After some reflection we realised that we may have jumped into our story and skipped a couple of chapters. So here is a bit of a recap and expansion on the basics.
Taru, my wife, is studying towards her Masters in Crisis Management at the Tohoku Fukushi University (TFU) here in Sendai through an exchange programme with Laurea University back in Finland. It was a fantastic opportunity afforded to us and one, we as a family, decided we couldn’t refuse. She is busy working hard on her studies, learning Japanese, embracing the culture and understanding the differences all while being a great mum and a fantastic wife (for those of you who just groaned after reading that, I am trying to get some brownie points here and for those of you that went ahhh - please comment - lol) ;-)
Ok, it wasn’t just make the decision, pack our bags and all will be fine :-) We of course had to work out if it would be possible financially; how would it affect the children’s schooling, what do we do with our home in Finland and what about my work…
Both our kids - Ciarán and Tara were attending the International school of Vantaa in Finland so we discussed the opportunity with their teachers and the principle of the school; all were extremely supportive and we worked through what possible impact it could have. From this we were able to establish that given Ciarán’s age that it was really important to maintain his academic level in all subjects so the transition back into the Finnish schooling system would be smooth. So we found an international school in Sendai and enrolled him there.
With Tara, given her age and grade, it seemed that she would be able to join a local school and fully immerse herself into the cultural aspect of it all and still be able to rejoin her class in Finland when we return. There is a bit of extra studying to do on the weekends and evenings. Tara gets to really concentrate on learning Japanese and really immersing herself into the life of a 10 year old in Japan.
Both of them are doing so great and we, as parents, couldn’t be prouder of how well they have adapted and embraced their new situations, the culture and new environment.
As for me, well I left the corporate world over three years ago and became a business partner in a small business. The business is such that I can take some time out and work from Japan (with the odd business trip back to Finland). This presents its own challenges but also great opportunities and I will keep you posted about both if you are interested come back every now and again.
On a general note the University have made us feel welcome and have invited us to various events to mingle with other international students as well as the local students. They also invited me to join my wife's Japanese lessons twice a week which are invaluable although I have to be honest and say I may not be that good of a student :-D
Taru, my wife, is studying towards her Masters in Crisis Management at the Tohoku Fukushi University (TFU) here in Sendai through an exchange programme with Laurea University back in Finland. It was a fantastic opportunity afforded to us and one, we as a family, decided we couldn’t refuse. She is busy working hard on her studies, learning Japanese, embracing the culture and understanding the differences all while being a great mum and a fantastic wife (for those of you who just groaned after reading that, I am trying to get some brownie points here and for those of you that went ahhh - please comment - lol) ;-)
Ok, it wasn’t just make the decision, pack our bags and all will be fine :-) We of course had to work out if it would be possible financially; how would it affect the children’s schooling, what do we do with our home in Finland and what about my work…
Both our kids - Ciarán and Tara were attending the International school of Vantaa in Finland so we discussed the opportunity with their teachers and the principle of the school; all were extremely supportive and we worked through what possible impact it could have. From this we were able to establish that given Ciarán’s age that it was really important to maintain his academic level in all subjects so the transition back into the Finnish schooling system would be smooth. So we found an international school in Sendai and enrolled him there.
With Tara, given her age and grade, it seemed that she would be able to join a local school and fully immerse herself into the cultural aspect of it all and still be able to rejoin her class in Finland when we return. There is a bit of extra studying to do on the weekends and evenings. Tara gets to really concentrate on learning Japanese and really immersing herself into the life of a 10 year old in Japan.
Both of them are doing so great and we, as parents, couldn’t be prouder of how well they have adapted and embraced their new situations, the culture and new environment.
As for me, well I left the corporate world over three years ago and became a business partner in a small business. The business is such that I can take some time out and work from Japan (with the odd business trip back to Finland). This presents its own challenges but also great opportunities and I will keep you posted about both if you are interested come back every now and again.
On a general note the University have made us feel welcome and have invited us to various events to mingle with other international students as well as the local students. They also invited me to join my wife's Japanese lessons twice a week which are invaluable although I have to be honest and say I may not be that good of a student :-D
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