Then back to Scotland to finish her degree while doing some volunteer work – with Amnesty, Befriend a Child and an internship at the Centre of Academic Development at the university.
All these years had some things in common: -Summer and Christmas break jobs: Warehouse work, phone repairs and tech support, refugee children support work…-Visiting home and the family cabin, seeing friends, travelling.
She then moved back to Finland to do Master’s at the University of Helsinki, majoring in Intercultural Encounters in the multidisciplinary social science program.
She interned at the National Agency for Education. Language Profile and Internationalisation and stayed at agency for various projects for four years. She helped develop a new national curriculum supporting materials, language profile implementation, a language CV pilot and, new exam bank for spoken language exams.
This was “the covid years”, which meant: Online hangouts with friends and compensating for a weird situation with new hobbies, like building a greenhouse. She even contemplated starting beekeeping. Other activities included -- outdoorsy walks, hikes and camping/canoeing trips; careful get togethers; avoiding the Master’s thesis better than COVID (she got COVID twice, while it took another year to finish the thesis).
Last year, the Master’s thesis was finally completed. She started a new job at the City of Helsinki, as a systems designer in the Service Centre Helsinki where she helped with the introduction of a new contact system (callbacks, chat, messages, video calls) to city services throughout health care, education, infrastructure planning etc.
Everyday life for Salla these days consists of: Enthusiastic dog-aunting-hobbies: games; Pilates; outdoors-hanging out with friends; hanging out with two godsons Vili and Oiva, and, of course their brothers - Eetu and Iivo.
Highlight of the year: Back to Australia!
Salla and her mother were thanked on behalf of us all by President Carmel and there was a group shot of host families and support people the facilitated her exchange time in Leeton.
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Brain Teaser
What are the next two letters in the sequence:
ON, DJ, AM, JJ, FM, ??
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Director’s Reports
- President Carmel
- A good vocational visit to Duxtons Nuts. We are on track with our Vocational visits.
- Tried to gauge interest in the Roxy show (flyer attached) Tables of 10.
- Brian
- Matt Gatt to borrow the BBQ trailer on Saturday for the Business Chamber.
- Invitation by Maryanne Ianelli of Localise You for Rotary to attend one of her meet and greet sessions at the Art Gallery on Saturday 26th April. Brian cannot attend.
- George
- Certificate for RYPEN has arrived.
- George talked about the need to source host families for Youth Exchange.
- Laurie
- The meeting next week will be a casual meeting at the Hydro. Members to order their own meal at the front bar and eat in the front verandah.
- Don’t forget the Inner Wheel film which will be our meeting on 15 May.
- Eric
- Talked about the golf day – flyer attached
- Major sponsor this year has a Collingwood Jersey to be used as a fund-raiser. !00 tickets at $10 ticket.
- Sought the club’s response to the suggestion that next year’s recipient be Boys to the Bush.
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Sergeant Session
There was no Sergeant session but Geoff fined Dan in absentia for the Canadian attitude to Vegemite.
Raffle was won by Matt.
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The Friend
My daughter brought a friend home from school, and she said his great-great-great-great-grandfather was coming to pick him up later. I was impressed and asked: "Does he know how his so many greats grandfather lived for so long?"
My daughter answered: "It's because of my friend's stutter."
A: AS. The letters represent the first letters of the months of the year – DJ (December, January), FM (February, March), AM (April, May), JJ (June, July), and AS (August, September).
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