Monday 21st of July
Dairy of Monday 21st of July
Today we met in a cafeteria in Kiuruvesi, we ate breakfast and
afterwards we went to the center of Kiuruvesi for about half
an hour. When we all came back, we walked about a mile to visit
the local newspaper. An employer welcomed us, and showed us around
the printing house. When we had seen the whole factory, a photographer
took a picture of us, for the paper that will be printed next week.
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Then we went to Hingunniemi, ate there
and saw the welcome ceremony. At the
ceremony Eeva and Ulla played on their Finnish
instruments (the kantele), there were also some
girls who danced and a lot of speeches about
Hingunniemi, Lions, and the rules.
Tapani who is the headmaster of Hingunniemi
introduced us the whole area by showing us around. |
We found Hingunniemi very big and beautiful. Our experience with Lions
on the first day on the camp has been very nice.
Gitte and Michel, Denmark
Today has been an interesting day!
The weather was fine, the sun was shinning and it was quite warm.
At first we went to breakfast and then we got the chance to take a
lot of Kiuruvesi. Then at 11 o`clock we went to the print house,
where we got some interesting information about making newspapers.
Then we drove to have lunch and after lunch we started the welcome ceremonies.
They were quite interesting with a lot of speeches,
music and dancing.( And with taking photos) After ceremony
we got a look around the horse farm, which was really interesting,
especially for people who are interested in horses.After that we wrote this e-mail:-)
In a few minutes we will have dinner and after that we are going to get
freetime to do some activities. For example swimming or playing floorball.
We both enjoyed this day a lot and we are looking forward to the next day!
Kind regards Lenka & Sabrina
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First Day of Camp
The first day of camp started with the sun shining bright & ended with a
day well spent. Staying up late & waking up early is tough at camp when you
don't get the right amount of sleep. We all took a little walk to have
breakfast in a pleasant cafe & later took about a mile walk to Kiuruvesi's
local printing press. It is very interesting to see how much labor is put
into making just one paper. I give the people who work so hard there two
thumbs up for a job well done every single day. Later on we got onto a
bus & arrived at Hingunniemi for an orientation & a tour. Hingunniemi is a
horse ranch for students to learn the ropes. It is a wonderful environment
for the horses as well as the students to learn. We ate lunch & dinner
here; the food is quite different then what we Americans are used to, but
it's edible. After dinner we went back to the camp apartments & had some
free time before it was time to walk to the cafe again for a snack.
It was as good as breakfast! After the little snack we had a few minutes
to walk around the town & then we headed back for the night. Some of us
watched movies, some of us played cards, some of us hung out, & some of
us just went to bed. All in all our first day went well & it was great
being with people from all over the world. Finland is a very beautiful
country with awesome forests & many wonderful lakes. I hope the rest of
the week goes as well as today & everyone goes home with many great memories.
Take care or yourselves!
Marisa Crimeni California, U.S.A
Tuesday 22st of July
We started the day by waking up at about 7:30 and then we gatherd
at the local restaurant, Nisunnurkka, at 9:00 for breakfast.
By 9:30 we walked along pedestrian pathways to the local recreation facilities.
We learned of some common sports in the area and saw the outdoor ice
rink and inside gymnasium. At 10:30 we took a bus to Hingunniemi where we
ate our lunch and headed to the stables. We were split into groups according
to our riding experience. Once we were done, we had the opportunity to take a
snack in the cafeteria or to continue riding. At about about 16:30 we will eat
our dinner and then go to a sports field for Finnish baseball. Once we watch
the game, we will be taught to play the game. Supper is at 20:30, and after
than we will retire for the evening to rest up for another day of adventure.
Heather, USA and Gamze, Turkey
Tuesday
After breakfast, we walked along Kiuruvesi to the sports center.
We got a tour of the facilities (another speech!!!) for example the
ice rink and inside gymnasium, but it was early and we were all sleepy.
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After the long walk, we took a bus to Hingunniemi,
where we ate lunch and waited a long time to ride.
Eventually, we hopped on a horse and rode in a circle
while a student walked the horse we riding on
("Extreme Sports"). It was a grey day, so many went
indoors and tried to pass time. |
We ate dinner and then went to the beach, many people swam in the wonderful
brown lake. After swimming many gathered in a group and played volleyball.
Then we went to play Finnish baseball. We practiced hitting but not many
people were successful at hitting the ball (embarrasing). We tried playing
a game while the lightning was striking near by. Eric became a victim to the
game when he was batting and he injured his ankle (POOR ERIC!). It started
raining and we all headed for shelter (great!). Some played volleyball and
basketball, while others sat and watched. We ate for the 4th time (dinner!)
and headed to our accomodations where a new trailer was set up to supervise
us during our silence time (Yippee!!).
Miha Vicky (Greece), Amy Kolstein (Canada) and Maciek Nalepinski (Poland)
Wednesday 23st of July
Today we began the day by waking up at around 7:30. Then breakfast was
served at 8:45. After that we traveled to Pielavesi where we heard speeches
from Juha Valkama, the mayor. We also listened to speeches from the district
governor of local Lions Club, Antero Ylitalo. They gave us some very
interesting facts about the area and the Lions Club. Next we were able to do
some sightseeing of Pielavesi. We went to the the ex-governor's home, Lepikon
torppa. Inside the home we saw some of various things used in the past.
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Our
next activity was salmon fishing at Löytynlohi.
The poles that we used were different than what
many of us have used before; they were large sticks
with the lines and a hook. It was quite warm out,
so the fish were not biting. But after a little
while, we began to have some luck. |
Once the fishing was over, the salmon that was caught was smoked for a picnic.
At about 16:00, we left to Iisalmi where we had the choice of either swimming
at the beach or shopping. Once we returned to Kiuruvesi, we ate our supper;
then we had a free time to use as we wish until silence time at 22:30.
It was a very fun day learning about the region and picking up new skills!
Lindsey, USA
Diary about Yesterday
On Wednesday we went to Pielavesi to listen to a lot of speeches hold by
Lions responsibles. We could get many impressions about their work in Finland
and about Lions activities in general. After that we went to Lepikon torppa,
where the former and greatest President of Finland was born. There we also
could have a look at the old finish lifestyle. The next point on our schedule
was fishing. Unluckily there have been a lot of mosquitoes, but never the
less we had had a lot of fun over there. For lunch we had the fish catch
by ourselves. For the last "mission" of the day we were shopping in Iisalmi,
which is one of the bigger cities in this area. During that time some of us
went swimming at a beach right outside the city. We are already exited
what we are going to do in the next days.
Marie, Germany and Vegard, Norway
Thursday 24th of July
Thursday, 24th July 2003.
It was a long day. We had to get up really early and so at 8.30 (the time we
were supposed to be having breakfast) we were still very sleepy.
Around 9.00 we were at Hingunniemi to plan a camp logo to print on shirts.
After that we had lunch and then went to the bus. We were going to have a
long trip to Kajaani and Sotkamo.We had some free time when we arrived to
Kajaani, but it wasn’t really that much time, it was less than an hour,
because after that we had to drive to Sotkamo where we went sliding in a snow
halfpipe. We had lots of fun doing that. After this adventure we went watching
a baseball game between Sotkamo and Järvenpää (Järvenpää won, by the way).
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We had another long trip back to the accommodations and we had supper at
Nisunnurkka on the way. When we got home we were tired but we still talked a
lot. Like we said, it may have been a long day, but we sure had a lot of fun!
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Sara (Portugal), Hanna (Sweden), Kâmil (turkey)
On thursday we desinged the camp logo, afterwords we left on a long bus trip to
kajaani and had free time to shop. later we left to an indoor snow half pipe
which is the first time I have ever seen a snow half pipe, we went sleding in
inertubes down the steep slope. I had a lot of fun and the pro shop was real
cool with a lot of good equipment. I thought lunch was the best, we had hesburger,
which is a very american fast food restraunt, it was very nice to have a break
from the bread cheese and and butter meal. Then that night we watched a
movie in the our room.
Jacob Bates U.S.A. California
Friday 25th of July
Diary Entry for Friday July, 25 2003
Well the week has been a very interesting week with many adventures, accidents, injuries,
and making new friends. Today people learned how to dance some finnish dances. The Waltz
and Tango were among them as well as some other native dances to the Finnish people. after
the dance session we went to the woods to have a kind of nature walk with check points that
had different obstacles that must be completed. The object was to accomplish these tasks
but not in a timely manner, you must finish them in the best way that you can. It was fun
to see how far people could throw the boot, guess how far obstacles were, and then line up
in a line according to height in the shortest time possible. The winning team was team number
one who was very good.
These activites acted as a bonding challenge for everyone. These have been fun and exciting
activities for everyone even the handicaped can enjoy the day and have as much fun as possible.
There is not a lot of handicapped things to here in Finland or in Kiuruvesi since most people
probley stay at home here. The other activity that is fun is driving in circles with the music
turned up all the way and the windows rolled down with the wind blowing your hair, we shall
break the record Tuomas.
We have enjoyed this camp and all the many adventures that we shall have before it ends. goodbye.
We shall also have a lot of fun with new friend TJ who shall be the coolest camp counsler ever.
Eric (USA California), Marlie (Holland), Nadine (Switzerland) and Tom (Belgium)
Sunday 27th of July
The breakfast was at 8:45 which was a bit early. But we did manage it all right.
We probably all were feeling bit strange because we knew it would be our last
breakfast that we would spend all together. After breakfast we went to the lutheran
church in Kiuruvesi and becouse we are atheists we were not that emotionally involved,
but it was quite nice, that some of the speeches were translated in English so that we
could understand them more at home. After that we went to Iisalmi and had the possibility
to go sailing and get wet. Those of us who did not sail took a bath in the lake and went
rowing. It was really fun, but it got colder and it started to rain. At
about two o' clock we went back to the Kiuruvesi, because some of us were picked up
by their hostfamilies. It was really sad, but we all promised to keep in touch and we surely will.
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Afterwards we went back to our
accomodations for the last time and hat time to pack our suitcases.
And went to Lassi's wonderful wooden summer house in the wood by
the lakes. We had a lot of fun there. We were rowing, swimming,
eating, cooking, playing cards and just talking and enjoying our
last evening together. Thank you Lassi, Eva and family. |
Milena, Germany
The breakfast was at 8:45 and after breakfast we went to the
church. There were church servise. And becouse we are atheist.
We were a bit borded. After it we went to the Iisalmi. There
some of us went sailing. It was really fun, but the weather
was getting raining. Then we went back to the Kiuruvesi and the
hoastfamilies picked up some of us. It was really sad. After that
we had time to packed our suitcases. And we went to Lassi's
summerhouse. Were we had lot of fun. Thank you Lassi.
Kristina, Czech Rebublic
Today is the last day of the camp and a sadness was coming over everyone as they
knew this would be their last day together. Some only had a few hours until
their host families would comeand pick them up. However the program was full
we had to get going. The first stop of the day was to Iisalmi sailing club.
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The bad weather and braving thunderstorm meant
that we could not go sailing alone, but we were
taken out for a quick trip by members of the club.
After every one who wanted a turn had had one, it
was back on to the bus where we headed to the
ABC-station to drop off the first group. Every one
managed to keep their eyes dry but saying goodbye
is the hardest thing that any of us had to do.
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From there we travelled to Lassi's summer houses where some made delicious food
from their home countries. We also went rowing, had a sauna waited for the night
to gome. I'm writing this now while listening to bad karaoke, contemplating
the superb week that has gone. The frinds we had have made, the new foods and
activities, have experienced is something that I'll remember the rest of my life.
All I can say is thank you to Lassi and eva for organising this brilliant and
finally to lions district 105 for giving me mis opportunity that I will remember
forever.Im closing farewell and goodbye.
Craig Tucker, UK
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