{"id":153859,"date":"2025-12-17T01:32:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T23:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/?p=153859"},"modified":"2025-12-16T16:37:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T14:37:29","slug":"marjukka-found-a-new-home-and-job-in-tartu-its-hard-not-to-like-tartu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/marjukka-found-a-new-home-and-job-in-tartu-its-hard-not-to-like-tartu\/","title":{"rendered":"Marjukka found a new home and job in Tartu: \u201cIt\u2019s hard not to like Tartu!\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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The Christmas tree on Tartu\u2019s Town Hall Square sparkles in the December dusk. Skaters circle the Kissing Students on the ice rink. It is an eye-catching sculpture in front of the grand Town Hall. Marjukka Laitinen<\/b> is enjoying a Christmassy Tartu. She has been a resident of Tartu for a year and a half now.<\/p>\n

\u201cTown Hall Square, with its lights and magnificent Christmas trees, enchants passers-by. Hurry and stress melt away on their own when you allow yourself to pause for a moment, enjoy a cup of mulled wine, and consider whether to hire skates and go skating on the rink set up on Town Hall Square,\u201d says Marjukka Laitinen.<\/p>\n

But how did Marjukka end up in Tartu?<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent 35 years in Helsinki as a primary school teacher, a preparatory class teacher, and an S2 teacher. I thought I would retire from the capital, but fate decided otherwise. I still remember that Women\u2019s Day in 2024 when I received an email from Heidi Iivari<\/b>, the chair of the Finnish School of Tartu Association. I was asked whether I would come to teach Finnish language and literature. I thought about it for half a second and said yes!\u201d<\/p>\n

That marked the beginning of Marjukka\u2019s new career at the Finnish School of Tartu that same autumn. She has long been interested in Estonia, its language, history, and culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy city in Estonia was always Haapsalu. I bought a second home there in 2017, and thought I would settle there as a pensioner. Tartu was more unfamiliar, but it has gradually become my new home city.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Tartu Town Hall Square Christmas tree in its festive lighting.\u2028<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n

The Finnish School of Tartu is small and community-oriented<\/h2>\n

There has been a Finnish school in Tartu for 25 years. It works in close cooperation with the Tartu International School, and everyday life is shared together. There is no need for a school bell, as the bells of the nearby church mark the hours and half-hours. There are around 80 pupils in the schools altogether, and 30 children in the kindergarten. There are more than twenty nationalities represented.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was easy to blend into the teaching staff. Colleagues welcomed me warmly and also supported me with the language. Here Wilma is called Stuudium, and assessment is done using several grading scales. The small, cosy school operates in a community spirit. I especially look on warmly at how pupils of different ages work together on excursions and theme days,\u201d Marjukka describes her working life.<\/p>\n

Marjukka does not see major differences in everyday school life. Weekly staff meetings allow time to reflect on pupils\u2019 learning and overall wellbeing. The building is full of experienced people who have worked at the school for a long time, and issues can be addressed quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere I have time for the pupils,\u201d Marjukka sums up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Festive activities at the Finnish School of Tartu. Marjatta and the pupils bake gingerbread for the entire school community. Family members of the pupils can also take part in the sessions.\u2028<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n

So what do Marjukka\u2019s pupils recommend to visitors to Tartu?<\/h2>\n

\u201cTartu is a cosy Christmas city. The experts\u2014my pupils\u2014recommend that Christmas visitors go to caf\u00e9s and theatres, and wander along the peaceful streets up to Toomem\u00e4gi Park.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pupils of the Finnish School of Tartu celebrate all the same Finnish holidays at school as pupils in Finland do. For example, Finnish Independence Day was celebrated on 6 December. The celebration has long traditions in Tartu. If you missed it this year, you can still join in next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn Finnish Independence Day, the bells of Tartu\u2019s Town Hall traditionally play Jean Sibelius<\/b>\u2019s \u201cFinlandia\u201d. After that, greetings are exchanged, the letkajenkka<\/i> is danced, and mulled wine is enjoyed. The pupils of the Finnish school have an important role in the celebrations. Among other things, they bake Finland-shaped gingerbread for the Tartu International School, which operates in the same building, and organise Finland-themed games and quizzes. For years, various Finnish organisations in Tartu have arranged not only a gathering on Town Hall Square but also an Independence Day celebration with concerts and distinguished speakers. Pupils from our school have also performed at these celebrations,\u201d Marjukka describes the day\u2019s events.<\/p>\n

Marjukka Laitinen is a satisfied woman and teacher: \u201cI am a comforting example of how a woman in her sixties can be given the opportunity, even at the twilight of her career, to do something different and learn something new. In short: it\u2019s hard not to like Tartu.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Students in their school\u2019s Finnish-language library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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