Sauna and Finland go hand in hand and sauna is perhaps the most quintessential Finnish thing worldwide. Name a better duo, I dare you. We have over three million of those things. That’s more than privately owned cars. They range anywhere between large public saunas and tiny saunas in small one room apartments where you might need to put your toes on the hot rocks to fit in. One grades saunas on the quality of the “löyly” that they give. There is no word in English language for “löyly”, basically it’s the whole experience of throwing water on the hot rocks and sweating your butt off. Wood heated saunas give generally better experience than electrically heated ones. Not that using an electric sauna is a mortal sin in Finland or anything, like putting pineapple on a pizza in Italy for example. They are a good substitute, and in some cases the only prudent choice.
Ideally, the sauna experience is best when combined with a plunge to a lake/sea between sessions, be it summer or winter. The colder the water, the better. Rest of the world seems to be catching on with this crazy thing and exposure to hot sauna/icy cold water is the latest health craze. They have even studied what is the most optimal duration and temperature for sauna & cold water. For sauna it is about 80 degrees Celsius for 57 minutes and for cold water exposure below 15 degrees Celsius for 11 minutes per week. Not that any self-respecting Finn would go to a sauna with a stopwatch, we’re not German after all. Just enjoy the experience as much as you see fit.
What is sisu? It’s usually described as perseverance, resilience, grit, and bravery in front of insurmountable odds. While the forementioned manage to touch on some elements of the word, none can describe the essence of it. No word in English (or any other language for that matter) can. Whole books have been written trying to explain it, with varying success. Translated into student life sisu would mean preparing yourself properly for upcoming exams when there is anything better to do, or working hard enough on a project that doesn’t really interest you at all to get a good grade. Or perhaps it means saying “no” to “one more drink” knowing full well what it would make you feel the next morning. On the other hand, it could mean saying “yes” to ten “one more drink”’s. Or perhaps that’s just stupidity, not sisu. The following sentence I read somewhere captures the meaning of sisu pretty good: “Sisu begins where perseverance ends.”
I think most of us have seen the photo of Finnish people standing at a bus stop with 1–2 meters of personal space between each. This image captures the essence of Finnish people and their preference for personal space and need for solace accurately. In public transport it’s not uncommon to see people sitting anywhere but next to each other. If you are unlucky for having to sit next to another person, you will surely switch to an empty double seat as soon as one becomes available. Or hoping that just for this one time, you could go run your errands downtown without seeing any half-acquaintances (or God forbid total strangers) who insist on having small talk with you for some strange reason.
Personally, I love peace & quiet very much and the best place to enjoy it is in the beautiful Finnish nature. Be it at a remote summer cabin next to a lake or in an old spruce bog with just you, your thoughts and the sounds of the nature, nothing quite beats it.
Comments