Tuesday 25 June 2013

Tämän päivän työpajat painottuivat suunnitteluun. Suunnittelimme sukupolvien välistä toimintaa eli yhden viikkomme teemoista. Suunnittelimme ohjelmaa vanhainkoti Saarenvireen tutustumiskäynnille ja lasten toimintatuokioita Tornion liikennepuistoon. Saarenvireessä tulemme laulamaan sekä suomalaisia että englanninkielisiä lauluja sekä irlantilaistyttö esittää irlantilaistanssi esityksen. Päivästä tulee varmasti huikea! Odotan innolla!

Kun olimme päivän puurtaneet ja käyttäneet harmaita aivosolujamme ja avanneet äänemme lauluharjoituksilla, illalla toteutimme thriathlon marathoniin kuuluvan suofutis matsin. Matkasimme bussilla Arpelan perukoille. Ilma oli kaunis, aurinkoinen, mielemme olivat aurinkoiset ja hyvä tuuliset.
Peli päättyi suomalaisten osalta huonosti, Pohjois-Irlanti voitti :( Peli ja yhdessäolo oli kuitenkin niin nautittavaa, ettei häviö paljon meillä torniolaisilla tuntunut. Pelin jälkeen pulahdimme lampeen ja sotkimme itsemme oikein kunnolla suonsilmäkkeessä, mutavellissä :) Puhdistautumisen, vaatteidenvaihdon ja makkaranpaiston jälkeen suuntasimme kulkumme takaisin Vandrarhemiin, jossa meitä odotti lämmin sauna.  

On Tuesday we started to plan our inter-generational activities which we are going to do on Thursday. We were split into two groups, one group planned a variety of activities for the younger people and then another group planned a variety of activities for the older people. For the younger children we are going to do our activities in the Traffic Park which we are all very excited to go to as we haven’t been before. Also we are going to visit the older people in a nursing home and do our activities there, which is nice, as we don’t interact with older people often.

Our next activity took us to Arpela where we had the second part of our international triathlon - we played swamp football. We were all very nervous to get in the swamp as we didn’t know what to expect. It was very funny watching people try to walk in the swamp as they got stuck or fell down. After a hard game of swamp football Ireland won. We were so happy as now the score is even.

After the game we all jumped into the lake which was beside the swap to clean off the muck this was very refreshing. Some people jumped into a muck puddle which went up to their waist, it was very funny to watch this.

Finally we went home and got washed up and had supper then went to bed as we were all wrecked from playing swamp football

Monday 24th June 2013

Heräsimme kahdeksalta ja yhdeksältä oli aamupala. Aamiaisen jälkeen siirryimme Vandrarhemistä Nuorkalle.

Päivä alkoi workshopilla, jonka teemana oli luovuus ja yritteliäisyys. Muutama Suomi porukan nuori oli suunnitellut workshopin ohjelman, johon kuului keksi uusi käyttötarkoitus –leikki sekä pieni pohdintatehtävä. Keksi uusi käyttötarkoitus –leikin periaate on kehittää tavallisista arkipäivän esineille (esim. vessapaperirulla) uusia käyttötarkoituksia ja pohdintatehtävän kysymykset kuuluivat, ”Mitä haluaisit muuttaa kaupungissasi, maassasi tai maailmassa, jos sinulla olisi mahdollisuus?” ja ”Kerro yksi asia, jolloin olet tuntenut itsesi aktiiviseksi kansalaiseksi.” Vastaukset heittelehtivät laidasta laitaan, mutta loppujen lopuksi workshop onnistui odotettua paremmin.

Jokainen sai oman leirikassin, johon sai maalata mitä halusi. Kassien tuunausken jälkeen Niamh opetti meille perinteisen irlantilaistanssin perusaskeleita. Sitten menimme Tätien Tanssikoululle, jossa tädit näyttivät tanssiesityksensä jälkeen, kuinka senioritanssia tanssitaan. Peter ja Chloë lauloivat ja Niamh opetti Irkkutanssin alkeet myös tanssikoululaisille. Tanssitunnilta ei naurua puuttunut vaan lähdimme hymyssä suin takaisin Vandrarhemiin. Illalla pelailtiin lentopalloa, joka on osana viikon terveellinen elämäntapa –teemaa, ja osa porukasta uskaltautui myös uimaan! Päivä oli todella mukava ja toiminnantäytteinen.  

Monday – and it was up early in the morning to start our second day at the summer camp in Tornio, Finland.

Our first task was to complete an initiative and creativity workshop, where we had to create a new way of using an object. We found it challenging at the start but when we got into it wasn’t so hard. Our group was given a toy spanner and we had to create ideas on how to use it differently - our idea which we came up with was to use it as a spade!

During the same workshop the question was asked: ‘What was your best achievement as a citizen?’ Everyone recorded their own achievements. Next we had to list what we would like to change in our towns, country or in the world. It was good to complete this task because we leaned that although we are all teenagers we do have different opinions about things that happen in the world.

Our next workshop was creative and we got to paint or draw on our camp bags. Everyone had their own ideas and put it onto their own bag. There were lots of bright colours and designs used on the camp bags.

In the healthy lifestyle workshop we got taught how to do Irish dancing by Niamh. It was difficult to learn but most of the group got on well. First we learned the dance slowly but we then were asked by Niamh to see if we could do it at the normal, fast pace but only one had picked up the dance well. After that we then went to a nursing home and learnt one of their dances – taught to us by the elderly residents who had formed a dance troupe. Most of our group got up and took part. Niamh then went on to show the old Finnish people Irish dancing that they wanted to learn.

Later on that night we had free time so some of the Finnish and Irish group went down and played beach volleyball and beach football. Two of the Irish group, Jonathan and Niamh jumped of the pier into the river which runs between Finland and Sweden – great fun and an even better way to cool down after a long hot day!

          

Sunday 23rd June 2013

Sunday 23rd June 2013

Otimme aamusta katsauksen viime vuoden ryhmätapaamisesta, muistelimme valokuvia ja videoita katsoen. Pohjois-Irlannista oli tullut uusia ihmisiä vanhojen tilalle joten leikittiin paljon tutustumisleikkejä.

Kävimme läpi viikko-ohjelmamme, teemat ja säännöt. Menimme Tornio-Haaparanta –kierrosajelulle, ajoimme Kukkolankoskelle katsomaan kalamuseota. Sunnuntaina meillä oli teemana liikunta ja terveelliset elämäntavat joten pelasimme pesäpalloa yhdessä. Suomi vs. Pohjois-Irlanti, ja tottakai Suomi voitti!

Oli jännittävää tavata uusia ihmisiä ja myöskin vanhoja tuttuja! 

On Sunday we woke up at 9.30am to get ready to go to Nuorkka, which is the youth club in Tornio. When we arrived we sat down in the activity room and looked at the photos from last years exchange which was hosted in Downpatrick. Then we talked about the timetable for the week ahead and the health/security guidelines. This was good as it gave us all a great idea of what we were to do during this week and also helped us to be aware of the dangers that might have occurred during the week.

Next we got a bus tour around Tornio and Haparanda and learned about the history in both areas. The tour bus also took us to Kukkolankoski where we learned about the history of the river, rapids and the fishermen who fished for the Salmon and white fish that swam there. We thought this was a great way to get to learn about the area and with the benefit that we got to spend time with each other.

Next, we stopped at the old railway station in Haparanda, Sweden, where we learned that the railway from Boden to Haparanda was built in several sections over the course of 17 years and that it had been used during the second world war. We found this interesting as it is currently used as supportive accommodation for young people in need in both Tornio And Haparanda.

After that the bus left us back to Nuorkka to get food, after which we made our way to a gravel pitch in Haparanda to play each other at Finnish baseball. The score ended up being 18 to Finland and 17 to Ireland so the Finnish group have won part 1 of 3 games triathlon. We all found this fun and active and a great cultural experience learning about the Finnish way of playing the game.

Later we walked back to the accommodation in Haparanda and had a late supper then went to bed – we were ready for sleep after the long day of activities.