Week 3 was a pretty routine week with us looking toward the big weekend in Rauma. We lifted only 4 days this week losing one day from the midsummer festival. Midsummer has its own journal. Since nothing big went on this week, I'll tell you a little bit about our set up we have here.
When we first arrived we were told we were both getting our separate apartment. When we got upstairs we checked out the apartments and one apartment was one room and had a bed, some shelves, microwave, bathroom, and fridge. That room was so small that if I stood in the middle of the room, I could touch both sides of the room at the same time. Needless to say they really aren't apartments but more like dorm rooms. Then we walk into the other room right across the hall and it is a mansion compared to the first room. It is about twice the size as room one and has a TV and a computer. We were also told that the smaller room is in a spot where the sun always shines and its hard to get sleep. So Scott and I being the smart kids from Hanover decide that we will bring both beds into the big room with the TV and computer and throw most of our clothes and football stuff in the smaller room. I will get pictuers of this too eventually. So far through 3 weeks it has worked well. Mikko hooked us up big time with a Playstation 2 and some games. We have been keeping busy with lifting and Madden 2004.
We have a pretty good location as well. We are right in the outskirts of downtown and live on the second floor. We live right above a bar, a chinese restaurant, a massage place, and a tattoo parlor. You would think that we live in a rough part of town but there really is no such thing in Turku. We have never had any trouble and it is not loud at night. The nearest grocery store is less than 100 yards away. The place where we lift is pretty much right in the middle of downtown and is a very nice ten to fifteen minute walk. Since we live right in downtown, we have no need for a car really. Everything we need is within walking distance except for a few things. Where we practice is further away so we have to get a ride to practice and normally Thomas takes us so its not a problem.
One big thing in Finland that I have failed to mention so far is the Finnish love for the sauna. The sauna is one of Finland's biggest traditions. If you don't know what a sauna is, it is a little room you go in most of the time a wooden sauna and the room gets really really hot. You throw water on hot coals so the steam fills the room and it gets hot. The steam and the heat really relax you and make you sweat like crazy which is good for you. First, you rinse off in the shower so you are clean and then you go in the sauna. Once you are in there for a while you get out, shower again and then go back into the sauna. You can do this as many times as you want. Saunas can be compared to America's hot tubs (same sort of concept) and not only are saunas in health clubs but come almost standard in houses in Finland. I go to the sauna as much as I can, but I have to be careful because if you get in with some Finns it gets so hot you can't stand it. The first time I got in a Finnish sauna, everytime I inhaled it my mouth felt like I was drinking hot chocolate. Sometimes the sauna gets up to 180 degrees (80 Celcius) which is really hot (at least for us Americans). But it really does work and helps you relax and feel better after you take that last shower. More on saunas
Anyway...
This weekend we play the Roosters. Everybody tells us they are the best team in Finland. They also say that we have better individual players, but the Roosters love to practice and are more disciplined than us. I guess we'll see how good they are when we play on Saturday. We need to have a lot of people at practice this week and have good practices so we are ready for the Roosters on Saturday.