Vocational Goals

For this blog, please explain how studying abroad (at your chosen school, city, country, etc) contributes to your vocational goals.  Research ways you can be involved, or have a leadership role on campus or in your community abroad.  Please outline at least one thing that you will do consciously while abroad to help yourself take one step toward achieving your vocational or career goals and how it will help you. (eg. seeking out an internship, volunteering in your field, field research, taking a specific class)  What skills do you expect to gain that will help you in your future career?

In the future I hope to do something with therapy, such as physical therapy. A great thing about the University of Jyvaskyla is that it has a great sport and exercise psychology program. There are many clubs and organizations that I can get involved with at the University of Jyvaskyla. One organization I found is a student organization for my particular subject major. This is a great way to get involved on the campus, as well as get to know other students with similar goals. During the four weeks I am studying I hope to be as involved as I can. To get one step closer toward my goals I am taking a dance therapy class. The dance therapy class I will be taking emphasizes experiential learning, which is a great way for me to learn more about therapy by actually doing movement workshops. While abroad, I expect to gain insight on Art Therapies and the different kinds of therapy programs, which might influence my career goals. I also expect to grow as a person while studying abroad. Being on my own will make me more independent as well as help me gain better communication skills, which will be useful in the future. I am still a little hesitant on my future career, so I hope by taking the dance therapy class I will have a more permanent idea of my future career.  

Academic Differences

□ ACADEMIC DIFFERENCES:

The academics at the University of Jyvaskyla are similar to those at Maryville College. They offer lecture courses - with each lecture course having an exam at the end that the students must pass.  At the University of Jyvaskyla there are also reading courses. In these courses the students read literature specifically agreed on with the lecturer/professor, write essays and/or take a written examination after completing the necessary readings. In addition to lecture and reading courses, departments organize seminars, instruction given in small groups introducing students to independent research, as well as laboratory work in natural sciences and other kinds of practical classes, and written assignments. The classroom culture seems to be about the same in both places. Students are encouraged to ask questions both in and out of the classroom.  The University of Jyvaskyla’s academic year consists of an autumn and spring semester. The autumn semester is from September 1^st to December 31^st. The spring semester is from January 1^st to May 31^st. The teachers expect the student’s best performance in classes as well as on examinations. The relationship between students and teachers in Finland is quite informal. Both students and teachers like to consider one another as equals.

□ CREDITS: 

From what I can tell it seems that most classes range from 4-8 ECTS, which is about 2-4 US College Credit Hours, with the most common being 6 ECTS (3 US credits). The workload and credits are valued different from Maryville College.  One ECTS credit corresponds to approximately 27 hours of work.  I could not find how many hours/week the courses meet for a regular semester, but for my summer program the classes meet Monday-Friday for about 6 hours. This is because each class only lasts a week.

1 ECTS = about 0.50 US Credits.

□ GRADES: 

 The University of Jyvaskyla uses the grading scale from 1 to 5, with 1 as the lowest and 5 as the highest. The grading scale is as follows:

University of Jyväskylä scale	ECTS grading scale
5 (excellent)	A
4 (very good)	B
3 (good)	C
2 (satisfactory)	D
1 (sufficient)	E
0 (fail)	FX,F

□ SUPPORT:

 Exchange students can contact the departmental coordinators for departmental study counseling. The specialists of the student union is also available to help students with problems related to their studies.

□ FULL-TIME STATUS:

To be considered a full time student for one academic year at the University of Jyvaskyla the student must take 60 ECTS credits (30 ECTS credits per semester). To be a full time student at Maryville College the student must take 12 credit hours per semester. At Maryville College the minimum number of courses a student must take to be full time is 4 courses. At the University of Jyvaskyla the minimum number of courses a student must take to be full time is 5, but it depends on how many credits the course is worth.

Intercultural Competency: Getting Involved & Living Like a Local

During the four weeks that I will be studying abroad this summer I want to do everything I can to fully immerse myself into the culture. In order to do this I plan to live like a local. Living like a local to me means that I will take part in the everyday activities of a Finn. Not necessarily changing myself to fit in, but engage in the daily activities. It is important to me to live like a local while I study abroad because I want to get a real sense of what it is like to be a Finn. I don’t want to just feel like a tourist, but instead I want to experience every cultural difference that I can. I also want to get involved on campus. If there are any group study sessions or weekend activities on campus that I can take part in, I definitely will. After researching the university some, I’ve found that most people ride their bikes to and around campus, so maybe taking group bike rides would be an activity to engage myself with the campus and other students. I think I read somewhere that I will get to participate in a real Finnish sauna, which I am really excited about!

            While abroad I will be living in an apartment off campus. I think this will be helpful in allowing me to meet more people. I would love to find some Finnish friends that know the area well and would be willing to show me around in order to meet other locals as well. I imagine my day-to-day life feeling like I am in a movie. Riding my bike to class with my awesome new friends and exploring the beautiful country in my spare time. In reality I know I will be doing a lot of studying and homework, but I hope to get to explore as much as possible.

            From my time abroad I hope to gain some insight into how Finnish culture differs and relates to what I am used to. I have a friend now that is an international student and she keeps telling me that it is really amazing to see how cultures differ and she encourages me to really take it all in. I also hope to find some insight into myself. This will be my first time being completely independent so I am excited to see how well I do. This transition is probably going to be a little difficult for me, but I plan to do as much research as I can before I go to prepare myself. I am also getting in touch with some of my relatives now just to introduce myself and hopefully set up meetings. I am really excited about studying abroad. I really want to do all I can to take part in Finnish culture because I think it will be very interesting and educational, as well as fun to experience a new culture!

An American Abroad

            After completing the surveys from last week I found my strengths as well as my baggage. These surveys were helpful to me in that they allowed me to see what I need to work on personally before my trip.

            These surveys revealed that I am independent for the most part and very flexible. I’ve found that growing up in a household where we like to “go with the flow” has helped me in being flexible. I am able to change my plans easily and do not get too mad when things do not go as planned. One thing I could work on before traveling abroad is openness. Although I scored high in this category, I still feel like I could be more open-minded, especially when it comes to food. I love food, but I can be very particular about what I eat. I think the best thing I can to work through my pickiness is to just allow myself to try new things, and hopefully my ability to be flexible will help me to become more open to new foods.

            As far as the cultural context survey goes I scored extremely high. I think the particular day and time I filled out the survey played a part in my high school, but overall I fit on the high context scale. As far as I can tell, based on the chart, Finland seems to be more on the low context side. My hope for transitioning into this culture is that my inner Fin will kick in when I arrive since I am ¼ Finnish.

            The aspects of my “American identity” that I will bring with me to Finland are my friendliness and good communication skills. When traveling in a foreign place I feel like having good communication skills will be handy, especially since I have a terrible sense of direction. Having these two “American identities” will be beneficial when asking for directions and meeting potential friends.  

            Overall I think that being flexible and independent will help me as I study abroad. Having an open mind and learning to be adaptable will also help me. I know that I still have a lot to do to prepare for my trip, but I am getting more and more excited each day! The surveys helped me to see what I need to work on before departing for my trip.  

Study Abroad Goals

As I sat in my dorm room checking my email on a cold January morning, little did I know that my dreams would soon come true. The email was the Maryville College newsletter and the words that caught my eyes read, "NEW: Take PSYCHOLOGY courses abroad this summer." I clicked the link, not knowing that this link would lead me to my dream trip. Now as I sit here writing my goals for my very real trip to Finland, I am overwhelmed with emotions. 

I am feeling many emotions as this trip draws nearer. I am so excited to travel to the place from which my great-grandparents immigrated from, and see the beautiful country that I have heard about all my life. With all this excitement, I am also feeling nervous. I am nervous to fly out of the country by myself for the first time and be completely independent. As a lifelong dancer and (hopefully) future physical therapist, I am extremely excited about the courses I will be taking during my trip, specifically Intro to Dance Therapy. 

A goal of mine is to learn more about the culture, and learn as much of the language as I can. Although I grew up knowing my family history, I did not learn as much about the country as I would have liked. To maximize my experience I want to learn as much of the culture as I can by going out and experiencing it first hand. To aid in my learning I am also taking a class on the culture to obtain as much information as possible. 

Another goal of mine is to meet as many people as I can. I would love to form long-lasting friendships during my time in Finland. I would also love to meet some of my relatives. I am extremely nervous to meet people I have only ever heard about, but super excited because they are family! 

Along with these goals I also want to grow as a person. I tend to be a very shy, introverted person. This trip will force me to be out of my comfort zone and allow me to be open to change, which would help maximize my experience as well as help me grow into a strong, independent person. 

I am so excited for this trip, but also nervous that I won't take every opportunity to learn and experience the Finnish culture. With these goals in mind I am going to do everything I can to prepare myself for the best trip of my life. I am excited to take as many pictures as I can to share with my family at home, and experience as many Finnish activities as I can, including taking a sauna so I can say that I have experienced a real Finnish sauna!