When everyday life suddenly shifts from the familiar to the unknown, you quickly realize how strongly your own ways of thinking and behaving are tied to your home country and its familiar surroundings. Living abroad, cultural comparison becomes part of daily life, and even the smallest differences in how people act and behave begin to stand out.
In Finland everyday life usually goes simply and without much effort. Things seem to work on their own, and many aspects of life are taken for granted. In a new culture, these small details that once felt ordinary suddenly become more visible and you realize how much they actually matter. Abroad, even the simplest tasks can feel like hard work, since the old habits and structures that supported daily life back home no longer exist.
While living in another culture, I believe that community became more visible. The sense of community in Finnish culture is not always loud or obvious, it’s more about being present with others. Even though Finns value personal space, spending time with people and feeling a sense of togetherness is still deeply important.
One of the things I value most in Finnishness is the balance between personal time and shared time. In Finland, it feels natural to have both, to enjoy moments with other people, and also to have your own space without explanation. In a new environment and culture, it is harder to find that space for yourself. Silence and calmness, which are part of everyday life in Finland, start to feel like a new kind of luxury abroad. For me, silence is not emptiness, it gives clarity and it makes room for presence.
I also appreciate the values that are strongly tied to Finnish identity, trust, honesty, and reliability. In Finland, you can rely on people’s words and actions, and that creates a sense of security in everyday life. These qualities may feel subtle in daily routines that I have, but I believe moving abroad you begin to see how rare and valuable they actually are.
Through these reflections, I have come to understand that Finnishness is built on simple and meaningful things like the value of silence, the importance of balance between time alone and time together. For me, Finnishness is having my own time and place, a moment when I don’t need to think too much, but can simply just be.
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