Personal and Cultural Development
I don’t even know where to start this week! It has been full of fun and adventure. Pancake Tuesday was spent helping to make Lithuanian potato pancakes, in preparation for a pancake party that evening. The party involved the opportunity to try some different types of pancakes that people had made that they usually eat in their home countries. The potato pancakes were the salty kind; we then had the Spanish sweet kind, as well as the choice of American pancakes that were a happy medium. Besides the different kinds of pancakes, I also tried different toppings that I would never have considered using before! These included sour cream, yoghurt and ice cream. Of course, the usual toppings represented what I would usually eat: sugar, lemon and maple syrup. This was new to some people, but we enjoyed mixing and matching. My favourite new topping was yoghurt and ice cream together (just to be greedy)!
Even more culturally enhancing was a ‘Running Dinner’ organised by the ESN this week. This consisted of getting a map that pinpointed three different Finnish students’ apartments where we would eat a starter in one, a main course in another and a dessert in the third, with an hour to find and eat at each place. The food was traditionally Finnish and tasted beautiful, much to our relief!
For the first time since coming to Finland, I went to an ice hockey match on Saturday. It was Turku vs. Espoo and (of course!) Turku won! I expected it to be something similar to seeing the Belfast Giants play at home, but realised that at home it seems to be more about the show as the players fight on the ice, whereas in Finland they care more about the actual game.
The highlight of the week, however, was a trip to Moominland! This was a fantastic day that allowed me to truly let out my inner child! And now I know who the moomins are! It was a day of adventure, stories, winter Olympics, Finnish karaoke, sledging, skating, pancakes, and childish happiness. A day I’ll never forget :)
Professional Development
This week I went on the final school visit for this teaching period to a school called Turun Lyseo. It was an unusual day because it was special for those that were finishing high school. The students in their final year of school dress up, put on a performance for the school (similar to what I experienced when leaving my high school), and parade through the centre of Turku, before going on study leave to complete their matriculation exam.
As a result, we spent most of the day enjoying the atmosphere and watching the performance.
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