Rasmuksen puhe vieraille Kaitaalla syksyllä 2016

Rasmus Kull, puhe Gonglun koululle:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Nice seeing you all here in such great numbers! My name is Rasmus Kull, and I came here all the way from a small, northern-european country called Finland, some 7000 miles away, to see your beautiful country. So far I'm having a blast. The food is excellent, the culture captivating and the people extraordinarily awesome!

Now I'll tell you guys a little something about us Finns. So first off, Finland is a very small country. We have been, for many centuries, under the influence of Sweden and lately Russia. Luckily we are independent now. That means we as a nation, still are a little insecure. This insecurity works as a kind of root, from which our national identity and pride, in a way, stems off of. We are, for example, very precise about which famous invention or celebrity, is in fact, of Finnish kin. "Have you guys heard about Santa Clause? Yeaahhh he's from Finland. Ever been to a Sauna? Yup, we made it, NOT the Swedes. Famous bands... Lemme think... Nightwish, Sunrise Avenue... And yeah, that's right Darude Sandstorm! Oh and there was this one band, which won this European song contest once in 2006. We are lots of things. We are awesome." So this is what you'll inevitably hear once you step your shoe onto Finnish soil. Us Finns we like to boast about right about anything and everything that is somehow connected to Finland. So please beware if you want to visit us. (We do have nice Saunas you should give a try while you're at it...) Anyways, our country is inhabited by about 5,5 million inhabitants. And seven of them appear to be right with you on this very day. Eevamaija and Heljä, our lovely teachers, as well as five students whom I will introduce to you guys right away. 
I think I'll go ladies first on this one. I'll start with Kira, a first grader in Kaitaa and a fun loving goofy girl, who knows what's up. She does gymnastics, she dances, fiddles around with music and goes hard with her downhill skiing. She's looking forward to meeting new people, so be sure to come say hi! Continuing, this young lady right here, is Kaitaa's Second Grades' very own Salla! She is a Talented musician, who plays the piano and also sings a little. She likes to travel, and she spends a lot of time with her friends and family. Salla always has a smile on her face, and I have yet to catch her on a bad day! She is like a fountain of positivity, she'll make you burst into a fun little laughter here and there. I can guarantee this much.
This is Joonas, my man, a second grade student and an all-around-nice wall climbing guy, who is very social and outgoing (he loves to converse with people, so please feel free to have a chat with him if you want to). Next up is Timi, a master of multiple hobbies such as drawing, playing video games, going to the gym, and playing the drums. He's also good at snowboarding among others, so yeah, top notch. Remember, if you guys are looking to hire an artist, Timi is your man! And lastly, you've got this guy to look at. Me. I'm Rasmus, and I'm a first grader in Kaitaa. I may not be the best at holding speeches, but I do love making music. If I'm not out and about with my friends (or doing school stuff) you will most likely catch me on my computer, composing my next track. I am honored to able to join you guys here today, and I am hoping to get to know you better. So where was I? Oh yeah, the school. It's located in Espoo, right next to the capital city of Finland, Helsinki. It consists of two schools, lower- and upper secondary, which both house about 300 students each. Our school is art-focused, so we do enjoy ourselves a nice, colorful (or colorless) painting. We are also open and welcoming and super happy to be able to be part of this awesome multi-cultural learning experience. We hope that we can keep having such a special bond between us, for the years to come. So thank you again, and in the words of a wise man I once knew, China is an awesome country with tasty food and beautiful people. Xie-Xie!