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15-19 October 2001
19 October 2001
Friday 2100
Sunrise/sunset 0823/1744
Low/high 4°C/7°C (41°F/45°F)
Oulunsalo, Finland
Hi everyone,
On Tuesday, October 16th, we experienced our first professional ice hockey game. We
meet Heikki Soini, the third
grade teacher at my school, for a quick dinner at a restaurant in Oulu. We would never have
known this little Italian restaurant was there, if Heikki hadn’t showed it to us. One door
at street level with a discrete sign above the door. After pizza, we drove near to and then
walked to the stadium. It was the Oulu vs. Hameenlinna; Oulu
was 12th and Hameenlinna 6th in the rankings at that
time. The crowd was pretty quiet at first, but as the game progressed they became much more
vocal. The game had to go into overtime and still ended in a tie. I was amazed at the speed
of the players. The Finnish players didn’t seem to have as much physical contact
as I remember watching American ice hockey on television. It was great listening to Heikki’s commentary
on what the players were doing well or on what they should be doing. He has played serious
ice hockey since he was a youth but needed to stop playing two years ago due hip problems.
On Wednesday, October 17th, the first and two second grade classes went on a field trip to
the International Children’s Concert. There were musicians from Africa, an international
choir sang songs from around the world and children performed international dances. It was
wonderful watching the children dance and the audience was invited to join in on some of the songs.
On Thursday, October 18th, we met Outi and her friend Sami, for dinner
in Oulu. They showed us another restaurant that was hidden away. I would
go back there for the wonderful almond paste delicacy we had for dessert.
After dinner we went to Tuomiokirkko, Cathedral of Oulu, for a concert
by the monks of the Novospassky Monastery
of Moscow. What a fabulous choir in such a lovely setting.
Mary Ann |
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