The leaves have been changing colors this week.
This is the view from Aila's window.
The bike path to my office building on campus.
This week was Language Week at JYU. On Thursday our department hosted high school seniors who were interested in learning more about studying in our program. Reetta (one of my classmates...the one who introduced me to Eija's place) and I gave a 30 min. presentation to roughly 40 seniors. It was, well, a blast! I absolutely love these kinds of opportunities. It brought me back to the days at Sorenson when I presented to a couple of high school and college classes.
Reetta. Captivating the attention of the students. She is always so well-spoken.
Me. Drawing attention to the awesome pictures on the slide.
The lecture hall.
Johanna (a friend from church) and I visited Kirsti this week. We are her visiting teachers. (More about the visiting teaching program here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/relief-society-a-sacred-work?lang=eng&query=visiting+teaching). I was admiring the artwork on her walls. Turns out, she's the artist! The one she's holding in her hand was among my favorites. Any guesses as to when she first put a paintbrush to canvas?
...
Last year. No stinkin' way! Any guesses as to where she was when said paintbrush found its way to the canvas?
...
At an art class that was organized by the Relief Society. Kirsti didn't like drawing when she was younger and she thought she wouldn't be good at painting. She surprised herself. Amazing. Yet another reason I love being a part of this organization!
This is my young friend, Katie. She is Aila Phillips' (the sweet friend of mine who often gives me a lift to church on Sundays) granddaughter. Aila invited me to join her and Katie (and Katie's mom) for dinner this week.
Aila and Katie went all out for the evening--with candles and all. Aila said, "My mom always said that meals are as much for the eyes as they are for the mouth." Indeed!
After dinner Katie suggested we head to the soccer field and enjoy the drier weather that evening. We had a blast playing soccer, tag, and a few other games. Aila is as quick as lightning and gave us all a run for our money.
Friday evening for the Young Women's activity the girls made dinner for the missionaries. 7-layer dip (with guac and sour cream even!), home made chips (from tortillas), beef tacos, and oven baked apples for dessert. Yum!
It was the quietest meal I've ever sat through. Dr. Hult, my professor when I was at UTSA, gave me a heads-up about the interaction norms during mealtime in Finland. Finns focus their energies on enjoying the food rather than on engaging in conversation. Well, there were 10 people seated at the table and not a single word was spoken for at least 3 minutes. I finally broke the silence by commenting on how this was the quietest meal I'd ever sat through. People chuckled. And kept enjoying their food...in silence. P a i n f u l . :)
I was elated when I received a notice from the post office that I had a package waiting for me. AHHH!!! Thank you Jennie, Matt and co. for all the goodies!!
Craisins and nut-thins. YUM! And lots of plastic H-E-B and Wal-mart bags. Those were the icing on the cake. Seriously. They are the perfect size for the rubbish bins. There's nothing that makes my apt. feel like home like an H-E-B bag under my sink. Thank you Compton family!!
Receiving the package reminded me that I have yet to post about dryer sheets. My mom suggested I use dryer sheets as a mosquito repellent during the summer. Well, I went down every aisle of the grocery store back in June when I first came back to Finland. But, no dryer sheets. I guess that shouldn't have been much of a surprise since hardly anyone has a dryer here. Luckily for me, though, there are FIVE dryers in the building where I do laundry. So, the first thing I packed when I was in the states in August was a box of dryer sheets. I LOVE these things.
Saturday evening I headed over to Eija's house for a movie night. I've missed spending time with her. On the way over, I was thrilled to see this:
It's a paper-machete boat with a candle inside. The night before, there were 200 of them floating down the river as part of the Jyväskylä City of Lights week. I was bummed I couldn't be there Friday night to see them, but I at least got to see one of these puppies floating down the river on Sat. evening. Can't wait to go to the event next year!!
When I arrived to Eija's, I ran into Juhana Konttinen who was in town. He is the official photographer for Jyväskylä's annual City of Lights festival. He's been photographing the events since 2006. An exhibit of his artwork is on display at the city library. I can't wait to stop by and see it!!
Eija and I had a great evening together catching up on exciting events over a delicious apple crumble made with apples from Eija's garden. It was such a relaxing evening...another reminder that there is much more to life than reading and writing. :)
Fall is definitely here. And I can't believe that General Conference is this coming weekend!!
It's the best part of the fall season.
No comments:
Post a Comment