Last Few Days Before We´re Finnished

It is hard to believe that the Finland portion of my GSE is almost at the end. The last few days have really been great.

As I already mentioned, my hosts Jaakko and Helena are very involved in ballroom dancing. This has been great for me because Keith and I took lessons when we were in univeristy. Needless to say we have had many conversations about dancing. I even introduced Jaakko and Helena to the world of Michael Buble who has excellent music for dancing.

On Saturday I went with my hosts Jaakko and Helena and their daughter and boyfrined (Heidi-Maria and Artturi) to Vaasa for a ballroom dancing competition. The competition was the Finland Grand Prix. Heidi-Maria and Artturi were competing in the standard dancing portion of the competition so we were their "groupies."

Jaakko and Helena arranged a table right beside the dance floor so we literally had front row seats. In the words of a Celine Dion fan...You could smell the sweat! It felt like we were at a strictly ballroom dancing version of So You Think You Can Dance. The dancing was so spectacular that I didn´t even realize that I had been watching dancing for 8 hours! And I can´t even begin to describe the costumes...fantastic! To make the day even better, Heidi-Maria and Artturi danced beautifully and placed third in their group!

Today I met the team in the morning to wish Laurel and Marty farewell. It was sad to see them leave. We have experienced so much together.

After packing my suitcase and resting in the afternoon, the ballroom dancing activities continued when I went along with Jaakko and Helena to their ballroom dance lesson that they lead. I started out by helping with the secretarial and treaurer duties. Jaakko and Helena then spent an hour on waltz and an hour on cha cha cha. I was an extra "man" for some of the students and I was even "demo girl" for open breaks in cha cha cha. All in all it was a good day.

Tomorrow Catherine, Gailmarie and I travel to Vaasa for our flight to Stockholm. It will be once again very sad to leave my hosts. Like all my hosts, they have been so hospitable, generous, and welcoming.

Thanks again to all my hosts (Jaakko, Helena, Harry, Katriina, Pertti, Riita Liisa, Tiina, Hokan, Alvar, and Volter) for making this experience so memorable. I will remember your kindness always and I hope that we will meet again. Everyone is always welcome in Canada! Keep in touch!

Also...three cheers for Rotary for the GSE program. This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity. I experienced everything that I intended to experience here in Finland plus much more...including being baptized in the Seinjoki River!

I guess I am Finnished...until next time!