Well hello again! Believe me, I'm as surprised as anyone to see this blog back, but in the last week or so my entire life has kind of turned upside down, and this seemed like a fitting place to document it. As my last post- in December 2011- said, I applied to a Masters program in Finland. It's been the ideal program that I've compared every grad program to for a year and a half. And after months of waiting and giving up and accepting a place at a school in England, I got an email last Tuesday informing me that I was accepted into the Peace, Mediation, and Conflict Research program in Tampere, Finland.
WHAT?? I was all set to go to University of Bradford. And as happy as I thought I was with that decision, I knew right away when I got the email that England isn't going to cut it. Not when my dream program is suddenly an option. If you know me at all you know I'm pretty indecisive. So of course I spent a couple days trying to make the decision as complicated as possible, and pretending I still wanted to go to England. And then I was talking to a coworker about it, and he stopped me and said "Sarah, why are you making it seem so complicated? It's obvious that you've already made your decision. Do what's going to make you happy."
It's not about the money I don't have. That will come from somewhere, even if I end up in debt for the rest of my life. Plus I have an extra kidney I can sell. It's not about the two years in a foreign country. Skype is wonderful and I'm blackmailing all my friends and family into coming to visit. It's not even about the fact that Finland is super dark and depressing in the winter. I dealt with it before and I'll be buying a sunlight lamp for this time.
What it IS about is the graduate program that seems like it's been made just for me. It's about the fact that I get to study conflict and peace with a specialization in Psychology. I get to use all that stupid research methods stuff that I hated but secretly loved and miss every day. I get to learn things that will make me a better person and the world a better place. And I get to do it in a country that I am way too interested in for my own good. I love Finland in the way I love the Cubs. They're the underdog and the butt of some jokes, but nobody can convince me that they're not great.
I am SO beyond excited, but with less than 3 months until I leave, I'm also so beyond stressed! I have to figure out where I'm going to live, how and when I'm going to get there, how I'm going to get a residence permit (I have to go to New York to get fingerprinted at the Finnish consulate??), what I'm going to do with all my possessions for 2 years, and how I'm going to tell my boss I'm quitting instead of taking the new position she wants me to apply for.
So I have a couple things to do, and would gladly take any thoughts, prayers, or extra money you feel like giving me. I probably won't be updating again until I leave, but I wanted to let people know my plans and if you want to see me before 2015 you've got 3 months!
