Meeting The Haapalainen's

Yes, I know, this is late, but I have been busy for the past two days. On Saturday, we were exhausted after staying up very late. Starting off the day, we had some worskshops to learn information about living with our new family and how to react to certain problems if any should occur. After two hours, we were off to the restaurant on the boat to eat lunch! While walking there, we noticed some sort of race going on- it was a marathon. So during our lunch we got to see the runners take off. Anyways, after our very loud conversations on the boat, we were ready to go the library. As we walked there, we all told each other that we would be in touch. We also could not stop talking about how excited and nervous we were! When we entered the library room where our families were sitting, we all looked around nervously and went to the stage where we had to introduce ourselves. Talk about being awkward! Meanwhile, we all introduced ourselves to the families and waved at our own host family. Then after our introductions, the families all told us their names. Finally, we all hugged each other before we met our family. As I walked to The Haapalainen's, I could not stop the big smile that came to my face. I had seen pictures of all of them via Facebook and email, but they just did not seem real. But they hugged me and made me realize that I was not dreaming. We walked to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then got in the car to drive two hours to Kerava. However, we did get stuck in a bit of traffic because of the race that was happening at the moment, but it did not stop us. After we were on our way, we talked a little and since I was so tired, I dozed off. When we arrived at their home in Kerava, I was greeted my their dogs, Salli and Rilla. They are such happy dogs!! I also got the Grand Tour of my new home and was directed to my room. I had some time to unpack and then, to my utter excitement, went outside to jump on the trampoline. FUN!!! Shortly afterwards, we then all played Mölkky. Just to let you guys know, I do not know how to explain the game, but it is sort of like bowling. Anyways, if you reach 50 points, you win the game and somehow I won! I don't how, beginner's luck, maybe? We also enjoyed a nice Tex Mex dinner after our game. I was surprised they liked Tex Mex too and was happy that I didn't have to live without my favorite food here!! I also got to watch the European Championships with them after dinner. It was really neat to watch these track and field competitions because they are actually being held in Helsinki, which is about 30 minutes away. Wow! And I almost forgot, Inka and I also got to go in the sauna. I was really excited about it because I had enjoyed the other sauna a lot the other day. So, that was my busy, busy day! I can't wait to see what we do next!