Letter #198 from Finland

Letter #198 comes from Iina (pronounced ena) from Finland,home to the fabulous cartoon,The Moomins,which is one of our fave foreign cartoons!Iina loves history so she starts her letter off by telling us about the history of her country.The location of her country has had a real impact on the history of her country.Until 1809,they were part of Sweden,but after Sweden lost a war against Russia,Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy within Imperial Russia.In 1906, Finland was the first European country to give women the right to vote.Finlamd became independent on December 6,1917 after things changed in Russia,such as WWI and the Febuary and October Revolutions.The first half of the 20th century was filled with wars in Finland.There was a Civil War in 1918,which left the nation badly scarred and clearly divided.During WWII decades later,Finland fought in three wars.Their first war was the Winter War (1939-1940) against the Soviet Union,which she says had a major role in uniting the country.That war was then follwed by the Continuation War from 1941-1944,which was also against the Soviet Union.Finland was the underdog and the main goal was to remain independent.In the Continuation War,Finland got help from the Nazis,but after an armistice was reached with the Soviets,Finland was forced to begin its third war,known as Lapland War,which lasted from 1944-1945,which was a war to get the Nazis out.Wow,that is some history for a country I always think of as quiet since you never hear about Finland in the news,so it's amazing to hear that this country had such a rough start.

Finland is also home to some very talented composers and painters who were in the middle of some key points of the country's history.Akseli-Kallela painted many scenes from their national epic Kalevala (which she says is a very interesting book,which at times can be very difficult,but it's a big part of Finnish culture).He is also impossible to ignore when speaking of Finnish Romantic Nationalism.He is their most internationally known painter.

In music,the most internationally known Finn would be the composer Jean Sibelius.His music had an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity.His most important composition was called Finlandia,which was written as a protest against the quickly increasing censorship from the Russian Empire.Sibelius was also inspired by Kalevala.Sibelius' home,Ainola (which mean Aino's land and was named after his wife Aino) is a popular tourist attraction,which is located on the shores of Lake Tuusula,which is where many artists lived in the early 1900's.

Now on to some facts about Iina.She has mentioned how her name is very hard for foreigners to pronounce since her name starts with two i's,but as I showed earlier,it's pronounced like e-na,which is actually so easy,buy the i's throw us off.She says it's a popular name for her age group.Anyways,she's a rather typical 18 year old girl.In August,she will be a high school Senior,so she will be very busy with school and having many exams.After reading about school life in other countries,we sure have it easy in the U.S.Seniors here have it made,it's actually the easiest year and filled with more fun things and not really many tests.Iina wants to study English at the university and she will be applying to both Finnish and Scottish universities.Anyways,Iina was born during a recession,which was one of the history's worst economic crises and even worse than the one in the 1930's.Two years later her family moved to Heinola and they have lived there ever since.A few months before that,she says that Finland had won the ice hockey world championships for the very first time....  this recent win made it their 2nd world championship.Finland is a true ice hockey country,but Iina doesn't really understand ice hockey,but she does know that it means a lot to her country.My oldest daughter and I enjoy hockey and think it's so fun to play,well,floor hockey since we don't skate. :) Our fave team would be the Redwings since we moved from Michigan,where hockey is big.

Iina's hometown of Heinola is a relatively small countryside with about 20,000 people,in the south of Finland.Heinola is a summer town and life there isn't very lively after the summer season ends.She says she is quite lucky that their capital,Helsinki is nearby,just 1km south.Heinola is known for the Sauna World Championships,which is just a contest about who can sit in a sauna the longest.Saunas are a big part of Finnish culture.She said that in the old days,women gave birth in saunas.She says that in the championships,they steadily increase the temperature to see who can take the heat the longest.Unfortunately,last year a man died in the finals and another one was badly burnt because they stayed too long in the sauna.She really doesn't understand why they do this.... neither do we,it's pretty crazy to risk death for a championship.Aside from that,she says that saunas are pleasant and relazing.I wish we had one when we lived up north,it would be so nice after a long day in the cold.

Heinola is also home to Apulanta,one of Finland's most popular rock bands.The city has also meant a lot to Finnish literature as well.Two members of a literary group in the 1920's,known as Tulenkantajat,were from Heinola and a third studied for her teacher's degree there,too.The word Tulenkantajat means "the fire bearers",which describes their philosophy rather well.They wanted to introduce the very old-fashioned Finland of the 1920's to the lively modern Europe and its literature.Their writings pictured  the "Roaring 20's" really well and introduced "a new feeling of life".A decade later,the group was disbanded due to political conflicts (some members were strictly on the left,others on the opposite),but the young people who started the group and its magazine in their twenties ended up being rather important characters in Finnish cultural history.

Along with Iina's lovely letter,she sent some beautiful postcards,one is a Finnish winter scene and the other is a summer theme,and the last card is a Moomin card of the charcater Little My,which she says was her favorite as a little girl.She also included some cute Moomin stickers and we also loved the Moomin envelope....yes,we are crazy over the Moomins...they are so cute,you must google their cartoons if you have never seen them! :) Thanks Iina for your lovely letter and goodies,we wish you all the best for a great senior year with less stress.We hope you achieve all your goals in life!You can see her letter and goodies below:

Letter #188 from Finland

Letter #188 comes from Elina in Finland.She says that her name is quite common for women of her generation.She says that she was born during the decade of big changes.In the mid 1960's-'70's,many Finns moved from the countryside to the cities ans some even emigrated to Sweden.

She says that the city she lives in,Vantaa is a big city (by Finnish standards) and is a part of the capital area.She also says that both herself and her husband were born in Helsinki and have both lived in the capital area all their lives.

Elina loves nature,animals,reading,movies,cooking,and crafts.She says that crafts,knitting,cooking,baking,gardening, and home decorating are currently very popular in Finland.She also says that traditional Finnish cooking is becoming a rising trend,but that's ok with her and her husband since they have always eaten traditional foods since that is what their parents cooked for them as kids.There's also a huge difference in culture between the West and East and these lines have existed since the 14th century,possibly even longer.The capital area,though, is a melting pot with over one million inhabitants.

Elina has also added pictures to her letter,the top picture showing a lake close to her house and the bottom picture showing Turku Archipelago at sea from the deck of a cruise ship.She has also included some wonderful postcards.The first postcard is from Hakaniemi,a part of the lower working class side of the city in the old days.She says the unions still have their headquarters there surrounding the market square.The Hakaniemi Market Hall is a popular shopping place for both locals and immigrants.In the second postcard is a view of a popular sea fortress,which is also a recreational area for the locals.Elina  says that it is one of her favorite places in Helsinki and that she went there as a child for art summer camp.In the third postcard is Helsinki City Centre and the Lutheran Cathedral.In the old days,this was the upper class side of the city.She also noted that Helsinki (and Finland) got their first McDonald's around 1985 and that the modern cafe culture only came during the turn of the millenium.She says there are many nice cafes,both chains and individual ones,but no Starbucks,though,which seems to be a disappointment to her.

Thanks Elina for your lovely letter and postcards,which can be seen below:

Letter #181 from Finland

Letter #181 comes from Hilja in Finland.Hilja lives in a small town in Eastern Finland.She just moved there due to her new job being located there.Her first day of work is May 16th...I hope she had a great first day at work!She will be working as a customer advisor.Hilja loves customer service and being in touch with different people.

Before moving,she lived in a city called Joensuu,where she studied Finnish language and literature at the University of Eastern Finland.She says that since then she's been wondering what she'd like to do in her life,but not sure she will ever find the answer to that.Sometimes it just takes time to find what you really like...just follow your heart and it will lead you the right way.

Hilja has many hobbies.She joined postcrossing in 2006 and has already received thousands of postcards and like us,enjoys opening the mailbox to find something other than bills. :) She compared postcrossing to the movie "Forest Gump",when he says,"life is like a box of chocolates,you never know what you are going to get",that's the way she feels about the postcards,you never know where they are coming from or what they will look like,so that is the exciting part,of course.

She also enjoys reading and classifies herself as a real bookworm and usually reads two or three books at the same time.She reads books in English,Finnish and Swedish.She enjoys all types of literature,from children's books to postmodern novels.She just finished reading a book called "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" and highly recommends it.

Hilja also loves watching sports on tv as much as possible.When she wrote the letter,there was a championship game going on for ice hockey.She also loves to go jogging and running and tries to excercise several times a week.One of her favorite things to do is enjoy nature and take hikes in the woods.She says that the nature in her area is very beautiful and that you can get very close to wild animalsShe once found some tracks in the snow and she didn't know which animal made them,so she showed her father the picture and he told her they were bear tracks!

She has also recently been to a city called Koli and thinks it is one of the most beautiful places in Finland.

Hilja also noted that the Winnie the Pooh stationery she wrote on was chosen because she loves the character and because she loves the fall season.

Thanks Hilja for your lovely letter,postcards and brochures,which can be seen below:

Letter #170 from Finland

Letter #170 comes from Heather in Finland.Heather is originally from Oregon but moved to Finland almost 12 years ago because of love.Aww, how sweet! ;) She says she loves living there and wouldn't trade it for the world,well,until those dark,cold winter months arrive,but even then,she still loves Finland.She says it's very beautiful and is a green and clean country.The people are very reserved and quiet until you get to know them.She said it was hard at first to get used to it being so quiet but has grown to love the silence.

Heather got her degree in Finland for International Business and told us that school in Finland is totally free for everybody!Yes,you heard that right,my favorite "f word"- free! :) That is so amazing that they truly see the value of providing everyone with a free education.I wonder if school will ever be free in the states...I doubt it. :(

She says Moomins is one of her favorite cartoons...ours,too.If you have never seen Moomins,you must watch it on youtube.I really love watching it with my daughter...wish we would have known about them when my girls were younger.My daughter even has a small collection of Moomins thanks to her wonderful Finnish penpal.We just can't get enough of the Moomins.Heather was so kind as to include a cute Moomins book titled, "The Unexpected Visit" and also a brochure about the Moomin Valley museum,which they are lucky to have there.I believe I recall reading somewhere (maybe in a letter to us) that the creator of the Moomins would draw the cartoons on the walls of her parents summer cottage,but never thought the cartoons would be successful.

When Heather isn't working,she enjoys spending time with her husband and two cats.She also loves to visit with friends when she has the time and she also enjoys arts and crafts,beading,glass jewelry,key chain dangles and just about a little bit of everything.She also loves to bake,which means she has to exercise a lot to work off those sweets. :)

She also wrote a couple of words for us in in Finnish and told us that the Finnish letters sound a lot like the Spanish letters.Here are some words for you:

cat= kissa
dog= koira
green= vihrea
blue= sininen
red= punainen
orange (color)= oransssi
orange (food) = apelsiini  (hmm,wonder what apple must be because that looks like it should be apple) :)
hello = Hei!/Moro!/Moi!
thanks = kiitos
my name is = minun nimeni on (your name here)

Thanks Heather for your lovely letter and for the key chain/cell phone dangles,Moomins book,Finland guide and Moomins Museum guide,which can all be seen below:

Letter #39 from Finland

This letter is from Miia in Iisalmi,Finland.She is a 17 year old girl that is quite smart.She can speak Finnish,English and Swedish and is also learning Spanish.I think it's great to learn to speak so many different languages.It will be nice when she travels to understand the local people.

She says that she lives in a small town of 20,000 people.She attends high school and is in her second year.We're always fascinated with the schools in other countries.In the states,we have Elementary School which is Kindergarten-4th or 5th grade depending where you live,then Middle School for grades 5th or 6th-8th grade then High School is 9th-12th grade,then if you choose,you go to college where you can get a bachelors degree in 4 years.It seems like in most countries,children go to school for more years than in the US.

Miia has visited London twice and now hopes to visit New York city one day.She loves travelling and meeting new people and getting to speak different languages.

In her free time,she enjoys reading,drawing,writing,hanging out with friends,sending postcards,watching movies,and of course,sleeping. :)But right now she doesn't have much time since she is quite busy with school work,so we are thankful she was able to take some time to write us a letter!

She also hopes to visit Australia one day because her godmother and her 2 year old godson live there.When she wrote the letters,I think they had planned to visit Australia this June,so I hope her trip is still on,sounds like fun!She is really excited as it will be a trip with just her friend,no adults.She says they could stop in Singapore or Hong Kong on the way there,so she is quite excited about that!

When she wrote the letter,it was a very,very cold day,she says,the temperature was -33° Celsius.She says they do have nice winters,with temperatures around +30° Celsius.In her letter to your left at the top corner,she attached a picture showing all the snow they had.While I do love snow,I'm not sure I'd like a ton of it.I think it's beautiful to look at,but not good when you need to get out and drive around somewhere.They do have something I wish we had when we lived up north,they have saunas in their homes where they can go to warm up or just relax.I think if we had one,I may never get out. :)

She also told us that Finns have invented xylitol,which is usually found in candies.It actually comes from a birch tree....I did not even know it came from a tree,how fascinating!

Her country of Finland has about 5 million inhabitants.Their capital is Helsinki.Some well-known Finns are:Jean Sibelius (composer),Sofi Oksanen (writer),Renny Harlin (film director) and some bands like these-Nightwish,Sonata Arctica,etc.Miia says she couldn't live without music. 

As she was writing this letter,she was preparing for their prom night at school,where they will dance all day.She says they will have 3 shows,one at 11am,1pm and then at 7pm.Between shows they will eat out at a restaurant.I wonder how it went?

Miia included some wonderful candies that we all love and a postcard of her city.Thanks Miia for the wonderful letter,the postcard and the delicious candies...we love Finnish candy (although we have yet to try any other countries candies,yet).We hope you did well in school and are getting to relax soon!

Here is Miia's letter,postcard and candy below:

4th and 5th letters have arrived from Finland and Arizona

As promised,here are todays 4th and 5th letters.They are both from my youngest daughter's only penpals & let me tell you they are the sweetest women ever!She really enjoys her letters from them,so she was happy that we got letters from both of them on the same day! :)

This first letter below is from Kati in Finland...she sent us a great recipe for shrover buns...we will have to try these once we get our new oven put in. :) She wrote us about Shrover on the postcard.Thanks or should I say kiitos Kati for the letter,postcard & recipe!It is greatly appreciated!

Now,onto the next letter.It comes from Tracey in Arizona.We met her through postcrossing just recently.Along with a letter,she has sent some cute notecards and stickers...as penpalers know,you can never have enough of those,right? :) Thanks so much Tracey for also joining our project!Every letter brings us much happiness!

We seem to be averaging one new sign up everyday, but we will need more than that to reach our goal.Please join in so you can see your letter on this blog,too.As always,please feel free to grab our blog button,tell your friends,tell anybody you think would be interested in seeing their letter on our blog for all the world to see.Maybe one of your goals for 2011 is to write more,well,now is the best time to start,right?So why not write to someone that you know will really appreciate a letter from you...us! :)