Hanski is(was) our 2002-03 Exchange Student from Finland

hannamaijahaikka@hotmail.com

Received December 26, 2005

Hello and Bonjour from France!

I wish you all the best holidays and a happy year of 2006!

I'm doing good, my French is doing even better =)

The attached picture is from The Alps.

Take care,

Hanski

Hanna-Maija Haikka

Received October 16, 2005

E-mail from Hanski

Hi Wayne!

After long time, how are you? Please say hi also to Eleanor.

Could you send this e-mail to all the rotarians? You are still the
webmaster, aren't you?
Do you think they still remember me at the club?

Well, i sure remember all of you =).


It,s Hanski, oui!

I am writing from France. I came here to be an au pair a week ago. And it
has been really great ever since! I am staying near Geneve, near town called
Annecy. So i am even closer to the mountains than you there in Lethbridge!

I have a great family with three adorable children i will stay the year
with. Two girls and a boy (4,6 and 8). The mom is a single parent but does
things like there were three of them! So what i do is take care of the
children while she is working. Sounds easy, but as i do not know any french
yet, we have had some little (?) misunderstandings with the children. But it
easier with schildren than adults who don't speak english. The kids use easy
language and repeat everything until i understand what they are saying =).

I love the language! And i am surprised how similar it is to English! At
least in written. So I am taking French lessons together with other au
pairs. They have studied for at least three years, so i have some catching
up to do. And I have been studying harder than ever! Betty, the lady i am
staying with, always tells me to stop studying =).

I first tought in the summer that i want to work in France. So i started to
search, but what do you find when you don't understand the language? Not
much. So I decided, it would be ok to live with someone again and work for
them. And it was a good choise. I have heard some au pairs are working too
much, but for me it is actually redicolous little job. And i am surprised i
have so much fun with the children!

I still am not sure what i will do next year. I applied to study fashion
this year, but it is hard to get into the school and i haven't been sewing
much of anything lately. So i don't know if that is the thing for me
anymore. I think i will apply for some kind of university for business. But
for now, I'm really happy with what I'm doing!

I attached my smiley (or is it smily?) face for you.

How is your present exchange student doing? Please say hi from me to
him/her! He is in good hands with you =).

I hope you are all doing fine aswell as your familes!

Hanski
to remind, the golden year was 2002-2003

Hanna-Maija Haikka

Hanski Writes from Finland

Received March 10, 2005

Hi there!

It's a long way between us =)

Too long I would say. Do you think we could cut of some ocean at least? ;)

I'm not sure whinch adresses are still in use and of course you cannot tell

me if you did not receive my mail, but if you see some adresses that you

know does not exixt anymore, please tell me =)

Anyway, How are you doing?

I wish I would hear more about you but i know it's mostly my fault, because

i'm so lazy writer.. I know there's no use writing to a person who doesn't

write you back.

I will have my great big exams next week and the following one too. Despite

what my parents told me, I started to work at a gas station/restaurand/fast

food place. I should be studying for the exams and doing many other things,

but i needed a job, so i'm working =) Simple, eh? *smile*

My dad works at a company that's going to start design and produce clothes

for children and older kids. I might actually get involved with designing

those clothes in a month of two. I'm so exited about that! It would mean a

trin to Latvia (can't remember what it's in English below Estonia anyway)

for a week =) Would be awesome!!

My mom just turned 50 and there was quite a big article about her in our

little newspaper (she is involved in many things with the city through her

company) and now I've refused to answer the phone because all what I hear

are these people "Is she really that old? plaa plaa.. And no-one calls for

me =( I guess it's ok, 'cause normally the calls are for me though ;)

My friends at school are sick and tired of hearing what things are like in

Canada (and especially in which they are better) Kust yesterday when I

talked to my friend about something I mentioned that yeah, I did that in

Canada! He just said how much I've done there, how did I have time for all

that? Well, you fellows know it was quite busy sometimes =)

I got to go bring back my moms car.. (i'm writing at school because our

computer is out of use for now)

I hope everything is good, you're healthy and happy!

Love you,

Hanski (I miss the time I could introduce myself just as Hanski, no-one

would ask for my real name and last name =) Now I have to tell my name and

then ask people if they could call me Hanski like at work (and they won't) )

Hanna-Maija Haikka

Received 24 December 2004

Hanski attends weekly Rotary meetings to tell us the latest news on what she has been doing and which Rotarians have taken her on a family outing.

Received 17 September, 2003

Hi!

I haven´t written for a long time, so now i decided it's time =)

i´m quite frusturated with my school here. but in a way i´m kind of glad

some of you other exchange students are feeling the same way. maybe

depressed would be better word to describe.

it´s so hard. and i´m so dum, well i try to tell myself not think like that,

but it´s just so hard to learn words for english and swedish now after a

year break ( and they are words i´ve mostly never heard in english). Maybe i

got little too lazy during last year. maybe i sewed too much ;) well, good

thing i did, ´cause i haven´t have time for sewing even a bit since i

started school and that means five(?) weeks now. so i´m going crazy!

i hope you are all doing well. i´m missing all of you alot! there won´t go a

day that i wouldn´t think how things were there and what would people be

doing now and how the other echangers have used to be at home or the others

with the new exchange students there or the friends at school and in my

sewing class (Patti =).

i´m doing pretty well, as i´m trying to not to count my stress with the

school. i´m still taking lessons to learn how to drive. today i was in a

bigger city (Tampere) and tried drive there; it´s crazy! it´s not enough to

try to remember the rules and see who i´m supposed to let go first and se

the pedestrians and all the signs in side of the road (and understund them

;) but also make sure, that i´m ready to be flexible, if someone doesn´t

follow the rules! that´s just way too much to ask..!! for example i was

waiting the light to turn green and when it turned and i tried to go, the

car shut down and i had to start again. well i´m used tothat, so it doesn´t

take so long, before i get going again, but there was car behind me who

obviously watched only the light not thinking that there cloud be someone

slow in front of HIM and so he came closer and closer and we almost crashed.

but just almost=) anyways, it was scary.

and if i haven´t told i got a job (really smart says my mom, since i didn´t

already have enough time for my homework) from a gasstation. and i love it!

i´m waiting for the wekends to come, so that i can go to work! i have to

send some pictures, as soon as my brother can take some with his digital

camera (the uniform is dum, you´ll see =).

i´ve still been rollerblading as often as the roads are dry.(haven´t been

often though) and playing with my dog. oh, it was funny, i had my dog in

school once, because i had to bring her to vet for those yearly

appointments/checks and to get those.. hmm.. when you stick the needle into

them and so on.. to ensure from getting any deceases or something. but she´s

calm, so they didn´t mind her being there.

my dad turned 50 and we had huge party. well... what can i say. in finland,

when you celebrate,you drink, whatever you partying for.. that´s just how it

goes here. at the same time it was the first weekend that i worked,so i had

to take easy (read: go early to bed) and it was good, because they were

partying all night long. basicly my dad and his brothers. well, it was

succes and my dad was happy, so that´s the main point =)

what else.. i told for some of you how the school works here, that we have

those five time periods. in each one we study for five or six weeks and then

we have max 8 exams on those subjects one in a day, foir a week and a half.

and my first exam is on monday.

Here i want to copy for you this little peace of our exam (just a practise

one) those that we get for homework

you´re supposed to pivk the right word to fill the blanc. you have 4 options

to choose from.

On top of the world

On May 29, 1953 Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal

became the first human beings to __1__ Mount Everest - at 29,028ft, the

highest place on Earth. __2__ rational standards, this was no big deal.

Aircraft had long before __3__ over the summit, and within a few decades

literally hundreds of other people __4__ climb Everest too. And what is

remarkable, __5__, about getting top of a mountain?

Geography was not furthered by the achievement, scientific progress was

scarely hastened, and nothing new was __6__. Yet the names of Hillary and

Tenzing went instantly into all languages as the names of heroes, partly

because they really were men of heroic mould __7__ chiefly because they

represented so compellingly the __8__ of theur time. The world of the early

1950s was still a little dazed from World War 2, __9__ had ended less than a

decade before. Everything was falling, new ones were rising.

1. a overcome b conquer c beat d win

2. awith no b upon some c through all d by any

3. a flown b flowed c fled d flung

4. a could b would c should d might

5. a aoverall b anyway c somehow d at all

6. a explored b invented c discovered d detected

7. a but b so c or d for

8. a spirit b air c mind d attitude

9. a it b that c what d which

and to mention, we have to do tons of those.. from 1 to 60 or 70 in numbers.

and you won´t even pass, unless you have half right.. i´m doing little

better than when i left, but not as mucxh as i hoped..

by the way..

Alison, Michael, Lynette, John How are you doing in north bay? how is the

new school, people there? and the house it must be so, so nice! i bet you

love it even more, it looked like a dream home! Alison; any cute guys??

smile ;) well, i hope you are happy there and not missing Lethbridge too

much!

Beatrice, Colleen, Heather, Sofie how are you? did Isa watch as much

romantic comedies, as i did? smile ;) Give biiig hug for sofe from Hanski!

Patti, thanks for your e-mail. Nice to hear from you, even shortly. But you

better start sewing girl!!

Danny, Danny! you remember that pudding i remembered your name for? well

wehatever, e-mail me back, please! it´s so, so much fun to read them. I miss

you and the other Banfflanders (creating new words)

Emily. Hi i miss to be around there and i bet you mniss things here, right?

and someone specially smile ;) do you think we could switch for a bit?

Debbie, is Murray still as busy, helping everyone in Rotary? Volunteering

=). I hope you two are doing good, say hi to Lidsay and Richard (when you´re

in contact). how does he like it there? oh, and don´t you dare to miss the

dogs! Please give big hugs to them.

Nelsons and Scotts, i miss those great, fun times with you!! i'm sure your

as great for Isa! but we´re going to see some here day.. when Kristie is 11

and Iain 13, right?

Wayne. You know what. i started talking in school to my friend that yes,

that´s how it is, Wayne said so! and my friend asked who the heck is Wayne

what does it matter what some Wayne says.. =0) well, i explained that i

learned so many things from him. Please say hi to Eleanor too, Hopes she´s

doing well too. `cause i know you are, how else would the ´-mails come every

monday ?!

Kara, thanks for e-mailing. Nive to hear that you are happy there. i read

your e-mails on the Lethbridge Rotary site too, it´s amazing how much you

write. i wish i coud´ve done that! well, i´m sure you´ll cautch up with the

language!

Jeff, same to you! i know it´s hard language, but it´ll go fine.. by the

way, i left an voicemail to your kännykka =) cell phone little after you

wrote me those numbers. i´m not sure if you got it. can you use the text

messages? do you know what kind of phone you have? well, would be nice to

meet some day! i really hope you like it here!

Isa, I loved Lethgridge,not every day, but most of the people there were so

nice to me. I´m glad you got to stay with Nelsons &scotts too. I love Iain

and Kristie! say hi to them from me please. i hope your school is going ok

to.

And for all you my dear exhange friends; I miss you awful much! so i hope

you´ll write back some time. don´t think what to write,just do it.. as i

do.. then then there comes lots, but oh well!

oh, by the way Roger, do you think that would work what we talked about

sending the text messages to each others? you have a cell phone, right?

well, i haven´t really searched in internet, so i don´t know if those would

send out of the country, but if you want to try my number with the country

code is 358 40 762 3482. and you others if you have cell phones.. well of

course you won´t need them if you send from ´-net, but..

Byyeee!!!

Hanski

Hanna-Maija Haikka

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Hanski's  Schedule, Phone: 381-0568

We asked Hanski to give us an idea of the things she is interested in doing.  Here is her letter:

Hanski helps at the Catholic Central High Interact charter.

Hi!

It's hard to list things what I want to see, because I wanna see everything! =) Things I think I would enjoy most are different sports. so if someone is going to try something different sport, or even better knows something about it, would be awesome learn new skills! like rock climbing is one I would like to try.

I don't spent time with my age people from school. I just don't get so well along with them, so I have lots of time to do stuff! I'm pretty sure I'll love to come, if you figure out something where you would like to go with me.

One thing I ask, is that I would feel more comfortable, if you would talk with me in rotary meeting about doing some stuff instead off calling. That's just the thing that I don't remember most of your names or anything else. it's just nice to know who you're going with =) so, if you have even little idea, it's never bad to ask!

Hanski

Hanna-Maija Haikka