Language and communication
One of the most important parts of Finnish culture (at least to me) is our language and the way us Finns communicate. Finns are very straightforward, and our language lacks many of the polite frills that many other languages, and especially English have. A coffee is ordered by saying “coffee” not “one coffee, please”. If we bump into another person we often say “whoops” instead of “sorry”. If there is nothing to say, we really say nothing.
Silence can be quite uncomfortable for people who are used to small-talk, but Finns are able to enjoy company without saying a word. These are also the reasons why Finns may come off as rude or cold to people who are not from here, but that’s hardly the truth. If we ask “how are you”, it’s not because it’s polite, but because we want to hear the answer.
Climate and nature
Us Finns are so used to our climate that we take it for granted. I’ll admit, it can be cold. Oh, so cold. But we tend to forget how much worse it is to live somewhere very warm. Grass is always greener on the other side and so on, but if you are cold, you can put on more layers of clothes. Turn up the heat. There is only so much you can do if it is very humid and hot. You cannot escape it. The climate in Finland is actually a very pleasant one to have, and one we should cherish of instead of complain about.
Even if you live in a bigger city, nature is never far away in Finland. Finns love their outdoor activities, and thanks to our full four seasons, there’s something out there for everyone. Whether it’s skiing, berry picking, running, geocaching, biking, hiking… you can enjoy it all in the Finnish nature and forests. A run in the woods is one of my favorite past times after a stressful day, and it’s something I really miss if I can’t do it.
“I can walk that far”
Not sure which topic this specifically relates to, but in my general experience, Finns are used to, and are comfortable with walking to places. This has to do with Finland being quite sparsely populated.
Many people are originally from areas where distances between places (such as your home and the nearest shop, or maybe your school) are much longer than the average distances in cities, and most often you had to go by foot because public transport might not even exist. There are no “snow days” in Finland. You’ll be damn sure we still walked to school in knee deep snow, or in any other kind of weather condition.
At least this habit of ours is a healthy one to have.
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