Making connections

It's 9:30 am in Helsinki...and -20 c


Look at these pro Metro riders! They didn't get lost or anything!

Today is about making connections.

Last night I was poking around the internet, looking for people or research that might help give my own research a kickstart. I found a woman, Liisa, who did research along the lines of what I am interested in a few years ago. I sent her an email, and, voila! She responded! Yahoo! She is going to be in Helsinki next week...we are going to have lunch. She gave me 3 more names to contact, and I have already heard from 1, a woman doing her dissertation on information literacy and 7th grade Finnish classroom. Terrific! I am really excited to make these connections. I see a sliver of where I need to go in my work, but need to have a little more light shine through the cracks.

More connections and fulfilling a family tradition:
Apparently, today is Valentine's Day. I only know this because of Facebook. I asked Rob this morning, "Do you know today is Valentines Day?" He said..."hmmm. Nope." It's a bit odd being outside of the advertising frenzy that I am used to this time of year. Perhaps we will make it out unscathed (by advertising, that is). So, we decided to go swimming today. I am feeling a bit homesick (Finland is great, but it is really, really, really cold -pictures of that to come- and the not knowing the language is exhausting sometimes) so swimming sounded great. We walked to the metro, got on easily (not sure if anyone pays for it, but we did) and it was a beautiful trip, the line going over frozen lakes and bays filled with inches and inches of snow and the sun brightly shining on it. Got off. Asked for help from the Metro office (yes, they speak English, and yes, they printed me directions...amazing!) and in 5 mins, we had made our connection, we were at a HUGE Olympic length pool with multiple pools and saunas. Marieka had a fabulous time in the warm shallow 'learner's pool' and mom got to do some laps, dad took a sauna. In true McMahon Female Fashion, we found a pool in a foreign country...and we swam. My Oma would be proud.Entrance to the swim pool. It is built into bedrock. The roof above the pool is rock. It is pretty odd to do backstroke under rock.
And, that is a car under all that snow....


We found a UFF second hand store on the way back, 2 fabulous finds (pictures to come!) and we were whisked home on the beautiful and clean Metro. I see why no one has a car here. You don't need one!
Marimekko style skirt for mom, super cute knee high boots for Marieka! Score!

Then, a coffee meeting with the Mother Language (Finnish) professors. Welcoming and helpful.

Next stop...English Language story time at the library. I feel less homesick and more loved.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Rika's newest puzzle...might as well learn some geography while we are here.

Helsinki in real life

The swing park just 100 m from our apartment...good to get out early before it isn't in the sun! That would be the Baltic Sea just over my shoulder....I need to remember that amazing fact once in a while.
What Finnish kids have to do before swinging...sweep off the snow!


Many of our days have been taken up with survival-type activities- buying food, going to the doctor, figuring out the bus system, trying to get on the internet, and of course, research and meetings about my research. Today was a day to actually do errands like we might do at home- shop for a new snow suit for Marieka (friend in Tampere said there was a "big sale" at Antilla! Yay- but had to find out where that was!), get some toys for her (the small house and cold weather is taking it's toll on all of us) and get some lunch (we have been seeing all the ads for "Lunch Buffet" deals, felt we should actually check them out).

This town feels so much smaller than a town of a million should feel. We can walk most everywhere we need to go, including shopping, lunch and flea markets! After a lot of searching (thankfully in a mostly inside and underground shopping center...brr!) we found Antilla (kinda like JCPenneys) and found a snow suit like "all the kids wear" for 50% off, and some over mitts that they seem to wear. That was good news, because the snowsuits at the used store up the street were $60 euros for a USED one. Plus, being Antilla, they had everything...including an exercise bike for kids (we passed) and toys toys toys! Marieka loves figurines, so we got a few Moomin figurines for her to play with (and when we got home, they immediately got the meet everyone who was already here ("Moomin...this is Dora. Hi. Have you met me? Yes, I think we have met..." its quite sweet.)

We also had Kebob for the first time, the fast food that is on every corner. And it was very good. Thinly shaved marinated meat with veggies and sauce. Luckily, again, everyone speaks English, so the kid woman behind the counter got my attention before I walked into the closet looking for the bathroom. And, she gave Marieka a lollipop if she ate all her french fries...gotta love that!

We made it home (again, we can walk everywhere, it is amazing) and now are resting until we meet my Fulbright Buddy Sanna from Espoo at the Railway Station (10 min walk) at 5. Its 3pm Finland, so I think I will have a cup of coffee.

Here are some photos of our adventure:
Marieka organizing her Moomin at the restaurant
The big tourist boats that come to Helsinki, and head to Stockholm, St. Petersburg and Tallin. The water in the forefront is frozen solid.
We trekked all the way to this "Flea Market" which turned out to be an antique mall...bummer.

Back online

You never know how much you use (and need) internet access until you don't have it. Our little netbook stopped getting wireless access a few days ago, and while we thankfully had access to the 'outside world' via our itouch (thank you brother Nate and sister in law Paige!) it still had me feeling a little on edge that I couldn't do everything I wanted to do in an instant, with a quick touch of a real keyboard. It just makes one wonder...how did people do anything before the internet???

The past few days have been good- the family is feeling better, getting more sleep and feeling more settled. While things still are new, and "foreign," it feels a bit more familiar. We know what busses to take to get places (like the doctor, which Marieka and I did on Sunday...), the fast backroad to use to get to the grocery store, and the place to buy good looking vegetables on the weekend (love that the local outdoor market has veggies, fruit (including Finnish apples..yum!) as well as cross country skiis for sale!) Still know little to no Finnish...unless you count "hi," "thanks" and that I know what restaurant is ("Ravintola") and "Welcome" ("Tervetola"). My dad asked if signs were in 2 languages...I said yes, Finnish and Swedish...so we do a lot of looking and checking stuff out to figure out what we need, especially at the store. I thought I bought some yummy looking fresh sauerkraut...only to discover I had purchased a slightly icky cold cabbage salad. Oh well. Could have been worse.

Buying vegetables here is more complicated than in the states. You need to put your selection in a bag, and then weigh it, and press the right number code (from the sign by the veggies) and a machine spits out a price and barcode. It is quite logical, and saves the checker tons of time and mind space in terms of memorizing codes. The prices are more expensive than we are used to in Olympia, but they aren't as outrageous as one would imagine. And the salty licorice selection is amazing. Which I love, but Rob has already grown tired of. Oh well, more for me.

I continued to observe classes at the Teacher Training School early in the week. I got to see a distance learning English class that the school does with a school in the far north of Finland (3 hours by car from the nearest airport). It was a great example of how they can support students around the country. I also got to listen to and participate in a final English speaking test for 16 year olds. They have an amazing command of English. One thing I am sure of after being here for just 10 days...we are shortchanging our students by not providing them 2nd and 3rd language instruction starting at an early age. I met with a number of international students at the University of Helsinki today, and countries require proficiency with 1 and 2 languages to graduate high school, and even through college. Yes, much of the world speaks English, however that doesn't meet that we should be so snooty to assume we shouldn't learn other languages to be able to get along in the world more effectively.

I also was invited to a meeting of the School Librarian Association of Finland. Here is what I know:

• there are only 10 school librarians in Finland!

• most are not trained as teachers, but are trained as librarians either at the University of Tampere (Masters) or at Turkku (more of a librarian technician school I think).

• most school libraries here (if they exist) are run by teachers (often Finnish/"Mother Tongue") teachers.
• they want more school libraries and school librarians, and they are working together to build support and provide models for what is possible

I met some terrific teachers who are willing to let me come to their school, interview students and explore how research is taught in their school. I am really looking forward to visiting the Russian/Finnish school, the IB SYK school and the English school, in addition to a couple of schools in Espoo that have really embraced having a strong school library.

Here are some photos of Marieka and I on a snowy walk yesterday...A beautiful old building down the hill from our place.

On the bike/walking path along the water down from the apartment.

Swinging at the local little park.

Gathering information, shaping my research

Today I spent another day at the Vikki Training School. While I am not necessarily getting specific information on libraries, I think getting the bigger picture regarding education in Finland is very useful.

But, to interject...Marieka has had a fever for a couple of days, and yep, now I do too. Rob should be next. Grr. She is feeling pretty good, though at night she is a hot potato. Me, achy and tired, insomnia last night, still jet lagged...I should have known this was next. This photo was taken when she feel asleep reading the other night. Rob and I rejoiced, thinking that maybe she could put herself to sleep finally, but no, she was sick.

So today, I observed a 3rd grade classroom doing a research project on Scandinavia, or "The Northern Countries." It was the end of the research, and students were presenting their findings via powerpoint slides they had created. The focus was on the environment and geography of the countries (science is one of Finland's top scores on the PISA test) and I could see that it was an ongoing focus, from the decor of the room to the composting in the lunchroom.
The teaching and learning I saw today was very constructivist. Kids are encouraged to develop questions based on their interests, they so research around these personally developed questions, and they work collaboratively to develop answers in small groups. They even did their assessment of their listening in small groups, leaned in over their tables, coming up with consensus answers. It wasn't perfect of course (some students weren't as engaged as others, some of the information was basic, some student presentations were uninspired) however, the structure was powerful, and spiralled enough to include student interest and teacher intent.

The most interesting thing so far is that all student teachers teach in teams of two! They plan together, teach together, reflect together. It is amazing and makes so much sense. The master teacher is never out of the room, and even chimes in once in awhile to further the learning or to refocus the students. There is so much talk about how to export the "Finnish model," and this seems like such an easy one to copy (rather than the whole respect for teachers, free meals and health care and such...). They are required to do 2 rounds of student teaching at one of the training schools (with teachers trained to supervise) and everyday, there are observers in the room, either the master teacher, subject area teachers evaluating content instruction, or other student teachers who are required to observe one another. They have highly planned lessons, that have been run by the master teacher prior to teaching. They debrief the lesson soon after doing it, and are able to take the reflection with them right away. So while this doesn't have tons to do with libraries it does have an impact on the system teacher librarians fit into- if teachers are used to collaboration, reflecting and having others in their classroom, perhaps teacher librarians in the US can have a greater impact on teaching and learning.

So I was asked "Which do you do more, teaching or librarian?" Hmm, I thought. Good question- and I explained my job and it seemed to be a bit of a surprise. The school library model appears to be very different here. The one school library I have visited has a "School Librarian" who isn't a teacher. So this is a challenging for me- it is hard to compare our work. I will meet with one next week and get more facts on training and work expectations.

Here are a couple pictures of the school. The building is as beautiful inside as it is out.

euronews learning world - Finland: First in Class

Features the school I visited today...

Quick observations on my first day at school

1. Free school lunch for all students, employees (and visitors). Split pea soup, rye cracker and cheese and cucumber, milk or water. Not a soda in sight. What a relief.

2. Kids do PE and recess outside, in the snow, regardless of the weather. Skiing, skating, hockey and playing in the snow are just the norm.

3. Student teachers practice in teams and plan lessons together in teams. Today, there were up to 5 adults in a classroom. Wow.

4. I was talking to a teacher and mentioned that I hadn't seen a Starbucks yet (except for the Stockholm airport). She looked confused, and then said, "Oh, isn't that a coffee shop?" Talk about refreshing...

5. Kids drop their wet clothes and boots in cubbies outside their classroom door, and wear slip-ons throughout the day.

6. I watched students reading beginning reader books (in Finnish) on their own, and discussing them. They couldn't read in August, according to their teacher. Finnish is a logical language, and thus, is relatively easy to learn, once you learn the phonemes of the language.

More to come...
Sarah

We made it!

Ugh. I have a newfound respect for world travellers. Not being one, I haven't really understood what jet lag is. Now I do. My head is pounding, I haven't slept much (thanks Marieka!) and I am wiped out. I am so glad we have lots of time here, I don't feel the pressure to get it together and am working on recovering.

That said, the good news is we made it! 4 suitcases, 2 bikes, 1 ski bag, one huge stroller, carryons and a 3 year old. Success! We stayed one night in Newark (home of my "Facebook Friend" Cory Booker, mayor extraordinaire) and while we had to schlep our caravan through the massive Newark aiport, we had friendly assistance all along the way, and thankfully found a place to store our luggage till the flight the next day. Absolutely the best $63 we have ever spent. We got to sleep in (more or less) and swim in a beautiful hotel pool with a massive skylight. It was sunny and snowy, and it helped confirm my interest in one day, actually visiting Newark (I keep threatening Rob that we are going to move there and teach...seriously, Cory Booker is THAT inspiring.)

We flew to Stockholm. Longest flight I have ever been on, and interestingly enough, both flights so far included the pilots telling us the flight will be 1 hour shorter than scheduled on the ticket. That made my heart sing, not being a great flyer! Continental to Stockholm had movies and shows and games right at your seat, which rocked. Watched Social Network, Easy A and a 30 Rock episode, in addition to watching the flight make its way across the ocean on the "Flight Path" option. Man, technology rules. Unfortunately, it didn't help Marieka sleep any better though. We landed in Stockhom at 7:30am Monday, and got to see the sunrise above the clouds. It was beautiful and sunny there too. Got our hopes up for Helsinki for sun.

The Stockholm airport was just as one would imagine it- organized, clean, classy, with wood floors throughout, glass walls, and airport staff transporting things around on little push scooters. Brilliant, of course. We got our passports stamped by the Swedish agents, and I told Marieka "We are getting our first stamp!" to which she replied, "On my hand?" She was disappointed to learn it was just going to be on the passport. Here I also discovered that tourists are easily identified- they are the ones with the big puffy coats. Duly noted.

From Stockhom, it was on to "Blue 1" a Finnish airline. Marieka was immediately given a small teddy bear and a Scooby Doo cling game as she sat down. We now love Blue 1.

And then, Helsinki. Where we were told by the pilot was "overcast and -3c." Darn. Flying into the city was like Seattle, with very low clouds and trees, but snow snow snow. Yay! We went to baggage claim (and sadly, didn't get a stamp on our passport or hand this time). The Helsinki airport was much more non-descript and smaller than Stockholm but our bags arrived immediately...all except for one. Grr. There was a huge suitcase that kept going around and around that we thought was ours for awhile...it was entirely wrapped in industrial "saran wrap" and we assumed that our suitcase had exploded, and they had tried to salvage it for us. Thankfully, we realized it was grey, not brown like ours, and a young woman rescued it. I was glad that we weren't responsible for THAT kind of packing.

20 minutes later, we were at our apt,on Maneesikatu. Marieka and I walked and found the university housing office for our key (identifying lots of cool thrift shops and book stores to check out along the way- we are right near the university!) They gravel the sidewalks for traction (must make spring clean up a bit rough) and amazingly the roads are not entirely clear. We drove by the water on our way, with boats still in the water and a lake with people ice fishing. We also saw some nordic walking (need poles!) and skiing on trails along the highway on our way in. It was Monday morning, but you would have thought it was Sunday, the traffic was so light.

Our apartment is on the 4th floor, and we didn't quite realize that the lift would be so useful until Rob had carried the chariot up 3 flights of small, spiraling paper covered (they are painting the entire inside of the apartments) stairs. The apartments are for University guest faculty. And, they are awesome. I was worried about what 400 square feet would look like. I need not worry. European ingenuity at its finest. Tons of storage, a 100% tiled bathroom, which is basically a shower stall, a heated towel rack and a galley kitchen (that doesn't have an oven, I just realized). A huge living room with a fold out couch (guests-good news-no blow up mattress in the dining room for you!) and lots of windows to a courtyard. Even a tiny, snow covered balcony.

Marieka and I immediately went to sleep, and Rob braved the grocery store, returning with pasta and sauce and sausage and eggs and bread. Perfect. He "researched" which store to go to (read someone's grocery stores in Finland blog) and made his way to the more affordable one. Still adjusting to the whole "Euro" thing so need some sort of app for our Itouch.

Marieka didn't sleep much on Monday night...like...2 hours...so I didn't much either. She was up in the middle of the night watching videos and playing with playdoh. We need to help her start to adjust. Today, the goals are to: get a phone, open a bank account, figure out a secure internet access point and get a brief lay of the land. Tomorrow, I meet with the University of Helsinki person who has created my monthly schedule and the Professor at the Teacher Education department who is my mentor. My next steps in this amazing journey start tomorrow. And the sun is out right now. Need to get out and discover this beautiful and fascinating place!