17 December
First night in Finland
My journey all started when I waited for my mum to pick me up from school, like most mothers she was late but not to worry as I had plenty of time to kill. I was very nervous when I approached the airport as I’ve never travelled on my own,I love a challenge so i was defiantly up for it but i was just very nervous because i didn’t no what to expect. When I got to the check in desk I found out my bag was overweight by 15 kg. Silly me! So I had to take out all my blow up life boats, my clown shoes and my beloved stuffed badger. o well some things have to be i guess.

i romed around the airport after saying good bye to my family.
trying out as much free alcohol as possible, doing the usual hmm this is nice i might buy a bottle (tip toe away silently) i then went to my terminal as it was my first time alone i wanted to be on track and make sure i got onto the plane, once they started boarding us I was the first in line so I managed to get a great seat and a large amount of over head storage. There was so many blonde people it was already turning out to be a great trip. I was seating next to some finish students who was studying in Scotland they was telling me how they missed their flight yesterday and they had to fly out today, they told me lots of interesting stuff about Finland and I couldn’t wait. The cabin crew person was really gay and he made me laugh allot, but it wasn’t funny when he tried to sell me a BLT for €5! Don’t worry I just stuck to my Pringles. When I started to arrive I’ve never seen so much snow I couldn’t believe it! it really is a winter wonder land out in Finland. When I got off the plane I was warmly welcomed by the passport control. they seemed to me Arny Swazneca look alike in a box just saying next, you wouldnt want to mess with them I tell you.

Jenny meet me at the airport with her dad they seemed very nice and they show me around there home town and there local chicken factors. There’s about 150, 00 u no. when I arrived I meet jenny’s mum and brother, they seemed very nice and we had some tea. Finish tea is better than English tea my miles!!! It’s got a nice fruity taste to it. After tea we just chilled and I spent my first night in the guest house. I thought it was going to be cold as it was -15 but it was surprisingly warm. Well today I will be going to Tampere doing some shopping.



18 December

Day 2
Day 2 in Finland had an amazing sleep in the guest house and woke up early for a change. I walked around the frozen snow covered lake for a while to take some photos. I then went for breakfast and it was a nice Varity of finish food like yogurt and cereal and this weird but really tasty cheese and ham sandwich. They drink lots and lots of milk and coffee so I had a lot to drink. After breakfast I went shooting with jenny’s brother, very fun! His only safety instruction was it can kill so don’t be silly. He said later in the week will use his rifle so it sounds fun. After the shooting lesson we headed off to the local city Tampere and did some shopping. Unfortunately when un-packing my bag at the airport I took out all my under wear so I had to buy some emergency supplies or I would of really been in trouble. We then went onto a local super market and I got to see allot of the food they eat. we lost jenny’s grandma several times in the process as she kept running off. We then went back to jenny’s and had some ox and pork with chips it was really nice as I’ve never tried ox before. After dinner we went to the famous finish sauna, it was so hot like 80 degrees. Then we run into the lake which was -25, all good fun. It was very relaxing and I recommend it. After the sauna I watched alien the movie and went to bed looking forward to another day in Finland.

19 December
Day 3
So it’s my third day in Finland and yet I still wake up to lack of sunlight, about 5 hours’ days you get in Tampere area. I heard when I go to Oulu there is no darkness as its completly light all the time. First in the morning I eat a lovely breakfast with the family and get ready for a nice walk in the forest with the dog Naso (it’s Finnish for Piglet). It’s nice to see how there Christmas is different to are christmas in Finland for example they go to the forest to gather flowers and scrubs to use as Christmas decorations and they go to the woods to chop down a Christmas tree. When I arrived back jenny’s brother took me dirt biking on the lake. At this time in season the lake has frozen over so it was thick enough to ride on it. It was great fun and it was interesting to see how there mopeds have gears but I got to grip with it. I found out that jenny’s father had built the whole house all by himself. It’s such a lovely large house with about 5 different buildings I was amazed to hear that he had built it all! Also today I tried my first elk, a native finish animal rather like a deer. It was very tasty and its shame I can’t take any home for you to try, but don’t worries I have some finish sweets. After dinner we made a move to their local church as jenny is getting confirmed so she attends regularly. It was interesting they have a modern church and all the songs are in finish. I tried my best to sing along but jenny kept laughing so I think I was saying it wrong. This is a short blog as I have to catch a bus to school now so I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow morning.


Day 4
It’s my forth day in Finland and I wake up very early to the sound of my alarm clock for a long week of school. Jenny has arranged for me to attend her school I’n her local area. Unfortunately the bus went past us before we could reach it so we walked all the way with a few of jenny’s school mates. Once we arrived we went to history, we watched a finish cartoon about how the world evolved. But of course I hardly know any finish so I just nodded my head. It’s very different to my school as it’s very small about 7 times as small as my one. There are about 300 students all together and they are all very welcoming. there are some weird rules like you’re not allowed to wear shoes and you have to sit down once every 1 is in the class then say good morning to the teacher all together. They also don’t have form time and assemblies it’s all sorted out by megaphones in every class. Every break jenny goes to music room to play around. The drum kit is really cool and it’s nice to play on for a few minutes. After maths we had lunch. It’s nice to know that their meals are free but every student has to do 5 days a year of service for the canteen, this saves money for buying dinner ladies. The food was a traditional finish fish and potato stew it was ok but it’s not something I would always pick. After lunch I chilled in the computer room till it was time to go home. In Finland there school system is completely different; they end at about 1:30 so I wasn’t complaining. Luckily we got to the bus this time and went back to jenny’s home. During the evening jenny took me to her horse riding. It was interesting as I’ve never really looked after a horse since a young age. So we brushed and saddled the horses. I watched jenny go round and round and round and round the wooden in door stable. After we went home and watched jaws until mid night then fell asleep.


20 December
Day 5
Its day 5 and I wake up this time to more snow, it hasn’t stopped snowing since I’ve arrived, it’s great as it makes me fill like I’m in a winter wonderland! The temperatures keep on changing between -5 to -20 but I’ve been keeping warm with lots of coffee. Today I went to school again for the second time. Jenny’s friends are very shy but I think once they get to know me a little they will be ok. We start of the day with science. I notice that jenny’s science teacher is also her math teacher. She tells me that there are not that many teachers in her school and many teach at least 2 subjects. We then head of to finish lesson and the teacher planned the lesson around me so I would understand so we played a game of Pictionary which was very fun. After Finish we learn English, it was very easy and I was able to answer most questions its ashame we don’t have it at home. I discovered that lunch was much better as we had sausage and mash with salad, very tasty. After lunch we played more music and headed home after making a hat in art. We then chilled for a while had some dinner then played a board game and headed off to bed.




Day 6
Day 6 in Finland and I wake up to the coldest yet at -22! today I went to school again, I went to wood work first and it was amazing how different there DT class is like instead of sweeping they have a vacuum system fitted to the wall and it would suck all the dirt up, very clever. It was nice as I chatted to allot of finish teenagers and their life is much different for example they recycle allot, they hardly have any waste. And they drink and eat allot of dairy products such as milk and cheese. I’ve been adapting to their culture and I think I’ve already drunk about 5 litres of milk. It’s nice as it keeps your body insulated in the cold weather. Also there are really into their metal music here and finish rap. the finish teenagers are so much shyer compared to English for example they can speak English very well but they are too shy to speak and they shake when they try to talk English. But I think it’s cool that they try to speak my language, I wish I could try to learn their language as I fill rude always talking English. I have learned some finish and I hope I can learn some more before I go. After school we had a movie fest and watched lots of films we also went out to the forest and chain sawed some trees to use as fire wood to heat the house. After that I called in for a early night and went to bed


22 December
Day 7
Its day 7 and I wake up at about 9 as school is only a short day today. we was going to miss the bus so we decided to cycle, cycling in the snow is not the best of things I can tell you I fell off a few times as it’s so slippery, Artu (jenny’s brother) laugh allot as he speed past. We left the bikes by the bus stop unlocked which I found a little weird and we went to school. We started the day by eating some rice pudding with raisins. As today was the last day of school for me and every one we went to the gym for a Christmas show. Jenny’s song a few songs and artu did a very funny dance with the girls dance group. After we went to the main building and every one collected there results before we went back to Jennies. The head teacher had a talk with me before I left about supporting Liverpool and how amazing Oulu is (my next town) and I thanked him for letting me attend his school and he said he was chuffed for me to visit so I was pleased to hear. I said good bye to every 1 new I had meet and went back to jenny’s house. We watched TV until mid night.


23 December
Day 8
Last night Artu (jenny’s brother) thought rather than just staying in he would take me along with him to meet up with his friends. It was nice to hang out with some finish teenagers as I could find out what it’s like for them living in Finland. I have met a few of them all ready at their school but I talked to allot of them and they seem to be such a nice group of people. Visiting Finland makes me think how different my way of living is so different. Like they have no crime and every 1 gets along peacefully. But in London it’s so different you can’t go to get a news paper without being worried about getting mugged. They have no crime at all and I’ve not even seen one police officer during my visit apart from at the passport checking. Me and Artu got some finish beer and we drunk with the locals in the hockey area. It was a good evening and they liked the fact that I come to visit there area but I’m more grateful for them allowing me to stay in their local town. It’s very different here like they don’t lock their bikes up or the cars and they leave there phones and wallets with people they don’t even know that well. It makes me wonder if London is such a great place because in Finland everyone gets along so nicely. if I was to ever raise a family in the future id defiantly think about moving to Finland because it’s such a nice atmosphere for children to be raised in. like they gather there wood for heat, hunt for meat, recycle, there schools are smaller so they get educated better and everyone is so kind and polite to me. Jenny and Artu are raised very well and there great people. I’m glad I’ve got to meet them during my visit to Finland as they have become great friends of mine. After we come back from the hockey place we went to sauna and Artu told me about the problems they had with Russia, it’s so sad to hear about what they did to such a lovely country. Today we hit the iced other lake with quad bikes snow mobiles and dirt bikes it was great fun and I enjoyed it so much! I’ve never been on a snow mobile and I really enjoyed it, Artu friend was very kind enough to lend me it for a while and it’s such a nice feeling when riding it. Little scary when the ice made it slip but I’m ok it was such great fun to ride. I then started to iron my clothes which I had washed......yes ironing, Dave doing ironing can you image it. In Finland its way nicer how they wash their clothes like they dry it all in the sauna it’s great. After we had dinner and it was this lovely potato and bacon bake with grilled cheese on top, it was very lovely. after we headed off to ann.’s grandma to put her Christmas tree up and decorate it, once we had finish we headed off to the ice hockey place and meet some people from the other night and I said a final good bye to everyone, it was sad as everyone is so cool, I hope I can meet them again and I hope my ice hockey improves by then also. After ice skating I just went to bed and eat a burger.


25 December
Day 9
Today is Christmas, yes you look at your calendar in confusion. In Finland it’s all about the eve! New Years Eve Christmas eve whatever, they always celebrate on the eve. So this year Christmas comes a day early for me. I wasn’t complaining because in away will be having 2 Christmas’s this year! We first of all went to pick jenny’s grandma up and then went to a grave yard to visited jenny’s uncle and granddads grave. They leave a candle by their grave every Christmas; I think it’s a lovely thought. After we went to church and watched an activity play it was all in finish so I just clapped when everyone else did but outside it just wouldn’t stop snowing! And out side it was covered in snow. In Finland they keep goats as pets so I laughed when I saw a lady take a goat for a walk on a lead! Jenny’s dad likes to drive like a rally driver on the ice, I found it fun but jenny’s mum always has ago at him when he does. We then went back to the house and had some porridge. They always have porridge once a year on Christmas and they hide a nut in the large bowl, kind of like are money thing with the Christmas pudding. I found the nut so I get a year worth of good luck. Go me! We then started to dig the whole in the ice with a pitch folk for after the sauna and we also cleared all the snow so we could get there easily. But a tree fell on a power thing and caused a massive explosion so we ended up having are Christmas in the dark. It was very traditional Christmas as we had lots of candles and it was very peaceful. We then watched some TV when the power comes back on after a while. Finland has some interesting TV like for example they only play old stuff, but they love it like the fast show and mergiver. It’s mostly old English stuff and American stuff as they love English humour and the corny American sit coms. Well I’m not complaining as it’s in English so it’s easy for me to understand. But when Shrek was in finish that was disappointing because mike mires have the coolest voice for Shrek but he was replaced by a finish voice over man with a squeaky voice. We headed off to the sauna it was so hot again; I don’t know how they can stay in there for more that 5 minutes. But being polite and didn’t want to look like an English man who couldn’t take the heat I stayed in there as long as I could. After u role in the snow it’s weird but defiantly relaxing. We then got ready for the Christmas meal. It was so filling. I’ve never seen so much pork on a plate, but it was so tasty! We then opened some presents. Jenny’s parents were so nice and brought me a lovely finish mug which I will defiantly use when I go camping and a gorgeous head scarf with a Finland flag on. I then tried some finish vodka. Deadly stuff real deadly stuff! I then said good bye to jenny’s grandma, such a lovely lady, she couldn’t speak a word of English but I tried my best to talk finish. I only no 5 words but I think she understands. We then watched alien vs. predator on a large projector. Very good film made me jump a few times. Then I shot of to bed. All in all it was a lovely Christmas in Finland.


26 December
Day 10
Today on Christmas day we rest all day, so today I mostly slept and watched TV. Artu got his rifle out and we shot some targets, it’s so cool I wish we could have them in England. I hope everyone back home had a lovely Christmas and got lots of nice things from Santa.


31 December
Day 11
today was a sad day as I had to leave such a lovely family which looked after me for 10 days over Christmas, I had such a lovely time staying with them and they had thought me so much about their culture and way of life I was grateful that they included me in there way of lifting for so long. I packed my bags and had a lovely dinner before I went to the train station. I will miss them as I had such a lovely time staying in their home town. Every 1 is so friendly and peaceful there. I had a long journey ahead of me about 6 hours train journey. Unfortunately I bumped into my first problem during my travels. Anni (my second family) wasn’t able to pick me up from the train station in the morning as she told me half way through my train journey. So I was a little nervous but luckily a kind finish couple over heard my conversation about my situation and we started to talk. I found out that she studied in Australia for a year so she could speak very good English and we talked about my journey and how different it is in Finland compared to London and we had a great chat throughout the journey. They recommended a great hotel for me to stay in for a great price and also some night clubs and bars I could check out. So it turned out the problem I had wasn’t much of a problem and more for the best. What turned out to be the end of the day turned into the beginning? They dropped me off at the hotel and they gave me a free pass to a great night club so I thanked them allots and went to my room. It was a lovely room with a steam bath and a lovely view and for about £35 I wasn’t complaining. I headed off to the night club walked in like a VIP player with my free pass and party all night. Unfortunately the people I meet on the train were working the next day so they weren’t able to join me but I still had fun. Meet loads of people and I’ve never seen a night club so full of blondes. once in the night club I found out it was a over 22 night :S I didn’t no I looked that old. After the night had ended I went back to my hotel and slept in till the morning.


Day 12
I woke up the next day early so I could check out the free breakfast. I thought I’d make a meal of it and had allot to eat to save me getting lunch, us low budget travels know what to do! I then had a steam bath a sauna and put all the freebies from the hotel in my bag (have to make the most of your money) then headed off to top up my phone. Most people might not know but I normally spend £20 a year on topping up my phone. I hardly use it because I prefer to just talk on msn to arrange things. But in Finland they are addicted to texting and I have also joined them. But I don’t blame them because and 2p a text it’s a bargain! I then arranged to meet up with Anni, my second family. We went shopping around Oulu and I visited a place called stockman, it’s like a finish version of john Lewis or Harrods. We continued to Hesburger for a bite to eat its like mc Donald’s but finish and 100 times better. After Anni got a phone call to meet her mum so we headed off to KKK in Oulu. In Finland there super markets are very different like hotels with their stars they are rated with K's. So the bigger there are the more K’s there have so KKK is an average sized supermarket. I then meet Anni's mother she was very welcoming and she showed me her home. It’s a nice cosy bungalow on the out skirts of Oulu. I unpacked my bags and headed off to Anni’s friend’s house were we watched a really bad movie called cabin fever. I’m getting used to the finish subtitles under all the American and British programs, I’m very grateful that most of the TV is in English because when I go to Germany or Spain they always like to dub the voices or speak in their own language. I then called in for an early night after playing a game of junior monopoly in finish. It was really hard to play as I couldn’t read most of it but I think I did well for a first go.


Day 13
today I woke up to do some ice skating and it didn’t go to well because Anni’s friends brothers ice skates didn’t fit very well so I ended up having to sit it out but Anni's sister is very good she does it professionally and is very good ice skater. we then headed back to Anni’s for lunch and I meet up with eve in the evening it was so nice to meet her again and we meet in a pub and I arranged to go out with her in the evening it was great fun and we talked about all the fun times in Eurojam it was good to see her again. we then meet up with a few of her mates and unfortunately my night was cut short because I had to meet Anni so I said good bye to eve and we went back to Anni place and play some more junior monopoly


02 January
Day 14
today was a lazy day as it was too cold to go out so I planned the next day and slept to catch up with my rest and just watched TV and put my badges on my new finish scout uniform I brought.


Day 15
Today I decided to travel to Lapland to visit Father Christmas and his elves. I headed off to the train station to start my 4 hour journey to Rovienmi which is the capital/ gate way to Lapland. It was a long journey but there were beautiful views from the train window. My handy iPod stopped me from getting board. when I arrived I had the confusion of getting a bus to the Santa’s grotto but my navigation skills took me up a hill through layers of snow and somehow ended up at the bus stop so fare it was going well. I then carried on my long journey on the bus picking up lots and lots and lots of tourists. It’s the first time in Finland I’ve actually seen tourists so it was a bit of a shock. but just like England Japan loves Santa also so allot of japans snappy tourists got on the bus, I thought I left them at home in London but they seem to follow u every were these days. When I arrived at the park my face lit up just like an 8 year old again and it was pretty and colourful. I went to Santa’s post office and posted some post cards and it was so cool! Like little elves sorting out Santa letters it was so good. and crossing the arctic circle was something I’ve always wanted to do : D. I was going to see Santa but there was to many Italians pushing in so it would of took a long time so I preferred to go shopping first then see him later. I got lots of gifts from the shopping area for family back home and had a cup of coffee in this lovely wood hut, they cooked fish there 2 but I wanted to eat in town when I got back. So I got on the bus and went to town where I found an eat all you like buffet. For £6.50 you can drink as much as you like and eat as much pizza as you want and ice crème as well. it was very filling and as my mum know she gets really annoyed when I eat and drink too much but as she wasn’t there I took advantage of the establishment and had 10 cups of cola and 5 plates of pizza. So for £6 I think I did well. I then grabbed the train back to Oulu and went to bed at Anni’s straight away as it was a long day.

Day 16
Well today I woke up about 11 as travelling to Lapland was a long day and I had yet another long day ahead of me. Originally I was going to party with eve on new years but she had to go to a log cabin with family or something so I arranged to meet up with my other friend from Oulu Eda. After a lovely breakfast I headed off to the train station to lock my bag up at the 24 luggage locker. it was the first time I had meet Anni’s dad as he lives some were else in Oulu. My first stop of the day was at Oulu library were I grabbed a free copy of the English Saturday times and chilled out on the internet for a while. I decided to arrange a meeting with the people who helped me out on my first night in Oulu. It was nice to see them before I went as they was very kind to me arranging my stay ECT so we had some coffee and talked about what I have done. they had to go and meet there mother because they was going to the gym so I said I final good bye and off I went to around Oulu centre planning my night ahead. I mostly went to all the shops and tried to find the cheapest place for beer as I had nothing better to do till 8. I then handed out in a hotel for a long time making the most of their free coffee and free shower and free TV and free sauna and free news papers. The funny thing is I’ve never stayed in that hotel and I don’t plan on as well, but I think the front desk lady seemed to mistake me for someone else. Well I didn’t complain as I got allot of time out of the way and I was very refreshed. I then meet Anni and the hotel and stayed a final good bye and thanked her for letting me stay. I then trekked to the place where I was going to meet Eda. She took me to her mates house who has his own student apartment, it was very small and not allot of people was there and I found it very boring but I was thankful for them letting me join in with their celebration. We left at about 11 to go to the centre of Oulu to watch fireworks. Of course at this stage I wasn’t drunk and I was able to walk there perfectly. After it hit 12 and every 1 was happy New Year we made a move to Hesburger for a new year munch down. I then got a phone call from the girl I meet at the night club on the first night and she wanted to say good bye to me before I go so I decided to arrange and meet her. I then said good bye to every 1 and started my long trek to where she lived. I think it was about 5 miles in total and I took a long time trying to find it but as I also wanted to say good bye I carried on my trek. Why didn’t u get a bus or a taxi u ask? I had left my credit card at the train station in the locker so I had no cash :P. it was snowing pretty bad and with my north face jacket on I kind of seemed like a Eskimo hiking up a mountain with Gail force snow. It was all good fun and when I final meet Meria it all made sense why I walked all that way. She was staying the night in her parents’ house as they had a massive party for New Year. And she invited me to join in with her family and friends and I was very grateful for that. The finish people are very crazy when there drunk but I enjoyed there company they made the night very entertaining. I meet Marias dad and mum and they seemed very nice and were very welcoming. Everyone seemed to like the fact id come all the way to Finland to celebrate New Year with them. Meria dad said I was welcome to stay the night so slept the night around there house. The finish people loved the karaoke and it was very entertaining watching them. We then went to Meria hut in her garden it’s like a round building with a fire in the middle and they use it to cook sausages and fish ECT. It was very peaceful and they melt horse shoes in there and tip it on the snow and whatever their shadow reflects symbolises what their future will be like next year, it’s a finish tradition they do. I was talking to Marias brother in there and her father most of the night there very interesting. So about 4 I called it a night a slept till the morning

Day 17
Today I had another long day of train travelling again. I was to meet Elena my third family in Sienajoki. Meria made me some breakfast and kindly gave me a lift to the train station it was sad leaving her as I had such a nice time during New Year’s celebration. But I have to move on so I left at 16:00 from Oulu. I will miss Oulu I have some great memories and I hope to visit again someday. I then went for about 3 hours on the train to Sienajoki. When I arrived I meet Elena and her older brother at the train station. It was nice to see Elena again as it’s been a long time since Eurojam. I talked to her brother for a long time during are drive to Elinas house. He is very interesting and is studying at Uni to become a doctor. Once I arrived at Elinas I was amazed by the size of the house I didn’t no she lived on a farm so it was a surprise to me. She has a lovely home all made of wood. I meet her parents and they were very welcoming and we had some coffee and her parents tried to talk their best English but I’m grateful that they can speak a little English. After tea we watched TV and went to bed.

Day 18
Today is day 18 and I’ve woken up to a lovely homemade breakfast. Because Elaina lives on a farm there food is all homemade and I think it’s so much nicer. After breakfast we visited there local town and it was so small but I prefer smaller towns because there so space full, I went to her school and had a look around. We then went around there town passing the ski slopes and stopped off at a supermarket. It was a KKK sized super market and it was much cheaper compared to the major cities. We then headed back to Elinas and had a lovely lunch. Elinas mum had made this lovely apple jam, very nice. After lunch I offered to help out on their farm. Elinas parents own a cow farm processing milk from the cows. I’m now a proper famer boy and I was so funny I enjoyed it. So from now on you can all call me farmer Dave. I then watched a movie with Elaina said good bye to her brother who went back to Helsinki and went to bed

Day 19
Today I got up early and decided to get revenge on Elaina and woke her up this time: P, we then had a lovely breakfast again. I seem to be having great food in Finland I’m not missing English food at all, maybe a kebab but that me. We then hopped in the car as Elian’s dad is a scout leader and want to show me were Elaina goes to scouts. It was very interesting to see how different finish scouts have their meetings compared to us. They have their huts in the forest with large camping grounds guest houses and even a swimming pool and sauna. It’s much different compared to my scout hut but if you had that kind of massive woodland space I dot blame them. We then went to the airport as they wanted to show me there local one as it was on the way but it wasn’t open in winter. I then showed Elinas parents photos of Eurojam and of my family during lunch. I was amazed that they had never heard of a iPod. But I guess there not as popular in Finland compared to other countries. I then watched some finish TV and a movie then off to bed for a busy day tomorrow

Day 20
Day 29 and I thought I’d have something different for breakfast and tried this different kind of milk. It tasted so bad but being polite I just nodded and carried on drinking it. In Finland they drink allot of coffee, and it’s rude to refuse a cup so I have been drinking so much off it I’m always alert and up and really can’t sleep in the evenings. So after my 5th cup of coffee I and Elaina hit the slopes. She was very kind enough to lend me her equipment and her mum was also very kind and offered to pay for my ski pass. It was very cheap about £7 which is not bad for 4 hours worth of skiing. Elaina is a snow board chick so she brought along her snow board, didn’t do any jumps though. After are session had come to an end we packed up the ski and headed off to a supermarket to pick up a few things. I stocked up on my Saliamki and we then went back to Elinas. Elinas mum had prepared this macaroni dish with mince meat I’ve never tried it before but it goes great with ketchup. Elaina told me that we were going to visit her best friend who is studying for her confermation at the church camp. Religion is very different here. Almost all children have to be confirmed. They receive a rose once this have done so and in all the homes I’ve stayed in I see photos of children in there families holding a rose. They normally start bout 15 and have to go to a camp for 8 days learning about Jesus and stuff I guess. I found it a little weird that every 1 has to do it but I guess it’s a finish thing and I respect that. also finish people have to join the army for 6 months and there’s no way out of it and if you don’t do your service your be put in prison. This is due to the small population in Finland, which is understandable. It was nice meeting Elinas friend as I’ve seen photos of her but never meet her in person. Once we had meet up with her he went to some service thing. It was so boring and they tried to act funny but it was so stupid some of their comedy sketches they did I almost fell asleep. But now I understand why finish people drink so much coffee and of course coffee was available during the service so I made the most of the free coffee. We then said good bye and headed back to Elinas house. We watched some TV and a boring program about how Americans spend so much on their defence and it just come across as a boring patriotic American film but it was funny. So I then went to bed knowing that my time in Finland had almost come to a end.

Day 21
Today I woke u to my iPod alarm clock, I belief the track this morning was burn baby burn disco inferno. So it was a great head start for the morning. I made my way down stairs to which would be my last breakfast in Finland (gets out the tissues). In Finland they put cheese on everything, not grated cheese or French cheese; it’s a special cheese which is sourly designed for their special finish cheese cutter. Now this cheese cutter is a revolution. It has made the way I eat cheese by miles. Once you discover the amazing use of it you will understand. It slices the cheese and without scooping it up u can then place it where ever u desire on your slice of bread. It is a great item for all house hold kitchens. Yes I have brought 1 to take home with me to show you at the next party. Seriously u won’t stop cutting cheese again it’s just the coolest thing in the world. I then started to pack my bags, now ryanair is amazing its cheap and basic, it’s all you need for a nice cheap holiday. But the only 1 problem all travels have with them is the bag allowance. Now its 15kg and my bag alone is 6kg so as you can see me a little stuffed already. But those who know me no I like to get away with everything. So I bagged up every item in categories for the airport. I’ll explain later what my next step was. After finish packing my bag we had to go and visit Elinas grandparents so we got in the car and went to her grandparents who lived in the next town. They were very nice and welcoming and we sat down for some lunch. She had prepared this lovely cake it was to die for and yet again.....more coffee. We watched some TV and still the same American sitcoms were on the telly but I’m used to them by now. I then said good bye to Elinas parents as they had to go back to the cow farm and I thanked them for having me during my stay in Finland. Later on Elinas granddad dropped me off at the station and we waited for the train to arrive. It was sad leaving Elaina as id had such a great time staying with her on the cow farm. So I was on a mission to catch the plane back to London. I remembered I still had about 5 Euros on my phone credit so I thought I might as well burn it all up and said good bye to every 1 I had meet on my journeys. The train was only a short journey so I sat down at my seat number 27 carriage 2. The funny thing was my seat was sitting next to someone who was also from London. What are the odds hey? She was telling me she has family out here and she was staying with them over Christmas. It was nice as id never bumped into a English person during my travels. She said that her sister lives out here that is the same age. Once I arrived at Tampere from Sienajoki I continued to try and find jenny my first family who I stayed with who very kindly offered to pick me up from the train station it was so nice seeing them for a final time as they made my stay in Finland such a great time. We then went to mc Donald’s very finish I know but I wasn’t that hungry so I just had a cheese burger and a ice cream. We continued to the airport where I said a final good bye and really started to fill sad as it kicked in I was actually leaving. When I got to the airport I did the luggage trick...... I took out the clothes I had put in single carrier bags, hid them behind my back. Weighed the bag, and then wheeled it over to the bag area quickly slid all the clothes in and hey presto I got away with paying for excess baggage! Go me wow!
Sorry I just can’t belief how easy it was loll! Would have cost about £8 per a kg which is stupid! I went through the scanner thing to check if I have any chainsaws or lawnmowers in my back pocket and it went off so I had to be searched. it was so funny it’s just like that wriggles extra advert were she scans by is genital area and it goes off, I couldn’t stop laughing but the lady pulled a straight face so I just looked serous as well. So I then had about 12 Euros left so I got some more finish candy and some chocolate so I could get rid of the Euros. And I met some Jesus man who had been on a pilgrimage around Israel and places. And he would stop talking to me and it was annoying but the London person bump into me and I just talked to her about my stay in Finland. The flight was delayed so we had liked an extra hour in Finland but I was complaining I liked it there so I made the most of it. When we got on the plane I found myself sitting next to this Canadian who was really nice so I killed most of the flight talking to her and reading her cosmos. The Jesus man was a few seats back so I kept my head low. The pilot was so funny we was saying random quotes like were taking a few short cuts to get u there quicker and stuff. How can u take short cuts in the air?? O well made me laugh. We then landed and I rushed to the passport control to find myself in a long like to the loggers leap in Thorpe Park. But I got to the passport lady and I went over to the luggage clammier to find myself in another waiting frenzy for about a hour isn’t airports fun boys and girls. I then got my bag and ran to my grandma who I didn’t expect to see, it was nice of her to show up. And my trip to Finland had finally come to a end. During my travels I had meet loads of people, people who I can call friends, old and new, good or bad. I will always remember my journey to Finland as every 1 is so kind, friendly, welcoming and peaceful. It’s such a safe country to visit I recommend any 1 to go there. I will defiantly travel there again to meet up with all my friends there again. So this is me finishing my last travel blog till next time in the very near future.