A Lovely Invitation from the Finnish Embassy

Lately, I've been overwhelmed by the amount of work at school- I thought that maybe after AP testing, schoolwork would gradually lessen, but nope! I'm slowly trudging through research paper by research paper!

Anyways, on May 22nd, I received a lovely invitation for a dinner at the Finnish Embassy in Washington D.C. from Ms. Anne Vasara!

I've been doing some research on the Finnish Embassy, discovering all its intricacies and quirks! Did you know that the Finnish embassy is the only embassy in Washington DC that has its own sauna in the basement?  Or that it is the first LEED certified, environmentally sustainable, green embassy in the United States?

Inspired by a culture that prides itself on a harmonious relationship with nature and the wilderness, the Finnish embassy is designed in a way that allows it to peacefully coexist with its natural surroundings. One of the most pressing global issues today revolves around energy efficiency and conservation of resources, and the Finnish embassy has definitely taken the 'LEED' (haha) in implementing progressive change.

Some images: (provided by Google Images, not me! But I'll be sure to take numerous photographs when I'm there in June!)

Outside the embassy 

Inside the embassy

Harmonious relationship with nature :)

Here is some more information if you're interested in the technical aspect of how the Finnish embassy was designed:

http://www.afsa.org/PublicationsResources/ForeignServiceJournal/FeaturedContent/April2014FinnsTaketheLEED.aspx


I am so incredibly honored and blessed to have this opportunity to converse with foreign diplomats and government officials, and I cannot thank the Finnish government and U.S. Senate enough for this (soon-to-be) life-changing experience!

Pre-Pre Orientation in San Francisco!

This week was the last week of AP testing which was pretty tough, so I had been looking forward to this event since Monday. But I'm finally done with AP testing! 

 I woke up at 7:00 AM today (a Saturday morning) to get ready for the pre-pre orientation session for all Youth For Understanding students going on summer exchanges. (I say pre-pre orientation because our pre-orientation will be in Washington D.C. from June 4th-6th, and our actual orientation will take place in either Turku or Helsinki.) We left the house at 8 A.M. because the session (9 AM to 3:30 PM) was located in San Francisco, and it would take about an hour to drive up. 

Despite some mishaps along the way, I finally made it to Fort Mason!

                                                                  Fort Mason sign

The buildings where our orientation took place in!

At the beginning of the orientation, we introduced ourselves to the 18 other students from California and Nevada who would be going on a YFU exchange. I met another girl, Ivy, who was also selected as a 2014 Finland U.S. Senate Youth Exchange scholar! She's from Nevada and seems very nice. There were also students going to Japan, South Korea, Hungary, and Argentina. Leo, one of the 2013 Finland-U.S. Senate Youth Exchange Scholars, was also there! He told me all about his exchange experience last year and how much he loved it and grew as an individual; I almost could not contain my exuberance!

 I love that we (the 18 of us)  will all be able to share the experience of a cultural immersion and come back with enriched perspectives. I'm so excited for everyone!

After the big group meeting, we split up into 3 groups of 6 people each. In the smaller groups, we learned about the "iceberg model" of culture- like an iceberg that only has its tip exposed in the air, when we arrive in our host countries, we will only be exposed to the "tip" of the culture, such as outward behavior, food, language, dress, which are observable components that don't require much reflecting. However, the bottom of the iceberg, the most immense portion, contains the underlying ideologies, perspectives, and beliefs that the culture encompasses, and require some more contemplating and careful observing in order to discern.

Our orientation leaders also told us the story of the yellow sunglasses: In country A, all people are born with two legs, two eyes, two ears, two arms, one mouth, one nose, and a pair of sunglasses with yellow lens. In country B, all people are born with  two legs, two eyes, two ears, two arms, one mouth, one nose, but a pair of sunglasses with blue lens. A student from country A visits country B, and buys a pair of blue sunglasses. Upon coming home, she tells all of her family and friends that in country B, people see things through green lenses!

The moral of the story is that the student forgot to remove her own sunglasses before putting on the sunglasses of the new culture! The various lens represent the filter with which we see the world through, and when traveling to a new country, it is important to try and see the world through the context and lens of natives in that country.

A lovely view of the San Francisco Bay!

As a group, we played more interactive games, such as acting out uncomfortable situations we might encounter (wanting more privacy and alone time, disliking a certain food, getting annoyed at siblings) while with our host families, and some solutions to deal with the issue. 

One of the most important things that I took away from the orientation was that fact that there are dangers to both 100% adaptation/assimilation and 100% resistance to a culture.

Full assimilation into a certain culture is detrimental because that would mean abandoning your own personal values and experiences for the sake of adapting to your host country. Your individual perspectives add richness and depth to your own experience in the host country, and you shouldn't completely relinquish everything that has shaped you into a unique individual! Full resistance, however, will be an impediment to truly immersing yourself in the culture of the host country.

I am so so delighted that the pre-pre orientation went wonderfully; it only makes me more enthusiastic to embark on my journey! 

Host family information+Introduction to me!

Hello fellow readers,

My name is Claire Lu and I'm currently a 16 year old junior at Monta Vista High School, in Cupertino, California. I aspire to pursue a double major in East Asian Studies and international affairs, and perhaps a minor in Italian in college. Although I am a mere high school student, I have lofty dreams for the future- my greatest ambition is to become an ambassador and facilitate diplomatic negotiations between countries.

Recently, I was notified of my status as a 2014 Finland-U.S. Senate Youth Exchange Scholar, which is essentially a joint scholarship sponsored by both the Finnish government and U.S. Senate to foster cross-cultural understanding and to fortify the special U.S. Finland relationship. Besides the opportunity to learn Finnish (a challenging language only 5 million people in the world speak!) and explore authentic Finnish culture (reindeer steak and saunas, anyone?), I will meet my state senators, have private meetings with members of the Finnish Parliament, and receive two special receptions at the American Embassy in Helsinki and the Finnish Embassy in DC. I am so incredibly honored to receive this scholarship, as only 12 American students are selected each year.

Yesterday, I received my host family information! I will be staying in the culturally and historically rich seaside city of Rauma, Finland. Here are some photos from Google Images!

Look at all the bright rooftops!

What a charming and beautiful little city! It's also a UNESCO World Heritage site, due to the immaculate preservation of the Nordic wood used to build Old Rauma.

I will be staying with the Wendelin family- Kari Wendelin, my host father, Marja Wendelin, my host mother, and Charlotta, Ann-Christine and Camilla Wendelin, my three sisters! Charlotta and Ann-Christine both study at the University of Turku, a university about 90 kilometers away from Rauma. Amongst the five of them, NINE languages are spoken- Finnish, Swedish, English, Russian, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and Italian!

This summer, I will be documenting all my adventures in the beautiful country of Finland! Stay tuned for updates!

Kunnes seuraavan kerran (which means "until next time" in Finnish),

Claire Lu