A little insight to Finnishness

A little insight to Finnishness

I’d like to think that we Finns are quite peaceful, modest, and trustworthy. Some may find it hard to make friends of Finns (especially if you’re example from Spain, Mexico or some really easy/outgoing country) but when you do, it should be worth the trouble and may be a lifelong friendship. I’d like to think that for a many Finn the amount of friends doesn’t really count but instead the quality of the friendship. I’ve noticed that I’m proud of being a Finn. I see no shame in that and usually I like to express it when meeting new acquaintances from other countries and usually the reception is good.

A picture from a Finnish summer cottage. The place where many Finns go to relax.

Finnish language

Finnish language is hard to learn, no doubt of it. If you take the challenge of trying to learn it we do appreciate very much when you try to use it even though it wouldn’t make too much sense or sounds bit funny, just have the courage to try it out. What may come as a surprise is that we don’t have the word ”please”. Quite often it might be replaced by ”thank you” which is ”kiitos or kiitti” in Finnish but ”please” doesn’t exist in our vocabulary.

If you don’t want to be expert in the Finnish language then you should only master the Finnish way of cursing and of course the Finnish word ”sisu”. Finns have many different words for cursing and my personal opinion is that Finnish cursing sounds more impressive and convincing compared to other languages.

Finns are some what obsessed with the weather forecasts. This temperature might be our warmest on a “bad summer”.

Some tips for a foreigner in Finland

– Be punctual. We appreciate it. If the event that you’re attending is more casual like preparty, housewarming party then it can be okey to be bit late but even then it is not a bad thing to be on time.

– Don’t do empty promises. Usually if somebody tells that he/she is going to do something, we expect it to happen.

– Finns like their personal space. You will notice this if you’re travelling with bus / waiting for a bus in Finland. No more spoilers about this subject, you will found out.

– Religion doesn’t usually play too big role for the common Finn. Most of the youth describe themselves liberal and open.

– Ice hockey is the number #1 sport for most of the Finns. Not too many might actually play it but it’s the most popular sport in Finnish fan culture.