Today, Marja (host mother) and I drove across the entire city of Rauma. She showed me where the harbor was (one of the largest in Finland. In the harbor, ships export a lot of paper, pulp, propulsion units for luxury ships and oil rigs, etcetc. After seeing the beach and camping sites, we drove through various residential suburban districts surrounding Rauma. Individual residential districts are united by a common architectural theme; some districts were constructed in the 1940s (so houses looked very Rauma-like), some districts were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s (so the architecture was boxy and boring and Soviet-looking), and some districts were constructed only recently in the 21st century (so the architecture was very modern).
Then Marja stopped at the marketplace to purchase some organic fruits and vegetables. I tried some fresh punainen mansikka (red strawberries, in Finnish) from a vendor, and it was so sweet and delicious. Organic and natural fruits do really make a difference.
After Marja finished grocery shopping, we headed to a store that hand-makes lace, Pits-Priia, in Old Rauma. It wasn't open when we toured Old Rauma on Sunday, but it was open today (Monday), much to our delight!
Me making lace for the first time in my life!!
You will never understand how difficult it is to hand-make lace until you actually try it yourself! Glancing at my piece of lace, one can really underestimate the time and patience that goes into making one strip of lace. However, a closer look reveals the intricacies of the intertwining threads and the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of the design.
The contraption used to make lace. As you can see, it looks very complicated, with 20 different smaller tools contributing to the production of one piece of lace. But I learned how to make my very own lace!!
Me looking at my own lace.
My beautiful lace!!!!!
The little old grandmother at the lace shop (who taught me how to make the lace) was so kind to let me keep my own lace, free of charge! I am very thankful that she guided me with patience, as I was not used to making handicrafts.
My quintessentially Finnish lunch! Lots and lots of salmon. And rye bread.
This is the only high school in Rauma, Rauman Lukio. "Lukio" means "high school" in Finnish.
After lunch, Marja took Ann-Christine, Camilla, and I to the high school where she teaches English and French and where all my host sisters have attended school. Currently, it's the only high school in Rauma, for the other three have merged with Rauman Lukio. There were no clear features that distinguished this Finnish high school from an American high school; nonetheless, it was interesting to visit the Finnish education system up close.
Me in a Sami costume!
After dinner, my host sisters and I decided to make Pulla, a national Finnish pastry. Pulla is very important to Finns, and they eat it almost every day during snack breaks with kahvi (coffee!)
Little pullas waiting to be put in the oven! We painted the little pullas with mixed whole eggs (egg white and yolk) and sprinkled grain sugar over each pulla to give it that crisp, golden brown color.
Completed Pullas!!! So warm and cinnamon-y and delicious! Isn't it amazing how pre-oven pullas are so small compared to luscious, golden brown post-oven pullas???
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