This is the view from the standing desk in one of the classrooms at the Language Centre. I think I've underestimated views all my life. There is something to them, isn't there? I may never pay a premium for a view from a house or hotel room, but when a view presents itself, my oh my do I enjoy it.
And with a little over 11 hours of daylight this time of year, I can actually see this view, even during my 8.30am classes. The dark, dark mornings are over. It is now officially light when I wake up in the morning, which makes me so happy. It's also light when I go home after work. Compared to the dimness we endured during the darkest months of winter, this seems like a positive overabundance of sunlight. Overabundance, to the point where I feel grateful every time I look out the window and it is not dark. What a difference!
Metaphorically, the view from teaching is also quite wonderful these days. The job is going well and I feel more and more confident in the system here with every passing week. By the end of my two semesters here, I will have taught students from a good portion of the faculties here. It keeps things interesting to be interacting with students from different fields of study.
There are days I look out at the students in my classroom and think, "you are all Finnish people. When did I ever imagine I would be teaching so many Finnish people?" It's the same thing I used to think looking at a classroom full of Syrians, or Jordanians, or a mix of all-comers in the UAE. And I feel much more at ease now with them. The first semester anywhere is difficult because everything is so new. Even though I feel that my first semester here went quite well, I still remember some dark times where I thought I would never get everything done. Those days were dark in part because I was overwhelmed, and in part because we were teaching in a gloomy old building that we've moved out of since.
Now, the sun has come out, and it will be lovely to watch spring come to my view from teaching.
