Perhaps it is because we have not fully settled here in Finland, but free time is something the kids and I have a lot more of. As I have mentioned before, the school days are much shorter here, so the kids are home with me a lot more often than in the US. I am trying to fill this free time with more productive activities than watching TV and playing video games. Although Finnish schools have been rated top in the world, I plan on starting a homeschool program with my kids as well. It just makes me nervous not knowing what the kids in the US are doing in school. So I am currently looking into US homeschool options to supplement their Finnish school.
The other night, Lane called me into his room to tuck him in. While I was lying with him I asked, "When you are 15 can I still tuck you in?" He replied, "No, I will be too old." I said, "How about when you are 10?" He agreed that 10 and even when he is 11 it would still be ok. However, when I got to 12, he told me he would be too old. I said, "But I'll be sad when I can't tuck you in anymore." To which he replied, "Well, then you better enjoy it while you can." I love that kid! The next night when I went in to tuck him in, he informed me that I only had 1,376 tucking in minutes left. Yikes! I don't know where he came up with that figure but I better treasure every minute!!!
One thing for sure, we have a lot more together time in Finland. We have become closer as a family and look forward to new adventures whether they are at the swimming hall or in another foreign country. Next stop...Estonia.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
The Irony of it All
The events of the past week have caused me to reflect upon the ironies of life. This weekend, we had a nine hour cultural training course with one of the most interesting and animated people I have met. She is a Finnish woman, in public relations, who has traveled the world. Much of the discussion pertained to differences in culture and culture shock. I must share a point from her presentation that I find amusing:
1. When a stranger on the street smiles, a Finn assumes that he is:
-drunk
-insane
-or an American
Every time I look at this, I can't help but smile. Finns are characterized as being quiet, shy and reserved. However, Mirka was in true contrast with that characterization. We had one of the longest conversations we have ever had, with one of the friendliest and liveliest persons, we have ever met.
On Sunday, Mike left for the US and will be gone for a week. We all miss him terribly when he is gone, but it was especially hard to see him go on his birthday, a day we would typically celebrate together. Also, Sundays tend to be especially long here. First, most things are closed or have very limited hours. Second, the kids games are not on weekends. Third, we live in a tiny apartment with little or nonexistent work/ yard work to be done. We try to find something fun and interesting to do. I thought that going to the local swimming hall would be a good way to occupy our time.
Part of experiencing a new culture is, inevitably, making a few mistakes along the way. This can be frustrating and anxiety provoking. It can make you laugh, or it may make you cry. The following experience, did both...
So we paid for our pool/sauna admission and I notice a sign, in Finnish, that has a pair of swim trunks with a cross through it. This sign bewildered me. Could it mean men can't wear the typical "board shorts" to swim at the pool??? Surely not??? Yep! That's what it meant alright. Rather than go home and forfeit the day, I opted to play the dumb American card. Poor Lane. He came up to me and said, "Everyone is staring at me cuz I'm the only one with shorts on." I told him not to worry about it and we would get him some "appropriate shorts" later. I am cracking up to the point of tears as I write this. I can't help but think back to the Ben Stiller moment in Meet the Parent's. As I glanced around at all the spandex clad men and boys, and then Lane in his board shorts, I couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of the situation. Then Alayna and I were off to the sauna to get naked with some "shy" Finnish women. More on that some other time.
Part of our cultural training included noshing on this Finnish culinary creation. It is called vety. It is a meat pie with ground beef, smoked ham, boiled eggs and garlic mayo. It was actually pretty tasty.
1. When a stranger on the street smiles, a Finn assumes that he is:
-drunk
-insane
-or an American
Every time I look at this, I can't help but smile. Finns are characterized as being quiet, shy and reserved. However, Mirka was in true contrast with that characterization. We had one of the longest conversations we have ever had, with one of the friendliest and liveliest persons, we have ever met.
On Sunday, Mike left for the US and will be gone for a week. We all miss him terribly when he is gone, but it was especially hard to see him go on his birthday, a day we would typically celebrate together. Also, Sundays tend to be especially long here. First, most things are closed or have very limited hours. Second, the kids games are not on weekends. Third, we live in a tiny apartment with little or nonexistent work/ yard work to be done. We try to find something fun and interesting to do. I thought that going to the local swimming hall would be a good way to occupy our time.
Part of experiencing a new culture is, inevitably, making a few mistakes along the way. This can be frustrating and anxiety provoking. It can make you laugh, or it may make you cry. The following experience, did both...
So we paid for our pool/sauna admission and I notice a sign, in Finnish, that has a pair of swim trunks with a cross through it. This sign bewildered me. Could it mean men can't wear the typical "board shorts" to swim at the pool??? Surely not??? Yep! That's what it meant alright. Rather than go home and forfeit the day, I opted to play the dumb American card. Poor Lane. He came up to me and said, "Everyone is staring at me cuz I'm the only one with shorts on." I told him not to worry about it and we would get him some "appropriate shorts" later. I am cracking up to the point of tears as I write this. I can't help but think back to the Ben Stiller moment in Meet the Parent's. As I glanced around at all the spandex clad men and boys, and then Lane in his board shorts, I couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of the situation. Then Alayna and I were off to the sauna to get naked with some "shy" Finnish women. More on that some other time.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
This past week, I finally did my presentation on America. I thought it was a fitting week to pay tribute to all the things that make America great. I began the presentation by asking the kids what they knew about America. Not surprisingly, most of what they knew pertained to sports. It seems that America has quite the reputation of honoring sports stars like heroes.
I shared with them my photo book from the past year. They enjoyed seeing pictures from our family vacations to the beach, Disney World, and Universal Studios as well as day to day things like school, sports and activities. We discussed the similarities and differences between the two countries. I shared with them that I felt Finland was an easy place to transition to for an American, especially, since most Finns know English. In fact, many Finns know 3-5 languages. I guess, since Finnish is such a difficult language, learning another language is simple.
Although, I thought it would be easy for an American to live in Finland, they did not feel it would be easy for them to live in America. They did not like the idea of going to school from 8-3 every day or having 4 or more tests a week. They also didn't realize that most American kids aren't able to ride their bikes to school or around town as they please. I can tell you that my kids are enjoying the short school days and not having many tests. They are beginning to enjoy riding their bikes around by themselves, especially, since they have their own cell phone. Most school-age Finnish kids have a cell phone since they are allowed to go places on their own.
This week, the kids and I began Finnish classes. We are trying to memorize the sound of the letters, days of the week and months of the year. We will have lessons one time a week. The kids seem excited to learn Finnish. Mike has also started Russian classes. He's got his work cut out for him.
We took advantage of another good weekend and went to a town about 1 1/2 hours away. Salvonlinna is a town in Finland with a Medieval castle. The town hosts a world famous opera festival in July. It is pretty quiet now in the off season. The castle, although mostly empty, is nicely restored and maintained. We enjoyed are self-guided tour since the only tour in the off season is in Finnish.
I shared with them my photo book from the past year. They enjoyed seeing pictures from our family vacations to the beach, Disney World, and Universal Studios as well as day to day things like school, sports and activities. We discussed the similarities and differences between the two countries. I shared with them that I felt Finland was an easy place to transition to for an American, especially, since most Finns know English. In fact, many Finns know 3-5 languages. I guess, since Finnish is such a difficult language, learning another language is simple.
Although, I thought it would be easy for an American to live in Finland, they did not feel it would be easy for them to live in America. They did not like the idea of going to school from 8-3 every day or having 4 or more tests a week. They also didn't realize that most American kids aren't able to ride their bikes to school or around town as they please. I can tell you that my kids are enjoying the short school days and not having many tests. They are beginning to enjoy riding their bikes around by themselves, especially, since they have their own cell phone. Most school-age Finnish kids have a cell phone since they are allowed to go places on their own.
This week, the kids and I began Finnish classes. We are trying to memorize the sound of the letters, days of the week and months of the year. We will have lessons one time a week. The kids seem excited to learn Finnish. Mike has also started Russian classes. He's got his work cut out for him.
We took advantage of another good weekend and went to a town about 1 1/2 hours away. Salvonlinna is a town in Finland with a Medieval castle. The town hosts a world famous opera festival in July. It is pretty quiet now in the off season. The castle, although mostly empty, is nicely restored and maintained. We enjoyed are self-guided tour since the only tour in the off season is in Finnish.
This past week, I finally did my presentation on America. I thought it was a fitting week to pay tribute to all the things that make America great. I began the presentation by asking the kids what they knew about America. Not surprisingly, most of what they knew pertained to sports. It seems that America has quite the reputation of honoring sports stars like heroes.
I shared with them my photo book from the past year. They enjoyed seeing pictures from our family vacations to the beach, Disney World, and Universal Studios as well as day to day things like school, sports and activities. We discussed the similarities and differences between the two countries. I shared with them that I felt Finland was an easy place to transition to for an American, especially, since most Finns know English. In fact, many Finns know 3-5 languages. I guess, since Finnish is such a difficult language, learning another language is simple.
Although, I thought it would be easy for an American to live in Finland, they did not feel it would be easy for them to live in America. They did not like the idea of going to school from 8-3 every day or having 4 or more tests a week. They also didn't realize that most American kids aren't able to ride their bikes to school or around town as they please. I can tell you that my kids are enjoying the short school days and not having many tests. They are beginning to enjoy riding their bikes around by themselves, especially, since they have their own cell phone. Most school-age Finnish kids have a cell phone since they are allowed to go places on their own.
This week, the kids and I began Finnish classes. We are trying to memorize the sound of the letters, days of the week and months of the year. We will have lessons one time a week. The kids seem excited to learn Finnish. Mike has also started Russian classes. He's got his work cut out for him.
We took advantage of another good weekend and went to a town about 1 1/2 hours away. Salvonlinna is a town in Finland with a Medieval castle. The town hosts a world famous opera festival in July. It is pretty quiet now in the off season. The castle, although mostly empty, is nicely restored and maintained. We enjoyed are self-guided tour since the only tour in the off season is in Finnish.
I shared with them my photo book from the past year. They enjoyed seeing pictures from our family vacations to the beach, Disney World, and Universal Studios as well as day to day things like school, sports and activities. We discussed the similarities and differences between the two countries. I shared with them that I felt Finland was an easy place to transition to for an American, especially, since most Finns know English. In fact, many Finns know 3-5 languages. I guess, since Finnish is such a difficult language, learning another language is simple.
Although, I thought it would be easy for an American to live in Finland, they did not feel it would be easy for them to live in America. They did not like the idea of going to school from 8-3 every day or having 4 or more tests a week. They also didn't realize that most American kids aren't able to ride their bikes to school or around town as they please. I can tell you that my kids are enjoying the short school days and not having many tests. They are beginning to enjoy riding their bikes around by themselves, especially, since they have their own cell phone. Most school-age Finnish kids have a cell phone since they are allowed to go places on their own.
This week, the kids and I began Finnish classes. We are trying to memorize the sound of the letters, days of the week and months of the year. We will have lessons one time a week. The kids seem excited to learn Finnish. Mike has also started Russian classes. He's got his work cut out for him.
We took advantage of another good weekend and went to a town about 1 1/2 hours away. Salvonlinna is a town in Finland with a Medieval castle. The town hosts a world famous opera festival in July. It is pretty quiet now in the off season. The castle, although mostly empty, is nicely restored and maintained. We enjoyed are self-guided tour since the only tour in the off season is in Finnish.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Hola from Helsinki!
We had a great weekend in Helsinki. What was the first thing we sought out upon arriving in Finland's capital city you may ask??? It was nothing other than a Mexican restaurant. I have come to realize, that one of the things I miss most living here in Finland, is Mexico. Imagine for a moment, a place with no decent chips, salsa, tacos, burritos or margaritas. If this thought is harrowing for you, then maybe you can identify with me. When we were given a tip of a Tex-Mex place in Helsinki, my hopes started to rise. My excitement grew as I saw the beautiful sign glowing against the Helsinki city backdrop. The Tex-Mex theme was carried over in the interior as well. I spotted the outline of my beloved Lone Star State, faux cacti and sequin adorned sombreros. The tiniest bowl of store-bought tortilla chips and salsa awaited us at our table. Our friendly waitress, wearing something akin to a Texas Road House shirt, took our drink order. I could hardly wait for my frozen concoction to arrive. I savored every sip of my table-salt rimmed frozen margarita. I also ate a least half of my chicken (with a hint of BBQ flavor) burrito. Over all, it was more edible than our last Mexican experience in Finland. The highlight was definitely the festive Finnish waiter in the sombrero.
Helsinki is a beautiful and modern city on the Baltic ocean. There are also a lot of historic places to visit, which we did not fit in this trip. We spent most of our time shopping. Helsinki feels like a very safe and calm place. It doesn't seem to have the hectic atmosphere that most large cities have. You can pretty much cover the whole city on foot. Sometime, I would love to go back (sans the kiddos). We passed a lot of pubs and nightclubs that looked like fun. One place boasted of a sub zero ice bar where they loan you a fur coat to bundle up in. I am definitely gonna have to check that place out.
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