Farewell to Finland, Hello USA

Well, I've been back in the US for about 5 days now. It's taken a few days for me to adjust and to get back into the normal routine again. Let's be honest though, throwing off those scarves, gloves, hats, and coats was the easy part! I stayed in Kansas City with my parents for 3 days, and now I'm back in Utah to finish out the last two weeks until graduation.  I don't really have much to do for that, just meeting with teachers, handing in paperwork, and of course partying with friends!

Sidenote: Reunion with my best friend happened today! I really don't have enough words to say how much I missed this girl! We skyped very often, which I definitely needed. But nothing tops hanging out in person. So this was an epic reunion!

she packed us a cute picnic lunch and we shopped, ate, and talked for hours! It was wonderful!

So. The rest of this post is a farewell post to Finland, my trip to Estonia/Helsinki, and last feelings I had before I left.

Last Thursday, April 3, Leena and I left Savonlinna to spend my last weekend in Helsinki. Packing up was really difficult, I had forgotten how much stuff I brought along. Things that I never needed, and regretted bringing (cough hairdryer, straightener, so much clothes...) We ended up taking the bus to Helsinki instead of the train because of my luggage. It was about a 3.5 hour trip through the beautiful countryside of Finland. I spent my time sleeping and reading Seven Brothers, one of the best (and first) books written in Finnish about 7 brothers growing up in the forest of Finland around the 1800s. Since Finland was part of Sweden for a long time, Swedish was the language of education. Even though people spoke Finnish, it wasn't used in literature or academics at all. This book was a revolutionary of its time.

This was pretty much the view the entire time :)

The bus dropped us off in the middle of Helsinki, after which we had to walk about 15 minutes (with luggage) to the flat that Leena has there. It was small but cozy. She lived there for a time with her kids when she was studying for her specialization in Child Psychiatry (don't quote me on that I'm not sure if it's right). It's called the Tiger's Nest. :) It has orange and red walls. And chandeliers. And a sauna in the basement.

Friday we took a trip across the waters to Estonia! I was excited to see another city/country. We have some family friends who are from Estonia, and so I was happy to visit there to tell them that I traveled all the way to Europe to see Estonia!

At the port of entry-they didn't even check passports!

Apparently Tallinn it's one of Europe's best preserved medieval cities. (I am skeptic of that because I've seen some medieval cities in Spain...wait am I becoming a travel snob?? SO sorry, I take it all back.)

Spain or Estonia???

This one is Spain!

Anyway, it does have a beautiful skyline, cobblestone streets, cathedrals, and old buildings.

Outside the English embassy....I didn't see a US one.

 I loved the feel of the town! I have this thing with history. I love it. I love thinking about who lived before and how, and I love imagining what life could have been like on those same streets hundreds of years before.

The Orthodox Cathedral, built when Estonia became part of the Soviet Union

The town square

Estonia uses the Euro, too, so it was easy to buy lots of things :) 

Actually, I only bought three or so things....the rest were gifts that Leena bought for people!

I also loved the trip over and back. The cruise ship that took us over there was really exciting!

I had never been on one before and I just loved the idea of it.

 I also loved the buffet....

Saturday, I spent most of the day walking around Helsinki and seeing the sights.

Monument built to the national composer, Sibelious. (Who wrote the national anthem)

A Lutheran church built inside a rock!

I stopped by a few churches, the National History Museum, went into some shops, walked all around until I was beat.

National History Museum

The city's big, Lutheran Cathedral

The Orthodox Cathedral

Ok. Headquarters of Finland's best chocolate!!

I really loved Helsinki. More people spoke English there, and I felt like I was more able to get around by myself. There were so many fun shops to see and things to go do, that I loved it! Sometime in my life I would love to live in a big city for awhile. I'm sorry but I'm not sure Kansas City counts...I'm thinking more like Boston, NYC, Philadelphia...awesome.

Sunday we spent the afternoon with some friends in Helsinki and enjoyed being in each other's company before I had to leave. I asked Leena if she was ready to get back to her normal life (without an extra person in her house), and she just leaned over, patted my cheek, and said that she would miss me.

Monday morning we left for the airport at 4:30 for my early morning flight. Leena came with me, stayed as I checked my bags, and watched as I went through security. It was a bittersweet moment, knowing how much I love that lady but not knowing when the next I will see her again. It was hard, nostalgic and sad.

I have loved learning about Finland, about the culture, language, and getting to know the Finns. Clinical hours were hard, but I learned so much about global nursing and crossing those cultural boundaries. I learned to love in a different way that I have before. I have fond memories of sauna, ice skating, movie nights, swimming, baking, traveling, laughing, and crying with Leena. I feel like she is part of my family now, and I know that I want to visit her again.

Those times. They were fun. They were sweet. They were the best. 

Thanks so much to everyone who has read my stories, followed my adventures, supported me in the hard times, encouraged me to go and keep persevering. This has been a trip of a lifetime. I feel so much more confidence in myself and the things that I can achieve. I'm closing this last chapter of my nursing school, and I so look forward to the next. Fair warning, I will probably keep blogging! So stay tuned!

Much love,
Melanie