Finnishness

2.2.2022 — websystems

My experiences of Finnishness

When I think about Finland, I see snowy winters and rural Lapland. However, when I think about Finnishness, I tend to seek for more emotional aspect of Finland.

I moved abroad for the first time on 2018, when I booked a one-way ticket to Australia. That time in Australia, taught me a lot about my own relationship with Finland while I had never actually thought how I feel about Finland before leaving my home country for a longer period.

What I learned to appreciate the most about Finland was the freedom. When we are born, our whole life is filled with open doors. To mention a few: Our educational system is free, we have probably the best or one of the best health care systems(s) in Europe, our government supports students financially, we are allowed to camp everywhere, and we are on our way towards equality.

For me another important value about Finland is purity: Purity of nature and purity of people. We have a huge amount of untouched land in the northern parts of our homeland. The air is fresh and clean, which creates very relaxing atmosphere when a person travels up north. Also, the southern Finland is filled with forest. Once my Dutch friend told me, when we were hiking together, that he would love to live somewhere, where he didn´t have to travel a long time to visit forest. I live in apartment building 4km from the city centre of Tampere and I have a forest literally on my back yard. We have a possibility in Finland to have the best of both worlds: rural and urban.

I feel that Finnish people are also pure by their nature. Most of the time I can trust other Finnish people and believe, that they don´t want anything bad for me. We are raised humble and honest, which is probably why Finnish people are drawn to trust ability. I read an article about The Wallet test, where researchers lost 12 wallets in different cities on purpose. Then they waited to see how many of the wallets were returned. In Helsinki 11 out of 12 wallets found their way back to the owner.