in with the fellas at the other one...all 12 of us together. The difference between the two saunas, is that the regular sauna uses simply firewood and stays at a consistent temperature; while the smoke sauna is heated by coals, and one can throw water on those coals to receive an instant gust of heat. Just to clarify, when I say heat, I mean it instantly feels as though you are baking in an oven. You can even taste the heat. For this girl, I am used to running outdoors when it's 105-degrees outside, so this feeling was incredible! Once you get to the point in which you can't even breathe any longer, you run out onto the dock and jump in the lake, which sits at about 45-50 degrees. The moment you come out of the water, you experience such an invigoration that I can hardly describe! Wow...I'm still feeling the effects!
The intensity of that experience left us very hungry, which means it's time for....take a guess....Makkara! It's a fact that the Finns consume 25 million kilo of makkara (sausage) each year, and I am not surprised! We also celebrated the birthday of Kayi, a girl from Hong Kong. We sat around the table and sang the typical "Happy Birthday" song to her...followed by the same renditions in Finnish, Spanish, German, Dutch, Vietnemese, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Russian. It was such a special moment. I have become so used to being around these wonderful people every day, that I forget just how amazing it is that we have all come from our separate parts of the world. We all bring something completely new to each other, and being able to grow closely with these people has been the best part of my experience in Jyväskylä.
I know that I have the opportunity to learn something from every person I co
me in contact with; even if I am acquainted with them for only brief moments. If I really seek to understand and know people different than myself, then I can become one step closer to understanding more of the natural wonder of humanity. I am so thankful to be here and I am going to soak up the last few days I have with the friends I've made.Paljon onnea vaan translates to...Happy Birthday. It's sung to the same tune you all know... give it a try!
No comments:
Post a Comment