Rwanda, Japan and Finland...

Time to catch up on some International Studies magic!

At the moment, IS1 is focusing on what we mean by "culture" and they have been learning about different countries from around the world.

Firstly, we turned to Rwanda. There were many reasons for this. For example, the students admitted that their knowledge of African nations could be improved. Also, I visited this beautiful country when I was 17 and wanted to share the experience.

A good Rwandan friend, Jean, kindly wrote answers to some questions from the students about life in Rwanda. The students asked about school, sports and all sorts of things. When asked about Africa, the reply was: "I do love the whole of Africa as a continent with a lot of diversities and a very touching historical background in every nation there."

In our next class, we turned to a very different country: Japan. We mainly explored the arts and music. The students' first challenge was to recreate Hokusai's famous Great Wave in three minutes. In pairs, one student had to paint without looking at the picture. Meanwhile, their partner could look at the picture and had to instruct them on what to do. Needless to say, it was pretty entertaining!

We also learned a bit about the history of origami and made some swans...

Afterwards, we listened to some of the popular music in the Japanese music charts right now and discussed how each song made us feel, whether we liked it or not, and how we would describe it. My friend, Emma, who is from England but currently lives in Japan told me that she (and many others) love this band...

We ended our lesson with a quiz and a photo in the snow - as you do!

The next week, our lesson saw us exploring the school and Kalajoki to take small video clips. These video clips are supposed to represent what we think of when hearing the word: "Finland". Check out our Instagram page for the completed version which was posted on the Independence Day!

From Sweden to the USA!

It's been a little while since my last blog post. Where to begin?

Well, last month, I was in Malmö with Tanja and four amazing students: Erica, Milja, Aino and Johanna. We visited this southern Swedish city as part of the Nordplus project.

While there, we saw some pretty spectacular sights including the Twisting Torso which loomed over us in all of its glory.

The whole city is a wonderful collection of lush parks, skyscrapers and open water.

As part of the project, the students had to create activities to promote Malmö and think of ways in which to market them. It only made sense that they should see some examples of successful activities already available within the city. One of these examples is Bounce, an Australian trampoline company. We simply had to test it out for ourselves...

While the student hosts showed their guests around, Tanja and I were lucky enough to have two of the teachers (Carina and Jonas) as our tour guides. Check out this stingray that we saw in the aquarium...

It's often the case that these project weeks are over far too quickly and this one was no exception. The students were soon presenting their week-long work to a member of Malmö Tourism. She was extremely impressed (while Tanja and I watched on like proud mothers)!

Soon enough, we were flying back to Kalajoki with broad smiles and newfound friendships. I must admit, I also discovered a real appreciation for Swedish food - delicious!

Returning to Kalajoki meant one thing though: AMERICAN PARTY!!! Our International Studies classes have spent week learning about different aspects of the USA and preparing for one big old party. This was to celebrate the arrival of another international assistant teacher in the area, Ahren, who lived in and loves (a lot of things about) the place!

Many chocolate brownies, one hundred hot dogs, and some games later...our party was a success!

Most recently, we enjoyed some classes on Halloween and Bonfire Night. The International Studies carved pumpkins and created their own villainous characters. They also acted out the origins of Bonfire Night which is an English celebration from 1605 created after plans to kill the king were stopped just in time.

Well, that's all for now! Stay tuned for more weird and wonderful things...