As I write this blog, I am sitting in a quiet teacher's lounge in a Finnish elementary school. The past few days have been a whirlwind and the next two weeks promise to be just as busy. Where to start? Yesterday: Thursday morning I awoke bleary eyed after a fitful night's rest. Päivi was just as groggy. We'd spent Wednesday afternoon and evening planning, organizing, scanning photos of North Dakota and thinking of games and songs for the children in Päivi's English classroom. I went with Päivi to her school all day Thursday. I gave a presentation in each of her classes on the USA and North Dakota. The kids start each class period by standing next to their desks. Päivi says "Good morning class" and the children respond "Good morning Mrs. Päckalen" then they begin the lesson. The elementary school here looks much like and American elementary school. There are the same desks, coat hooks, library, music room, gym, etc. The children had prepared questions for me such as "What's your name?, How old are you?" "Do you have pets?"...the basic questions you learn when you start learning a foreign lanuage. One child asked "Do you like George W. Bush?" !!! I replied that I don't, but some Americans do. We showed them the distance from Finland to the US on the globe, then showed them....ah, gotta go, the school assembly is starting.
1 comment:
One wanderer to another I can't really imagine uprooting to an area where I don't speak the language, though I can sympathize with the feeling of remotenes and having only oneself to rely on. And if this comment appears twice, then its becasue I had computer trouble.
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