Too Happy to be Homesick: The Heavier Side of My Blazer(s)

First and foremost, I’m sorry for the late update, as you can probably imagine, I’ve been busy.

This year is continuing rapidly, and it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. As this year progresses, I have noticed that changes appear to be the most prominent baggage accompanying exchange.

For me, I feel as though changes are happening fluidly, but sometimes I stop to think about where I was four fleeting months ago. My summer days consisted of sleeping, binge watching 90210, becoming the best smoothie artist in Booster Juice history, and daily pilates classes. Now a days, sleep is the only common denominator. I spend my time dancing, Rotary meetings, and also having the experience of a lifetime. My weekends are also no less than exciting, as I am often with friends and travelling.

I have been in Finland four months now (are you getting tired of me telling you how long I’ve been away?), so this means as a Rotary Exchange Student, I changed host families.

I didn’t realize how close people become in such brief periods of time. In the short three months I spent with the Heiskari Family, I fell in love with their dog, found my rhythm in a new place, and truly appreciated all of the basement movie nights. Thank you again for all that you have done for me, I can’t wait to see all of you guys again.

My new host family has given me the gift of laughter in the form of a smiley three-year-old girl named Minttu. I am also so thankful for my host-mom, Marjo. She was an au pair in Boston, and when I say “I’m in Phase Two”, she knows exactly what I mean.

Lifetime of exchange, in phases:

Phase One – The Honeymoon

This is the time when everything is new and exciting and you are in love with everything that your host country has to offer.

Phase Two – As the Going Gets Tough…

This is when you begin to notice the small differences between your home and host cultures that may cause you to feel homesick, usually around Christmas time when you remember all of the traditions you may miss during your year abroad.

Phase Three – Thriving

This is when you understand the culture to the best of your ability and you are ready to thrive in this environment by understanding that cultures aren’t necessarily “right” or “wrong” but simply, “different”.

My host mom gave me some great advice, so for any other exchange students that are feeling slightly “Phase Two” as the holidays get closer; remember that telling yourself that this feeling will pass and things will change is the first step to really accepting the cultural differences, and becoming the exchange student that Rotary has supported and encouraged thus far.

Since my last post our second jakso (period) has finished, so this means many exams and a bit of studying. Now we are into our new classes which are already off to a great start.

But most importantly, since my last blog post, the Finnish exchange students had their Lapland Tour. We spent 4 amazing days together and I can’t believe how many activities the Suomi Rotex fit into our few days up north.

Day 1: I got on the bus to Muonio at 4:30 AM and we arrived at the Harriniva accommodations at 10:30 AM. We spent the day exploring the area, enjoying the snow, and greeting all of the 130 exchange students that we hadn’t seen for over three months.

Day 2: we spent the day at the ski center near by, I had forgotten how much I loved skiing but once I had become comfortable with my skis I was invited to accompany the boys from the Alps. *feeling proud* It was then soon after a fellow Canadian, Emily, attempted slope parkour, which was unsuccessful as she ended up without skis and in a pile of snow. After we had a good laugh, we went up the hill again, and lucky me, I also ended up without skis, and with snow in my pants. We were both okay, but surprised that we tumbled down the hill, one after the other. That evening we also had an outdoor dinner, overall a night full of culture and new experiences.

Day 3: my day started off at a nature conservation center where we learned about the animals and foliage of northern Finland. We then went to a historic house where we learned about the lifestyle of Northern Finland’s Sami people, and their close relationship with reindeer. We went to an ice castle that was in the process of being built, and the precision that was involved with this ice sculpture was truly incredible. We then finished our morning with a quick stop in Sweden. Then we went to visit the huskies; the only thing I wanted to do was lay in the snow and get covered in puppies, although this was a fantasy, my reality was pretty close, there were over 50 dogs there and I was allowed to pet almost every one of them. Our husky visit concluded with a dog sled ride. THEN we went to visit the reindeer and also went for a reindeer sled ride, and finished by snowshoeing back to Harriniva.

Day 4: we went for a stop in Santa’s Village to visit Joulupukki, then had to say our quick goodbyes as the bus made it’s way south, dropping off exchange students along the way.

Now, the title “The Heavier Side of My Blazer(s)”. I saw a post in this widely known “You Know You’re a Rotary Youth Exchange Student When…” group on Facebook, and it explained that this boy had been putting all of his pins that meant something special to him, on the left side of his blazer (by his heart). As I read this I remembered adding pins to my blazer(s) with my new host sister, Moona, last Saturday, and I subconsciously did the exact same thing...

I found three pins that said “Leticia Muniz” on them, and I remembered when she gave them to me, once at lunch when she was just a name on a pin, twice when we were told we were in the same district, and thrice when we had our first lunch date. Since then we have spent countless hours in class together, at coffee and most recently, in Tupos. I couldn’t believe all of the things that these small pieces of plastic reminded me of… I then purposely put them on the left side of my blazer(s).

Then I continued to think about all of the changes that have happened so far this exchange, and just like the pins can be rearranged, added, and removed, my life can adapt to change as well. I guess I finally began to symbolically understand my Rotary Blazer(s).

Happy Holidays Everyone,

Mackie