I went to my first Finnish language class on Monday night. When the instructor, Heta (complete with a permed mohawk and wow, does she rock it!), showed us the textbook (above) I got really excited thinking we might be incorporating some yoga poses into studying one of the world’s most difficult languages. I got even more excited when Google translate on my phone suggested that the title, Suomen Mestari, translates to “Finnish champion!” (exclamation point is mine as I was REALLY excited). But, about halfway through the class I realized that… a) we would not be doing any yoga, and b) I was not yet a “Finnish champion.”
Ei kestä! Well, maybe. Heta told us that meant “no problem” but then proceeded to tell us that nobody really used it that way. We spent some time getting to know each other, Tutustuaan!, and practiced saying our names: Minun nimi on Meghan. We recited the Finnish alphabet about a dozen times (“So the difference between the a sound and the aa and the ä and the ää is what?!” Oh, okay, got it, because I too can be a Finnish champion!) and then she assigned us some homework. Whew! Mental gymnastics for this one here. It did, however, prompt me to sign up for a semester-long yoga class which starts tomorrow. It will probably be in Finnish but I am really hoping for Sanskrit. Namaste.
See my kitchen yoga studio below:
And a successful walk in the park and library visit with Lou:
Following Finland 