Most Finnish traditions, activities and customs stem from our relationship with our nature: the forests, lakes and mountains/hills that surround us. Mushroom and berry picking, fishing, avanto (ice swimming) and sauna are only a few examples of the things most Finns either grew up doing or take part in currently. These activities are also the ones I suggest to my non-Finnish friends when they come to Finland. Another uniting trait of these activities is that they can be done alone or together with others. Finns tend to enjoy being alone and being in our vast lakes and forests also supports that predisposition. Being in nature means quietness and stillness from our daily responsibilities and worries.
Another corner of Finnishness is valuing the free time. This can be seen in many aspects of our culture. Businesses have strict opening hours, employees rarely work overtime and are asked and compensated if they do, students do most of their assignments during school time and no one is expected to be reachable during their vacations. Many of my non-Finnish friends have been surprised about how much vacation time we have. They also wonder how our basic education is at the level it is as we mainly study in school and do not have hours of homework to complete after school. In my plans to work outside of Finland, my precious free time is what I am most afraid of losing.
One thing Finns may struggle with in unfamiliar spaces and foreign land is the introversion that the Finnish society encourages. Small talk, sitting next to and even greeting strangers is seen in a rather negative light — someone invading our personal bubble. The sparsity of the population has led us to appreciate the quiet and our own personal space a lot. But it also results in us having unsocial and unapproachable behavior in situations and societies that require extraversion. This also affects the people who come to Finland as integrating into our culture is challenging when the people of the culture are not speaking to or even approaching you. As my Finnish and non-Finnish friends say, “the best way to get a Finn talking is to get them drunk”.
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