We were consistently excited for the arrival of our grandmother (Gogo to family members) for weeks, up until the day she came. Gogo was our first guest and we were anxious to show her around our new home. It was both a weird and fun experience to not be the foreigners for once, and instead the guides in Finland. It was fun to see her point of view in different matters because even though we have been here for a while, there are many mysteries here that are yet unsolved.
We planned out an entire itinerary due to our excitement. THe first few days in Jyvaskyla were spent cooking traditional Finnish dishes and going on walks around town to give her a feel of the city. We also introduced her to our Fulbright friends which induced some very interesting in-depth conversations. We then took a train over to Helsinki which was good to show her the capital. We went to places such as the community center/library (Oodi) and the local flea market as well as many historical sites and museums. We figured that this visit provided a wide range of sites to show her the history and overall vibe of Finland.
During this wonderful time spent with our grandmother, our grandfather became very sick. He’s going to be okay and our thoughts and love are with him always.
