Today, my friend 'A' and her sister 'T' brought by a dog crate for Alpo in a really cool car.  The dog crate is wonderful and quite spacious! Alpo has already taken to it--he knows that it is his and I have put all his toys in it.  At first he just looked at it, but has already got in and moved his blanket around and laid down--that is encouraging as I thought it would take awhile.  The trip will be a long one for both of us!  We will be flying Helsinki to Copenhagen and then on to Seattle.  Next thing on my agenda re Alpo is to get him professionally groomed... (right now we are both sporting home-grown, bad haircuts!)

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed... I've got so much to do and very little time to do it, but then to quote one of my Aunts--'in your world, being busy is a good thing!'  Anyway, today I did get an important step done on our adventure to the USA.  Alpo and I went to the vet and he got his rabies vaccinations and they also gave us an EU pet passport.  Mind you--I don't have an EU passport, but my pet does...  Hope everything else I have to do is as easy as this was!

As you know, I have lived in Finland now for 11 years and have recently decided to return to the USA.  I've been quite amazed at my switch of thinking since I made the decision.  When I was here with no plans to return, I didn't allow myself to think of all the things about my country that I miss.  Not sure why, but I didn't... instead I always looked for the positive aspects of where I was.  Well, now I am thinking of things about the USA that I didn't even realize that I was missing.  I've even forgotten that Arbys exists and their regular roast beef sandwiches... I'm really looking forward to Walmart runs with my sister and going to cheap matinees to see the not so latest movie.  Dairy Queen ice cream is another thing that I've thought of...  I won't have to wait for friends to come over for Mac-n-cheese...   I've also allowed myself to think of things that I dislike about Finland--I guess it might actually make it easier to leave--dunno...   So, when I was here indefinitely, I would only think about the positive aspects of Finland and not allow myself to think about the aspects of the USA that I miss--my mind works funny sometimes. 

For those of you who know me well, you know that I consider all of life an ADVENTURE!  If we are lost on the streets of Paris or London or  some American freeway, I don't panic because I see it as just one big adventure...  When I started this blog, my father had recently passed away and this was the way for me to communicate with my family about my adventures here in Europe, especially just the mundane in Finland.  After awhile I started slowing down on posting as I had little to say and I joined facebook and twitter.  Twitter is just that--the mundane in 140 characters or less.  I now use twitter mainly to communicate and network with language teachers world-wide.  Anyway, the title of this blog posting is about a new adventure and I'm hoping that because of this new adventure, I will begin blogging more frequently than I have in the past couple of years.  A few weeks back, well let's go further back--I have been contemplating for quite a while as to when and where I will return to the states.  I've always been attracted to Boston and some of the northeastern states and started looking into rental and real estate deals in the states for when I could actually afford to move back... it was just a pipe dream or so I thought.  Well, a few weeks ago, I realized that I could sell my home and return to the states and my heart was really wanting to be near my family and not the east coast.  So, I thought about it for a couple of weeks and spoke about it with a few friends and then made the decision.  If my house sells where I can make at least a small profit, I will return to the states.   Well this past Monday, the Realtor put it on the internet and we scheduled an open house for Wednesday evening from 6 30 to 7 PM.  Only 30 minutes--I was surprised as I remember that in the states, the open houses are longer.  Well, anyway on Wednesday morning I got a call from the Realtor and he asked "can you let me show the place before the open house as we have a man interested and he doesn't have time later in the day?".  I agreed and took Alpo for a walk.  About 10 minutes into the walk, the Realtor called with an offer.  I agreed!  I made money!  I'm going back to the states...wow!  That was quick!:

My only concern was Alpo.  You see, Alpo is not really my dog as he is owned by the breeders and a friend of mine who had an original agreement with the breeders had asked me to care for him as she had a small baby and it wasn't working.  I have bonded with Alpo and so when my friend had a second baby, Alpo has just stayed on.  It became apparent to me that possibly my home could be permanent for Alpo if I stayed in Finland, but I didn't want to stay.  So, I was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and hope that Alpo was able to go to his original home.  I checked the immigration laws for pets to see if there was quarantine and decided that if there wasn't, I would ask if Alpo could go to the states with me.  I thought there would be a 1% chance that he could come, but decided to ask anyway.  Amazingly, after thinking about it, Alpo's owner decided that Alpo was better off with me and she just needed to check with the breeders.  A few days ago, the breeders said YES!  YAY!  Next week, we will go through the paperwork and I will officially get ownership of Alpo.  You see, he is a pure bred, pedigreed Pumi who was born in Hungary and came to Finland at the age of three months for breeding purposes.  So, he isn't just a pet, but a very valuable pet.  I'm blown away and flabergasted that they have agreed to let me have him--especially, the sacrifice that 'R' is making as I know that she wanted him back when her kids got older.  She did such a wonderful job at training him--I am forever in her debt!  THANK YOU 'R'!!!  I will be posting pictures of Alpo as he gets used to the American way of life--especially since my hope is that he will have his own yard to run and romp in.

So, I'm changing the focus of this blog.  I have been out of the states for thirteen years.  Away from the Pacific NW for fifteen years and away from Southern Idaho for 22 years and I know that I will experience forms of reverse culture shock.  What will it be like?  What areas will I be shocked about ?  Haven't a clue.  Everytime I have returned to the states for a visit something else surprises from the way Americans dress to the size of the bathtubs.  My plan is to chronicle this adventure of reintroducing myself and my Hungarian born Finnish dog to the American way of life.  Have I changed so much that it will be difficult?  How much of British English has crept into my vocabulary?  Will I say to people 'where's the toilet?' as opposed to the American way without thinking about it?  Check back and see...

English Language and Cultural Exchange Program project video. This project took place in May 2009 and went on for 6 weeks. Two native English teachers, Holly and Jan in Europe were asked to teach 17 Chinese teens in a 6 week pilot for 40min a week.  Seventeen Chinese students, 6 weeks and 40min per week allows for 14min speaking time at the most. This does not include even any teacher talking time nor any microphone passing time. So, what can be done? This project nicely demonstrates that by combining a variety of methods and above all by connecting the learners with other learners in other countries, the outcome of the project exceeded all expectations.  A lively exchange on the NING site http://huangpu.ning.com, an active chat during the synchronous sessions, recordings by the students, recordings of virtual classroom activity and lastly the presentations during the final meeting, which have diligently been prepared speak for itself. 115 slides of presentations, 105 of Word pages of text chat, 405 images, 6h 49min of recordings and countless comments on the NING site by the learners in English are the impressive result.  Sadly three weeks prior to the final ceremony the NING site was banned by the Chinese government (youtube is banned too and so is blip.tv). In order for the students in China to be able to see their work, teachertube.com was being used to upload all the outcomes.

Fuze Tell A Story Contest

 

Just in case you weren't feeling too old today...  The people who are starting college this fall were born in 1991.  They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.  Their lifetime has always included AIDS.  The CD was introduced two years before they were born.  They have always had an answering machine.  They have always had cable..  Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.  Popcorn has always been microwaved.                   They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.  They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.  They never heard: 'Where's the Beef?', 'I'd walk a mile for a Camel ', or 'de plane Boss, de plane'. McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.  They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.  Pass this on to the other old fogies on your list.  Notice the larger type?   That's for those of us  who have trouble reading.  P.S. Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.

MAYA ANGELOU'S'
BEST POEM EVER

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...

enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to...
something perfect to wear if the employer,
or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..

a youth she's content to leave behind....
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her old age....
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...
one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ......

a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,
and a recipe for a meal,
that will make her guests feel honored...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..

a feeling of control over her destiny...
how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without;
ruining the friendship....

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW....

when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..
that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over....

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

what she would and wouldn't do for love or more....
how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW.. .

whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

where to go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table..
or a charming Inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...

What she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a month...and a year...

AND REMEMBER:

GOOD FRIENDS ARE LIKE STARS.

YOU DON'T ALWAYS SEE THEM,

BUT YOU ALWAYS KNOW THEY ARE THERE!!!!!!