Less is more...

These last two weeks I've found myself reflecting on a Finnish proverb:

So maybe it's not a proverb nor was it coined by a Finn, but according to Pasi Sahlberg in his book Finnish Lessons, it's one of the hallmarks of Finland's approach to education (and to living life, I might add). 

Less hair…

More layers. (Thank you Petra!...and Tarja and Paivi for the referral.)

 Less structured parties…

More fun time with Kai (and co.)!!  (Check out that kid's SMILE!!) 

I miss the Koivistos more than I miss empanadas with queso and manjar.  Can’t wait to see you guys in TEXAS over Christmas!

Less time in Jyväskylä on the weekends…

 

More time visiting friends in Copenhagen…

And in Lund (Sweden).   

It was my first time to visit both places.  

 And I couldn’t have hoped for better tour guides and hosts!

Here’s what we saw in Copenhagen (thank you Laura—especially for ordering up PERFECT weather!!):

 

 

What’s a ‘mini MBA’?  Perhaps it takes a ‘less is more’ approach to education??

Dinner in Nyhavn (we ate outside under the umbrellas)

A tour of Copenhagen by boat.

The Opera House where one of Laura’s friends dances professionally.

The mermaid sculpture which is one of the most famous landmarks in Copenhagen.

The royal palace.  The tour guide told us that the prince and princess dine on the 3^rd floor—in the room that has the light on

One of the canals that was dredged by Swedish prisoners several hundred years ago.  The king at the time (Christian the 4^th??) wanted Copenhagen to resemble Amsterdam…so he found a way to put prisoners to work.

 The sunset was unbelievable.  The colors in the sky...speak for themselves.

 This is the farmers market built in the late 1600s.  Super impressive, like many of the other buildings from that era.

 The sun said goodnight and the moon said good morning!  The lights, colors, and reflections were incredible.

One of the church buildings in Copenhagen.  It’s really old.  The best part?  They needed someone to play the piano during the last meeting so I was able to lend a hand (two, actually) and play.  Love that the music is the same wherever I go…even though I don’t speak the language.

 Laura hosted friends from church for lunch.  They’re an international group representing Finland, Sweden, Greenland and the U.S.  Loved spending time with them!

This is a replica of the Christus which was sculpted by Denmark’s own Thorvaldsen.  Here’s a link to a short documentary about Thorvaldsen and his work: http://byutv.org/watch/ec1830e9-5bd1-4b55-83c9-150773d62776  I didn’t get to see the original sculpture…but hopefully one day soon!

The Copenhagen temple grounds. The lamp posts are shaped like lilies at the top.  I’ve never seen anything like them before.

 Only wish I could have gone inside.  I’ve heard rumors that this used to be an old Lutheran church that the LDS church bought.  It served as a church meeting house before it was converted into a temple.

 I could have stayed here ALL NIGHT!  Absolutely love this temple.

 This is one of the rides in the theme park in Copenhagen.

 This is what I see when I’m on one of these rides…which is why I avoid them.  :)

From Copenhagen I made my way to Mälmä and Lund, Sweden.

 

This bridge (in Mälmö..which is a 7 min. train ride from Lund) reminds me so much of the bridge that connects the two university campuses here in JKL.

 

 This is the first art piece that you walk past when entering the walking/shopping district in Mälmö.

 And some nice street art.

Dr. Hult carried out his PhD dissertation research in Mälmö and Lund.  As part of his study, he mapped the use of languages (English, in particular) on street signs in the walking streets in Mälmö.  It was surreal to have a guided tour of the streets—by the researcher himself!!  I snapped a shot of this sign because it mentions, among other things, Chile.

 I spy longhorns and an American flag.  Picked up a can of pumpkin filling from the American store (owned by an Aussie; the clerk is from the states...in case you were wondering.  :) ).

This is the old city library that was built a very long time ago.

 

The new section of the library.

 And this might be my favorite part..the park directly across the street from the library. (In all fairness to the magnificent structures, I didn’t get to explore the inside of the library).

The bridge connecting Sweden and Denmark.

 

 There’s Copenhagen (I’m standing on the shore in Malmo).  Looking across the strait reminded me of one of my favorite books: Number the Stars. (Thank you Aunt Sandie for introducing me to the book.)

Lund University.  I was invited to give a guest talk on my research.  Dr. Hult had sent the invitation to community and government organizations in Skone county and Copenhagen.  We had a very strong showing of deaf community members and government officials who work with deaf and hard of hearing children in Sweden.  By far the most rewarding talk I’ve given.  Thank you Dr. Hult for making this experience possible!

Dr. Hult and me celebrating!!  The day I gave my talk was also the day he heard back that one of his articles was accepted for publication.  The cake is known as ‘princess cake’ in Sweden.  It is a layered cake with raspberry and crème fillings.  I’m not a big fan of cake.  This was divine.

 

 

Less snow…means more ice…which means more bruises when you crash on your bike.  Thankfully, the bruises and soreness is evenly distributed across my body.  I crashed on both my right and left sides…within a matter of minutes.  The moral of the story?  Get winter tires before winter comes.

 Love the young women I work with.  And I love that these sisters share identical jackets and footwear…with the oldest sister donning a red version of the black jackets.  Perhaps they remind me of my own sisters.

Less (bigger) curls…

 

More confidence during a successful PhD thesis defense!!!!!!

Anu successfully defended her thesis and know claims the title of “Doctor.”  I was honored to take on the role of hairdresser the morning of Anu's defense.  High stakes hairdressing if you ask me.  Seriously.  A total answer to prayer that it turned out well.  And it looked even BETTER that night at her karonkka (dinner celebration).  Onnea paljon Anu!!  We miss you already Dr. Karjalainen!!

Reetta and I also managed to pull off “Faculty Feud” (a spinoff of the game show Family Feud) as part of the karonkka.  Reetta totally nailed it with coming up with the questions to ask the teams..and finding the right 70s music for the game.  Reetta’s defense is up next.  SO HAPPY I get to spend another year with her before she graduates.

 


 

Less time in Sunday School today meant more time learning about how to do family history research on my Finnish ancestors using Finnish databases.  Thank you Marketta for all your help!!  As it turns out, we’re RELATED (our lines connect in the early 1700s)!!

 

Eija.  The president of the young women's organization in our congregation.  I just love this woman.

These last two weeks have been action packed, to say the least.  And they’ve been some of the most rewarding weeks of my time here in Finland.  Wish I could put into words how grateful I am for this opportunity to study here in Finland: to make new friends and continue building relationships with old ones.  It’s true that less is more…except when it comes to spending time with friends and colleagues.  Wishing every week was as rewarding as this week has been!!