Goodbyes and Hellos!

This week I saw the moon for the first time since I returned.  And I now have a new view of the city.  Read on for details and pics.

I said goodbye to living at Eija's house on Revonkatu (Fox Street).  It's been like living in a dream world. I will miss seeing Eija everyday and I'll also miss her beautiful garden.

Hello Vapaudenkatu (Liberty Street).  I've taken up residence between the city library and the city square (where the historic Lutheran church stands).

Hello moon.  It's 12:30am.

Hello apple blossoms and forget me not flowers.  (The forget me nots reminded me of Pres. Uchtdorf's address: http://www.lds.org/ensign/2011/11/forget-me-not?lang=eng)

 

Eija's patio.  I will miss studying out here!

So, you know you're in Finland when you see shoes by the door.  When I first set foot again in Eija's house, I ran right in and up the stairs before realizing that I had forgotten to take my shoes off.  

When I first read these name tags back in September, I had no idea who "Kadet" and "Ystävä" were.  I was excited to come back and read these placards again...and this time understand what they mean: "hands" and "friend". 

I had another Finnish lesson with Hilla this week.  It was raining and f r e e z i n g outside.  Brr!!  It was 9 degrees celsius.  I really enjoy my classes with Hilla.  I told her she's a much better help than google translate.  Here's why:

English text:  I learned many Finnish words today. 

Google translate:  Olen oppinut monia suomalaisia ​​sanoja tänään. 

Actual translation (compliments of Hilla): Mä opin paljon sanoja suomeksi tänään.

All of my earthly belongings (in Finland, that is) fit in the trunk and the back seat of Eija's car.  Lauri, Elli and I all fit in the car as well.  Goodbye house on Revonkatu.  Hey...I could write a book like House on Mango Street (by Sandra Cisneros..which we're reading this month for our book club, coincidentally).

Hello birdies.  I picked up bird watching these last few weeks.  This video is worth the wait while it loads.  AHHH!!!

This is the name of the street where I now live.  When I changed my address at the university, the woman asked, "What's your new address?" Me: "It's 'Liberty Street' in Finnish."  Woman:"Oh.  Thta would be Vapaudenkatu."  Me:"Yes, very good on the translation."  :)  

Let's just say that I'm glad I live on Vapaudenkatu and not on this street.  This is the cross-street of where I live.  When I tell people the cross-street, I say, "The street that starts with C-Y-G."  The response?  "Oh--you mean Cygnaeuksenkatu?"  to which I respond, "Very good!"  Yeah.  I should probably lay off the sarcasm just a bit. 

Hello new flat!  The library is on the corner and my apartment building is just to the right (it's to the right of the light-pole in this picture).

Hello new roommate!  What a sweet note.  Totally made my day!  It was actually left by Milla who I replaced as she moved out.  She left a note for Maria in Swedish.

There's lots of love in this flat.  The heart on the fridge and the heart on the chair.  I wonder if the person making this chair did this on purpose.  It's AMAZING!!

Hello new view from my new flat.  The water tower is front and center.

Hello lake!  The other 1/2 of the view from my apartment.  This is what I see when I look out my window as I'm sitting in my room writing this blog post. 

Dept. of Languages staff development day.  We all had tons of energy to burn after sitting in meetings all morning.

We played for well over an hour.  We had a GREAT time playing and we were well matched teams.  Each team won twice.  Thanks everyone for the fun times!  I had forgotten how fun VB can be when you play with a fun group of people.

The lake is a 10 min. walk from my new place.  Hello bridge.  This is one of my  new favorite spots to sit and take in the beauty of this town.

And the marina.  It brought back so many memories of summers on the lake in Texas.

The apartments where I now live were built after WWII.  When I see these intercoms I always think to myself, "I wonder if those actually work."  When I first moved into the flat on Thurs., I was looking around the place and saw a phone on the wall by the kitchen.  "Hmm.  I wonder who had that phone installed.  Phones like that aren't used anymore."  Not 10 minutes later I hear a phone ring.  Yep.  It was said phone.  Turns out the intercom does work.  It was my flatmate needing to get in (she lent me her keys to move in while she was at work).

Hello top floor.  There are 7 floors, just in case you were wondering.  :)  Something else I find interesting about the houses and apts here in Finland is that you don't have to wonder who lives in the houses/apts.  Why?  Because the names are posted right on the door.  I guess that makes life easier for the mailman...?

Hello 8 year anniversary.  Friday marked 8 years since this picture was taken.  Hna. Webb, me, and Hna. Vickers.  We're filling out our final paperwork as we completed our 18-month missions in Chile.  Hna. Webb (the mission nurse who I was also lucky enough to serve with for 3 months) is checking to make sure I'll survive the heartbreak of saying goodbye to the friends and family I made in Chile.  I'm forever changed by my mission experience. 

Goodbyes are always so hard!!  It's still hard to believe that my mission came to a close.  That was 8 years ago.  It seems like it was just yesterday.  It'll be equally difficult to one day say goodbye to Finland.  I love this place. I love the people here.