Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 22 replies, 22 voices, and was last updated 22 years, 8 months ago by
.
- Posts
- What images do people of various backgrounds have of Finland? What do they know about my country?
User Detail :
Name : Leila K., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 18, City : Rauma, State : n/ Country : Finland, Occupation : student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class,I have been to Helsinki twice and found it to be an extraordinary blend of old and new. The architecture has the Russian influence, but Nokia has shown that the Finns can lead in technology. I also love the Finnish sense of design and handicrafts as evidenced by Marimekko, Fiskars, aarika and Arabia.User Detail :
Name : David-S, Gender : M, Race : Asian, Religion : Episcopalian, Age : 45, City : San Antonio, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Private Investor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,My images of Finland: Very cold land close to the North pole; extraordinarily long days in summer and similarly long nights in winter; the former could confuse the brain's timing mechanism, and the latter, depressing; relatively high suicide rate (one wonders if this is true). Finns are close to nature ('if you can't beat it, join it'), and enjoy skating, hiking, skiing and ice-fishing; many fjords; sailing is a popular pastime in summer; soccer (football) is probably a popular sport, especially among women; has produced legendary long distance runners (research topic: what's common to Finland, Ethiopia, Kenya and New Zealand?) and ice skaters; the summer Olympics have been held in Helsinki some decades ago. One of the smaller countries of Europe, population around 15(?) million; high standard of living; per capita GDP close to that of the United States; high tax rates, but also many government services, especially in health care and family support. Everyone knows English; awash in cell phones, thanks to Nokia; well-developed fishing industry, possibly also wood, furniture, pulp and paper; starkly modern furniture and area rugs come to mind. High percentage of blond(e)s (would Finns stop and stare unabashedly at my straight, black-and-silver hair and brown skin?); love of saunas (hot rocks, steam and leafy birch twigs may play a part) and natural treatments (herbs, mudpacks). Closest to Russia, many tours of Russia start in Finland; possibly share a love of colorless liquor with the Russians; but young people would rather be in Greece and Italy in summer (especially on the beaches of Mykonos) than in Russia. Casual, informal lifestyle; taciturn, not given to passionate expression (not a fully deserved reputation?); highly homogeneous society; hardly any segregation by socioeconomic class (are the two related?); large percentage of Lutherans, but smaller than in Norway, and not many have emmigrated to Minnesota or Wisconsin. Many of these images may be incorrect (but you asked for them), and you are welcome to correct them. By the way, I did not look up any reference book or internet source. Finally, two important questions for you: 1. Has any American fast-food restaurant with a Scottish name arrived in Helsinki yet? 2. What kind of food do you eat when you want to be adventurous? Note: the two questions are unrelated.User Detail :
Name : Thomas, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Indian (of India), Religion : Agnostic/Atheist, City : Arlington, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Operations Research, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,I think many Americans have the idea that Finland (if they even know where it is) is like Canada - snow-covered year-round (which is, of course, wrong about both countries). I am part Finnish, and while I have never been there, my parents have done genealogy research there, and I have e-mailed a distant cousin in Tuusula. I know you have lots of mosquitoes in the summer (at least where my cousin lives), and that your summers are not as long or as warm as ours. In school, Finland was not a country that we learned about or heard much about. (That is rather interesting, since I live in Michigan. The Upper Peninsula is full of Finns). It's not a place that many people here dream of visiting, unless we're part Finn. People just think 'Scandinavia' and imagine snow and reindeer. That may be true for a part of Finland, but certainly not the whole country.User Detail :
Name : Shari28088, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 29, City : Canton, State : MI Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I never think about Finland, and I have even been their once. Little internal news about Finland ever hits the U.S. media. The only time Finland gets any press is during the Winter Olympics when they win a few medals in oddball sports like Biathalon and speed skating. I think the common impression of Finland in the United States is of a small (population) country with lots of snow and reindeer. From a U.S. Government standpoint, Finland was mildly interesting as a bulwark against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, but even that fame is now over. I don't mean to be crass or arrogant, but you asked.User Detail :
Name : Steve27691, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 44, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Corporate Cubicle Kind of Guy, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,I've met a few Finns - high school foreign exchange students mostly (plus a pen pal). My general impression is that Finland is a highly educated and technological society, but somewhat insular. The other biggest cultural thing I've noticed was an attitude about the Soviet Union (now Russia) which, considering border problems over the past few centuries, is quite understandable. I've also discovered Finns have a hard time with Kansas' 100-plus degree heat. I think the biggest image most Americans have of Finland, though, would be reindeer.User Detail :
Name : Beth, Gender : F, Age : 45, City : Wamego, State : KS Country : United States,I have several Finnish friends here in London, and the impression I get from them is that either Finland is full of R'n'R-loving, lovely, gorgeous, enormously-fun-to-be-with people (but my God, do they drink and pop pills!), or anybody like that has to leave Finland for some reason and come to London. Finland is getting quite a bit of media coverage in Europe these days because of the success of Nokia (which many people think is a Japanese company because of the sound of it), so it could well soon become as trendy as Iceland (yes, Iceland is trendy in England. Don't ask.)User Detail :
Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : English/French, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College,It´s nice to read how much you know about us Finns. One thing, though: there are only six million of us, so the population of our country is much smaller than you guessed.User Detail :
Name : Anna23837, Gender : F, City : Helsinki, State : NA Country : Finland,My impression of Finland is one of snow; I think of cold and dark.User Detail :
Name : N.J. Smith, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 45, City : Butler, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : Laborer, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,I have always associated Finns with the outdoors, music and design. I knew Finns who loved camping, no matter what time of year. I know that in Finland, people have summer cottages they love to go to on weekends. Finland has some very famous choirs and conductors, and, of course, Finlandia records. I have Swedish friends and family who think Finns drink too much, but that opinion is not shared by Canadians. There is a great short story by Canadian author Jack Hodgins in which the main character, an adolescent male, wants to be a Finn.User Detail :
Name : Kim26375, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 40, City : Vancouver, British Columbia, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : Telecommunications, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I'm a Finn and was surprised how much was known about Finland. But there were a few corrections I'd like to make.It is true that most Finns don't enjoy it when it's hot outside (maybe because our summer is so short), but you can't say we don't like heat; the sauna has a temperature around 80-120 Celcius. I think the thing about suicide rates is quite true, mainly in North Finland. During the winters it's dark almost always, which leads to depression, and that causes the high suicide rates. The population of Finland is only 5 million, even though we are the fifth- or sixth-biggest country by size. The standard of living is high, and I'd say the Gross Domestic Product is a bit bigger than in the States, but I'm not sure about that. We are one of the five most-expensive countries in Europe. In 1990 we were the most-expensive country in the world. Helsinki is quite an international city. Reindeers are found only in North Finland, near the Arctic Circle. Finland is more than 1,000 kilometers long. It is true that Finland is much like Canada. Finland is best known in sports because of hockey; during the last 10 years we have won the world championship, Olympic silver (twice?).
Finland is a country of equality: we have a female president and were the second country in the world to let women vote. Finland is a country of technology, but also paper, ship building (almost all Caribbean cruise ships are built in Finland. All Finns (many other European and Asian countries, also) believe Santa Claus is from Finland (which is more possible than him coming from the North Pole). It is true that almost every Finn has a mobile phone, and we have the most Internet connections per capita in the world.
User Detail :
Name : Lauri26099, Gender : F, City : Helsinki, State : NA Country : Finland,It is true that Finns are not that open about their emotions compared to Americans, for example. In our opinion, Americans talk a lot and don´t mean what they say. It´s mostly that Finns don´t talk that much, but they definitely mean what they´re saying. And often everything is said shortly, leaving out what we feel is needless - extra words. I, and lots of people I know, feel that foreigners (OK, mostly Americans) talk so much and mean so little, i.e. they ask 'How are you' but don´t care to listen to what your answer is. 'How are you' seems to be like 'Hi!' and you´re supposed to say 'fine,' no matter the truth. We do say 'I love you' more than once in a lifetime, especially younger people, who might say it daily. I suppose we have high rates of suicides, but so do other northern countries, meaning countries with the same kind of climate and long, depressive winters: Sweden, Norway, Russia... Talking loud is all right, especially here in the capital. Old people are more quiet and conservative, but as this generation ages... I saw a documentary about about Finnish 'dances,' too, and it was ridiculous. It was like 30, 40 years ago! Nowdays they might keep them sometimes for historical value, but not like monthly and everywhere ... I´ve never been in 'dances'. Yes, we have reindeer up north, but I, for example, have never seen one, except on TV. They don´t walk around in the streets, and that goes for icebears, too. Finland does not have icebears, except in the zoo.User Detail :
Name : Jenni T., Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 21, City : Helsinki, State : NA Country : Finland,hi ! ok, it is true that finns are not that open about their emotions than...americans for example. in our opinion then, americans talk a lot and don´t mean what they say. it´s mostly that finns don´t talk that much, but they definetly mean what they´re saying. and often everything is said shortly, leaving out what we feel is needless, extra words kind of. I, and lots of people I know, feel that foreigners (OK, mostle americans) talk so much and mean so little i.e. ask first 'how are you' but don´t care to listen what your answer is. 'how are you' seems to be like 'hi !' and you´re supposed to say 'fine' no matter what´s the truth. now these we examples of how we feel about americans, but it quit well discribes us, and so is hopefully an answer to you. we do say 'I love you' more than once in a lifetime(on our deathbeds that is), especially younger people might use it daily. I suppose we have high rates in suicides, but so do other northern countries, meaning coountries with same kind of climate and long depressive winters...Sweden, Norway, Russia... surely you can say hello to the people on the street but that would be a lttle awkward but trust me, that is just another North-european habit. talking loud is allright, especially here in the capital. old people are more quiet and conservative, but as this generation ages and so on... I saw a document about about finnish 'dances' too, and it was ridiculous. it was like 30, 40 years ago! nowdays they might keep them sometimes for it´s historical 'value', but not like monthly and everywhere...I´ve never been in 'dances'. and we have reindeers living up north, but I for example have never seen one except in TV ! they don´t walk around in the streets, and goes with the icebears too. Finland does not have icebears except in the zoo.User Detail :
Name : Jenni T., Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 21, City : Helsinki, State : NA Country : Finland,I have heard that Finns are very closed to their emotions. For example, I have heard that if I go to Finland, I should not look people in the eye or say 'hello' when I'm on the street. Talking loud or joking on a subway or bus is also frowned upon, I hear. I also understand that some Finns only say 'I love you' to their spouses on their deathbeds. I guess Finland also has the highest rates of depression and suicide in the world.Because of the small population being spread out, I understand that isolated farmers (and other men) and potential wives get together at monthly dances/socials to find partners. This comes from TV documentaries I've seen and articles I have read. On the upside, you have reindeer.
User Detail :
Name : Steve27708, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 39, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Publisher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class,Incidentally, Britain is by far the most popular destination for Finnish students heading abroad, including myself, which is why there's quite a strong presence of us in blighty. But the reason we're being covered in the media is largely due to misconceptions. Statistics and Nokia's success inspire magazines like Newsweek to write articles on the alleged technological revolution in Finland, and now some people think we operate vending machines through our mobile phones. The rest of the world is interested only in the curiosities of our country, like sauna bathing and the wife-carrying competition (which is a yahoo event even by our standards). The image is doubtless a tad distorted.Apart from peculiarities, however, there seems to be an interest in the slightly alternative European nations these days. This, I guess, is why Iceland and Finland are suddenly popular. Both have been cut off for a long time purely out of geographical reasons, and the mentality of both societies and its individuals have been kept relatively intact. 'You're really weird' is what a 13-year-old lassie from Yorkshire once told me. 'Weird' or 'different' spells 'interesting.'
And yes, we like our booze, but I don't know where you got the pill-popping from. Maybe your Finnish friends are people who desperately need to boogie out metropolitan style.
User Detail :
Name : Kris26229, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 21, City : Helsinki, State : NA Country : Finland, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.