My experience of Finnishness
Space
Having space is not always granted, meaning that crowds of people are common and there is little to no escape from other people outside ones home. In Finland you can get away from people easily and don’t have to travel far from home to experience peace and quiet. That is a real luxury on top of the beautiful nature that we have.
Tolerance and being considerate
You don’t notice it easily but when associating in situations like cash registers, pharmacy, public transport or asking for help in a store (info-points) etc. you are allowed to take your time. Usually there is no rush with making transaction at the cash register and you can pack your groceries in peace.
People are more tolerant towards you if you have to take time or atleast they won’t push you to act more quickly.
Nowhere tap water tastes as good as it does in Finland. I am so grateful that I get to live in a country where the water is clean and safe where ever you go. It’s truly a lottery win to be born in Finland, that’s a phrase you hear when someone is describing Finland and living there.
For me it means free education system, where you don’t have to worry about paying for schooling and there usually are opportunities for everyone and I hope that in future we also hold on to that so we can offer free education.
Peaceful country of which government is mostly trustworthy and democracy is stable. Of course Finland has it’s problems but for the most part it is a peaceful place to live and be yourself. Also Finland is a country where you can protest freely and talk about the faults of our system without being persecuted or protesting being too dangerous. It is very important for me as a citizen to be able influence and change the system.
And the cherry on cake or the blueberries on the blueberrypie, is that we have lots of space, sauna, beautiful nature and clean water. The every mans right ensures that we can freely enjoy the nature, harvest its fruits and it keeps us healthy and sane during the dark winter moths and for me it’s one more thing to be proud of. Maybe the most Finnish thing is the culture around nature.
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