Well, more than a week has gone by since I left New York, and yet it feels like a much longer time has passed since then. I miss everyone so much and wish you all were here to be apart of this truly amazing experience.

I can't tell you all enough how wonderful this clubhouse is. As I have said in a previous post, in terms of the atmosphere and the spirit of the people, Suvimaki and Fountain House are exactly alike. But because Suvimaki is a much smaller clubhouse (the research unit at Fountain House is a little bigger then the whole house here), the pace and the tone of the day is more relaxed, which allows relationships to evolve more naturally and comfortably. I can't get over how relaxed it is though. There is always work to be done but I sense that their are few people here who feel very stressed out whether or not something gets done today or tomorrow. There is a lot I miss from not speaking the language fluently, but I can see this ease when members and staff interact with one another. Everyone loves being here at the house and more importantly, the people here have a sense of ownership that I think some people at Fountain House have a hard time feeling. They are both wonderful in their own right though and I am so happy to know that they exist in this world.

On Wednesdays for an hour at the end of the day, there is an English Only Table, where members and staff can gather to practise speaking English. I was very excited about this. I already knew many people who could and would speak at least some English to me but I was curious to see who would come to the table and just how strict the no-Finnish rules were. The group consisted of about eight members and staff. We went around and told something about ourselves to the rest of the group and then we just started talking. I asked what everyone liked to do outside of work and school and the conversation just took off! We talked about music and movies (and for like the third time in three days someone mentioned Blues Brothers, which then lead to Finnish and Americans alike reciting lines from the movie). It was really fun;)

Since I have neither a phone nor an internet connection at my apartment, it has been difficult to keep in touch with folks back home. This would not do. Fortunately, one of my new co-workers, Ratvia, took me to get a cell phone last Tuesday after lunch and now FINALLY, I can reach you all back home. Woot! Huge phone bills, here I come!!

Stay tuned! More to come later today...