I had an interesting talk with some Finnish people. Then, they introduced me a cartoon, talking and presenting the daily life and struggles of Matti, a socially awkward Finn. Where the Finnish vision of privacy and personal space struck a chord with people living in crowded cities.
In addition, I was told that Finns are mostly very shy. Small talk doesn’t come easy to them. Quiet moments in conversations are not considered awkward. Silence merely means the person doesn’t have anything essential to say. There’s no necessity to fill gaps in conversation with chatter. On the other hand, Finns are genuine – they mean what they say.
They like to keep distance, so Corona time was pretty perfect for them. Since they were standing apart on public transport already before these “hard times”. Finns see themselves as reserved, but calm would be a more fitting description in most cases. Calm works until you put a Finn in charge of a motorized vehicle – then it’s all systems go! Still, they do everything by the rules, so breaking the law is not familiar to them.
Even though they might tell you the exact opposite, I came to conclusion that Finnish people are warm, open and sincere. They gave us the warmest welcome and I felt excepted right away.
If you’ve ever met a Finn, chances are they’ve mentioned the reserved nature of their countrymen. Be not afraid, they are talkative and hospitable, but the myth of the withdrawn Finn is still alive and well inside Finland. An example of a Finnish joke: “An introverted Finn looks at his shoes when talking to you; an extroverted Finn looks at your shoes”.
Slika 1: https://www.google.com/search?q=finnish+nightmares&sxsrf=AOaemvJRROxhLGyd7Se27233JrEJL6j3wg:1636466676324&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjQ6ba3uYv0AhWDv4sKHUHUDHAQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1366&bih=625&dpr=1#imgrc=7HJlkg–UaTW-M
Slika 2: https://www.google.com/search?q=what+are+finnish+people+like&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjvoOXs0Iv0AhUXCXcKHU-mAhMQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=what+are+finnish+people+like&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIECAAQEzoHCCMQ7wMQJ1DyAVi9FWCCGGgBcAB4AIABYogB6QOSAQE3mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=gpiKYe_XDpeS3APPzIqYAQ&bih=568&biw=1366&hl=sl#imgrc=85tfp3fNgxFZ4M
