Small cities and big forests

Finland, population of 5,5 million people is sparsely populated and when ever talking to foreign people you usually get astounded looks on their faces and a sentence “oh, so the whole country has less people in it than there is in my home town”. Our big cities are microscopic compared to some of the world’s metropolises and we, as a nation, haven’t been living in the cities, where all the commodities are close, for long.

Most of the population lived in the countryside still in the 1950’s and I think that it has had an affect in our culture and in our identities. We still have a good sense what is living in the countryside facing all the hardships in that way of living and not having everything in your access all the time. Maybe that’s why we have been raised to respect what we have and stay humble.

We also call common sense “maalaisjärki”, which directly translates to “country/rural sense”. That tells a lot about the appreciation for the countryside, basic reasoning and doing things yourself.

We also respect the nature a lot. Many of the Finns own a summer cottage by a lake where you can go and relax and enjoy the nature. And because our towns and cities are reasonably small, you are able to go to the nature basically in minutes. It doesn’t matter where you are, in a city center or at your home, there’s always lakes, rivers and forests close by which you can enjoy of.

I think these reasons, among other things, have molded us what we are as a nation and given us common sense and “sisu”, which we appreciate in ourselves. We are a rational nation with a will to work hard and we won’t give up even facing hardship.

This is what I’ve learned to appreciate in Finland and in Finnish culture and I can be proud of my Finnishness in all of the metropolises of the world.