Tervetuloa Savonlinnaan!

Hei,

Savonlinna is beautiful and everyone is nice. That is my summary of this place so far.

Let me give you an example of the kindness of strangers.

When my CIMO group arrived at the Savonlinna airport (from the Helsinki airport), we stepped outside to discover that the airport's supposed "taxi service" was limited to a sign hanging from the roof which said something to the effect of, "Taksi Puhelinnumerot" and contained a phone number. The nine of us could speak very little Finnish and we were all feeling shy at that moment. As we stood about anxiously asking each other what we should do, a Finnish gentleman who had been a passenger stepped forward and offered to call us a taxi and explain to the driver how to get us to our dorm. He even chose to forgo the bus which was already there (and filling up with locals), so that he could come with us instead and direct the driver. He then expressed much interest in us, and told us all about his experience of Savonlinna.

"Have you ever gone swimming after taking a sauna? You must try it. My favorite thing to do when I am in Savonlinna is to take a sauna and then run into the lake. I do it at least every day." This was some good (hilarious) advice we were given. However, I don't think I'm ready for that level of public nudity yet. It is FORBIDDEN to wear clothing in the sauna, and in order to go directly from sauna to lake, one would have to be nude. Maybe in a secluded area.

I would love to show you some photographs, but I'm in my room now and there is only an ethernet connection. No wifi. The photos are on my phone.

For now all I can show you is this low quality mac photo booth picture of the view from my window.

Let me tell you, all of Finland looks like this. Forests, boulders and lakes. Flying in, from overhead it looks as if the buildings apologize for encroaching on nature by being engulfed in acres of forest.

I have made a few friends, from Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Spain, and am still meeting many others. We all have a similar story: we studied a little Finnish at our universities, but have no connections to Finland. Just curiosity and maybe a desire to get an MA here someday. Everyone is good-natured and good-humored, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them more.

Everyone in this CIMO group speaks English, but I try to speak a little Finnish with them anyway because we all came here to learn Finnish and they have expressed that English can be a struggle for them. I have a lot of privilege and I try to be mindful of why I came here and how I interact.

More to come soon.

Moi moi!