July 15

     Today Arely (one of the other exchange students) came over from somewhere about 2 hours east of Tampere. We met up in downtown Tampere a little after 12 (although it did take a while to find eachother). We, for the most part, walked back and forth on the main street until about 6. And actually, we had a lot of fun: we talked about our experiences so far, sat by the lake/river, walked around the different shops, and ate food. Also, in the center of the town, they were giving out free pizza if you played a game, free drinks if you took a picture, and crackers if you just walked passed them (for advertisment), so we spent some time there :). Anyways Arely had to drive home with her host mom and sister at 6 and we said goodbye to eachother. Then I walked around a bit before I boarded the bus back to Pispala (the neighborhood where my host family lives in Tampere). OH and I must not forget to mention that this was the first time that I rode the bus to and from downtown alone, so I was just a tad proud of myself. Anyways, while I was riding the bus home, I met this nice fellow that moved from Iran to work for the red cross in Finland; we talked a bit. And then I came home, ate, read, took a walk alongside the lake (which was very relaxing), and then went to bed.