#2 - Lost and Found
2/5/15
Sometimes you need to get lost before you can be found…
The #8 tram to the #20 bus….those were my directions to the school. I had no idea where the two paths crossed. Reading the names of streets, buildings, and places in Finland is challenging. An English interpretation of the names is pointless; there are multiple vowels within words, as well as silent letters.
Understandably, the Finnish city bus driver was a bit irritated with me. It was a busy workday morning, and an American came onboard and could not figure out how to scan his prepaid bus card. It probably didn't help that after I fumbled around with my bus card, I asked the driver if I was going in the right direction by pointing to the name of the school on a piece of paper; Isokaari 19. He nodded (with a grunt), and I turned to sit down on the first seat of the bus. Throughout the ride I had this uncomfortable feeling that everyone on the bus was staring at me.
I was politely kicked off the bus at my destination and I could swear I heard cheers from the remaining passengers as the doors came to a close - think Bill Murray getting off the bus with the goldfish bowl tied around his neck in the movie “What About Bob?” I followed a group of middle/high school age students up the street and into the school. Within moments of walking through the front doors of the school I could feel the teenage energy swirling around halls; it all felt familiar despite being in a foreign country.
I was escorted to the teacher’s lounge where I waited for my host teacher, Salla, who is one of two art teachers at the school. Looking at my surroundings, I could feel panic in the room; a crowd of teachers were hovering around a broken-down coffee maker trying to find a solution. For teachers, coffee is a necessary fuel. In Finland, coffee is like blood. By the week’s end, I was offered more coffee than I could physically drink, both in and outside of school settings.
This school is co-ed, Secondary and Upper Secondary School serving ages 12-18. Secondary Level (grades 7-9) is equivalent to Middle School, and Upper Secondary (grades 10-12) like High School. This particular school houses a swimming pool and boasts a highly competitive group of young swimmers. Due to their practicing schedule, the swimmers are grouped together as a class and travel throughout the school day in that fashion. I will be working closely with one of these classes; a seventh grade group of 16, boy and girl swimmers.
During a lunch conversation in the school’s cafeteria, I politely introduced myself to the table of educators as a middle school art teacher from Baltimore. One of the teachers sitting next to me turned and asked, "Is Baltimore as bad as the television shows?" Uncertain if this was a serious question, I sheepishly smiled and began eating my first Finnish school lunch.
I left the school with a set schedule for my returning visits in the coming weeks. In addition to working with the Art teacher it looks like there might be an interest for me to work an English teacher. Anyone reading this will know I am a violent abuser of commas so hopefully punctuation won’t be a part of the English lesson.
Opting out of my tram connection, I instead took the bus into center of Helsinki and walked about two miles back to my apartment...sometimes you need to get lost before you can be found.
Sometimes you need to get lost before you can be found…
The #8 tram to the #20 bus….those were my directions to the school. I had no idea where the two paths crossed. Reading the names of streets, buildings, and places in Finland is challenging. An English interpretation of the names is pointless; there are multiple vowels within words, as well as silent letters.
Understandably, the Finnish city bus driver was a bit irritated with me. It was a busy workday morning, and an American came onboard and could not figure out how to scan his prepaid bus card. It probably didn't help that after I fumbled around with my bus card, I asked the driver if I was going in the right direction by pointing to the name of the school on a piece of paper; Isokaari 19. He nodded (with a grunt), and I turned to sit down on the first seat of the bus. Throughout the ride I had this uncomfortable feeling that everyone on the bus was staring at me.
I was politely kicked off the bus at my destination and I could swear I heard cheers from the remaining passengers as the doors came to a close - think Bill Murray getting off the bus with the goldfish bowl tied around his neck in the movie “What About Bob?” I followed a group of middle/high school age students up the street and into the school. Within moments of walking through the front doors of the school I could feel the teenage energy swirling around halls; it all felt familiar despite being in a foreign country.
I was escorted to the teacher’s lounge where I waited for my host teacher, Salla, who is one of two art teachers at the school. Looking at my surroundings, I could feel panic in the room; a crowd of teachers were hovering around a broken-down coffee maker trying to find a solution. For teachers, coffee is a necessary fuel. In Finland, coffee is like blood. By the week’s end, I was offered more coffee than I could physically drink, both in and outside of school settings.
This school is co-ed, Secondary and Upper Secondary School serving ages 12-18. Secondary Level (grades 7-9) is equivalent to Middle School, and Upper Secondary (grades 10-12) like High School. This particular school houses a swimming pool and boasts a highly competitive group of young swimmers. Due to their practicing schedule, the swimmers are grouped together as a class and travel throughout the school day in that fashion. I will be working closely with one of these classes; a seventh grade group of 16, boy and girl swimmers.
During a lunch conversation in the school’s cafeteria, I politely introduced myself to the table of educators as a middle school art teacher from Baltimore. One of the teachers sitting next to me turned and asked, "Is Baltimore as bad as the television shows?" Uncertain if this was a serious question, I sheepishly smiled and began eating my first Finnish school lunch.
I left the school with a set schedule for my returning visits in the coming weeks. In addition to working with the Art teacher it looks like there might be an interest for me to work an English teacher. Anyone reading this will know I am a violent abuser of commas so hopefully punctuation won’t be a part of the English lesson.
Opting out of my tram connection, I instead took the bus into center of Helsinki and walked about two miles back to my apartment...sometimes you need to get lost before you can be found.