Hello there my blog you,
So the next part of my gap year has officially begun, and as always I'm thrown straight into the deep end. I've been in Finland for 2 and half weeks now. I'm staying exactly 4 months, 3rd Jan - 3rd May.
I spent the first week with my fam in Finland, I had a few days in Helsinki and saw my Disney friend Elisa which was great :D then I went up to Joensuu in eastern Finland by train with my cousin Mikko and his girlfriend as that is where I am now au pairing. I stayed with my Aunt and Uncle in Joensuu for the remaining few days and did some shopping and went bowling with my three cousins and their bfs/gfs before meeting my au pair fam. I actually had the flu/a very bad cold for the entire first week that I was here, which was typical considering I'd just arrived! I don't think I could have caught it here in Finland as I actually started feeling ill the first night I arrived and a few of my friends back home had been ill, so I blame them I'm sure! There is of course lots of snow here and in Joensuu it has been very cold some days, it has ranged so far from -2 as the warmest and -30 as the coldest. I haven't really had too much trouble with it though, I think the amount of warm clothes my Mum bought me has really paid off!
SO i am into the second week with my au pair family. The mum Satu is really nice and chatty, we get on very well and do quite a lot of things together. She is very busy with her work as she's a doctor and always has lots to do in the evenings too so doesn't get much of a break, so I've been helping her get things done. Her daughter is 11 and caled Riikka. She could'nt be better behaved and is very sweet. She loves horses and was quite shy at first but now chats to me quite a lot and tries the English out on me that she has learnt. Her son Tatu though is a real handful. He can be quite a sweet kid as he likes playing with me. We play cars, and shooting games running round the house. We read toghether sometimes and he recently built a den is his room that he likes to play in. On the other hand he doesn't have any control over his temper. If he doesn't have his way in the slightest he gets very angry and can cry/throw things/ lash out at people a lot and it is next to impossible to calm him down. I felt I was controlling this ok in the first week but the past 2 days have been very difficult as he is home all afternoon with me without his mum and its hard for me to know what to do when he has a tantrum and throws mine or Riikka's things around. I realise this is part of the job, so I will have to stand up to it and let him know I am in charge, but for people who know me they should realise by now that the one thing I am terible at doing is standing up for myself, so this will be a real challenge for me. I am really enjoying everything else about the job and being here, so I really hope that the difficulties I have with Tatu don't ruin it as it is becoming very difficult for me. I am determined to not let it get to me and to work it out somehow so I'll up date on that next time, fingers crossed.
My work generally consists of clearing snow (lots of it!) from the drive, doing some cleaning, looking after Tatu in the afternoon and the children in general when Satu is out e.g. getting them to bed. I also have done lots of cooking such as lasagne, vegetable dishes, spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce, macaroni cheese and chocolate/coffee cakes etc. Some have been very successful, others less so, but I guess that's how you learn! It is all good practise for uni I am sure. In the evenings I have been going to a couple of exercise classes with Satu, going with Satu to take Tatu to football or Riikka to horseriding, going food shopping. Hopefully I am starting a Finnish grammar course twice a week starting next week in the evening.
I have one full day off a week and another day in parts, so I have been seeing my family who live in the same town. It is really nice that I have them as I'm not sure who else I would spend it with! I went shopping one morning with my aunt last week and then at the weekend on Sunday I was at my cousin's Anna with my aunt and Uncle then went to the Cinema with my other cousing Ellu. I should be seeing then again this weekend which is a nice break away. It makes me feel a lot more at home by having them with me here.
So the beginning of this experience has been quite a mixture as I have explained. I said when I first did this blog that I would put the bad aswell as the good bits so I want to do that still. Over all there have been many positive things so far, and I'm sure my Finnish is improving (we speak 2 days Finnish,2 days English) which is the main reason I came here. There are some difficult parts to the job to be sure, but I am optimitic that my time here we be very positive.
I will write again soon <3
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