When I heard we were had the option to listen to a local priest, I didn't hold out a lot of hope for the presentation, but decided there must be a reason it was included, so we went. Am I glad we did! The priest is Eastern Orthodox and ministers to the scattered Skolt Sami here and in Russia. He is married with 6 kids (only mandatory celibacy for Eastern Orthodox is for those in a monastery) and had a delightful sense of humor. He talked a bit about the history and spread of religion throughout Europe and addressed some of the factors of his religion. The Eastern cross has 3 cross bars -- the first is where the inscription was above Jesus' head, the second where he hung, and the slanted bottom one represents the two thieves hung on either side of him: one repented and the other did not so the slanted bar points up for the repenter and down for the other one.
He showed photos inside an Orthodox Church and pointed out the icons and also showed photos in a home and a school where an icon was placed high on the wall in a corner. Attendance at church services is declining all across Finland, but the Orthodox church is seeing much less decline and the priest theorized it was because his religion is very much in the minority and there was more of a feeling of defending it to keep it alive.
Our plane was delayed, so we had a casual (if not that tasty) lunch at the restaraunt and took off on the revised time schedule. Crosswinds were pretty bad so take off and landing were more scary than usual. The other surprise was that, even though we landed at the far end of Terminal 1, our luggage was sent to Terminal 2. By the time we gathered everyone together and walked for 15 minutes or so to the luggage, the baggage conveyor was stopping because they were done. Fortunately, all of our bags arrived.
We had a bit of time to unpack before a presentation by a local teacher. It was billed as 30 minutes but lasted more than 60 because of the interest level of the group, many of whom are retired teachers. While teachers in Finland are generally revered, their pay is awful -- under $40,000 per year, regardless of where you live with very few planned raises. Students start school the year they turn 7 and the first 9 grades are mandatory. At that point, they have to decide if they will continue to high school (the academic track) or trade school, or just stop.
Education through university is free, even if you drop out for a while and come back. So if you decide on a trade and later want a professional job, you can go back for free. There are no standardized tests except at the end of high school and you have to apply to go to University. To get in, you have to pass a test and it sometimes takes several tries to qualify. Our presenter had majored in English to become a translator, but couldn't handle the technicalities of Finnish, so she thought she would try teaching. She had to pass an interview to be admitted to the program and she theorized that this process weeded out the folks who teach for an easy life vs. a serious interest in teaching. She discovered that she loves it and has taught 2nd through 6th grades. Oddly, she could be assigned to teach ANY subject in the elementary school, including those where her knowledge is shaky.
Dick and Ariel went with us to find an ATM and on the way back, we stopped at a grocery store for dinner. I made sure to try a drink recommended by Veera: a Helsinki Long Drink -- turns out there are several varieties, but Veera talked about the pink grapefruit variety -- it is mixed with gin and about 5.5% alcohol and is somewhat tastier than it sounds.
Addition to 6/5:
I totally forgot to mention a topic that Veera raised yesterday about animal tourism in Finland. The one that really grabbed me was about reindeer trained to race, pulling a 'jockey' on skis. I clipped the following from a site I translated from Google (search for PoroCup or try this link): https://paliskunnat.fi/poro/porokilpailut/porocup/ If you click on a photo, it shows a slide show with one reindeer completely off the track and jumping a fence to get back on course.
"The reindeer races are fast-paced, so some exciting situations can go unnoticed. The following series of pictures has been taken in the Rovaniemi race on 25.2.2018. The rooster reindeer had lost its rivals earlier on the track, so the competitor had to take his grips out of the sleeves.
The Rooster Reindeer corrects the inner junction and, at the end of the turn, it jumps to the middle of the other runners. Performance is skillful for both reindeer and competitors. The speed of the racetrack on the track is 50-60 km / h, and yet the reindeer from the side is able to fit the jump, smoothly grabs and runs to the finish among the other reindeer. The reindeer may be the action driven by the herd, but one can safely say that the racetrack really wanted to run!
The competitor in the reindeer reindeer sees the reindeer coming and can dodge, so 5 competitors and 6 reindeer arrive at the finish."
He showed photos inside an Orthodox Church and pointed out the icons and also showed photos in a home and a school where an icon was placed high on the wall in a corner. Attendance at church services is declining all across Finland, but the Orthodox church is seeing much less decline and the priest theorized it was because his religion is very much in the minority and there was more of a feeling of defending it to keep it alive.
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| From this photo, it appears that the congregation stands. |
We had a bit of time to unpack before a presentation by a local teacher. It was billed as 30 minutes but lasted more than 60 because of the interest level of the group, many of whom are retired teachers. While teachers in Finland are generally revered, their pay is awful -- under $40,000 per year, regardless of where you live with very few planned raises. Students start school the year they turn 7 and the first 9 grades are mandatory. At that point, they have to decide if they will continue to high school (the academic track) or trade school, or just stop.
Dick and Ariel went with us to find an ATM and on the way back, we stopped at a grocery store for dinner. I made sure to try a drink recommended by Veera: a Helsinki Long Drink -- turns out there are several varieties, but Veera talked about the pink grapefruit variety -- it is mixed with gin and about 5.5% alcohol and is somewhat tastier than it sounds.
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| Statue in the square by the grocery store |
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| The Ministry of Defense, which is across the street from our hotel, around the left corner of the building |
I totally forgot to mention a topic that Veera raised yesterday about animal tourism in Finland. The one that really grabbed me was about reindeer trained to race, pulling a 'jockey' on skis. I clipped the following from a site I translated from Google (search for PoroCup or try this link): https://paliskunnat.fi/poro/porokilpailut/porocup/ If you click on a photo, it shows a slide show with one reindeer completely off the track and jumping a fence to get back on course.
"The reindeer races are fast-paced, so some exciting situations can go unnoticed. The following series of pictures has been taken in the Rovaniemi race on 25.2.2018. The rooster reindeer had lost its rivals earlier on the track, so the competitor had to take his grips out of the sleeves.
The Rooster Reindeer corrects the inner junction and, at the end of the turn, it jumps to the middle of the other runners. Performance is skillful for both reindeer and competitors. The speed of the racetrack on the track is 50-60 km / h, and yet the reindeer from the side is able to fit the jump, smoothly grabs and runs to the finish among the other reindeer. The reindeer may be the action driven by the herd, but one can safely say that the racetrack really wanted to run!
The competitor in the reindeer reindeer sees the reindeer coming and can dodge, so 5 competitors and 6 reindeer arrive at the finish."
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