Settling in Bloomington, IN

After the orientation in Washington, DC it was time for us to fly to Indiana and start another week of orientation in Bloomington. Center for International Education, Development and Research (CIEDR) at Indiana University is hosting us this fall semester and they have done an amazing job planning and organizing everything and helping us settle in. They have helped us go through all the paperwork needed and taken us to various offices at the university, to a local bank, to the social security office, etc. They have even helped us get to the grocery stores, get local cell phones and things for our appartments. The first few days would have been very different without our CIEDR friends.

Even though we will only stay here for one semester, it has required surprisingly much paperwork, different documents from our home countries as well as from the U.S. before and after our arrival in the U.S. It has been an extremely educating process that started last spring and a good way to learn about the various offices and how many things are done here. And many things are actually done very similarly in Finland. One thing that I admire about Americans is how helpful and kind everyone is. No matter who you ask or no matter which office you visit, everyone is so happy to help you with friendly smile to make you feel welcome.

During the orientation week in Bloomington we also walked around the campus and even got to visit the local elementary and high school for the first time. We were given a very walm welcome there as well. I'm looking forward to the weekly visits to Bloomington North High School that will start next week and getting to know the campus and the city of Bloomington better as well. Exciting weeks ahead, I'm sure.

Orientation Week in Washington, DC

I was very excited to start my Fulbright journey with an orientation week in the U.S. capital. All Fulbright Distinguished Teachers were invited to this event, 48 American teachers who will be traveling abroad, many Fulbright alumni who had just returned back home, and 17 of us international teachers who had come to the U.S.

During the orientation workshop in Washington, DC organized by IIE we had different seminars on various topics such as the art of crossing cultures, global competence, the expectations and development of the inquiry project that every Fulbright Teacher will complete while abroad. It was very interesting to hear about the experiences of the teachers who had already returned back home. We were also privileged to be welcomed by the U.S. Department of State. Besides the seminars, we also had a tour of the U.S. Capitol Building as well as a Culture Night, where teachers got to present something typical of their countries. We were able to enjoy various performances, African dance from Botswana, Maori stories from New Zealand, and many more. IIE had organized a wonderful orientation and start for our journey.

Meeting so many teachers from all over the world and from all over the U.S. at the same time was the best thing about the whole week and something I will never forget. Seldom does one get the chance to meet colleagues from everywhere between New York, California, Alaska and Louisiana, all sitting at the same table. It was an amazing opportunity to learn! The main thing I learned right away was that I cannot start generalizing U.S. schools since there is no such thing as a "typical" American school. There are great differences between the school systems in different states and areas, and there are also different types of schools. Also private schools are very common in the U.S. unlike in Finland. I look forward to starting the school visits and learning more about the everyday life at different schools in the coming months. 

I had visited Washington, DC once before but I was happy to arrive a few days earlier and get the chance to explore also the city a little more. The U.S. capital is a very beautiful city with lots of memorials, monuments, and amazing museums. A place definitely worth visiting.

 

 

 

Participating in a Fulbright Program

I have the honor to be one of two teachers from Finland selected to participate in the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program this year. I was overjoyed last spring when I heard that I had been selected and given this opportunity. It is a great privilege and I feel very excited to be part of this international group. We are seventeen teachers from nine different countries, from Botswana, Chile, Finland, India, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan, and we will spend the fall semester 2015 at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. During our stay here each of us will audit courses at Indiana University, visit local schools, and also complete an inquiry project on an educational topic.

This is a blog where I hope to share some of my experiences in the United States from August to December 2015 especially with my teacher friends and those of you interested in applying to the program.