So let me tell you a little something...
Going to visit a new place can be a heck of a lot of fun when you have a guide who's actually from there, and trust me, that fact made this Helsinki trip one million times better. Don't get me wrong, Helsinki is interesting and pretty, but I dunno, I don't think it's a place that I'd be all that interested in visiting by myself.
Anyways, seriously, today was absolutely amazing, the rest of my week doesn't matter at all comparatively. I rode my first train since forever and it was quite enjoyable. I went to my friend's parent's house which is absolutely gorgeous let me tell you, like seriously, I want to decorate like them if at all possible haha, and we did a lot of walking, I mean A LOT OF WALKING! Even the people who were used to walking around a lot were super tired by the end of it all, and my running on around four or so hours of sleep didn't help me I guess.
One of the greatest stories of the trip? Probably having a security guard approach me when I took a picture of a gate because it was beautifully ornate. He thought I took a picture of the security booth, I hadn't even noticed there was a security booth honestly, and so asked me what it was I was doing and why I was doing it. I explained about the gate and showed him the picture I took as well as my other pictures just to prove I wasn't causing any trouble and he kinda slinked off back to his little hidey hole. He was just doing his job so it's not like I got mad, but we all definitely thought it was funny.
Let me tell you something, Finland is EXPENSIVE! Like, outrageously expensive. I know I've covered it before, but it was just another reminder when we went to the big department store Stockman because they were having a 'sale'. I don't know if they know what sale means though, or if we're just used to things being relatively inexpensive in the US, because jeez louise it was all expensive! I wanted to get my best friend a scarf, and they were all between 20-50 Euros! FOR A SCARF? No, absolutely not! That scarf better be made out of spun gold or something, because no one in their right mind should ever pay that much for a scarf.
Helsinki's a nice place to visit, but it's really a place you gotta have a plan in. We went with no real idea of what we wanted to do, and it made the trip a little lackluster. Don't get me wrong, I rarely ever plan a trip because I like the adventure, but Helsinki just doesn't have as much stuff to just randomly do as other big cities. For instance, we went to a free art gallery and it was gorgeous, but there were literally only three rooms of art, and none of the rooms had over fifteen or so paintings.
So, apart from Helsinki my life's been pretty good here. I've got one more exam for this period on friday and it's over Finnish. I'm a little worried since if I fail the exam I completely fail the class, but there's also a makeup exam, so there's always that option. Fingers crossed I don't need it though.
I'm picking up my overalls on Monday by the way, just saying ;) Expect a big long happy post about that in the near future!
Moi Moi~!
Bri K.