2/1/2006 - Our Neighbors.... Pauliina Posti; AFS student shining brightly at Esko High School
For Esko High School Senior Pauliina Posti, the decision on whether to be an exchange student and be away from home in Finland for almost a year was difficult. But the decision where to go was easy…at first.
“When I was told that Esko and Minnesota were very similar to Finland, I thought ‘That’s wonderful, it’ll be just like home,’” mentioned Pauliina. “But then I thought ‘ don’t want to go somewhere just like Finland!’ But I know now that I made the right choice by coming to Esko and Minnesota. And the kids at this high school are so nice, I didn’t think it would be this wonderful.”
But Pauliina’s choice to come to Esko wasn’t as random as it sounds. Her uncle, Pekka, was actually an AFS student at Esko a little more than a decade ago.
And Pauliina’s father, Jukka, and mother, Sisko, (she also has a 13-year-old brother Tommi and 20-year old brother, Ville) warmed up to the idea of their daughter following in her uncle’s footsteps.
“My parents just wanted to give me an opportunity to see the world. I travel a lot, but this is my first ever to visit the U.S.,” said Pauliina.
Pauliina arrived in the U.S. on August 11th, 2005, and right away attended a short “camp” in Minneapolis before coming up to Esko to meet her host family.
When asked what she thought of our country, a big smile came to her face and she said with all confidence, “I love it. I just love it. ”
A big part of Pauliina’s life in Finland was playing basketball. She wasn’t entirely sure how being an AFS student would affect her as an athlete, but Pauliina met all the eligibility requirements to play sports at Esko High School, and is currently on the varsity basketball team.
“My uncle (Pekka) said that Esko had a very good girls basketball program when I was deciding to come here, and that got me very excited,” said Pauliina. “In Finland, we play (in organized leagues) year-round. One of the big parts of me coming to Esko was that I would be able to play basketball, I’m glad it worked.”
And basketball isn’t the only sport she participates in for Esko. She ran cross country in the fall and plans on either running track or playing golf in the spring.
But on top of being a good athlete, Pauliina also has no problem keeping her grades well above where they should be.
However, unlike other students at Esko High School, this year will not count towards her high school graduation. It’s 100 percent for the life experience.
“I actually lose a year of high school this year,” said Pauliina. “And when I return to Finland, I’ll have two more years of school left before I graduate.”
Even though her time at Esko High School won’t count on her transcripts, she feels that what she’s learning about life and through her classes will be invaluable.
“I wouldn’t trade any of my experiences here for anything,” Pauliina mentions genuinely.
AFS is a major commitment for any exchange student. Pauliina, who is still a typical “high school kid,” has to be away from her parents, family and friends for almost 10 months. And even though her 18th birthday is approaching, pending adulthood doesn’t alleviate random bouts of homesickness.
“I talked with my parents this past Sunday night and my mom said ‘I really miss you!,’ and that’s hard to hear, especially being so far away,” said Pauliina.
According to Pauliina, holidays such as Christmas and Easter are big family get-togethers in Finland, much like Minnesota traditions. And not being with her family during those times is tough, but her host family, Jeff and Donna Iisakka of Esko, have been making Pauliina feel as close to at-home as possible.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better host family,” said Pauliina.
“Pauliina and our daughter Eleena (who is a junior at Esko) are getting along so well. I think that’s a big part of why Pauliina has been so comfortable with being in Minnesota for the school year,” said Donna.
“Having e-mail is a very big help in keeping touch,” said Pauliina. “I can pretty much contact my friends and family any time I’d like.”
But with all of her new friends, sports and schoolwork, Pauliina certainly has created plenty of positive activities going on to take her mind off of her faraway family.
One of those activities is being nominated for the Snow Ball Court at Esko High School.
She was pretty shocked by the nomination, mostly because her high school in Finland didn’t even have dances, formal or otherwise. So to be such a major part of the Snow Ball dance in a foreign country was a pretty big thrill. “It was nice being nominated, I really didn’t expect it,” Pauliina said with a humble smile.
She may not have expected it, but it’s safe to say that the students, and even Esko Principal Randy Bowen, expected it.
“She’s just a great all-around kid,” said Bowen. “And as principal, I’d like to think I’m pretty familiar with our students, but I don’t always hear about the good ones. But whether it’s from her teachers, other students, coaches…they all talk about how bright, ambitious and pleasant she is.”
A native Finn in Esko
When doing a story on a foreign exchange student, the first thought that crosses any interviewer’s mind has to be, “This will be an interesting story…but I don’t feel like trying to make heads or tails out of the broken English they’ll speak.”
And if listening to Finnish NHL players do interviews is any indication, interviewing and understanding Pauliina was probably going to be extremely difficult.
That couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Pauliina’s mastery of the English language is nothing less than amazing. Not only does she speak near-perfect English, she barely has an accent. And she’s only 17 years old, and spent most of those 17 years speaking a native language far different than English.
“We are taught English beginning in the third grade, and it’s mandatory,” Pauliina stated matter-of-factly. “Whether you take it seriously and try to learn it as best you can is up to you. I really wanted to learn English, so I took it pretty seriously.”
And it shows. You would have to have a somewhat lengthy conversation with Pauliina to first, notice she has an accent, and second, notice it’s a Scandinavian accent.
So how does a girl who’s 100 percent Finnish with blonde hair and blue eyes fit into a place like Esko? Of course, that rhetorical question is dripping with sarcasm.
“I know Pauliina probably feels quite out of place here in Esko, Bowen said jokingly. “There aren’t very many kids at this high school, boy or girl, who have Scandinavian heritage, or have blonde hair and blue eyes.”
All kidding aside, know that even her host family the Iisakkas have a full Finnish heritage. “Both my husband and I are 100 percent Finnish, so it’s fun really experiencing the culture through Pauliina,” Donna mentioned.
It’s also nice for Pauliina to be surrounded by folks in Esko whose last names are Juntunen, Koivisto, Lehto, Seppala, Pykkonen, Numminen, Heikkinen, Liupakka…and numerous Norwegian and Swedish surnames as well.
And just because Pauliina is from Finland, doesn’t mean she hasn’t seen various parts of the world.
Like many Europeans, she and her family have visited almost the entire continent of Europe. But with each new country is a new language, and an entirely different culture.
She also has visited lands such as Egypt, Turkey and the Canary Islands.
“Places like Germany, Italy and England are not a very long flight from Finland and each other, and they are all very different places with different kinds of people,” she said. “In the United States, with the huge size of this country, you can fly for six to seven hours and still be in the country! I’m sure cultures from each coast of the U.S. are still different, though.”
Soon enough Pauliina will find that out.
The Iisakkas are planning on taking Pauliina on a trip to somewhere very different from Minnesota, inside the U.S., before she leaves for home again.
“We’ll make sure she sees other parts of the U.S., not just northern Minnesota,” said Donna. “It’ll really open her eyes to just how different other parts of the U.S. are.”
“If people could see what a great kid Pauliina is, I think the AFS student exchange program would be much stronger in this area,” said host mom Donna. “Of course, not every AFS student works out as well as Pauliina has, but in the four or so months she’s been staying with us, it’s been a wonderful experience.
She has about seven months left in the U.S. before she packs her bags and returns home.
She missed her family and friends when she left her home in Kotka, Finland, and the thought of parting with them for almost a year was very difficult for her.
It’s only late December and she’s already dreading having to leave all of hernew friends and host family in Esko. But according to Pauliina, the memories she takes with her will be worth the trip both back and forth.
In the Photo: Pauliina Posti at her school. Pauliina’s warm, friendly personality and willingness to experience the American way of life have endeared her to her host family, teachers and friends.
Story by Mat Gilderman, reprinted with permission from the The Pine Journal, Cloquet, Minnesota, January 2, 2006.
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