Wedding day

Again some time has gone by since I had something to write. These last weeks have been pretty boring, but I have still done some fun things as well. I have been to my friends’ summerhouses a couple of time, once we went to one summerhouse by boat. It took us 1.5 hours to get there and the weather was awesome, so that was a blast. Last Thursday I participated in my first orienteering competition for this summer. I did not do very well, but I was pretty tired that day because I had been at work before I competed. I have many more excuses too if that one is not good enough..

Yesterday my cousin got married so my whole family was at the wedding all day. I don’t know if Finnish weddings are very different from Canadian weddings, so I’ll tell you about what a Finnish one can be like. The couple was wed in church, the ceremony was maybe a half hour long. The priest said some words, the bride’s sister sang a song and everyone sang a wedding hymn. There were two bridesmaids and a bestman. The bridal march was composed by a Finnish composer, Toivo Kuula. I tried to find it on youtube, but I could only find a version with strings instead of organ, so I guess it will have to do. Here is the link if you want to listen to it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCNLXeyHt9Q&feature=related

The reception party was held at some sort of small theatre. The guests sat at long tables and the bride and groom had their own table on stage. We had dinner, dessert and a weddingcake. There was some program as well, for instance, at one point the bride was kidnapped and the groom had to come up with 17 words (because it was the 17th yesterday) to describe the bride to get her back. After the dinner there was a band and we danced. It was a nice wedding, but a little too hot right now to be wearing suits and dresses.. I was pretty sweaty before the night was over.

Me and my sister getting ready for the wedding

At the wedding ceremony

Helsinki

Last weekend I went to Helsinki, took the train down on Saturday and got back on Sunday. It felt really good to be back in the city again. The purpose of my trip was to go and get some summer clothes and shoes from my apartment (the stuff I didn’t think to pack in December..) and visit some friends. It was so good to see all my things again and my apartment! It really felt like coming home. And it was nice to take the trams again. I go almost everywhere by tram. I like them, even though they are slow and you meet lots of weird people on them. I spent the night at my friend’s apartment, a couple of my girls were there. We cooked, drank some wine, sat at the beach and then watched a movie. There was both a heavy metal festival and the pride festival in Helsinki that weekend, but I didn’t go to any of the events. Just chilled instead, and enjoyed the atmosphere of the city. I think it will be alright to go back to school there when the autumn comes.

Evening sun by the sea

The green trams of Helsinki

The house I live in

Heat

The weather here in Finland has not been the nicest, +15 degrees centigrade has been pretty normal. But today we had sunshine and between +25 and +27. Awesome! It was a little sweaty when I was biking at work today, but it was absolutely worth it. When I got home today I took my bikini and a book and was just chilling in the sun for a while, and later I did yoga on the lawn with my sister. Also very nice. I hope this hot spell will last! We are not used to this kind of heat here, so I had better make the most of it while it lasts.

Other than that, not much exciting stuff going on here. I went shopping yesterday and bought a tunic and matching leggings, so now I’m all set for summer events. One day more of work this week, then it’s weekend. A non-working one.

I didn’t bring my flute with me to Canada. I’ve been playing for close to 15 years now, and have never had a break. Now I had a 4 month brake, and I was a little nervous as to how that would work out. Would I be able to play again the same way I used to? Would I even want to play? I don’t even know why I left my flute in Finland in the first place, maybe I just wanted to test myself somehow. But the last month I had rented a flute, so I did play a little. But I didn’t have any sheet music, so it was mostly improvisations I was playing. It still felt great to play again after so long, like meeting an old friend. And now when I got back home and found all my old sheet music and tried to play again, I realized I still remember! My fingers still know how to do many of the songs I’ve played so many times. It felt great. It must be almost like riding a bike, you never forget how to do it. You may be a little bit insecure in the beginning, but it will get better with some practice.