Pre-Departure Blogging

I am leaving for Finland in basically 2.5 days now! I have contact with my host family and the Hollihaka school headmaster over there, so at least I've thrown in my anchors for when I arrive. I haven't started packing. Nor does my laptop work... really... as of tonight. What can ya do? Take it to Best Buy, I'm told. For those... maybe 2? Maybe 3? People out there who are interested in what I am doing, here is the low-down, the scoop, the "extra" addendum to my life:

In the spring (of 2008) I got an e-mail from the philosophy department (for I am a philosophy major) linking me to the IE3 website (http://ie3global.ous.edu/). I immediately became interested and scanned their available internships. I was interested in a few--but only felt like it would be fair to apply for one particular one because I had actual experience in the subject--so I decided to apply to teach in Kokkola, Finland. Technically, this internship is about teaching English, and I don't have experience in that. But I do have experience in teaching, and hopefully that will count for something.

If you click on the link above, it will take you to a new, improved website that looks nary like the one I visited back in the spring. Another surprise, if you go so far as to look at the specifications for the Kokkola internship, is that they say Kokkola will help you find a dormitory residence for a fee. I, thankfully, gratefully, appear to be the last intern to be given free housing for this internship. It was difficut for them to "find" a host family, and I was given the possibility of having to pay for a shared dorm room until nearly the last minute. My host family already seems so friendly and accomadating, though, I wonder why it was so difficult for the school district to find a willing family, and it is sad to see that either IE3, or the Kokkola school district, or both, have decided to give up on trying to fanagle free housing for the interns. Oh well, Lucky Me!

So, I apply for the internship and get it, first with another person who they also gave it to which ended up transferring me from working with the High School to working with the Elementary School. The other person who was awarded the internship dropped out, but I am still going to work at the elementary school, Hollihaka (http://www.hollihaankoulu.kokkola.fi/info/english_frameset6_immersion.htm). I am not sure what to expect as far as English comprehension goes in the elementary. I am taking some of my favorite childhood stories, and maybe some short educational films if there is an opportunity to use them to good effect.

The biggest obstacle so far has certainly been UAA. Internships are kind of like enigmas. Hardly anyone does full time internships, so there is nothing in place for them to work. Never mind the fact that more people would do them if there actually was a way to... the university is generally content in telling itself that no one wants to do them so they don't need to set anything up for them. I managed... after a lot of work from myself and one great lady named Jill... to cobble together 12 credits, although 3 of them are only going to be counted as incomplete at the end of the semester until I do a community service project in Anchorage. The professor I am working with on the other 9 is actually quite good, but there are still "issues" to be worked out with Hollihaka because of the fact that UAA is not set up for this. My professor doesn't want me working full time, because she also wants me doing other projects that focus on the community in Kokkola at large. They are very lofty and challenging projects, but if it works out I am looking forward to attempting them. Needless to say, I will probably be presenting a proposal to someone or other at UAA to try to get a system that provides actual support for a 12 credit internship in the works. It is truly sad that UAA pats itself on the back for giving its students the opportunity to go abroad and do internships, yet when someone actually attempts to do just that--it is more than a pain to get it done. Beleive me, I have spent tears and many hours of frustration and confusion about whether or not I could get the 12 credits without having to write a bunch of 15 page papers about topics that might not even have anything to do with the internship at all on top of working full time. I know this is quickly turning into a UAA-bashing post, but honestly, if you have ever heard anything bad about UAA-- it's true. I am hoping that maybe when I return I can help change something at UAA for the better, but I won't get my hopes up.

As for my emotional state, I have somehow forgone the feeling of anticipation. Maybe it has been washed out by the rush to get credits and really the rush of everything. The director in Oregon told me that as of the end of August, my internship was the only one (for Europe) that hadn't been sorted out. I'm leaving in 2.5 days and it still isn't! But talking with the headmaster and the mother of the family I will be staying with by e-mail has at least given me a sense of comfort and security. Here's to the next three months! Next time I post I'll be writing directly from the old country! I'll let you know if I see any Moomin Trolls.

Signing Off,
Summer