“So, Finland … huh … Since you are from Minnesota, don’t you want to go someplace a little warmer?”
So goes a conversation I have with people about why I would want to go to Finland. I get it; winters are endless in Minnesota. It seems odd to be going to a place that is as cold, as dark for as long as where I currently live. To be honest, that really wasn’t a factor in the thinking.
First and foremost, I picked Finland because of the research. I’ll be working with a colleague at the University of Eastern Finland doing modeling of soil carbon. That is technically in my wheelhouse – I have done similar sorts of work in the past. Augsburg is a teaching focused institution; having the opportunity to focus on a research project for an extended period of time is revitalizing.
Second, I wanted to go to a place where my family could be supported. Traveling by myself is a non-starter, and I wanted someplace where my kids could attend school. My spouse is an elementary school teacher – so we needed to make this work financially. The Finnish school system is constantly ranked highest in the world for quality of education.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, aspects of Finland have been part of my life. I grew up on the Iron Range in Minnesota, one of the largest enclaves of Finns who migrated to the USA. Finnish sounding last names permeated the telephone book of my youth. I knew what a sauna was, the notion of sisu, St. Urho’s Day, and perhaps other distinctly Finnish traditions and customs that I didn’t know were Finnish. So I am curious to see what is similar, different, or modified.
These are all ruminations before I depart, but I can’t believe it is getting closer!
