BUSY TIMES

Time flies, as they say. I haven't really had time to write anything here, for I haven't even had time to skype with my family! (now I have. priorities.) My life has been real excitement while I've been here, and I'm enjoying it every day. It's crazy to think that I've been here for two months already!

The only time I was sort of terrified was when I had to fly all on my own from Houston to Salt Lake City (I had always had the company of other exchange students on my former flights), but it was all good. The only thing that went wrong was that I wandered off to the wrong terminal in SLC, so it was a bit awkward for me to meet my host family like that. But that's just me. It would've been a miracle if something like that hadn't happened.

My host family is great. I'm afraid I'm not good at showing it to them, but I really like it here. Naturally it can get a little tiring with six younger siblings, so I do enjoy my hours alone as well. They're all amazing, though. While being here, I have realized how much I like cooking, and I'm always happy to cook or bake something Finnish for them (and for myself obvs).

SCHOOL

Our school's theme this year is "wake up", and it means that we should all start living life the fullest, and involve in as many things as possible. And that's exactly what I aim to do. I'm already in the school musical Music Man, and I auditioned for our school's improv team, sort of. I only did it for the credit, but it sure was fun.

My classes for this half of the year are psychology, a cappella choir, theatre, US history, math, team sports, foods, and language arts. I love every single one of them. The teachers are so much nicer than my high school teachers back in Finland. Also, I've recently formed a conscious love for pscyhology, which is great. I've always found it fascinating, but now I'm just all about it. This may be attributed to the awesomeness of my teacher, and that I got 100% on both of my tests so far. And a ton of extra credit for being a know-it-all. I just love it, okay?

It is incredible to be part of such wonderful choir as the A'capella choir. Thank you all so much for donating money for us. I couldn't be more grateful. If everything goes smoothly, I may be singing in Disneyland California and going to Universal Studios Hollywood in April. Eeks!

MOUNTAINS

I've already been to two hikes, although they were pretty much the beginner level kinds, I think. It was fun, and they made me realize how much I love the mountains. Even the view from our house is gorgeous because of them, not to mention what it's like when you go a little higher up. Me and my friends are planning on going on a hike sometime, and I'm super duper excited to take pictures of the beautiful nature. The company wouldn't be bad, either. I love you, guys!

CHURCH

The church is quite different from our church in Finland. The first hour of it is not, but what we don't have are the lessons and Young Women's afterwards. It's great, though. It's a good chance to spend time with your friends on Sundays, as the rest of the day should be spent with the family. Honestly, I like it. Especially the youth activity on Wednesdays is great, it reminds me of our church activity back in Finland. Of course life in a religious family differs from what I'm used to, but my host family is lovely and understanding, they don't make me do anything if I don't feel like it, or try to change my beliefs, it's all good. I agree with most of the things I've heard and learned about this religion, but I'm just EVL and not LDS.

FOOD

I wasn't planning for this to be one of my subheads, but I just gotta. Luckily, I get to stay with a fairly healthy family, so I won't come back to Finland weighing 400 pounds (hopefully). The school lunch doesn't look too appealing to me, so I've been bringing my own lunch every day, which I'm kind of getting tired of. Not that I have to bring it myself, because it's awesome, but that it's almost the same every single day. The only difference is basically if I will have grapes or an apple that day. If anyone has any easy lunch ideas that I could possibly make the day before, please speak. I guess I'm just picky. I don't really like cold food, unless it's salad or something like that. And salad gets gross very quickly. Oh, what am I saying, I just need to go to Walmart, and I'm sure I will find something new.

TRIPS AND EVENTS

There are so many things that I've done, it feels exhausting to even think about writing all that here, but I'll do my best. I would've posted this like a month ago, but this was the one stopping me. I procrastinate, even though I know it's bad and I shouldn't. Honestly, I'm just going to word-vomit all I can think about this subject or I will never get to write on my blog again. If you want to know more specific information about something, please don't hesitate to leave a comment here or just text me or something.

The things that stand out the most are obviously the things out of the ordinary. Some of those amazing things have been our trip to Idaho, and Bear lake, Utah State Fair, a BYU football game, and our school's homecoming game.  A welcome dinner for exchange students, a walk for children's cancer, a Finnish reunion, plenty of barbecues, our drives to the mountains, a visit to Downtown Salt Lake, our school's assemblies, a drama club social, our musical rehearsals, free cookie fridays, and ugh, just everything. I don't think I even have anything ordinary to compare to, not yet at least. It feels like there's always something going on. For example, we have our first choir concert tomorrow, and on wednesday we're leaving for our trip to St. George (super excited!!).

But now, I'm tired. First I had rehearsal till 5:30, came home to eat, and then we went to a pumpkin patch to get us some pumpkins. It sure has been another fun day today, and I'm excited for tomorrow. + I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like this whole text is lame and full of grammar mistakes and I will probably have edit this later, but we'll see. Next update will be about St. George, so be prepared! (it should take less time to write than this!)

Noniin kiitos nam suomea. Tä koko teksti mitä kirjotin enkuks oi jotenki mulle hirveetä väkisintyöntämistä, enkä tiiä mistä se johtuu. Ehkä ei oo ollu vaan mun kielipäivä tänään, ken tietää. Luulis nyt kun on käyttänyt kaks kuukautta englantia jokapäiväisenä kielenä, et olis suht helppo kirjottaa jotain niin yksinkertasta kun et mitä on tehny. Mut sit oon kans huomannu et moni tääl ei oikeen välitä kielioppiasioista, ja tietyt tavat sanoa asioita on tarttunut muhunki. Esim. ei täällä kukaan sano "there are" vaikka oliski kyse monikosta, vaan sanotaan vaan there is /there's. Pikkujuttuja, mut silti.

Kaks kuukautta!! Mun piti tehä sellanen postaus et "kuukaus täällä jeejee" mut, kyl te tiiätte mut. Niinku mä mitään tekisin ajallaan. Mut se on ihan okei. Oon pystyny keskittymään tärkeempiin asioihin, enkä jaksa stressata tästä bloginpitämisestä.  Tä on vähän niinku päiväkirja mulle, jonka vaan jaan mulle tärkeille ihmisille. Ja se on ihan ok, jos ei joka päivä (viikko, kuukausi...) tänne kirjottaiskaan. Stressistä vielä, mul ei sitä oikeen oo? Pitkästä aikaa mun elämässä tuntuu ettei oikeestaan tarviikkaan stressata joka asiasta, ja et on ihan okei jos ei tee kaikkea täydellisesti. Ja tiiättekö mitä. Se tuntuu hyvältä. Mun mielenterveys kokonaisuudessaan on paljon parempi kun mitä se oli ennen kun lähdin, ja moni asia tuntuu paljon selkeemmältä mulle. Tykkään.

Tykkään kans tosi paljon näist ihmisistä keiden kans saan olla, en olis osannut toivoa parempaa host-perhettä tai kaveriporukkaa. Ollaan niin samanhenkisiä mun kavereiden kans, ettei uskonnol siin kohtaa oo mitään merkitystä. Täs al kuva yhest ihanast kikkarapääst ku heiteltiin väriliitupulveria toisiamme päi.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

To be fair, we did stay at a hotel which was in New Jersey, but still. Most of our time spent at the Soft landing camp was in New York.

How do I even begin to describe New York? It was amazing, I loved it. It didn't quite become my favorite place in the world, but still, pretty neat. I learned some pretty cool stuff from our super cool tourguide of eight hours total. Our orientation classes weren't for waste either. Did you know that if you have ten dollars in your pocket and no debts, you're wealthier than 25% of Americans? Yeah, pretty rough, huh. It broke my heart to see so many homeless people in the streets.

Anyways, the day we got there was still the 13th, and it was  h o t. We were all pretty tired of traveling for over twelve hours, and when we finally got out of the Newark airport, we got a full clothed sauna experience in the humidity and heat of the East Coast. Luckily, the air conditioning in our bus saved us from melting.  Our hotel was neat, we got a lil information what we were going to do, and our staff ordered us food. Me, trying to be healthy and ethical chose to get the vegan salad, but unfortunately it was disgusting, so I barely ate any. That much for the ethicality. Also, may I add that our group was probably the biggest of all groups of exchange students that year or any year of Explorius, with 156 students from all over Europe.

The second day started with a slightly healthier version of American breakfast and a lesson of Adapting to American culture. Next stop was Downtown New York. Bare in mind that this was my first time going there, so I was hyped, to say the least. We had lunch in Grand Central Terminal, you know, the place where Marty sneaks out in Madagascar and Melman sticks his head in the cool clock. Yeah, that. Riding a tour bus through Manhattan, we stopped at one specific flower pot to take an optimal picture of the Empire State Building and in another place the same with a landscape of Manhattan. We could also see the tiny Statue of Liberty from there. The rest of the day was spent wandering in Downtown, Chinatown, various stores and Chipotle. An actual mention that we visited the World Trade Center memorial as well. 15 years have went by, but the topic is still sensitive for Americans. May the victims rest in peace and their loved ones live smiling.

The beginning of the third day was pretty much identical to the second one, so after eating lunch we headed to Broadway, Times Square, Rockefeller center, and all that cool stuff. We even got to see the Friends house, so that's pretty cool. I think my pictures here speak better than me, so just check them out. It was awesome.

The last day was basically just about Central Park and Jersey Garden's mall. We got our picnic lunch from Whole Foods, and I immediately fell in love with that annoyingly pricey store. Bought myself a backbag for school and a lotion from VS, and they were freakishly cheap, even for an outlet mall. But, the day went by quickly, as they tend to do, and back at the hotel I had to pack everything ready for an early leave the next morning. Utah's calling, bébé!

Nyt on New York koettu, Vapaudenpatsas, Empire State Building, Central Park ja Times Square nähty. Oli kyl ihan mahtava kokemus. Ei olis haitannu jos oltais oltu muutama päivä pidempään. Olisin halunnut päästä Rockefeller centerin huipulle napsimaan esteettisiä kuvia, mut jonottaminen sinne olis vienyt vähintään puolet meidän vapaa-ajasta + kaikki mun käteisvarat, joten päätettiin skipata se kokemus.

Noin kaiken kaikkiaan New York on mulle vähän sellanen epäilyttävä ja hieman epämielyttävä paikka sen suuruudessaan ja ihmispaljoudessaan. En haluu kuulostaa sellaselta ihmiseltä joka ottaa kaikesta vaan negatiiviset puolet esille ja valivali, koska sitä en oo. Sanonpahan vaan, että jos menet New Yorkiin ja oletat postikorttimaisemia ja pilvenpiirtäjiä, niin niitä saat, mutta saat myös kämäsiä katuja, roskapusseja ja kodittomia ihmisiä joka kulmassa, ja puolialastomia ihmisiä jotka huutaa sulle ja sun kavereille jostain tuntemattomasta syystä. Mikään tästä ei kuitenkaan tarkota, etteikö sulle tulis ikimuistoisia ja sydäntä lämmittäviä muistoja, upeita kokemuksia ja kuvia tulevaisuudelle. Ja kuten sanottu, olis siellä voinu olla pidempäänkin, enkä valittais jos pitäis sinne uudestaan mennä. Vaikka paikka ei ihan ollut satarosenttinen, niin kyllä se kokemus oli.

p.s. Tänään on kulunut tasan 15 vuotta WTC-iskusta, ja halusin saada tän julkaistua tänään, ihan vaan sen vuoks, että siellä muistomerkeillä käytiin ja musta oli kaunista miten jokasen siellä henkensä menettäneen syntymäpäivänä heidän nimelle asetetaan valkoinen ruusu.

THE BEGINNING

Yes, I cried. It wasn't intended. Leaving home, family and friends for ten months really is something. I've denied my nervousness every time I've been asked, but even I don't believe myself. It's true that nervous isn't the first word that pops into my mind, though; that would be excited. I know this year is going to be beyond amazing.

For those of who dont know, I'm Eveliina, and I decided to be an exchange student the minute I heard such thing exists. I started my exchange process about a year ago, when I searched for potential organizations, and it didn't take too long to know that Explorius would be the one for me. It wasn't too big, and everything just seemed right. I attended an interview and soon got an email that I had been accepted to their program.

During my preparation for the year, I have probably wasted a tree amout of paper for all kinds of forms and applications, got myself vaccinated by a doctor about ten times, and stress eated the entire insides of our fridge for, turning out, nothing. Not to mention all the money that this has consumed. Shoutout for my mom for being such a huge part of all this, love you.

I'm currently in New York, or actually New Jersey, in the city of Newark. We have this Soft landing camp, where we learn all the necessities about adapting to America, the American culture, etc. before leaving to our host families. Obviously we're going to explore the Big Apple as well, but I'll tell you more about it in my next post.

I'd like to write about my thoughts on this mess I got myself into. It's the best mess of my life. I love this mess. Despite the fact I'll live with a family and go to school, I feel more independent already. I would never have guessed that I could do this much by myself. Of course, I haven't had any problems whatsoever, so we'll see how I handle the upcoming. Always hoping for the best, prepared for the worst. There's nothing that could crush me.

Why did I want to become an exchange student? I've always loved (the idea of) traveling and exploring new places and cultures, but a week or two in a country is only a first impression. I want to get to know a country all the way, learn how living in a different environment affects one's mind and behavior, get to be part of a slightly different society. We're all human, but even with all our similarities we have different ways to act. Why USA? I wanted to go to a place where I can learn English, but as much as I love the UK, I wanted to go further. Canada I find a bit too similar to Finland. Australia and New Zealand are amazing, but far more expensive than any other country, so the US was just right. I didn't get to choose the state, but I'm ever so happy with Utah.

Just for your information, all this text above has been written approximately two weeks ago, but because of some technical difficulties, I'm uploading it now. Oh, and if you scroll down, you'll see me and my lil sister's lil photoshoot from before I left.

Mietin pitkään, miten kirjottaisin tätä blogia ja päädyin sitte siihen että kirjotan ensin englanniksi ja sitte vasta suomeksi, koska harjotus on aina hyväksi. En käännä näitä tekstejä suoraan, enkä myöskään kirjota kaikkea sisältöä, niin saatte tekin suomalaiset vähän enkkureeniä.

Elikkä tässä mun piti kirjottaa vähän fiiliksiä ja sen semmosta ennen vaihtoon lähtöä, ei nyt oo ennen vaan sen aikana, mutta parempi myöhään kuin ei milloinkaan. Lähtöpäivänä (13. elokuuta 2016) mulle tuli pieni pupu pöksyyn, mutta kyllä se lentokoneeseen pääsyn jälkeen meni pois. Hetkellinen "en mä haluu lähteä" häipys heti, kun aatteli miten tylsää se olis jos en lähtiskään.

Vaikka nyt oonkin jo USA:ssa, en vieläkään ymmärrä sitä. Kaikki tuntuu niin epätodelliselta. Syy siihenkin, etten myöntänyt jännittäväni, oli se, etten ollut sisäistänyt lähtöäni. Varmaan aika tuttu tunne jokaselle vaihtarille jossain määrin. Meillä on ollut muiden vaihtareiden kanssa semmonen Soft landing camp Nykissä, ollaan opittu vähän maan tavoille ja kierrelty nähtävyyksiä. Siitä teen kuitenkin ihan oman postauksen. (kirjoitan tässä imperfektissä ja enkuksi futuurissa, syy tähän kirjoitusajankohdat... on ollu toiminnantäytteistä ohjelmaa ja vähäsesti wifiä)

Loput tosta enkunkielisestä tekstistä onkin pelkkää liibalaabaa, joten en jaksa vaivautua sanomaan siitä oikeen mitään. Hyvästit nyt vielä kerran kaikille rakkaille suomalaisille ja nähdään pian! Ikävä tulloo, sitä en kiellä, mut kyllä tää vuosi nopeesti mennöö. Ainiin, ja tässä alhaalla näet mun ja pikkusisko-Iitun pikku photoshootin ennen lähtöä.

- Eve