I feel that I can safely say that every Finnish person interprets Finnishness in their own unique way. Since all of us were born and raised in different places and in different environments there are lots of differences that occur. However in my case I was born and raised in Helsinki which is the capital of Finland. Due to being raised in the capital city my appreciation for Finnish nature is big and I do enjoy being in the Finnish nature golfing, hiking etc. but I prefer the so called “city life”. Having all the services that I need from a walking distance away is something I appreciate more than being in the nature. But considering how I feel being really Finnish is by drinking way too much coffee than I probably should and due to the fact that summer lasts in Finland approximately 3 months I enjoy it so much more than probably a lot of people in different countries.
I feel that Finnishness and avoiding small talk with strangers go hand in hand. I consider myself a type of person that likes engaging with new people but I also know that so many of my current friends are not like that at all. However I feel that a big part of Finnishness is supporting our sports teams especially Ice Hockey and Soccer. We are proud of our small nations athletes that win world cups to our country and we celebrate accordingly. Whenever we win the world cup of hockey most of us Finns have a tradition of going to the market square “torille” and we party all night.
So in conclusion to me Finnishness is appreciating nature, summer, our nations teams and coffee. I am proud to be from Finland and feel safe to walk wherever in Finland at what time of the day and feel safe.
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