Almost outta there!

So...today is Wednesday which means that the work week is halfway through. Big sigh of relief! I had an early day today (went in at 7:30, left at 2:30), but tomorrow is going to be a long one. Probably won't get home until about 6:30 in the evening. Why is that? Because the kiddies at the päiväkoti are having their Kevätjuhlat (spring party) which is the exact translation, but in actuality it is a program. They kiddos will be singing, dancing, and reciting poems for their parents. And yours truly will be accompanying them with Chip (my flute) for 2 of their songs. And after tomorrow it is all downhill from there. Next week is my last week with these amazing, lovely, too smart for their own good Finnish children. I am going to miss them when I leave. Of course after I am through with my työharjoittelu (internship) I will still have 10 more days left to sit in the classroom and listen to either Simo or Aulikki talk. I hope we don't have any of the other teachers as I cannot understand them when they speak. Also, Simo will be coming to speak with my and Jaana (my pomo - boss) on Monday to check on my progress. Of course only good things will be said according to the woman in charge. She seems to like having me there as much as I enjoy being there. I do feel like I have gained a lot from this experience. I am speaking more. There is no way around it since only 2 of the children (they have at least 1 English speaking parent) can understand my English. But that was the whole point of this exercise wasn't it? To improve my Finnish speaking skills. I am really looking forward to tomorrow being over with (I won't get off until at least 5:30), but I am hoping that next week doesn't fly by too quickly. Cause then I really will be outta there!!!

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Looking forward to actually making a decent post. Hopefully I will get around to it sometime this week.

I'm so lazy!

I've been slack the past 2 weeks because I have simply been too tired to blog. Working with the kiddos is energy draining work, and the I have the hubby to take care of when I come home!! I just haven't been able to collect my thoughts, but this weekend I will post and update. Or if I'm feeling froggy I might even post 2!

All 50 States

I named 50 US states in 10 minutes

I actually managed to do this in 6 minutes. Not that 6 minutes is something to brag about, but its been awhile since I've even thought about all 50 states. Not to mention some of them are just spelled strangely. Anyway, it was fun and something to pass the time. It's easy cheesy if you remember the "50 Nifty United States" song that is taught to most elementary/middle school children! At least it was when I was coming up through school! Why don't you try your luck!!

1 week down!

I have successfully finished the first week of my työharjoittelu (internship). It was exhausting but I have fallen in love with all 9 of the kiddies that I am working with. They are too cute. And somehow they understand me when I speak. Of course I speak on their level, but I still think I deserve brownie pts. for being understandable to children!! I definitely need to take pictures of these little munchkins and post them. I'm taking my flute, as per request, to the päiväkoti on Monday to play for them during their music time. I think it is going to be really fun. They LOVE music and dance anytime someone sings, hums, whistles, or plays a cd. They really are awesome and I get to spend 5 more weeks with them.

Työharjoittelu

Tomorrow I begin my työharjoittelu (internship) at Päiväkoti Virkkula (Daycare/Playschool Virkkula). I will be with eight children, the youngest being 1.5 years and the oldest being 3.5 years. This is somehow supposed to help me speak the language better and give me experience working here in Finland. I REALLY hope that things go well. The guy that I will be working with speaks some English, and he says that he understands everything I say but doesn't speak very well. Of course that is more than I can say for myself, not only do I speak poorly, I also do not understand everything that I hear. I'm sure I will learn something valuable from this experience and I am halfway looking forward to it. I'm sure I will be posting plenty of updates since this is what I will be doing until June 4th!! That's right, six whole weeks of being immersed in children's Finnish! Good luck me!

Watch out for that bird!!

I have to walk about half a mile to my class every morning. I walk through a park that is between the baltic and some apartments. This morning I was making my trek to class when some birds flew out of a bush, and one of them flew right into my chest. I was more than a little surprised and it took me a minute to get over the shock of what had happened. I mean it's not everyday that a bird flies right into a person. The little bird (it looked a bit like a sparrow) did not get hurt. It fell to the ground, stood there for a minute (probably trying to get over its shock), then hopped off back to the bush. So from now on I am going to be on the lookout for rogue birds!