A Finnish Weekend

So this is my first weekend since coming to Finland and it has so far been quite nice.
Yesterday we went to my supervisor's house for dinner. She has a family of 4 including two children, a boy and a girl. They live quite the ideal Finnish lifestyle I think. Their house is by a river and they just bought a new canoe. The children climb trees and play for hours on this huge trampoline they have in the backyard. Trampolines are all the rage here, but you must be careful, Sari was telling me that her nephew died from a trampolining accident. The night was very fun, informal and filled with good conversation that ranged from being a biologist in Finland to bird watching. It is great to see kids who are active and not cooped up all day in front of the computer. They also aren't afraid to get dirty and that is the kind of childhood that I think is going extinct in our technology, stimulus-driven world today.
Sari's house was just amazing. It had two old-fashioned Finnish stoves and they heat their houses with furnaces in which they burn wood and paper waste that they have around the house. It is quite resourceful actually and very efficient. Sometimes I wonder why North America has never implemented such environmentally-friendly practices into its workplace and homes.
We then had a nice BBQ in the backyard: chicken with grilled veggies. It was just such a pleasant evening. I am glad we went.
Today I went to a bog! It is really really wet. You can tromp around all you like in this bog and in the proper attire (heavy-duty rainboots) you won't get wet. I am not used to having the ground sink beneath me when I am standing still. The bog is also a home for a lot of different wildlife. We saw many different types of flowers and berries and I have been told it only gets better as the summer progresses. I love nature, though unfortunately I have been told that this amazing weather we have been having will be short-lived and that I should expect rain soon.
We are looking at attending the Savonlinna Opera Festival next month. It is a great festival where operas are held in a stage built right in the centre of the castle! The tickets are not cheap, but I think it would be worth it all the same. So far, all the shows for Carmen are sold out. My hope is that we find tickets for the Magic Flute.
To make sure I am getting the true Finnish experience, I am also reading a book called "The Egyptian" by Mika Waltari, a very famous Finnish author. So far it has been quite an interesting read. It is about Egypt oddly enough and slaves and Pharoahs. Who knew that the most important Finnish book of the century was based on a land so unlike Finland and in fact so far away. I cannot say that I am enjoying the book too much either. It is dark and full of hardship for the main characters, but then again, many classics are like this so I can not be surprised.

Wow, this update is much longer than I had intended so I will end it here. Stay tuned for the next episode of Sarah's Finnish adventures!