I was really worried about getting seasick but ended up having no problems at all. I had the chance to go walk out on the deck of the ferry. The wind smelled so fresh and a little bit salty, and it blew my hair everywhere!
Most travel involves reading a lot of signs! since I speak some German, I can sometimes pick out similar words in Swedish. At the same time, it is very frusturating to feel like I cannot understand much of the language I see here. How would you handle not being able to read signs in another country?
I loved going for a bike ride out of Marienhamn in the Åland Islands! While traveling around in a city is a wonderful way to see new things, part of the beauty of the islands is the countryside. The weather was perfect for it, too!
After leaving the Åland Islands, I returned to the Finnish mainland and to the city of Turku, where I presented at the American Voices conference. The university in Turku offers a North American Studies program for Finnish students, and the administration asked Americans to come present on different topics. I talked about American universities, while some of my friends presented on sports and American pastimes. One of my favorite presentations I saw was on silly or wacky American competitions.
