Differences between the Finnish, and other European saunas.

The first thing that surprised me, was the way Finnish people use the sauna. In my homeland there is a sand glass inside a sauna to measure the time we spend in there, and we usually stay only 15 minutes at once. But not the Finnish people. They go inside in the morning and only come out at after midnight. Another thing that I have noticed is that the saunas are heated to a much higher temperature. And in my country we can’t adjust the temperature inside. In these saunas they throw water on the sauna stones, and as the water becomes steam, the air heatens up. Finnish people also have this habit, which was shocking for me when I first heard about it, and it goes like this: during winter, they throw themselves in the snow or have a quick dip in a frozen lake in the middle of their sauna visit, wearing only socks (so the toes will not freeze) and a hat.

 

Daily report

26.3.2016

The day started with Germans' activities. Everyone was still a little bit sleepy so we started with an energizer to wake up (coffee sometimes is just not enough).  After the energizer, we were separated into groups and then we were given a piece of paper, with four challenges which we had to take pictures of.

(Rudolf the red nosed reindeer)

(5 nations, one unity)

(Crazy selfie)

(It's magic)

As the picture challenge ended, we were once again separated, but into groups of nations. They gave us a quiz about Germany and every country scored pretty well at it. Germans ended their activity in style - they gave us food. Every participant got a chance to try the pastry called Käskuchen.

When the Germans' activities were over, everyone went to do sports. Some went snowboarding or skiing, others went sledging. Some rather stayed inside in the sports hall and played a sport, which Finnish people really like, named floorball. Floorball is a sport similar to hockey, the only diffrence is, that its played inside and not on ice.
After the delicious lunch and some free time, we worked in working groups. Time just flew by. Then we watched a slideshow of pictures and videos that were made in Inari. We also practised the dance for the flashmob and I can say for sure, that everyone had fun.
In the evening some people went to sauna, others watched a traditional finnish movie named Santa Claus and the magical drum (Joulupukki ja noitarumpu). Each group of people enjoyed their evening in their own special way. Let's end with a fun fact - one of the Finnish participants said that they watch this movie every year on Christmas.

Daily reports

24.03.2016

We started off the day with a couple of energizers. After working in groups for a while, we went outside to have a snow fight. It was pretty warm outside considering the fact that we are in Lapland. We were divided in two groups and had sliding competition. Time went by very fast while we were having these fun outdoor activities. We had our lunch and Heidi, our exchange's organizer, held a short info on taking pictures of northern lights. The Italians had prepared some very amusing activities for the rest of us. We worked in groups for a while again, then had some more free time. Most of us went to sauna which is always a nice and relaxing way to finish the day.

25.03.2016

This day was mainly spent in Inari, which is located 10 kms away. Before leaving the youth center, we had some energizers to make the wait for the taxis more bearable. First, we went to a museum called Siida to find out more about the history of Inari and the Sami people. Our task for the day was to connect with local people and present our open evening. We were once again divided in groups and each group had to connect with at least 5 people. The people were surprisingly friendly and willing to help us. When the task was completed we had some free time to explore the village a bit better and get some souvenirs from the shops. We also went to see reindeer in Inari's Reindeer farm.

Poem about Finland

My nose is freezing

And also feet

If you don’t dress enough

You will get sick

Look to the sky at the night

And adore the northern light

You can adore the landscape as well

And you will never want to go away

You can try sauna

And throw yourself into snow

Or you can go see reindeers

Including Rudolf too

People here are… nice

It’s not hard to break the ice

Their language is hard to understand

But hey dude, you are in Finland

(Patricija Fele, Slovenia)

Storywriting

The white cloak of snow covering nearly everything in sight. The frosty air biting your nose making the bare skin numb. The beautiful purity of snow and ice filling one‘s sight with wonder and admiration. The coldness upon your face is refreshing, making your nose and cheeks blush from the chilling feel of bleak gusts of wind. Snow, floating gently from the cloud-filled sky, soundlessly settling, veiling the world in a cozy comforter of white silk. It‘s my favourite part of winter, when time seems to hold still for a brief second, allowing those who are willing to take  a moment and acknowledge the beauty. 

(Silja Dagrún, Iceland)

Daily reports

22.03.2016

On the very first day of our exchange, the alarm was set to a bit later than usual due to our late arrival at night. After getting a good breakfast we started the day with some get to know each other and icebreaker games. During the day we also got to talk about our fears and expectations concerning the exchange. The most common desire amongst our participants was to see the northern lights. Some of us got to fulfill that wish on the same night. We all participated in making the rules. Aino, one of our leaders, showed us around the venue. Then we divided our dance, photography, film, music, and social media groups. The cherry on the cake was that we had a welcome sauna at night, and some of us were even feeling brave enough to throw themselves in the snow.



23.03.2016

After having a good night's sleep, we worked in groups and had some energizers. Some of us went to visit the local school in Inari, which is located ten kilometers away from Vasatokka. The school only includes 136 students aged from 7 to 16, meaning it was a very small one. They went to present our exchange and Erasmus+ to 8th graders, and they also organised some games for them. The students were a bit shy at first, but they started to loosen up a bit as they were playing the games. The teachers and kids gave us some feedback which is always welcome. Later that day, the Hungarians were assigned to come up with some activities for us in which they totally succeeded. One of the activities was to get divided in groups of five and creating a spaceship. We were only given 15 minutes and had a limited amount of supplies, but everyone used their creativity and came up with unique creations. In the afternoon we played knots outside and had a snow race. Most of us gave up from the beginning, but others continued to the top. For dinner we had a barbecue night and cooked our own veggies and sausages in the cozy tepee. Some even stayed for dessert and baked their own pulla, which is a word for ''bun'' in Finnish. 

                     

Day of arrival

To arrive somewhere, you need to travel. So did we. Here are some photos which were made while we were traveling to the place where exchange takes place. We asked some participants to describe their journey in three words. Lets start.

ICELAND:

48-hours. Exciting. New experience.

SLOVENIA:

Salmiakki. Fun. Tiring.

ITALY:

Northern lights. Happy. Two planes.

HUNGARY:

Homeless. Exhausting. Coffee.

FINLAND:

Short. Music. Knitting.

GERMANY:

Smooth. Beautiful. Blueberry juice.