
Tuesday I took an overnight "cruise." My friend, Mikael, me, and his mom and stepdad took the cruise ship from

Stockholm to Helsinki. If you cage enough humans on a boat with alcohol and karaoke as the only means of entertainment, it can be pretty amusing. Have you ever seen Finnish karaoke? I have! There were gypsies, drunk men throwing up, icy waves, and one woman--who was, sadly, terribly drunk--that amused us all with her solo groove dancing. Wow!

Wednesday I had my first REAL sauna experience. I felt a bit like a roast in an oven. Mikael, Heikki (his stepdad) and I sat in the sauna. Mikael sat and translated for me because Heikki doesn´t speak English...just Finnish and Swedish. So, we sat there, sweating and sweating...Heikki throwing more and more water on the rocks, making the temperature go up and up (Mikael said that Finns have to show off for visitors). Then we ran

outside, bare foot, and made snow angels in the snow. Mind you...we were all only wearing bathing suits. It was crazy fun!! I think I could get used to the sauna experience!