Picture: Flyer from the Multicultural Center-should I sign up?
So many things are new! I came here to learn from the Finnish school system which is obviously new. However, everything around me is new: the weather, the people I work with, the internet, the town, transportation, the customs, the cadence of speech, the space between individuals, the library system, the toilet, the food, the clothes, the culture, the schedule, and of course the language. There are moments of exhilaration with all the new and at times I find I have to tell myself to breathe as I have become overwhelmed. I am naturally an introvert and I have to push myself to meet and greet in order to take advantage of everything new Fulbright and Finland has to offer. I made a promise to myself that since I have been given this amazing opportunity I must say yes to everything. In addition to all this uncharted newness I am way out of my comfort zone. From sending emails essentially selling myself to people I’ve never met to ask permission to come to their schools, to meeting with heads of University Departments to ask deep-rooted ethical questions about their programs. I’m drinking way too much coffee at each of these meetings not because it’s my drink of choice, but because I haven’t yet figured out how to purchase seltzer water or find the tea that I prefer. Through this uncharted newness I am learning. I am learning so very much about how the Finnish work and I am learning that I have a voice as to how students with disabilities should be educated. I haven’t yet had that much-anticipated “Ah-ha” moment, but I do have faith that it will arrive. My brain just has to synthesize all that has come and continues to come my way.