1 week down!

I have successfully finished the first week of my työharjoittelu (internship). It was exhausting but I have fallen in love with all 9 of the kiddies that I am working with. They are too cute. And somehow they understand me when I speak. Of course I speak on their level, but I still think I deserve brownie pts. for being understandable to children!! I definitely need to take pictures of these little munchkins and post them. I'm taking my flute, as per request, to the päiväkoti on Monday to play for them during their music time. I think it is going to be really fun. They LOVE music and dance anytime someone sings, hums, whistles, or plays a cd. They really are awesome and I get to spend 5 more weeks with them.

Työharjoittelu

Tomorrow I begin my työharjoittelu (internship) at Päiväkoti Virkkula (Daycare/Playschool Virkkula). I will be with eight children, the youngest being 1.5 years and the oldest being 3.5 years. This is somehow supposed to help me speak the language better and give me experience working here in Finland. I REALLY hope that things go well. The guy that I will be working with speaks some English, and he says that he understands everything I say but doesn't speak very well. Of course that is more than I can say for myself, not only do I speak poorly, I also do not understand everything that I hear. I'm sure I will learn something valuable from this experience and I am halfway looking forward to it. I'm sure I will be posting plenty of updates since this is what I will be doing until June 4th!! That's right, six whole weeks of being immersed in children's Finnish! Good luck me!

Watch out for that bird!!

I have to walk about half a mile to my class every morning. I walk through a park that is between the baltic and some apartments. This morning I was making my trek to class when some birds flew out of a bush, and one of them flew right into my chest. I was more than a little surprised and it took me a minute to get over the shock of what had happened. I mean it's not everyday that a bird flies right into a person. The little bird (it looked a bit like a sparrow) did not get hurt. It fell to the ground, stood there for a minute (probably trying to get over its shock), then hopped off back to the bush. So from now on I am going to be on the lookout for rogue birds!

Confessions

One of the blogs that I read pretty often, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, is absolutely, positively fabulous. If you haven't checked it out then you must head there right now and not leave until you've read every inch of this site! OK...maybe that is pushing things a bit, but you should definitely check it out. The Blogger is a woman by the name of Ree Drummond who went from being a city girl to a complete country gal. She wrote about her MAJOR life changes on her blog and entitled it Black Heels to Tractor Wheels (must read!), which is (eventually going to be published) now going to be made into a movie. Saying that I am excited about this would be the understatement of the day, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that Reese Witherspoon will indeed want to be tied to this project. Of course it won't be out for quite a while, but I was just too excited not to share the news. Which now that I think about it I hope that I am allowed to share. She has it on her blog of course, but then again it is all about her isn't it. I am just an overly excited fan!! Go check out her site and experience the fabulousness that is Ree!!

Oh yeah, buy her cookbook too! It is on my 'I'll get around to it real soon' list!! There is only so much stress I can put my husband's credit card under! :-)

Wear Your Green!

Happy St. Patrick's Day World!

Finnish Blueberry Pie

Or as they call it in Finnish (Suomi): Mustikkapiirakkaa.

Yep. I know it is a big word with a lot of double letters and they pronounce every single one of them. It is true!! Anyway, a month ago we visited with the hubby's parents and his little sister made a blueberry pie for us. It was REALLY simple, and REALLY good! So I asked for the recipe and it is the easiest pie I have ever made. So I thought I would share the recipe. I haven't converted the measurements from the metric system, but it isn't hard to do.

Finnish Blueberry Pie:

1. 150g butter
1 1/2 dl sugar

Mix them together.

2. Add one egg and mix.

3. Add:
3 dl Flour (1 dl = 100 ml)
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cardamom (kardemumma)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar)

Mix all of these ingredients together and put into a pie pan. Spread evenly around.

Add 300 grams of blueberries (fresh or frozen) to the center of the pie. Bake pie for 30 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius (around 392 degrees F.).

It is simple to make and so yummy. Enjoy!

Post It Note Tuesday: True Story

This is my first attempt at Post It Note Tuesday. Hopefully I will get better!!

Cheers!