Exploring, Talking, and Cooking!

One of the first things I put on my wishlist of things to do when I'm in Finland was to go to an orchestra concert. The Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra plays at Tampere Hall, we decided to ride the bus there on a rainy, rainy day. Of course, we stopped by the park to let Lassi play a bit, and I let out my inner child on the swing ride!

We almost went home because the doors to Tampere Hall were locked, but someone let us in the empty building, which was a little unsettling. There was a small exhibit of Viktor Jansson's art, father of Tove Janasson, creator of all things Muumi. Unfortunately, we found out there the Tampere Philharmonic was on holiday during June and July... So I guess I'll have to come back to Finland to hear them play. After that, we zipped up our rain jackets and took a walk along the river towards the city center. We walked past the city hall and into the market place where Mikko pressured me into eating mustamakkara, black sausage. It tasted alright... until Mikko told me it was made of blood and grains.

In front of the city hall

"Make a happy face and smile for the camera, Kim!"

My host mother Anne fulfilled my dream - to go to the Muumi Museum in Tampere! Anne, Lassi, and I walked through the exhibition of Tove Jansson's Muumi works in wonder. Lassi looked in awe at the 3D renditions of the Muumi characters and stories at the museum. It didn't surprise me how many Japanese people were at the museum. Muumi is very popular in Japan, even to the point that they built a Muumi cafe in Tokyo. I loved it so much that I went home and started watching some episodes of the Muumi television series! So cute!

My host parents were still working during the day, so they dropped off Lassi to a babysitter. So I was home alone. But I didn't spend it lying on my bed! I took a bus to the city center for an exploration adventure! I went to the Tampere library and read some Muumi books! I got lost in the city, but I believe that that's the best way to get to know your surroundings. I walked through the history museum which also had a lovely small art exhibit!

On Saturday, we took a two hour drive to Espoo for our cousin's grandpa's 80th birthday. I used to live in Espoo with my temporary host family for the week-long orientation, so it was nice to drive down a familiar road! However, Lassi began to get restless and would whine every time I spoke English. I don't blame him. It's frustrating to not being able to break through the language barrier, especially when it's with people you really want to talk to. Thinking realistically, I won't learn enough Finnish to be able to have a full conversation with Lassi before I leave. It's something that I know I'll regret when I leave for the US. So I sat in silence for a good chunk of the car ride, thinking that I'd be all alone at the party while everyone spoke Finnish over my head. But it was the complete opposite of what I thought! I found myself talking to kids my age and adults who were interested in what I thought about Finland. I talked the day away about my experiences with salmiaki and reindeer meat. I talked about traveling around the world and was very inspired by other people's stories! I made some great friends at the party and got to see Olivia and some other cousins again. I was expecting the worst, but I'm happy to say that I had a great time because of how nice everyone was!

To celebrate the beginning of my host parents's summer holiday, I decided to make them Chinese dumplings! Anne dropped me off at a Chinese market in the city, and I was overwhelmed with nostalgia. It was a nice to see and smell familiar food since my three weeks in Finland! We headed home and I sliced and diced with Lassi's help, and Anne and I had a great time folding the dumplings together! Although I made the mistake of making beef dumplings instead of pork, my host parents loved the dumplings! 

Our neighbor Mark came over and also loved the dumplings!

I've been trying out so many new Finnish foods, so making dumplings and sharing my culture with my host family was a nice change! We were all hungry after the birthday party since we had been talking too much to have a chance to eat. So I had a great idea. Go to a Finnish McDonald's! It's been interesting to see how H&M changes its style in Finland to fit with European styles, so I thought it'd be good to see how McDonald's has changed here. The most "different" thing on the menu was the rye bread sandwich. Fins love rye bread, so I wasn't surprised at all. However, I didn't try it because rye brad isn't my thing. I had the classic McChicken and oh man, it was the first time I felt like I was eating real food at McDonald's. It was crisp and full of flavor - the way the McChicken was meant to be. 

Today, my parents's friends who have been living in Florida came over with their little six year old daughter, Sira! We made delicious meatballs with pasta and made some lettus later in the day. The parents caught up with each other in Finnish, so I played with Lassi and Sira for a good hour! Sira spoke English very well and it was nice to talk to a kid in Finland and understand them for a change! 

The lettu master's skills are evolving each day!

The kids made a mess, so we worked very hard to clean it up. Anne gave us delicious chocolate bunnies as a reward!

And of course, Lassi made a mess looking through the hollow chocolate bunny!

I know I've only been in Finland for three weeks, but I've gotten so used to my family and the city that I feel like I could live here for the rest of the year. I'm going to miss the healthy but delicious food, the abundance of beautiful nature, and most of all, I'm going to miss all the wonderful and nice people I've met so far. I'm so glad I decided to jump into Finland, because it's one of the best experiences I've ever had! As always, kiitos for reading! 

Back in the cabin with silly hats and Finnish "binoculars"!

Finnish Education

The biggest reason why most of the FUSYE students chose Finland is to learn about the education system. During our orientations in Washington D.C. and Helsinki, we went over the outline of the Finnish education system. When we went to the Ministry of Education in Helsinki, the secretary explained the principles and the philosophies that they have been following and how they have shaped the successful system that they have today.

There are so many factors that go into analyzing an education system, but let's start with the teachers. Looking back to my K-12 education career, I can't say that all of my teachers were very effective with their teaching. But it's not always their fault. Their work-to-salary ratio doesn't match up, their curriculum is standardized from the district policies, and they're not held very highly for what they do. On the other side of the world, Finnish teachers are well-trained professionals in what they do. Finnish teachers are given much more respect in the career field. Moms and dads brag about you if you become a teacher! They're given freedom with their curriculum and can decide their lesson plans. The chance of a teacher going rouge with their lessons is slim to none. There's a strong link of mutual trust between the education system, the principal of the school, and the teachers. The teachers are trusted with a job, and they do it well.

One of the biggest problems with US education system is the number games the government and schools play. We focus on standardized testing not only for college applications, but schools are trying to squeeze out as many points as possible since incentives like Obama's "Race to the Top initiative invites states to compete for federal dollars using tests and other methods to measure teachers" (Smithsonian). Nowadays, it seems that US schools are forgetting to nurture the "human" side of their students and are instead teaching them to the test. And we keep the system going. From the moment they learn how to walk, parents rush to have their kid do something "unique" to put on their college resume. Summer vacation is a time to squeeze in that volunteer position at Beaumont. Some students study the whole year to get the perfect ACT or SAT score. American students are so busy making themselves "look unique and well-rounded" that their childhood years vanish before their eyes.

The atmosphere for the students in Finland is so different. The learning is done in the classroom. This sounds simple, but in Finland, this means that students have no required homework. Teachers can assign optional homework, but students can choose to do it if they find themselves struggling with the material. Class sizes are small since Finnish educators know that close teacher-student relationships nurture the learning process. Students have plenty of recess and free time through the entire span of their basic and secondary education. The government provides students with health care, plenty of psychological support, and pays for their hot lunches in school. Finns know that a student can't learn if they're not healthy!

Compared to the US, Finland has minimal standardized testing. The only big standardized test is at the end of high school. However, the test isn't as restrictive as the standard multiple choice tests in the US. Students can decide which subjects they will be tested on, but with a few required subjects such as Finnish. It focuses on testing the student's knowledge, not lucky guesses on the multiple choice. There's another test for university admission, but it focuses on what study you're going into. If you're applying to technical school, your test will focus on math and will have no essays. If you're studying to become a doctor, you'll be tested on your knowledge on questions focused on medicine and biology. Some schools in Finland are selected to take the PISA exam, an international exam to survey 15 year old students' skills in reading, math, and science. Even with such little experience with standardized testing, Finnish students consistently rank as one of the highest performing countries taking the PISA exam.

http://www.ncee.org/programs-affiliates/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-countries/finland-overview/

Finnish students are much more relaxed and modest than American students. The classroom atmosphere emphasizes cooperation, not competition, so there isn't an incentive to be the best in the class or to be the student with the most extracurriculars. There are no AP or lower level classes until high school. The curriculum is designed for students of all IQs and economic backgrounds. There is rarely a student who is held back because the lessons are designed to include every student. Finnish people are very modest, so students don't brag about their test scores, unlike American students.

Finland's picture perfect education system works because of their socialist economic system. Citizens pay higher taxes, but it all works out in the end. The government manages their tax dollars efficiently, pouring it towards paying the tuition for all of the students and providing their citizens with health care. Its effectiveness is clearly seen in Finland's 100% literacy rate and their high standard of living. There's no bad side to studying in university since it's free, so students don't have to live the rest of their lives paying off their huge student loans. Students only have to worry about their books, living, and their studies!

http://www.virtualcampuses.eu/index.php/Finland_from_Re.ViCa

I am by no means writing this post to bash on the US education system. Since the US has so many citizens, providing full tuition for all of them would be a nightmare. With our high distrust in our government, there's no way that US citizens would trust their tax dollars to be put into benefiting citizens with health care or education. So with low taxes and so many people, it seems that we can't help but to play the Race to the Top number game. However, I do wish that the US would consider some of Finland's education philosophies. Finland's focus on cooperation rather than competition among students benefits their future and their society. It promotes their sense of community and empathy instead of this "only look out for yourself" mentality we have in the US. A bit of change in the US way of thinking would go a long way for our students and our society. However, referring back to the Finnish education outline graph above, students must decide if they should go to secondary school (high school) or vocational school when they're 16 years old. But this doesn't mean that their career is set in stone at this age. Students who don't know what they want to do yet usually continue on to secondary school and those who see themselves doing other things split off to vocational school. Both are equally successful in getting their students into university with a superb education.

Back in Helsinki, the trip to the Ministry of Education was eye-opening. After finishing my entire public education career in the US, I longed to have a taste of this amazing sounding Finnish education! So the gears started turning. My older sister studied abroad in the University of Tokyo for her senior year of undergrad, so why not do the same in Finland? I haven't had the chance to look at any financial programs to fund the costs of living or books, but with free tuition to a Finnish university, there shouldn't be too much to worry about! I really hope that this idea doesn't become an unrealistic dream because Finland is a place that I would absolutely love to live in for a year. We'll see what happens.

I highly recommend watching the The Finland Phenomenon documentary. It figures out why and how Finnish education works so well compared to education systems around the world. You can easily find the hour long documentary on Youtube. This Smithsonian article helped me sort out my facts about Finnish education with this post and my FUSYE essay. It's a very interesting read!
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-are-finlands-schools-successful-49859555/?c=y%3Fno-ist

Sorry for the serious post, but Finnish education is something that I really wanted to share with you guys! Thanks for reading my huge block of text!

The Family, Särkänniemi, and the Cabin!

I blinked, and the week was already over. I met my host family a week ago, but we're very close now! I love talking the day away with Anne, running in the mornings with my personal trainer Mikko, and playing Legos with Lassi. This week, I ran 4 kilometers (2.67 miles) with Mikko! For someone who has never gone running before, I'm really glad that I chose to run with Mikko. With Olivia to help take care of Lassi, I've gotten used to Lassi's shenanigans. Before I came to Finland, I was nervous about being around a five year old kid, but this week has taught me how nice Lassi is! He's the sweetest, cutest, most huggable and thoughtful boy I know!

He wanted to keep sock monkey safe too!

My parents are still working during the week, so Olivia and I have been playing with Lassi during the day and going out with the parents in the evening. Tampere is surrounded by two beautiful lakes, Pyhäjärvi (poo-hai-yaravi) and Näsijärvi (nah-sah-yah- rah-vee). We have been to Pyynikin Näkötorni (poo-r-niki nah-kur-toni), the observation tower looking over Pyhäjärvi and another tower over Näsijärvi. We've eaten poro (we roll the r's in Finnish!), which is reindeer! Olivia, her grandpa, Lassi, and I watched a professional performance of "The Emperor's New Clothes". Even though the play was in Finnish, I managed to learn a few words! 

Ida (Olivia's cousin), Lassi, and Olivia!

It was really windy on top of  Pyynikin Näkötorni!

Näsijärvi is on the right, Pyhäjärvi is to the left. A river crosses into Tampere and connects the two lakes.

At the end of the week, Olivia, her cousin Ida, Lassi, and I went to Särkänniemi, the second biggest amusement park in Finland! It was raining a bit, but that didn't stop us from going! Coming from the intense rides in Cedar Point, I found all of the rides in Särkänniemi very easy. But even though I could handle them, I still screamed a lot because that's just how I am. Olivia and I found it funny how "American" I was because all the Finns on the rides were quite quiet! Lassi made my day 20 times more fun because he wanted to ride all the rides with me! He would say "Kimmi! Kimmi!" as he dragged me on the merry-go-round for the second time of the day. Sadly, we had to say good-bye to Olivia, but we'll see each other again when our family goes to Sweden! 

This ride was just like Cedar Point's Gatekeeper. But I didn't have time to ride it :(

Back in Chicago with the school orchestra, I discovered my love for aquariums. Luckily, Anne, Lassi, and I went to the exciting aquarium inside of Särkänniemi! Of course, we saw the standard Nemo tank and turtles, but my here's my favorite fish. Wow. What a sight to see.

This weekend was one of the biggest Finnish holidays:  Juhannus, the mid-summer festival! Mid-summer is always on the third weekend of June. These are the days where the sun doesn't set, so people stay up all night making bonfires. It's a time for the whole family to get together in the countryside and relax in their cabin! It's just like families going up north for their cottage in Michigan. I've never gone up north, so this was completely new for me! I met Anne's parents, her brother, his wife, and their daughter at the cabin. Jesse and his girlfriend Nora were also there! We spent our weekend by the lake with good food, relaxing in the sauna, and fishing. 

I'm really glad this picture captured the vivid colors around the cabin!

Anne's mother, Anita and little Olivia!

If you look hard enough, you can see Lassi's hand between Mikko and Jesse!

It's amazing how bright it can be here at night! The sunset that didn't go away was so beautiful!

10 pm at the cabin.

11 pm.

The midnight sun!

I tried out some mid-summer magic! If you pick seven different kinds of flowers and put them under your pillow, you'll dream of your future husband. It was a lot of fun running around the house picking flowers! ...But I dreamed about people waiting in a long line for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches... I guess it's a sign.

We're going to another cabin mid-July, so I'm excited to live the cabin life once again in Finland! Hopefully I'll catch a fish this time! Now that I have more time, I hope to have some posts about Finnish life instead of only updates. As always, thank you for reading and I hope you're enjoying your summer so far!

Tampere at last!

For my last day in Helsinki, my temporary host family took me to my little brother Niilo's football game. And by football, I mean soccer. Thanks to Niilo, they won the game against Porvoo's team! However, the end of the game meant the end of my stay with my temporary host family. It didn't feel like a "forever" good-bye and I didn't start crying. I'm sure I will meet them again either during this summer or when if I come back to Finland! I walked through Kiasma, the Finnish museum of contemporary art. I've recently become obsessed with art and paintings, but I hate to say that modern art is not my cup of tea. However, I did have my cup of tea - bubble tea! Claire, Carrie, her host sister, and I went walking through the streets of Helsinki before settling down in a small cafe that served delicious bubble tea. We drank and talked about how strange it would be to not see each other for the next five weeks. Going away with a host family seemed so surreal and far away until I was hugging my fellow American students good-bye. I almost started crying as I said good-bye to some very good friends that I hope to keep even when we go our seperate ways.

I finally met Anne and Mikko, my permanent host parents who I will be living with in Tampere, the second largest city in Finland. I also met 14 year old Olivia, their niece from Sweden who is staying with us for a week. She is helping baby-sit Lassi, their 5 year old son while the parents are away at work. It was so nice to finally meet them in person instead of just emails asking about the weather! Tampere is two hours north of Helsinki, so we would have a lot of time to get to know each other in the car. The family is nice, but it didn't take long to find out that they're quieter than I am! Fins are known for speaking only when they have something to say. This sounds straight-forward, but Americans are always talking - and the talk isn't always meaningful. Finnish people usually don't engage in small-talk, so I guess I have to get used to the small pockets of silence. It's a noticable change from my temporary host family is Espoo who talked to me about video games and internet memes over dinner. However, the car ride to Tampere wasn't bad at all! I told them all about my miserable but fun boat ride to Porvoo and everything I've done in Helsinki in the last week. They are amazing listeners, which is something that I hope to become before I leave Finland. I met Lassi and it was love at first sight. Lassi is the most adorable little boy in Finland, but I can't understand a word he says. He can only speak Finnish and I can only speak English, so there's not much communication between us (yet). We're hoping that I can teach him English while he teaches me Finnish. Even with the language barrier, playing with him will be very different for me. As the youngest child, I've never had to go through the trouble of looking after a younger sibling. Hopefully I'll become an expert Finnish speaker and baby-sitter by the time I come back! Later in the day, I met my 19 year old brother Jesse (pronounced yes-ie) and his girlfriend! They both seem very nice and they're lovely to talk to. Unfortunately, I haven't had much of a chance to talk to Jesse since he's busy with work, but I'm not worried since we have five weeks to get to know each other!

 Olivia, Mikko, and Anne!

 The adorable Lassi with my adorable gift, sock monkey!

Jesse and his girlfriend! They're so nice together!

When I first saw their house, I was expecting a cute little traditional house. But when I walked in - oh my. It was everything but traditional. Their house is very modern, which is not what you'd think if you were to look at it from the street. I think that their whole house came straight out of an Ikea display room.

 Cute, right? (Oh man, look at the sky. It's a beautiful blue. No editing.)

 

 BAM. So modern. (And so dark. I'm sorry!)

We went to Amuri, the worker's museum where we walked through workers' houses through the 1930s to the 1980s. It was a great way to jump right into the history of Finnish culture. I was in disbelief when we saw small rooms with two beds and learned that six people lived there! We came across stilts and jump ropes that the children would play with. Anne walked a few feet with them and made it seem so easy! I tried to walk on the stilts. Key word - tried.

 It looks good in the picture, but I fell off right after.

Just like trying out the stilts, I tried out salmiaki. It's a type of black licorice, but it's a black package of salt. Everyone in Finland loves it, but sadly, I can't say that same. I couldn't even finish (eyy! Finnish! There'll be a lot more of those) a small piece of salmiaki. The Finnish students back in Washington D.C. told us that salmiaki tastes horrible when you try it the first time, but it gets better once you eat more of it. Mikko said that a Japanese article said that salmiaki is "the worst taste in the world!" Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But I'm sure that if the 5 million people in Finland love it, there's gotta be something in that salty salmiaki that keeps them coming back!

 Lassi loves salmiaki!

We ate lunch at the table outside in perfect weather. We ate under the sun while Mikko, American history expert, quizzed me on the types of birds flying around and American presidents. We had salad, potatoes, and meatballs followed by a delicious dessert of vanilla icecream and strawberries. The icecream and strawberries sound basic, but holy moly, it was the best icecream and strawberries I've ever had. The icecream had the perfect amount of vanilla flavor and creaminess, and the strawberries tasted just like what strawberries are supposed to taste like. Everyone has told me that the fruits here are much sweeter here than in the US and that's great news for me! I love fruits and I hope that I can go berry picking with the family one day!

Minna is my YFU area representative, and she is who I go to if I'm having trouble here in Finland. I went to her house and to get to know her as we begin our five week program together. Her house is right by a lake called Pyhäjärvi and everything around it is beautiful! Her husband buys and sells decor as a hobby, so their house is filled with elegant furniture and wall decor. I went crazy over the paintings on the walls and she showed me her library of Finnish art books. We talked as we made lunch, bread with some raw salmon cream spread and rhubarb pie. Her husband and their son, Leo are very nice people and I truly enjoyed talking to them. Thank you for taking care of me Minna! I hope to spend more time with you and your family!

Anne took me to Ideapark, a mall near Tampere. It's easy to see how similar malls are in Finland and America. Many of the brands are the same, save for the distinct European style in the clothes. There was an art store filled with paintings and I went crazy for the second time of the day. However, the cheapest painting I saw was 100 euros, so no paintings for me yet! Lassi went riding around in a small track in the mall and it was the cutest thing ever.

Future formula 1 driver's humble beginnings.

I think my host family got tired of me saying "Wow, that's so beautiful!" every ten seconds these past two days. But Tampere is truly beautiful and I've barely seen the city. Even in a big city, the streets are lined with plenty of trees that it looks like a forest to me. The family's backyard is so beautiful that I laid down on the soft green grass and watched the clouds today. The sky is such a beautiful blue that I want to cry. The lake sparkles and is a gorgeous reflection of the rich blue sky. Everything here is beautiful.

I gave my family gifts as thanks for taking care of me this summer. For Lassi, I gave him my beloved Michigan sock monkey. Sock monkey is now Lassi's latest sleeping buddy, so I know he's in good hands. I gave Jesse a University of Michigan shirt which fit him perfectly! For Anne and Mikko, I gave them a painting I bought from Mika Obayashi, a future artist! They loved it and are excited to hang it in their house. After just two days, I can tell I'll love my time here with my host family! Everyone is so nice and they've been taking great care of me. We made a wish list of things to do in Finland, so I know that we'll be busy once my parents' summer vacation comes around. I've had so much fun so far and a lot has happened in just a few days. I have more time to update my blog now, so expect some more posts! Thank you for reading!

Holding hands with Lassi for the first time was a momentus occasion for us!