Finland+Group+1

 **Maria 12.3.2009**: So here’s something about myself. I’m a Chinese girl living only three kilometers from the school I go to. My family consists of my parents and a little brother. He’s now two years old, so it makes me twelve year older than him! :) BTW I can speak Chinese fluently, as my mother tongue, and Finnish would be my second tongue. At school we also study French and Swedish.

Then my hobbies: I’ve played badminton since I was nine-year-old and I am still a quite good player in the Finnish Badminton Association list. I also love arts and handicrafts, but the problem is that I really haven’t got much time… :( I’m really into furnishing, designing, travelling and watching new fantasy/drama/action/comedy movies. Reading is really enjoyable too, if I could find a book, which can sweep my heart with it! :)

I’m desperate to hear from you soon! <3 Love, Maria

**Heidi 12.3.2009**: So, my name is Heidi Tunkelo. I'm 16-year-old girl. My hobbies are horse-riding and playing piano. I like them both very much. I live with my mum, dad, little sister and little brother. I have also two snails with shells. They are called Mikki and Sandy. I'm in Mankkaa school which is 9 kilometers from my home. I go to school by a bus. I study at school English, Swedish and French. Bye! **Some questions for you: 12.3.2009** - Do you have any pets? - What languages do you study at school? - How far do you live from your school? - Do you have any hobbies?

The weather in Finland changes a lot: our summers are warm (about 25 degrees) and winters are very chilly (about -10 degrees in South-Finland). Springs and autums are something between those two.
 * Wildlife of Finland 12.3.2009 **

There are many kinds of animals in Finland. The national animal of Finland is the whooper swan and the national flower is lilly-of-the-valley. There aren't any polar bears in Finland but we have grizzlies and brown bears. In Lapland you can find many reindeer in the forests and sometimes even in streets walking around. Most of the birds living in Finland will migrate to southern Europe in winters. For example swallow, crane and white-cheek-goose.

In Finland there are also some little animals, like rabbits, squerrels, mice, rats, pidgeons, badgers, snakes, spiders, elks, woodpeckers, worms and a lot more!

**Hello! 19.3.2009** Thank you for the information you gave us about Canadian sports. We are familiar with all the sports you mentioned, exept soccer.

**Travelling abroad 19.3.2009** We have travelled a lot abroad, but we've never been to Canada, although we would like to. Have you ever been to Finland?

We have been to about 20 different countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Italy, France, Iceland, Estonia, Russia, The Canary Islands, Poland, German, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Greece, China, Great Britain, Vatican and Austria. How about you?

Sweden, Norway and Estonia are culturally and environmentally most similar with Finland. China, Greece, the Canary Islands and Iceland are the most different from Finland. That is what we think...! **Hello! 22.4.2009** What Kind of Music do you listen to? - We listen to pop and rock music and Heidi plays classical piano as her hobby. How about you? What new movies are out? - E.g. Monsters vs. Aliens3D (children's film), The Accidental Husband, Marley and Me, Slumdog Millionare, Confession of a Shopaholic What are your favorite books?  - Heidi: Harry Potter -series etc. (I don't read much anymore...) - Maria: Harry Potter -series, Twilight -series etc. (I don't read much anymore...)

**Our school lunch 22.4.2009** In Finland the school luch is free and the autistic people get even free snacks like ice cream. Our school lunch costs about 0,50€ per meal. The food is quite tasty comparing to the price, but some of them are still quite bad. You are able to chose if you want to eat vegetarian food or "normal" lunch. On top of that our lunch includes salad and crispbread. We are served milk and water as our drink, but sometimes (really rarely) we have got juice. We have soup once a week and then we get soft bread and fruits as our salad. Porkpot is one of the most hated and regular food in Espoo's schools. There are a big variety of porkpots, like papricaporkpot, sunnyporkpot, spring's porkpot, winter's porkpot, autumn's porkpot, colorful porkpot, fruity porkpot, chinese porkpot, spicy porkpot etc. And they all taste the same.. :) In spite of that we all kind of like our school lunch! 