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Fond memories from a by Heather McCrae . When Tabatha May set out on a Rotary exchange to Finland in August of last year she didn't know a word of Finnish. But now, after living nearly a year with three families in Turku, she can speak the language quite well. Upon arrival in Finland's capital, Helsinki, Tabatha and 80 other exchange students attended a language camp for a week to familiarize themselves with a few basic Finnish words. Speaking to the Citizen, Tabatha said two of the first words she learned were "kiitos" for "thank you" and "moi" for "hello". Although the PPHS student was the only exchange student at the high school she attended in Turku, several other exchange students from throughout the world were visitors to the city, too. During her visit Tabatha stayed with three separate families and has fond memories of all of them. Thanks to her host families, Tabatha saw much of the country, enjoyed sailing in the Baltic Sea, went cross country skiing a lot and learned how to ski at a resort near the Arctic Circle. She alse played weekly on a city volleyball team. She and a group of exchange students toured Helsinki for a weekend. "The city's really clean and because there's very little crime you feel safe on the streets at night". Another highlight was a three-day visit to St. Petersburg, Russia. The history in the city' was overwhelming and she said she was amazed at the millions of dollars the government spent on gold and brass to trim its buildings, yet on the street there was so much poverty. She says they were warned to bring their own water and instructed not to eat the food "but I ate it and I'm still here today" she grinned. Saunas are a part of most Finnish homes and she became accustomed to having saunas several times a week. She says the Finns thought a group of them were crazy when, in mid- October, they dove into the frigid Baltic Sea after sitting in a hot sauna, they chopped a hole in the ice, all for a quick dip. For the first three month Tabatha stayed with a mother" and her eleven year old son. "My first host mom" she told the Citizen, "was a translater in the English language and spoke a lot of English to me as well as Finnish." Her second host family had 2 teenage sons and everyone spoke Swedish, as well as English and, of course, Finnish. Tabatha says the Swedish language is close to the English language but Finnish is "well, it isn't similar to any other language!" At Christmas the Finns celebrate the Nativity on Christmas Eve and light candles on the graves of friends and family members. "It's beautiful seeing al] the candles on the graves" she said. On Christmas Eve her parents phoned to say her sister had had a baby and she was now an aunt! From April until the end of June, Tabatha lived with her last host family. With four boys under the age of 15 she soon found she was the 'big sister', which was a different role for Want to Reshape Your Body? Lose Fat and Keep It Off? Increase Your Energy? Reduce Risk of Disease? LEARN HOW ... Book your Free Introductory Session Now by calling .. 1-800-473-9342 KEN CARRUTHERS WARD 1 COUNCILLOR Continue Presereing the Past .. Continue Preparing for the Fi Scugog Citizen -- Tuesday, November 1,1994 -- 15 <a her as at home in Port Perry she's the youngest in the family. She wrote over 300 letters to friends and family back home and her parents, Arnold and Liz, came over for a visit at the end of May, staying for a couple of Weeks. "Every one of my host families did everything possible to make my family feel welcome" she said. She says the Finns are so much more health conscious than we are and cycle everywhere on bicycle paths throughout the cities. When asked by the Citizen what was different about herself since leaving Port Perry, she grinned, "well; I now have a nephew and can speak Finnish". And because of all the warm, wonderful people she met her exchange visit was a terrific experience The Rotary Club of Port Perry will be hosting an exchange student next Augyst for a year and is looking for host families to welcome this person into their homes. Belonging to year living in Finland Rotary is not a pre-requisite to more information call 985-8162 host an exchange student. For or ask any Rotarian. Tabatha May spent almost a year in Finland, all part of the Rotary exchange program. She gave a slide show and talk about her trip at the Rotary meeting last week. Tabatha is shown with Rotarian Robert Clark. See story of her visit to Finland. % E | Fr =] e fo 4 § 5 cause for | 1" OVER 6000 SQ.FT. of SHOWROOM Let us send ) Furniture, Appliances, TV, VCR and more! All at Guaranteed Low Prices! 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