School O'Clock

Moi from Suomi :)

What a week! My first week at school turned out to be one of the best I have had in Finland so far, to my surprise. School itself was something I had perpetually dreaded since my arrival in Finland, as all of my rather ominous premonitions somehow seemed to share the recurring image of me sitting in the cafeteria alone, eating by myself and fighting back tears. Thankfully, this was not the case at all :D

While everyone seemed to avert my attention to the fact that the Finnish are shy people, before I even left Australia, I found that not everyone was as reserved as I had anticipated. Most people were pretty friendly and smiled or nodded in my general direction. In general, everyone was really sweet to me and a few people even approached me and introduced themselves, which was so nice. I managed to make a few friends, so I always seemed to have people to talk to, which was good. One of my friends and I were walking together after school and we ended up having a hot chocolate and talking for ages, which was just so good.

Although some subjects have been quite difficult, it has not been completely insurmountable and the little Finnish I know has served me well. People seem genuinely appreciative that I have been making such an effort to learn their lanuage and are always very impressed when I am able to speak a few words here and there. Of course, other students are naturally curious and equally as excited to hear an Australian accent live for the first time!

I have chosen beginners Russian, History, Psychology, Geography, English 2 and English 6 as my subjects for this period and am really enjoying them so far. Everyone is always really helpful in class and the people I sit next to have become my friends and are always eager to translate confusing texts. My teachers all seem nice and are happy to include me in class, to get the 'Australian perspective' on things.

So, in a nutshell, I couldn't have asked for a better first week at school. I have made new friends, had so many new and exciting experiences and I can't wait to see what the rest of the school year will bring!