For the topic of my Finnishness blogpost I chose the finnish values, since these areas of life finnish people often find common ground with and aspects revolving around the basic values can be used to sprout interesting conversation topics about what it means to live in Finland.
Honesty and integrity
The honest nature of finnish people must be one that I value the most. The privilege of trusting people around you is extremely engraved in the finnish society: leave your belongings to a café and you are sure to find them where you left them even hours later, drop your keys or a wallet on the street and someone has brought it to the lost-and-found. I would like to think this is an inherent quality finns embody, but part of it must be a benefit of a welfare state where a central idea is that as a community we take care of each other. Honesty also goes with the way finnish people speak. Finns dislike superficiality and often speak their minds – or stay silent if there is nothing nice to be said. Integrity with one’s words is also valued.
Environment
As Finland has a short history of urbanization, many of us are still very connected to nature and the countryside where finnish people are scattered in our large country. Even cities are closely cut from nature and blend in to our national sceneries, such as the beautiful Tampere city center that lies in the presence of the two lakes and a rapid flowing through the city scenery is impossible to miss. Finns are proud of the large forests and hundreds of clear lakes we have been able to maintain even until today. Cleanliness of nature also extends to the cities and rarely can you find trashed streets or parks.
Finnish values are well spread outside of the country boarders and Finland is known as a peaceful, safe, and clean place with trustworthy inhabitants. This social fabric makes Finland an intriguing place for foreigners, but also requires Finns to be cautious of these cultural quirks when visit other cultures.
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