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One of my good friends in Finland used to always say that whenever we were together:  Time Flies!  I wholeheartedly agree with her!  I can't believe that it has already been almost six weeks since we started out on this adventure to return to the USA.  Everyday, I would blog in my head, but never have gotten the ideas onto this blog. Hopefully, one day I'll catch myself up and actually write about our adventures the last six weeks or so....

I can't believe it has already been two weeks since we started off on our trip to Idaho!  Sorry that I haven't posted although I think of different stories I want to post quite often.  Our adventure started at 6:30 AM on 29 July when my friend 'I' picked us up and drove us to the airport near Helsinki.  It was a couple hours drive and was uneventful.  When we got to the airport, I was under the impression that Alpo needed to be in his crate the entire time, so we put him and his crate on a cart and took him in with my three huge suitcases which he barked nonstop.  When we got checked in, I was informed that Alpo should be taken to the gate in a couple more hours and that he doesn't need to be in the crate yet.  We spent the time walking around the airport and played with some of his toys outside.  I was really quite nervous for him as I knew he didn't know what was happening.  About 75 minutes before our flight took off, I took Alpo to the check-in desk and was escorted to security.  They checked his crate and then Alpo was put in the crate and taken away.  I then went through security and prayed that he would be in Seattle when I arrived 18 hours later.  The trip itself was uneventful.  I did get some pictures (which I will add later) of the luggage guys putting Alpo in cargo in Helsinki.  In the airports, I met and small-talked to strangers...normal travel stuff.  When I arrived in Seattle and once I went through passport control, I asked about Alpo and they told me to go to a certain office and show the paperwork, which I did.  All they wanted to see was the indication that he had his rabies shots up to date.  The other paperwork I had was not looked at by anyone, but I'm glad I still had it.  While I was getting my luggage in customs, my name was called and someone had just inspected Alpo and I asked how he was.  I was told that he was in good spirits and was wagging his tail as they did the physical inspection.  Once I left customs, I made my way to the baggage area (in the states, once you go through customs, you have to give your luggage back and pick it up at a different point) where I was told Alpo would be waiting.  I got there and took him out and we were both excited to see each other.  The two men that carried him down, did not ask for any paperwork, but I guess assumed that we belonged together the way we were acting.  Alpo did quite well, the crate did stink and he was very, very thirsty.   I gave him a bottle of water I had saved from the plane and within ten minutes, he threw it all up.  We arrived in Seattle on a record-breaking day--it had never been that hot.  I tried to use my new phone and it wouldn't work and my Aunt and Uncle were waiting for my call.  I finally got Alpo, his crate and all my luggage moved to a waiting area and started a conversation with a guy who eventually let me use his cell phone to call my aunt and uncle.  Aunt A came with an "Alpo bag", which consisted of:  food, water, disinfectant, paper towels, rubber gloves, etc. so I was able to clean the crate before he had to go back in--I was so grateful for her thoughtfulness.  So, this part of the journey was over.  Check back for what happened next!

Project Idaho started the end of May when I decided to take the leap and move back to Idaho after a 22 year absence.  I realized that with my work, I could live any where in the world and the place I wanted to live (at least for a while anyway) is near my family.  So, I put my home on the market and said I would leave within 30 days of it selling.  It took a couple weeks for the logistics and once it was on the market, it sold in about two days.  Six weeks later, I am on a friends computer spending my last night in Finland.  Wow!  I figure Project Idaho is in three phases.  Phase 1 was packing and moving out, phase 2 was a short holiday and phase 3 is the traveling.

Phase 1

Phase 1 got to a slow start for me as it was overwhelming trying to decide what I should keep and what I should get rid of.  Thankfully, my friend 'A' came by and helped me get the first round of stuff sent to the Salvation Army.  I also set up a website with items that I wanted to sell.  Sold some of my stuff that way, but not as much as I was hoping.  Then my friend 'E' came over and helped me call places and that was good.  They also got my friend 'R' to help me put things on huuto.net, which is the Finnish equivalent of e-bay.  Then 'A' helped me sell some stuff and soon it was two weeks and my place was still full...Thankfully, a lady from my church heard about all the things I still had and since her son was just moving to Tampere (and she also has two other adult children), she took practically everything I had left.  I was overwhelmed! 'H' and her fiance came and helped me move everything out, which was a godsend.  Also, during this phase, I went on several coffee, lunch and dinner farewells and topped it off with a farewell get-together at the local rose park.  It was a lot of fun!

Phase 2

This was the shortest phase as it was only a couple days.  I have been out at a friend's place in the countryside and the dog and I have just been relaxing--it has been wonderful!  Alpo has been moving his toys and bones all over the place--he might think he is here to stay, but he is in for a surprise I think...

Phase 3

Starts in about 5 hours when my friend 'I' comes and picks us up and drives us to the airport.  Then we will travel from Helsinki to Copenhagen and then from Copenhagen to Seattle where my aunt and uncle will pick us up.  Hopefully all goes well and Alpo arrives on the same plane as I do...  On Thursday, my friend 'R' will pick us up and drive us to the Portland area (Newberg) where we will stay at another aunt and uncle's place.  My mom is there for a church conference so she and her new husband will have the privilege of driving us to Idaho.  My neice is driving in from Wyoming and my brother and his wife (whom I haven't yet met 'live'--only virtually) are coming for the weekend so it will be a 'happy, family' get-together.  Then my life in Idaho begins!  Project Idaho comes to an end!  Wonder if all will go as planned?  Stay tuned to find out...

 Today, four of us went on a boat cruise in the center of Finland.  It was a fairly small boat, but still very nice.  We went about two hours in the water heading to a vineyard--stayed at the vineyard for an hour and then returned.  Then we went to the neighbors place and played some music (I listened) and then a traditional Finnish sauna.  It was a very nice day!

              

During one of my last weeks in Finland a friend and colleague of mine from the Isle of Man has come to visit.  Today, Alpo and I took her to one of our favorite places:  a lake which is about a ten minute walk from our house.  It takes about 75-90 minutes to walk around and you see all types of things besides the lake--forest, swamp and cliffs.  Here are some pictures from our adventure:

Yesterday, I was informed by a property management company that my application has been approved and I will move into a small, older three bedroom home with a yard and garden spot!  Heidi lived in this place before she was married so I might have got it through connections, but it is nice that I won't have to live with family as I get settled into a new country...  The rent is less than what I am paying now...  Here are a couple of pictures that I have found on the internet:

  

When I first announced that I would be returning to the states several people were surprised and said--"I thought you liked it in Finland..."  Well, I do--I have had a wonderful decade here in Finland!  Anyway, the last few nights as Alpo and I have gone on our nightly walk, I've started making mental lists of things that I will miss about Finland.  Here is what I've thought about (I'm sure there are more things that I haven't yet considered) and no way is it in order of what I will miss the most:

1. The 'walking' streets
2. The excellent public transportation
3. Being able to take the dog out at midnight and feeling completely safe (right now  it is still light)
4. Not understanding the irrelevant conversations around me (as I can just tune it out as background noise)
5. Pirkka Lasagna
6. Dumle chocolate
7. MY FRIENDS (the top on the list)
8. Not being charged extra for using a bank machine
9. 30 mb/s unlimited internet access
10. My unlimited mobile broadband
11. The Finnish sarcastic/ironic humor (which is so close to my own--many Americans see sarcasm/irony in a negative light)
12. I'm sure there is more...

As many of you know, before teaching and living abroad I worked in the telephone industry and knew the industry backwards and forwards.  It has now been 15 years since I worked in that industry and of that 15 years, I have lived abroad for 13 of those years. I'm moving back to the states and most of my work is going to be dependent on really good internet and telecommunications.  Naturally, I have started researching this.  My first problem:  when I left the country there were only three telephone companies and none of them offered internet.  Now--it seems that there are these bundled packages with telephone, internet and cable tv...and the companies that I know have different names... I have learned that US West is now Qwest and GTE is now Verizon.  AT&T (my former employer) seems to still be the same, but where is MCI? And is Sprint still a big player or a small player now?  Also, which is better cable modem or dsl?  I tweeted that question and got the answer that it depends on the neighbors for the cable and the hub for the dsl...what to do?  I have also learned that the fastest internet in the treasure valley is 5 mb/s, which is 25 mb/s slower than what I have now.  Grrrr.... what do I do?  Also, the wireless communication is quite confusing to me as well.  If I buy a cell phone with wireless broadband, can I use this with my netbook or laptop--I can't seem to understand.  I have unlimited 2 mb/s on my cell phone and can use my laptop for it here and have cable modem with 30 mb/s also unlimited... In the states--it seems that it depends on how much one uses--totally confusing...

Things are starting to come together for my arrival in the states.  I don't want Alpo to be on too many planes in the cargo area so I have decided to fly into Seattle and Alpo and I will stay with my aunt and uncle for the first night.  Then one of my girlfriends, 'R', who is living in Vancouver will come and pick us up and drive us to the Portland area where I will meet up with my mom and her husband.  We will then head to Idaho!  A long trip, but better than having Alpo in the cargo--we can stop and Alpo can run.  Anyway, I feel very blessed that I have a place to stay in Seattle and that R is being so gracious about picking me up.  In addition, R, who just got married a year ago has some extra things from her home that she is giving me since I have to get rid of practically everything here.  I feel so blessed!  Also, my brother B who lives in Boise will be giving me two waterbeds and my twin and her husband just bought me a table at a yard sale.  I haven't even arrived and don't even know if the house that I have applied for is mine, but people are already starting to shower me with blessings!  Wow!  Here is the picture of the table that they bought me yesterday: