What Finnishness Means to Me?
I feel very Finnish. I have traveled a lot in my life, so I have had the opportunity to experience many different cultures. I find it wonderful that I have some Finnish traditions and aspects that become more pronounced when I am abroad. Now that I am going on an exchange, I want to highlight a few Finnish things that I have noticed.
Shyness
We Finns are shy, and it shows. When abroad, this shyness can become even more noticeable because Finns don’t engage in small talk with strangers. I have encountered situations a few times where I felt out of my comfort zone when talking to a stranger. I would like to overcome this because nowadays I enjoy chatting with someone who knows nothing about me. It’s fun to notice the difference in how quickly people abroad offer help compared to Finland. I might be looking at my phone for directions on the street, and someone has already asked if I need help. In Finland, very few people volunteer to help, especially not that quickly.
Finnish Summer
I love Finnish summer. It feels like the whole of Finland comes to life during that time. People are in a good mood, and nature looks beautiful. I feel a strong sense of Finnishness, especially during Midsummer. Midsummer is one of my favorite events of the year. It feels like Midsummer isn’t really Midsummer without Finnish summer. Finnish summer can be rainy and windy or hot with mosquitoes, but I believe for many Finns, Midsummer is one of the biggest holidays of the year.
Customer Service Culture
It seems that the concept of customer service culture is still unfamiliar to many. However, as someone who has traveled extensively, I have noticed a significant difference compared to other countries. Finnish customer service culture is held in high regard. Many people in customer service have a “customer service voice” or “customer service attitude.” Abroad, people are themselves, but in Finland, it feels like customer service representatives are all robots. Why can’t customer service representatives in Finland also be genuinely themselves? It seems like the standard here has been raised very high.
“The customer is always right.” Unfortunately, that’s not the case. This too seems to be a Finnish trait. In Finland, you cannot contradict a customer; instead, you have to use formal language and be understanding. Abroad, many customer service representatives will directly tell the customer if they are wrong. Of course, abroad, customer service representatives can be rude and too straightforward, but I think we should take a little inspiration from other countries on how customer service representatives there are more relaxed.
I take pride in being able to throw around phrases like “torilla tavataan” (“we’ll meet at the market square”) as an inside joke for all of Finland, because no one else would understand it. I want to maintain my Finnishness and also bring Finnishness to the awareness of others.
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