On Friday morning I waited for the 27 bus for the last time in our neighborhood of Lohikoski in Jyvaskyla. I climbed the three flights of stairs to my desk at the Niilo Maki Institute to say goodbye and empty my desk. I went out to lunch for one last time at The American Diner with Finnish and American friends. Then Adam, Tea, Talia and I boarded the train in Jyvaskyla for the last time to move to Helsinki for the next few weeks.
Jyvaskyla wasn't just a place we visited for a few days or week. This wonderful little city in central Finland truly became our home, and I am so thankful for all that Jyvaskyla and its people offered us.
Thank you, Jyvaskyla, for having an amazing English Play School. You taught my girls how to ice skate and cross country ski. You reminded me that the job of a child is to learn and proved that children learn a lot through play. Children under the age of seven don't need to sit in a desk in order to learn. Thank you for teaching my children some Finnish. Thank you for holding them accountable and showing them how to eat lunch like all other Finnish children (even if Talia almost never got dessert because she wouldn't eat her lunch!). Thank you for taking them outside every single day, regardless of the weather, so that they could play in the fresh (and sometimes very cold) air.
Thank you, Jyvaskyla, for the fun we had at Lake Jyvaskyla. We skated across the lake in the winter and biked around the lake in the spring. The girls showed the lake to their grandparents and loved to eat ice cream there in the warm spring weather. The lake is beautiful in all seasons and we enjoyed it both in its solid and liquid forms!
Thank you, Jyvaskyla, for being home to the Niilo Maki Institute. NMI could not have been any more wonderful as a host for my Fulbright program. Every person I met was eager to help me make contacts with schools so that I could observe and learn. The people there became not just co-workers, but wonderful friends. Everyone is so smart and the researchers are doing amazing work, but they also really know how to make a work environment enjoyable. Within the first week I arrived I was part of the winning laser tag team. A few months later Adam was on the winning team at the Amazing Race. And I will never forget the "Retro Party" in May...where my boss was given a cake in the shape of a woman's torso and he and another colleague participated in the "Minute to Win It" challenge that required them to shake their booties to get the ping pong balls out of the boxes tied around their waists. And how can anyone not love a work place that hosts a sparkling wine club meeting each Friday, where sampling the weekly champagne is part of membership. (I may not have been a member as I'm not a fan of sparkling wine, but it was so cool to watch everyone walk around the office with champagne flutes each Friday around 1:00). Niilo Maki Institute, you rock!
Thank you, Jyvaskyla, for wonderful public transportation, a great pedestrian area, a fantastic and huge public library, and so many easy to use bike/running/cross country skiing paths. We never needed a car to get anywhere (except when we left the city limits). We walked so much more than we ever walk in the United States and the girls thought it was so much fun to ride the bus. Tea's favorite part of turning seven was that she got to have her own bus pass! I loved biking to work on the paths (even when I lost my phone...since it was returned!). The pedestrian area seemed to be a hub of activity on the weekends and it seemed like every other week there was some sort of event once the weather turned nice.
Thank you, Jyvaskyla, for hosting five Fulbrighters. This experience would not have been nearly as wonderful without Erin, Annie, Patrick, Meghan and their families sharing this journey with us. Together we figured out how to pay our bills without a bank account, how to set up our phones, how to survive the frigid cold and how to make contacts with Finnish teachers. We also got lost together (Annie), made friends with all the dogs in the city (Erin), figured out the norms of Finnish day care (Meghan) and learned about pesapallo (Patrick). Together we navigated our new home and new culture, and also became close friends with whom we shared all of our triumphs, setbacks and celebrations. I can't think of a better group of Fulbright colleagues.
And finally, thank you, Jyvaskyla, for becoming our home, not just a place we were visiting. We realized Jyvaskyla was our home as we walked around on Vappua (May 1st) and greeted so many friends we had made. We knew it was our home when we could discuss the pros and cons of the different food stores and supermarkets with our friends. We knew we were at home when Tea asked to have a playdate with a Finnish friend. We knew it was our home when we got to see our children participate in the end of the year celebration at their school and they sang along with the other children because they truly fit in. We knew it was our home when we watched our girls participate in the dance recital along with all Finnish children.
And I knew that it was home when my eyes filled with tears as I walked away from our house for the last time and boarded the train to Helsinki.
I have said good bye to Jyvaskyla, but that is only for now. I do not doubt that my work and life will bring
me back to Finland and to Jyvaskyla. I know it will always be a place I was happy to call "home." Kiitos, Jyvaskyla (Thank you, Jyvaskyla). Moi moi (bye bye!). These intrepid travelers are off on the adventure of a lifetime!
