Batman has a Bad Attitude

Growing up, my mom always threw "Happy First Day of School" parties.  She baked a cake, decorated it with a school bus, and sometimes even put streamers up around the dining room.  While I did not celebrate in quite the same manner this year, my first day of Finnish school was definitely just as memorable.

Today, I attended my first class—Finnish I.  So far so good.  Katri Niemi is a lively professor who keeps the class attentive with her humor and enthusiasm.  On the left side of the class sits a large contingent of Japanese students, while much of Europe is represented on the right half of the class (just to give you an idea, there are students from Spain, Belgium, Portugal, France, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Turkey, Poland and Germany). 

After taking attendance and getting through general course information, we dove into learning basic Finnish pronunciation and introductory phrases.  I quickly found myself being volunteered by the professor as I am the sole native English speaker in the class.  Would the girl from the States please say this phrase aloud?  Reading the words she scrawled across the board, I recited in a loud, clear voice, Batman has a bad attitude.  A few giggles were heard around the room as the teacher explained how I pronounced the Finnish vowel ä almost perfectly when reading the word "attitude."  It was a good first day of class.  I can't wait for more to begin.

Yes, that is me waving at you from the background.