Living in Finland - 3 months

Have you ever loved something without understanding it? Unreservedly...? This is my relationship with the Finnish language. Yes, I came to Finland to figure it out. I'm now making some fun of my learning process and continue to guess the words' meaning and usage while eventually my I end up following my imagination. For example, when I watch tv I make up some parts of the conversations or commercials I don't get. It's funny but still difficult to unredstand ALL the words they say :( But WHO DOES?

I signed up for a new Suomi language course. It will get tough... :|

Close my eyes, wish myself good luck like I'm taking live-saving pill and dive in the deep!

Nähdään pian!

Leppäkosken koulu / Haukankallion koulu

My very first week at Leppäkosken koulu / Haukankallion koulu was from 5.10 - 9.10.2015.
I'm now happy to be back there! (don't feel good phisically though, flu and muscle pain, tired, coughing a lot. All that means we should try to be best at our worst, not giving up!)

I don't know why but I really missed the students somehow. I'm curious to go back and see their reactions. In fact, I'm bit dissapoined that my schedule has been changed and now I'll spend a week in Leppäkoski instead of two /according to older timetable/. I mean two or more weeks in a row at school for instance will develop better connection between teachers, students, and me. Simply because we will have little bit more time to send together.

In Leppakoski I learned that the biggest  and most demanding part of "my volunteering mission" is to listen and let the others to talk and teach me how, what, when, or maybe why. It is strange because I've always wanted to be heard, which is the reason to be become a teacher (preacher?!).
I realized maybe it is the opposite. To the botom line:

In reggards to "my mission", I want to share my impacts from my first week at Leppäkosken koulu/Haukankallion koulu in Leppäkoski. 

I am very touched by the students I met in Leppäkoski and I would welcome every opportunity to work with/for them and their teachers again. I don't want to exaggerate (it was only my very first days with them. I don't know them very well unfortunately. I really don't know how serious and special their needs are) but at some moment I wanted to ask some of the head teachers if I could work there for real! No really, I would say that to all the teachers and students I will be meeting during my EVS project because I want to assure my future and find a meaningful professional development. Oh, In one sentence: I'm looking for a job in education or non-profit section in Finland. I said it finally. 

In general, being in Leppäkoski for a week hepled me with answering to my questions:

What is my mission?                                       

Can I do that as a volunteer? 

How and Can I make a difference? 

What does it mean to make a difference?

I received my answers on Friday, Oct.9 :) Here a long version:
The school has organized an outdoor event in the forest near small lake (Riihtu? I can't remember:/) where all can celebrate the beggining of the Autumn Holiday "burning"/"smoking" some sausage, lihapiirakka pies (Lihapiirakka I love them! Maмо, you have to bake some!), or keksi. I'm sayng literally burning and smoking because this is what the students did and deffinitely had a great deal of fun, chasing in the forest, moving trees from one of the trails, some runny noses, and lots of smilies! In the end my clothes smelled like burned/smoked wood, because I stayed close to the fire to warm my frozen hands:)

You should ALWAYS USE YOUR THUMB to track

The answers now: On the way to the lake, one of the teachers (Tiina) told me they needed me to stay for longer (Sari also told me, the students hadn't met a foreigner before and they are curious), so we can get used to each other, our personalities and interests with the students, so they will know me better. Tiina said that one of her students (the sweet little girl, Henna:)) told her: "Tiina, now I have to learn to speak English, so I can talk to Monika!". The most important fact that Tiina noticed is that now Henna has a real personal reason/desire to learn a new language and before that Henna just had no choice because of the school curriculum. This is making a difference, isn't it!! Henna has changed her mind for new positive experience. This is perfect! I'm speechless! This is the best thing to know!

 

Next We were Back at school at noon for a "smelly toilet game" (like a Hangman, but the more mistakes you make with letters or words, the closer you get to getting into the picture of the "smelly outdoor toilet") and short story about Jali ja suklaatehdas (nothing is the same in Finnish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl & illustartions by Quentin Blake. They are just awesome. I found some of their educational reading/writting activities I will use for my master thesis). 




So, before we went to the classroom Aato, 5th grader, came to me and said: I like you Monika!
For some seconds I didn't know what to say, put myself together quickly, smilled and replied: Great! I like you too! Hight five! So unexpected... or maybe not. Maybe our friendship has begun in the forest when he walked next to me and told me he hated the stupid boy in front of us. (Hmm, surprise) I replied: sometimes you don't like something or someone but don't hate. Don't hate. It's useless.


Why not daring to be different? Love what you hate when you don't want it!
Thank you, all for the greatest lessons in my life!
M.Б.

8th Graders' "Blackout poetry"

8th greaders from Turengin Yhteiskoulu wrote their "blackout poems" on Thursday, week 46. For the very first time I think*. It was my real time of being a teacher, who presents totally new subject, mentors and facilitate the class. Funny, but No black markers had been used at all because we didn't have any in the classroom for some strange reason.
(What an irony. Life is full of irony sometimes.)

Now, I think it is more correctly to say: here are the pictures of students' literature and art works. At first we all wonder what? how? to start, but once you do it, you can't stop getting papers with new textts from teacher's desk. I was kind of strange and very unusual practice for the students. 

Indeed, we found out some really deep statements and some totally surprising (very personal maybe) facts from 8th grade students of age 13-15 after "blackout poetry" class. I haven't expect that from 14-years old. It just showed me how less I know about the secret life of teenagers. After the class they had a chance to upload their "poems" on the official world wide website http://newspaperblackout.com/submit where people from all around the world take pics and upload their works. Please look at the
Turenki students' art works here:

"PEOPLE NEVER LEARNED TO UNDRESTAND HIM THE WAY I DO" from "To Kill A Mocking Bird" by Harper Lee

"WE HAVE TO ACCEPT IT, HE SAID, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE THAT WE COULD  REMEMBER A WHOLE NIGHT. "DO YOU REMEMBER, OH YOU WERE SENDING RINGS TO A GOD"

Peonies and Forget-Me-Nots by Georgi Gospodinov

Translated from Bulgarian by Magdalena Levy and Alexis Levitin

“And Other Stories”, translated by Alexis Levitin and Magdalena Levy, Northwestern University Press, 2007

YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MANY STARS CAN SEE TIRED PEOPLE WE CAN BE WINNERS IN OUR PLACE /from "Love is a dog from hell" by Bukowski

DEEP LAUGH CAN SAVE BAD MORNING / from "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien

CAT'S TALK ABOUT BOXES WHO WORK IN EARTH GOD SEE ALL PURPOSE CERTAINLY IN WORLD; YOU'RE MEAN ON A PARK WITH THE GODS, NIGHTS WITH FIRE FIGHT /from "Cat's cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut

                                 

"I'M HAPPY BROKEN OUT OF WIZARD PRISON AND I WISH THE BOY COULDN'T KNOW THAT AT THIS VERY MOEMENT HIS TIME WAS WOKEN NOT KNOWING SMALL THINGS THAT HAPPEN UNDER THE INKY SKY" /from "Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling

The students indeed acted like artists who write and writers who draw, sketch, or paint. They made their "poems" pictures and created pictures, which can still be read. I'd like to THANK YOU so much for the great work you've done for me!!! for your entire attention on me, dear students. I'm very greatful to the teacher Anu-Maria, who trusted me and agreed that we should try Austin Kleon's way. 

Here, I'll briefly try to sum up the benefits of using "blackout poems" for teaching language or literature in mother tongue or second language:

1. grammar check-up

2. word order practice

3. improving vocabulary

4. reading comprehention

5. developing writting skills

6. better collaboration with teacher

7. will to practice more/start again. If you think you've made a mistake, you can always start with another piece of text.

8. increases curiosity. New ideas and Questions come up more often. What to do? How to do? This way or another?

9. usefully spent time in class

10. soft skills development - when present the work on a stage or in front of the class

11. critical reading (?)

12. getting new ideas out of "scribling"

13. works for first or second/foreign language classes and art classes

14. teacher and students get to know more about each others' personality, interests, views in life in general.

15............................................. 16............................................. 17. more.................................?

I think we should definitely try it with other students! I cannot wait!

*I'm somewhat surprised they haven't tried before or that the teachers are not aquainted much (or not at all). So, I'm actually very lucky and feel great that I had the chance to show them something new, modern, very alternative independent, quite open-minded way of reading and writing at once, very popular from USA, something educational, thought-provoking, non-traditional, and interesting. (I know no semi-colons anywhere, but check what Kurt Vonnegut said about it. So, I follow his view)

                                   *  **     **  *     **  *    **  *    ***    **  *    **  *    ** *
AUSTIN KLEON
BE CREATIVE !
IDEAS ! ! !

Tove Jansson in November

I feel such respect to all of you (in alphabetical order: A, J, K, L, M, S, S) that I'm almost scared and afraid not to disappoint anyone! I'm like a child between the awe and fear, respect and reverence of the parents' influence, importance, and maybe control...

I repeat now like Peter Pan "I believe, I believe" there are still some good people in this world. On Wednesday I received 6 presents at once! I'll keep them as my most valuable treasure. It is so strange... And soft moist delicious smooth mango/strawberry cake, and it was Wednesday, the middle of the week:) I dont know what to say but "thank you"...

It was late in the autumn in Finland...

М.Б