by Katja Tiainen Zarns
ST. PAUL, Minn. — As summer concluded, the Finnish American Association (FAA) had a cast and crew party that brought together board members past and present along with members who had been involved with our recent productions. It was particularly sweet to see each person share what the organization means to them, and to celebrate the many volunteers who help the FAA thrive.
The Finnish language classes continue to be popular and we saw a renewed interest in folk dancing and music. Our community also gathered for outdoor events and picnics while the weather was nice.
Consider my odd experience with curriculum and language acquisition! As a Finnish immigrant, my classmates and I learned British English via a Finnish curriculum — on a tape from Finland — while living in Sweden. The previous sentence is definitely a mouthful, and not the norm for people in general. There are so many paths for all of us to acquire language skills and cultural knowledge.
One recent in-person Finnish class was taught by a native Finnish speaker and helped students with conversation, reading and grammar. Our P.E. teacher was a Swedish man with a very pronounced mustache. It was not until fourth grade that we started studying English. Many of us only knew how to say one or two words, then we grew into a language community.
Boy 1: My name is J.J.; school bell rings. Boy 2: Come on, run!
Boy 1: Hello! What is your name? Boy 2: Hello!
The FAA will host two events in October. On Friday, October 16 you are invited to a screening of "Finland, MN" — a film by William "Ville" Besonen and Isaac "Arvo" Hansen. We hope to see you at the screening and at other upcoming fall events. For more information contact the FAA or visit their website.
Meanwhile, a local book club hosted by the FAA and the Finnish Genealogy Group of MN (FGGMN) continues to meet every third Thursday at a local library. The book club has been reading Satu Rämö's Hilde series. If you would like to join the in-person book club you can email Louise Morgan at louisemorgan21@gmail.com.