Getting ready for my exchange in a new country and thinking about all the great new things I will experience there, made me think about the things I will miss about Finland. In addition to my friends and family and some Finnish foods, there are couple of things that came to my mind.
Respecting people’s personal space, safety, and the honesty of people are things that I will miss for sure at some point. Here in Finland, we are so used to not being surrounded by too many people (as the population is quite small) and being able to just mind your own business throughout the day, wherever you are. In public transportation, you can happily sit next to the window alone and have good luck enough to have no one sit next to you during the whole trip. Avoiding eye contact with strangers is something Finns do a lot, as a habit. In many situations, avoiding eye contact gives a very rude impression of a person which is why I think people should try not to do that.
Feeling safe in Finland (almost) anywhere I go is something that I personally value a lot. Obviously, bad things can happen to anyone also in Finland but the probability of that is a lot smaller than in many other places.
Honesty of people can be seen many ways in Finland. For example, if you go ask for directions from a random person and they don’t have the answer, they honestly tell you that. Unlike somewhere else, people might just not feel comfortable telling you they don’t know something and just make something up. Another proof of the honesty is that if a person leaves a bag, for example, at the cafeteria table or a bus, there is a great chance of getting it back – with nothing stolen.
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