Finally arriving to Malta

Learning Diaries, Training Places,

Hello everyone! It’s Remu writing here from sunny Malta. It’s 18°C.

Our flight from Helsinki – Vantaa airport left at 6am. We had to change the plane in München to get to Malta. München’s airport was really great, large windows brought the warm sun inside. We were really tired when we got to München, so we mostly just lied on the chairs and browsed Facebook with the free Wi-Fi. Finally our flight took off and two hours later we arrived to our destination: Malta.

It was such a beautiful sight to look out of the window in the airplane and see all the clouds and the sunrise. It’s moments like these that are hard to forget.

At the airport we waited for our luggage to arrive for a half an hour. Then we walked into the lobby to search for our very own taxi driver. He turned out to be a real gem: he showed us the nearest grocery stores on our way here and helped us unlock the front door to our accommodation. The locks around here are very fragile, so you have to be careful when opening them. Also on our way here I was amazed by the traffic: everyone drives on the left and the driver sits on the ”wrong” side of the car, compared to Finland of course. That’s just something we have to get used to!

Soon after getting settling down in our apartment we met our flatmates, they’re very nice. After that we hurried to buy some groceries because we hadn’t eaten in a very long time (if you don’t count the strange things they tried to feed us on the airplane).

This is what they gave us on the München – Malta flight. It was alright but didn’t fill all the hunger in our tummies.
Malta’s street view

 

Now we’re just chilling together in our flat. The clock here is one hour less than in Finland.  Not so bad to get used to 🙂

 

Sincerely,

Remu & Kirppu

Weeks 6, 7 and 8 here in Ibiza

Learning Diaries,

Okay, so our last week is starting tomorrow and these last three weeks in here have been busiest so far. Now that the season is changing and all the tourists start roaming the streets in here, all the shops that have been closed for the winter are again opening their doors for the public, and as an electrician it has been busy as hell.

The work i´ve done this past week has been has been fun and at the same time a bit stressing  because of all the rush, im so tired after running from place to place and the heat is also quite overwhelming. Luckily theres always the weekends when you get to relax a little bit

We have been in many places and the local fire department was one of them, we had to install a  lot of LED-string inside the fire-equipment doors, it took nearly a week to install the LED´s to nearly all of the firetrucks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also have had quite a few aircondition installing jobs, which are always a huge pain in the ass because you have to work on the roof and theres always so hot.  And the consumption of water has been absolutely enormous, you HAVE to drink like 3 liters of water during working hours or things are gonna go south really quickly, especially if the work you´re doing is something that requires a lot of physical strenght.

I still cant stop admiring the views everyday at work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have visited a lot of places during our free time and on weekends, the tourism students took us on a bus trip through the island and showed us some great little towns and we had a really nice time. This is a scenery from one of the towns (i dont remember which one)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also they took us to visit a small church in one of the villages. This one is called Sant Ines (all of the churches are named after a saint).

 

 

 

Springtime in Denmark

Learning Diaries,

Work has been going great this week and I feel like I’ve learned a lot. I’ve seen and heard about different customs of danish floristry culture, got some more challenging works to do and I feel like I’ve also  gotten to be a little faster at my work (because sometimes I can be a bit slow). My weakness in bouquets has been tall and big bouquets, but this week I got some training for that. My boss told me that in Denmark many customer like tall bouquets and with his instructions I made few tall bouquets. I think th results were quite good and I also got good tips how to make showy bouquets

People in Denmark take also these kind of decorations to graves

I went to Aarhus to shop and eat on Saturday because I couldn’t think of anything else to do. Today on Sunday the weather has been great so

I went for a walk to a walking routes in forest nearby my place. There are no leaves yet in trees but the ground is full with a little white and yellow flowers, almost like a carpet. I love Denmarks nature, the light forests and vast fields that go on and on. It’s nice change to Finlands nature which is also beautiful in different kind of way.

Visitor from Mallorca

Incoming Teachers,

By Mr Joan Rosselló, Head of Agriculture Department, IES Felanitx, Conselleria d’Educació, Cultura i Universitat

 

I am Mr. Joan Rosselló, teacher of the Agriculture Department at IES Felanitx (Upper secondary school in Mallorca, Spain). I have been lucky to visit JAO on a preparatory visit to arrange some Erasmus+ on-the-job training experience for our students next April and May.

Our college is situated in the town of Felanitx on the east coast of Mallorca island at about fifty kilometers far from Palma capital city. This village was once known by its wine production and now for its agricultural and touristic industry. There, students can get their Vocational Education Training diploma on the branches of Business and administration, Electricity and electronics and Agriculture. In this last case, we teach Horticulture, Gardening, Florestry, Landscaping and Rural environment. We have already had European Programs with many countries and Erasmus programs with United Kingdom and Poland.

During this preparatory visit, thanks to the accompaniment of Prof. Jari Järvenranta, I have visited the JAO colleges and most of their very well equipped installations in Jyväskylä and Jämsä. I have been able to see how teachers work and how they organize the classes in a very flexible way to offer the best chance to any student. I have visited the classrooms, the workshops and their open-air activities as well as their cozy common areas. I also have been accompanied to interview with many entrepreneurs of collaborative companies: plant nurseries, garden centers, florists and forest exploitations.

I have felt very welcome everywhere and fortunate to know firsthand very interesting places and people dedicated to vocational training. I could realize about the differences in educational, cultural and economic issues. I think none of them can be a problem for my students’ stay but a challenge and an opportunity to know, respect and love your culture and lifestyle. At the same time the Erasmus+ on the job training is a way to let you know somehow about our formation and lifestyle.

Finally, I think this preparatory visit has been widely worth to break the ice for many future good cooperation between Jyväskylä Educational Consortium and the Balearic Vocational Formation high schools. It is definitely about continuing working for the best formation and job opportunities for our Finish and Balearic students.

Thanks to anyone who has made this preparatory visit so helpful.

Last day at IMORI Virág-Enteriör, Budapest

Learning Diaries,

Today was my last workday and tomorrow evening I come back to Finland.
I would really spend another month here! In these four weeks I’ve seen unforgettable things, amazing people and learned a lot more about floristry and flower culture.
I’ve learned a lot of new ways of working which I can apply to my work in Finland.

I recommend working abroad to anyone who has thought about it!
In addition to travelling and seeing the world and learning new things it’s a great opportunity to network and meet top experts in the field.

So, here it is. This evening and tomorrow morning I’m going to visit my favorite shops, bars and restaurants. I will definitely return to Budapest someday, the city is lovely and there is so much to see (and the prices are student-friendly)

XOXO, Minna

International training placement in Malta

Training Places,

Hello!

We are two students, Remu (19) and Kirppu (18), from Jämsä college. We are currently studying our third year of tourism. On Monday the 10th of April we’re travelling to Malta for our international training placement. The placement will last six weeks. Our work place is a travel agency in Valletta called Britannia Tours. Here’s a link to their website: Britannia Tours Malta.

We’re very excited about this great opportunity to work abroad and improve our expertise on tourism industry. We will be writing on this blog once a week about what we have learned and experienced on our adventure!

Sincerely

Remu and Kirppu

Czechs in Finland

Incoming Students,

It has been very interesting and good for our practice. We learn a lot of new things, for example how to use program for 3D printer or how to make home instalation and another few projects. We saw how much is different school learning system in the Finland and in the Czech Republic. We saw how looks finlands kanteeen and meal there was very good. We wasnt just learning we try new sport, discgolf. And we visited a lot of destinations and cities. So our trip here was very nice and informative.

Hi, how are you?

Learning Diaries, Training Places,

…Is a rhetorical question. Unless when it isn’t. You’ll get the hang of it.

At work Sofia has planned activities for arts and crafts group and organized all the art supplies. The other group she has been working with is a democratic youth club. Her work mostly has been consisting of observing youngsters planning for an event where they will invite students from other schools.

I on the other hand have been busy with lots of different groups in Tuam. We have Syrian refugee families, junior clubs, senior clubs and many more. The group I have spent the most time with so far has been Tuam Comhairle na nÓg, which is Irish for youth council. They had an area event last week. There were about 50 young people taking part in it, busy day. I also went to their regional meeting to Galway on my first weekend here. Great bunch of youngsters.

Our new bff.

Last Saturday we got the opportunity to be judges in a talent show organized by Youth Work Ireland, Galway. Amazing acts were seen on that day, people here are so talented. After that we went to see Beauty and the Beast! Flipping amazing movie!

Two weeks went by flying. We have spent our weekends together in Galway and Tuam. Also, there is no working on Fridays, which is cool with us. And on Thursday we will begin Easter break and it will last about two weeks. We shall keep you updated … every now and then. Don’t expect too much.

Love from Ireland!
Juulia and Sofia

PS. Pictures coming in 3..2…1 HERE

Hello Denmark, see you soon!

Learning Diaries,


I’m Ulla Niskanen florist student from Jämsä College. My destination in Denmark is Jordbrugets UddannelsesCenter  Århus in Beder . My accommodation is at the school dormitory for a period of four weeks. I’ll do my practical training in flower shop Violen  in Odder town.

Working abroad is a great opportunity to learn something new and different. I’ll get a lot of experience and build up language skills and increase understanding of the host country’s culture and history.

My new suitcase is waiting for packing in the corner of the room. Hopefully there is enough space for my luggage.

Stay tuned!