Hmm HMM HMM Hmmmmm (I'm humming "Finlandia")

Greetings from Helsinki! The keyboard speaks Finnish, so if I häve äny stränge typös, pleäse förgive me. Anyway, things are doing good over on this side of the world. It's sunny like, almost all night. It's dark for like two or three hours, then the sun rises. We're going north of the Arctic Circle in a week or so, and it will never set there. Weird.

They have like reindeer salami here. That's strange. People on the tour were talking about what animals they've eaten. They're like, "Well, now I've had Rudolph, Bambi, and Thumper." My sister (the vegetarian) is like, "I've had Mr. Potato Head." Well, that's true. All they serve you in the Baltics are potatoes and Wilbur (Charlotte's Web), so we've all definitely eaten the Potato Head family.

We went to a bookstore today! Bookstores are like my favorite places in the world ever! True, the majority of the books were in Finnish, but I found the section with classics written in English. I was looking for the Kalevala (the huge Finnish epic that inspired Tolkien). We eventually found it in another section. In the meantime, I was looking at Silas Marner by George Eliot (who is a woman...), and the complete and unabridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo, but I didn't get them because you can get them in the US. But is there a better place than Finland to buy the Kalevala? I submit that there is not.

So, the tour itself is officially over. We last sang here in Helsinki at the Church in the Rock, which is basically carved into rock in the ground and covered with a bronze dome. Interesting place. It was during their Sunday service, so we had communion with them. They actually had the little flat round holy wafers (we just use like crumbled bread at my church...), and they sure didn't use grape juice. It wasn't even wine. My mom said it was cream sherry. I would say "and it was delicious," but I respect that I am talking about the blood of Jesus here. Symbolically. Anyway.
I have watched more MTV in the last day or so than I did in probably my whole high school career. Okay, maybe not, but I think I doubled it. Stupid TV in the hotel room. And most of the channels are in Finnish or something (or have Finnish subtitles, which are really distracting. You know how when you have subtitles on in English, you read them anyway even though you don't need to? The show would be in English, and I'd read the subtitles anyway! I'm like, "They're in Finnish! I don't understand that! Why am I reading them?"). So, MTV it was.

We're taking a ferry later today over to the Åland Islands (I think that's how you spell it, and finally the keyboard is good for something). They're between Finland and Sweden. Apparently the boat will be full of drunk Finns and Swedes who only ride it to party, so that will be interesting. And we get off the boat at 4-something AM tomorrow morning, so that will be really an experience. I love getting up early. Haha. NOT. Oh well. I should just stay up. Party with those Finns and Swedes. Hey, I'm a quarter Swedish. Does that mean I'm part party animal? Oh wait, my mom is half Swedish, and she sure isn't. Darn. I guess I'll go to sleep.

Anyway, hanging out on the computer in the hotel lobby and rambling to you guys as usual. Does anyone even read this anymore? I bet you all forgot about me. Oh well. Tant pis.
By the way, if you still remember me and do read this, please email me! Or write a comment on here! Or send me a facebook message! Or anything! I'm getting depressed. I get more emails from John Kerry than my friends! You don't have to write anything meaningful. Doesn't matter if I actually know you. I'm just kind of sad and pathetic and desperate. I'll pay you...maybe not.
Anyway, haha. I'm actually okay. Not quite insane yet. We'll see how I'm doing in a week or so traveling only with my family...

Okay, need to check out of the hotel. Have an awesome day. Bye!