AHA

In our 1st Friday seminars we were asked what was the Aha in our first school visit. Of course (as a Finn) I started with a negative experience about a school lunch, that was horrible. Yesterday here in Minnesota I experienced a totally different lunch at Minnetonka High School. It was close to UMD lunches. I enjoyed a marvelous shredded chicken hamburger with lots of rabbit food, and it was cheap (Mr. principal, please forward this to them…) Students have many choices to buy their lunch, I think we in Finland have nothing compared to that in middle/high schools. Except in Finland the lunch is free.

Food is important in our Fulbright experience, but that was not the AHA.

After I visited these marvellous highschools, I decided to have some tourism. It is very hard  monitoring teachers, schools, states, countries and the stars … I decided to walk to a museum by the riverside of Mississippi river. I really enjoyed the ruska and the river that for me means “Muddy Waters and Hucleberry Finn (doesanybodyknowwhyheisfinn)”. Suddenly I saw something big flying very close of me behind the trees. Just a glimpse. I walked (I am a man who walks alone, (I was there and maybe singing) ) ahead and saw a man taking photos against the sun with good equipment. Must be an artist I thought (nothingbadaboutartistsilovethem).

But then I saw it. About 5 meters above me there was a Bald Eagle nesting. He flew around with a stick, trying to fix their home. This happened 2 km from the center of a big city. She/he  is the national animal of this great country. In Finland I have seen Sea Eagles but very far away, but never this close or their nest.

When I get old and want to tell the biggest aha about my trips around the world trying to learn something about education/learning, then I will tell this story.

You will learn if you explore.

M