Meeting my Host Family

I guess I never posted about meeting my host family, who have become the people that I live with and not strangers anymore.

On the last day of our orientation in Turku together, we had had one more meeting to discuss living with our host families and then we went off to eat lunch. We had lunch in a boat that was converted to a restaurant which was anchored in the river running through Turku. We were all getting nervous to finally meet our host families, and that meal was the last time we had together as a group (until the end of the trip).

When we were done with our lunch (which was very good by the way) we took a short walk to the main library of Turku. For a few hours already our host families had had their own orientation there and now was the moment where we would officially become exchange students.

Walking into the room and up to the small stage in front, everything had become quiet, for this was the first time the people that you had only seen pictures of were sitting in front of you.

The group of fourteen students walked up onto the stage and lined up, in order to introduce ourselves to our host families (which was a super nervous awkward feeling). When the moment came to tell who I was and where I was coming from and which Finnish city I'd be staying in, all the months preparing for this trip had become completely real. I was finally doing it.

When I had said what I needed to, I saw a hand raise out from the group and wave. It was my host mom! I was actually seeing her!

When each of the fourteen students had introduced themselves, it was time to go off with our host families. As soon as we realized that this was the time, there was a bit of a panic up on stage, a bittersweet one, for we were splitting apart from the other kids we had gotten to know so well in just a week, but we were also officially starting our exchange then. So after a minute or two of going around hugging everybody and giving our farewells, we were off with our families to our new homes!

I walked down to my host mother Anne for the first time and we hugged like we had known each other forever! My host dad Matti and brothers Eeti and Ante weren't in the room then but would be coming to the library any minute. My host mom and I waited just inside the main doors and then they walked in. With three handshakes and three "hauska tavata"'s (nice to meet you; one of my most used phrases here) I had finally met my host family. And we were off to start our wonderful summer together!

It has now been almost three weeks of being with them, and settling into Finnish life has become more and more normal feeling.