Today is my last day in Jyväskylä, tomorrow I fly back to Canada. I am sad that my time here is over. I had such a wonderful semester. I met a ton of amazing people from around the world who I will miss dearly. I know that I have changed while I was here, but I feel these changes have made me a better person. This has been an experience I will never forget and I'm sure you will all have to listen to my stories for years to come. I hope you have enjoyed my blog so far but don't fret, it's not over yet! Stay tuned for my adventures next semester when I will be attending Swansea University in Swansea Wales.
Wishing you all a very happy holiday season,
Emily
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
My day in Tampere!
Earlier this week I took a day trip to Tampere. Tampere is located about an hour and a half west of Jyväskylä.
To stay out of the cold we spent a good part of the day in museums. First we visited a building which contained the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame, a toy museum and a shoe museum. As I'm sure you guessed I wanted to see the hockey section. The museum was quite interesting with lots of English captions below exhibits which was very helpful. There was also a large section dedicated to Jyväskylä's professional team, JYP, as they were the champions within their league last year. I was quite shocked and excited to see a picture of one of my classmates who plays for JYP. I certainly didn't expect to see a picture of someone I knew in the Hall of Fame!
On the day we went to Tampere, the temperature was around -20C. This meant we couldn't spend a great deal of time outside, but the parts of the city that we did see were quite beautiful.
Tampere Theatre
Christmas Market
To stay out of the cold we spent a good part of the day in museums. First we visited a building which contained the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame, a toy museum and a shoe museum. As I'm sure you guessed I wanted to see the hockey section. The museum was quite interesting with lots of English captions below exhibits which was very helpful. There was also a large section dedicated to Jyväskylä's professional team, JYP, as they were the champions within their league last year. I was quite shocked and excited to see a picture of one of my classmates who plays for JYP. I certainly didn't expect to see a picture of someone I knew in the Hall of Fame!
Finland Jerseys
Canada jersey...I couldn't resist!
I had this Ken doll as a child... I didn't think I was old enough for my toys to be in a museum!
We also visited a spy museum. Apparently there is a long history of spies within Finland because of its geographic location. There were some interesting facts, but if you ever go to Tampere I would suggest you skip this small museum.
All in all it was a great little day trip and I would love to return to this city someday for a longer stay!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Floorball Night in Finland!
Recently I have become very familiar with the sport of floorball. Last week one of my classes hosted a floorball tournament. On Saturday I was lucky enough to attend a professional game.
Floorball is basically indoor hockey played with a wiffle ball. The “rink” is lined by small boards, approximately 1 ft high. The game was very fast paced, much quicker than I had anticipated. I was probably most surprised by the style the goalies played with. Rather than what I will call the crouching position held by an ice hockey goalie, floorball goalies spend the majority of the game on their knees. Just like hockey, the game consisted of three 20 minute periods.
The Jyväskylä team, named Happee, unfortunately lost the game 6-2. It was however still great to be exposed to another sport. Maybe someday it will catch on in Canada!
Action shot!
Faceoff
This picture is for all you readers who don't particularly care for my sports banter. Here is a picture of my snack at the game..a traditional Finnish pulla!
Floorball is basically indoor hockey played with a wiffle ball. The “rink” is lined by small boards, approximately 1 ft high. The game was very fast paced, much quicker than I had anticipated. I was probably most surprised by the style the goalies played with. Rather than what I will call the crouching position held by an ice hockey goalie, floorball goalies spend the majority of the game on their knees. Just like hockey, the game consisted of three 20 minute periods.
The Jyväskylä team, named Happee, unfortunately lost the game 6-2. It was however still great to be exposed to another sport. Maybe someday it will catch on in Canada!
Action shot!
FaceoffThis picture is for all you readers who don't particularly care for my sports banter. Here is a picture of my snack at the game..a traditional Finnish pulla!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Independence Day
December 6th was Independence Day here in Finland.
I was lucky enough to take part in the festivities. One of the student associations at the school arranged a "parade" and ceremony. Those of us participating in the parade walked from the school, through the city centre to a cemetery where the ceremony took place. We were each given a torch to carry. The torches didn’t have very good wicks, so by the time we were half way through the route only one or two were left burning. It must have looked quite odd for the few people who lined the streets ready to watch a torch-lit parade!
I will admit that I do not know very much about this holiday. I was not able to follow the majority of the ceremony which was primarily conducted in Finnish but from what I gathered, it is similar to our Remembrance Day. The soldiers who fought to give Finland independence were honoured and wreaths are laid at the cemetery. The cemetery where the ceremony took place had hundreds of candles for the occasion and was actually quite beautiful.
I am very glad that I was able to attend an event unique to Finland. But, I must say that I am looking forward to Canada Day...the weather will be much warmer (hopefully)!
I was lucky enough to take part in the festivities. One of the student associations at the school arranged a "parade" and ceremony. Those of us participating in the parade walked from the school, through the city centre to a cemetery where the ceremony took place. We were each given a torch to carry. The torches didn’t have very good wicks, so by the time we were half way through the route only one or two were left burning. It must have looked quite odd for the few people who lined the streets ready to watch a torch-lit parade!
I will admit that I do not know very much about this holiday. I was not able to follow the majority of the ceremony which was primarily conducted in Finnish but from what I gathered, it is similar to our Remembrance Day. The soldiers who fought to give Finland independence were honoured and wreaths are laid at the cemetery. The cemetery where the ceremony took place had hundreds of candles for the occasion and was actually quite beautiful.
I am very glad that I was able to attend an event unique to Finland. But, I must say that I am looking forward to Canada Day...the weather will be much warmer (hopefully)!
Christmas decorations in the city centre as seen while on the parade route.
At the cemetery during the ceremony.
A flag in the city centre. The Finnish flag is only displayed on special occasions.
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