We started the day bright and early for a long trip to the arctic circle. The first stop on the way was the Pudasjärvi log campus where we were greeted by the vice principal and got a quick overview of the campus. It is the first and the biggest log school in the country (and possibly the world) it is also a school for pre-primary through high school education. It is mostly made of wood, over 28km of stacked logs, and while that might seem like a fire hazard, they assured us that it takes a while to burn and the sprinkler system is effective.
Students came to take us on tours around the school where we saw the arts and crafts room, cooking classroom, woodworking class, and gym. They told us that they enjoy the classes and the freedom to pick what they want to do in the future. Though the academics are hard, they told us that the extra classes, such as art and cooking, help to de-stress and take away from the pressure of homework. This school shared similar themes to the other schools we visited, where we saw the same ideas of trust, autonomy, and individuality.
Next up on our journey, we stopped at a Zoo for lunch and then continued on to Santa Claus village where we met Santa and took a group picture. Then we had a bit of free time to shop and take pictures. Even though there are still many days until Christmas, we soaked up the warm weather and good company. We were able to write postcards and get souvenirs for our families in the Christmas shops. It was also funny to wave hello to some of our family through the live camera feed.
A quicker drive this time to the reindeer farm where we were able to feed and pet the reindeer. There was an adorable 3-4 day old baby reindeer who made a quick appearance. We then practiced lassoing a (fake) reindeer and then headed to dinner. Our dish for the night was reindeer meat with mashed potatoes, sour berries, and pickles. We were also given some fun facts about reindeer mating and racing. Did you know that there are no wild reindeer in Finland? All of them are owned by people but allowed to free roam on the farms. As this was our last night here, we all received a certificate of course completion from Finpeda. As we are writing this, we are on the way back to the hotel and sad to have finished the Finland portion of the trip but excited to head to Prague tomorrow. What a great day to end our trip to Oulu!
