Ever since I came here people have been warning me about the winter, the darkness and the cold. Everyone has been repeatedly saying –“wait till the winter…”, “it’s not even cold yet”, “in December it just gets worse..” etc. And because of that I was really afraid of spending those months (November and December) here in Finland.

But now we have are already passed the first half of December and I still don’t see anything getting worse. Okay it gets dark when it’s not even 17:00 and yes, sometimes you just feel more tired than you normally would, but you also have really good stuff like the snow (even if it doesn’t last a whole day). In addition, because of Christmas you have these special foods (or desserts) and these parties where you get food and Glögi, not to mention everyone is decorating their houses with a lot of lights making them look pretty.

On December Finns also celebrate the anniversary of independence and this year it was more a special date because a country doesn’t turn 100 years independent every day. We had the day off from school and I had dinner with my family at home but it wasn’t a normal one, this one was more special and fancy and the whole family was there, after eating we went to Helsinki to see how the buildings were lightened with the colors of the Finnish flag and of course we couldn’t have left without watching fireworks (which were so cool). Even though this was a nice day it was not as I expected or at least not what I am used to because when I think on an independence day I think of having he typical food at home (maybe the family reunited), going to hang out or partying with friends and then going to some square to the city center to see the representation of the main event (or the beginning of the  independence fight) and then enjoy the fireworks that light the sky at night.

I still have the next half of this month to experience the things that everyone have been warning me about, but for now I am glad to be here and I hope to keep feeling the same way till the end of my exchange time.

Originally written by Sofia Zamora

Hi everyone! I’m Chiara and I’m 17. I’m going to stay here in Finland for 10 months.

I’m from Northern Italy; my home is a small village of about 2000 people in the Alps. I like the place I live in because it’s very close to the Lake Como and the mountains so in winter it’s possible to go skiing. I go to school in another town near mine of about 20 000 people. Right now I’m in my fourth year of high school and, after two years, I’ll finally be able to go to university! I like school because I enjoy both studying and meeting friends.

I’m from Northern Italy; my home is a small village of about 2000 people in the Alps.

My Italian family includes, my mom Maria and my dad Loredano: I love them, they’re great and supportive. To tell the truth, I’ve already been in Finland with my family but we’ve just visited Helsinki. Now I’ve been here for two months already and I swear that every single day is wonderful and incredible. I just love this country!

Here in Finland I live in a small village called Jokela of about 6000 people but I go to school in Järvenpää. My host family is  lovely! I have my host mom Jaana, my dad Juho and two little brothers: Santeri, who is ten years old, and Juuso, who is seven. I really like the whole family, they’re great and they get me involved in everything. The boys are fantastic and they both love football so, sometimes, we play it all together – even though I’m really bad at it.

Differences between Italy and Finland

As I mentioned, I like going to school. The Finnish school system is completely different from the Italian one. In Finland I usually start school at 8:15 or 9:45 and I finish it at 14:20 or 15:50. Each lesson lasts for 75 minutes and between each lesson there’s a break of 15 minutes. Moreover, around 11:00 to 11:40 I have lunch in Areena and the food is quite good. In Italy, instead, my days last from 8 to 13. Each lesson is about 60 minutes long and we just have one break of 10 minutes. We have lunch at home. We go to school also on Saturdays!

Finnish people use a lot of butter and drink a lot of milk, COLD milk!

Talking about food, I can tell that my favourite one is pulla, a traditional Finnish sweet and I really would like to learn how to make them! Moreover, Finnish people use a lot of butter and drink a lot of milk, COLD milk! Another difference you may notice in Finland is the weather: starting from November it’s usually dark, but with the snow everything is different and I’m really looking to it! I’m also waiting for February which is the coldest month of the whole year, or so I’m told. I really want to try to “survive” with -20° or even -25°.

Anyway, I’m so excited to be in this beautiful place for still eight months and to know and learn something more about this beautiful country and Finnish people who are absolutely kind and available any time I need help!

Chiara, 24^th October

Originally written by Chiara Gerna