2. Orientation workshops in Washington DC and in Bloomington, Indiana

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”

-          Maya Angelou

The last two weeks, which I have spent as a Fulbrighter in two different orientation workshops, have been breathtaking.

In Washington DC our orientation started with welcome reception and dinner. All 48 U.S. teachers, 17 international teachers and the staff of Institute of International Education (IIE) enjoyed the food and company of each other. The sessions in the next two days dealt with crossing cultures, global competence as well as administration of Fulbright Grant and Inquiry Project, on which every teacher will be working intensively during their stay abroad.

The orientation workshop was so well planned and organized, that it took my breath away. Washington D.C. took my breath away with showing it´s beauty, when we did tours to the U.S. Capitol Building and DC Monuments.

More breathtaking moments were still to come, when we flew from Washington to Indianapolis and finally arrived to Bloomington, which will be our home for the next four months. Center for International Education, Development and Research (CIEDR) is hosting us in the University of Indiana and the great and helpful staff had done so much for us, that it also simply took breath away! With the help of CIEDR staff we purchased things we needed for our apartments, opened telephone connections, received student cards, opened bank accounts, visited Office of International Services, went to Social Security Office, etc. etc. The whole week was minutely scheduled and it just worked out so well. Everyone of us knew how much work had been done beforehand for us - the staff is just awesome!

We also did two school visits during our orientation week in Bloomington. We visited University Elementary and Bloomington High School North. In these schools each teacher is visiting several times during the fall.

The orientation is now over and it is time to draw some breath after all these breathtaking experiences. In the next few weeks we will study and concentrate on our inquiry projects, but also enjoy doing different things with our group of international teachers as well as people we learn to know here in the beautiful Bloomington.

1.       The journey as a Fulbrighter is about to begin

“If you asked what I came to do, I´d say I came to live out loud!”

This was a sentence actor Sanna Saarijärvi (in Kodin Kuvalehti 12/2015) saw on the wall of her school, when she studied acting in New York. She copied the sentence and put it into her dressing room in the City Theatre of Helsinki. There it reminds her constantly of courage without fear of failure or adversity.

I was privileged to be chosen as a Fulbright grantee for fall 2015 in the University of Indiana, Bloomington, US. Only two from Finland and at the same time from Europe were chosen to this program. Our Distinguished Teaching Award group consists of 17 teachers, who come from Botswana, Chile, Finland, India, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan. During our stay we will enroll in courses in the University of Indiana, observe and team teach in local schools and work on our own inquiry project relevant to our own educational practice.

I must admit it requires courage to leave my family, my home, my friends and my job and step out of my  comfort zone for several months. And however, what an opportunity it is for me to learn new, live in another culture and meet people from all around the world as well as in the US!

It is also a great opportunity to reflect my thoughts about world, education, myself. This blog tells about my time in Bloomington, Indiana from August 2015 to December 2015.