Finnishness and growing up in Finland can offer different experiences for everyone. Still, aspects that are great in Finland like free healthcare and -education, safe environments, and cleanliness offer everyone similar opportunities. Finnishness can mean different things to everyone but for me, my Finnishness can be condensed into one story. This story can feel similar to what many Finnish people experience in their life and that is also what makes this country and culture.
Often, when I was younger, I and my family went to our cabin during the summer. This summer was no different. I got off school for my summer holiday a few weeks back and my parents used some of their summer vacation days at this time. Many working people get long summer vacations from work in Finland compared to other countries. I and my family headed for our cabin in Turku’s archipelago. Our cabin was located on one of these islands. Finnish summers were not as warm before, they have gotten hotter during the years but early June is usually quite cold. This summer was different. It was 25 degrees and we were driving towards our boat across many bridges over great big lakes and bright blue sky with the sun blazing. We got to our boat where my grandparents were waiting for us with the boat ready to go. We headed off towards our cabin. The sea was cold as always, and the wind on the sea was calmer than usual. We heard seagulls and saw many sea eagles. After about 30 minutes we arrived at our cabin. Big island covered in trees and green. After settling in me and my father went to drop off fishnets to have fish to eat later on. The cabin was not that big, did not have electricity, and had a sauna building closer to the sea. Later, after dinner and while waiting for the sauna to warm up, my grandpa and I climbed to the highest point of the island and watched the awesome views of the sea and islands.
I would say that this is what being Finnish means to me. These experiences are not unique for other Finnish people but for someone that lives in China or New York, I would say that this is quite unique.
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