Eine kleine Einleitung vorweg. Ich kann es kaum glauben aber es beginnt nun schon bald mein vierter Monat hier im Norden. Und gut, dass ich mich nun eingelebt habe und mich in der Stadt auskenne, denn es wird dunkel. Stockduster um 17:00 und es wird noch dunkler werden. Es hängt eine geheimnisvolle und ruhige Atmosphäre über der ganzen Stadt, alles wirkt ein wenig schläfrig aber es ist keinesfalls schlimm oder einschüchternd. Man muss nur seine Zeit gut zu verbringen wissen, Musik machen, lesen, Artikel schreiben. Deswegen hab ich mir auch mal zu Herzen genommen einen kleinen Bericht für die Schulzeitung hier zu verfassen. Viel Spass beim Lesen!
''Moi,
Mun nimi on David ja oon saksasta. Mä oon vaihto oppilas Järvenpäässä Tuusulan Rotaryn Klubin kanssa. Mä opin suomea ja puhun vähän.
I hope you are satisfied with my little introduction on finish but I’ll go on on English now. I arrived here in Finland the 3rd of august 2008. After that all other Rotary Exchange Students, me included, had a one-week Crash-Course camp in Karkku. Tutors and Teachers taught us some important facts of the finish language, culture and people. Besides that we were able to try finish Sauna with the obligatory jump into the lake afterwards of course! After that short week, we went to our Host-families and were all in a way quite lost when they tried to speak finish with us, because more than: ‘’Moi! Mitä kuuluu? – Hyvää, kiitos.’’ hadn’t been possible for anyone of us. Furthermore not everything was ‘’hyvää’’, getting thrown into a new family, not be able to speak any word of finish except a single sentence and being conscious about the fact that the school will start the next day!
The next day. I entered the school with my pin-covered Rotary Jacket, reminding more to a Christmas tree, and just tried to figure out where some potential other exchange students could be and I found them, of course standing like me in a corner, not trying to cause too much sensation. But actually it was kind of a nice feeling, being looked and examined by everyone else, at least I had no problem with that! The school looked awesome, so many computers, screens, and equipment I’ve seen in big factory laboratories, but not yet in a school! MacBooks for the Art and Music classrooms, Smartboards in nearly every normal classrooms. I was really looking forward to spend my time there in this school and furthermore, the whole thing looked like a big cafeteria with round tables, comfortable chairs and just a nice atmosphere all around. As we were to fill in our schedules, I couldn’t believe how many subjects are able to choose and I was really glad when I joined the Photography and Art class, also the Philosophy and Music class. In Germany, we’ve not enough money, so on not enough teachers to have all this kind of subjects available in schools. More and more gets cancelled by the administration, for example: Philosophy. The ‘’love of knowledge’’ gets cancelled by the ministry, in my opinion that is indeed enough for a bad education system. The whole learning and teaching atmosphere is really different compared to the German system. A great help to set a connection between Teacher and Student is, in the case of Järvenpää Lukio, Peda.Net. The more personal and friendly this connection gets, the better the lessons could be. The student should have no fear to ask something he or she didn’t understand properly. This respectful and good atmosphere is in my view a big advantage in the finish education system. Of course I’ve at the moment not that hard work in school, but I’ve got this language challenge, and that’s Fairplay enough, I guess, so no reason to be jealous about my exchange-student live. But for everyone who’s interested in an exchange year – it’s the best time of my live, no matter where you go, just go somewhere else, leave your home, try to manage the challenge, grow up! Furthermore it’s so great to find so many new friends, to have now some kind of an international friendship and spend the time with parties on the weekend, of course with respecting the rules of an exchange year…
Finland is not the only country I’ll discover here in the North. Tours to Estonia, Lapland, Russia and a tour through whole Europe is on my calendar! Of course, many people would say, it’s not that interesting for me as a German, travelling through Europe, but, ask yourself, when will you have the chance to make such a tour, with amazing friends from all over the world?
It has now already been 4 Months that I’m here, and I’m looking forward to spend the rest of my Exchange year with all you guys! More articles of me, soon.
Nähdään''
