Finnish Break

“Hit the gas Papi!!” - Kelsey Black

After 4 months of living in Finland, and two months of scheming, tonight was the night that I made my break. This was intended to be a single man job, however others had to be involved as I found them necessary to my escape. If you are reading this now, I have managed to break out of Finland to surprise my family for Christmas. 

It all started 2 months ago when I found out that I was going to get 2 weeks off for Christmas. I had purchased a large ticket earlier in the year that needed to be redeemed so I didn’t lose all 1600 dollars (long story, not important). In order to make any of this escape possible, I would have to have an accomplice from the outside arrange the flight details. I confided in Greg Walker who followed through and agreed that it would be fun to surprise everyone, and especially my mom. I have encountered minor setbacks along the way but as I am writing this post I am en route and in Frankfurt, Germany. After the ticket had been booked, the real plotting began. How was I going to lie to my mom and to everyone else for the next two months? I have never been able to do anything remotely surprising, and I couldn’t spill the beans on this. I have been telling my mom that I would only be getting 4 days off for Christmas, and that I would have to spend it with someone from church here in Finland.

Necessary steps to making my break...

1- An accomplice: Greg Walker

2- Partner in crime: Kelsey Black

3- Several Blog Posts talking about how excited I am for my Finnish Christmas

4- The interception of a Christmas present about to be shipped to Finland from the US

5- The request of an early Christmas treat package (because I needed my contacts ;) )

6- Lying on national television just incase my family happens to watch our match

7- Bus rides with Estonian volleyball teams after they beat us

8- Running with the Finnish bus system on the fly in bitter bitter cold temperatures

9- 7 hours of waiting in the Helsinki airport

10- 12 hours of waiting in Frankfurt

11- Hotel stay in New York 

12- Final Destination...Kaysville, Utah

When everything was set and the time was right (December 16th at 5:30), we hijacked the Viljiandi Volleyball team’s bus. They were traveling to Estonia and would be reaching the West Helsinki ship Harbor at 10:00PM. In order to make this work as cheaply as possible, this was the only way. Once on the bus Kelsey Black held a Coke to the bus drivers head and exclaimed, “HIT THE GAS PAPI!” (At this point I knew we had a Prison Break problem. I introduced Kelsey to this show two weeks ago and she is already on season 3. You know you have been watching too much prison break when their phrases flow out of your mouth with out even thinking about it :) I about died when she said that! I am on season 4 right now and feel like I am about to lose my best friends when the series ends. I had a dream that I was Sarah the other night and Scofield was taking me with him...hahaha We watch wayyyyy too much prison break. Hence the theme of this post.) Anyhow, the bus driver did just as he was told and made it to the Harbor in absurd timing. They were on the last ship out for the night and since our game went to 5 sets, they were cutting it pretty dang close. Their bus driver pulled through and in the nick of time they were on the ship and our real adventure was actually beginning. 

When we knew we could get to Helsinki for free, instead of paying 80 or 90 Euros we had to jump on the opportunity. Once we got to the ship harbor we ran into the problem of still being 40 Kilometers from the airport and had to maneuver our way through their tram and bus system. Of course we tried to research this before we left, but it made no sense and we knew we would be winging it. Luckily for us, there was a girl just closing her shop at the station who told us how to get to the main Helsinki Bus station. I have been there before and felt at least a tiny bit familiar to it when we got there...Like I knew what it looked like haha. First we had to get on a standing room only tram that cost 2,70 Euros (Are you kidding me?!? Nothing is that cheap in Finland...we felt like we were getting a steal). Once we arrived at the main station we were once again fighting the cold and our complete cluelessness. As two Americans stood right in the center of the station looking overwhelmed and baffled, I am sure, the sweetest lady in the entire world came up to us and asked us if she could help. We told her we needed to find the bus to the Airport, and she told us where the light board was so that we could find the information...then she decided she would just take us to the light board...then once we got out there she decided that she would just talk to the bus driver for us as well. haha She went so out of her way to get us on the right bus and heading on our way. I am so grateful for this woman’s kindness, as I am sure our escape would have failed without her, and Kelsey and I would have been found dead this morning with our faces stuck to the light board and our bodies like fragile icicles. This winter stuff is no joke here! haha Did I mention that the bus to the Airport was 4,50 Euros? So we made it from Pihtipudas to Helsinki Vantaa Airport for 7,20 Euros. I would say that is a successful travel trip, and both Kelsey and I feel very accomplished...in case you couldn’t tell ;). 

I knew that I would have LOTS of waiting time since we started our break on Sunday afternoon and I wouldn’t be arriving in Utah until Tuesday at 10:30, but since I am trying to do this as cheaply as possible, we both decided that we didn’t need a hotel and would just chill at the airport from 11:00PM till our flights at 6:30AM. To our surprise this is quite a common thing, as the benches were all filled with sleeping passengers. One man even had a blowup mattress... he has clearly done this before (We thought he was blowing his nose super loud before we found out that it was a mattress). Kelsey and I were rookies to the all night airport stay and started going crazy the longer we had to wait. We both knew it was going to be a LONG trip home, but so incredibly worth it. At 6:35AM on December 17, 2012 I had escaped from Finland, but that was just the beginning. Once out of the country, my travel started to get exhausting. I landed in Frankfurt Germany at 7:30AM and have been sitting here by myself for 5 hours at this point, and have 6 more hours till I board my flight to NYC. 

My ticket was complicated because I couldn’t have anyone following me easily. The only way to make my flight work was to fly into JFK Monday night and fly out Tuesday morning. Of course my plan once again, was to hangout in the airport over night and catch my 6:55AM flight. My sweet dad wasn’t super stoked about this idea so he arranged for me to have a hotel room once I arrive in JFK tonight at 8:00PM. If all goes smoothly, I will be surprising my mom Tuesday morning after my dad picks me up from the airport. (He is pretending to go to work like a normal day, but actually he took the day off :)) Sneaky Dad! haha He also had to intercept a Christmas package that my mom was about to send to Finland with all of my presents in it. He called her as she was almost to the post office and told her that someone from work had brought him these awesome mittens from Mongolia and he wanted to put them in the package. He told her he would just mail it after he put them in. Otherwise I would have gotten Christmas in Kaysville, and then again when I got back to Finland...not bad :) I will have a package from Rae Jean when I get back from Christmas because it didn’t make it before I left, but it will give me something to look forward to.

In my next post I will let you know how I decided to surprise my mom. I haven’t planned that far, but I still have over 24 hours to think about just how I am going to do it :)

Oh, and PS: I miss my travel buddy! I am almost positive that Frankfurt would be so much funnier with her here. She will be in Texas before I land in New York.

Merry Christmas!!

Such a Cute Sister

Davis High's Walker tops All-Area Volleyball squad

By Dennis Larsen

Standard-Examiner staff

Tue, 12/11/2012 - 10:14am

Images

KAYSVILLE — Going into battle is like blowing out birthday candles. Close your eyes and pick out something you love. Focus on that one thing and nothing else matters.

Such is the passion that intertwines Camille Walker with volleyball.

“How are we ever going to replace a Camille Walker with everything she does?” Davis High coach Lori Salvo said. “Camille was solid in every position. She was a very humble player, not cocky or arrogant.”

In Walker’s three years as a starter, the Darts rang up a Region 1 three-peat with a scintillating 33-1 record and swept the 2011 state 5-A championship. Davis took third place in the 5-A tournament in both 2010 and 2012 and compiled a 90-12 overall mark.

“I have no regrets in high school,” said the 17-year-old Walker, who signed with BYU on Nov. 18. “The whole journey of it and the time I got to spend with the girls and coaches. They are some of my closest friends.

“I stopped playing other sports when I started playing club ball because volleyball is all I ever wanted to do,” she said.

Pleasant Grove, a team the Darts swept in their Aug. 21 season opener, knocked out Davis in three sets in the 5-A semifinals on Nov. 3 at Utah Valley University.

“As much as it sucked to lose, it’s past and not something I think about,” Walker said. “Since I’ve signed, it’s in the past. I have other things to look forward to and it’s not the end of my career.

“Pleasant Grove came out and played a lot stronger than we did,” she said. “We had a hard time putting the ball away and our mindset wasn’t where it needed to be. We didn’t expect them to beat everybody like they did. It was a bummer losing to them twice. We were looking for revenge against Pleasant Grove at state, but it didn’t happen.”

Walker joins her older sister, Kayla, in being selected the Standard-Examiner All-Area Volleyball Team’s Most Valuable Player.

Kayla earned the prestigious high school honor during her 2005 senior year at Davis.

“Kayla has been my biggest role model in volleyball, so to win the award as she did means a lot to me and is kind of special,” Camille said.

Kayla, who signed with Pepperdine out of high school, finished her college career at BYU in 2009.

“I committed a year ago to BYU,” Walker said. “It’s scary because it’s getting closer, but I’m excited.”

She will enroll in summer school, starting June 24.

“I’ll be able to lift and do some things with the team before fall semester. I’m taking three classes,” Walker said. “Right now, I want to go into exercise science, but I don’t want to be a trainer.

“Early in the recruiting process, I was considering going out of state. I made an unofficial visit the summer before my junior year at San Diego. But I didn’t want to leave my mom and dad,” she said. “I’m a homebody; I wanted to stay in state.”

“Camille is so positive and upbeat and continued to do whatever it took to make our team better,” Salvo said. “She didn’t let anything get to her and never let the little things bother her. I loved what kind of teammate and person Camille was.

“Camille reminds me of (my daughter) Airial in how she makes her teammates feel,” Salvo said. “She became a better all-around player in every aspect of the game. Camille never came to me and said, ‘Coach I need more swings.’ I think she will do well at the next level. Camille is a stud muffin who I love and she rocks. But I can say that about all my players.”

In watching her play, you would never know Walker has senior rheumatoid arthritis.

She got the devastating news nine months ago.

“I was first diagnosed in March, but I was feeling pain for three months before that. It wasn’t constant, then it started becoming constant in February,” Walker said. “They have me on medication, so as long as I take my medication, I’m fine.”

She was experiencing pain in her shoulders, wrists, knees, elbows, ankles and feet — anywhere her body flexes.

“It made me want to work that much harder and not stop me from playing,” Walker said. “I’m not going to let this stop me, and there was no way I was going to miss my senior year or any of college.

“It wasn’t going to change me as a person,” she said. “It’s been really hard and has been a trial. I’m grateful for the little things, and it has made me more humble. For the most part, I’m not physically limited in what I can do.”

A Finnish Christmas

It is definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I love this time of year, and am so excited to get to experience Christmas, Finnish style. Sauna, glogg, and gingerbread cookies?...Yes, please! :) I am sad to not be able to spend this time of year with my family, but feel so lucky to be able to experience new traditions and customs. In case life wasn't good enough to me already, it has been so much more fun since Kelsey got here. Here is a little update on our Christmas celebrations this last week...

December 6th is the Suomi Independence Holiday. We played HPK on Thursday, and then had the rest of the week off in celebration of the nation's big day. Friday was pretty quiet at home, but since we didn't have a Christmas tree in our apartment we felt it very important that we conjure up some sort of decorations.

With Justin B's christmas music blasting, I would say our decorating was a definite success.

The kitchen is by far our favorite room in the apartment, and especially now with all of our Christmas lights and ornaments. We even have our own advent calendar.

After getting into the Christmas spirit, we headed to Jyvaskyla to do some Christmas shopping and more importantly...Christmas eating :)

Jyvaskyla was filled with lights and holiday music, which was perfect for Kelsey's first time in the 'BIG City.' haha! She was shocked to see so many people compared to our village of 3...thousand. After all of our shopping we of course needed to eat, and thought we would try out a local Mexican restaurant.

Good thing we decided to share because it was HUUUUGE!
But oh so yummy!

We were super tired from the day and so we went back to Outi's place to hang out for the night. Kelsey is the perfect roommate because around 9:00 we were both starving once again and headed out for our 4th meal of the day.

 There is a local Jyvaskylan pizza place called Ali Babba that we thought we would give a try. My friend Sarah recommended it to me and we figured why not. It ended up being AMAZING, and we will definitely be going back everytime we go to Jyvaskyla. It was by far the best pizza I have had in Finland. And for only 7 Euros this pizza was big enough to last for dinner, breakfast, lunch, and dinner again. Mom and Dad, when you come to Finland we will be eating here :)

Sunday I was able to go to church. It is one of my favorite places. I love when I get to go, and am so grateful that it always works out that I can make it when we don't have games. I got to see Morgan and she shared an amazing American treat that I had almost forgotten about.

This was the best potato I have had in Finland. Thanks for sharing your American treats Morgan! It is always a good day to get to enjoy the small things from home.

We had to hurry back to Pihtipudas on Sunday afternoon because there was a HUGE concert at the high school, haha. Okay, it's a bit of an exaggeration but the group is super popular here and Kelsey and I had to take coats at the door. 

It was fun to have something to do, and while we had no idea what they were singing about...we enjoyed the concert anyways.

The band is called YO, and they have been around for 30 years. Everyone knows their music here and like them enough to come to our little village to watch them live.

Monday was a great relaxing day. After sleeping in till 12, Kelsey and I headed to Viitasari for massages. We stopped at the LIDL store and bought Finnish Christmas pastries, Gingerbread cookie dough, and 60 Karelian Pies. Then got back to Pihtipudas with just enough time to watch an episode of Prison Break and then head over to Arto's for our regular Monday night TV game watching.

Today, was so weird to wake up and have volleyball again. After 5 days off I had already forgotten what I needed to take with me to practice. I felt like I hadn't played in months. Once we warmed up it felt so great to be playing again, and I was reminded just how much I love this game. We play Viljiandi on Sunday, and the rest of this week will be spent prepping for the match. We can win this game and as a team we need this match to get back on track. Hopefully things will be up from here. After our match we will practice till the 21st and then have a few days off to celebrate our Finnish Christmas. However, Kelsey and I couldn't wait that long, sooooo...we decided to start celebrating TODAY! We made traditional Finnish Christmas Pastries and Gingerbread Cookies, while we sipped on deliciously hot Glogg.

For all of you Finns that happen to read this blog post, I really did try to make these into flowers. I promise before they went into the oven that they looked like they were supposed to, ha. I don't know what happened while they were in there, but I apologize for the embarrassing look of the pastry. Next time I will push the middles down better :) Anyhow, they tasted good and we devoured them just the same.

 I love this time of year, and have loved celebrating in ways that I never have before. The rest of this week will also be filled with fun. Thursday is team sauna night (which of course includes dinner), and Saturday Outi is going to show us how to make Karelian Pies (which of course includes more food). I am so grateful for my teammates, and I couldn't have asked for a more fitting roommate...because when I am waking up at 2 in the morning and wanting a midnight snack, she is never far behind haha It has been such a great week and I can't wait for all of the fun ahead in the next couple to come. I couldn't be more ready for my Finnish Christmas to be here.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the perfect Christmas package this week. I got the most adorable stocking and so many yummy treats to make this Christmas a little more 'homey.' I LOVED IT! And they FINALLY got the Crystal Light right! Strawberry Wild has never tasted so good, and not only did I get over 20 packets, but each one is for 2 Quarts...I think it will last me until I head home in April. Yummm!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Winter Wonderland

I am living in the most unbelievably beautiful country in the world. Saying that Finland is a winter wonderland doesn't even begin to capture this fairytale Christmas heaven, and the pictures just don't do it justice. I kid you not when I say it snows glitter here. Even in the dark, the snow sparkles like diamonds. I have never seen anything like it before and I am totally and completely hot weather, beach bum...but even I can't deny how lucky I am to get to experience this everyday... even if we were averaging -24 degree weather this last week. Ummm...FREEEEEEEEEEZING!!!

This explains a little bit of what I am experiencing...

+15 °C, Spanish wear caps, gloves and winter coats, Finns are sunbathing.
+10 °C, French desperately try to get their central heating on. Finns plant flowers.
+5 °C, Italian cars won't start. Finns drive with convertibles.
0 °C, Pure water freezes. Water in river Vantaa thickens a bit.

−5 °C, First people are found frozen in California. Finnish midsummer festival ends.

−10 °C, Scottish turn the heat on in their houses. Finns start to use long-sleeve shirts.

−20 °C, Swedes stay indoors. Finns are having last barbeque before winter.

−30 °C, Half of the Greek people have frozen to death. Finns start to dry their laundry indoors.

−50 °C, Polar bears evacuate North Pole. Finnish army starts it's winter training.

−70 °C, Siberian people are moving to Moscow. Finns are furious since the Koskenkorva booze can't be stored outdoors anymore.

−273 °C, Absolute zero. Finns admit that it is quite cold outside.

−300 °C, Hell freezes over. Finland wins the football World Cup.

It made me laugh :)

Volleyball has been a little rough lately, and we can't seem to get into a rhythm on the court. Kelsey Black moved to Pihtipudas last week and is my new roommate. Love, love, love her! It is so fun to have another American on the team and I am so glad that it is her. She is awesome and we have had a blast decorating our kitchen with Christmas lights and ornaments while listening to JB's Christmas album, or doing who knows what to pass the time in between practices. When I first moved to Finland nothing American worked over here; Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, or any type of online show. When Kelsey got here she mentioned Netflix and as I was explaining to her that it doesn't work in Finland...she pulled it up on her computer. Netflix has changed my life this week. Soooo excited to finally have it in Finland AND have been spending my time loving every second of my dear Prison Break. Favorite show EEEEEVERRRR! I had forgotten just how much I loved it the first three times I watched all 4 seasons and 'The Final Break.' I lay in bed telling myself that I will just watch one episode and as that episode is ending I am dying to know what is going to happen next (Yes, I already know and it still keeps me hooked). It's a problem, I know...haha I got Kelsey hooked on it this week as well, and she now has the Prison Break bug too.

There are some scary people in this world and some scary places, BUT Finland is not one of them. I have heard over and over again how safe Finland is and that I don't have to worry about anything happening to me here. I am convinced this is because it is too cold for anyone to even want to walk outside, and there really are not many people that live here. My village especially is tiny, and I walk everywhere and never feel scared. Considering it is only light for 4 hours a day, walking around in darkness is still not in the least bit terrifying. I found out a few weeks ago that Pihtipudas is so safe that they don't even have a police department. If something were to happen it would take the police 45 minutes just to get here, ha! Thank heavens for Sepo though...

This is the self proclaimed Sheriff of Pihtipudas, Finland! haha No need to worry mom, Sepo is keeping me safe. 

While he is completely out of his mind, it keeps us quiet entertained. Unfortunately I couldn't upload the video of him dancing around SMarket, but it was by far one of the best things I have seen in the last 4 months.

I can't believe I have already been here for 4 months. The time has flown and I just want it to slow down so it never ends. The only thing that would make this adventure better would be some points for our team in the league :). 

TV Game

We have had the last two weeks free from games, and I am so excited to finally get to play again! We play Liiga Eura at 6:25pm on Monday. It is our only TV match for the season, so if you happen to not be working, bored, and have an extra $10 on Monday around 9:30am...feel free to watch online at URHOTV. Although, if you leave NOW you can make it to Finland to see it in person. I can guarantee that the quality will be much better than watching on a screen, and there is a free place to stay. Just be sure to bring your winter coats, boots, hats, gloves, and scarves!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, and here's a post to breaking traditions!!

My typical Thanksgiving consists of family, turkey with cranberry sauce, mom's homemade orange rolls, stuffing, potatoes, and the works. This year was a first in breaking the usual Thanksgiving traditions. It was what I will call a skinny Thanksgiving (and no...it is not because I have lost weight) There was no turkey, no gravy, and no pie. Last week I found the recipe for Kneader's pumpkin bread and made it to take with me to Jyvaskyla for the weekend. It was so yummy and so I froze a loaf to eat for Thanksgiving breakfast this week. I ate one slice for breakfast and gave the rest of it to my coach so that it wouldn't tempt me all weekend.  I am better off for not having it to tempt me and everyone who has tried pumpkin chocolate chip bread here in Finland has loved it. So I was glad to share. (Thanks mom for sending the pumpkin from America) Thats pretty much where my Thanksgiving ended...I had an egg and cheese quesadilla for lunch and for dinner I made a low carb Zucchini lasagna that was surprisingly delicious. Instead of using noodles you slice the zucchini into strips.

And for dessert...There was no pie, but there definitely was BANAANIRAHKA! This translates to Quark in english and I had never heard of it before I came to Finland. It's super high in protein and the closest thing I can relate it to is greek yogurt...maybe...and I love it!

My next broken tradition deals with the bitter cold Finnish winters. Before I moved to Finland, I talked to several people trying to get a feel for what I was getting myself into.

The first girl that I talked to said, "I was there during the coldest winter that Finland has had in the last decade." 

The second girl that I talked to said, "I was in Finland during the coldest winter they have had this century." 

This pattern seemed to follow for every American that has ever been to Finland. I am not sure how each of them could have had the coldest winters that Finland has ever had, but I have come to the conclusion that it is a tradition. You can't live in Finland and come back to the States without saying that you were there during the coldest winter EVER!! Keep in mind that is also what I will say when I get back, because I am sure that mine really will be ;) So here is where this tradition actually breaks...It is November, 43 degrees, and no snow. One of my teammates said that it is one of the warmest winters Finland has had in a long time. THIS is a tradition I am more than happy to break...I just hopes it stays that way :) 

...A girl can wish

I would like to interrupt this post momentarily for some cute pictures of my nephew Riley Walker

And now resume breaking traditions blog post

There is a tradition in the US that you can't listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. It is like an unwritten rule so that Thanksgiving can bask in all it's glory without getting overshadowed by Christmas. I am loving that Finland is completely different, and because Fin's obviously don't celebrate Thanksgiving, it's party time from the day November starts. I have already been to 3 Christmas parties and have another on Sunday. Have I mentioned that I love Finland. Anyway, every morning when I wake up and am eating my yummy Rahka, I listen to Chirstmas music. This has been going on for about 3 weeks now. Keep in mind that it is not just any Christmas music, but it is Justin B's Christmas CD. I am not in the slightest bit a JB fan, but man do I love his Christmas CD :) Finland also has their own JB, and his name is Robin (Freakishly they look a little similar too) ...and yes, most Finnish people feel the same way about Robin as I feel about JB- They think he is young and corny! While you might be thinking that I am attaching a Christmas Song, it is not. Sorry. But it is my favorite song by Robin and I think I like it so much because his songs are so simple that I can kind of follow them and pretend to sing along. So here's Robin...

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!! I love you all, and am so blessed to have such a wonderful life!! I am especially grateful this year for this adventure that I am on, and the opportunities that I have had throughout my entire life to help me grow.