Koulun loppua ja alkua

Blogissa on tullutkin jonkin verran kirjoitettua opiskeluistani. Olen opiskellut paljon, joidenkin mielesta ehka liiankin paljon. En varmasti olisi opiskellut useampaa tutkintoa, jos olisin joutunut ottamaan opintolainaa maksaakseni ne. Olemme miehen kanssa muihin amerikkalaisiin perheisiin verrattuna siina onnellisessa asemassa, etta meilla on vain yhden henkilon opintolainat maksettavana. 

Mies nimittain joutui aikoinaan ottamaan sievoisen summan lainaa, etta sai opiskeltua itselleen kandidaatin tutkinnon. Painvastoin kuin jotkut tuttavistani ovat luulleet uskallan sanoa, etta suurimmalla osalla amerikkalaisista vanhemmista ei ole mahdollisuutta saastaa niin paljon rahaa, etta voisivat maksaa lastensa high schoolin jalkeiset opinnot. Mieheni vanhemmat olivat saastaneet rahaa, mutta ne rahat oli pakko kayttaa sairaalamaksuihin kun yksi perheenjasen sairastui syopaan. Tiedan siis todella olevani etuoikeutettu, etta olen saanut opiskella paljon ilman lainataakkaa.

Olen siis valmistunut kaksi kertaa kandidaatiksi ja yhden kerran maisteriksi. Nyt alkaa olla toinen maisterin tutkintokin pulkassa eli olen vihdoin ja viimein palauttanut MBA-lopputyoni tarkastettavaksi, vain vuoden myohassa heh. Lopputyo oli pitkaan lahes valmis, mutta en vain ehtinyt keskittya siihen ennen kuin muutimme Marylandiin. Kesakuussa siis saan uuden Master tittelin ja nyt voin alkaa keskittya vaitoskirjan kirjoittamiseen :)

Siina missa meikalaisella loppui yksi koulu, minimiehella alkaa ensimmainen. Kavimme nimittain talla viikolla ilmoittautumassa Elementary Schooliin (ES), hui! Tuntuu kylla jotenkin liian aikaiselta tama koulu-uran aloittaminen 5-vuotiaana, varsinkin kun se alkaa heti taysilla paivilla. Toisin kuin joissain muissa osavaltioissa, Marylandin Kindergarten-luokissa istutaan heti jo koko paiva. 

Elementary schooliin ilmoittautuminen taalla hoidetaan menemalla omalle asuinalueelle maarattyyn kouluun. Oman koulun loytaminen olikin ensimmainen askel, silla leasing toimistosta oli kerrottu meille ihan eri koulu kuin se koulu minka alueeseen todellisuudessa kuulumme. Ei kylla yhtaan yllattanyt, etta saimme leasing toimistosta taas vaaraa tietoa. Luulinkin siis ensimmaiset viikot taalla asuessani, etta minimies menee toiseen elementary schooliin. Moms clubin aitien kanssa puhuttuani selvisi, etta meidan alueella on kolme ES-koulua ja asumme niiden "feeding zonien" kulmassa. Eli jos asuisimme n. 500m pohjoiseen kuuluisimme toiseen zoneen ja jos asuisimme n. 500m lanteen kuuluisimme kolmanteen zoneen. Onneksi netissa oli kartta, josta pystyi tarkistamaan mihin kouluun kuuluimme. Zone-rajoja ei todellakaan ole piirretty pitkien viivottimien kanssa :D

Ilmoittautumisesta oli vaikea loytaa tietoa, mutta loysin countyn nettisivuilta tiedon mina paivana ilmoittautuminen alkaa ja, etta ES office on auki klo 9-3.30 asti. Koska meilla ei ole paivisin autoa, lahdimme siis kavelemaan ensimmaisena ilmoittautumispaivana koululle. Matkalla alkoi tietenkin sataa ja perilla huomasimme koulun ovessa lapun, etta ilmoittautuminen on klo 9am-2pm ja klo oli 2.20pm. Aaargh. Onneksi menin kuitenkin sisalle kysymaan asiasta ja varmaan toimistosihteeri saali meita sateessa kastuneita sen verran, etta saimme kuitenkin ilmoittautua, huh.

Ilmoittautumista varten meilla piti olla minimiehen syntymatodistus tai passi (meilla oli jalkimmainen), paikallisen laakarin allekirjoittama rokotustodistus ja todisteet siita, etta asumme tahan kouluun kuuluvalla zonella. Rokotustodistuksen olin onneksi tajunnut hankkia etukateen jalleen kerran kiitos Moms clubin aitien neuvojen. Ilman rokotuksia ei nimittain paase oppilaaksi julkiseen kouluun Marylandissa. Rokotteet annetaan ilmaiseksi niille, joilla ei ole varaa maksaa niista ja rokote-vastaiset vanhemmat ilmeisesti laittavat lapsensa yksityiskouluihin tai kotikouluttavat heidat. En tieda tekevatko koulut poikkeuksia niiden lasten kohdalla, joita ei voida laaketieteellisista syista rokottaa. Rokotuksia ainakin vaadittiin enemman kuin Suomessa, koska minimies-raasu sai nelja lisarokotusta laakarisemalla. Todistukseksi asuinpaikoista taas kelpasivat vuokrasopimus tai asuntolainapaperit seka viimeisin sahko- tms. utility lasku. Lisaksi toimistosihteeri tarkisti minun henkilollisyyteni Suomen passista.

Naiden dokumenttien lisaksi piti tayttaa myos pari kaavaketta, jotka olin reippaana tyttona taytellyt ja tulostanut etukateen netista. Taman olin tehnyt koneella sen takia, ettei esimerkiksi nimien kirjoitusasusta jaa epaselvyytta kasialan takia. Yksi kaavakkeista kyseli oppilaan kotikielta (home language survey). Koska taytin kaavakkeeseen minimiehen olevan kaksikielinen paasee/joutuu han ESL-testaukseen, kun koulu on alkanut. Mielenkiinnolla odotan mita ESL opettaja sanoo meidan minimiehen kielitaidosta :) Nyt minimies on siis ilmoitettu koulu-uralle ja jaamme odottelemaan ensi kuussa olevaa orientaatiopaivaa, jolloin tutustumme kouluun. Jannaa!

Aurinkoista ja mukavaa viikonloppua kaikille!

Promotio Ordinis Philosophorum Universitatis Helsingiensis MMXIV

I meant to post some photos of the conferment ceremony we had in May a lot earlier, but better late than never. Here are some random shots from the funnest academic weekend ever!

We weren't allowed to take photos at the actual ceremony, so here is the University of Helsinki's Great Hall during the act rehearsal the day before the actual ceremony

After the rehearsal we had a sit down dinner at Marina Congress. It was called the wreath-weaving dinner since it was held in honor of those who made our laurel wreaths. My wreath was made by my awesome husband :)

The next day was the official conferment act, which I unfortunately don't have any photos from.

Photos can, however, be found here for those who are interested in the ceremony. After we received our wreaths, we had The Conferment Dinner at Merikaapeli Halli. 

It was three course meal, just like the wreath-weaving dinner, but we had now been officially "promoted" so it was a bit more fancy.

My food (vegetarian) was delicious!

Here's a photo of our table. The top hat folk are PhD's and the wreath people are us Master's degree holders. Hopefully in 6 years I'll be able to upgrade to the hat :)

Yummy main course.

On Saturday, the third day, we had a cruise around Helsinki with sparkling wine.

After the cruise we had lunch at Kaivopuisto restaurant, but I of course forgot to take photos. Here are the professional photos.

On the last night we had a Conferment Ball at Vanha Ylioppilastalo ("Old Student House")

Where we danced until the wee hours of the night :)

All in all a super-fun, but exhausting weekend!

Hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday!

PhD studies, here I come!

I was discussing my future in a previous entry and at at that time I was trying to decide if I should submit my dissertation proposal or not. I ended up submitting it and figured I wouldn't get in, since I re-wrote the proposal in two weeks and the topic changed quite a bit. I hear some people spend months writing their proposals, so my chances of getting in to the PhD program where rather slim in my opinion.

If you follow me on Instagram, you have already seen the news :), but it turned out that my proposal was accepted and I will become a PhD student this fall! I already discussed things with my supervisor and I can continue my studies even if we move back to the U.S., so that's all sorted out. And I'm feeling a bit more optimistic about my new topic. 

Acceptance package, which was a very nice surprise :)

Now I just have to finish my MBA thesis before I start my PhD studies, no biggie :D

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday! 

"Random" Tuesdays 04/22/2014

Today is a less random Tuesday on Random Tuesdays :)

Two awesome things have happened. First I went to pick up my diploma from the university, yay! Then I went to work and our CEO announced that I will be promoted to a manager position, double yay! 

So it's been a rather spiffin' Random Tuesday ;)

Random "Tuesdays" 04/17/2014

Ellis Island Immigrant Inspection Station, NY in 2012

p.s This week's Random Tuesdays was published on a Thursday since Tuesday was an exceptionally busy day for me. I graduated (Master of Arts, yay) and the deadline to submit my PhD research proposal was also that day. I don't expect to get into the PhD program, since I wrote my very incomplete proposal in two weeks, but I decided to give it a try anyways :)

Clap along if you feel like Happiness is the truth

I've diagnosed myself with post-thesis depression. I'm supposed to be writing my second thesis right now, but I'm still mourning for the first one. It was not ready when I parted with it and I'm not happy with my grade. I should be I guess, since it's good enough for PhD studies, but yet, I'm not. I'm a bit of perfectionist, I guess. 

I'm also at loss what I should do next when it comes to my academic career. I will obviously continue working as a consultant as long as I'm in this country. As for the academic stuff, I've done my dissertation proposal and the professor said he will second it. But I'm not happy with my proposal and I'm not even sure if I want to write the dissertation anymore. The topic itself is interesting, I'm just not sure I want to spend the next 4 to 6 years writing something that in the end might make no difference whatsoever. My MA thesis made no difference. I want to make a difference.

My MBA thesis might make a difference and hence maybe I'm just in the wrong field. Business is not, however, as interesting as History. PhD in Marketing is not something I'm aiming for :)

I have until April 15th to submit my dissertation proposal. I guess I have some serious thinking to do. Biggest question I need to answer is which career path makes me happy? I honestly don't know.

Meanwhile, I will celebrate things that do make me happy, like my family, friends and dancing to good tunes :) 

Hope everyone is having a very happy Thursday! :)

R is for RFE, S is for sickness and T is for thesis...

Add one e in there and you get rest, which is exactly what I need right now :D

First, a sucky part, we received a Request for Further Evidence on our spousal visa petition :( It really sucked, since it's soon been 10 months since we submitted our petition and now after all that time USCIS decided they weren't going to accept out Finnish Marriage Certificate. Needless to say, we were baffled and so was the USCIS customer service representative, when we called to ask about it. They just suggested sending the Marriage Certificate again with an explanation that this is the valid Marriage Certificate. Husband also went to the local Registrar's office (Maistraatti) and got an excerpt from the population system to add some more documentation to our response. There is nothing else we can do, and if they don't accept the Marriage Certificate with the supporting evidence, then they will deny our visa and that's it.

Another sucky thing is that I'm rather sick now :( Husband and lil man got sick first and now it's my turn. I always get the worst case of every sickness that the boys drag in :D Hopefully it'll pass soon, since I have some stuff to take care of at work tomorrow, and cannot stay home and rest.

As for the last letter, I've submitted my Master of Arts thesis, woot woot! I cannot even begin to describe how relieved I feel. It wasn't perfect and I wasn't happy with it, but it's submitted and hopefully I can move on with my life now :) I'll know in a few weeks time what grade the professors who read it suggest and then I have still a chance to withdraw it from the final inspection and submit a fixed version. Unless I get the poorest or second poorest grade, I'm not going withdraw it. If all goes well, I will graduate in June the latest.

I've also worked on my Master of Business Administration thesis and if I work very hard for the next month or so, I might be able to return it in April. The MBA thesis is a lot easier to write than my MA thesis, so I'm not stressing too much about it.

Photos from weheartit.com

I'm off to get some more rest, hopefully everyone is having a wonderful weekend! :)

Happy New Year 2014! Resolution time!

2013 came and went, way too fast!

I'm glad to bid farewell to 2013, but I'm a little sad I didn't accomplish as much as I had hoped to during it.

Due to some health set backs I haven't finished my MA thesis yet, which I'm really bummed about. I knew it would be hard to work full time and write a thesis, but I didn't plan on the other difficulties :( But, I do hope to get the thesis done by the end of this month. I haven't been able to write much of my MBA thesis either, so my New Year's resolution is to finish both theses!

Tin results 2014: seahorse, small dog and a bigger dog. 

Conclusions: I'm going to Sealife and will be getting two puppies this year, yay! :)

My other New Year's resolution is pretty common; I plan on taking better care of myself. This means more sleep, less stressing over things I have no control over :)  I also want to do some adjustments to my diet; I wish I could promise to give up on sugar candy, but I know I'm too weak to do that. Instead I will add more greens to my diet. I eat plenty of fruits, but I need eat more veggies. I gave up on bread last year, which has worked out great for me, although I do still eat Carelian pastries :) 

As for my other wishes for the brand new year 2014, I really wish we could just put this darn immigration nightmare behind us and move on with our lives. It has now been 8 months since we applied for my IR-1 spousal visa and nothing has really happened since. Our papers have been transferred from one service center to another, so basically from one desk to another, but that's it. Extremely frustrating. Oh well, one more thing I have no control over :)

Did you make any New Year's resolutions? If so, I'd love to hear them!

Wishing everyone a fabulous New Year 2014! :)

p.s One more reminder, take part in the Giveway! Ends tomorrow :)

Random Tuesdays 10/15/2013

Head of Gudea of Lagash, Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 2006. 

Random tidbit; for my Bachelor of Arts degree, I had minor in Assyriology :)

Tvärminne Zoological Research Station

I mentioned in a previous entry that I was fortunate enough to receive a thesis scholarship from my university. The scholarship paid for room and board for a week at a zoological research station in Hanko, southern Finland.

I can't begin to explain how blessed I feel that I was given this opportunity, I got lots of thesisizing done during that week and resurrected my motivation to finish my Master of Arts degree. And Tvärminne was a gorgeous place to spend the week too! Here's a photo flood of my stay:

Arriving at the station

Tvärminne is a protected nature reserve

Courtyard

Main building

Gorgeous views from the cafeteria

The food was delicious and I loved looking outside while having my breakfast, lunch and dinner there.

One of the buildings at the station

My abode

I had a nice sized room for myself

Here's the blogger/graduate student herself :)

And here's a photo flood of the gorgeous surroundings. It was so nice to just go for walks in the morning, no rush. I walked 45mins one way and never saw anyone :) The only time I met other people was when we had meals at the cafeteria.

The only negative thing about the place was that there were a lot of snakes apparently. I hate snakes. But lucky for me, I didn't see any :)

I'm so grateful to my university for offering me such a great opportunity!