Week 9: 1st March – 7th March

Personal and Cultural Development

Another week has passed; who knows where the time is going?! I must say, this week has been culturally defined by food, and what an appreciation I have developed! From American Sloppy Joes to Chinese (missed Chinese food so much!) to classic Italian; what more could a girl ask for. Out of all of these, Sloppy Joes has proved to be the most interesting dining experience this week. I had no idea what to expect, so when I walked into the kitchen, ready to lend a hand, it seemed to me we were in the process of making spaghetti Bolognese, without the spaghetti. I was convinced I must have had the wrong idea about unhealthy American food, but then the burger buns were revealed and I was shown how to eat Sloppy Joes. Slopping minced meat into a burger bun, and attempting to eat it, finally showed the true Americanism. All table manners were discarded, and we were told that if we weren’t making a mess, we weren’t doing it properly! My advice? This is definitely not a first date dinner! It tasted so good though.

It has felt like something of a holiday week, since it is the break between the third and fourth teaching periods. The ESN had organised a Russian party that gave me the first chance to wear my overalls. I thoroughly enjoyed embracing the Finnish student culture in such comfortable attire. I can imagine that most girls wouldn’t be seen dead in those at home! Here though, you sometimes look out of place without them! Needless to say, the party was a success, and now I have another patch to sew on. :)

To finish the week, my best friend came to visit me for just a couple of days. I had missed her as if I had lost a limb, so it was fantastic to see her again! And she even brought the sunshine with her! I decided I wanted to provide a proper winter activity for Donna to remember Finland by, and luckily my classmates had organised a day of sledging that I could invite her to. We braved some steep and bumpy hills, and all suffered from a few bruises the next day, but it was well worth it!

That night, we also met the Finnish Big Brother winner in a little bar in Turku – star-struck (not!) Matti typically embarrassed me by asking the guy for a photograph with me, as I’m an admirer. Since he spoke in Finnish, I was oblivious to this mortification, and posed for the photo to show I’d met a local celebrity. Only afterwards did I learn why Matti found this so funny! Lucky for him, I liked the photo.

Professional Development

I have mentioned that this has been like a holiday week, but, officially, it was exam week for third period. I only had one exam, and that was for my Finnish course. A miracle occurred, and I passed with a good mark! As demanding as that course was, I am so glad I did it. I feel I have learned so much, and can now reflect on the English language in a different way, as a language learner. This, I think, will help me if I decide to pursue a career in TEFL. I have also accepted a job that was offered to international students, to help create a language package for learning English. My job consists of proof-reading, paraphrasing and creating a glossary for videos of real interviews conducted at the European Parliament in Brussels. Professionally, I believe this is inspiring me to work for such a company that involves travelling as part of the job.

As four of my courses have come to an end, now is the time to complete the learning tasks. For two of the courses, part of the learning tasks required us to participate in group discussions and write reports regarding what was discussed. We compared the education systems of our home countries to that of Finland, and concluded that Finland represents the ideal that every other country aims for. However, the Finnish education system works in Finland, but it cannot be said that it can be transferred elsewhere and implemented successfully.