Santa Park!

Wow! The Drive to Santa Park/Rovaniemi was incredibly beautiful!  All of the roads were packed down with white snow and the tall evergreen trees were topped with snow and for the most part the roads were calm, peaceful, and with out traffic.  You may be wondering how people drive on completely snow packed roads. Well, they all put snow tires on their car and then drive carefully 🙂  On our drive to Rovaniemi we passed by 2 ski resorts. To me it seemed quite comical or I guess just different for the ski resorts to have ski runs lit up during the day time, but the ski resorts do this because of the short time period of when the sun illuminates northern Finland.  People who are not familiar with northern Finland often assume that the sun never rises during the winter. Well it does actually 🙂 but when the sun rises it causes an over cast type of light to appear. This over cast light usually starts around 10-11 in the morning and is gone around 2pm.  I was in Taivalkosky on the shortest day of the year and even they had some hours of overcast daylight 🙂

Now to SANTA!!!  Everyone….. I have officially Met Santa! Santa even signed a card for me in Finnish!!!  The card says….Hyva Joulua, This translates to, Merry Christmas!  I met Santa in the Arctic Circle at this Christmas time amusement park type place called Santa Park.  Santa Park is located in a cave. With in this cave there are different rooms filled with elves working on toys, an Ice sculpture room which includes an Ice Bar….I think that this is where the elves “relax” after a hard day of work 😛 I myself had a cranberry snaps from the ice bar, it was served in a glass formed out of ice too…..It was ICE COLD haha.  In santa park there was also an ELF SCHOOL! Usually it takes 99 years for an elf to graduate from elf school, but they taught us for 15 minutes in the ways of being an elf. First there is the element of peeking into the windows of homes. Now I know what you are thinking….That is really sketch, and kind of stalker like….But the reason why elves do it, is to check in on all of the Santa believers to see if they have been naughty or nice. Next is the art of tip toeing quietly.  Tiptoeing effectively can be used to the great advantage of an elf, and to people as well 😛 (sneaking out or into a house undetected can be an extremely useful capability to have)!  The last lesson was on using elf magic. If you say Arrve, Terve, Orderve and do the body movements associated with each word then a little bit of magic happens somewhere around the world. Those are the beginning lessons of elf school 🙂  Santa Park is definately a place where families and Santa believers should visit 🙂

In addition to Santa Park, there is also a Santa Village. In Santa Village there is a post office where you can mail letters from the north pole, also you can have letters sent from you to your family for the next upcoming Christmas season time. Also, what is really cool at this post office, is the fact that one of Santa’s elves works there reading all of the Christmas wishes mail sent from Santa believers around the world.  When I looked around at all of the different countries where letters had come from, I was astounded because there were letters from countries that I didn’t even know existed!  Santa is truly a world wide Christmas tradition.  While I was in Santa Village I had the opportunity to see and pet reindeer. Their fur is surprisingly soft and they are beautiful creatures.

I hope that you have enjoyed vicariously experiencing Santa Park and Santa Village with me by reading this post!

Believe in the things worth believing In

-Elizabeth

PS: Check out my Media page…it has more pictures of REINDEER!!!

TAIVALKOSKI- Visiting Henna’s family

Taking a night train is one of the best things a person can do to improve their flexibility while sleeping.  Student priced tickets on a night train are cheap, however one has to become inventive when thinking of sleeping arrangements… or should I say body tetris across two seats that are not long enough to support ones whole body 🙂 Below you can see how we decided to contort our bodies to find peaceful sleep.

Once in Oulu, we caught a bus to Taivalkoski, Henna’s home town. Her eldest sister Evana picked us up and took me all around the town, including the oldest Kauppa (shop) in taivalkoski . This shop is over 100 years old, and it has been maintained in the origional style of the very first Finnish Log Cabins. They sold this delicious pastry there called, Monki.  In English it is called Monk bread.  Monki resembles a doughnut, but it is covered with white sugar on the outside, and it tastes like monkey bread.  It was so delicious.  Driving to Henna’s home was so Kaunis ( beautiful ) the roads were covered in snow and as far as the eye could see.  It was a winter wonderland to me.

Henna’s mother and father operate a ranch where they breed, raise, sell, and milk Leiha ( Cows ).  When I arrived at their house/ranch it looked just like all of the pictures that I had seen in pictures of Finland.  Their house was the classic red and white finnish home with a Sauna! It was so nice and comfortable inside.  I felt completely at home and welcomed once I set foot in their home.  I stumble through my greeting to henna’s Aiti ( mother ) in Finnish, and she smiles and welcomes me to her Kotona. (house)  Henna’s Aiti is one of the most accomplished cooks I know.  She makes this amazing finnish Justo (cheese) Leipa Justo (bread cheese) from scratch, then she makes biscuits with the left over protein from the cheese, mean time no ingredients have been put to waste. 🙂 Then in the same night she makes these Joulutorttu pastries. They are made of Puff pastry bread, and a plum jam. She made puff pastry and the jam from scratch. She is my hero, and we are friends :).  I am so lucky to have a friend like Henna, who can help me Puhuu (speak) Suomea (finnish) to her perhe (family) when I don’t know words.

After the greetings in the home, Henna, Mina (me), Joo (and) Thuomas (thomas) sledded out to the pasture where the bulls are kept.  These bulls asuvat (they live) ulkona (outside) year round.  Henna’s mother and father raise them as free range cattle and they are considered the best beef in the supermarket here in Finland.  The sleds that we used to get to the pasture resemble a dog sled.  They are super fun to race on and tuomas showed me how to ride a sled backwards too 🙂

FOOD in the house was everything all natural.  I drank milk that was milked fresh that day from their holestine cows.  I didn’t get a chance to milk the cows, but maybe next time 🙂 In the last two days I have had more dairy products than I have in the past month and I loved it!  Cheese, butter, milk, and bread are huge staples of diet in Henna’s family   🙂 I ate jogurtti (yogurt) with berries, bread made from scratch with cheese on top, potatoes, beef, and then this carrot and rice porridge 🙂  It was so nice staying at Henna’s house.

SAUNA!!!

Well I can now say that I have done the Finnish Sauna experience.  I have Officially gone Naked in a sauna, then rolled in the snow outside and then gone back into the sauna.  and I did it twice 🙂 It feels so liberating and thrilling to do this. When I sat in the sauna after rolling in the snow, it felt like my body was on fire! Sauna is a social activity to be enjoyed with friends.  Sauna is calming and relaxing.  I think Lamont school of music should have one in their facility.  I would never leave the music building if there was a sauna 🙂

Well, I hope that you have learned some finnish language and culture from this post 🙂

Live life in the present!

-Elizabeth

Milano for Thanksgiving :)

For thanksgiving I went and visited Ms. Cassidy Boone in Milano.  It was such a wonderful time seeing old friends and meeting new ones 🙂 I now have profound new love and appreciate for fresh focaccia 🙂 I now know how to make it and I plan on cooking it at least once a week 🙂 Also, I had my first Gelato while in Milano too 🙂 It was delicious but I still prefer Blue Bell Ice Cream, and think of blue bell as the best!  Milano can’t touch that, da na na nuh na nuh na nuh… can’t touch this Blue Bell!

Also, I tried making sweet potatoes, but it turns out that there are traditional sweet potatoes grown in Italy. 🙂 The closest thing that they have is called dolce potato. I know what your thinking; dolce means sweet in Italian, there for it is a sweet potato! But Not So! haha the outside is more light and the inside of the dolce potato is white 🙂 It kind of tastes like a sweet potato but there is something missing, and I haven’t figured out the difference yet. Any who, I also cooked a 7 Kilo Turkey with the help of the Lovely Ms. Cassidy Boone. and helped with alot of other cooking projects going on for thanks giving.

Cooking, Music, and Friendship are Key ingredients to Life!

Oh! I also Flew over the Swiss Alps on my way to milano and they were gorgeous!!!! Here are some pics from Milano! By the way I am in Love with FIAT cars! They are too Cute!

Joensuu Finland

Joensuu Finland is quite possibly one of the most pleasant city/town in Finland.  The pace of life in Joensuu is super relaxed and it feels like a home away from home.  I went to Joensuu to pursue my research on my PiNs project. My project is based on How Finnish Folk Dancing and Music Impacted Sibelius and his Compositions.

Well, I had thought that I had arranged a time and date for an interview with a professor in Joensuu, and also attend a Cantelle concert ( Finnish Folk instrument that resembles a harp with 5 strings).  However, this meeting did not happen and neither did the concert 🙂 haha In field research, sometimes things just don’t go the way you hoped they would.  BUT I was walking through the streets of Down town Joensuu and managed to happen upon two folk musicians setting up for a concert in a homeless shelter. So, I managed to get their approval for recording their concert and the trip was not for nothing any more 🙂

When you feel that things aren’t going your way ; take a step back and see where God is leading you, and you will find the end result is better than you could imagine.  Learn to let God lead you throughout your life and your life will be filled with love and meaning.

Check out my Media page to see more photos of Joensuu, and of my travels 🙂

Folk Music Revival!

Let The Folk Music Live!

This last Thursday night I went to a Finnish Folk Music and Dance performance at Musikkitalo.  You guys may not know this, but I am conducting research on Finnish folk culture/music/dance  and comparing it to sibelius’s compositions. What I am finding out is that there is a Folk Culture Revival movement going on in Finland as I type 🙂

The movement addresses the fact of youth from the country side are migrating to the cities, and leaving behind their traditions. The Folk music movement is aiming to change this by bringing performances of these traditions to the city. The Performing Duo called   ” Puhti,” are apart of this movement.  On thursday night I went to a Puhti concert.

Here is a link so you can check them out!:           http://www.puhti.eu/

The concert was held in a bar at musikkitalo. There was a stage with band equiptment on it, there were tech people in the back making sure their performance would be optimal, and all of the spectators either had a good beer in hand or a glass of wine. The concert was all in Finnish except for the line in a skit that was performed during a song, ” my cock seems to have become quite stiff,” which were in English 😛 haha Those were lyrics apart of a song that was about sex, and they did different renditions of how to say that line in different languages 🙂 The Finnish people are amazing linguists! So with most of it being in Finnish I understood little of what they were saying, but there was music, dancing, and even monologues with acting involved.

First Act: the two leaders in Puhti, are women in their twenties who have graduated from Sibelius academy. One graduated with a degree in folk music and the other graduated with a degree in musical theater. Together in this first act they sing together and intertwine beautiful harmonies into the melody, and one plays the acordian and sings while the other dances and sings. They have the song pre-choreographed ( and their performance resembles something like a musical theater production) After each performance they say jokes and tell the audience what will happen next.

The Puhti Concert I went to with my friend Petra- also had other folk music bands perform. It was a smorgusboard/ compilation of folk musics from around the world. haha the act after Puhti was a Finnish Guy who Dressed/Sings/and Dances Bollywood music! The crowd liked him so much that they started to get up and dance bollywood style! After Bollywood man, there was a blue grass band with violin, acordian, mandolin, voice, and guitar. They played and sang Finnish folk songs and the audience started to sing along. After them there was an even bigger folk band made up of young people and they incorporated  garageband/computer effects into their performance… haha  It was a Wrap performance! Finnish people sure can wrap! The Finnish  Spoken language lends itself easily towards fast rhythmic speaking. Thus it is perfect for wrapping. It is nice to see that white people can wrap well too 🙂 haha.

Here is Bollywood man with Drummer Extraordinaire!

Here is the Finnish Equivalent to a “Boy Band,” but it is the Folk version 🙂 the Guy who plays the Violin is also a Talented Wrapper!!!

Towards the end of the performances a folk band started playing traditional folk dancing music and a lot of the audience got up and started dancing in pairs around the bar 🙂 It was  so cute to see everyone twirling, hopping, and moving to the beat.

Even though I didn’t completely understand the words that they were saying, I still was able to enjoy the evening.  So the next time you are invited or see an advertisement about a Folk Music concert/Performance….. YOU SHOULD GO! Because you never know what you will find and learn about the culture you are living in 🙂

EXPLORE, EXPLORE, EXPLORE,

-Elizabeth

Ps: Finnish men are HOT! Especially the ones with Long Hair 🙂 here is a pic for your enjoyment 😉

Lessons with Froydis ‘@()

The 24th-28th I visited Oslo to Study with one of the Best horn pedagogues in the world. I was lucky enough to take 3 lessons with her!

FROYDIS REE WEKRE

I wanted to study with Froydis because when I listen to her play on the recordings I am in awe of her perfect intervals and musical gestures/phrases.  Her playing speaks to me. Do you have a musician/person that is a hero, role model, or inspiration to you?  Well, I think that Froydis is one person who I know that fits all of those descriptions.

First day: 3 am – wake up!  Walk to the bus station 10 min away- get on a bus to Tampere … it leaves at 4am.  whew thats early!  Arrive in Tampere at 6 am. Catch a flight at 10 am, take a bus to Oslo from Regge airport….1 hour… Thanks Ryan Air. Ask as many people as possible, where is the metro? then Rendezvous with a musician at the subway asking them where the musichogskole is? ( Norwegian academy of Music) Then run like mad to the academy and meet Froydis just in time for the first lesson I set up with her over email 🙂 at 12 pm. This day where everything went perfectly was truly a gift from God! Thanks God 🙂 You’re the Best! After the Lesson I practiced and realized how much my ear training needed work, but now I had a plan, a way to get better! It was time to start working!!! Then, I go back to the metro and ask random people where the Anker Hostel is located, because I hadn’t planned that far ahead, and I had no map 😀 haha Luckily the people in oslo are willing to help visitors out 🙂 So, this first day was not bad but rather very good!

Hostels = Interesting Life Experience that I recommend to everyone; however don’t stay a week in one. Also have a buddy with you when you stay in hostels, or have a really nice ring that you can wear that makes it look like you are married. Also, have a story that goes along with the ring, that way if any one asks you when you got married you can tell them your story instead of looking at them with a blank expression wondering why they asked you that question :p

The prices in Oslo are extremely high. Haha the first price I saw was 300 krones for a travel ticket… I was astounded. Then I realized that 300 krones was equivalent to 40- 50 euro, and that price for a week of public transportation travel was a fair price… well ok it is expensive for Finland but not for Oslo. Also, Food was quite expensive. on average , if a person were to eat out for each meal of the day they would spend 30-40 euros a day. OUCH! that puts a dent in the college student budget! So, how do you live on the cheap in oslo? Buy food from the indian, asian, or more exotic food markets. I bought pita bread, nutella, walnuts, stuffed grape leaves ( it was canned), one big yogurt, and an apple a day and I was able to make the cost of one day of eating out last for an entire week.

Oslo is a beautiful city. I recommend it! However if you value your finances being in the positive/ in the black/ surplus  then maybe only go for a weekend 🙂

By the way the viking ship museum only has 4 boats in it…. Vikings would burn their ships each time the captain/leader/chief of the group would die.  It was a burial ceremony, in which the dead leader would be laid on the boat, the boat would be set on fire and then the boat would be pushed adrift into the sea where it would finish burning. haha that is the reason why the selection of viking ships to view isn’t that great 🙂

However the Nobel Peace Prize center is Interesting! There is the fake center which is for the tourists, and then there is the secure where one must have a security/VIP pass to enter into. This second center is where the action takes place. Also, did you know that Norway still has a king? Well it does:) I recommend going and seeing the palace and walking around the palace grounds. It is gorgeous!

Oslo = a fond memory of learning, exploring, and experiencing my first Hostel stay 😀

Catch Ya Later,

Elizabeth

ps: here is a picture of me with Froydis, Julius, and I think the other guys name was Tim? … He plays horn too 😀

By the way Julius is a fantastic horn player 🙂 I listened to him play the Brahms trio and he totally knocked the socks off of it!

Mushroom Hunting

Hi Sorry for not writing in a very long while.

Mushroom hunting is a relaxing experience. I recommend it to Everyone!

Conditions needed for Mushroom Hunting:  1) Forrest 2) Wet environment                          3) a mushroom basket waterproof boots that you don’t mind getting muddy, and a pair of good eyes because them mushrooms hide stealthily!

The best place to find mushrooms in the Forrest Habitat:

You can find mushrooms on a somewhat steep slope, where there is a slow water source meandering through the moss and undergrowth. In addition it helps if there are evergreen trees around. The tree would have to have branches lying low to the ground. If you can find a patch of evergreen trees with these characteristics in a moist environment on a graded hill then you are in prime mushroom country.

Mushrooms grow in the same places, so if you know the forrest you are hunting in then you will always find mushrooms 🙂 It takes an average of 2-3 weeks for mushrooms to grow back to the prime picking size. The wonderful thing about mushroom hunting is the variety of mushrooms available in a forrest. there are at least 15 varieties in Finnish forrest.  The type of mushrooms that I picked were the brown HORN mushrooms 🙂 instead of the mushroom top having the characteristic curving downward shape, the horn mushroom tops look like the Bell of a Horn 🙂 they flare upward and outward in an almost symmetrical pattern. These Horn mushrooms don’t start “blooming,” (for lack of a better word) until mid september and stop growing end of october.

These were the only ones I picked. I went with my AWESOME horn professor, ESA TAPANI 😀 and the Tapani family beagle, Luuli. If you go mushroom hunting be aware….not all mushrooms are eatable, but if you see a horn mushroom you can eat it 😀

Finlandia

Last Sunday I performed Finlandia with YS!

This concert was a once in a lifetime experience for me.  The new music house was finished in august and our orchestra YS was invited to play Sibelius’s composition, Finlandia, in it. The acoustics were marvelous in the hall and the concert was a true finnish concert.

A marvelous choir sang traditional finnish folk songs and  also accompanied the orchestra in Finlandia. The addition of the wonderful vocalists to the performance of Finlandia made it truly spectacular. I am truly smitten with the music culture of finland and the Finnish way of life.  I wish I had a recording of our performance but I have yet to procure it. I will however give you a link to click on so that you may hear how wonderful Finlandia truly is. If you like Finlandia, then I suggest you check out the composer Jean Sibelius; he has many marvelous compositions!

Here is part of the Horn Family I belong to in YS 🙂 Love them all!

Here is an inside look at the facilities  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXJ3TixzAds

Creepy Old Men = Problem

Hello All 🙂

For some reason creepy old men are attracted to me. I spoke with my good friend Louis about this and we figured out why.

I happen to be the type of person who is nice to everyone even if I don’t know them. Creepy old men think that when I am  nice to them I like them. This is not the case.

If a person (mainly young females) is nice to said ” Creepy Older Men,” they think that this young female likes them.

If you are Girl and have experienced this same problem, let me give you some sagacious tips that my friend Louis told me about.

1. If an older man starts trying to flirt with you. IGNORE HIM. The reason why these guys think that a person might like them is because people are nice to them. This is quite sad when you think about it. It is a shame that these men assume that women like them if they respond to them with a conversation that is sincere, and polite. A question you might ask is: how did society come to this? my answer is: I have no idea, but it is a shame that being nice attracts creepy old men.

2. If you cannot avoid a conversation with a creepy old man, and must converse with him… then Thou Shalt Keep it CURT! Short and abrupt is the best way to go, if you would like to get away from them 🙂

3. If you really want to be outlandishly mean. Then tell the creepy old men to F*%$ Off and leave you alone. This will surely do the trick of keeping them at bay and away 🙂

I Hope you have found this insightful.

-Elizabeth

YS!

YS is the Symphony Orchestra that I belong to 🙂 I Love this Orchestra!

After Auditions have happened and new members join the orchestra there is a ceremony called Fuksiasette. This is an initiation ceremony for all the new members. It is voluntary to attend this welcoming initiation, but it is a lot of fun so new members really should NOT MISS IT!

It starts out with the new members meeting the leaders/ board of directors and learning about the orchestra’s history, the famous conductors that have been born out of this fantastic orchestra, and how to tune 🙂

Tuning – the act of Drinking a shot of foul smelling hard liquor, BUT before the big gulp one must sing the tuning pitch 🙂 Then after tuning with those around you,  one must guzzle down the shot in one fell swoop. You may be wondering … how does one procure this hard liquor after a concert? Well there is an amazing case that is made especially for carrying liquor, and cups i might add. It is ingenious idea. This case blends in with all of the other cases and looks like a bassoon case, but inside is the liquid required to “Tune,” correctly 🙂

YS new initiates also go grocery shopping and then prepare food for a fantastic party following after the food prep. At this party all of the members of the orchestra are invited to get to know the new members and to socialize and have a fantastic time.

By the way I went in a Sauna for the first time at this party and the Sauna is probably one of the best inventions ever. If you are looking to feel extremely relaxed after a long hard day, I suggest you buy a Sauna. Also, there is a social aspect to the sauna as well. Sitting in the sauna conversing is no different than sitting on a friends couch talking about how each others days have gone. Also, the Sauna is a place were bonding can occur too. The sauna is a wonderful thing that the Finns invented 😀

New members must create a type of play incorporating words that were given to them by the board members in addition to relaxing in a sauna, cooking food, and socializing. This was the most fun part of the evening. Acting out a play with words that contain the letters  “ys,” in them and some how putting together a cohesive story line is hillarious. The plot begins to thicken with many bizzare twists as each word in incorporated into this ongoing story containing much laughter and mirth.

It is also a funny occurrence in the orchestra that they all end up dating one another.(half of the Orchestra are couples) So, I may be coming back with a Finnish boyfriend after all 🙂 haha just kidding.

I hope that you have had a marvelous insight into the orchestra that I now call home 🙂

YS! Is the Best!

Live Happily, Work Hard, Live with Abandon

Elizabeth