Hello Team Canada (as in LRA going to Finland Team from Lethbridge Alberta)
This blog will be updated every day live from Finland with he latest stories, game scores, penalty minutes and photos. Check back often for updates.
Go Lethbridge!
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44 comments:
Yes, BLOG
Thanks for doing this Terry. I'm looking forward to checking it daily!
Andrea
Wow, less then a week before we go. Charlotte has contacted her billet family and they responded back in less then 2 hours. They are really looking forward to our visit. we have set up Dec 28th as a skating day on an out door rink with the other team. THe parents can also skate as they have rental skates at this facility. I hope all of the families at home will check this site daily to find out what we are doing. We willhave to figure out how to get pictures up on the site as well. Thanks to Terry S for getting this site going.
Roland
wow,3 days until we leave!
yyy
Hi team, Look forward to seeing and hearing of your exploits. Wish I could be there.
Go Canadians!
WOW this is so exciting, we have been tracking your flight so we will know when you land. I cant wait to see some pictures. Have fun and please be safe!!
Jaralyn just called and woke me up! I knew the plane had landed safely from all the tracking I had done so I thought I could catch some zzz's before the next one leaves.
Jara said the phone is big, heavy and pink and it took 20 minutes to figure out how to use it. She bought a bottle of water for 3Euros, saw some cool smartie looking candies and a cute guy. She only slept for 2 hours and read some of her book. I heard Toni say she only slept for 20 minutes and Kyla is asleep on the bench in the airport.
They took pictures in front of the Frankfurt sign.
Andrea
We made it to Helsinki. We even had a 3 hour tour of the city before we checked into our hotel. Everyone looks tired. Early night tonight
Blog
Well first of all it was a very looooonnnnggg day. Most of the girls
have been awake for about 30 hours. We are all trying to stay awake
right now (with great difficulty) to adjust to the time zone. We arrived
at Nicholas Sheran to take the bus up to Calgary. We went through
security and customs and everything went nicely. Well as nicely as
things can go for a huge group of about 40. The plane ride was about
nine hours and the time changes just confused everyone. We had to do
a transfer in Frankfurt and from there we took a plane to Helsinki. As
soon as we got off the plane we got on a bus and went for a three hour
tour of Helsinki. The city is beautiful with tons of culture and beautiful
architecture. We went back to the hotel and got something to eat and
now we are forcing ourselves to stay up past eight in Helsinki time.
Day one will probably be one of the hardest days. See you next blog!!
Charlotte and Brianna
Thanks for the update Charlotte and Brianna. We hope you have a wonderful trip.
Please say hi to Leslie-Ann for us
Barry and Penny Freeman
Leslie-Ann's grandparents
hello from lethbridge
0 degrees and so so windy
abby s.
Hi team,
Thanks for the updates, looking forward to photos.
Hi to Sean and Ashley!
Mom / Na Na
Hi all,
Europe is full of livej webcams. (maybe the whole world is nowadays) Here's one that appears to be kitty corner of the hotel. At least it appears that way in the dark.
http://nettikamera.lasipalatsi.fi/view/view.shtml?imagePath=/mjpg/video.mjpg&size=1
You can google more.
Can the girls post on the actual blog? Or do they have to do it via the comment section? I've only been looking at the main blog page and finally found the posts in the comments. It might make it easier for followers to read updates on the actual page.
Just an update on Charlotte and Brianna's comments. The girls did manage to stay up until about 8 PM Helsinki time. Most got up this morning at about 4AM but that is 8-9 hours of sleep. The breakfast is great but few tried the pickled Herring. ( I will try to get them to try it at least once) The most interesting site on the tour last night was the Temppeliaukio Church. It is a Lutheran church. 85% of the population is of this faith and they say that if you belong to the church that 1 - 2 % is automatically taken off of your pay cheque to go towards the church. Anyways the church was built out of the bed rock in Helsinki. The entry looks like a cave. When you get inside there is a beautiful modern church that seats 700 people with an incredible cooper ceiling. We will include pictures when we figure out how to do it today. The girls are going for a free skate today with the Helsinki team and then shopping.
It has been great already even with the jet lag.
Roland
Dec 28th 2009
Today was our second day in Helsinki, Finland. Most of us had a very early morning because we went to sleep fairly early, around 8 and also woke up early, some girls around 3 or 4 in the morning. We got the opportunity to go to an outdoor skating rink with the Junior Helsinki ringette team. We scrimmaged against them and then we mixed the teams up. Looks like we are going to have some tough competition! After that we took the tram back to our hotel because there was a misunderstanding about the bus schedule. At the hotel we split up into groups of five or six to go shopping with the Helsinki junior team. We went to a lot of interesting stores that we don’t have in Canada. Some of the stores that we did have that were in the mall were “H & M”, “Intersport”, “Nike” and “Sketchers”. It was really fun and the mall was huge. When we finished shopping we all met back at the hotel and said goodbye to the Helsinki girls. Then we walked to an authentic Finnish restaurant. We ate bread and butter, reindeer meat, mashed potatos and fish soup. It was different from anything we had ever eaten before. It was definitely an interesting meal…… When we got back to the hotel from our walk from the restaurant we had to thaw out and then we all went to bed right away. That about sums up our second day in Finland!
- Ashley-Raye Miles and Leslie-Ann Griffin
Please see the Picasa web page for the pictures that go along with the days. Thanks to Lyn Paterson for posting them.
Roland
Can Terry make a new blog for every day instead of us all using the comments on the first blog? Thanks
December 29
Today we started our day with breakfast, after breakfast we got ready to go take a team picture at the parliament building. After we made our way to the open market, where we shopped for souvenirs, then we wondered back to the hotel looking at all the little shops on the way. After that we had some time for our selves to go get some lunch and do a bit of shopping. We rested for a while, then got ready to play our first ringette game in Finland. We were all pretty excited even though we were tired. The game was surprisingly fun, even though we lost. After the game we exchanged gifts and got pictures with the other team. They were very friendly and kind. We then made our way back to the hotel where we ended our long and tiring day. Jocelyn, please have the new computer set up when I get home. I miss you tones, and tell the family I say hi.
Mom, I am missing you and Dad and I send our love. Say hi to Makena and Owen. (Breanna).
The last blog is from Kyla and Breanna Wood.
Dec 29 pics
http://picasaweb.google.com/LRAFinlandTour.09/FinlandDec29?pli=1&feat=directlink
Awesome new photos!
Hi all in Finland! Just a quick update for Kyla, Pat and Pippa, your yard is full of snow forts that Jocelyn and Lindsay are building. We have only had to dig Jocelyn and the sheep out twice, so far, but we have been dumped on again! Lots going on in Diamond City...nieghbors running thru our fences and horses dying of colic (Bunny)....we miss you all and hope the trip is lots of fun!
Kari (Kyla's favorite cousin)
Dec 30
Wow! What a great last day in Helsinki, first we all woke up after a great nights rest and ate breakfast. After breakfast we rushed to our rooms to get ready to meet the rest of the team in the lobby at 10:30am. Once all heads were there and accounted for we speedily made our way to the peer to catch the 11:00 ferry to the island. Of course it was a cold day, and the bottom level of the boat was full, so we all had to sit on the top of the boat. When we got to the island we were chilled and gladly made our way quickly to the information center, where we watched a movie on the history of the island. The name of the island fortress is Suomenlinna. We all watched this video with great interest (most of us dozing off once or twice!) we set off to explore the old cannons and tunnels of the island. There were also homes built into large hills. By noon we were defiantly chilled and ready to get back to the main land. We got back on the ferry and arrived at the peer. We ate lunch at the market place and wandered about for a while. At about 2:15 we headed back for the hotel. Some girls stopped with Toby at the modern art museum to look at the art. The museum was the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary art. The girls that didn’t go to the museum headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready for the night. All of the girls (and some parents) rushed down to the lobby at 5:30 to go to the Finnish hockey game. Even though we didn’t know who was playing, we were all so excited to be seeing some Finnish hockey. After a very exciting game and a few fights the final score of 3-1 for Finland, we were pooped and ready for bed. Since we were walking to the hotel (more like speed walking) we all met quickly in the lobby and made our way back to the hotel at a very speedy pace. We arrived at the hotel at about 9:30 and ended our day by going to our rooms for our final night in Helsinki.
Amy Paterson and Sarah Thompson
hey sounds like you guys are having a good trip wish i was there have lots of fun good luck
Alli Herauf
Dec 30 pics at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/LRAFinlandTour.09/FinlandDec30?feat=directlink
Dec 31 pics at:
http://picasaweb.google.fi/LRAFinlandTour.09/FinlandDec31?feat=directlink
Sorry that there is not an update on the blogs the past 2 days but the girls have been with their billets. I will get them to do their entries tomorrow. Please check out Woody and Jaralyn's great pictures from their billets.
Roland
Hi team,
have enjoyed looking at the pictures and the info. Way to Go! It sounds like you have a lot of hard work in your games. I'm sure you will all have a lot of great stories when you get back.
Go lethbridge!!
Ashley's Na Na
Dec. 31 st Blog
Today we headed for Tampere ( Tam – pe- roll the reh), Finlands industrial town. Before we embarked on a bus tour of the city filled with beautiful cathedrals and old industrial buildings we parked for a quick lunch. McDonalds and Subway. The lunch of champions. Some of us tried the ‘Hesburger ( the Finish version of McDonlads. Lisa and I expecially enjoyed our “Seattle Sub” with Teriyaki chicken, cheese, lettus, loads of mustard. Yum! Our 15 inch sub prepared us for a more traditional Finnish New years eve feast later that evening. The tour was great as we saw most of Tampere in 3 hours. The Tampere Cathedral had many interesting paintings. We went to and climbed an observation tower and had donuts. The evening meal was with herring, an assortment of salads and what was debaed as roast beef or reindeer meat. ( It was roast beef). After a helping of apple pei and rum laced whipped cream we headed for our rooms to enjoy the count down with our locked mini fridges. Way to think ahead Toby! In all it was a good day and quite an experience to ring in the New Year in Finland. We wonder what the New Year will bring?
Peace, Love and everything in between
Lisa and Cobie
Happy New Years from Finland!!
So today started with a run at 9:30 AM. It was a different way to start out the New Year. It was about 30 minutes long. Once we got back to the hotel, we ate breakfast. We saw one of the traditional foods - Blood Sausage! It was black and grainy inside. After breakfast we had free time to pack and hang out around the hotel. At about 1 PM our billets came and picked us up. When we got to our billets house we put our luggage in our room. Then we went downstairs to play pool. We played about 10 games. After that we watched a bit of TV and about 2:45 PM we ate Macaroni and meat. After we ate food we watched the movie “White Chicks” After the movie was over we just hung out and talked with Rossa for a bit. Then we all went for a tour around Tampere. When we got back we ate rice cakes. After that we watched “House”. By the time that was over it was 10:00 PM and I was tired so we went to bed. That was my day with my billets.
Hey, this is Paige. I would like to say hi to Mom, Matt Steve, Dad, Oma, Grandma and every one who has supported me.
Love
Paige
When I got to my billets house, me and my billet and her Dad talked. We got shown our room and had some free time. At 2:30 PM we had supper with chic ken and rice. After that we watched TV, and our billets best friend came over with Toni and Lisa. We watched TV for a while longer. During that time at 6 PM mine and Ashley-Raye’s Dad came over for coffee. At about 8 PM our parents left. At 8:30 PM Lisa, Toni and their billets left. At 9:00 PM we went to bed.
This is Leah. I would like to say “Hi” to Parker and Dad. I really miss you guys. I would also like to say “Hi” to grandma and grandpa and Auntie Lois.
Love Leah
Jan 2nd Blog
WE woke up this morning at the crack of dawn ( which is actually 10 AM). Actually we woke up before the sun was even up. Then we ate breakfast at our billets and headed for our game. Terry made us to outside for our warm up and it was freezing. We were all inour hoodies and sweats. The Junior game was first. Before the game we stood at the blue lines for the Canadian and Finnish national anthems. The game was pretty intense and we ended up winning 6-5. Mariko scored 3 goals, Kyla got 2 and Toni scored a single. The Finnish goalie Emmi was excellent in net. The next game was between the tweens and the town of _________. Mariko, Sarah T., Charlotte, Ashley-Raye and Brianna played in both games. This game was not as intense as we dominated 6-1. Ashley-Raye scored 2, Paige scored 2, Brianna M scored 1 and so did Charlotte. After all 3 teams gathered on the ice for gift exchange and pictures. Then we all went our separate ways to our billets houses. We ate dinner at 5 PM and watched TV. Then most of us went to the large shopping mall to shop and hangout. There was about 20 of us all together and so we took over the stores we went into. In one store we accidentally knocked over a maniquine. We all know who did it even if they won’t admit it. Haha. Then we all went our separate ways again back to our billets houses. We had a snack and watched more TV. Then we drifted off to sleep. What a great experience.
Toni ways “Hi “ to mom
Toni and Mariko.
I can only imagine what it must be like at the games, a lot of adrenaline happening I bet!
GO LETHBRIDGE!!
Ashley-Raye's Na Na
Happy Birthday Sean!( for Jan.6th )
Congratulations team, on the recent win in Turku, and I am sure you played awesome even with the older players.
Have fun in Frankfurt!
Mom/NaNa
Hi Amy!
Glad to hear you are having a good time and that everything is going well in Finland. Looks like your weather there isn't too bad either. Here it is cold and/or snowy and/or windy! Say "Hi!" to your Mum and Bob for us.
Grandad and Grandma Paterson.
Jan 1 and 2 pics at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/LRAFinlandTour.09/FinlandJan1And2?pli=1&gsessionid=9f1FsUbeph_1H6eqIZNLIQ&feat=directlink
Some JAn 3 pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/LRAFinlandTour.09/FinlandJan3?pli=1&gsessionid=FME7sZV9IpDoRqYSgOVLBA&feat=directlink
Today we left our billets in Tampere and continued on our journey to Turku. WE arrived to find ourselves touring around the beautiful city. We visited popular tour sites such as the Turku Cathedral, resting place of the former Queen of Sweden as well as 4500 other bodies that lay beneath the 700 year old floors. After our tour of the Cathedral we set off to our next destination (hungry and tired) as we were to go to one of Finlands castles. With in the walls were held dark cramped rooms, musty old artifacts and steep stairwells. Although more like a fort in asthetics the castles history dating back to medevil times was undeniable as we experienced seige like despiration amidst our minds and stomaches. Despite some schedule complications we arrived at our hotel virtually problematically free, allowing us to finally fill our aching mistreated stomaches. We then set off to a viking dinner to be faced with the difficult decision between 3 uncommon meals. The menu consisted of Bear, Fish or OX (actually one was steak, the fish was a Perch and the Bear was a steak with bear meat in the butter covering the steak) Many found the meals satisfactory while others felt pathos for the limited selection. The highlight for my day (Kaitlyn) was building a majestic, one of a kind Lego fortress with Cobie in the glass factory. The highlight of Emily's day was that of the Viking feast. All in all it was an adventurous day, resulting in unforgettable circumstances.
Kaitlyn and Emily
Jan 4th
Today we went to the ice rink and essentially spent the entire day at a major event for Turku ringette. First our tween girls with Charlotte, Leslie-Anne, Ashley-Raye, Emily and Brianna M played a tween team from Turku. Their age group however was between 11 - 15. Our girls at times had to be very gentle against some of the smaller girls. In the end our girls came out on top 7-5. Scoring goals for the Blizzards was Charlotte with two goals, Brianna M., Breanna Wood, Leslie-Anne, Paige and Ashley-Raye. The second game was for the Juniors who ended up playing against the Open team from Turku. The bigger ladies from Turku ended up winning 12-6. The highlight of the game was Mariko's penalty shot where she made a great move and scored top corner. % minutes later Kaitlyn stopped the best player from Turku on another penalty shot. After the game we were given a pasta lunch. The girls then participated in the 30th anniversary party for Turku ringette. They had a ceremony then the girls went on to the ice with all of the ringette players from all teams in Turku for a disco dance on ice. We were especially proud as they lead all of the Turku girls in doing the "Makarina" and the "Chicken dance" The girls participated in ring toss. A funny moment was when Toni threw her ring back at the crowd rather then forward at the pylons. The event ended with a general skate where our girls handed out many Canada pins to smiling young Turku ringette players. It actually brought tears to most of the parents eyes.
The girls then went off with their billets and the parents headed back to the hotel. The parents went out that night to a Frech/Finnish restaurant where many tried the Reindeer for the first time. We all agreed that this was one of the best places we had eaten. By the time we got back to our hotel it was past 10:00 PM so we headed back to our rooms for a good nights rest.
Roland
Jan 5th
We all were staying with our billets. Paige and I stayed with a very nice family. Our billets name was Sinianna. She didn't speak a lot of english, but her Mom and Dad did. I the morning we woke up around 11AM and breakfast was ready for us. We ate Finnish pies, they have bread around the rice and potatoes. We also ate bread and veggies. Later in the day they took us to the Gardens It had many plants from around the world. It smelt really good. There were cactuses and exotic flowers. Then our billetstook us back so we could go skating. We walked to a lake about 5 minutes away. There was a path around the lake that was shoveled so we could skate. We saw Mariko and Leslie-Anne there. Once we got back they took us to a film store to rent a movie. It was difficult to find a movie that we could watch and understand. We got lots of candy from the film store. PAige and I asked to go to the grocery store so we could get food for the plane back to Helsinki early the next day. Once we got home we had supper. It was mashed potatoes with Reindeer meat. Then we watched the movie. It was a cartoon called Roger Rabbit. After that Jaralyn and I got on the computer, checked our emails. We knew we had to be up early the next day so we ended up going to sleep early.
I would just like to tell every one at home that we are having a great time. A lot of us are home sick. I love you all and miss you lots.
Jaralyn
I would like to say hello to everyone at hone. I miss you all tons. I'm very home sick and can't wait to come home on Friday and see my family and friends.
PAige
Thanks again for the info, it brought tears to my eyes. This was a fantastic opportunity for all, I was pleased to be able to stay incontact with all through notes, photos, and MSN.
have a great couple of days,and have a good trip home.
Lots of love to all.
Ashley-Rayes NaNa
I would just like to let Jara know that we all can't wait til she comes home and I'm getting off work early to pick her up.
Jara, your friends are missing you!
Love you lots, Mom
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