Anni Huusko
We would like you to meet Anni Huusko. Anni is from Rayrinki, Finland and she was with us from July 11, 2017 thru August 8, 2017. While she was only here for four weeks we went to and saw a lot of different places. She went to Lions meetings, Ruritan meetings, a Capon Valley Neighbor to Neighbor meeting and to church with us.
In WV we visited the Dolly Sods, the highest peak in the state, Spruce Knob, Seneca Rocks, Smoke Hole Caverns. We went to a Lions District Governor's dinner in Flatwoods where she met many Lions from around the state. We visited Washington, DC several times, took a trip to Baltimore's Inner Harbor and a lunch cruise of the harbor. We went to the National Aquarium and Ft. McHenry, she toured the US Capitol and Mt. Vernon. We attended my sister and brother-in-law's family reunion where she was overwhelmed with new people all at once. We told her when she arrived she would meet a lot of people while she was here and this was just the start. She did Irish road bowling at CaCapon State Park. We went to a friend's lawn party where she played Bocce Ball and she and Lorrie came in 2nd place in the tournament. She enjoyed riding in my Rhino (ATV) and going to Berkeley Springs. We also visited Tamrack which is a store where artisans of WV apply to have their products displayed and put on sale. Just beyond Tamrack we visited the New River Gorge park and drove down through the old road which crossed the river. We took a tour through a demonstration coal mine. It was an actural mine that was closed.
Towards the end of her stay we hosted another student, Yuko Ishida, from Japan. We took them both to the Hott family reunion where they got to take a helicopter ride over the scenic Capon Valley.
One of my favorite memories with her and Yuko was the day our pastor went down to the river to baptize several people. While we were there Anni and Yuko were wading at the river's edge when suddenly they bolted out of the water. When I asked what the matter was they pointed to a little teeny tiny crayfish. I assured them it wouldn't hurt them. I told them he was too small to eat them in one or two bites; back in the water they went. We took both girls to Bluegrass in the Barn so we could introduce them to bluegrass music.
As mentioned earlier Anni did enjoy her shopping. On the way home we stopped at a truck stop for gas and a snack. Lorrie and I found a cowboy hat that looked great on her but she wouldn't buy it. Several days later she had a change of heart and we returned to get the hat but someone else liked it too and it was gone. Her mother wanted to know why she didn't buy it.
As you can see, we did a lot of things with Anni. There were many days we didn't get home until late at night. The trips to Washington, DC and Baltimore were especially long days. We thoroughly enjoyed having Anni with us as did our family and friends. We look forward to the time when she will come again to visit. We have made sure Anni knows she is always welcome to return and we hope she doesn't wait too long to come back.
We saw a the mine superintendent's home, a typical family home that would have been in the mining town and owned by the mine company, a one room school house and the company store. And, as with any girl her age, she loved to go shopping and we did a fair amount of that with her.
National Anthem of Finland
To silence the music you must mute your computer speaker or just let it play through to the end
