Friday Task

On Friday after we got back home from work, we had to clean up the snow - I had to help make some room for new snow in the yard and R2 had to go up the roof again to clean up more snow. This winter is really something 'coz people've been saying that they haven't seen this much snow. One colleague of mine told us during lunch break that a few days ago her mother or MIL called, saying that she couldn't get out of the house 'coz snow had piled up in front of her door. My MIL also had trouble getting out 'coz there was so much snow sometime this week, after snow had fallen down all night long.

Here are some pics for comparison purposes...

1st pic: Taken when we first moved in about 5 weeks ago. Notice the amount of snow on the roof and in the yard in front of the house.


2nd pic: Taken yesterday. Lots of snow from the roof has now "landed" on the yard ha ha...I had to stand there to let you know how thick the snow is compared to me (I'm 145 cm).

3rd pic: Taken last week. R2 is about 177 cm tall.


4th pic: R2 cleaning up the snow on the roof. DANGEROUS task 'coz it may be slippery up there and you can't hold on to anything. I read that at least 1-2 people fell down in other places in Finland when they were cleaning the roof from snow.


OK, now I'll blog-hop a bit and then I need to finish the Finnish novel that I've been reading. Only a couple of pages left. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! :-D

Today's Highlights

It's hard to be fair to all the kids in the daycare 'coz some kids are more vocal when they demand your attention more than some others who are more shy and quiet. I'm learning to spend my time with different kids, but it's rather hard to get closer to the ones who don't seem to be interested in spending time with me. But then again that doesn't necessarily mean that they don't want to spend time with me, so I've gotta try anyway. I'm gonna try to talk more to the others to get to know them more. :-D



Highlights of today:

1. One boy insisted on my sitting next to him during lunch break, so I gave in he he...He's also greeted me with a hug this morning. :-D

2. Some kids were very interested in my lunch, 'coz I brought my own lunch. They wanted to know what it was HI HI HI...

2. When it was time for me to go back home, I was playing with three kids. One of them said to me, "You can't go anywhere!" Uh oh...

3. Another one held up both her arms (I was standing near her) while moving her legs up and down excitedly, so I knelt down and she gave me such a strong hug that I almost fell backward (I didn't expect that kind of strength 'coz she was such a tiny girl). After that strong hug, I stood up and she tapped my butt a few times while saying, "Okay, go now, go now, go now" with a smile on her face. :-D ---> It brings such pleasure to make a little kid smile. :-D



Oh brother...those of you who have kids are REALLY lucky, even though bringing up kids is one of the toughest tasks on earth. One thing I LOVE about the job is getting free hugs from the kids - the unexpected ones he he...:-D

Hectic, Fun, Funny

I've been helping out at the daycare for 4 days now and every day I realize that each child carries potentials. If they take wrong decisions in the future, they can get into lots of trouble. I realize even more the roles of parents, teachers, daycare teachers or daycare nurses, or any adult available nearby. They would help shape the children when they're small.



Here are some things that have happened at the daycare:

1. The first day the smallest girl in the class didn't dare do anything much, but on the second day she'd poke me with her finger and then she'd want to sit on my lap. On the third day as well she sat on my lap a few times.

P.S. I found out later on that there was another small girl, but she only came today - the kids don't come every day so the number of kids in the classroom varies daily. I'm still somewhat confused with some of their names, esp. those who've only come once or twice (those who don't come every day). It's easier to remember the girls' names 'coz they have different hair, but it's harder to remember the boys' names 'coz there are many more boys there.

2. On the second day, one boy (not the boy I mentioned in my earlier post) hugged me with both arms when I came into the classroom - when I said "good morning" to everybody. That day he kept on hugging me every now and then with both arms - and he'd do that for a few seconds at a time (not a rushed hug).

3. One boy asked me to read a story from a book he chose, but a few minutes later he lost interest ha ha ha...another one did the same and again it happened. He then asked another girl to play My Little Pony with him in the corner and when I approached, he told me, "You can't play with us. Go away." LOL LOL!!!!!

4. There have been some hectic moments when some kids quarrel and I have to think first on what to say 'coz I have to understand the situation first - it's not easy to understand what the problem is when two or more kids complain about something at the same time - in FINNISH! So usually I end up letting the teacher or the daycare nurse take care of the situation 'coz they can understand the situation faster than me he he...

Other than that, I think the situation is still under control. One of the helpers there ends her training tomorrow, so we'll see how I manage to take over once she's gone he he...but I've been enjoying myself and I look forward to going there every day. I call one boy The Smiling Boy (I didn't say this out loud to him or anyone else except R2) 'coz whenever our eyes meet, he'd give me the BIGGEST GRIN ever. I LOVE seeing his face he he...



It's interesting to see different personalities in the classroom. One boy is a sore loser. When there was a race outside the other day, he came back sulking and pouting and almost crying and saying to the teacher about the winner, "He's stupid!" Of course the teacher reprimanded him, but I guess he'll have to be taught about "playing is not all about winning" over and over again 'coz today during "gym" he also got upset when he lost...oh dear hi hi...it's funny but also understandable in a way.

I haven't had time to blog-hop 'coz I get tired after coming back home and then every other day I have to cook and sometimes go to the supermarket first, so I just don't want to do anything much. But I promise I'll blog-hop during the weekend, OK? I should also clean up the house tomorrow. I've got a stack of dirty dishes in the kitchen, but I don't want to deal with them yet he he he he...

Interesting First Day

It was only -15'C in the morning, so I biked to the daycare (it took only 15 minutes by bike but if I walked, it'd take 30 minutes - I'll be able to bike faster in summer when there's no snow left, but the snow makes the trip slower). Arrived there and had a bit trouble finding the classroom ha ha ha...'coz there were at least 4 classrooms there. Anyway, there were already about 8 kids there (2 of them arrived later) and I got introduced to their names, though I still can't remember all their names (even though I remember their faces).

It was really an interesting, fun day though it had its moments when some of the kids quarrelled, but it was still very much under control. It's very interesting to see those kids with different personalities. The kids in my classroom are 4-5 years old (two of them will have their 4th birthdays soon, but let's just say they're 4 years old). There used to be 3 years old, too, but not anymore.

I'm rather fond of this one little boy who's really sweet. I knew he was sweet the first time I stepped inside the room 'coz right after the teacher greeted me, he did the same (he heard her say my name, so he said my name too). And during the time the kids were allowed to play outside (skiing, skating, etc.), he played with me for a bit. At first he was tempting me, "You can't catch me" while I helped clean up the snow from the skating rink, so then I caught him and walked away...but he chased me and grabbed me (hugged me), and said, "Got ya!" and we kept playing this game for a while he he...

Some awkward situations happened, too...before lunch, one of them started telling me something and another one wanted to do the same and I was confused which to listen to ha ha ha ha...but I've learned to tell the second one to wait for a while until the first one's finished doing it. It's enough practise to listen to ONE kid telling me things, but having to hear TWO kids telling me stories in Finnish is just too much ha ha ha ha...

After they took a nap, they could do role play by wearing different costumes...the sweet boy ran around and hugged me a few times and said, "Got ya!" Ahhh...he really made my day he he he he he...(and yes, you bet I remember his name HA HA HA HA HA...)

So as you can probably guess, I'm THOROUGHLY enjoying this training despite some tough moments, e.g. when one kid wanted to use another kid's costume and the kid didn't want to give it and I had to try my best to reach win-win situation without causing anyone to cry ha ha ha...Oh well...here are some questions I got today:

1. Why are you here? (They wanted to know why I came to the daycare)
2. Why is your hair black?
3. How old are you?
4. Where do you come from?
5. Are you coming again tomorrow? ----> *BIG GRIN* THANK YOU, kids!!!

Can't wait to meet them again tomorrow and learn more about them he he...


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Yahoo Spammy Update

After sending an apology email to everybody in my yahoo address book today, I received a reply from one of them, who stated that she had the same problem a few weeks ago. She changed her password the day she found out about the problem and then about a week after that, Yahoo asked her to change her password again and there hasn't been any more problems so far.

I've changed my password and deleted everybody in my address book (after making a copy in my HD). I don't want to have to delete my yahoo account if I don't have to 'coz I've got plenty of important things stored there, but do let me know if any of you receive any more spam emails later on, OK?

However, I'm not going to link my yahoo mailbox to my blogs for some time, until I know that everything's OK. Anyway, I'll blog-hop sometime this week. Today R2 and I cleaned up the snow in the yard and R2 cleaned some snow from our roof. I took some pics and short video clips of him up on the roof, but I'll share with you later he he...

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Bloody Hacker!

This morning after cleaning up the snow in the yard, I checked my computer and realized that some people have sent me emails concerning spam mails they got from my yahoo email address. I just want to know that I NEVER sent those emails.

I APOLOGIZE to everybody who's ever received spam mails from me. I'm trying to get to the bottom of this and I've changed all my blog settings so that the email address is no longer my yahoo address. For the time being, just disregard any emails from my yahoo address, esp. the ones with no subject line.

I'm really PISSED!!! I'm thinking of deleting all the people in my yahoo contact list (I've changed the password for that email address), but first I need to write all of them down just in case I need any. THANK YOU for your understanding.

I'm In!

Tired. Woke up this morning much earlier to prepare myself and realized it was -30'C outside, so cycling to the daycare was not an option. Good thing was that the sun shone and the temperature rose bit by bit so by the time I was supposed to leave, it was 5 degrees warmer he he...I figured it'd take about 25-30 minutes to walk there and I was right. I arrived there at 9.50 am and the boss was in her office already.

I went in and she asked me how long I'd stayed in Finland and what kind of trainings I had done beforehand and if I had any experience working with kids and then she asked me if I had brought the paperwork from the employment office. I said no, 'coz I wasn't even sure they wanted my help, but I said I could go to the employment office ASAP to get it.

Then she took me around the place and the different classrooms and introduced me to everybody. I almost don't remember their names anymore 'coz it was just too much info and I was in a daze ha ha ha ha ha...

But anyway, after the short introduction and some brief info about what I should be doing, I went to the employment office ASAP 'coz I knew their lunch hour was from 11-12, so I had to finish everything BEFORE then so that I didn't have to go back home first and go back there again, but the employment officer took time to do my data and stuff, so I spent more time there than I thought I would.

Then I walked back to the daycare as fast as I could (I arrived back there at around 10.30), but realized she was with a guest (somebody who was going to fix some things in the daycare), so I had to wait. By the time we finished signing the papers, it was already 10.45, so I had to half-run to the employment office when it was -20'C outside (beautiful sunny day, though) and I was out of breath in no time 'coz it's harder to breathe when it's that cold outside...managed to get inside the employment office at 10.55. PHEW!!!

So all the paperwork is done and I can start right away on Monday as a helper there. I saw plenty of kids in the classroom where I'd be helping out today and I even saw one of them crying (they're not too small kids, probably around 5-6 years old) he he he he...so I think it's gonna be hard work, which is good 'coz then I won't be bored. We'll see how I fare in helping kids in a Finnish environment he he...I'm sure there are SO many things to learn, 'coz I haven't got my own kids PLUS I don't know the "things" or "clothes" kids use/play with or wear here - of course I've seen the ads and I've seen kids, but I've got to help them put them on and take them off and stuff and it's gonna be interesting hi hi hi hi...

One thing I've gotta remember is to tell my immediate superior (and the employment office) about our 1-week April trip. I tried telling it to the boss today, but she told me to tell my immediate superior later on 'coz I guess she's the one in charge of the workers' schedule daily. Ahhhh...it's good to have something to do for the next 3 months.

I went to the supermarket from the employment office and walked home and arrived back home at around 11.45. Now gonna have lunch and perhaps later on I'll bake something and then I'll surely blog-hop he he...


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Psyching Up

Tomorrow is the dreaded interview day. I'm excited, but also getting giddy with the anticipation ha ha ha ha...I hope tomorrow morning comes ASAP so that I know what's going to happen next. Mind you that I'm NOT applying for a real job, so I'll just be helping out in the daycare if they decide to take me in - meaning I ain't gonna get any salary, but I'll get some money from the government.

Last night I had a talk with a friend who's out of her comfort zone - she quit her job after being there for 9 years and now she wants to try applying to be a teacher. She's never done that before and she's like a fish out of water, esp. when she realized that some teachers in the school had studied abroad and some of them are even native speakers. While talking to her, I realized this:

"Wouldn't it be MUCH better if we treat ourselves like we treat our best friends?"

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While talking to this friend last night, I realized that we have the tendency to downplay our own abilities or even our own potential due to FEAR. We fear the unknown, we are afraid of looking like fools in a new environment where we don't know how well we can handle the pressure/challenges 'coz we have never been there. If I tell her about my insecurities, she'll tell me about the good sides I have to encourage me and if she tells me about her insecurities, I'll also do the same thing...but when do we become our own best friend? When do we pat ourselves on the back and inject ourselves with good, positive thoughts when we jump into an unknown zone? When do we stop making excuses about our lack of abilities and just DO IT?

Another thing I realize during our chat was that we sometimes care too much about what other people think and that puts a HUGE burden on our backs already EVEN before we try doing something new.

It's easy for us to be intimidated when we're in a new place and we look around the place and we see other people shining like "diamonds" and we feel so dirty, grimy, lackluster and we wonder if we can shine at all. I want to STOP feeling intimidated and just DO IT. I want to STOP comparing myself with others and if I'm given a chance to try, I want to just DO IT and see how far I can go. If I find myself not liking that particular field and not being good at it, at least I know that it's not where I belong and I can just try to find something else which would be more suitable for me.

I WANT to STOP making excuses for myself. I want to give myself a break for being a novice, for not knowing anything much, for making mistakes. I want to treat myself like I treat my own best friend. I want to give myself a pat on the back simply for trying and smile at my own reflection. You go, girl!!!

A Bowl of Mixed Languages

I think since last year (or perhaps even longer than that) I feel that my English ability has getting weaker and weaker. I remember when I first moved here and I could express myself in spoken English much more eloquently and quickly than now. These days there are times when these problems occur:

1. I want to say something in English, but my brain only comes up with the object or the meaning of the word in my brain and I struggle to find the English term.

2. More often than not, my brain can only remember the Indonesian term of the word, though sometimes my brain can only produce the image of the object without even remembering the Indonesian term.

3. Sometimes my brain can only remember the Finnish word, though other times it remembers both the Indonesian and Finnish word without remembering the English word.

Of course in most cases in the end I can still come up with the English word, but it takes (a much longer) time for my brain to search for that word - whereas when I just moved here, that word would mostly be the first word that popped up in my head 'coz I had been mostly thinking in English.

Due to the fact that Finnish pronunciation is more similar to Indonesian pronunciation, I also had some bits of trouble after doing the training in the library last year 'coz I realized that my tongue had reverted to "Indo/Finnish" - e.g. when I tried saying some specific English words, the pronunciation sounded more like "Indo/Finnish". I was SHOCKED!!!

To those of you who know and use at least two foreign languages in daily life, how do you make sure that you still nurture the ability to use those languages equally without letting the other one suffer? Of course it'd help if I get to meet different people regularly equally - meaning where I get to interact with different people purely in Finnish and purely in English regularly, but 'coz that's not the case, I fear that my English ability has suffered greatly (esp. compared to the time when I was at the uni, when I was still actively learning about grammar and stuff).

That's my dilemma now. I don't want to completely use Finnish with R2 'coz then I get less chance to practise my English, but I DO need to use my Finnish with him anyway. I've tried forcing myself to think in Finnish every now and then (even if it means I only think of some short phrases or 1-2 short sentences), but that means that those times I usually spend thinking in English have now been converted to Finnish. It would help if I start thinking in Finnish AND also translating those thoughts in English, but that takes time and energy...or maybe I should try translating all my English posts to Finnish? *gasp* That'd definitely be so tiring he he...

Anyway, I'm just trying to find the best way to balance myself inside this bowl of mixed languages that sometimes frustrates me. I have no problem keeping my Indonesian ability intact 'coz it's my mother tongue. It's my English ability that I'm worried about. I want to keep nurturing my English AND Finnish ability - and if possible I want to get better at both. Oh well...we'll see how it goes...

The Future: Flash Forward

Has anyone been watching Flash Forward TV series? Well, the basic story is that one day everybody in the planet loses consciousness in a few minutes and during those few minutes, they get a "flash forward" to 6 months ahead.

How do they know that it's a flash forward? 'Coz there are some people who remember seeing the calendar in their flash forward. However, after some investigations, turns out that there are some people who didn't black out during those minutes (I don't know yet why this happens) and there are also some people who don't see anything during their black outs.

Those people who don't see anything feel that there's a chance that they might be dead already by then. One of them is engaged to a beautiful woman, but after the black out, he's confused 'coz he feels that he can't fight "fate". After all, he finds out that somebody else has a flash forward where she witnesses his death. How are you supposed to go on living after getting such information?

Another person "sees" himself being back to be a drunkard in his flash forward. This guy's wife sees herself with another man in their mutual house in her flash forward. They both finally confide to each other about what they see in their flash forwards, so the relationship between them is now tensed and there's less and less trust as the tension grows.

One person is actually about to kill himself when the black out happens. In his vision, he sees himself with a beautiful woman 6 months ahead and thus when he gains consciousness again, he decides that life is beautiful (or will be beautiful in 6 months' time), so he's determined to find that woman in his flash forward.

Another man sees something disturbing in his flash forward, so he decides to end it right then and there by killing himself so that he won't cause grief to those people he sees in his flash forward.

My question is: What's the use of knowing the future then? If the future you "see" is good, then it'll probably do you good (that's if you believe it and you're not skeptical), especially if you're stuck in a rut and in the flash forward you know that things can change in months or years. But if it's bad, won't it ruin everything, esp. if you have a fatalistic POV?



It's interesting to watch those people with different personalities handle this "flash forwards", though. :-))) I myself think that there's no just one linear path to the future. People CAN change and there are so many different factors involved in one's life...the only sure thing that'll happen to everyone is death.