bananas, bamboo, calachuchi, cacao, and Iivo

i got so excited when i got an invitation for an interview from Katriina of Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden last week. i guess it was the reason why i haven't slept well for the past nights. i was excited, worried and nervous all at the same time. 

i decided to skip school today because the bus schedule doesn't fit to my own. so at 11:20, i was running on the icy pavement to catch my bus. Ugg! i can't really outgrow this running-after-the-bus thing. i'm happy with my running record. i was able to catch my bus which was leaving at 11:40! 

i was in the city around 13:20 and with the map on hand i started my adventure to find the botanical garden (which didn't take so long). the moment that i passed the gate, i immediately fell in-love with the place. they have a large collection of trees, most of them were not on our list, so they were strangers to me but i love them anyway. 

after meeting the strange trees, i decided to go inside the greenhouse to wait there until my interview time. i bought a ticket to be able to tour around the greenhouse but the moment that the receptionist knew what i was there for, he gave me back my money. so, i entered the door of wonders!

Dendrobium nobile

Pandanus stuhlmannii

Strelitzia reginae "Mandela's Gold"

their collection of tropical plants is amazing! as soon as i entered the first room, i felt at home right away. and i didn't want to leave if not for my interview schedule.

the interview is another thing. i was surprised that there were three interviewers. i felt more nervous. but they were very nice. it was just me who didn't feel at ease because i couldn't express myself better in suomea. it was so nice of them to actually translate in suomea the words that i just blurt out in English. rating myself from 1-10 (10 as the highest) for that interview, i'll give myself 5. 

i went straight to the greenhouse when i got out of the room just to calm my nerves a little bit and also to say goodbye to the plants that were familiar to me.


on my way home, i got the news that Iivo won gold in the 15 km. cross-country skiing for men. we agreed to go to the tori to celebrate for Iivo's success.

Onnea, Iivo!