The Translator

Chapter 1: Meeting the Jaakoppi's

"Henri and his sisko, Annika, cooked you food," Mrs. Jaakoppi grins, looking over at Henri and I.

"I could probably eat a little," I say, shrugging my shoulders. I know how Finnish people can be about their food so there is no way I can decline the offer...especially when they made it for me.

"Come!" Henri grins, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the kitchen. There is a young blonde girl standing over the stove, but she turns around immediately once we walk into the room.

"Hello! My name is Annika!" the blonde says happily, running over to shake my hand. "I speak the best English out of all my family, as you can probably tell. You must be hungry from your plane ride! Our family loves to cook especially for other people. We made you most of our favorites so I hope you are hungry!"

"Annika! Rauhoitu (calm down)," Mr. Jaakoppi laughs, coming into the kitchen behind us. "Aiot pelotella häntä pois (You are going to scare him away."

"Se on kunnossa (it is okay)," I smile, putting both my hand behind my back. "So what did you make?"

"We made a few different dishes because none of us could decide on just one!" Annika says, her smile never leaving her face. This must be the happiest family I have ever met in my life, they never seem to stop smiling!

"First dish...Lihapullat!" Mrs. Jaakoppi says, stirring them around. (Lihapullat are Finnish meatballs made with ground pork and served in gravy.)

"Mom's favorite!" Annika says happily, turning to stir another pot on the stove. "We also have-"

"Perunamuusi!! (mashed potatoes)" Mr. Jaakoppi yells happily, pumping his fist in the air.

"Dad's favorite dish even though it is a side! He can't eat the meatballs without potatoes!" Annika laughs, leaning down to check the oven. "The next dish we have is my personal favorite--karjalanpiirakka!" (a traditional Finnish dish made from a thin rye crust with a filling of barley, or rice. Butter, often mixed with boiled egg ( or munavoi), is spread over the hot pastries before eating.)

"Good choice!" I exclaim, excited that they have one of my favorite dishes.

"I know, right!" Annika says happily, turning to Henri. "Valmistitko vielä astianne? (Did you finish your dish yet?)"

"Ei vielä, minun täytyy kokata ne (Not yet, I need to cook them)," Henri says, looking down at the already full oven.

"Oh, right!" Annika giggles, pulling her dish out of the oven. "Go ahead then!"

"Mitä teit (what did you make)?" I ask Henri politely.

"Korvapuustit!" Henri exclaims happily, putting his dough rolls in the oven. (Finnish cinnamon rolls made out of pulla 'sweet' bread which is made into a roll and rolled in cinnamon and sugar.)

"Ihana valinta (wonderful choice)," I say, unable to help the grin that comes across my face.

"Those are going to take a little bit to cook so why don't we eat the main dishes first?" Annika suggests.

We all nod our heads in agreement and each of the Jaakoppis grab a dish to bring to the table. I quickly follow them to their dining room and wait for them to tell me where I should sit. Henri sits down on one side of the table and ushers for me to sit beside him. Annika sits across from me, placing our favorite dish in between us and both of their parents take a place at opposite ends of the table. We say a quick prayer in Finnish before digging into these wonderful dishes. Being the guest in the house, they let me dish up my food first but I still wait for everyone to get their food before beginning to eat (proper Swendish culture). Mostly we eat in silence, but the happy grins on each of the Jaakoppi faces never falter. Towards the end of the meal, Henri excuses himself so he can finish his dish and I decide that this is a good chance for me to spend some time with Henri.

"Anteeksi, onko se kunnossa, jos autan (excuse me, is it okay if I help)?" I ask Mr. Jaakoppi politely.

"Of course, thank you!" Mr. Jaakoppi says, his grin getting even bigger (which I didn't know was possible).

"Thank you for this delicious meal!" I exclaim, placing my napkin beside my plate before standing up. I quickly head into the kitchen to find Henri with his sleeves rolled up, getting ready to roll the pastries. "Hello Henri! May I help you?"

"You help?" Henri asks pointing to the rolls, making sure he heard right.

"Yes," I smile, rolling up the cuffs of my sleeves.

"Good, Good!!" Henri says happily, handing me one of the warm rolls. "You know...how?"

"Why don't you show me?" I ask, seeing how much he can understand in English.

"Show you?" Henri asks, thinking hard. "Yes!"

He pulls one bowl of cinnamon and sugar so that it is right between us and another bowl of melted butter next to it. He lightly dunks the roll into the butter before rolling it in the sugar/cinnamon mix. Each family makes them a different way, but I can honestly day that this one is a first for me. I follow Henri's lead and do just as he is doing, coating each of the rolls in yummy sugar coating. I talk with Henri in English for a little bit before switching to Finnish so that I can have a real conversation with him. It turns out that all of Henri's family members are cooks which explains why they made so much good and all of it was so good. Whenever Henri talked about cooking and baking, his eyes light up and you can tell that in the kitchen is where he belongs. Once we are done coating each of the rolls, we rejoin the rest of his family in the dining room and we immediately dig in.

"Henri, nämä ovat fantastisia (these are fantastic)," I say after taking one bite.

"Kittos," Henri says with a bashful smile.

"My brother is a decent cook," Annika says with a grin, "but when it comes to baking bread and pastries, he is a master! How about you, do you have any skills and/or hobbies?"

"Annika!" Mrs. Jaakoppi scolds, giving me a sorry smile. "Sorry, she loves meeting new people."

"It's okay," I smile, taking another bite of my pastry. "I don't have anything too exciting to tell anyways."

"Well you will after the selection!" Annika exclaims, grabbing her second roll.

"That is, if I am chosen to be your brother's translator," I say quickly, not wanting to get ahead of things.

"Are you kidding, you are perfect!" Annika says, turning to her mother and father. "Kerro hänelle (tell him)!"

"Tapa pilata asioita (way to spoil things)," Henri glares playfully at his little sister.

"She is right," Mrs. Jaakoppi says after speaking quietly with her husband for a moment. "I think you are the perfect man for the job. That is, if you want it."

"I would love to represent your family as Henri's translator," I say happily, accepting the offer. "It will be an honor."

"Yay!" Annika squeals, turning to Henri. "Eikko is going to be your translator!"

"Eikko....huh?" Henri asks, not able to piece it together.

"Aion olla teidän kääntäjä koko valintaprosessin ajan (I am going to be your translator throughout the Selection process)," I say, already translating for Henri. "Jos se on kunnossa kanssasi (if that is okay with you)."

"Yes, yes!!!" Henri yells happily, his face lighting up once again. "Aiomme olla hyviä ystäviä (we are going to be great friends)!"

"Joo, Henri, uskon, että aiomme olla myös hyviä ystäviä (yes, Henri, I believe we are going to be great friends too)," I say happily, grinning almost as widely as Henri.