Week 9 - Cultural

This week I spent a lot of time in my placement. On Thursday, it was St Patrick’s Day, and when I mentioned this to the staff in my placement, they were unsure of the meaning, and had never celebrated this day before. Therefore we agreed that I would teach the children all about the significance of the day, and take an activity with them. St Patrick’s Day is not a public holiday in Finland, and so very few people are aware that this day exists. On Thursday, whilst I was in my placement, I explained the significance of the day to the children and we agreed to make paper maché snakes, to reflect the myth that St Patrick took all the snakes out of Ireland. The children were thrilled with this idea, and so we began to make the snakes. When I showed the children a shamrock, there was only one child who had seen this before, and so I also had to explain the relationship between the shamrock, and Saint Patrick's Day. I was very surprised when the children and the staff were unaware of this day, because I know that St Patrick’s Day is widely celebrated in America and many other countries around the globe. This week I also visited Turku castle. Turku Castle is the largest surviving medieval building in Finland, and one of the largest surviving medieval castles in Scandinavia. It stands as a national monument, on the banks of the Aura River, as it has done since the 14th century. The castle contains many antique monuments and items, such as old military uniforms or antique coins. There are even some surviving items from the castle itself, such as old clothes, swords, coins and tools. This was very interesting to go and look at because there were a lot of ancient artifacts, and the castle also had a museum attached to it where there were even more artifacts, such as furniture, weapons and personal items from people of that time. This week really introduced me to the history of Turku, and I hope that in the near future I can go to other cultural events, in order to find out some more about the history of Turku.

Week 8 - Personal

This week has been a good week for me. I have been in my placement a lot and I feel like I am learning a lot of Finnish and the children are a lot more aware of me. The children are a lot more responsive to me when I speak, and they are very encouraging when I attempt to speak Finnish! They are helping me to learn Finnish, and I feel that this is very interesting as I feel like the roles have been reversed, where I am the student, and the children are my teachers. The children also make more of an effort to include me in their play, and they are making an effort to speak and learn English with me. For example if I was sitting at a table, the children would bring their games to me, so as to include me. The first time that the children did this, I was pleasantly surprised but immediately interacted with them. I feel like I have progressed a lot personally since arriving in Finland. I feel that before I arrived in Finland I was quite narrow minded about the Finnish language. I felt that I didn’t need to learn a lot of Finnish because everyone would speak English. I now understand the importance of making an effort to speak someone’s native language with them, and the effort is appreciated. I also find it interesting to see how I can interact with the children with the language barrier, however now I am finding it a lot easier as the children know me better. I can now understand that I am not the only one with the language barrier, and that the children also have a language barrier with me. However, the children and I are making an equal effort to interact with each other, and teach each other about our language. I feel that this experience will influence me in my future placements. I feel that perhaps there is too much emphasises on what is said in a setting, rather than a person’s body language or their actions. I feel like I know these children and their personalities because of our interaction through play. Therefore, I feel that I am also learning through play, and not just the children.

Week 7 - Professional

This week in Turku I have been spending a lot of time at my placement. This week my placement took the children swimming together as a class. I found this interesting at the children are only 6 or 7 years old, and so I thought that this was a young age to go swimming. I also thought it was interesting that the children went as a class, during school time to the swimming lessons. When the children were finished swimming in the pool, they would come out and shower naked altogether! I was astonished at this when I saw this because it is very different at home. Once the children had showered, they would then go into the sauna naked altogether. This was surprising for me because I had never seen this before. The children at home would never go to the sauna, and it would be very unlikely that if they did, they would go alone. The children here are given a lot of respect and independence, whereas I feel that at home, the children are almost being observed by at least one adult. It is significant to note these differences, as I feel that the Finnish children here expect their independence, and that they can be quite self sufficient. Everyday that the children went swimming, they always showered, then went to the sauna, showered again and then dressed themselves. All the children here could dress themselves with no help from any of the teachers or assistants. Once the children were dressed, they would then go and get a magazine or a book, and read it sensibly until it was time to go. I feel that this showed some maturity and sense on the part of the children, and I felt that it was interesting when I compared it to home. It makes me think that perhaps if the children at home were given more respect and independence then they may be grateful for this, and act responsibly. Once the adults in the setting had finished swimming with the children, they would also shower naked, and they were comfortable with this. This also astonished me, because I had never seen this in any of the other settings I had been in. The people here in Finland seem to be very comfortable with their bodies, and they feel that it is completely normal to sauna naked.  This was very surprising to me as in Northern Ireland, nobody really goes to the sauna, and if they do, they do not go naked!

Week 6 - Personal

This week, I have been extremely busy. I have been working in placement, but this week has been winter holiday week in Finland, so the pre-school has been off. Instead, I have been working in the day care area of the setting. This has been very demanding and exhausting for me! The children are used to me now, and so they speak to me often, in Finnish! I think this is very interesting, as we can still communicate well and I can understand what they are saying, without understanding their language. The children are also helping to teach me Finnish, for example, I would point at an object and say it in English, and then they would tell me the Finnish version of the word. This week, I also went to Moomin world. Moomin world is a version of the cartoon called, “the Moomins”. This is very well known in Finland, and many children love the Moomins. Moominland was in Naantali, which is a small town just outside of Turku. When we arrived there, the views were breathtakingly beautiful. The sea was completely frozen, and so people were skiing and ice skating on the ocean. It was also a very sunny day, so I think it made people seem happier! My friends and I went around Moominland, and we also went ice skating on the ocean! It was a great experience for me, as I had never had the opportunity to do this before. A few days after Moominland, and few friends and I decided to go sledging. It was on an island beside Turku but we found the right place without any problems. When we got there, we saw people we knew so we could borrow their sledges. I had never been sledging before so it was a new experience for me. However, the first time I went down the hill, I knew I loved it! It was such great fun, and I met some new friends there too! Everyone was so friendly, and we had a good laugh whilst sledging because we fell off a few times (of course!). Throughout this last week in Finland, I have met so many people, and I have really enjoyed myself. I feel so comfortable here, and I have met some really great people, I almost feel I don’t want to come home! I am really enjoying my time here in Finland, and feel so grateful to have this opportunity.

Week 5 - Cultural

This week I had my first get finternational class. It was very interesting as it meant that I got to meet a variety of people from a lot of different backgrounds. We were all talking about our different countries, and we discussed about what made cultures from around the world different. I learnt a lot about different people, and about their cultures. I found this extremely interesting, as in some cultures for example in Spain or Mexico, when someone kisses their hands and puts it in the shape of an O, this can mean very good. However, in other cultures this sign can be very offensive.  There were people in the class from Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Vietnam, Korea and Finland. This gave me an inside view into many cultures, and not just the culture of Finland. I also learnt about how the culture of Finnish people can be in a social nature. I went to a reggae concert to see a Finnish reggae band playing.  This band was very good, and it was extraordinary to see how the Finnish people could be so different. Whenever I see Finnish people on the bus, or on the street they seem very solemn and serious. However, when I saw this band, the people were the opposite! They were very happy and joyful, and there were many people dancing. The music was very upbeat, and it was very happy music. It was extraordinary to see how people who lived in such a cold climate, could still experience and create the music than is normally seen in a Caribbean country. There were a lot of Finnish people at this concert, and all the words to the songs were in Finnish, so it was clear that this band, and the venue, were usually filled with Finnish people, and not exchange students. I felt that this was quite refreshing to see, as normally any social events I go to are mainly for the exchange students. This gave me the opportunity to gain a greater insight into the everyday life of a Finnish person, and gave me the chance to get a real taste of some Finnish music firsthand. From this event, I have met many Finnish friends, and they are teaching me more and more everyday about cultural differences in Finland, and also about different Finnish artists.