5 things...

One of my favourite things to do when visiting my family in Finland is taking the dogs for a walk around the Espoo neighbourhood. When I first went to Finland I met Gapu (9) who was a permenant member of the family and Vauhti (3) who was being trained to be a guide dog. Vauhti would go back to the guide dog school for periods of time and then spend time with the family the rest of the time. Vauhti Vauhti passed the guide dog training test earlier this year and was subsequently homed with a visually impaired person. If the dog does not pass the test after a year, they are not taken on as guide dogs and are homed with families. The family has worked with the Guide Dog school http://opaskoirakoulu.fi/?lang=en since 1999 when they adopted their first dog, Cola. Cola Reko and Gapu With the recent addition of Reko, a white Labrador to the family, I thought it would be nice to look at how my Finnish family got connected to the Guide Dog school and ended up givi...

Last night we arrived in Finland for a short break and to catch up with friends and family and just enjoy being in Finland during Autumn. I can already notice a difference since we were last here in July. We missed seeing the first snow of the season by a day, so we've arrived in a wet and windy Finland.  I can't wait to take in the beauty of this country at this time of year and take lots of photos! I've been in desperate need of a break from work and the every day routine that can take over life. 5 things I'm looking forward to doing in Finland... 1. Visit Tampere We stayed in Tampere, the 'Manchester of Finland' last January and had a great time eating munkki and exploring the city. 2. Eat Cinnamon buns and drink coffee We plan to visit some of our favourite coffee shops and indulge in some cinnamon buns and musta kahvi whilst in Helsinki. Cafe Succes and Carousel are top of our lists! 3. Go for long walks with the dog Nothing beats a nic...

Last year I enrolled to the Manchester Suomi school and started to learn Finnish twice a month. The class was mainly filed with English people with Finnish partners. I'd picked up one or two phrases from my partner and his family but still struggled with the language. I decided to try a new way of learning. Using post-it notes and a sharpie, I decided to label everyday household items to try and learn a few words around the house. So far, so good. I'm getting there and starting to remember words. I'm going to change the words every few weeks and try and expand my Finnish as much as possible. We're heading over to Helsinki in a week's time so hopefully I'll get to practice some of the words and phrases I've learnt.