The most important aspects of the Finnish culture for me are nature, punctuality, and practicality. I have spent all the summers in my childhood at our family cabin, and therefore got very close to nature since a very early age. Just to name a few highlights, I used to go pick blueberries with my grandparents and row a boat at the lake, fish with my dad and I even built a little hut in the forest with my brother from the supplies we found from there. Nature has therefore always been very important for me, and I cannot imagine Finland without it. Later in life I have spent many days and nights hiking in Finnish national parks, such as Oulanka, Pyhä-Luosto, Repovesi and Helvetinjärvi. The nature in these places is stunning and beautifully preserved. The clean air and trash free nature are something that I strongly associate with Finnishness.
A different form of Finnishness is the strict punctuality of all (or at least most 
of) the Finns. For example, if I am meeting my friends, I can always count on them informing me if their plans or timetables have changed in any way. It’s very nice to be able to plan your own life based on the fact that in Finland things mostly happen when they are supposed to happen. I have learned to value this a lot, especially when I am traveling abroad and realize that timetables cannot always be trusted, and people might be considerably late.
Work-life balance is another factor of the Finnish culture that I have learned to appreciate. In Finland, you are not expected to work on your days off or on your vacation, and people generally respect that. This guarantees a chance for everyone to enjoy their time off without bad conscience. In general, people in Finland tend to take their work “lightly”, and they value their free time quite a lot.
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