Hi From Cortina

I didn't think that I would be able to find (or have time to find) a computer after Rome, but here I am in a little internet café in Cortina, Italy...

I (along with my dad, mom, and brother) left Rome on Friday night by train...I was sad to go because Rome was such an amazing and interesting city (where else can you find such a huge amount of 2000-year-old buildings, art, and other artifacts?), but excited to see northern Italy. The train was, well, an experience...it traveled overnight, so we had to sleep (or try to sleep, in my case) in a tiny room in bunks that were attached to the walls. It was actually quite fun to be in such close quarters with everyone, though - we met a very nice man from Rome that we talked to for several hours during the trip. After arriving at a small train station in the mountains (the Dolomites), we all climbed onto a bus that would take us to a small, picturesque town called Cortina (where I am now).

On Saturday (the day that we arrived in Cortina), we stayed in town only long enough to collect some basic groceries and get ready for hiking. We then took a bus to the point where we would begin our first walk (everyone calls hiking "walking" here) to a rifugio (hut/inn) in the mountains. The hut was very nice (although it was a "hut", it was actually more like a nice hotel that just happened to be a lot more difficult to get to than those in the town), and the food was amazing - just what I needed after walking uphill for 4 hours. On Sunday we hiked to the next rifugio (which was, in my opinion, a lot harder to get to than the first one, especially with sore legs), and on Monday we returned to Cortina after a detour to see some 250 million-year-old fossilized dinosaur tracks. Today has been a "rest" day (my legs and feet and shoulders needed it), but tomorrow we'll go to another rifugio.

This will probably be my last post (didn't I say that last time?) until I get home, but check back (a computer may just turn up where I don't expect it)...

So until next time, arrivaderci!

When in Rome...

Well, I was very sad to have to leave Finland last Friday and I will definitely miss everyone that I met there a lot...I felt like part of the family when I left! I guess that I will be able to keep in touch fairly easily, though (we have all the possible modes of communication covered - email, instant messaging, skype, and, of course, good old snail mail). So - on to "Phase II" of my summer adventure!

Last Friday, my mom, brother, and I hopped on a ferry (which was actually more of a cruise ship) and journeyed from Helsinki to Stockholm, Sweden (the boat ride lasted all night, and we slept in a cabin complete with fold-out bunks and a fake window). Although we only had about one day in Stockholm (aka "The Capital of Scandinavia"), we accomplished a lot - I guess you could call it the "whirlwind tour". We saw the 400-year-old Vasa ship, the open-air Skansen museum, the Nobel Museum, the Royal Palace, and the old town. On Sunday night, we jumped on a plane to go to Rome, Italy, where we met my dad (after a slightly scary ride from the airport - I think the driver of our car must have been driving at least 100 miles per hour). We are staying in a 400-year-old apartment that is a 3 minute walk (my dad timed it) from the Roman Forum, and about a 10-minute walk from the Colosseum. On Monday, we visited the Forum and the Colosseum (both amazing - just being surrounded by so much 2000-year-old stone and marble is incredible) and also took a night walk to the Trevi fountain (we each threw a coin in - supposedly, you get a wish and get to come back to Rome). On Tuesday, we went to the Pantheon (and marvelled at just how big it is...the oculus (eye in the ceiling) is very cool, too). In the afternoon, we went to what was probably the weirdest museum I have ever been to (or could ever imagine). It was beneath a church, and it was inside crypts that were decorated using 4,000 dead monks' bones (skulls, hip bones, femurs, and more were used to construct various "artistic" patterns such as stars and flowers). At the end, the monks that had created the "art" had posted a sign to remind us of our own mortality that said something like "this is what we are now, and this is what you will become"...not exactly the most uplifting and cheery place that a person could visit, but somehow interesting. Today we spent most of the day at the Capitol Hill museum, which is filled with hundreds of ancient sculptures and paintings.

Overall, Rome has been amazing...although it's hot, humid, full of tourists, and partially closed (most Romans take their vacations in August, so most shops aren't open), it has still been fascinating to see. Tomorry we will go to the Vatican, and after that...I have no idea. I probably won't have internet access after today (until I get home), so don't expect any new posts for a couple of weeks...eventually I will try to get some kind of trip summary with photos online. But until then...arrivaderci!

Food!

Throughout my visit to Finland, I've been able to try lots of new (and, for the most part, delicious) foods...so here's a a list (in no particular order) of some of the things that I have tasted -

• Ice Cream - Yes, I know that ice cream is neither new nor unusual, but here in Finland we have eaten so much (and so many different kinds) of it that I have to add it to my list. My personal favorites have been a blueberry-and-white chocolate ice cream bar and the ice cream with fresh berries that I ate in Kokkola.
• Berries - The berries here are amazing - by themselves, cooked, on ice cream...there are many different types of strawberries (they are smaller - but much better - than in the U.S.), along with blueberries, raspberries, and cloudberries (and some berries that I didn't know the names of).
• Salmiaki - This flavor is used in candies and ice creams, and is one of the strongest things that I have ever tasted. It's a kind of "salt licorice" and is made with Ammonium Chloride (I think it was first made during one of the wars because sugar and other candy-making supplies were scarce). Surprisingly, many kids love it.
• Black Sausage - When I was first told that we would be having black sausage, I didn't envison something as black as this sausage really is. I won't tell you how it is made (in case you have a weak stomach), but only that I had a difficult time getting past the way it is processed in order to enjoy the flavor (which was actually quite good).
• Ruispalat - This type of bread, which is made with rye and is shaped like an oval or circle, is what I have eaten almost every day for breakfast and with lunch. It tastes great, and is much healthier (and more filling) than any of the bread that can be found in the average grocery store in the U.S. Actually, all of the bread here in Finland has been wonderful - people here buy fresh bread almost every morning and it's never the squishy "wonder-bread" stuff that is so common at home.
• Pulla - This sweet bread, which is usually shaped like a cinnamon roll and served with coffee (or in my case, tea), is so good - especially when freshly baked.
• Nettle Pancakes - I think that these pancakes, which are made with crushed nettles and are therefore green in color, were my favorite new food that I tried here in Finland. Sirpa made them for me twice, and any way that I tried them (plain, with raspberries, with orange syrup, or with the maple syrup that my mom brought) I found them to be delicious.

I can't think of any other foods right now, but hopefully this list gives you a good idea of the different flavors that I have experienced here in Finland.

My mom and brother arrived safely on Saturday evening (although I didn't see them until Monday because I was in Tampere), and we came back to Porvoo today after a short visit to Kokkola. It was great for my mom to see her host parents again after so many years, and we all had a great time sight-seeing in the area and just doing "family" things together at Sirpa and Alpo's home. Hopefully we will be able to come back to Finland soon - this visit has been an amazing experience, and I feel like I gained a whole new group of family members!

A Week in Review

I can't believe that I have been in Finland for about four weeks! I guess the old saying, "time flies when you're having fun" really applies to my experience here. Since I haven't had time to post the last few days, I will try to update you on my activities since Tuesday.

On Tuesday Kaati, Konsta, and I visited the largest city in Finland (home to about 500,000 people). While Helskinki is not the oldest town in the country, it looks old enough (and it is - it was founded in 1550) with its neo-classical architecture and huge churches. We took a streetcar (number 3T) as a sort of introduction to the city's biggest landmarks and most famous buildings (museums, the opera hall, etc.), and then spent the rest of our time on foot. Our first stop was the old market hall, which was founded in the 1800's and is still used as a place for merchants to sell various food items (like bread, candy, and fish) today. After we walked through the hall, we visited the open-air market. The square was full of people (probably mostly tourists) buying all kinds of food and gift items from merchants set up under brightly colored tents. Once we had taken it all in, we began a leisurely walk back toward the city center, where we visited the Stockmann department store. This store is probably the largest and most famous department store in Finland, and while it was in most ways comparable to the department stores found in large cities in America, it did have some distinctly Finnish offerings (like a sauna shop). After making our final purchases and taking a few photos, Kaati, Konsta, and I were ready to head back to Porvoo. Once in Porvoo, however, the day was not over for Kaati and I - we had to quickly change clothes and grab water bottles and yoga mats and head over to the free aerobics class that is held twice each week on a sports field just outside of the city center. I was a little apprehensive at first - I had never done aerobics in the U.S. (when the instructions are given in English)! The class ended up being really fun (and good excercise), however, and even though I sometimes felt like the most uncoordinated (and slowest, as I was always at least 5 seconds behind everyone else because of the language barrier) person in the world, something about moving around to cheesy workout music with at least 200 other people was extremely invigorating and satisfying.

On Wednesday, Kaati and I took a walking tour of "old Porvoo," and I learned a lot about the history of the town, which is the second-oldest in Finland. In the evening, I went with Vintta and her kids (Santtu and Emma) back to Tampere, which is where I am now.

Thursday was fairly laid-back. One fun new thing that I was able to do was wash rugs...yes, I know that probably sounds like one of the most boring, tedious tasks in the world, but that's because in the U.S. there aren't cool public carpet-washing stations like there are here in Finland. I learned the correct way to wash a rug (actually, according to Santtu, there are several different washing "styles," but the most important thing is that you scrub both length-wise and width-wise on the rug)...and had a great time doing it!

On Friday (yesterday), Vintta, Santtu, Emma, and I ate dinner in Tampere and then walked to see (well, we actually accidentally found) a sort of adventure competition where the competitors had to run, bike, swim across a river, and rapell down the waterfall that was part of the hydroelectric dam.

Today Santtu and I went into the city and walked around and did a little shopping.

Sorry I don't have time for pictures right now...maybe tomorrow!