Life in Bloomington, Indiana

Before I left for the U.S. I didn’t know much about Bloomington. I just knew it was a relatively small town somewhere in the middle of the state of Indiana. The city of Bloomington definitely has a small town feel, but at the same time it's also a very lively college town where there are a lot of things going on all the time. For example, it offers many cultural and other events. All the Fulbright teachers here have taken advantage of this and have gone to see different theater plays and concerts. So far I've seen, for example, Mice and Men at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater and the legendary Tony Bennett sing at a concert at the Indiana University Auditorium. The Auditorium is very famous for bringing Broadway productions and world-class singers and other artists to Indiana. Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is considered one of the top music schools in the country and it also offers many performances, even from opera to ballet. Since we've been here, we have also had the chance to experience two festivals, an Arts and Crafts festival and the Lotus Music Festival. Even though the Indiana University campus is in a very central role in the city, there is also a downtown area that to me looks like a very typical Midwestern small town in the U.S. It's a nice area to walk around sometimes. Looking at some of the buildings there, I feel like I'm in a modern version of a Western film I remember seeing as a child.

It has also become clear to me that sports play a big role in American university towns. It is the football season now which means there’s a football game every Saturday, and the teams of different universities play against each other. My international friends and I went to experience this very American event one Saturday. It’s common for people to go tailgating before the game, which basically means barbecuing on the parking lots at the stadium before the game. We were invited to the School of Education tailgate. The actual game was a four-hour event and it was much more than just watching people play football. Music was played by the marching band every few minutes, cheerleaders were dancing, different videos and advertisements were shown on the big screen, and of course there were fireworks. And not to mention, lots of people in their red Indiana shirts. That is the uniform of most college students here! It was a fun one time experience even though most of us had no idea what was happening in the game itself. It didn't matter since the games seem to be big social events and it was interesting to see what it was all about. I’ve heard that many good players are given scholarships to go to American universities since this is also a way for the universities to make money when people go and watch the games. It's big business.

Besides, studying, working on our projects, visiting schools, travelling and enjoying what Bloomingon has to offer, it's also been very interesting just to live basic everyday life here. I guess what makes living abroad always so fascinating is that even everyday things like going to the grocery store can be an interesting experience. You don't find as many stores in the downtown area here as you would in many European towns and cities. For a Finn who is used to finding for example grocery stores here and there and very close to you, travelling a bit further away to do your shopping has been something I have had to adjust to here. It’s not very typical for a smaller American town to have public transportation since basically everyone has a car, but here in Bloomington we are lucky to have at least some local busses that run pretty regularly.

Since we are 17 teachers from nine different countries from all over the world and we all live as close neighbors, this has been a wonderful opportunity to learn from each other as well. We've spent a lot of time together, we’ve had potlucks with international dishes, etc. Sharing this Fulbright experience with all these wonderful people has been the best part of living here.