Steiner
School
A
man traded Hare Krishna books on the parking lot. As I walked past,
he asked me about the bus schedules. I presumed he didn't understand
Finnish, so I answered in English. He thanked me and slipped a DVD
into my hand.
I
continued my journey until I reached the Steiner School of Helsinki.
As I stepped into the grand-looking building, I was taken aback by
the chaotic mess in the school lobby. I knew that somewhere here in
this space was the school office, but it was difficult to find anyone
behind the shelves, books, and stacks of paper. It looked like the
whole place was in a great disorder but, after looking around for
a while, it seemed that, despite the chaotic appearance, things were
at least to some extent taken care of.
Soon
I found a man wearing a brown coat. He didn't notice me as he talked
with a woman dressed in an old-fashioned way. Due to the respect shown
by the woman, I concluded that the man was the head master. He was
the person I wanted to talk with, but I didn't want to disturb them
as long as they were engaged in a conversation.
Clearly,
there was no queueing system nor a method for making appointments.
Above an old desk there was simply a sign that read: "A GOOD
MOMENT IS WHEN THE MOMENT IS GOOD." I continued waiting until
the principal turned to me. Remembering the sign I asked, "Is
this a good moment?" The man replied in a puzzling tone, "Yes,
what is a good moment...?" Then he asked, "Do you think
this is a good moment?" I had to think a while before I replied
that it really seemed so.
Earlier,
at home, we had considered various choices for our child's education,
so I wanted to enquire now about the curriculum and possible enrollment.
But I didn't have time to finish my sentence when the rector stopped
me. He pointed to the DVD I was holding.
"Where
did you get that?" he asked.
"I got it from a man in a parking lot," I replied.
Curiously,
at that moment, the very man I was talking about entered the lobby
and greeted the head master.
"That's
the man," I said. "He gave me the DVD."
The
mystery was solved. The man was the caretaker.
We
all sat down and watched the DVD together. It was a documentary about
the Steiner School of Helsinki. The movie seemed to be at least ten
years old. I couldn't help noticing that everyone was very thin -
even leaner than today. I suspected that it was all due to a vegetarian
diet.
