Saturday, April 24, 2010

One Month in Reflection

It's hard to believe it, but we've been here a month! Feels like we just got here, but I have to admit that we've accomplished a lot since we've been here. We've unpacked our house, we've bought cell phones, we've already become dependent on a GPS, we've been to the Helsinki Zoo, we've had Canadian visitors, we've become permanent residents of Finland, and the list goes on.

Obviously the highlight of the past month has been having my parents come. I hope they agree with me, but I am having a blast having them here! I took my mom to the grocery store today, and it was fun to share with her the neat things we could find and also the overpriced items. My dad has had fun cycling (once so far but big plans for the next few days) - Finland has more cycling paths than roads, it's a country built for bicycles! We may have actually convinced him to come back this summer, but we'll have to see. We went to the Helsinki Zoo today, Maddy's first trip to a zoo. Not as big as Toronto, obviously, but a wonderful time was had by all. She is now asking for "more animals" so we may have to get an annual pass.

I have to admit that I was extremely scared to move to Finland. I can say that now that we have our stuff, it's been easier than I imagined. Mostly due to Facebook and Skype and a visit from my family. My friends have been awesome sending me regular emails so I still feel in the loop and not so much like I vanished off the face of the earth.

My parents have enjoyed the Finnish way of life - Andrew has introduced them to the sauna and they have been attempting to beat the latest record of how hot they can make the sauna. Thank goodness we have an indoor pool outside the sauna that is freezing cold, they make frequent dips into the pool to prevent them from passing out. Today they got to 87 degrees Celsius - not sure if they are going to stop at that or not. My dad has been sitting outside for a while "recovering" so maybe they've hit their max!!!

Looking forward to what the second month in Finland has in store for us.
Kim

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