Another super-episode, covering from then till now. I wish I could devote more time to this, but if I had a nickel for every spare minute, I'd have 25 cents.
Easter in Finland has several traditional foods. One goes by the name Memo, a mixture of rye flour, water, and molasses that's baked and served cold with cream a sugar. It looks like crap, and many say it tastes the same, though it tasted interesting - I actually enjoyed it. Something completely new. The other main specialty is pronounced "Pasha," a mixture of several creamy cheeses, sugar, and dried fruit that's spread on dessert buns. Delicious. Boiled eggs and ham are also a must on easter. Knowing my dislike for boiled eggs, my host grandmother switched my "boiled egg" out for a chocolate-filled egg (real egg shell!). Waiting till the end of the meal, she sat the entire time waiting for me to finally crack the egg, which I'd saved to last. She even prodded me about it, asking if I liked boiled eggs, and why I didn't eat it. One should always have boiled eggs on Easter, you see.
I hit the All-American Car Show last month. How ironic that my first real car-show in recent memory turned out to be in Finland. I've just seen Mark Knopfler for free too......(the guitarist from "Dire Straits").
One of the coolest events that I've been too was this years swedish-speaking Student Parliament. This body politic controls the "Finlands Svenska Skolungdomsförbund," a student organization for swedish-speaking students in Finland. No equivalent of this student organization exists in the US - it's completely democratic, has money, and actually influences political decisions. The best part is that any swedish-speaking student can be a part of the parliament, including exchange students. I pride myself in the fact that I was one of the more vocal members, despite the language barrier. Fantastic Experience. Someone told me that my Swedish accent is "legendary, like one sees in movies." What that means, and whether it's a compliment I submit for debate.
I just returned from the St. Petersburg trip, which was one of the most amazing cities I've ever been to. I've never seen anything like it. Palaces sat next to abandoned, or run-down buildings. Such riches and such poverty.
There's nothing like that in the US. Since the USSR collapsed, Russia has put a lot of money into the old palaces and churches that had gone to pot under the Soviets. Very little money has gone into repairing and building "normal" buildings, which is why such a strong contrast exists in St. Petersburg, and Russia in general.
Rotary took us on a whirl-wind tour. They packed as much as possible into our two full days in St. Petersburg. We ran through the Hermitage in one hour. Unbelievable - one hour in one of the world's three greatest museums.
We also watched a ballet whose name I can't pronounce. We thought that it ended after the 2nd act, and went back to the busses only to be told that the 3rd act started soon.
On Sunday, Rotary treated us to a show of traditional Russian folk music in an incredible rococo-style building. Earlier, during our "free time," I went, along with almost everyone else to an incredible church. Its entire interior had been decorated with mosaic - no small undertaking.
Sadly, that was the last time I'm going to see a lot of those exchange students as I'm not attending the Euro Tour. On the positive side, I know have free places to stay throughout most of europe.
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