kesä tulee

summer is coming.

the sun is up when I open my eyes in the morning, and there is light in the sky til 9.30 or 10. the snow on the ground is shrinking daily, ashy-coloured. sunglasses are worn on people's heads like headbands, even on cloudy days. bare shoulders are showing.

the last patch of snow in our yard.

when the earth thaws, the finns wake up. the second week of april was the start of our last jakso at school. only five weeks to go. the prospect of summer buzzes faintly in the hallways, electric. outside, people are getting their shoes muddy and filling up the playgrounds and packing the jogging trails, though the air hasn't really warmed much past five degrees c. the breeze feels so nice when it doesn't numb all exposed skin.

mämmi. i swear it's not dog shit good.

easter has come and gone, and with it one of the milestones of an exchange year in finland - mämmi. 8 months of sly grins and "ohhh, i want to see your face when you eat mämmi the first time..." made me wonder. it's a traditional food eaten for easter, symbolizing purification. viscous, brown and grainy with rye. great visual appeal. but i actually like it. then again, with enough cream and sugar anything is delicious.



last weekend my family took me ice-swimming. we ran from the sauna, skins steaming, then jumped into a hole in the still-frozen lake. the ducks looked on, amused, as we squawked and paddled desperately for the ladder. repeat, repeat. the next time that i swim in that lake will be sunburn weather. i can't wait.

it was really that cold.

kaitlyn, host mother and i. so happy to be clothed again.