The second week of the language-culture course lived up to the first.
Back in 2016 I studied abroad in Madrid, Spain for a semester. While the experience was amazing, I didn’t learn as much Spanish as I could have because I was too scared to speak the language, of messing up and being judged. I came to Finland with a completely different mindset. And it has paid off. From day one I have been trying to speak as much Finnish as possible, both in class and during free time activities. This is another reason why I love the program. Everyone wants to improve their own Finnish and is willing to speak with you, even if you only know a little.
This week we learned more verbs, verb types, days of the week, time, and household objects. Methods of teaching have included chatting about our evenings, reading texts, playing games, watching movies, completing book / worksheet exercises, and writing what we hear. I have progressed exponentially in the past week and am able to express general thoughts and actions. Figuring out what others are saying is still quite difficult, but that should continue to get easier as I learn and practice more.
We have to soak up as much sun as possible.
Photo credit: Rochelle Toscano
Monday: We went on a 15 km bike ride around the Jyväskylä lake. Along the way we ate wild blueberries and visited a summer cottage, where we were served warm juice, bread, and cookies. While the experience was lovely, unfortunately I got sick due to the 10-12° weather. Clearly I am not quite Finnish yet.
Tuesday: We traveled around the Jyväskylä lake again, but this time by boat. During the 3 hour cruise, I ate salmon soup, chatted with my fellow participants about their cultures, and practiced using Finnish.
Photo credit: Liina Jasmin 
Photo credit: Mayumi Fukuda
Wednesday: At a different building in another part of the city, we did sugar painting and painted canvas bags using vegetables, leaves, and flowers. This is a common activity for Finnish children in schools.
Photo credit: Mayumi Fukuda
Thursday: Once again we had a sauna evening. This one was wood-burning instead of electric like the other one. It was nice to get the taste of a more traditional sauna and enjoy each other’s company.
Inside of the sauna 
More mölkky 
Photo credit: Mayumi Fukuda 
Photo credit: Mayumi Fukuda 
Photo credit: Mayumi Fukuda
Friday: In the evening we hiked up Hyyppäänvuori and watched the sunset at its 160m peak. In between swatting mosquitoes, we picked blueberries, reveled in the beautiful view, and shared snacks.
The path was extremely steep and rocky/rooty! 
Wild blueberries are everywhere. 
1.5 hours later 
2 hours later 
Photo credit: Jacob Schubbe 
Photo credit: Anuj Gala 
Photo credit: Mayumi Fukuda 
Photo credit: Mayumi Fukuda
Saturday: At the end of the week, we went on a mini trip to Ysitien Lemmikki- a small animal farm, Naissaari- old buildings at a canal, and Panda- a chocolate factory / shop. Even though the activity wasn’t particularly exciting, I still had a great time hanging out with everyone, learning about Finland, and practicing Finnish.
Photo credit: Aiko Namatame 
Photo credit: Yoko Tsutsumi 
Photo credit: Aiko Namatame 
Photo credit: Yoko Tsutsumi 
A ridiculously long word 
Finns love candy.
Two weeks down, one to go!
Fulbright Adventures in Finland 
Sounds like it was a great week. What an experience!
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Busy week indeed. Finish is not easy language.
Have a good day!
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Sounds like you’re learning a lot and having fun in the process. Bravo zulu! (Bravo zulu is a US Navy term that means “Good job. Keep it going.”)
PS – BTW, your writing skills are fantastic!
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