It feels strange to think that the year here is almost over. Today we had our last Finnish classes and Saturday is the exam day for our course. I also finished all my own courses today. In a leisurely fashion it all happened: a little potluck, a little chitchat, a few relieved laughters and that was it.
Preparing to leave a place is always a little awkward, at least for me. At the same time you're happy and sad, relieved and anxious, in a hurry to go home but still wanting to stay and see a bit more. And in the end, what do you have left of the experience? Mostly memories, and if you're lucky, a few good friends. Mostly memories though. Fortunately, it's usually the good ones that one remembers.
And what have I learned from all this? Or from any of my previous years and trips and travels abroad? I don't know. I know I've learned a lot and that I wouldn't be the same person if I hadn't done all this, but what have I learned is a really difficult question to answer. I've written a few job applications in the past week and I think that is part of the reason I've been thinking about these questions. One possible conclusion I've come to, is that the things I've learned are things that could be labeled and put under the headline "hidden knowledge". I always seem to think that the things I know are things that everyone knows, and therefore I don't recognize them as something that has been learned and acquired.
It was the same thing when I started my last job. I was so surprised that they chose me over the other applicants, because I thought all the other applicants must have known so much more. I had only studied and hung out with the exchange students and been an intern for three months. But after a few weeks on the job, I realized that I actually had so much knowledge of the systems and procedures; that someone coming from outside of the university would have had to learn all that from scratch. All the things I thought were common everyday knowledge turned out to be information that has to be learned. It was pretty cool to notice, that there are these hidden things everyone can discover in themselves, when the right moment arises. One just has to hope that that moment comes around again someday soon!
Preparing to leave a place is always a little awkward, at least for me. At the same time you're happy and sad, relieved and anxious, in a hurry to go home but still wanting to stay and see a bit more. And in the end, what do you have left of the experience? Mostly memories, and if you're lucky, a few good friends. Mostly memories though. Fortunately, it's usually the good ones that one remembers.
And what have I learned from all this? Or from any of my previous years and trips and travels abroad? I don't know. I know I've learned a lot and that I wouldn't be the same person if I hadn't done all this, but what have I learned is a really difficult question to answer. I've written a few job applications in the past week and I think that is part of the reason I've been thinking about these questions. One possible conclusion I've come to, is that the things I've learned are things that could be labeled and put under the headline "hidden knowledge". I always seem to think that the things I know are things that everyone knows, and therefore I don't recognize them as something that has been learned and acquired.
It was the same thing when I started my last job. I was so surprised that they chose me over the other applicants, because I thought all the other applicants must have known so much more. I had only studied and hung out with the exchange students and been an intern for three months. But after a few weeks on the job, I realized that I actually had so much knowledge of the systems and procedures; that someone coming from outside of the university would have had to learn all that from scratch. All the things I thought were common everyday knowledge turned out to be information that has to be learned. It was pretty cool to notice, that there are these hidden things everyone can discover in themselves, when the right moment arises. One just has to hope that that moment comes around again someday soon!
2 kommenttia:
Viisaita sanoja . . . muistan ne toivottavasti, kun seuraavan kerran keksin tehdä jotain uutta (ja päättömän haastavaa). Ehkä mä osaankin!
Varmasti! Ja aina, kun tarvitsee itselleen muistuttaa että näin se oikeasti on, voi tulla tänne sivulle lukemaan näitä viisaita sanoja uudelleen; niin minäkin teen ;D
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