Highlights.

My first post: Highlights from the trip thus far.
6-23-2010

Jet Lag – Couldn’t sleep at all during the plane ride, when my options were a comfy chair, plenty of familiar, soothing music, a darkened plane cabin, sleep mask, etc. Nope. Nothing. Bright eyed and bushy tailed I sat upright for the entire 7.5 hours. Of course, by the time we got to the Helsinki airport I was so dog-tiered I don’t remember a good portion of it. And by then, during the 2.5 hour layover, my only sleeping option was a coffee tabletop in the middle of the airport, in the middle of a café, in the middle of our 17-person group. So did I take it? You bet I did. Out I went – trying not to drool on Megan’s laptop case – for a whopping 45 minutes.

Kebabs I know = not Kebabs that I ordered in Finland.

Our first full day included: A gorgeous run around the river and across the main bridge called Jätkänkynttilä (pronounced something like: Yacht-can-koon-tee-la), a visit to Santa, and meeting with our Finnish counterparts for the first time.

Visiting Santa! Creepy maze, picture with the OH-IO, and the abounding touristy gift shops. Exciting! There was one letdown… such as a sitting on Santa’s lap ride, which was out of business. Other important updates: it IS actually colder when you cross the latitude line which separates the rest of the world from the arctic circle. CRAZY. Also, when you send your letters to Santa, he actually gets them. He just doesn’t read them, or keep them. Instead, your envelopes get packaged and sold as souvenirs, to art teachers! However, sending mail from the North Pole was a huge thrill... I cannot deny it.

Ounasvaara, one of the bigger hills in Rovaniemi. You can climb up the hill to see a view of the entire city of Rovaniemi. You can also bring fabulous company with you and roast your dinner over the fire pit. And that’s what we did. In addition to the lovely sights and conversations Ounasvaara has to offer… it also offers some unique wildlife viewing opportunities. One such example was a giant rabbit, or what was at first thought to be a deer, that a small group of us observed while hiking back down the hill. We cannot be sure, but it may or may not have had an eye patch, ugly grimace, and been involved in a potentially felonious crime (see facebook photos for a mug shot). But to be sure, the rabbit is now Courtney’s new spirit animal.








The 1.5 mile walk to and from Lapland University and the Hotel Santa Claus, which is normally beautiful, charming, and good exercise… just not in the pouring freezing rain. This is apparently June in Rovaniemi.

This is what I was told when inquiring abou the weather. June in Lapland = 13 degrees and raining. “Oh well, that’s just summertime in Finland!” says the front desk attendant. Why did I not check this before I came with shorts and sandals!?

Foods and menus are, for the most part, labeled gluten free, lactose free, and low-lactose. Thank you to the allergic Finnish culture that came before me.

The words we have learned. For example: Moi = hi, Moi moi = goodbye. Why can’t everything in language-learning be this simple?

Knochel-raisins. Another attempt at learning Finnish. Unfortunately it’s not as simple as adding raisins onto Aaron’s last name.

What we like to call, “Plusing and minusing.” Minus is for the most frequent trips to the bathroom. Plus is just simply for larger loads. Simple as that.


Sauli helping us to pronounce “Suffeli Puffi,” a kind of Finnish candy we can only describe as, “cheese puffs, minus the cheese, and covered in chocolate… trust me, it’s good.” One bummer: I am allergic to most of the awesome licorice they have here. Dang it!

All the conversations and wonderful people we have met thus far. Plus the amazing roommates I have. (Here we are at one of the functions for the congress... there was singing dancing, and MANY speeches. PLUS a bunch of performance pieces including wish embelished snowflakes fluttering from the forth floor... onto my head.)

Joo joo, ihan sama… which means: Yeah yeah, whatever. Ha! Awesome.

Not so sure fancy museum events are my gig. The Arktikum, Rovaniemi’s cultural museum, was beautiful, and the exhibits were really interesting… but I think I shall pass on the deep-fried fishies with eyes still intact. PLUS… during this shin-dig.. Sara found my first gray hair. WHHAAT!? Apparently I’ve hit the hair-crest and it’s all downhill from here. On the bright side, I have somehow managed to further legitimize my married name. There’s a plus side to everything.

Finishing our presentation, and having all of our professors, advisors, dept. chair there to cheer us on. It felt like the proud little Art Ed family from OSU, C-bus, Ohio, USA. Warm feelings inside.

The name plates we crafted out of Elk bones… the buttons I created today, and the congress bag made out of recycled bed sheets that I pimped out with reindeer antlers. I’m feeling very sustainable right now.

Round two of the Kebabs that I’m still not entirely sure about.

Last thought of the day – Finnish sauna is AMAZING… seriously. I want to know why I never learned that you could go in and out in and out of the Sauna multiple times, or that you were supposed to. AND… how come I never had an ice-cold river to jump into between sauna sittings? Did you know that your skin can actually tingle when you get back into the sauna after a quick jaunt in a 10 deg. cel. river? I did not. You can also pass out if you make the transition too quickly... so if your every in Finland sauna-ing and you don’t have a Finn to tell you otherwise... walk slowly from the sauna to the river and vice versa… or we’ll have to not let you sauna anymore.

Signing off!
-Mrs. GRAY