Ikea... "Akea".... whatever!

This is my third day in Helsinki. Today everything seemed to kick off. Orientation started this morning and lasted until the evening. That meant that I was inside almost all day, except the times I had to walk to another building. So… I only saw the sun for a couple minutes today. The sun rises around 9ish and sets around 4ish. The Finns keep telling us that the days will get longer. In Orientation all the exchange students gathered for a boring PowerPoint of semi-useful information. At one point in the four hours we sat there, a man came up and started speakin Swedish. That was the time that I tuned out and started reading my handbook, which is much more helpful to me. Then a lady came up and started speaking French. It was really neat to hear though. I have been hanging out with a lot of different people. Tonight a door was open, so naturally I walked in. When I told them I was from the US they called me a cowgirl! So the five people in that room came down to mine where I had about five people. We were making dinner. I think at one point I had about 20 people in my room! People coming from Belgium, Mexico, France, Scotland, Latvia, Estonia, Italy, and more I am sure. I just think that is so neat.
After Orientation I went with three other girls to…. Are you ready?.... IKEA!!! Only they all pronounce it “e-k-e-a”, so I am the one that looks silly. We had to take a bus, for free, that took us to the store. It was about 30 minutes away from the center of town, which is where I live. It was amazing! I can’t wait to go back in the States. I got way too many things for such a cheap price! However, I needed most of it. Now I can cook, or really try to cook. The problem is that I want to take all this cute stuff with me…. Except I really don’t have any room left. I guess I will tackle that in five months.
Basically, today was a good day. It has been hard trying to adjust to everything. I really haven’t slept the past two nights, and I am not sure why. But everyday seems to get better and better. I know my way around town more, and I am slowly learning how to pay with euros (even though I keep calling them dollars). I still do not have the internet, meaning I have spent a lot of time at McDonalds. It is hard though because when I do get it I have to check so many things, but I always seem to be limited for time.
Even though it is only the third day, I feel like I am picking up an accent. There are few here from America, so everyone else has a distinct accent from me. I am finding myself saying sentences in the rhythm they say it rather than my normal rhythm. Although, Christa, a Latvian, loves that I say y’all. She actually wants to start saying it because she thinks it is funny. I have also been surprised how many people know about Tennessee. They all comment that I don’t have the typical southern accent. I found that funny.
Although school hasn’t started, I still have a lot to do. I feel like I will never be done filling out paperwork for this trip. I have register, get a cell phone, register for the internet, get an Ethernet cord, get my stipend for food, open a Finnish bank account for the stipend, go shopping….. ok the list goes on. But you can get the point. There is just so much to do! It is a little overwhelming for all of us exchange students.