The Kiukkonen family was going to host me for one week and they lived in Vantaa, a city part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. I had two new host sisters, Anna, who was 18, and Emma, who was 16. I was so excited to be coming to a family where I was going to be aged perfectly in the middle of my host sisters who were also excited to meet me.
Once meeting Ari who was holding a sign with my name on it, we grabbed my luggage and headed for his car to head home. We weren't going to head strait home, however, since this was my first time in Helsinki, and we were going to take a few detours to see some of the initial landmarks of the city. Just outside of the train station I saw the Parliament building ( that I would get to visit in the upcoming days), as well as Finlandia hall and other large buildings that I would get to know as the week would progress. One of the buildings took my full attention quickly as we drove by and that was the Finnish Olympic tower. I had seen this building before in pictures about Finland, but in person I was quite surprised by how prominent it stood over the Olympic center's horizon line. In all honesty, I admitted that I truly did not like the building - and in my head I attributed it to the fact that the design was modern and ahead of its time ( like many Finnish things) and I was just not used to seeing that type of style or design. My opinion changed drastically when I found out that this building was not modern at all - it was built in 1938 ( and due to WW2) was used for the 1952 Olympics.
I was amazed. I was naive enough to think that this building was too modern for THIS time and age, and to think that this marvel of architecture was built well over half a century ago. I then truly appreciated how forward minded and unique this building was and what it stood for and still stands for today. During the periods after WW2 Helsinki and Finland along with many other areas of Europe were in large disarray after the catastrophic warfares. Finland stepped up to be a bonding force in the revival of the continent and also wanted to prove as a nation that it had the will and determination to display its proud country as well as it impressive architects and capital city. Much of these values are very much still part of the Finnish culture today and I knew they would be a part of the upcoming discussions at Parliaments, embassies, and foreign service offices later in the week!
After the Olympic stadium I was reminded to keep my mind open once again and appreciate everything around me for there was going to be many new learning experiences coming up in the next week. At this time I was learning and experiencing many things at a very fast pace including the fact that I was going to meet a new family. Once at the Kiukkonen's house I was greeted by the family with a toast.
To make the day more special ( or in some instances more awkward in a positive sense) my first meeting with the Kiukkonen family was with the WHOLE family. On this particular Sunday Anna and Emma were celebrating their birthdays which occurred over the summer. Since many Finns travel to cottages over the summer, saving the party for a combined later date was more convenient. Therefore, I was introduced amongst many warm hearted people very happy to shake my hand and introduce me to their country and family. The toast was something that I have noticed is quite practiced in Finland. When there is a big event with guest, many toasts with speeches are common. Here with the Kiukkonens, each new guest that arrived, including myself, received another toast! I thought it was so special and cool and I was happy from the very beginning with where I was going to live for the upcoming week to come!
After putting my bags into my room, I was ready to socialize. Much like the confirmation party ( coincidence?! my first meetings in Finland both involved large, awkward parties ... which both resulted to be extremely enjoyable!) I felt a little bit stranded walking around and even feeling foreign to my own host family. I was just " that American" walking around, but from what I have really come to get the hang of this summer is the art of small talk ( How ironic!!! Finland is the country that is "too shy to small talk", yet being here I have perfected MY 'American' skill of small sided chat to really get to know people. This still baffles me!) In the beginning I was able to chat with Anna who was very, very excited for my travels to her home. She was a little busy with hosting the party, but she told me that she would be talking to me through out the afternoon and also planned to go with me to the city for my first big tour at night. She was just as excited as me to fill the week with many memorable events. As Anna went back to hosting, I was able to talk with Emma. Emma, being two years younger, thus had two years less experience with English. She was a little shy and apologized many times for her lack of proficiency in the language - but like many, many Finns - in the act of apologizing and claiming they can't speak English... I am never the one talking - they continue to chat. It is one of the ways to get a shy Finnish person to talk. You find that they begin doing it themselves without realizing it. Through our conversations ( with Emma talking majority of the time!) I learned about her hobby of rhythmic gymnastics and how her team has traveled to many places around Europe. I was very interested in all the places she had traveled, including Italy and Russia to name a few!
Throughout the rest of the afternoon I was able to talk to many relatives of the extended Kiukkonen family, all of which had excellent stories of their travels ( some including America!) as well as their questions and comments about traveling to Finland. Everyone, regardless of their proficiencies in English, made the most of their efforts to share their stories, and it was quite enjoyable. I was able to have some excellent conversations about Finland, perceptions of Finland, Relations of Finland to the world, and ultimately America with everyone. I really loved talking about and hearing everyone's stories and opinions. Finnish people do have a sense of humor with their own culture as a pun, and I even got a few laughs about some instances that they actually were true during my own experiences ( -Finns are silent in 3 languages, -Finns only socialize on a cell phone, -Finns instantly assume your are either drunk or American if you pursue into a conversation of small talk... all things that really were funny and in many cases true!). What I was happy to hear was some very enjoyable travels of some family members to Florida and Western national parks including Yellowstone. I was happy to hear positive remarks about my home country as well. After an awkward beginning, the evening eventually flew by with good conversation, coffee ( of course!) and excellent pastries and hor'derves made by Anna, Emma and their mother. I also was able to meet Emma's friends who stopped by later in the afternoon and they also provided very nice talk about European travels, International school systems, and thoughts on learning languages around the world. The afternoon was filled with many nice new relationships and connections formed, and I was very happy and satisfied with an excellent transition to my new home in Helsinki. I knew that I was going to have a lot of fun. As promised, once evening was near, Anna and I were going to go together to downtown Helsinki, tour the great sites, and also finally get a good chance to catch up on everything. Based off of the very enjoyable party, a warm welcoming from my new host family, and my host sisters great excitement, I knew the upcoming week was going to be fun and full of great times and memories!
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