I’ve been in Helsinki for a week, the longest stretch I’ve spent in the city so far. The first three days set my head spinning with Fulbright Finland-sponsored content. Last Wednesday we gathered at the public library for the Truth Matters symposium, a day filled with speakers and workshops centered on the need to engage new methods for identifying, analyzing, and stopping the spread of mis-information (information that is incorrect but not necessarily spread with intention to harm) and dis-information (purposefully false, misleading information spread on purpose).
On Monday and Tuesday before that we participated in the Fulbright Forum, in which each Fulbright recipient shared briefly about his or her research project. Our ranks include an architect, archeologist, biologists, K12 math, language, history and special education teachers, a medical anthropologist, and a musician, just to name a few. They range from recent college graduates to scholars nearing retirement age, and each one had something impressive to share. Getting even just a taste of their research questions, methods of inquiry, and preliminary conclusions was intellectually fascinating—and great fun to hear what our new friends have been up to.
Thursday I spent grading the final papers from my class. Each student had chosen an interview from the Southern Oral History Program’s archive to listen to, and then wrote about how that interview confirmed, complicated, or contradicted what they had learned about the U.S. women’s movement from our readings, lectures and class discussions. I continued to be deeply impressed by my students’ thoughtful engagement with the issues at hand, their language skills in English, and their willingness to share their thoughts and feelings. Like American students, they found listening deeply to a person's story compelling and full of surprises. I will miss interacting with this fun group of students from whom I learned so much about Finnish education and life.
On Friday Benjamin and I welcomed our younger daughter Hazel to town, and on Saturday her older sister Eliza joined us as well. We are so glad they are here—and they are being very good sports about the pretty miserable weather in which they are spending their spring break. “Wintry mix” has a special feeling in a coastal city. The damp, gray sky and the sea fuse, and you definitely notice how cold, icy water is surrounding you on all sides. It has a certain kind of beauty, and makes you appreciate cafes and saunas and the right footwear. The girls have enjoyed walking over to the fabulous dog park on Rajasaari island followed by snacks at Cafe Regatta; experiencing the scene at the ultra chic Löyly sauna; and hanging out in the “lounge” at the Helsinki City Museum (which they pointed out to us was “made for Instagram.”)
