Winter Wonderland

I am living in the most unbelievably beautiful country in the world. Saying that Finland is a winter wonderland doesn't even begin to capture this fairytale Christmas heaven, and the pictures just don't do it justice. I kid you not when I say it snows glitter here. Even in the dark, the snow sparkles like diamonds. I have never seen anything like it before and I am totally and completely hot weather, beach bum...but even I can't deny how lucky I am to get to experience this everyday... even if we were averaging -24 degree weather this last week. Ummm...FREEEEEEEEEEZING!!!

This explains a little bit of what I am experiencing...

+15 °C, Spanish wear caps, gloves and winter coats, Finns are sunbathing.
+10 °C, French desperately try to get their central heating on. Finns plant flowers.
+5 °C, Italian cars won't start. Finns drive with convertibles.
0 °C, Pure water freezes. Water in river Vantaa thickens a bit.

−5 °C, First people are found frozen in California. Finnish midsummer festival ends.

−10 °C, Scottish turn the heat on in their houses. Finns start to use long-sleeve shirts.

−20 °C, Swedes stay indoors. Finns are having last barbeque before winter.

−30 °C, Half of the Greek people have frozen to death. Finns start to dry their laundry indoors.

−50 °C, Polar bears evacuate North Pole. Finnish army starts it's winter training.

−70 °C, Siberian people are moving to Moscow. Finns are furious since the Koskenkorva booze can't be stored outdoors anymore.

−273 °C, Absolute zero. Finns admit that it is quite cold outside.

−300 °C, Hell freezes over. Finland wins the football World Cup.

It made me laugh :)

Volleyball has been a little rough lately, and we can't seem to get into a rhythm on the court. Kelsey Black moved to Pihtipudas last week and is my new roommate. Love, love, love her! It is so fun to have another American on the team and I am so glad that it is her. She is awesome and we have had a blast decorating our kitchen with Christmas lights and ornaments while listening to JB's Christmas album, or doing who knows what to pass the time in between practices. When I first moved to Finland nothing American worked over here; Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, or any type of online show. When Kelsey got here she mentioned Netflix and as I was explaining to her that it doesn't work in Finland...she pulled it up on her computer. Netflix has changed my life this week. Soooo excited to finally have it in Finland AND have been spending my time loving every second of my dear Prison Break. Favorite show EEEEEVERRRR! I had forgotten just how much I loved it the first three times I watched all 4 seasons and 'The Final Break.' I lay in bed telling myself that I will just watch one episode and as that episode is ending I am dying to know what is going to happen next (Yes, I already know and it still keeps me hooked). It's a problem, I know...haha I got Kelsey hooked on it this week as well, and she now has the Prison Break bug too.

There are some scary people in this world and some scary places, BUT Finland is not one of them. I have heard over and over again how safe Finland is and that I don't have to worry about anything happening to me here. I am convinced this is because it is too cold for anyone to even want to walk outside, and there really are not many people that live here. My village especially is tiny, and I walk everywhere and never feel scared. Considering it is only light for 4 hours a day, walking around in darkness is still not in the least bit terrifying. I found out a few weeks ago that Pihtipudas is so safe that they don't even have a police department. If something were to happen it would take the police 45 minutes just to get here, ha! Thank heavens for Sepo though...

This is the self proclaimed Sheriff of Pihtipudas, Finland! haha No need to worry mom, Sepo is keeping me safe. 

While he is completely out of his mind, it keeps us quiet entertained. Unfortunately I couldn't upload the video of him dancing around SMarket, but it was by far one of the best things I have seen in the last 4 months.

I can't believe I have already been here for 4 months. The time has flown and I just want it to slow down so it never ends. The only thing that would make this adventure better would be some points for our team in the league :).