Living my childhood ”in the middle of the woods” has taught me to appreciate the clean nature and the peace and sounds it has to offer us. I believe that I’m not the only Finn, who’s favorite thing during the summer is just to sit outside, listen the wind rustling the leaves, birds and crickets chirping and the sound of a bee flying somewhere nearby and the scent of flowers… I love the fact that I can go and swim in a lake almost everywhere, because the nature is so clean in Finland. Somehow nature is the only thing that really soothes me, no matter what is going on in my mind.
I can’t really picture myself living in a city far from the true nature for the rest of my life. I believe that this is something almost every Finn has, some more than others. Of course everyone doesn’t need the feel of nature around them in their everyday life. Some never, but for many of us it is enough to have a summer cottage, mökki, where to spend the summer and enjoy the nature. In fact nature has always played a major part in our lives and that can be seen strongly in old Finnish mythologies. If you’re interested, here’s one site you may want to visit: http://www.finnishmyth.org/FINNISHMYTH.ORG/Welcome.html
Sometimes we Finns may seem rude, because we often lack the skill of small talk from the foreigners point of view. Our answers tend to be straight and short, which may give an impression, that we don’t really want to chat with you. I think that easier way to get to know a Finn is to have an conversation during an activity: doesn’t really matter if it is just walking or playing games, but doing something during the chatting makes the situation way more relaxed.
Pictures: @SaraHenriikka, http://sarahenriikka.blogspot.fi/
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