Through our American Eyes...a Finnish Classroom

The school is in temporary buildings (complete with a circus tent) during a renovation.

Anne, our Finnish mama, invited us to attend the Telakkakadun Koulu comprehensive school (equivalent to a U.S. middle school) where she teaches English, Swedish, and German. (Yes, our Finnish mama is good at languages!) The night before the early morning pick-up, we put together a short power-point presentation with some photos and maps highlighting our life in the U.S.--holidays (Christmas and Halloween), our houses, hobbies, family, and life in Colorado and Ohio and Georgia, and food! Of course you can never completely cover American life in a short 45 minute presentation,

Sweet Anne!

especially considering the many regional and ethnic cultures in the U.S., but we did our best to show them what life was like for us with photos of American football and downhill skiing. At 7 a.m. Anne picked us up just as the sun began to rise and we drove about 45 minutes up north to a small little town called Suolahti. When we arrived we were warmly welcomed by the other teachers and our day quickly began with both of us presenting to one class. The demeanor of the first class was a glimpse into life in a Finnish classroom. Through our American eyes, we would describe the students as shy and reserved...most of the students did not make eye contact (yet they were intently listening) and when we asked for questions only a few brave students took the challenge. (It was very different from your stereotypical American classroom.) Our first question of the day was from a young man who was well spoken in the English language (and a smart cookie), he asked a question about the U.S. debt. After Charlie answered the question, I asked him, "Are you worried about the U.S. debt?"

They even have an arts & crafts class.

He said, very matter-of-fact, "No, that is your problem."  We laughed. Yes, it is but, Charlie explained that in this global society Finnish teenagers may even feel the impact (video games and movies will increase in price.)

Everyone takes off their shoes before eating lunch.

After our second classroom presentation, we split up and each of us presented in four other classes, separately. We even ate lunch in the cafeteria with the students (after taking off our shoes...yes, everyone takes off their shoes before entering the cafeteria.) Imagine a freshly cooked lunch (no processed foods) for all students, free of charge. Yep, this is life in a social welfare country. When we got home we both fell asleep...being a teacher is hard work (we owe hardy props to both of our parents and Anne!) Reflecting on this experience, both of us agree that this was one of the best cultural experiences yet. We really got to see, feel, and experience what happens in the classroom where students score the highest on the international OECD PISA exam.

A 7-Hour Dinner Party with our Surrogate (Finnish) Family

We signed up for a family friendship program through the University where international students (that's us) are matched with local families. I do not want to be biased, but I really think we were matched with the BEST family.

Meet "Mama" Anne: a lovely and high-energy Finnish mother and middle school teacher who teaches English, Swedish, and German. In her spare time she enjoys Nordic walking and Zumba dancing.

Meet "Daddy" Timo: a history buff who loves the sauna and everything Russian. He is the father to three adult children and works as a building technician. Timo has spent a few years working in Russia.

Meet "Daughter" Julia: a sweetheart of a teenager who speaks and enjoys six languages: English, Finnish, Swedish, Russian, French, and Spanish (yes, Americans eat your heart out...I said SIX languages). In her spare time she dances hip-hop style and keeps herself current on U.S. politics and pop culture by watching Conan O'Brian and Jersey Shore. She will graduate from high school in the spring.

Meet "Son" Juhani: he recently moved to a small town to begin his studies at a polytechnic (similar to a U.S. community college). Juhani was in Eagle Scouts and loves to share stories of fishing, camping, etc. (him and Charlie bonded over this).

They invited us to their apartment for dinner and we did not realize it would be a 7-hour eating, drinking, smoking (GOOD cigars), cultural-sharing marathon. Wow, a Russian/Finnish food extravaganza! The food was amazing and Anne said that Timo  had been in the kitchen since the day before preparing the meal. Wow, is all I have to say...we arrived to a table full of food: the capital salad (from the capital of Russia), deviled eggs with caviar, smoked salmon on toast, and a big beautiful piece of salmon with fruits and veggies. I do not think either of us realized there was a second course and maybe we should have paced ourselves accordingly, but instead when the second course came out, a beautiful tomato based chicken casserole, of course we found room for more food. In the meantime, our glasses were continuously topped off. In fact, at one point I counted four glasses in front of Charlie's dinner plate: red wine, white wine, beer, and champagne with cloud-berry liquor. And, finally the amazing dessert that had been sitting on the table calling my name met my palette. Ah, yeah! Our whole grains, plants-based diet took a rapid detour this evening, but all for a worthy cause. Throughout the evening we shared different aspects of the American, Russian, and Finnish culture and got to know each other rather well.
Two things happened that are worth sharing...

1.) Timo invited Charlie for a "smoke"--which means Timo really liked him and it also meant that Charlie would wake up with icky smelly cotton cigar mouth in the a.m.

2.) Anne was so excited to share the U.S. map with Charlie that some limbs got in the way and the glass of white wine spilled all over Charlie's jeans. Hil-ar-ious! Seriously, the funniest part of the evening. At this point in the evening, Charlie was feeling so good I do not even think he felt the coldness of the liquid on his thigh. This was a good time to be a bystander.

The Medieval City of Turku, Finland

My superboyfriend accompanied me to Turku, which always makes traveling so much more fun and entertaining. (Insert image of Charlie doing the robot dance in the center square on the Occupy Movement stage...ha, ha...that did not really happen, but it is funny to imagine.) We attended the seminar for two days, hung out with fellow Fulbrighters, and stayed an extra day to check out the oldest city in Finland.  Founded in the late 13th century, Turku served as the capital until 1812 when Helsinki became the new capital under the Russian Empire. Turku is home to an amazing castle, gorgeous river-walk,  delicious Brazilian restaurant (where we ate Saturday night), and a funky-cool cafe that serves a vegan Sunday brunch (we tried it out and yum!) For all of my higher education readers, the first university in Finland was established in Turku in 1640, when the Academy of Åbo (Academia Aboensis) opened its doors to elite intellects and students. On this trip, I fell in love with the old world charm of Turku, a charm that you cannot find in most Finnish cities. 

American Voices



Dr. Earl Fry, FB Bicentennial

Chair in American Studies

speaking on the "Challenges

& Opportunities for U.S.".



Hanging with fellow FBer: Joan!



A beautiful fall day in Turku, Finland.



Every year the Finnish Fulbright Center and the University of Turku North American Studies Program hosts a seminar, "American Voices". All Fulbright grantees are invited to make a 20 minute presentation on some aspect of the American culture. It took me about one month to decide on a topic to present; my brainstorm list included: back-country Colorado adventures, eat your heart out--American Sunday brunch, Colorado vs. Georgia culture, American political pundits, the U.S. commercialized food industry and the extreme political polarization of U.S. (these last two topics I quickly threw out). I ended up with a topic near and dear to me: Shopping for an American Higher Education. You see the Finns have such a different paradigm on higher education, they truly believe in the depths of their consciousness that higher education should be free for all (okay, not every Finn believes this way, but most do). There view on this stems from a strong belief in the social welfare system, ya know equality for all and universalism of rights and benefits. It is a beautiful thing and counter to many ideals in the U.S.: independence, market-orientation, private control and rights. Anyway, I thought it would be interesting for Finnish college kids to get an inside look of the *complex* American college-choice process (including the financial decision--how to pay for tuition?) In the end, the audience left the seminar a little more knowledgeable about U.S. higher education, the culture in California, Louisiana, and Boston, American food, American brass bands, and many other topics.

The American Fulbrighters in Finland.

Quite a Motley Crew!

 

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Third Time is a Charm in Haarlem!

Since June 2011, I will have visited Haarlem, Netherlands three different times (June, July, and now October). This time a stopover via KLM airlines gave us a 21 hour layover in Amsterdam. Instead of going to the big city of sin, we chose to go to the sweet village of Haarlem of which both of us were familiar with (Charlie visited Haarlem during his teenage European soccer tour). A 35 minute bus ride from Schiphol airport and we found ourselves in this magical little town.

Despite the rainy day and the shops being closed because it was Sunday, we managed to explore the narrow cobblestone streets and we even got in (a little) trouble. Yes, we were those Ugly Americans (not proud of this) who saw an open door and an "open" sign and simply made our way up the stairs that took us to the top of the windmill until a man greeted us with a questioning look and asked, "Did you just walk in?" Yes, we said and explained that the door was open and the door to the cashier had a "closed" sign on it (an honest mistake). He said, "go on up", with a sour look on his face. Oops, not one of our proudest traveling moments, but the view was nice. The next stop was the supermarket where we loaded up on Dutch treats: sprinkles for Charlie's bread, more chocolate, and the delicious stroopwafel cookies. After an amazing Indian dinner, we snuggled into our dreams. Back to Jyväskylä!

A Long Weekend in Brussels

Here is a sweet little video highlighting the "extended" portion of our trip to Brussels. Even though it was rainy, Charlie managed to drink some beer and the Nikon snapped some fun "jumping" photos in Grand Place.

As much as I do NOT enjoy beer (yes, you did read that correctly), I do enjoy drinking beer in Brussels. Perhaps it is the beer culture that seeps into my palette or maybe Belgium beer simply tastes good. Whatever it is...the Kwak beer is one of my favorites and the most fun to drink. But, beer is hard to pack in your suitcase, so you must find something else as a souvenir to bring back to expensive Finland...chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!

Workin' (and Playin') in Brussels...

A two-day meeting with fellow Erasmus Mundus students and alumni took me to the fabulous European city of Brussels. Yeah, I am still involved with the Erasmus Mundus Association (the association representing the students and alumni of the EU scholarship program that I participated in for my European Masters degree). This time the travel was much easier as I did not have a big ocean to cross and my super partner-in-crime, Charlie, accompanied me. While I was in meetings I have a sneaking suspicion that he was out enjoying the gluttonous nature of Brussels: good beer, great chocolate, and melt-in-your-mouth waffles. Oh well, the meetings were fun and highly productive, so no time wasted there. Plus, we did extend the trip by a few days to enjoy all that Brussels has to offer.

The Colors are Changing: Fall has Arrived in Jyväskylä

Fall has arrived, officially. The temperatures are dropping and so are the leaves. Here are a few photos capturing the changing of colors on campus. I do love the Fall season: the smell in the air, the brisk cool breeze, and the feeling of something special to come...S-N-O-W!

Food in Finland!

As we find our way in the grocery store, we have discovered a few food items we LOVE and a few items that we simply cannot find. Here is a sampling:

What we LOVE: 

-Tomato paste in a tube! Who doesn't love to squeeze food out of a tube? Seriously, this is a brilliant idea. Yet, on our first trip to the grocery store, that we did not think to buy tomato paste in a tube, because we are so used to buying it in a can. Shortly after arriving home we discovered we had no can-opener. Uh-oh, time for Charlie to strong-arm the tomato paste can (see photo to right). In the future, we will be buying the tube. 

-Alpen Muesli...delicious. There is nothing better than European muesli.

-Cafe Deli biscuits taste like Thin Mints. Yum! 

-Karhu beer...or at least Charlie "likes not loves" this beer and thinks it is the best Finnish domestic brew. He says it tastes like MGD (a.k.a. Miller Genuine Draft...or nasty ass beer)...which isn't saying much for the Finnish beers. By the way, this is not the same beer in the photo.

-Buckwheat flour (Tattari jauho)--perfect for the buckwheat pancakes we love to make.

Food items we CANNOT find: 

-Ground cumin. There are plenty of sweet little bags of cumin seeds and we even went so far as to attempt to grind the cumin seeds with the utensils in our kitchen...HA, that was comical! We, did, however, find some ground cumin in the ethnic markets in Helsinki (Win!)

-Coffee grinder. Really?! We have been to every possible store in Jyväskylä that would likely sell a grinder and no luck. I guess the Finns prefer ground coffee, but not ground cumin.
-GOOD tortilla chips. Okay, we know we are far away from Mexico, but we still LOVE to eat (American-vegan style) Mexican food which calls for tortilla chips. But, all of the tortilla chips here contain nasty oil--either palm, vegetable, or sunflower--which leaves a gross film on the roof of your mouth. Ick!
-Almond butter or peanut butter. Unless you want to spend 6 € on a small container of organic almond butter, you will not be able to indulge in a PBJ (that is short for the all-American peanut butter and jelly sandwich...a staple in the U.S.)
-Refried beans...nope they just do not have them here. Instead we use lentils and black beans for our Mexican cravings.
-Chocolate chips...another item they just do not sell here. I guess this calls for chunky chocolate chip cookies (insert visual of me with BIG knife and BIG chocolate bar).

Helsinki

Here is a quick video of our time in Helsinki. Charlie came down for a quick visit and we had a fabulous autumn day full of sunshine in Helsinki and at the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  The Sea Fortress was built in 1748 when Finland was part of the Kingdom of Sweden and has since been used to defend it's sovereignty or lack thereof.

In Helsinki: Time to Get My Research Groove On...

Senate Square...straight ahead.

I am staying in Helsinki this week to get myself prepared for the upcoming wave of research interviews (that will come through at any moment...hopefully!) By the way, I think I chose some of the busiest people in Finnish higher education (Ministry staff and high-level university administration) to interview...or at least that is the rationale I am using for them NOT responding to my email request for interviews. Ah, this is all part of the process...patience! Right now I have ZERO interviews scheduled, but I am confident this will change with time. 

The sunset view from the living room in Helsinki.

My plan for Helsinki:
a.) orient myself to university campuses in the city,
b.) meet up with my Fulbright friends,
c.) finish writing & preparing another grant application,
d.) read, read, read more literature, and
e.) meet with my sponsors at the University of Helsinki. 

A weekend of total yoga bliss...in Tampere, Finland.

When I lived in Tampere in 2007, I discovered a fabulous yoga teacher, Paula, and her studio, Om Yoga. I had not seen Paula since 2007, but she knew I was back in Finland and so she invited me to a yoga workshop (in English) led by Rowan Cobelli, a yogi from the U.K. (see photo to right). I have to admit, since moving to Finland my yoga has waned. I have not found a studio or a teacher in Jyvaskyla, which honestly makes me feel a little unsettled. I know this sort of thing takes time and with my schedule, traveling to/from Helsinki so often, it would be hard to teach a consistent class. So, Rowan's workshop --Taking an Asana Deeper--was a juicy gift that made me feel reconnected to Finland and back at home on my mat and in the beautiful Om Yoga studio. The evening session, Dynamic Connection, was an infusion of dance, body movement, emotions, connection and affection with others, and just good fun. On Sunday a group of us yogis, including Rowan and Paula, enjoyed the Finnish tradition of sauna and cold-water swimming at the favorite wood-burning sauna in Tampere, Kaupinojan. We finished off the evening with a dinner and movie at Paula's apartment. Ah, now that I have my yoga groove back, off to Helsinki for the week...

Many Bureaucratic Steps...

Steps to Harju Ridge, a big hill that lies between our apartment and city center.

When you move to a different country it normally takes a few weeks (maybe even a month) to feel completely "settled" because there are so many bureaucratic logistics that simply take time (and patience). You may be unpacked and your cupboards full of food, but there are bank accounts to open and Finnish resident numbers to apply for...so hold on and practice what your mom told you, "patience is a virtue!"

Here is a list of bureaucratic things I/we have had the great fortune of coordinating:
 -Open bank account and wait 1 week to receive the visa electron (debit card)
 -Register for Finnish personal residence number and wait up to two weeks for the number (this is needed for tax card & bank account)
-Fill out form for University email access and wait one week for the username/password to come in the mail
-Pick up student registration form at international office (this is good for student discounts on meals, etc.)
-Order student card on-line and wait three weeks for card
-Fill out form to order business cards and wait who knows how long (and translate "PhD Candidate" to Finnish=tohtorikoulutettava)
-Send bank details to Fulbright for transfer of grant money and wait two weeks to get first payment
-Sign up for international student events listserv...ah, no wait time
-Figure out how to use the on-line student registration system and register for a Finnish language course
-Change signature line for all of your email addresses

The great thing about blogging about all of these details is that I can now look back and give a BIG sigh of relief, as most of these items have been checked off the "to do" list. Ahhh...the only thing I am waiting on is my student card. 

Mushroom Hunting with a Finn

Our Finnish friend, Ilkka, offered to take us "mushrooming". Here are a few excerpts from our email exchange:

"I suggest before noon....10? couple of hours in forest and if you want, after-wards I would be happy to show different ways of processing/handling mushrooms depending on the type of mushroom etc. Lets go to Laajavuori....area close to ski jumping place. I will learn some mushroom terminology in English before Sat...i mean there are certain basic rules how to distinguish different types of mushrooms. Rubber boots (or something similar) will be needed because it might be wet there even if it does not rain on Saturday."

WOW! Who knew that this email would be the impetus to such an EPIC day of mushroom hunting. Four hours of hunting in the forest resulted in about 10 pounds of different varieties of mushrooms. Ilkka is a master mushroomer because he grew up on a farm and his parents bestowed their mad mushroom-hunting skills to him and his brothers. He knows which mushrooms are edible, "icky" (I taught him to say that), and which ones will kill you. At one point in the day, he pointed to a beautiful white mushroom and was like, "Whoa! These are the most lethal mushrooms in Finland!" Thank goodness he knew that because they looked beautiful, kind of like the white button mushrooms we eat all the time, albeit a little larger.

We spent about 3.5 hours cleaning mushrooms and did not even get through all of them. Ilkka taught us how to clean, cut, and cook the different varieties. Some needed to par-boiled (the milk caps) which means they needed to be boiled twice before eating.

I have to say, it was amazing to be in the forest with a purpose. Mushrooming is one of the most peaceful and rewarding activities.