Building bridges: Finnish principal impressed by Hoosier hospitality during visit

Finnish principal Kaija-Leena Salovaara, left, and Annette Jones, principal at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Indianapolis, stand in front of a race car exhibit at the National Catholic Educational Association convention at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis on March 26. (Photo by Mike Krokos)

By Mike Krokos

Ask Kaija-Leena Salovaara about her impressions of Indiana, and you quickly learn that Southern hospitality has nothing on Hoosier hospitality.

“People here are so friendly, and my hosts have been so kind,” said the principal of Central School of Viiala in Akaa, Finland, recently.

“I love how people take care of one another,” she said. “I love it here.”

Salovaara’s name may look familiar. She was a host to Immaculate Heart of Mary School principal Annette Jones when the Indianapolis educator visited Finland last fall. (The Criterion featured a story in its Dec. 14, 2007, issue: Click here to read it.)

Thanks to the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Jones was able to travel to northern Europe for more than a month last fall to see a Finnish school operate firsthand.

Established by an act of Congress in 1946, the Fulbright program provides opportunities for teachers, administrators and other faculty to participate in a direct exchange of positions with colleagues from other countries.

Thus, Jones served as Salovaara’s host when the Finnish principal visited the United States during the month of March.

“The first goal was to make Kaija feel comfortable in the U.S.,” Jones said, “because it would be such a transition. We wanted to make her feel at home.

“I also wanted to introduce her to the American educational system and the strategies we use here.”

That introduction included spending lots of time at Immaculate Heart of Mary School, where Salovaara moved from classroom to classroom, soaking in what each instructor and the students had to offer.

While she learned many things, Salovaara shared her unique perspective from a world away as well. Her visit even became part of the lesson plan.

The school hosted an International Day on March 12. There was a Finnish Day and Immaculate Heart of Mary students were allowed to wear slippers, like their European counterparts do, and spend part of the school day outside.

There was also a map of Finland placed in the school’s front office. (For those who need a refresher, Finland is comparable to the state of Montana in size, and is home to approximately 5 million people.)

Another geography lesson taught the students this tidbit:

• Board a plane in Indianapolis, fly 1½ hours north, and you’ll touch down in Detroit.
• Get on a jet in Finland, fly 1½ hours north, and you’ll end up at the Arctic Circle.

Cultural differences were also brought to light. You can walk the halls at Immaculate Heart of Mary School and pass open classroom doors throughout the campus.

If you walk the halls at Central School of Viiala in Akaa, Finland, closed classroom doors are the norm.

“There is openness in everything here,” Salovaara said. “People are so polite and open, and they aren’t shy.

“People are shy in Finland.”

When it comes to transportation, there are no yellow school buses in Finland. Most children live close enough to walk to their neighborhood schools, Salovaara said.

While in Indianapolis, the Finnish principal took part in the National Catholic Educational Association convention, where she attended various seminars and visited exhibit halls.

Since it was her first trip to the United States, Salovaara also took time to travel to Chicago, San Francisco and Florida. She also visited Amish country in Nappanee, Ind. Her stay in Indianapolis included visits to the Children’s Museum, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indiana State Museum.

In San Francisco, she sampled crab meat. Other food musts included Ghirardelli chocolate and a hamburger.

“They were both good,” she said.

Salovaara added that she will never forget how overwhelmed she was by the vastness of America.

“The U.S. is so big,” Salovaara added.

She paused.

“Even your squirrels are bigger than ours,” she laughed.

Jones and her family also treated the Finnish principal to a traditional American breakfast of sausage, omelets, bacon, cinnamon rolls and juice. In Finland, Salovaara usually eats ham, cheese and cucumbers for breakfast.

And pancakes? “They are dessert” for us, Salovaara said.

Though Salovaara takes many memorable experiences back home with her, she said her trip re-enforced one thing: building an educational bridge can bring our world that much closer.

“I think children are quite the same all over the world as are teachers,” she said. “Teachers care for [other] teachers. Teachers are hard workers, and take so good care of the children.”

The pen pal relationships that have begun between students at the schools will continue, both Salovaara and Jones said, and the principals hope a teacher-exchange program can happen in the future.

“We hope to create a foundation, a scholarship program where that is possible,” Jones said.

It is, after all, about building bridges, they said.

“We’ve created quite a lot of contact and friendships,” Salovaara said. “This has been a great experience.

“The most important thing for me has been the people I’ve met,” the Finnish principal said. “That’s the best part.” †