Journey to Jyvaskyla

First 2 Weeks in Finland
Today, Tuesday, January 23  marks the end of our second week in Jyvaskyla. We arrived 
by train at about 2 pm on Tuesday, January 9th. 

The Journey to Jyvaskyla
We traveled to Jyvaskyla by planes, train and automobiles. On Sunday, Jan. 7, Kyle drove 
us to the airport and helped us lug the bags to the ticket counter. He accompanied us as far 
as he could without a ticket and walked with us to the ticker checker in the security line before 
we had to say our goodbyes. Saying goodbye for a few months is new territory for all of us.

The boys were thrilled to make their first flight across the Atlantic and loved that we were flying 
British Airways, so exotic. My good friend of 30 years, Ellen, happened to be at DIA that 
afternoon because she traveled from Durango, CO for an unexpected appointment in Denver 
the next day. She was my main editor for the Fulbright essays so the fact that she was at DIA 
to see us off on our Fulbright adventure was fitting. She stayed in the secure area, met us at 
our gate and saw off the old fashion way just before we walked down the jetway.

The flight from Denver to London was full and crowded: seat size has shrunk since my last trip 
to Europe many years ago, but it was exciting nonetheless. Coincidentally, I was seated 
behind a man who I worked with about 14 years ago in Denver and haven’t seen since. I was 
laid off from this job in early 2003 as the internet bubble bust took hold in Colorado. I knew 
the layoff was coming and had researched teacher licensure programs  so I jumped on to 
it when the pink slip arrived. After talking to Ryan and reflecting on the years in between that 
job and now, I saw the gift of the layoff.  I am at a high point in the teaching profession: starting 
an amazing journey to Finland as a Fulbright researcher and teacher. It was a nice and 
unexpected validation of the choice I made so many years ago. 

We landed at Heathrow, a chaotic place, on Monday, Jan. 8 about 11 am went through 
customs, found the gate for the flight, boarded the plane and departed for Helsinki.  We tried 
to sleep on this leg of the journey and the boys were more successful than I was. We landed 
in Helsinki about 4 pm, checked out the airport, got a hot dog and went to the hotel which 
turned out to be more of a hostel. Not a problem since the room was clean, warm and the 
beds were comfortable. The next morning, we had the typical Finnish hotel/hostel breakfast: a 
buffet of coffee, tea, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, bread, porridge, cucumbers, and cheese.  Our 
train to Jyvaskyla left at 10:00 am the following morning, Tuesday Jan. 9. The train ride was 
3.5 hours, was wonderful and gave me a chance to see the Finnish countryside. It really looks 
like Minnesota. The boys were more impressed with  the wifi and restaurant car on board.

Marja, the Finnish Fulbrighter who visited up in Colorado (see post #1), met us at the train 
station with her car and kindly transported us and all our bags, including skis because the 
boys insisted that bring them, to our apartment.  Ulla K., my University of Jyvaskyla adviser 
and Professor of Craft and Teacher Preparation, was waiting with the keys. I think each of us 
were pleased to plunk down our bags, breathe deeply and let ourselves relax. We had made 
it to central Finland!  

First Impressions
Our apartment is tiny, has everything we need and is close to the University. The University 
reminds me of a mash up of the University of Vermont and University of Colorado. It is pretty 
with snow covering everything. Sometimes, I feel like I’m in Narnia.

The elderly Finns  are a marvel... cross country skiing and walking everywhere in the freezing 
temps and on icy sidewalks. There is gravel in the ice to prevent slipping and people use 
walking sticks and yak trak type things on their shoes. So different than the US. Also, bike 
culture is alive and well in the frigid weather. I have become accustomed to seeing bikes, 
mostly with skinny tires, zipping around town. I’ve been looking for a bike on the “second hand 
items for sale in Jyvaskyla” Facebook group and should find one soon.

The day we arrived the sun rose at 9:34 and set at 3:14 and today it rose at 9:05 and sets at 
3:51, so we have already gained about an hour of daylight.  In the first week,  I walked through 
a neighborhood and saw little kids out sledding in the dark which seemed strange because I 
thought it was about 9 pm but then I realized it was only 5:30 pm. 

Today the sky is cloudless and the sun is shining brightly. Before today, I had had only a few 
glimpses of sunshine which is not such an easy transition from Colorado with its 300 days of sunshine per year.  While I relish the sunshine, the clear sky means colder temps. This morning it was a chilly -7F and I had to be at class at 8:15 so cold and dark met me when I left the apartment.  
Clear skies provide an opportunity to see the northern lights and I am keeping my fingers 
crossed for that to happen while we are here.  Besides allowing for warmer temperatures, the 
clouds, which are usually low lying, reflect the man made light of the city and make outside 
seem lighter and brighter than it really is. 

Despite the cold temperatures, Finland is warming. It has not been as cold this winter as it has 
been in past years and as a result Lake Jyvaskyla has not frozen solidly enough to set up the 
path/course for ice skating and cross country skiing which is the custom. I hope we get the 
consistent cold needed for this because playing out on the lake and warming up by and roasting 
sausages on the fires made out there sounds fun and a very different winter experience than 
we have had.

The boys are enrolled in school and had a full week of classes last week. It was so easy to sign 
them up. The school did not require any documentation of previous schooling or proof of 
residency. For each boy, each day is a different schedule of classes and different start and end 
times.  They walk about 20-25 min each way. They seem to be enjoying it and making friends. 
It is good for them to have structure and for all of us to have some times away from each other. 
There have been a few bumps so far but I am confident we’ll work through them. 

Finland is a great combination of the new and the familiar and is a perfect place for the boys to 
have a first extended experience abroad. Almost everyone speaks English when asked and 
there are products and stores the boys recognize from home: H&M, IKEA and McDonald's. We 
can find similar foods when we need comfort (there are a lot of american/mexican items, Old 
El Paso to be specific, at the grocery store which I was not expecting) and the boys are getting 
school hot lunch everyday which exposes them to traditional Finnish cuisine. Angus said the 
school lunch is pretty good and he is a foodie.

I'm trying to make sure they both exercise enough so that their excess energy gets channeled in 
a productive manner.  I got them season passes to the little, local ski hill and the trampoline 
park, and signed them up for the American football and Ultimate Frisbee clubs.  Now that I write 
that, it seems like a lot.  I have to remember that we are just at the 2 week mark in Finland. 
Wow,  it seems like we've been here for at least a month but an age since we left home. The 
perception of time is so interesting. 

Next Steps
We head to Helsinki tomorrow morning for my  Fulbright Finland orientation on Thursday and 
Friday. We are excited to see a bigger city. Finland is very safe and the boys will wander around 
during the day while I am in meetings. On Friday evening, we will head to Tallinn, Estonia traveling via ferry and stay there until Sunday. Fox is very interested in the Soviet Union and Communism so  his first trip to a former Eastern block country will be a milestone. There is a little  KGB museum there which sounds cool.  I hope both boys enjoy this type of travel. 

Kiitos Finland! ​​​​​