On June 29th 2007, I said an emotional goodbye to my family and set off on a two and a half month exchange trip to Finland.
My family had always been accustomed to having exchange students around the house. Through the Youth For Understanding Organization (YFU) we were the host family to over 6 exchange students. With YFU it is common to have a student stay with you without the "exchange". Some of the girls came from countries such as Japan, Denmark, Germany, Brazil, and Finland.
I had always wanted to travel somewhere as an exchange student but the minimum age was 15. In 2007 I turned fifteen on July 3rd but was only fourteen for my first four days in Finland. I left Toronto at 7pm and made a stop in London and Norway. It was amazing to travel across the ocean and experience two new cities (even if it was for such a short time). I arrived in Turku, Finland and met 19 other exchange students. All of the students were from 
America and enjoyed commenting on my "canadian accent". After a few days I travelled to Helsinki the capital of Finland, to meet my host family. Both of my host parents were really interesting people (and luckily spoke english) they also had a boy and two girls, one was my age. I learned a lot about their traditions and family cultures as well as some interesting things about Finland.
In Finland it is very common to leave for a summer house or cottage for a few weeks in the summer. Unlike Canada, almost every Finnish person leaves for their cottage in the summer that most businesses close down for a few days/weeks. Another cultural difference is the use of saunas, a Finnish sauna is something very few people get to experience in their life. Most families own a sauna in their 
home as well as their cottage. At my host family's cottage we would sit in the sauna then jump in the cold lake. It was such a great feeling!
Something I truly enjoyed in Finland were the many old churches and castles. I toured many of these buildings and learned a thing or two about the place. Most churches were still in use but the castles were mostly tourist attractions. One building I found especially interesting was the Savonlinna opera building. This building used the be a castle but was now a spectacular opera house. I saw the opera Carmen there with my host family. It was a beautiful place and the opera was incredible. During my stay in
Finland I also had the opportunity to travel to Estonia. It is a very interesting but small country. There is plenty of historical areas and buildings to discover. The shopping there was amazing and I picked up a few souvenirs to bring home.
My exchange trip to Finland was truly life changing. I came home with a lot of souvenirs, pictures and memories. :)