The most circuitous route to Ruka (Sydney-LA-Frankfurt-Helsinki- Kuusamo) was fairly uneventful with no random explosive residue testing, forgotten sharps in carry on or a missed flights. I did however not receive luggage until my third day. This meant my training time for the first event was halved to two merely days and perhaps a slightly stinky pair of socks.
Finland itself is a little hard to adjust especially with 20hours of darkness and merely twilight from 11-3. Finnish has so many vowels (in stark contrast to the consonant loving Czechs) it's hard to conceptualise how a word might sound when preparing to say it. It almost makes one feel like they have been plucked from reality and placed into a cartoon like country, enhanced by the similarity in physical appearance of the majority of the population - being the standard stunning Scandinavian blond hair, pale skin and wide blue eyes.
The mogul course we competed on first felt quite steep and challenging especially since my limited time on snow for training. Have you ever feel petrified just prior to a public speaking engagement? This is how I felt prior to my first training... eeeekkk!! Seriously high winds and surprisingly warm weather ( -1C and some drizzle) have also enhanced the experience of visiting the edge of Lapland (and seriously making the cold but sunny skies of Colorado enticing). Preparation went well and my muscles were eventually pummelled into tense submission ready to compete.
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