Category: XCFeeds

After a long weekend of racing, I decided to take Tuesday completely off. This gave me the perfect opportunity to carry out a project that I’d been thinking about. I thought it would be fun to stop by the local school to see if a visitor from the US would be welcome in an English class.

My only knowledge of the school’s location came from having seen some kids with backpacks a few days prior, around 3pm, all walking in a particular direction (AWAY!) from one side of town. So I set out to find their collective point of exodus. Before long, I heard the unmistakable sounds of recess. Even in Finnish, playground chatter is familiar. I followed some middle school-aged kids inside, and learned right away to take off my shoes at the door. My black leather boots stood out in the rows of sneakers and skateboarding shoes in the entryway. The kids slid around the slippery tile floors in their socks, and for some reason I feared that the first teacher I encountered would be shoe-clad and alarmed to see me in socks. I couldn’t find the office or any adults, so I asked one of the older students if she spoke English, and if she could show me to the office. She responded politely in clear English that she understood and showed me upstairs to a teachers’ lounge.

Muonio Middle School

I introduced myself to the first teacher I saw, (who happened to be wearing sandals over socks, but socks were also an appropriate choice for adults) and pitched the idea of visiting an English class. She immediately brought me to the headmaster, who approved the idea and began shuffling around the students’ schedules for the next two days so that they could all have a chance to meet with me! I guess I had somewhat expected this reaction. Maybe because I am a former high school exchange student or because I have an admittedly nerdy interest in second language acquisition, but I know for sure that there is not a language teacher out there who wouldn’t be thrilled to have a native speaker visit the classroom, especially in a remote community. So I made a slideshow of pictures and maps and went back the following two afternoons. My presentation focussed on my hometown and high school, and where I live and what I do now. I put a picture of me skiing on the first slide and wore skinny jeans and a trendy flannel so that the 13-year olds might actually perceive me as ‘cool.’ My nose piercing may have been my best chance on this one.

I met with two small classes of about 12 the first day, and two bigger groups of 30 or so the next.

These kids know who the Stanley Cup Champs are!

The teachers and students were gracious and curious and asked good questions. Some of my favorites were, “Do you play angry birds?”, “What kind of car do you have?”, “What is your deepest fear”, “What did you know about Finland before you came?”, “How much money have you made skiing?” and “Do you know Andy Newell?” The students were definitely a bit shy, so I gave them something to laugh about with my very best attempt at pronouncing their vanhat nimityyppimme, “Finnish names.” (Two y’s?? I mean come on.) Their school was nice and new and extremely clean. They hosted me in their auditorium, which was complete with a theater-sized projection screen. The students seemed to have a lot of both freedom and responsibility, which may be part of why they top the charts. When I left on the last day, an English teacher and special education teacher who had been especially welcoming to me gave me gifts, including homemade cloudberry jam, a necklace with a cloudberry charm, a reindeer ornament, and a bag full of Finnish chocolates. I would say “the work paid off!” but it wasn’t work, just fun.

These girls gave me a reeeeally long list of Finnish rock and pop bands to look up on youtube.

Thanks Everyone!

I said my goodbyes to Muonio and traveled to  Norway yesterday.  While it was great to be able to do a big block of training on snow before the season started, after three weeks in Muonio, the darkness was setting in, and I was ready for a change of scenery.

Sunset in Muonio. This picture was taken before 3pm

The first World Cups of the season are this weekend in Sjusjoen, Norway.  There is not any snow here either so we will be racing on another short manmade loop of snow.  The organizing committee is doing everything they can to protect the snow so the loop is closed until the races with the exception of a three hour inspection period tomorrow.  Since there isn’t any skiing here today the US team decided to stay as long as possible at the tunnel in Torsby where they are currently training and they will not be arriving to Norway until later tonight.  I already had a ticket booked for yesterday and since I skied many kilometers around the track in Muonio, I knew it would be alright to have a day off from skiing and I was excited for a solo day in Lillehammer, where our team is staying for the weekend.

After eating as much delicious breakfast at the hotel buffet as I could hold (soft boiled eggs, toast, brown cheese, yogurt, cereal, keifer, smoked salmon, pickled herring, crepes, and more!!) I was ready to go for a run.  By this time it was fully light outside and the sun was up and shining brightly OVER the hills.  I asked the lady at the front desk if there were running or ski trails nearby and she replied, “Of course, everywhere.”  Stupid question, this is Norway.  I left the hotel, picked a random direction and didn’t run more than a few hundred meters before I came across a single track path.

The trail headed uphill away from the town and paralleled a rocky brook.  After being in Muonio, it felt so hilly here!  It was cold outside with a thick layer of frost but still no snow.

This pool looked a little too cold for an ice bath

It at least looks wintery

Which direction to choose? I'll wait to go to Sjusjoen until tomorrow.

Looking down over Lillehammer

I followed signs to the Olympiaparken site of the 1994 Olympics. The building on the right is now NTG Lillehammer, one of Norway's ski academies.

They were blowing snow in the stadium and I made some fresh tracks (or footprints I guess) through the "powder."

From Olympiaparken I followed signs to Sentrum and soon popped out in the center of town. The main street was very touristy with shops, cafes, and restaurants. There were a few vendors selling waffles which smelled delicious.

Normally I would feel weird wearing spandex and running with ski poles but it felt oddly normal here.

A park in town

A church which I had spotted from above and wanted to check out.

My camera batteries died at this point and it was time also time to head back towards the hotel.

Today marks the three week anniversary of our arrival in Finland. Over the course of this time, we have shared 21 dinners together, skied by the low light of the arctic winter sun, frozen our legs in the icy (and questionably healing?) waters of the Muonio River, and competed alongside some of the world’s fastest skiers. We’ve also had the unusual pleasure of seeing both the sunrise and sunset every single day. In a season of long and overwhelming darkness, this is an enlightening counterbalance. Skiing laps around the 2km loop in the morning, I notice how the sky has changed each time I come into the biathlon range and am faced with the horizon of hills and windmills. I missed the most beautiful view on this day by one lap (about 8 minutes), but you get the idea:

The lighted biathlon range is in the lower left-hand corner.

And here’s a picture taken from between our cabins at noon the same day:

"high" noon.

So you may wonder, what are we doing all the long, dusky day while we’re not out on the trails? IF YOU GUESSED “TOTALLY LOSING IT”, YOU’RE RIGHT! Well first of all, for the record, between 2 training sessions, 4+ eating sessions, grocery shopping and nightly cooking for 8, ski maintenance, muscle maintenance (in my case this involves multiple trips to Pepa’s cabin for daily preventative and remedial care), upkeep of personal hygiene (can a mustache alone constitute “filth”?), and a good night’s sleep, most days don’t leave enough time for prolonged lassitude. But then, we do have an occasional afternoon or day off. Not surprisingly, some deal better with this span of unscheduled time than others. Below I have documented the activities of Hannah, whose creativity was never in question, but who enjoys being housebound during a 2:43pm sunset about as much as the next person. It turns out Hannah is highly skilled in such a multitude of productive activities that she has lamented the slow passing of time but once: in a fleeting and trivial exclamation, the negative effects of which she promptly dispelled with a hot cup of tea.

DAY 4: First installment of the Muonio Collection. Price negotiable with the Artiste.

DAY 8: A new fur coat and quality winter boots for a grand total of 9 euros. Recreational shopping with prudence and purpose.

DAY 13: This real, Vermont woman can not only shoot a gun, but she can install and whittle her own homemade stock.

DAY 21: What is there to turn to after 3 weeks of social isolation? Well, there's always personal grooming; or better yet, fraternal grooming.

Like sister, like brother? Maybe next year, Ethan.

Three down, one to go. See you soon, USA.