Pauliina Outing

In November, Himmat, Julia, and I spent the afternoon with our AFS student Pauliina. We ate some delicious Taiwanese food at Pine and Crane in Silver Lake, where we met up with Lucas. who then drove the rest of the group to the base of Griffith Observatory. The five of us hiked up to the Planetarium to look around. While we enjoyed finding out our weights on various planets, the highlight of our time there was probably the gorgeous view of Los Angeles that awaited us at the top of the hill, a short but suitably hot hike from the car park. Lucas dropped us off at a park after a quick stop at Baskin Robins, then we were shuttled back to Poly by my dad.

But I learned more from the experience than the scheduling skills required to plan an event without any drivers in the group. Hearing Pauliina describe her life in Finland was fascinating. Did you know there is no small talk in Finland? She noticed that people here are sometimes feel uncomfortable in lulls in conversation whereas she is happy to sit in silence. That concept got me thinking about how many of the conversations that I have been having would qualify as "small talk." It's an interesting exercise, going through life wondering if people in Finland would be having the conversation you are having.

On the car ride home, Himmat and I were debating politics. It is my firm belief that humans are not inherently self-serving or immoral, but rather that our society rewards selfishness and thus teaches children to "look out for number one." I asked Pauliina whether her school in Finland talked about success in the same way American schools did, whether it reinforced competition or instead fostered collaboration. The more Socialist Finnish government, I reasoned, would seek to encourage a more communal view of success. Pauliina replied that in her school the class succeeds and fails together, and it is the duty of the more successful to help the struggling. Special teachers and resources are directed toward these goals. Meanwhile, we teach students here to work individually, to leave the teaching to the teachers, and to prioritize their learning so that they can "do the best they can do." This approach creates a competitive attitude; it is easiest, we are taught, to get ahead by refusing to help others. Notice any parallels with government?

Throughout the afternoon, Pauliina was insightful, personable, and reasonably adept in small talk. I learned a great deal from her and was delighted to hear that she is learning a lot from the Poly community as well. I am happy we had this opportunity to get to know Pauliina a little better. I am among the many members of my grade who are more than a little peeved that we never got an AFS student of our own, but I am fortunate to have been able to connect to Pauliina despite our different course loads and social groups.