Finland Days 6 & 7

Finland Days 6 & 7 - November, 7-8

Tervetuloa Joensuuhun! Or in layman's terms, welcome to the city of Joensuu. On Monday our hosts gathered us early outside of our Helsinki hotel for the long drive to the region of Northern Karelia, in the Eastern part of Finland. For the past few days, most of my writing has been dominated by really tough questions about education, cultural assumptions, and social change. Today’s writing will be lighter…maybe…yes definitely.

The bus ride to Helsinki took around 5 and half hours. But time flew as we drove through thick forests and over the many lakes and rivers of Finland. Having grown up in eastern Kentucky, the long stretches of highway, passing vast land dotted with farmhouses and barns felt strangely familiar. Finland, after all, is close to the size of Kentucky. Funny how, as travelers we yearn to see the exotic, the novel, the unexpected. Yet, we always feel a small sense of happiness when we happen upon the familiar. The sense of “I know this place” is often unexpected as it is calming. For me, as a first time traveler outside of the States, this experience was a small corner of happiness in my mind. Even the weather here, which the Finns are quick to point out that November the absolute worst time to visit Finland, reminds me of the long and wet Decembers of Kentucky. Now, I’ll grant you, this whole getting dark at 3:30 in the afternoon is not for me! But these moments are important. While you are traveling, home never leaves you and you often find it reflected back to you when you least expect it.

By Monday evening, our hosts had taken us to Martat, one of many adult cooking schools found in Finland. Our group spent the evening pairing up and making one of a series of traditional Finnish cuisines. Meatballs, mashed potatoes, pickled vegetables, and our new favorite, Karelian rice pasties were on the menu. Each did their part to perfection. With the help of our cooking instructor, whose patience never faltered, we actually completed every dish…and it was great! If you have never tried a Karelian pasty with egg butter (yes that’s a thing in Finland), then you are missing out on a real treat.

On Tuesday, my new Fulbright buddy Isaac and I had a free morning as we did not have to report to our host school until the afternoon. We took in the sights, hit the art museum, and found some great souvenirs for my kids back home. It was a great day to discuss our own lives and ambitions as teachers. In the afternoon we made it to Lyceum Lukio to meet Adam, our teacher host. Tomorrow I will go back and spend a full day there. And to be honest I can’t wait. I love seeing sights, but there is something about school that keeps drawing me back. And…and this is a big one…I get to walk to school in the morning, something that I haven’t done since 8th grade! Oh the simple joys of life:)

Tomorrow is a full day: school in the morning, followed by lectures and discussions about Finnish teacher education…I mean who could ask for a better day??? But for now, it is time for sleep…

Hyvää yötä