Joo

The second day I was here the headmaster came over to my host family's to discuss the details of my internship and have coffee and pie. I noticed that everyone was breathing very heavily in a wheezing-like manner. After the meeting, I wondered to myself if there was something in the air like dust that was making everyone breathe like this. Then after a few days I realized something. They weren't breathing, they were saying “Yes”! Or, probably a better translation would be “Yeah”. The word 'yes' in Finnish is “Joo”, which is pronounced “Yo”. Now I want everyone reading this to say “yo” while breathing in. Now do it while trying to whisper. This is what Finns pepper the silences in conversations with! And I thought everyone had a breathing problem at first! Hahaha!

I have also noticed that there is less chivalry here than in the states. I hope this is not an effect of a greater amount of political and social equality between men and women (the president of Finland is a woman). But men do not open the doors for me here, and I have not seen them do it for any other woman. A few times I thought they were, but then it was just that they were opening the door slowly, and when I walked through it first everyone looked confused, including me.

Today was Wednesday, and every Wednesday there is an all-school assembly. Every other Wednesday there is a story read out of the bible and a bible song performed by a Lutheran minister. I couldn't understand anything because it was all in Finnish, though.

Oh, also at Hollihaka the teachers lead every single activity for their classes, except the immersion classes sometimes have a separate teacher come to do the Finnish lessons. But art, gym, cooking, library, all of these activities are organized and led by the children's same teacher.