Finland is a special country for me, since it suits so well with my personality and preferences, which helps me feel comfortable, yet still it is so different from my home country Vietnam, which makes it exciting and challenging living and studying here. So here are several things out of which I am fascinated about Finland.
Personal Space
Personal space is like a specialty of Finland. I mean there’s culture of personal space elsewhere, but nowhere it’s as unique and appreciated and afraid of violation like in Finland. Or at least it’s what I found. This is really good for me since now I can get away from other people without offending anyone :)) I think Finnish personal space should be learnt and applied everywhere else in the world.
Sauna and body image
Sauna is just one of the best things about Finland. There is no other place to relax, to think about life and to be yourself like in a sauna. However, it’s not just about relaxing, after coming to public sauna, I came to realize that sauna is such an excellent concept in order to erase the thought of body shame: you come into a public sauna, you see all these people showing all their body imperfection, you feel like it’s so stupid to think you’re too fat, too ugly, because appearance is not everything.
Nature
I love the fact that Finns love their nature and always try to protect it, so everywhere you go you can see the green of Mother Earth. Living in Finland, you have a better attitude toward environment protection, the lack of which is the issue in so many other countries.
Besides, is it too weird for me to say I love Finland’s winter and darkness? No?
However, I should also say that there are some things I don’t really like about Finland. Let me tell you:
- Drunkards
- Smoking people
- Icy slippery road in the winter
- Drunkards (yeah I need to mention them twice)
In conclusion,
I can’t say I am an adventure-oriented soul, though I still wanted to emerge myself into a totally new environment compared to my home country. So I found Finland just the perfect place: it’s different, but it’s slow enough for me to feel secured and comfortable. After two years in Finland, I know I would love and miss it a lot when I leave for my exchange, and for the rest of my life.
Much love,
Phuong.
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