Day 4 (July 31)

Today we woke up very early because we had breakfast at 8 o'clock. The bus left at 8:30 to the Nature Centre and took one hour. There we saw bears and plants, and learnt much about the Finnish Nature. Some of us went up to a tower to see more from the great forest.

The bus came to take us to the lunch place. Some guys played ninja (a game you are playing outside with many people). And went to a small supermarket while the bus arrived. He took us to a nice place where we started our hiking tour (Kurjenrahka). It was wonderful to see the nature and listening to the silence while walking through the forest.

We collected some beautiful things from the forest, and had to tell later why we picked it.

The whole group ate together and burned some sausages.

The bus picked us up around 5 pm and went back to Loimaa. We stopped at the supermarket, before coming home again.

Some of us went to the sauna and relaxing, while other went to the gym and did some sports.

Now we are cooking together & playing some games.

We learned a lot about the nice nature. And as the other days, it's awesome to do something with our new friends we found here.

We are enjoying every minute, because it doesn't matter where we are and what we are doing as long as we are doing it together.

Good night ;)

Sofia (Mexico) & Maren (Germany)<3

Day 3: Olympic games and swimming + sauna! (July 30)

This is our third day in the camp. But we still didn’t recognize everybody from the exchange.

 So we just played some games together. It was very useful and funny.

We played the game that is very much like American football.

Because we can’t play formal American football. It’s a little dangerous.

So we just need to pull the strap and get the ball to the goal.

After this game, we played the acting game.

It’s a very special game. Because we have to imagine anything for the acting.

After this we had some lunch and we needed to go to the bus… Because we were going to do the olympic games!

At first we made some teams from each four persons and we also named our groups.

It started with a 3-legged game. So 2 persons feet were tied together and we needed to kick a ball further. And it was about who was the first! It was pretty difficult because you need to find a strategy to move forward with the ball.

In total we played 5 games but our favorite was the one where we needed to run/jump in a sack. Until the line and back. At the end there were 3 winners. Number one was team Lions! and of course all of them got a medal. And as a surprise all of us got a medal! And a salmiakki to keep it Finnish.

After this we got a tasty dinner at a restaurant from a buffet. Then we went with the bus to Lake Mellilä to swim and of course to the sauna. And having some fun and relaxing time. But the water was really cold... After this day full of sports we went back with the bus to camp. It was such an exciting day! And luckily there was no rain because they told us that it would rain! It was a quite sunny day!! JJ

Written by

Yao-Ting, You (Taiwan), Antonio Pagana (Italy), Celine Disseldorp (The Netherlands) and Yu Nishimura (Japan)

More pictures coming soon!!

Day 2 (July 29)

Certainly feels a lot like home since all the campers are really very nice and they all have a really positive attitude towards meeting new people and knowing their culture. Today's morning started with a visit to the agricultural farm which highlighted the tradition of Finland and also showed its rich farming culture. 

Before the agricultural visit we also visited the Loimaa market place which had really a good exhibition of Finnish things and artifacts. 

After lunch we visited Loimaan Kivi where we learned about the different marbles and also some of us tried to break some marbles and use some machinery. 

After dinner we learned about traditional sauna and also made birch whisks and had one of the best time in the sauna and swimming in the lake (SOME VOLUNTARILY AND SOME NOT :P).  In the evening we traded sweets and snacks from our countries and enjoyed ourselves.

Campers: Maria (Germany), Eva (Austria), Smit (India), Leszek (Poland)

Day 1: The glorious first day (July 28)

Today was the first day at the Lions camp SISU 2016 where everyone introduced themselves. We ate lunch and after we filled our stomachs, we went for a tour of the camp facilities, where we saw the killer river, dorms with the music room and the sauna…yes in Finland even schools have saunas. After some free time, during which we played different games we had a very, very early dinner (it was at 16:30), if you can call that a dinner. After the meal we headed onto the bus, some of us on time some not; “cough” Flavio, which took us to an art gallery in Loimaa. There we looked at local Finnish art, ate muffins, pizza and drank some apple cider. After some snacks and forced sophistication, we were surprised (seriously) with a DIFFERENT band. Although we knew almost nothing about the band (their style, origin or names), we got the chance to experience their unique art. Their art included not only musical traces of different artistic movements but visual experience too. Despite the temporary deafness we had from this strong love for music, we sure will have the effects 
of this concert forever.

After one and a half hour of intense art, we came back to the camp and had some free time to socialize with each other. During our free time, we have been disturbed by a nice tropic Brazilian for a good cause; Brazilian chocolates. Besides from tasting good, it had the perfect texture for a wafer.

So as we document our experience for the blog, others are playing games in the garden. We are now going to go outside and join them… or maybe chase some pokémons.

See you tomorrow!

 ATÉ AMANHÃ!  GÖRÜŞÜRÜZ!  FARVEL!  SE VIDIVA JUTRI!

Campers:  Guilherme (Brazil), Filip (Slovenia), Polen (Turkey), Emilie (Denmark)

July 17. Host Family Day at Herrasmanni

We held a special day to gather all host families together. The main idea was to share some tips and tricks, discuss the experience of hosting foreign youth and of course have fun! This was also the first time most campers got to meet each other. Exciting!

First we got divided into groups in which we walked through a forest trail. We had some puzzles and topics related to Lions and Finland to discuss along the way.

We ate lunch and after that the host families went back to the starting point to have their own program. I hope you could discuss and bond with each other, got some useful information and new points of view!

We instructors and campers stayed in the forest. There were tricky rope courses, a wire swing you could slide downhill and you could even try to throw an axe. After that some campers enjoyed a dugout smoke sauna and a refreshing dip in a pond or a hot tub. The others played cards or just got to know each other.

We hope that you all had fun! Thank you for coming!

Meet your instructors!

Most of you, our campers-to-be, have done introductions of yourselves in our Facebook group. We are glad to see how enthusiastic and active you are. However, you probably don't know too much about us, your instructors, so we decided to do small introductions, too!

Here we are planning our camp programme.

Heini

Hi there! My name is Heini and I'm probably a bit older than you think.  I'm a Bachelor of Culture and Arts - Crafts and Recreation. I love culture: music, drama, visual arts, food, gardening, crafts… you name it! Most of all I love traveling and getting to know foreign cultures and people around the world. 

I work as a workshop instructor with multi-problem youth. I train those youth in danger to marginalization life skills and crafts. My work is basically helping people and so is my hobby, Lions. I've been a lion for 10 years now and I've done many things as a lion. I've been working with Lions Youth Exchange over three years now. I started as a program manager at the Lions camp which was held in same place as the SISU camp.

I wish that we'll have a wonderful camp together!

Pilvi

Hello! My name is Pilvi, I'm 20 years old and I'm starting my studies at University this autumn. I will be a handicraft teacher. I'm very musical, I love singing and I've been playing violin for many years but past few years I've been focusing on singing instead. On my free time I obviously listen to music and I like to spend my time at the horse stables, I've been riding over ten years. I also love photographing, most of all using an old camera with black and white film.

I was in Austria a couple of summers ago on a camp like this, as a youth exchangee. I really liked the experience and I bonded with wonderful people around the world. We even had a little reunion last summer in Germany! That's the main reason why I'm organizing this camp, I want you all to have the same experience as I had.

Riina

Hello! I’m Riina and I'm 19 years old. I just graduated from high school and I’m going to start studying English at the University of Turku this fall. I can speak Finnish, English and Swedish, somewhat understand German and know a tiny bit of Japanese, Thai and Korean. My days go by reading, writing, drawing, watching dramas/tv series and listening to K-pop. I’m very interested in cultures and languages, especially Asian ones, and I sometimes spend hours researching different aspects of them. I’m really excited to hear what you all have to tell about your home countries all over the world! I was a Lions youth exchangee in Japan in 2014. I spent three weeks with my host family in Shiojiri, 10 days in a camp travelling through Tokyo, Mt. Fuji and Kyoto and a small 3-day camp in Nagoya. It was definitely the best experience I’ve ever had, so I decided to apply for the place of a camp instructor. Now here I am, doing my very best with all other instructors to create the perfect exchange experience for you! Let’s spend a great summer together!

Satu

Hi everyone! My name is Satu and I’m 22 years old. I’m studying English at the University of Turku and I just finished my second year. I’m really passionate about languages and I’m currently speaking (more or less) Finnish, English, Swedish, Spanish and Italian. My other interests in life are sports, music and travelling. I came across with the Lions organization first time in 2012 when I participated in the youth exchange.  I spent a couple of weeks in a host family in North Dakota USA and over a week in a camp in South Dakota. Though I enjoyed my time in the host family, the camp was definitely the best part of the trip! One year later, in 2013, I was a camp instructor here in Finland in the very same camp that you’ll be enjoying in few weeks. The last camp was a success and I have no doubt that this year’s camp will be any different! We have planned great things for you and we are determined to create an experience that you’ll never forget! Can’t wait to meet you all! :)

Anniina

Hi! I'm Anniina, an 18-year-old girl from a small village called Piikkiö. I just graduated from senior high school and after this summer I will pack my bags but I'm still not sure if I'm going to be an au pair in Germany or a university student in Sweden. I love music, sometimes play the guitar, sail and I'm a hard-boiled scout.
I was in New Zealand as a Lions exchangee for a month last summer. They didn't have a camp there so I'm really looking forward to this one!